Can I keep unlimited data?

[RobB772]

My wife's iPhone 4 (3G) is beginning to grow long in the tooth and gets flaky at times. Since we have ditched our landline 4 years ago for cell phone(s) only her device needs to be reliable. We both have unlimited data, hers 3G, mine 4G and I'm convinced that if she had a 4G capable device her data usage would go up. Currently I use more than 4GB of data monthly and she uses about 1.2GB of 3G data.

Here comes the question:

If I purchase an iPhone 5 at full retail price will it force loss of unlimited data when I try to activate it on her 3G data line?

Obviously we are currently month to month costumers to keep unlimited data. She gets frustrated with the slow 3G data on her phone when she sees the throughput I get on my 4G device. She either uses our home PC or asks me to look for her in those instances.

[Ann154 · Accepted solution]

No, a phone purchased at full retail price won't affect the data plan of the line it is being activated on.

[TheGuyUpNorth]

As stated by Ann154, as long as you pay full retail or provide your own device purchased elsewhere, such as Ebay, you will maintain your current plan.  Just keep in mind that moving to the iPhone 5 will require the use of a SIM card which can be obtained free at your local Verizon store.  Once you enter the 4g LTE world, switching phones is as simple as popping your sim from one to the next assuming they are they same size.  An example of this was when I just switched the S4 from the S3.  No need to activate, just swapped cards.

[RobB772]

Thanks Ann

Normally I would have thought that but is it different going from a 3G device to a 4G device?

When I got my HTC Thunderbolt the unlimited data plan specifically said 4G. Her iPhone , (purchased at the same time ) the unlimited data plan said 3G. I kept my unlimited data when I purchased my RAZR Maxx HD but that line already was 4G. My wife  loves her iPhone so the iPhone 5 would be what she's used to but be a 4G device.