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Verizon Max Data Plans are not a deal

I just read about the Olive Branch Verizon has extended to us obstinate unlimited data plan holders.

The Max Data Plans are a weed dressed up to look like an Olive Branch.

I did the math on my unlimited nill vs a Max Bill with Edge phones. Currently I pay $201.75 for two lines + unlimited data.

I have an S4, so I don't need a new phone, but if I did I would go Note 3. My wife has an iPhone 5 64gb, so a 5s 64gb would be a good choice.

After crunching the numbers and entering Edge would go up to 221.68 per month. That's right up not down.

Knowing this, why would I give up unlimited

data?

Comments

Ann154

I got an email suggesting that I could upgrade and switch to this "Max" data plan since my average monthly usage is less than 4 GB per month. What they failed to mention is my peak (highest) monthly usage over the past six months to a year has been. I know for a fact thanks to my own data tracking that my peak is hovering in the 5-6+ GB rangeiincluding tethering. This doesn't work very well for me and the "Max" data plan.

michaeljtimko

Verizon needs to really think outside the box on how they will get us to give up these lucrative data plans. In all honesty, I could see myself dropping unlimited data, but it would have to be worth it.

I think they thought, they would throw this Max plan at us and we would capitulate. They probably never thought we'd do the math.

I'll even help them. Make Share Everything more cost effective. The data cost is too high. My share everything bill would be $273. That's 43 than I pat now and yet I can save $39 if I go to T-Mobile.

If the cost structure was closer to T-Mobile, then I could do Share Everything. I could see myself buying, 20gb of data. Will I use that much... probably not, but it would serve the same purpose unlimited does now.

It's safety net.

CG101

Michael,

I am so tired of reading these Verizon forums, and seeing all these people who have been victimized by losing their unlimited data become Verizon's biggest defenders. Misery truly loves company. I don't care what they say, be it saving a few bucks for losing unlimited data (yet ignoring opportunity costs in keeping unlimited data OR even leveraging the unlimited data in other ways by utilizing "assumption of liability"), or praying for this magical day of July, 2014 when we're all supposed to lose unlimited data (which is complete and utter nonsense, forget speculation.) I thought that Verizon was supposed to be the one providing us a service, and not the other way around...though I suppose the Stockholm Syndrome folks enjoy that, I guess.

Problem is there doesn't appear to be many people who have unlimited data offering information that would help people like us KEEP unlimited data; all it is are these people inundating these forums with misinformation and misery about losing unlimited data.

So I will just tell you what I did to upgrade and hope that points you in the right direction.

Recently, I did use the Device Payment Plan (different from Edge, which sounds like utter garbage) to get a Note 2. 700 divided by 12 plus $24 total. I figured why not; anything to get off this Samsung Droid Charge. Now, I am utilizing the alternate upgrade method, which allows me to upgrade a basic phone in my plan and switch that phone to the line with the Note 2, which I then will give the Note 2 to the wife, who also has an unlimited data plan. I probably should have done this earlier, but I initially thought it'd be too much work. However, after I did the math, even after activation fees and such, I still get a better phone at a better price than if I Device Payment Plan'ed it.

I will let you know how it goes...I have three unlimited data plans that I can do a "transfer only" to get the hot new phones, and I plan on using anyone of them. And despite what some of you Verizon apologists say, I do not lose unlimited data when I transfer an upgrade to another line, which apparently, I can do THREE times...

I am just sick and tired of seeing these people inundate folks with such bad information. Since this is a peer-to-peer forum where Verizon customers help each other, I figure let me help my fellow Verizon customers SAVE their unlimited data and also help lead in the ignoring of these bitter haters who just want other people to be miserable by having you lose your unlimited data plan.

michaeljtimko

Here, here.

I remember reading an article from July of this year (the only statistic I have ever found) that 64.4% (60.7 million subscribers) of Verizon Wireless customers are post-paid like us and of that percentage, only 36% (about 21.8 subscribers) are on Share Everything. That tells me a large margin of us are still hanging to unlimited data. That's a large amount of customers who "COULD" be participating in Verizon Edge and making Verizon a lot more money.

They would still be getting us to pay our normal phones minute plans (I pay $110 for 1400 minutes) at the old subsidized rates and also get us to pay full price for our phones. The very thing they told us to do if we wanted to keep unlimited data.

Sounds like a win, win to me for Verizon.

But what do I know... I'm just a stupid, blue collar steel worker from Ohio not a marketing genius.

kag528

Are you sure that if I transfer an upgrade with unlimited data, to another phone on my plan, that I will not lose the unlimited plan. Did you do this online? Thank you

Swhite1294

I agree, if you are like myself and my husband on the unlimited plan this max really isn't better at all. We do know we use major data certain times have a teenage daughter so it's not worth it and frankly what VERIZON charges for phones and what I buy our phones for is hundreds less. So it doesn't make since, but there is a down side for us unlimited users we are so throttled back that my husband and daughter who still have the unlimited plan will be sitting right in front of me on my iPhone and mine says 3G theirs will say 1G. So we deal with it but I paid a couple hundred for our iPhones verses their 400-500 so do the math. Really their sales have plummeted and we've talked about leavening been with them 4 1/2 years and our bill runs $215 a month but that's because we get a 21% discount through my husbands employer. But this is for 4 iPhones two are unlimited and two are 2GB a month.

Swhite1294

I've changed our phones so many times, I'll buy our phones through eBay smartphone then go online and activate it . You choose which phone line your changing the device on then enter the MEID. Number and it will show you have the unlimited plan then activate it. No biggie at all. This idea you have to upgrade or buy your phone from Verizon is wrong. If your purchasing another smart phone request the MEID OR ESN number then go to verizon and check to make sure its clear. If it's not you will waste your money because it's tied to a contract that defaulted and they won't activate it but most on eBay will state good ESN or bad ESN. Hope this helps.

joeguy0326

It is a good deal for people who use under 4-6Gb beacuse you don't have to pay outright full retail for a new phone

joeguy0326

A rep actually told me that only 18% of customers have unlimited and obviously that number is decreasing.

michaeljtimko

I would say... do you believe them? I have statistics on how VZW breaks down on my phone somewhere.

The next thing to consider is just how long will Max Data hold out? Smartphone vendors and carriers have been moving us to dependence on these devices in small increments.

The best analogy I can think of is a drug dealer and a junkie. They got us hooked on data usage, but now they say there's a price if we want more. That price is tiered usage and per gigabyte charges when you go over.

Those that can't afford to pay full price for a phone or can't afford to raise the cost for their bill (by doing DPP) have to raise the white flag and surrender to whatever Verizon's terms are.

MartinN

I agree. I was offered this plan too while I was browsing some of the newer phones - I've a Samsung Galaxy Nexus - and at first it seemed like a deal because I mostly don't exceed the 6GB limit.

However, I scoured the forums here and on various other mobile sites, seems there are many users who do like to watch a few movies online, and end up using upwards of 20-30GB on their grandfathered unlimited data plans.

It would be unfair and most likely a breach of contract for a hungry shyster law firm to pursue as a class action to rip the unlimited clause out of the hands of this user class.

What might lure unlimited users is offering them unlimited access after 8pm and the Verizon Max plan in prime time hours... or a very generous allocation of bandwidth, for instance the average bandwidth used of the top 1% of unlimited users rather than including the ones who barely use it. Those who have better things to do - i.e. full time jobs + families to take care of, plus those who pay the phone bills - are certainly not going to exceed their current usage anyway.

If they are relying on users' behavior, then the opposite holds true - that even if we're all given huge caps (20-40GB/month for instance) for a nominal fee, we're still not going to change our habits just because the extra bandwidth is available.

Why Verizon doesn't want to play it this way, is beyond me.

Ann154

The unlimited data plan is not a part of the contract. It is a add-on feature.

MartinN

Unlimited as add on? I thought it was not offered anymore - or is there an exception for users who are already on unlimited plans? Meaning, can I upgrade + get the subsidy and keep my unlimited plan still?

Ann154

It is an add-on. One that is not offered anymore. Existing customers who still have it, can change it to a different tiered data plan without affecting their base plan or their contract.

Billsey

Has anyone noticed that their online calculations as to which new plan is optimal is somewhat skewed? I checked my data usage for the last three months (all you can see online) and with my family 5 phone plan we averaged 435MB and maxed at 557MB (I know, most of you use a *lot* more). When I look at new plans (we all have 2+ year old Bionics and really, really need upgrades) they state this for my historical usage:

Average Use for Data
Allowed:		10 GB
Last Month:		2.81 GB
2-Months Prior:		2.82 GB
3-Months Prior:		2.92 GB
Average Used:		2.85 GB
Heaviest Used:		3.04 GB

Surprise! The 10GB plan is 'best' for our usage and costs almost exactly the same as our current unlimited plan. Where they get the numbers, I have no idea... They are look completely made up to me, though perhaps they're targeted at the price point they want to put me in?

If we go off unlimited data we'll likely switch to 2GB (saving $40/month) or 4GB (saving $30/month) and assume our usage will increase with the new phones.

CG101

No it isn't.

I did an "alternate upgrade" For those with unlimited

1) Get an additional basic line. $9.99. Make sure you get a flip phone/basic/feature/NON-SMARTPHONE with a CLEAN ESN so that you get the line on a month-to-month basis.

2) Upgrade the smartphone on your basic line to whatever. In my case, this was the Note 3. You will have garbage 2GB data, but only for like a minute.

3) Activate the smartphone on basic line.

4) Put flip-phone back on basic line. Data (e.g. 2GB data) will be removed from basic line, and phone has two year contract.

5) Do a device swap on smart phone to your line. For the cost of the phone, plus line (about $250 after taxes and such) , it is cheaper than buying the phone outright. You got hot new phone on your unlimited line, and you didn't become a victim in losing unlimited data.

I laugh at VZW CSRs when they ask me if I want to get Edge, upgrade my unlimited data lines. I tell them, "you know we're not doing that..."

When July 2014 comes and goes and I still have my unlimited, I will come back to this post and laugh at all apologists...I only wish I could say what I really want to say...lmao!

CG101

MartinN wrote:
What might lure unlimited users is offering them unlimited access after 8pm and the Verizon Max plan in prime time hours... or a very generous allocation of bandwidth, for instance the average bandwidth used of the top 1% of unlimited users rather than including the ones who barely use it. Those who have better things to do - i.e. full time jobs + families to take care of, plus those who pay the phone bills - are certainly not going to exceed their current usage anyway.

I have a full time job, make close to $100k (in the high $90k category) and I use a decent amount of unlimited. I'm just going to make this easy for all to understand: I can use 1MB a month (as in MegaByte) and I still want my unlimited. Yeah, I've used 20-40 GB a month streaming music (on high) or watching movies. I still want unlimited...don't want a cap. Otherwise, if I'm going to be forced to get tiered, I will do everything in my power to NOT use a data plan and get Verizon to let us not use it, so that I go to Wi-Fi only. Or, I just go to another carrier. (Quality of the others at that point won't matter and Verizon knows it.)

It isn't about saving money...it's about keeping unlimited. If it were about saving money, I would have switched a long time ago (and again, quality of other carriers would not matter...)

I love my unlimited data...I love that I can use more data in a day than some other guy has to in one month...I love that I'm not limited. Verizon knows it, otherwise if it was an "add-on" they'd just take it away...but Verizon wants my money...as long as they leave my "add-on" away, then I stay. Simple as that.

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