Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
kookiesmon01229
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hello Droid Friends,

I am looking to upgrade from a Samsung 510 still on the Alltel network, to the Incredible and I am still a bit worried I don't have all the answers I need. I have talked to 3 different associates and have had totally different answers. I am currently sharing a plan with someone and we both want the upgrade since our previous contract is up and has been up for quite a few months now. I spoke with a Verizon Associate on an in store visit and asked if there is any possible way we could keep our current Alltel promotion which was one of the last that Alltel was doing before Verizon bought them. Its the Friends and Family 10 (1000 Minutes and Texts shared between 2 lines). The Associate I spoke with said it was possible to keep that and upgrade to new devices the only addition is the $29.99 data package per phone. I want to know if there has been anyone who had the same package I currently have and has had a succesful upgrade to the Incredible without picking new minutes and texts separately. If anyone has any information they could share with me about this topic, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also I have noticed that Wal-Mart carries Verizon phones and since newer phones are often more expensive and considering how everything we buy has gone up in price, I wanted to get the best bargain I can. I have considered going to them to get an upgrade. Rather than spending about $300 for two phones I could spend about $75 and get the same thing. I have watched quite a few people walk in and walk out of Wal-Mart with new phones and it takes just about as long to do the switch. If anyone in the community has gone that route I'd really like to hear about it as well.

 

Thank You for you opinions and advice.

kookiesmon01229

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1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
kookiesmon01229
Enthusiast - Level 2

Just for kicks I called Verizon and explained my situation. After being on hold for about two minutes the lady I spoke with assured me that my current plan (Alltel's Friends & Family 10) would work with the Droid Incredible and that nothing would change on my bill except I would see the extra charges for the data packages. Also I asked her about going through the renewal process at a Wal-Mart since they carry the phones at an even more reduced price than a Verizon Wireless Store and she didn't deter me from taking that route. She assured me they were an Authorized Dealer and that my renewal with them would just as glitch free as going to a Verizon Wireless Store. I did not get her information before I hung up, but she mentioned if there were any problems to call the Customer Service 800 number and they would do as much as they could to help me through the process.

Thanks to all of you who provided your input.

View solution in original post

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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
mdram4x4
Champion - Level 1

 


kookiesmon01229 wrote:

Hello Droid Friends,

I am looking to upgrade from a Samsung 510 still on the Alltel network, to the Incredible and I am still a bit worried I don't have all the answers I need. I have talked to 3 different associates and have had totally different answers. I am currently sharing a plan with someone and we both want the upgrade since our previous contract is up and has been up for quite a few months now. I spoke with a Verizon Associate on an in store visit and asked if there is any possible way we could keep our current Alltel promotion which was one of the last that Alltel was doing before Verizon bought them. Its the Friends and Family 10 (1000 Minutes and Texts shared between 2 lines). The Associate I spoke with said it was possible to keep that and upgrade to new devices the only addition is the $29.99 data package per phone. I want to know if there has been anyone who had the same package I currently have and has had a succesful upgrade to the Incredible without picking new minutes and texts separately. If anyone has any information they could share with me about this topic, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also I have noticed that Wal-Mart carries Verizon phones and since newer phones are often more expensive and considering how everything we buy has gone up in price, I wanted to get the best bargain I can. I have considered going to them to get an upgrade. Rather than spending about $300 for two phones I could spend about $75 and get the same thing. I have watched quite a few people walk in and walk out of Wal-Mart with new phones and it takes just about as long to do the switch. If anyone in the community has gone that route I'd really like to hear about it as well.

 

Thank You for you opinions and advice.

kookiesmon01229


 

if you go anyplace other then verizon, they will ask you to pick a current vzw plan.  they dont have the same option that vzw has.

you will then have to change it back.  if its an alltell plan the chance of going back to it is no very good

yes you payless at places other then vzw for hardware, but they cant do things like verizon can

 

what i do since i have a verizon promoplan is to call cs and do my transactions through them.

yes im paying more for the hardware, but the $40 a month i save on service makes it worth it

 

i would attempt it this way.  if they say you cant keep the plan, hang up and try a diff csr

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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
AZSALUKI
Legend

ditto mdram. i will only order from verizon over the phone or in a store, where someone can show me that my plan wont change in a situation like this. i then get the person's info in case there is a problem down the road. i won't order online if there is anything that has to do with plan changes and i don't buy from other retailers simply because if i have a problem with my phone, i want to be sure that i can take it to verizon to deal with it (not sam's, best buy, etc). i'm familiar with verizon policies and don't really want to have to read the fine print of other retailers.

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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
kookiesmon01229
Enthusiast - Level 2

Just for kicks I called Verizon and explained my situation. After being on hold for about two minutes the lady I spoke with assured me that my current plan (Alltel's Friends & Family 10) would work with the Droid Incredible and that nothing would change on my bill except I would see the extra charges for the data packages. Also I asked her about going through the renewal process at a Wal-Mart since they carry the phones at an even more reduced price than a Verizon Wireless Store and she didn't deter me from taking that route. She assured me they were an Authorized Dealer and that my renewal with them would just as glitch free as going to a Verizon Wireless Store. I did not get her information before I hung up, but she mentioned if there were any problems to call the Customer Service 800 number and they would do as much as they could to help me through the process.

Thanks to all of you who provided your input.

0 Likes
Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
mdram4x4
Champion - Level 1

 


kookiesmon01229 wrote:

Just for kicks I called Verizon and explained my situation. After being on hold for about two minutes the lady I spoke with assured me that my current plan (Alltel's Friends & Family 10) would work with the Droid Incredible and that nothing would change on my bill except I would see the extra charges for the data packages. Also I asked her about going through the renewal process at a Wal-Mart since they carry the phones at an even more reduced price than a Verizon Wireless Store and she didn't deter me from taking that route. She assured me they were an Authorized Dealer and that my renewal with them would just as glitch free as going to a Verizon Wireless Store. I did not get her information before I hung up, but she mentioned if there were any problems to call the Customer Service 800 number and they would do as much as they could to help me through the process.

Thanks to all of you who provided your input.


good luck, and let us know the outcome

 

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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
Jax_Omen
Specialist - Level 3
Yeah, the only hangup you *may* get going through a third party is some of them either can't, or don't want to, do upgrades on legacy calling plans, including alltel ones. Your Family Choice plan (the 1000 minutes/messages plan you're talking about is called Family Choice) is definitely compatible, as far as VzW is concerned, you just need the VzW data feature ($29.99 unlimited email & web). Anyone who says you have to change your plan, don't buy from them.
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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
kookiesmon01229
Enthusiast - Level 2

It's official now, I am a Droid Addict! I can't put the Incredible down and neither could my girlfriend. I took the Wal-Mart route and got their upgrade. The adverised price for most Wal-Marts now is probably $78.88, but luckily they forgot to change the price on the display model and I got two of them for $28.88 each plus tax.. That is practically a steal for these gizmos. I was able to keep my current plan and just add data packages to both lines. It took a little time to adjust to the touch screen and going through the process of setting everything up. After the initial setup was done I tried texting someone and it gave me an error/message failure. I ended up calling Verizon Customer Service and had them figure it out. Somehow during the upgrade texting was blocked for both phones. The guy I spoke with re-activated the texting feature, answered a few questions I had and even gave some pointers. I think that guy could have talked all night telling me about the phone, what it can do, and how to do things and I would have stayed on listening. He was really helpful and I almost wish I could have had his number so I could store him in my favorites. The only thing I don't like about it so far is the apps that just run automatically. I check a few things and then theres probably 20 different things running which I never opened and its killing the battery. I downloaded the Advanced Task Manager (App Killer) which I use quite frequently but sometimes it doesn't seem to help. I'm going to look though some topics on the forum later today and see what pointers I can get. If anyone would like to contribute some knowledge about this, that might help too. Thanks for all your help.

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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
budone
Legend

 


kookiesmon01229 wrote:

It's official now, I am a Droid Addict! I can't put the Incredible down and neither could my girlfriend. I took the Wal-Mart route and got their upgrade. The adverised price for most Wal-Marts now is probably $78.88, but luckily they forgot to change the price on the display model and I got two of them for $28.88 each plus tax.. That is practically a steal for these gizmos. I was able to keep my current plan and just add data packages to both lines. It took a little time to adjust to the touch screen and going through the process of setting everything up. After the initial setup was done I tried texting someone and it gave me an error/message failure. I ended up calling Verizon Customer Service and had them figure it out. Somehow during the upgrade texting was blocked for both phones. The guy I spoke with re-activated the texting feature, answered a few questions I had and even gave some pointers. I think that guy could have talked all night telling me about the phone, what it can do, and how to do things and I would have stayed on listening. He was really helpful and I almost wish I could have had his number so I could store him in my favorites. The only thing I don't like about it so far is the apps that just run automatically. I check a few things and then theres probably 20 different things running which I never opened and its killing the battery. I downloaded the Advanced Task Manager (App Killer) which I use quite frequently but sometimes it doesn't seem to help. I'm going to look though some topics on the forum later today and see what pointers I can get. If anyone would like to contribute some knowledge about this, that might help too. Thanks for all your help.


 

AWESOME! I have had mine for nearly a year now and I still love the device.

 

I would suggest, others would disagree, but the ATK is a battery killer as it constantly killing the apps and they apps come back to life.

 

Do not worry about apps that look like they are open. The operating system needs info from those apps but the apps are not using resources. In fact the OS likes memory to be used.

 

Any questions, feel free to leave them as there are many happy users who can help!

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Re: Looking for an Answer About Upgrading
AZSALUKI
Legend

congrats!!! the phone really is incredible. i've had it for 10 minths and STILL find new tips and tricks to do things. and i'm with budone.....use a killer if you want...but i've gone both routes and didn't notice ANY difference. i uninsatlled my task killer 5 months ago and have no issues. i just ignore those apps as they use VERY littles resources. the bettery life is not great, that's just how it's going to be. there are countless threads though on ways (other than task killers) to maximize it. also, learn the voice commands. it's unreal. tap that google search microphone icon and say "navigate to starbucks" and your turn by turn navigation starts right up!!!!!

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