iPhone 16 Pro Max Experience

[s_st86]

After 19 years and 10 months as a loyal Verizon customer, I’ve finally reached my breaking point. I’m leaving Verizon as soon as my new phone arrives from my new carrier, and I can’t wait.

Here’s the story: I had been on the 5G More plan for many years, which came with several perks like the Disney+ Bundle, Apple Music, and other features included “for free.” I recently decided to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max and take advantage of Verizon’s $1,000 trade-in promo, but what followed has been a total nightmare.

To qualify for the $1,000 off, I had to switch to their Unlimited Ultimate plan, follow all of their steps, and trade in my iPhone 12 Pro Max once my preorder arrived. I did everything by the book. The new phone arrived, I activated it, and I was ready to send back my 12 Pro Max for the trade-in. But then, Verizon hit me with an absurd issue—they told me that even though they could see my installment plan and that my new phone was on my account, they couldn’t “see” the actual order, meaning I wasn’t eligible for the $1,000 promo.

Instead, they offered me $210 for my trade-in, which wouldn’t even go towards my new phone—it would just be an account credit. This would have bumped my payments from $5.55 a month for 36 months (with the promo) to $33.33 a month. I asked if they could fix it or do anything to ensure I got the $1,000 credit I was supposed to receive, but all I heard from multiple associates was that the promotion couldn’t be applied until the order magically appeared in their system. Their solution? Return the iPhone 16 Pro Max and go through the process all over again.

I told them flat out: if I have to return this phone, I’m not doing this again, and you will lose me as a customer. They were still unwilling to help. So, I returned the phone and reactivated my old 12 Pro Max. Even then, Verizon messed up. My old phone wouldn’t work or activate on my account, and I had to get a new SIM card to fix the issue.

To make things even worse, since I switched my plan only to qualify for the upgrade, I tried to revert to my original 5G More plan, only to find out that it no longer exists. I worked with an associate to find a new plan that matched my old one as closely as possible, but it’s still $10 more than I was paying before. And because I had the Disney+ Bundle included with my old plan, I now have to pay extra for that too.

Of course, Verizon found a way to mess that up as well. The associate who helped enroll me in the Disney+ Bundle failed to add my email to the order, so now I’m stuck with an active Disney+ subscription I’m paying for but can’t even use. When I try to log in, it asks me to pay again. I’ve had to demand a $10 credit just to cover the service I couldn’t use this month.

I can’t wait for my new iPhone 16 Pro Max to arrive with my new carrier (though it’s backordered), because I’ll be leaving Verizon the moment it gets here. After all of this, I know Verizon doesn’t care—they’ve shown time and time again they prioritize profit over people—and it’s not shocking that they’re willing to lose a nearly 20-year customer over their incompetence and the terrible customer service I’ve experienced.

I wish I had never tried to upgrade my phone, because this entire experience has been one frustrating issue after another.

[vzw_customer_support]

We are not ready to lose you. Give us the opportunity to help and turn this experience around. I'll be sending you a Private Message, please reply to it, so we can review your situation and what we can do for you. 

~Maria

[lauriel2311]

Verizon does not value loyalty. They offer everything to new customers, and just find ways to make loyal customers pay more. 

Their competitors are destroying Verizon's poor policies and customer service. 

[Jonocraw26]

I opted not to upgrade at all because the unlimited ultimate plan is basically downgrade when you have one of the older Get More/Do More Plans. You receive  less benefits have less high speed data, overall is just not a better plan and the cost is more. The price difference between the plans is so much that I might as well buy the phone outright. At least that way when I pay it off my payments will go back down. Unfortunately if you don’t accept their new phone plan you have to pay full price for the phone anyway. I think I’ll just sit on my old phone until they have an offer that actually makes sense or I get tired or the nonsense and leave as well. Because when you elect not to accept the offer to change your phone plan your old phone has zero trade in value… garbage. 

[MarkHCrawford]

My upgrade experience has been a nightmare as well.  I’ve been with Verizon for years, but will be leaving soon because of shady business, disrespect for their customers, and outright lies.

i signed up for the trade in for $1000.00 credit. I selected a store that said they had the phone in stock, and it would be ready within two hours. It wasn’t ready. They lied about having it in stock just to make a sale. The owners didn’t speak enough English to listen to my complaint and hung up on me. After several calls backs, they finally told me that they would have more in three to four days. After a week of them hanging up on me each time I called, I decided to cancel my order. Verizon customer service transferred me back and forth from sales to another department four times. I was hung up on by them as well. Eventually, I was told I couldn’t cancel the order until the pickup was “ready.” Obviously the reason I wanted to cancel was because it was beginning to look like “ready” was a long way away. I couldn’t even switch the order to a different store because it was holding my order hostage. They also forced me to upgrade to a more expensive plan.

I feel for you. I’m extremely disappointed in Verizon. I’ll be paying off my iPad and switching my internet and phone service as soon as possible. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Oh, wow! We are shocked to read about your recent upgrade experience. Our goal is to always provide top-quality interactions.

For more Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max info, check out our Equipment Guide: https://www.verizon.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-16-pro-max/.

Send you a Private Message. Please review at your earliest convenience.

~Gilbert

[ARTTH019]

Thank you for your review. That sounds about right. I have been with Verizon for 25+ years and I shopping around as I type this response.