Eligibility shenanigans
Alexllmop
Newbie

I got an iPhone 4 on May 13 2011 and have loved it and used it since, but it says I'm not eligible for an upgrade till January 13 2013.  Now why are people who have an iPhone 4S able to upgrade before me?  What determines when you can upgrade? I do think verizon offers the best service for where I live but their upgrade rules seem a bit broken.  It seems like they are squandering away potential money, even though I could pay a discounted price for an upgrade they are still making money by me extending my contract.

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Karenn
Enthusiast - Level 3

You are eligible for a phone upgrade every 20 months. For those who have not finished their 20 months yet, they may be transferring an upgrade from a different line.

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Alexllmop
Newbie

Thank you, that makes sense.  Another question, if I was to bite the bullet and pay full price for the iPhone 5 would that affect my bill at all?  Hoping it would stay the same.  I do currently have unlimited data, I'm guessing that would go out the door by doing that?

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soupcannon
Specialist - Level 1

Wait a few months let them work the bugs out with the new iOS

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Intocable
Contributor - Level 2

jimfitzgerald wrote:

You got your last phone at a discounted price.  You have to finish paying for it (20 months) before Verizon is going to give you another discount.  Basically, you financed your phone for 20 months.

<<comment removed to comply with >>

hes not financing anything. he could have bought the same phone from a different source and hes still be paying verizon the same amount monthly.

only tmobile gives reduced monthly pricing if you bring your own device.

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

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Tidbits
Legend

Intocable wrote:

jimfitzgerald wrote:

You got your last phone at a discounted price.  You have to finish paying for it (20 months) before Verizon is going to give you another discount.  Basically, you financed your phone for 20 months.

<<comment removed to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service>>

hes not financing anything. he could have bought the same phone from a different source and hes still be paying verizon the same amount monthly.

only tmobile gives reduced monthly pricing if you bring your own device.

You have to sign a contract to do so with a $200 ETF. Like with all carriers they have prepaid. The reduced price is subsidized by T-Mobile for that contract which is prepaid pricing with a contract, but with a little more data before cap.  Currently they have a "unlimited" promo, but it doesn't include tethering.

So how is it all that different?

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

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Alexllmop
Newbie

So does paying full price for the iPhone 5 let me keep my unlimited data?  Would it affect my bill in anyway?

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Tidbits
Legend

Alexllmop wrote:

So does paying full price for the iPhone 5 let me keep my unlimited data?  Would it affect my bill in anyway?

No it will not affect your bill at all if you pay retail.  You won't even invoke that "upgrade" fee.

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holes
Enthusiast - Level 3

paying full price is the only way to keep your unlimited data if you were to get an iphone 5 from verizon wireless.

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21stNow
Master - Level 1

Tidbits wrote:

Intocable wrote:

jimfitzgerald wrote:

You got your last phone at a discounted price.  You have to finish paying for it (20 months) before Verizon is going to give you another discount.  Basically, you financed your phone for 20 months.

<<comment removed to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service>>

hes not financing anything. he could have bought the same phone from a different source and hes still be paying verizon the same amount monthly.

only tmobile gives reduced monthly pricing if you bring your own device.

You have to sign a contract to do so with a $200 ETF. Like with all carriers they have prepaid. The reduced price is subsidized by T-Mobile for that contract which is prepaid pricing with a contract, but with a little more data before cap.  Currently they have a "unlimited" promo, but it doesn't include tethering.

So how is it all that different?

The Value Plan on T-Mobile is not a prepaid plan.

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

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Tidbits
Legend

It's the same price as the prepaid plan with more data before throttle until recent promo.  So T-Mobile is doing nothing more than getting you locked in on a prepaid plan.

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21stNow
Master - Level 1

But the Value plan is still a postpaid plan, not a prepaid plan.

\thread hijack

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Tidbits
Legend

21stNow wrote:

But the Value plan is still a postpaid plan, not a prepaid plan.

\thread hijack

Yes I am aware of that.  It's a postpaid account where you sign a 2 year contract to get a postpaid account at a prepaid price instead of buying your device using the same subsidization.  It's great marketing imho.

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Alexllmop
Newbie

Ok so I'm a little confused, if I were to pay full price for the iPhone 5 and plan to keep it for AT LEAST a year, come January when I'm eligible for the upgrade and don't take it, will my monthly bill come down slightly?

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Tidbits
Legend

That's false... Doesn't matter where you buy it from.  As long as YOU DO NOT sign a contract to obtain the device is what matters.

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