Cell Phone Service

[johnjrval424]

My original plan was opened as a single phone under a corporate umbrella, it was a personal phone but sponsored by a company. My wife had her phone under a separate corporate sponsored plan, hers was personal as well.

When the family plans started, we merged her phone "under" my plan - my plan start date stayed the same, they just flipped it to the new family plan without a new renewal date.... At that date was the start of her renewal, but my phone as a primary has a separate renewal. If I ever broke my phone away, my wifes would be primary and her and the son's phone would be secondary.

It sounds weird, but that is the way our phones were grandfathered into the family plans... I have been with Verizon wireless for about 14 years.

Either way, we all get upgraded every 2 years. My brother has a family plan and they all upgraded with a $100 credit each this past summer (3 phones as well)

Ummm...okay.

But don't you think the rates are incredibly inflated for those phones? And they also make you renew your 2-year contract - which probably isn't an issue for most people but I'm finding that I don't like being locked into that 2-year agreement thing. Another thing is if you change your service plan they want to start your 2-year agreement all over again.

I'm beginning to think that the prepaids are easier!

 

[clevalley]

Ummm...okay.

But don't you think the rates are incredibly inflated for those phones? And they also make you renew your 2-year contract - which probably isn't an issue for most people but I'm finding that I don't like being locked into that 2-year agreement thing. Another thing is if you change your service plan they want to start your 2-year agreement all over again.

I'm beginning to think that the prepaids are easier!

If you get into the mindset of "I am going to have a cell phone no matter what" then you just forget about the agreement.

The rates are high to some degree, but they are comparable to one another for what you get.

If you do not use your phone a lot, pre-paid is the way to go - BUT you have to use your minutes in X amount of time; read carefully.

 

[Dye Tied]

If you get into the mindset of "I am going to have a cell phone no matter what" then you just forget about the agreement.The rates are high to some degree, but they are comparable to one another for what you get.

If you do not use your phone a lot, pre-paid is the way to go - BUT you have to use your minutes in X amount of time; read carefully.

Same thing with satellite t.v. I am going to have DirectV no matter what. Same with my cell

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

Verizon.

 

[jwwb2000]

Another question - has anyone bought the "refurb" phones? They have some on the AT&T website - Blackberry Pearls for $49.99 - and just wondering if they are worth the risk?

I've had a "refurbed" phone for almost a year and no problems. But I'm sure if I don't stop dropping the thing, I will very soon I am actually up for a replacement phone and was thinking about getting the Pearl myself. I don't want another slider phone or flip style.

 

[MissKitty]

Another thing is if you change your service plan they want to start your 2-year agreement all over again.

I've changed my service plan on a regular basis depending on what my minutes look like and I've never had to re-start my 2 year agreement.

 

[jackers]

One word, IPHONE

I don't know why more people don't have this thing. My bill is less than with Verizon, customer service is much better, and let's be honest, no phone comes close to this thing.

 

[johnjrval424]

One word, IPHONE

I don't know why more people don't have this thing. My bill is less than with Verizon, customer service is much better, and let's be honest, no phone comes close to this thing.

Details, please?

 

[nachomama]

I have had Verizon forever and not once had a problem with any battery in any phone. I have never had roaming and my service has been very good. I have never been given any reason to switch companies.

I have Verizon; my mom has Cingular. She is switching to Verizon when her current plan is up.

Husband and I have identical phones (Motorola) and we have BOTH had to have the batteries replaced at least twice. They wouldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours.

That could be your problem. I've had just about every phone there is out there and Motorola's have always been a piece of crap, and batteries have always been a big issue with me and Motorola's. I've had the most success out of LG's and Samsungs, but I prefer LG's.

 

[jackers]

Details, please?

What do you want to know? It is like $200 now, unlimited usage of the full internet browser, roll-over minutes, etc. My bill is $67 a month for 450 minutes+roll-over, free nights and weekends, like 1000 text messages and unlimited internet.

Plus you get Apples customer service.

 

[red_explorer]

Had Cingular for years, and they were a nightmare. Have had verizon for 4+ years, and they have been awesome, although their reception in south St. Mary's stinks now. They are very easy to deal with.

 

[sn315on]

We have had Verizon for our cell phone service for about 4 years now. We have a family plan with my phone as the main phone, my hubby and my daughter have lines on there as well. We all share the minutes and have unlimited text/pix/flix and haven't had a single problem in 4 years with the service.

Hubby has Verizon through the gov't and my oldest (who lives in GA) has Verizon as well. We can all call each other for nothing. I even had my best friend sign up so we can text and call each other!

I would love to have rollover minutes, if they do that, then Verizon would be even better.

I've had LG phones and they are work horses. I really like how they are never really super low on battery time and always are reliable. I've owned one Samsung, was a piece of crap. My youngest owned the same phone and hated it too. She now has the 9400 like my hubby and I have the 9900. My oldest had a Motorola and it was really a battery sucker. She just got her new in two and placed an order for the new pink Blackberry today. Hopefully she will like it. I'm looking at getting a new phone in November when my hubby is eligible for his new in two. They said since I'm the primary I can steal it if I want and get a new one for free. I'm looking at the Dare or the new EnV.

 

[beamher]

Husband and I have identical phones (Motorola) and we have BOTH had to have the batteries replaced at least twice. They wouldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours. Even the reps at Verizon Wireless store in PF said it was very strange but still gave us grief about replacing them. We took them in there fully charged and while we waited our required 45 minutes for customer service/tech help, the batteries were just short of dead.

I want something a little more reliable. Also, Verizon's "New Every Two" plan is a ripoff. Only the primary phone is eligible for replacement (so, because my husband and I are on a family plan, his isn't eligible) and then they only give you up to $100 if your plan has been more than $79.99 a month, which ours is - just barely.

don't tell me that!! i was planning on getting 3 new phones at the end of the month; having problems with the batteries as well(charge it fully & within 5mins. of talking it goes dead). For the cost of a new battery, I figured i can get a new phone.

 

[johnjrval424]

don't tell me that!! i was planning on getting 3 new phones at the end of the month; having problems with the batteries as well(charge it fully & within 5mins. of talking it goes dead). For the cost of a new battery, I figured i can get a new phone.

According to other posters in this thread, I was apparently mistaken. Others have gotten new phones for all persons on the plan. I guess you can go to the Verizon Wireless store and see what they tell you.

 

[beamher]

According to other posters in this thread, I was apparently mistaken. Others have gotten new phones for all persons on the plan. I guess you can go to the Verizon Wireless store and see what they tell you.

i did visit the store; just didn't want to go back and have this sprung on me when i'm actually able to upgrade

 

[onebdzee]

I've had Sprint/Nextel for a little over 6 years with no major problems....I have the sprint everything plan for $100 a month....I think the only place that I don't have reception in Southern Maryland is from the Ridge sign to where 235 and 5 join back up down south

 

[Bavarian]

Cingular which was joint venture of SouthwestBell and BellSouth is AT&T since SWBell bought AT&T and then BellSouth. The Baby Bells reunited in many ways. AT&T is SMS which means it is a World phone. Used by tri-band Nokia 3220 round the World, a few gaps in Asia. I also have T-Mobile for Europe. I bought unlock codes on Internet for Nokia and now I can change services and numbers by swapping chips. This alone is a big plus over Verizon which up to now only works in US.

 

[HouseCat]

I had AT&T/Cingular when I moved here last year, but I had to walk down to the end of the driveway to get my cell phone to work, so I switched to Verizon. Works much better in PF.

 

[johnjrval424]

I had AT&T/Cingular when I moved here last year, but I had to walk down to the end of the driveway to get my cell phone to work, so I switched to Verizon. Works much better in PF.

Wow! Seriously? Where in PF? (just general neighborhood)

 

[GWguy]

Verizon. No issues anywhere up and down the eastern seaboard, never roaming, although my plan covers that anyway. Never had a dropped call that was dropped from my end.

A note about batteries and cell phones:
The closer you are to a cell tower (ie, more bars), the lower the power output of the cell phone transmitter. The further away you are, the more power the transmitter uses. This corresponds directly to how long your battery lasts. If you sit in an inside office with 1-2 bars of signal, your battery will run out in a few hours. If you have lots of bars, the battery will last for days in standby mode. If you are in an area getting a 1X signal, you will use more power than if you have a strong EVDO signal.