Child Item

Site Totals

61560 Questions Answered 271 Categories

Is there a way to utilize a smartphone without having a Data Plan With Verizon?

I have been in touch with Samsung about their Galaxy phone and wanted to know why I had to have a Data package to use it. Samsungs answer was

that it is not necessary to have a data package to operate the phone in a voice or data system (using WiFi) but the carrier i.e. Verizon in this

case may required it.

Does anyone know the reason why Verizon requires the purchase of the data plan before turning on the Voice of the phone. I can't find anyone

at Verizon that knows why this is. It seem there is no reason except that they want the extra $30. month charge.

In my case I'm 95+% of the time in the area of WiFi and able to connect that way vs. a data set and can hook up my Pads and Nook without a

data package.

Comments

rcschnoor

It is just a policy they put in place in order to safeguard themselves from customers who either inadvertantly or purposely rack up huge data bills at the rate of $1.99/MB which is the rate Verizon charges phones without data plans.

Yes, you can still incur overages if you are on a data plan, but they are not at such a high rate.

Yes, you CAN use a smartphone without a data plan, but some people would either blatantly or inadvertantly abuse the system as they did in the past by incurring these large data bills and pleading ignorance after the fact.

Having to choose from their options, Verizon has decided to set their policies in favor of the lowest common denominator among their customer base.

I assume it is because of the bad press which would ensue(as it did in the past before data plans were mandatory) when people drop their data plan because they can save $30/month and then rack up a $1000 data bill the following month and blame Verizon for their choices. I can certainly understand the reasoning behind the decision.

Many choices made by businesses/governments are made with the same reasoning.

Klue

Wouldn't it be great if we could all buy our phones right off the store shelf, then select the cellular provider and calling plans we want. The phones would come clean without the useless software. If the cellular company had a certain piece of software that you desired then a simple download and payment is all that is needed. This way we would have a choice at what we would want on our phones. This is the way hardline phones are now, purchase what you want, have the phone company install what only you want and purchase these type of phones from anywhere.

mortb

If you check, all the carriers require a data plan when using a smartphone. It costs carriers money when customers use data. True, when using wifi, you are not using data; however, what happens when you can't use wifi?

unknown

In my opinion, FWIW, providers require a data plan with smartphones primarily because they are in the business of selling their network capacity. They probably make little or nothing on the sale of phones and probably don't make much from basic phone customers. I would think most of their revenue and profit comes from smartphone customers who use the data network. There is little or no incentive for a provider to allow customers to use smartphones without a data plan. If they did this, how many current smartphone customers would drop their data plans? There is just no reason they would allow this.

Secondly, I'm sure the issue of smartphone customers running up huge data usage bills at $1.99 per MB is also a factor. It wasn't long ago when this forum was loaded with customer complaints about that issue.

mortb

They may not make much money on smartphones; however, they do make money on all the bloatware they stick you with. Also, as I said, moving data around does cost them money; wire maintenance, tower maintenance (not to mention installing new towers), payroll for the mainenance crews and the people running the equipment, etc., etc., etc. Even outfits, such as Consumer Cellular, charge you for a data plan when you purchase a smartphone. True, it is less expensive than, say, Verizon, but what can you do with 400MB of data? I'd eat up 400MB in just a few days.

unknown

I guess I'm not following you. My point is DATA is the product they are selling. They want customers who use data. They probably don't want customers who don't use data. There is no business reason that I can see that Verizon would allow smartphones on their network without a data plan.

EpJayhawks12

On the Family Share plan, if you had a basic phone with no data the line charge would be $9.99. Over a 24 month period Verizon would make around $240.00.

Now lets give an example of the iPhone 5 the full retail price is around $649.99 and they subsidize it for 229.99 (after upgrade fee). There is a difference of $420.00. If Verizon allowed you to have the device on an account without the $30.00 data plan they would lose $180.00 per line per 2 year contact.

tec257

OK I must not have explained myself and my plan correctly. It's not that I don't want to use data, it is the method that I choose to access it.

I'm trying to replace a old Motorola V3 with a new Samsung phone that uses both 3g/4g service or WiFi to access the data services that I would need. Talking to Samsung on the phones that I want there is no need to have 3g/4g service if you have Wifi (which I have all the time no matter where I go). So I see no need to pay for a service I will never need.

Verizon on the other hand would like for me to pay for the service (even if I don't use it) before they will then turn on my Voice service.

I hope this explains were I'm coming from.

1. I don't need 3g/4g

2. I've been a customer with Verizon for over 25 years though both good times and bad.

3. I want the ability to download and use apps.

4. Your point of their selling their capicity doesn't seem true since all they would be selling is the idea

5. Sounds like Obama Care in that you pay for it use it or not.

6. Not my idea of how service should be rendered.

Ok I'll agree I'm on a rant now but the ist question was:

"Is there a way to utilize a smartphone without having the Data Plan with Verizon"?

It sounds as though you have the same idea as I do:

They want the money

They don't care if you use the service or not

That is the way it is take it or leave it.

This does not sound like a good way to treat your customer.

gizmo_454

EpJayhawks12 wrote:
On the Family Share plan, if you had a basic phone with no data the line charge would be $9.99. Over a 24 month period Verizon would make around $240.00.
Now lets give an example of the iPhone 5 the full retail price is around $649.99 and they subsidize it for 229.99 (after upgrade fee). There is a difference of $420.00. If Verizon allowed you to have the device on an account without the $30.00 data plan they would lose $180.00 per line per 2 year contact.

While this may be logical, if I buy a used phone that is more than 2 years old, or buy a new phone at full retail value, the quoted posting is no longer valid. Now it becomes 100% about money, meaning how much can they get out of us, the users.

As to the "car" comparisons posted previously, you are looking at it incorrectly. If I want to buy a Ford, I can buy a Ford. If I want to buy a Cadillac, I can buy a Cadillac. That has nothing to do with wanting to by a Cadillac at a Ford dealership. What we are talking about here is, if I buy a Cadillac, they do not force me to purchase the On-Star service. The hardware is in the vehicle, but I do not have to use it in order to enjoy my Cadillac.

The same should be true of smartphones. If I want to purchase a smartphone and not want the data plan, that should be my choice. Not the carrier's. To those who say that if you do not want the data, then purchase a dumb phone. It is a well known fact that the better phones have more up-to-date hardware, meaning better signal reception for voice/text. The dumb phone market is mostly made up of older technology, leading to more dropped/missed calls. In any case, a good share of us who do not want the data plan, could handle our data needs via wi-fi.

In all reality, I would equate this more to buying a computer than buying a car. I can buy a fully functional computer with all the bells and whistles and not have to purchase an internet package to go with it, if I do not want to. If I choose to go to the nearest wi-fi hot spot, that is my choice. If I so choose to never connect my computer to the internet, that is also my choice. NOT the manufacturer of the computer.

As to the excuse of the ignorant user claiming not to need data and then wracking up thousands of dollars in data fees... This is a poor excuse for making people pay for a mandatory data plan. Just make everyone purchasing a data capable phone, who do not want a data plan, sign a waiver that they are 100% responsible for any and all data they use on a "per use" basis. Even if that means thousands of dollars worth. Then they were notified. For me, I would just block the 3G/4G altogether so there would not be a problem.

I would love to have a smartphone. But with 5 phones on my plan already, I simply cannot warrant the extra $150 per month, ($30 per phone) to justify it. So now we are forced to use archaic technology, and not have any of the potential benefits of the smartphones. I know I am not the only one in this boat. I think it is time we all stand up to Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and every other cellphone service provider pulling the same stunt. This sounds like an excellent case for a "Class Action Lawsuit". Not for money. But for the ability to use a smartphone without being forced into a data plan.

demmo86rt

gizmo_454 wrote:
The same should be true of smartphones. If I want to purchase a smartphone and not want the data plan, that should be my choice. Not the carrier's. To those who say that if you do not want the data, then purchase a dumb phone. It is a well known fact that the better phones have more up-to-date hardware, meaning better signal reception for voice/text. The dumb phone market is mostly made up of older technology, leading to more dropped/missed calls. In any case, a good share of us who do not want the data plan, could handle our data needs via wi-fi.

Dumb phones have the same radio technology as smartphones (currently not including LTE, which only means faster data, not necessarily better reception). If you really don't need the mobile data, get a small wifi tablet. All of your rambling makes me think you just want the status symbol of carrying around a smartphone without having to pay for it.

There is also nothing that says you HAVE to get smartphones on all 5 lines. Why not just yours?

BTW, you are completely correct about this being all about money... because Verizon is a corporation... who is trying to make money... as much money as they can. And if customers are not leaving, Verizon (or any other company for that matter) will continue to change policy to things that make them more money. If customers left in droves when they started requiring a data plan, they would have changed that policy. But customers stayed, so the policy stayed.

gizmo_454

It's not about being a status symbol. It is about having what you want, all in one package. I have no problem paying for a smart phone. What I have the problem with, is paying for a data plan when using the occasional hot spot would suffice for 99% of my needs. If I am at a hot spot and want to check the weather, why can I not use the hot spot? I know I can. But why do I have to pay for the data?

As for leaving Verizon for another company? To my experience, Verizon has the best coverage for voice in the country. Unless you go prepaid, like straight talk or the like, all the other giants out there force you to have a data plan as well.

rcschnoor

I would be curious to see what your monthly bill is for your 5 lines combined. What you monthly minute allowance is, texting or not, etc...

You could possibly save money with those 5 smartphones on the Share Everything plan.

rcschnoor

Keep in mind with the Share Everything plan, you could set your data allowance shared among all 5 smartphones to only 1 GB and then have just a $50 instead of $150 monthly data cost. Depending on how many minutes/texts you use each month, you could possibly have a similar bill on the Share Everything plan as you currently have but still get those 5 smartphones.

gizmo_454

Currently, my plan is an older family share plan. The total bill every month, including taxes and fees, is $150, for 5 phones. That is 700 minutes shared, of which we currently use about 350-400, unlimited mobile to mobile, and unlimited texting for all phones. Just the access charge for 5 basic phones on the family share plan would be $150, plus the cost of the plan, plus all applicable taxes. So just migrating to the new "Share Everything" plan would cost me more than what I am paying now, leaving data aside. So that is not the answer either.

Based on what rschnoor posted above, that would be $50 for the 1GB of data, plus $40 for each phone. $40*5=$200+$50=$250 Add to that all the taxes and fees going to Uncle Sam, and you now have a close to $300 phone bill per month. Even if only 1 phone was a smartphone and the rest were dumb phones, you would still be looking at close to $250 per month. Further still, if I didn't have to pay for the data, it would still be close to $200 per month. I would pay more, for essentially the same thing, just to switch to the "Share Everything" plan.

I look at it this way... My daughter's ipod touch can do practically everything that an iphone can do, except make cell calls. Obviously you can get apps to do that too, so long as wifi is nearby. But there is no data plan for an ipod. Why should I have to pay for a data plan to get an iphone that has all the functionality of her ipod with no data plan, just to make calls. It is stupid. And now I have to carry 2 gadgets in my pocket instead of 1 to do the same thing as both.

I am sorry. I want the smartphone without the data plan. It is my choice, and I should make that choice. Not Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc.

dimap52

Offering unlimited Talk & Text is just one step on the way for everything becoming an IP-based data network anyway. Eventually, all you will be ABLE to buy is DATA. Next year, verizon phones won't even have CDMA (voice) radios in them any more, as voice will be carried over the data network as well. In addition, carriers are working to integrate Wi-Fi into their data transport systems as well, so that they will be controlling the wi-fi radios as part of their data ecosystem. So all of these arguments about "choice" and "don't need data, I use wi-fi" are short-sighted and will be for the most part irrelevant in the very near future. It's called PROGRESS. And cheap American conservatives have always had a problem paying for progress. That's why they can never accept the answers they get as to "why do I need to pay for...." .

gizmo_454

So does this mean that all future dumb phones will be solely operated on data as well? So now, I can spend 100 hours plus per month on the telephone (voice) burning data bandwidth and it will cost me nothing extra because I will have unlimited talk and text. I can send gigabytes of pictures or video texts to people and it will cost me nothing extra because I will have unlimited talk and text. Both of which, based on your above statement, will be on the data network anyway in the near future. But I will still have to pay per gigabyte for "data" meaning email, web, etc. Because using data for web is different than data for picture messages or data for voice communications. This makes ZERO sense.

I love progress. I detest paying for progress I am not going to use. This goes back to the General Motors vehicles and On-Star service. GM does not force anyone to pay for their On-Star service because they bought the car. I can have a Cadillac without the On-Star service. Why can't I have a smartphone without the data plan?

They can "control" THEIR wi-fi radios as part of their data ecosystem. They cannot control MY wi-fi radio built into my router. If I do not want to use THEIR wi-fi, why should I have to pay for it? Are we all just becoming a part of their herd?

MOO

rcschnoor

gizmo_454 wrote:
So does this mean that all future dumb phones will be solely operated on data as well? So now, I can spend 100 hours plus per month on the telephone (voice) burning data bandwidth and it will cost me nothing extra because I will have unlimited talk and text. I can send gigabytes of pictures or video texts to people and it will cost me nothing extra because I will have unlimited talk and text. Both of which, based on your above statement, will be on the data network anyway in the near future. But I will still have to pay per gigabyte for "data" meaning email, web, etc. Because using data for web is different than data for picture messages or data for voice communications. This makes ZERO sense.
I love progress. I detest paying for progress I am not going to use. This goes back to the General Motors vehicles and On-Star service. GM does not force anyone to pay for their On-Star service because they bought the car. I can have a Cadillac without the On-Star service. Why can't I have a smartphone without the data plan?
They can "control" THEIR wi-fi radios as part of their data ecosystem. They cannot control MY wi-fi radio built into my router. If I do not want to use THEIR wi-fi, why should I have to pay for it? Are we all just becoming a part of their herd?
MOO

You are correct, GM does not force anyone to pay for their On-Star service because they bought the car. GM ALSO does not force anyone to license and/or insure the car. The owner of the roadway system(i.e.government) forces you to do so if you intend to use the car on their roads. You can purchase the car if you choose without licensing/insuring if you do not intend to use it on the roads. Same with the phone. If you want to use Verizon's network(i.e. roadway) you will have to pay for one of Verizon's plans, all of which have a minimum requirement of a data plan for smartphones.

Just like GM, anyone who purchases an iPhone from Apple is not forced to purchase service for that phone. If you DO decide to purchase service from a cellular provider, though, you will have to choose one of the available plans, which would include a minimum requirement of a data plan for smartphones. If you DO decide to purchase the On-Star service, you will ALSO have to choose from one of the available plans, of which I am SURE there is a minimum requirement.

demmo86rt

Using data for the web IS different that using data for talking/texting. Voice and text use such minimal data that they have no problem giving you all you can eat. Even picture messages get so shrunk that it make very little impact on the data usage. Email/web/apps all use a lot of data, especially when people start streaming HD videos and uploading dozens of pictures, that data use goes way up. And, I'd be willing to bet that, once Verizon goes to VoLTE, voice and text usage will become part of the data plan, with no "voice" plan whatsoever. That is the whole concept behind family share plans. You pay for the connection, they don't care how much voice you use, but data costs more. Even landlines are heading in this direction. It just takes longer to put the infrastructure into place.

Whether you like it or not, if you want to use a carriers service, you have to follow their rules and, in this case, the rule is, you have to have a data plan with your smartphone. Otherwise, you need to find someone with authority over the carriers to help you change the rule. If it's worth it to you, good luck.

SydneyK

If it saves you some effort ...

Customers have been asking why they can't do this since at least as far back as 2008 (maybe earlier) when data plans became mandatory on smartphones released after November 2008. In five years, nothing has changed and there is no workaround (except using an unactivated smartphone on Wi-Fi or using a really old "smartphone" that has fewer features than today's basic phones).

Consider some of the suggestions here, such as complementing your basic phone with a Nexus 7 or upgrading only your line and not all five.

yossi

I checked this option - there is no way you can use Verizon smartphone without paying for a data plan.I am ready to pay full price for the phone, but I don't want to pay for any data plan - I have wifi at work and at home.

It looks that our senators/congressman.woman support Verizon's right to milk customer as they wish.

I just want from Verizon PHONE SERVICE, and it is not Verizon business what kind of device I am using.

I found there is a site which tries to force Verizon to accept smartphones without data plan, but I doubt it will succed - money talk, and Verizon has tons of it:

http://www.change.org/petitions/verizon-do-not-force-customers-with-a-smart-to-use-a-data-plan

pherson

Its been touched on, but I will expound on it. There are smartphones that were made prior to the data requiremeent that you can add with out a data plan. Some include:

Motorola Q and Q9c

Palm Treo 755p

Palm Centro

Samsung i760 and i830

And maybe a few others. Since u will be using wifi the data speed of the browser doesnt matter and the radios inside are the same.

budone

Verizon, TM, ATT, Sprint, USCC, Alltel, tehy all require a data plan with a smart phone and the reason why is in the past people would not get a data plan and then start using data and then run up enormous bills then DEMAND it be credited. You have seen the articles of little Billy running up $12k of data charges back when data was not required.

Jax_Omen

T-Mobile no longer requires data with a smart phone - you can activate postpaid service with data blocked (they don't charge for the first 500mb anyway so I'm not sure why you would, but...), or even use a smartphone on one of their prepaid plans if you so desire.

To the best of my knowledge, they're the only postpaid carrier where this is true.

yossi

It is not true that ATT, T-Mobile and other companies cannot force customer to use a a data plane with a smart phone. Any company which is using GSM system is unaware of the data plan. You buy the same SIM card for a smart phone or 'dummy' phone. CDMA is different - information about the phone in stored on companies servers.

Is is also untrue that Verizon forced customers pay $30/month for data because of 'customers demand to get credit'. Do you seriously believe that Verizon decided to milk billions from customers, only to improve customer satisfaction to prevent customers complains?

dimap52

I can't wait until Verizon turns on VoLTE and starts selling phones without CDMA radios in them. Then the whole issue of "data plan" will be moot, because VoLTE is just another data app. The only reason there is still a distinction between voice and data is the switching technology is different for either one. Voice is circuit-switched over CDMA or GSM, and data is packet-switched over IP. Once it all goes IP, then there is no distinction at all and "data" will essntially BE phone service. Oh, and wifi is in the process of being brought under carrier integration via data "offloading" initiatives,so not wanting data because I have wifi won't be a tennable excuse much longer. Soon it will just be ALL data folks, ALL the way down.

14PlusYearCustomer

You have forced me me to ask the DUH! question. If it is a matter of customers claiming error on data usage then why can't Verizon simply block the feature. I feel extorted and refuse to upgrade to a smart phone if I am made to get data. If they force me to do this in the future then we will part our ways. To me it is like having internet and being forced to get cable. We got rid of that 10 years ago. I went and bought everyone an Ipod. This is my fix to it. shame we have to carry 2 devices though.

SydneyK

yossi wrote:
It is not true that ATT, T-Mobile and other companies cannot force customer to use a a data plane with a smart phone. Any company which is using GSM system is unaware of the data plan. You buy the same SIM card for a smart phone or 'dummy' phone. CDMA is different - information about the phone in stored on companies servers.

If you put an AT&T SIM in a smartphone, its system will catch it within days and add a data plan.

crobs808

I realize I am late to the discussion, but if you are content with an older phone, then I wrote an article on this back in 2009 when this was implemented. I listed the Verizon compatible smartphones that you can get where data is not required:

http://corusa.com/blog/2009/07/05/verizon-wireless-forced-data/

These can all be had for $50 or less on eBay now.

furumoto

Why don't you try Kajeet? They offer $4.99 per month data plans that block data use when you use them up. I have one for my daughter that costs $27 per month for everything. I'm jumping ship with Verizon as soon as my contract is up. I don't like feeling ripped off. Been with them about 25 years too. Having a separate Kajeet plan is cheaper than adding her to the Verizon Family Share Plan. Go figure.

spacez

What is a Kajeet paln? Been looking at different plans myself at soon as my contract expires

furumoto

Kajeet.com its actually intended for kids but has great prices.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID

trader4

Gizmo, you are absolutely right. What Verizon is doing, IMO, is "tying". It's forcing

a customer to buy another product, service, etc in order to get the one the customer wants

and needs. It's illegal under federal anti-trust laws and many state laws. Those that are

arguing this practice is perfectly OK should go read up on the law:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)

And in this case it's really over the line. You have a phone that is capable of operating

in the voice service that Verizon offers. They have voice plans. Yet they won't let you

buy a voice plan, unless you also take another service that you clearly do not want.

Steerpike58

The arguments about people abusing Verizon by not purchasing a data plan, then running up huge bills, seem ridiculous - are you saying they can't block data use on their own network? That is - if you don't buy a data plan, then surely they can block the use of 3g/4g data on your account!

My girlfriend simply wants a voice plan, and is willing to pay $500 or so for the iPhone 'contract free'. Further - she only talks for about 10 minutes a month maximum, and uses a pre-paid phone for this reason. She wants an iPhone for occasional voice use 'out and about', and for 'data' use at home on the home WiFi, which is already paid for as part of our Comcast plan - something that we already pay dearly for.

It does seem to be an abuse of commerce laws that Verizon (and the other carriers) force you to buy a data plan when you have no desire or need for a data plan.

I will be exploring boost, Net 10, straight talk, etc to see what they offer - which means vzw will lose a loyal customer. Since she pays very little, though, I guess they won't miss her!

Verizon_Support

We don't want to lose you or your girlfriend as customers Steerpike58. I can understand your concern for wanting the best plan for your needs without paying to much a month. We have plans that can fit everyones needs plus you get to be with the nations #1 network. Check out all plans here http://vz.to/W24dla .

KinquanaH_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @vzwsupport

Child Item