Basic phone advice

[tikibar1]

If you do not sign a new two-year contract, then your plan remains the same, there is no activation fee, and your contract end date remains the same.  If your contract is up, then you go month-to-month.

[tikibar1]

Just make sure the phone is Verizon branded and that it has a clean ESN.

[titanjeff]

Wow. Lots of anger in those threads.

If Verizon abandons the basic phone user, someone will hopefully come along and fill a void. I'd think a phone manufacturer would see the potential as well.

I'd like to stay but I'm not going data anytime soon.

[SydneyK]

I see you've already touched on something I was going to mention ... on Amazon, you can select no contract, too. It will not in any way commit you to anything or change the fact you'll be eligible for an upgrade at any time. IMO, off contract is the way to go for a basic phone ... what if you decide next year you want a smartphone?

Re: your other comment, I don't think you have to worry about being abandoned as a basic phone user for a while. Although the selection is continually shrinking, phones that don't require data will be around for some time.

[tikibar1]

Yep, there's some folks who feel abandoned if they want a basic phone.  That multimedia category that Verizon used to have had some nice phones.  Some basic phone users are moving to prepaid.

[titanjeff]

Last question: how do you know if a phone is Verizon-branded with a clean ESN?

All I am seeing is it is refurbished.

[tikibar1]

If uncertain, do not buy it.  You should be able to see the Verizon brand on the phone and it should be stated in the ad.  Get the ESN from the seller and check it with Verizon before purchasing.  The safest way to buy from a third party is to do the deal in a Verizon store after they've verified that it's Verizon branded and the ESN is clean.

[#8]

Verizon doesn't make phones. They can only sell what the phone manufacturers make. The phone manufacturers will make phones that will sell and have a high profit margin. Basic phones are not. The Verizon website is now down to 9 basic phones. That number gets smaller every couple of months. You may not want to go to data but you might not have much of a choice within the next couple of years if you want to remain with Verizon.

[titanjeff]

Or go back to my pager from 1985.

[#10]

titanjeff wrote:

Or go back to my pager from 1985.

Or CB radio.