Verizon sold me a 2021 phone in 2023 as if it was new

[Warandpeace]

I bought a Motorola phone in 2023 and Verizon didn't tell me that it was a 2021 phone. Because of planned obsolescence I assumed that they would give me a 2023 phone and I wouldn't have to check the phone to see what year it was. So now I have a 3-year-old phone that I bought last year. And big problem is I'm getting an update package that is alerting me to an update over and over and then saying package verification failed because the software in the device is not compatible with the current update. So my old 3-year-old phone that I bought a year ago that I thought was a 2023 phone is out of date due to no fault of my own. Or is it my fault? Does everyone check when they buy a phone to see what year it is? Has anyone else been slipped a 2-year-old model when they bought what they thought was a current version of a phone? 

I am older lady and I guess it's just normal business practice to take advantage of people who don't understand the technology. Which makes me feel really sad. 

Would love any comments.

[SynthpopAddict]

The person who sold you the Motorola phone may have thought you didn't need a current, top of the line model phone and therefore sold you an older phone which is cheaper.  When I first got a cell phone a similar experience happened to me, where I was sold a bargain basement phone which lasted only 18 months because it was essentially obsolete with current network technology.  I've seen ads from a certain budget carrier advertising really cheap iPhones if you go to them...and it's because the iPhone in question is a several years' old model, which probably doesn't have more than 1 year of support left on it.

If it makes you feel better, at least you didn't get pulled into buying the latest model flagship phone if you aren't a heavy data user like my father did when his old phone died.  I was rather shocked when he told me Blue Logo Place not only talked him into buying the latest model phone (and got him to pay cash for it upfront!) when he doesn't use it all that much, but even got him to buy some expensive storage case for it.  He taught himself to use more apps over the past few years, so it ended up not being a total burn, but still...

[Flueelen]

I am 70 years old and Verizon sold me a 2021 Motorola last year. You are not alone! Verizon gave me a phone number with 928 area code. I later found out that the phone number assigned to me belonged to another person 10 miles away. The number on my phone was that person's second phone number. My number had a +1 in front of the area code, that's how they could tell the customer apart. Complaining didn't help, I was told to get a different phone number. On top of all, several apps were spk's and didn't come from the Playstore! Go figure! No one wants to straighten this mess out! Verizon has no other solution and my phone is so controlled that I'm their hostage.

[Gain]

The +1 before your area code is not to tell the number apart, that is the country code that you must dial when you are calling that phone number from anywhere other than the united states. It is not possible to have the same number on 2 different lines on a verizon account or any account for that matter regardless of carrier. There's also a very good chance that those apps that are "controlling your phone" were installed either by mistake or some other way by yourself, as applications can not install themselves, they were likely installed due to you clicking on advertisements or not paying attention to the websites you visit. Motorolas have very little security which is funny considering the age demographic that typically goes for them.

It is also on you to ask about which phone you're purchasing, if you go into a store saying you want the cheapest motorola available they're going to give you the cheapest motorola available, regardless of year. Sounds like you need to quit blaming your own problems on the big name on the screen and start taking accountability in your faults. Not everybody is out to get you.