DO NOT RENEW 2-YR IPHONE WITHOUT READING FIRST

[jandrewb]

Buyer beware!  Like many of us, I patiently waited for the iPhone on the Verizon Network.  Ordered my phone and renewed my contract.   I didn't give the renewal a second thought as my previous experience with service and support has been excellent.  Unfortunately, after moving to the iPhone, I experienced a large number of dropped calls or calls that would not be received.  Keep in mind, I had a Blackberry and a feature phone previously on the network with minimal issues.

After experiencing the problem for a week, I contacted Verizon to see if there was a known issue with network.  For 5 days, I marked all of my dropped calls so a technician could diagnose the area and problem.  Another week passed by and I finally received the results.  The technician indicated “this is a known area with poor signal strength, your best option is to purchase a network extender.”   SO MUCH FOR BEING EVERYWHERE VERIZON!

I contacted the customer service line to inquire about a network extender, they walked me through the benefits of the product, how it works and the price.  Wait a minute...$249.00 please!  Are you kidding me?

Let me get this straight, I wait for the iPhone to come to the Verizon network, experience problems and immediately report the issue.  Go through their hoops to troubleshoot the problem only to have them tell me to pay an additional $249 for a piece of technology that will piggy back off my wireless network to suck up bandwidth so my phone can work?

It gets better, Verizon decided at the beginning of the year to reduce the number of days to test drive their service from 30 to 14.  With time ticking to mark dropped calls and have a technician review and assess, took over 14 days, so now I am stuck with an iPhone that gets no reception in my house, the option to give Verizon another $249 for a piece of technology that I don’t want.

As I said, buyer beware, GET RID OF YOUR SERVICE IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEM, DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT STAFF!

[dbbrass]

Man... Don't candy coat your opinion there, just tell us how you really feel!  And I thought I was a bit excitable over the fact that the VZW iPhone didn't get the iOS4.3 update with not a word as to why...

If you were having these sort of significant issues, why didn't you return the phone after 14 days?  You've got that long to decide whether or not to keep it.  For the record though, both of my previous phones from VZW (one Android, the other just a normal handset) had poor to fair at best signal strength at my home.  I would drop a call once in a while (not often though) and sometimes had to find the sweet spot in my place of which to get a stable signal while on a call.  IN CONTRAST, my iphone gets a stronger signal than I ever saw with the others (3 to 4 bars and sometimes 5!)  So I'm thinking the ip4 has a better antenna design than anything that I had before (antenna-gate?  Please... no issues with that here!)

Does your phone have similar problems anywhere you go or just in your house?  Go to an apple store and get them to verify that your phone is ok.

[jandrewb]

Unfortunately, I didn't realize Verizon had changed their test drive policy from 30 days to 14 days, so I thought I was in the clear.  Needless to say, I didn't read the fine print when I renewed my contract.  Wish I would have known the clock was ticking and had ended.  People just need to be aware that it doesn't take much to get stuck in a new contract.  To your point, so people have better experiences, others worse.  It just a racquet to have to pay $250 on top of my monthly invoice!

[PJNC284 · Accepted solution]

Some of the people with poor service have been able to get the network extender for free.  Just ask for a supervisor/manager

[kaebfly]

Perhaps if you try pushing the issue (assuming that your call that initiated the Tech to assess was before the 14 days had expired...which would be shown on your account simply by the date that the trouble ticket was opened) you can get them to allow you to switch or return the iPhone and continue using your previous device. If the call that actually prompted the Tech assessment didn't occur during that initial week you stated you called (not sure if the 5 days you tracked occurred prior to the first call you say you made after owning it for the 1st week or you waited until sometime after that call to do your tracking) and it was after the 14 days....then that was more your fault (know that sounds harsh) than anything. When you renewed your contract you were told (if you chose not to read the contract or receipt which shows this info that was a mistake on your part) that the return policy had changed. So...as you should know, this leaves less time to let an issue fester unfortunately. If you report an issue and they couldn't rectify it or give you a reasonable explanation before your 14 days was up then you should have told them that you would like to return the phone while you can until they can find out what the issue is. It's not idea, but for now...14 days is the time to figure it all out...if you want the phone...if the phone gives you problems that can't be resolved...etc.

I have seen where some have claimed that a network extender was given to them from Vz for free....you may ask about that to see if that is even an option (you may have to escalate to get a rep that can offer anything...with some companies, the regular reps don't have access to some of the "perks" that others do...for example, cancellation reps can often offer retention incentives). Otherwise, the general lesson for anyone signing a new or renewing a contract is simple. Know your return policy and make your decision based on them...never assume that something extra or "special" will be given to you other than what is in the signed contract. That is just a general rule of thumb.

I also noticed that you made the comment "So much for being everywhere Verizon"....technically...the disclaimers do state that service is not available everywhere. Besides, sometimes some devices don't act the same as others...if they did then people wouldn't constantly strive to get the next best thing. Hopefully you get some resolution that works for you...and if anything you could always reactivate your previous device, sell your iPhone on Ebay or somewhere else and make a significant profit over what you paid...and perhaps it will be enough to purchase a different device at full retail (or at least most of the amount).

[elaines]

I have been with Verizon for many years and I was under the impression that you always had 2 weeks to return if you found a problem if you bought from a store. If you buy online you have 30 days. I had a problem with my phone and was able to have it replaced no questions asked. I can say I have never had a call dropped since using the iPhone4. I actually have better reception than I did before. Call back and talk to someone els and without an attitude and see what they will do for you.