Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
roxy123
Newbie

I plan to order a white 4S 16GB today. Would you recommend ordering through Verizon or Apple? Is one any faster on shipping than the other? Thanks in advance!

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
MiMeQu21
Contributor - Level 3

I don't know about faster shipping times, but if you are planning to buy the Apple Care+ protection plan, order from Apple to be safe.  When I ordered my phone from Verizon, you couldn't order the Apple Care+ plan with it.  Normally, Apple requires you to buy the protection plan when you buy the phone.  However, they made an exception and allowed people to order the plan separately through November 14 ( I don't know if that has been extended).

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
JoeNe
Contributor - Level 2

They now allow you to add Apple Care + within 30 days of purchase.  I would still buy direct from Apple anyway.  It seems everything is a "process" when buying from Verizon.

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
kaebfly
Champion - Level 3

Right now I don't know which would be faster considering the backlog of orders...I know a few people that have ordered from Apple and had their delivery dates pushed back twice. So right now, the ordering process has the potential to be frustrating no matter where you order from. You might get lucky, but honestly, no one can tell you which one is "better" right now. I can say in general, I have never had an issue ordering anything via VZW or Apple (although I have yet to order an iPhone via Apple...Ihave ordered many items through the years including iPods and accessories). If you have a NE2 discount available to you then you would have to order from Verizon if you want to use that discount. Otherwise, where you order from is up to you. You might want to check various retailers to see if they have any in stock. A friend of mine was able to walk into our local Sam's club and buy hers without waiting at all...I don't know if she was just lucky (many people weren't aware at the time that Sam's carried them) but if you have a membership then it won't hurt to check them out.

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
yellowcanary73
Also you can check Apples website to see if they have any for in store pickup.You can reserve online.That's what I did with my wifes just kept checking then one night at 1am they showed up.
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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
KathiMR
Newbie

I'm considering getting a 4S but wondering about getting tech support. My experience with Verizon tech support is that the people are really nice & try to be helpful, but they didn't always know what they were talking about (like early one when I didn't much know what I was doing & asked what the difference was between Internet vs Verizon for network setting for email. The "tech" said it didn't really matter. I later realized that probably Internet was wifi, & Verizon was VZW's 3G network.

 

so trying to sort out who would support it, both advice as well as any repairs--although I would hope the iPhone would be much more reliable than the 2 Winmob phones I've had, neither of which worked real well a lot of the time.

 

So for tech support issues, does it make a difference where you buy it? I've taken my MacBookPro in to our local Apple store & gotten wonderful help there.

 

& is that really for sure that you can't use your New Every 2 at the Apple Store?

 

Of course there are other options also. I saw it listed currently at Walmart for $188. I didn't actually check if it was available.

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
Tidbits
Legend

KathiMR wrote:

I'm considering getting a 4S but wondering about getting tech support. My experience with Verizon tech support is that the people are really nice & try to be helpful, but they didn't always know what they were talking about (like early one when I didn't much know what I was doing & asked what the difference was between Internet vs Verizon for network setting for email. The "tech" said it didn't really matter. I later realized that probably Internet was wifi, & Verizon was VZW's 3G network.

 

so trying to sort out who would support it, both advice as well as any repairs--although I would hope the iPhone would be much more reliable than the 2 Winmob phones I've had, neither of which worked real well a lot of the time.

 

So for tech support issues, does it make a difference where you buy it? I've taken my MacBookPro in to our local Apple store & gotten wonderful help there.

 

& is that really for sure that you can't use your New Every 2 at the Apple Store?

 

Of course there are other options also. I saw it listed currently at Walmart for $188. I didn't actually check if it was available.


The one thing with the iPhones...  Apple deals with warranties, and repairs...  Doesn't matter where you buy it.  You can walk into an Apple Store and verify you own it, and they'll do what is needed to be done.

 

Verizon will more than likely at best exchange the device with a refurbished(Apple does the same) that they get from Apple.  

 

Apple or 3rd party retailer will not use the NE2 discount.  Walmart uses Let's Talk and you have to make sure you don't change certain things about your plan going through 3rd party retailers.  They have their own Terms of Sale which can hit you in the upwards of $250 if certain criteria isn't met during a 181 day period.

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
kaebfly
Champion - Level 3

KathiMR wrote:

I'm considering getting a 4S but wondering about getting tech support. My experience with Verizon tech support is that the people are really nice & try to be helpful, but they didn't always know what they were talking about (like early one when I didn't much know what I was doing & asked what the difference was between Internet vs Verizon for network setting for email. The "tech" said it didn't really matter. I later realized that probably Internet was wifi, & Verizon was VZW's 3G network.

 

so trying to sort out who would support it, both advice as well as any repairs--although I would hope the iPhone would be much more reliable than the 2 Winmob phones I've had, neither of which worked real well a lot of the time.

 

So for tech support issues, does it make a difference where you buy it? I've taken my MacBookPro in to our local Apple store & gotten wonderful help there.

 

& is that really for sure that you can't use your New Every 2 at the Apple Store?

 

Of course there are other options also. I saw it listed currently at Walmart for $188. I didn't actually check if it was available.



It doesn't matter where you buy it...if you want to go through Apple for tech support you can do so. If you want to use VZW you can. In some cases, Apple may refer you to VZW when the issue appears to be on their end...and vice versa. Also, if you want to have access to Apple tech support via telephone after the 1st 90 days then you will need to purchase AppleCare/AppleCare+. If you have an Apple store nearby then you can drop by or schedule an appointment with the Genuis Bar for tech help.

 

As far as NE2, no you can not use that at the Apple Store. NE2 is strictly a VZW thing so it doesn't carry over to "3rd" party retailers (And yes, even though Apple makes the iPhone the Apple store is considered a 3rd party retailer as far as VZW and their promotions go). It's possible you can talk VZW into crediting your account with your NE2 amount, but it wouldn't apply to your device at that point and there is no guarantee they will agree to it. It never hurts to ask though.

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
KathiMR
Newbie

Thanks for the replies. I just checked my acount, clicking upgrade & selected the 4S 16 GB & it just showed the 2 yr price--its didn't show my new every 2.

 

Of course with the replacement on my winmob phone they really messed up on that. & kept trying to get me into a new 2 yr contract when it was a replacement previously agreed to.  I held off because I was trying to decide from their limited selection of win mob 6.5 phones, plus I had ongoing respiratory infections so wasn't feeling up to par to get my brain around decisons. Before my year was up I called to check whether I had to get the replacement before the yr was up. I was told no. So I waited. But when I went for it, every step of the way, they kept saying it was an upgrade & trying to insist on a new 2 yr. All the way up to after the order when I had specifically said it was a replacement--not an upgrade & they agreed, it still came through as an upgrade with a new 2 yr agreement!  Finally got that removed but it was showed the end of my contract as 12/2012 instead of 12/2011. Finally got that changed but instead of moving it to 12/2011, they did it as of the replacement date so I was on month to mo. I did talk to them & they said I still could get the new every 2, but it is'nt showing up.

 

Plus, I'm still unhappy with Verizon & feel ripped off by paying for a top of the line phone HTC Touch Pro 2 (I needed win mob 6,5 for biz back then), planning to keep it for several years & it didn't even keep working well for 1 yr. & in CA we pay sales tax on full retail price so my NE2 price was 99.99 but paid $42.xx in sales tax! The replacement was really a downgrade & it isn't working very well. It freezes, the alarms don't work well (I set 1 but it has 5 or 6 or more alarms for the same time) & the replacement didn't have all the features the original did like a digital voice recorder or the nice HTC aps.

 

So I got a replacement, but it wasn't a comparable replacement for what I originally paid for.

 

Also wondering about the NE2 discount since originally it was $100, but now they are telling me it will only be $50 anyone know why that is? Did it change for everyone? I did change my plan from a very old Western states plan to a national plan but no one said anything about losing the NE2 $100 discount.

 

I'm getting really tired of the issues with the replacement phone, which just isn't working well, & want a reliable smart phone, & I really would like to get the iPhone 4S. But can't afford $199 & it shouldn't even be $199 with NE2?

 

Any suggestions? Plus are they still taking a long time to get the 4S through VZW? Can they be gotten in Verizon stores? I am really close to one of them, & in reasonable distance to an Apple store where I go for One to One training on my MacBookPro.

 

I guess 1 problem is that I have found that I can't trust what Verizon reps tell me. I will get an agreement from one about something & then next time I call or talk to a different person, they go back on what was previously agreed & I have to waste time getting back to where we were before.

 

Of course I could try one of the other providers, although I do have unlmited data which I figure I likely would use more of with the 4S, although maybe not if I am where i can use wifi.

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Re: Order 4S from Verizon or Apple?
kaebfly
Champion - Level 3

KathiMR wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I just checked my acount, clicking upgrade & selected the 4S 16 GB & it just showed the 2 yr price--its didn't show my new every 2.

 

Of course with the replacement on my winmob phone they really messed up on that. & kept trying to get me into a new 2 yr contract when it was a replacement previously agreed to.  I held off because I was trying to decide from their limited selection of win mob 6.5 phones, plus I had ongoing respiratory infections so wasn't feeling up to par to get my brain around decisons. Before my year was up I called to check whether I had to get the replacement before the yr was up. I was told no. So I waited. But when I went for it, every step of the way, they kept saying it was an upgrade & trying to insist on a new 2 yr. All the way up to after the order when I had specifically said it was a replacement--not an upgrade & they agreed, it still came through as an upgrade with a new 2 yr agreement!  Finally got that removed but it was showed the end of my contract as 12/2012 instead of 12/2011. Finally got that changed but instead of moving it to 12/2011, they did it as of the replacement date so I was on month to mo. I did talk to them & they said I still could get the new every 2, but it is'nt showing up.

 

Plus, I'm still unhappy with Verizon & feel ripped off by paying for a top of the line phone HTC Touch Pro 2 (I needed win mob 6,5 for biz back then), planning to keep it for several years & it didn't even keep working well for 1 yr. & in CA we pay sales tax on full retail price so my NE2 price was 99.99 but paid $42.xx in sales tax! The replacement was really a downgrade & it isn't working very well. It freezes, the alarms don't work well (I set 1 but it has 5 or 6 or more alarms for the same time) & the replacement didn't have all the features the original did like a digital voice recorder or the nice HTC aps.

 

So I got a replacement, but it wasn't a comparable replacement for what I originally paid for.

 

Also wondering about the NE2 discount since originally it was $100, but now they are telling me it will only be $50 anyone know why that is? Did it change for everyone? I did change my plan from a very old Western states plan to a national plan but no one said anything about losing the NE2 $100 discount.VZW changed the NE2 discount amount a while back before completely getting rid of it (if you're still eligible this will be your last NE2). When you last upgraded your phone your terms and conditions would show the new NE2 terms ($30/50 depending on your plan). If you didn't read the info then that would be why you missed the change.

 

I'm getting really tired of the issues with the replacement phone, which just isn't working well, & want a reliable smart phone, & I really would like to get the iPhone 4S. But can't afford $199 & it shouldn't even be $199 with NE2? If you are still eligible for NE2 then you would pay $149...you can check with VZW to make sure you're still eligible.

 

Any suggestions? Plus are they still taking a long time to get the 4S through VZW? Can they be gotten in Verizon stores? I am really close to one of them, & in reasonable distance to an Apple store where I go for One to One training on my MacBookPro. You can always call your local VZW and Apple stores to see if they have any in stock. As far as orders go, there is some delay but I really can't say how long the wait is.

 

I guess 1 problem is that I have found that I can't trust what Verizon reps tell me. I will get an agreement from one about something & then next time I call or talk to a different person, they go back on what was previously agreed & I have to waste time getting back to where we were before. In the future make sure you keep record of who you spoke with and what you were told (also note what time you called). Ask that any rep you speak with clearly notes your account about any agreement. If necessary, ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

Of course I could try one of the other providers, although I do have unlmited data which I figure I likely would use more of with the 4S, although maybe not if I am where i can use wifi.

This is a call you have to make on your own. If you feel like you can get equal or greater service elsewhere then by all means switch. But if VZW coverage and service is what works best for you then you might want to weigh the cons against the pros. If you're truly unhappy then you won't be happy staying with VZW.


 

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