Why I’ll never again renew my Verizon Wireless contract

June 12, 2012 by 16 Comments

Unlimited mobile data on Verizon Wireless 600x337 Why Ill never again renew my Verizon Wireless contract

UPDATE: In November, 2012, I was able to make it through a loophole with Verizon and upgrade to iPhone 5 without losing my unlimited data. The loophole was to upgrade a dumbphone on my family share plan and then transfer that phone to me. They were more helpful at the Apple store.

Unlimited mobile data is coming to an end. In an attempt to satisfy a lot of customers, Verizon Wireless has managed to upset many others.

The big news from “big red” is the introduction of “Share Everything” plans, which includes shared slivers of mobile data.

I was among the first in line at my local Verizon Wireless store when they launched their first 4G/LTE phone: the HTC ThunderBolt. I still use that phone and love it. But I also love my unlimited mobile data (3G and 4G).

Now that Verizon has launched the new “Share Everything” plans, they want me to exchange my “everything” for to share almost nothing.

According to Verizon Wireless marketing and employee instructions, anyone choosing to upgrade their phone at a subsidized rate will be forced into a new contract with Verizon that will do away with unlimited data.

I checked my monthly data usage (including my recent trip to BlogWorld and New Media Expo in New York City), and I’m over 5 GB. This isn’t normal, but I’m not willing to lose my unlimited mobile data on my smartphone.

So whether my next smartphone is another Android or an iPhone, I will never again renew my contract with Verizon Wireless. I won’t let them take away my service and charge me to get a portion back.

Do you still have unlimited data? Will you upgrade at a subsidized rate or pay full retail for a new phone?

 

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  • dljordaneku

    I got my smartphone to late to get unlimited with AT&T. But my usage has never been enough to need it. I try to stay connected to a wireless connection when ever I can. There have been times when I would like to have a little more usage but never enough to warrant buying unlimited or more data. I am about to switch to Verizon though just because I like to be able to make phone calls from my living room which I can’t do sometimes wtih AT&T.

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      I was surprised at the 5 GB of data I used, but then it makes sense when I think about everything I downloaded while I was in New York. Besides that, I’m probably closer to 2 GB.

  • http://www.pfoody.com Bryan Sherman

    I’m going to upgrade with the subsidized rate by 6/28 and keep my unlimited plan. That way I have 18 months before I need to decide (procrastination). My data has never gone over 2 GB, so if i decide to get a tablet, or bring my wife over to vzw, I *may* switch then.

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      I thought about the same thing, but there’s a good chance my next phone would be an iPhone 5 or 6. But I’m not eligible for upgrade pricing until November, according to #UPG.

      I’m not interested in a new phone yet. The SIII looks cool, but I would want to wait until I knew it had an unlocked bootloader.

  • Jacob Kizzee

    The new wave is to get a GSM iPhone (ATT etc…) and buy a $10 sim card from T-Mobile. A $30 plan gets you 100 minutes of talk and unlimited data/txt. Then link a $5/month skype number to Google Voice App for your phone service if you need more than 100 minutes of talk. For less than $40/month (including tax) you get everything you need at your fingertips. I for one will buy a used iPhone 4S from craigslist at about $400. The break even period for this plan versus a subsidized Verizon plan is about 6 months. Oh, and T-Mobile has NO CONTRACT!!! This is true freedom for the masses and it is interchangeable on an international scale!

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      Interesting thought. But there are three problems:

      1. I’m sticking with Verizon because every family member I would call uses Verizon.
      2. I’m not changing phone numbers.
      3. I want to keep 4G and Verizon has the best coverage by far.

  • http://twitter.com/cwfgamecast cwfgamecast

    Wow this is awful news. I got my iPhone 4, my first smartphone, when it became available on Verizon. That locked me into the unlimited data plan. Checking my usage now I see that I have received 8GB of data over the cell network and sent 773MB.

    Normally I don’t check that because I am on the unlimited plan but I think I’ll have to keep an eye.

    I should say that I primarily go between home and work. At home my phone auto joins my wireless network. At work I don’t bother because we have to sign in and it is a pain.

    When the iPhone 5 comes out it was my intention to upgrade. My wife uses a Droid HTC Incredible and wants to upgrade to a Droid Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Guess we may be not be purchasing new phones.

    An interesting aside is that Apple, on the iPhone page, says the unlocked contract-free iPhone only works with AT&T/Spring. It doesn’t work with Verizon or Sprint. Maybe I’m reading it wrong but if not then that means iPhone users cannot buy a new contract free iPhone and stay with Verizon.

    http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone4s (click on an iPhone 4 black or white, and then click on the unlocked iPhone link to see the details).

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      I’ve seen new reports of an alternative through various Android blogs. If you have a family plan, sometimes you can sneak around the new rule by upgrading your phone using your wife’s upgrade eligibility, and vice versa.

  • dennis

    I am grandfather’s in to unlimited data even when I upgrade I don’t understand why u can’t

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      If you buy a subsidized smartphone, Verizon will force you onto their Share Everything plan and you’ll lose your unlimited data.

      However, there is a workaround to this and I recently took advantage of it. I upgraded a dumbphone on my family share plan and then transferred that phone to my line. So my contract was never changed and I got a new iPhone 5 while still keeping unlimited data.

  • shelly

    Nobody is grandfathered in anymore! That’s the point! And no I will never resign with them. I live in a rural area and that my only internet. Why have a smartphone or siphoned if you can’t use it much! Hate cell phone companies!

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      I was grandfathered in by using a dumbphone’s upgrade to get the iPhone 5 and then I put it on my line.

  • shelly

    Nobody is grandfathered in anymore! That’s the point!

  • shelly

    They tell me the average person only use 2gb or less a month. I beg to differ. The world is becoming more internet connected and now they want us to pay big bucks when we go over. That’s what really is going on here. Thanks verizon..I already pay you a Shit load. But apparently its not enough!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001329932348 Ed Lucas

    Have you looked at http://ting.com yet? At least for this first-time smartphone newb, it’s the only thing that ever looked appealing for that leap in service from my basic text/talk plan that I’ve had for nine years. I even got a credit from Ting that helped me make the decision to depart the grasp of the T-Mobster. If you’re okay with Android, and if you like to tinker with options, it appears to be something worth looking at, charting a course different than the big boys. Doesn’t hurt to have a look if you want to color outside the usual lines.

    • http://DanielJLewis.net/about Daniel J. Lewis

      I made it through a Verizon loophole and got an iPhone 5 without losing my unlimited data.