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rotaryfun
Jun 30, 2008

you can be my wingman anytime
I've been looking at switching from verizon to project fi for my phone service. I'm on a plan with my wife with verizon and I'm curious what happens if I leave the plan with my pixal and put it on project fi, what would that do to our bill?

We're currently paying 118 (final price) a month for 2 lines, both phones paid for, 6 gigs of shared data.

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Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

rotaryfun posted:

I've been looking at switching from verizon to project fi for my phone service. I'm on a plan with my wife with verizon and I'm curious what happens if I leave the plan with my pixal and put it on project fi, what would that do to our bill?

We're currently paying 118 (final price) a month for 2 lines, both phones paid for, 6 gigs of shared data.

This is my guess on what your plan likely is:

$60 for 6GB (grandfathered plan)
$20 for line 1
$20 for line 2
= $100+ tax

Moving your line would only remove $20. However, call in afterwards and ask to be moved to the 5GB single plan to save another $20. Single plan is

$40 for 5GB. $5 off with autopay
$20 for 1 line
= $60 (or $55 with autopay).

Btw, check and see if you get a work discount , both your current and the single line plan can get a Work discount.

rotaryfun
Jun 30, 2008

you can be my wingman anytime

Duckman2008 posted:

This is my guess on what your plan likely is:

$60 for 6GB (grandfathered plan)
$20 for line 1
$20 for line 2
= $100+ tax

Moving your line would only remove $20. However, call in afterwards and ask to be moved to the 5GB single plan to save another $20. Single plan is

$40 for 5GB. $5 off with autopay
$20 for 1 line
= $60 (or $55 with autopay).

Btw, check and see if you get a work discount , both your current and the single line plan can get a Work discount.

Thanks for taking a second to look at that for me.

I looked at my bill to match up with what you're guessing. I do get a 15% employee discount on my account so maybe it's not worth moving?

MORE Everything Unlimited Talk, Text & 6GB ($70 before 15% Emp Discount) - $59.50
Line 1 (coverage $9) - $24.00
Line 2 (coverage $11) - $26.00
Surcharges - $4.28
Taxes and government fees - $4.40
Total - $118.18

rotaryfun fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Dec 5, 2017

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

rotaryfun posted:

Thanks for taking a second to look at that for me.

I looked at my bill to match up with what you're guessing. I do get a 15% employee discount on my account so maybe it's not worth moving?

MORE Everything Unlimited Talk, Text & 6GB ($70 before 15% Emp Discount) - $59.50
Line 1 - $24.00
Line 2 - $26.00
Surcharges - $4.28
Taxes and government fees - $4.40
Total - $118.18

Yeah that looks correct. Are there any extra charges on the lines? That plan you have should be $15 per line before tax. Your work discount would apply to that 5GB plan if you do switch.

How much is Fi, like $20-30 if you use 2-3GB? if so, you’re looking st say, that for you, $50ish for the other person. Before taxes (I always compare before tax). Currently you’re at $90+ tax. So it’s close. Factor in coverage difference of T-Mobile and Sprint (although T-Mobile has gotten better for sure) in your area as well.

averox
Feb 28, 2005



:dukedog:
Fun Shoe
Hey Duckman what's your opinion on the February Unlimited plan? My grandfathered unlimited data plan's contract has finally lapsed and Verizon took no time in putting the +$20 fee on. I'm hearing that this Feb UDP plan is unlimited calls, texts, 10GB hotspot 4G, and 22GB 4G or something before you're subject to slower speeds and prioritization (or unless there's heavy congestion everyone gets hit with prioritization) or something like that.

Paying about $108 a month now for a 450 minutes, grandfathered UDP, 1,000 texts plan.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

averox posted:

Hey Duckman what's your opinion on the February Unlimited plan? My grandfathered unlimited data plan's contract has finally lapsed and Verizon took no time in putting the +$20 fee on. I'm hearing that this Feb UDP plan is unlimited calls, texts, 10GB hotspot 4G, and 22GB 4G or something before you're subject to slower speeds and prioritization (or unless there's heavy congestion everyone gets hit with prioritization) or something like that.

Paying about $108 a month now for a 450 minutes, grandfathered UDP, 1,000 texts plan.

The February unlimited plan was great, but it’s gone gone gone. Unless you have it already, the equivalent if Beyond Unlimited which is sadly just a little bit more.

Beyond isn’t that much more for one line though, it’s only a big chunk more once you get to 2+ lines. That being said, your plan is supposedly not capped st all, vs 22GB on beyond unlimited. The question is probably whether you want tethering or not.

averox
Feb 28, 2005



:dukedog:
Fun Shoe
Ah dang. I'm at a crossroad here mostly because I don't like paying the additional $20 a month but the other options aren't amazing. And realistically hotspot would be neat but I don't think I'd use it anyways.

kitten smoothie
Dec 29, 2001

Duckman2008 posted:

The February unlimited plan was great, but it’s gone gone gone. Unless you have it already, the equivalent if Beyond Unlimited which is sadly just a little bit more.

I'd seen some people mentioning on Reddit that they were having success getting put onto the February unlimited plan even now, if (and only if) they are moving off of the grandfathered plan.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

kitten smoothie posted:

I'd seen some people mentioning on Reddit that they were having success getting put onto the February unlimited plan even now, if (and only if) they are moving off of the grandfathered plan.

That would be via the retention department, because in store, and likely via standard customer care, there is no way. But if you call threatening to cancel and get sent to cancellations, they probably do have more options.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer
Will I see any of you fine people outside my store tomorrow?


https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/net-neutrality-protests-start-thursday-how-to-find-one-near-you/

Beefstorm
Jul 20, 2010

"It's not the size of the tower. It's the motion of the airwaves."
Lipstick Apathy

So, did you see anyone protest?

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Beefstorm posted:

So, did you see anyone protest?

The protests aren’t until 5pm. So we will see.

Goober Peas
Jun 30, 2007

Check out my 'Vette, bro


Can I borrow your restroom? :colbert:

phosdex
Dec 16, 2005

So I guess my employer has a 22% discount with Verizon. The info is pretty vague, just says it’s on a plan that costs 39.95 /mo or more. But op says that doesn’t apply to the unlimited plans, is that still correct? Would it work on the prepaid?

8-bit Miniboss
May 24, 2005

CORPO COPS CAME FOR MY :filez:

phosdex posted:

So I guess my employer has a 22% discount with Verizon. The info is pretty vague, just says it’s on a plan that costs 39.95 /mo or more. But op says that doesn’t apply to the unlimited plans, is that still correct? Would it work on the prepaid?

Correct, the current unlimited plans do not work with employee discount. Just military discounts.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

phosdex posted:

So I guess my employer has a 22% discount with Verizon. The info is pretty vague, just says it’s on a plan that costs 39.95 /mo or more. But op says that doesn’t apply to the unlimited plans, is that still correct? Would it work on the prepaid?

Only on data capped plans, so no unlimited, and not on prepaid.

hmmxkrazee
Sep 9, 2006
why
Been refreshing waiting for the 8.1 update to go live on my Pixel 2. I want to play with the AR stuff so bad. With Treble and whatever, are updates supposed to be quicker eventually?

Edit: Just went ahead and sideloaded it. Spent way too mcuh time playing with the AR stickers.

hmmxkrazee fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Dec 11, 2017

kitten smoothie
Dec 29, 2001

hmmxkrazee posted:

With Treble and whatever, are updates supposed to be quicker eventually?
You're just seeing Google do a phased rollout, Treble won't fix that.

There is a bug at present that keeps the "check for update" button from bypassing phased rollouts and just giving you the update, though, and that will get dealt with after the holidays.

https://9to5google.com/2017/12/07/pixel-nexus-check-for-update-button-fix/

phosdex
Dec 16, 2005

Well i switched to Verizon from att the other day. Chose that 5gb single device plan because my employer discount worked with it. And there was a 100 off an iPhone 7 promo code. Everything seems good so far. Not sure what to do with my old phone. Thinking I should have done the trade-in. But it’s a 5s so not sure they are worth much. And i believe it’s a refurb because my original one had a battery expansion problem and Apple replaced it.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



"Refurb" doesn't matter for sale/trade-in since it's either new or not. I would recommend getting it unlocked by AT&T and selling it on Swappa. You can probably still get like $100 if the screen is fine.

WithoutTheFezOn
Aug 28, 2005
Oh no
Verizon’s web site says they’d give you $66 for a 32GB ATT 5S in good condition. I don’t think you missed out.

Bizarro Kanyon
Jan 3, 2007

Something Awful, so easy even a spaceman can do it!


I have a decent Verizon signal in my home but it occasionally drops to one bar. Is there any benefit for me to use WiFi calling or does the normal network do fine?

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Bizarro Kanyon posted:

I have a decent Verizon signal in my home but it occasionally drops to one bar. Is there any benefit for me to use WiFi calling or does the normal network do fine?

WiFi calling will help with signal. So no reason not to use it.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer
http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=19920

bitprophet
Jul 22, 2004
Taco Defender
What's my recourse, if any, when it seems like my local cell(s) are having data network problems? Looked around VZW's support site but there's nothing useful there, it all wants to pretend it's my phone's fault. Going by the OP I'm wondering if calling the Tier 2 support line would get me any answers (or be providing VZW with any useful feedback.)

It feels like network-level congestion or some recent degradation of network config/equipment to me:
  • Prior to a couple months ago, everything worked normally, both data and non-data.
  • Since then, the phone continues to register LTE signal, but actual network connectivity is gone; everything simply times out as if there's significant packet loss or very high latency. Web, Twitter, games, other apps, etc.
  • Non-data uses continue to work same as before - phone calls, non-iMessage texts, etc.
  • Affects my phone & my wife's phone equally (both iPhone SE on iOS 11.)
  • If we travel far enough away from our home neighborhood, data works again. For a while this had a very clear boundary and thus felt a lot like a single tower was screwed up.
  • Recently, the issue appears to have spread to a second nearby tower, though at least in this case the 2nd cell just feels extremely latent and not completely defunct.
  • It seemed better for a couple days after a neighborhood-wide power outage (:v:) but has quickly reverted to its prior malaise.

So again the main question is just...is there anything I can do about this at all or am I just at the mercy of whenever VZW notices or decides to allocate resources?

It's gone on long enough that I'm pondering switching providers again (ironic given when I moved here 7 years back, I had to switch from T-Mo because they had a permanent dead spot in my new apartment...)

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

bitprophet posted:

What's my recourse, if any, when it seems like my local cell(s) are having data network problems? Looked around VZW's support site but there's nothing useful there, it all wants to pretend it's my phone's fault. Going by the OP I'm wondering if calling the Tier 2 support line would get me any answers (or be providing VZW with any useful feedback.)

It feels like network-level congestion or some recent degradation of network config/equipment to me:
  • Prior to a couple months ago, everything worked normally, both data and non-data.
  • Since then, the phone continues to register LTE signal, but actual network connectivity is gone; everything simply times out as if there's significant packet loss or very high latency. Web, Twitter, games, other apps, etc.
  • Non-data uses continue to work same as before - phone calls, non-iMessage texts, etc.
  • Affects my phone & my wife's phone equally (both iPhone SE on iOS 11.)
  • If we travel far enough away from our home neighborhood, data works again. For a while this had a very clear boundary and thus felt a lot like a single tower was screwed up.
  • Recently, the issue appears to have spread to a second nearby tower, though at least in this case the 2nd cell just feels extremely latent and not completely defunct.
  • It seemed better for a couple days after a neighborhood-wide power outage (:v:) but has quickly reverted to its prior malaise.

So again the main question is just...is there anything I can do about this at all or am I just at the mercy of whenever VZW notices or decides to allocate resources?

It's gone on long enough that I'm pondering switching providers again (ironic given when I moved here 7 years back, I had to switch from T-Mo because they had a permanent dead spot in my new apartment...)

Some part of cell phones is always that you are always at the mercy of he carriers, they all have disclaimers that they can’t guarantee 100% US coverage, etc.

All I know is I would call tier 2 tech support for sure, do whatever trouble shooting , have them file a ticket. If it keeps being an issue, I don’t know if I have an answer beyond ask to be let out of your payment plan or switch service.

bitprophet
Jul 22, 2004
Taco Defender

Duckman2008 posted:

All I know is I would call tier 2 tech support for sure, do whatever trouble shooting , have them file a ticket. If it keeps being an issue, I don’t know if I have an answer beyond ask to be let out of your payment plan or switch service.

Thanks, that's about what I expected - was mostly making sure there wasn't something obvious I was missing. Will see what that drums up.

kitten smoothie
Dec 29, 2001

I am thinking of upgrading my wife to an iPhone 8 and taking advantage of the BOGO option to get my in-laws a smartphone. I didn't want to do this before because it necessitated trading in a phone, but it appears they've recently removed that requirement.

Suppose later on we exercise the annual upgrade option on my wife's phone and reset the installment plan, or just outright pay it off. Will that kill the bill credits?

The fine print uses the singular balance and line and not plural, so I'm assuming it's referring to the credits being applied against the "get one" line, but I don't want to go accidentally making a $350 mistake a year from now.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

kitten smoothie posted:

I am thinking of upgrading my wife to an iPhone 8 and taking advantage of the BOGO option to get my in-laws a smartphone. I didn't want to do this before because it necessitated trading in a phone, but it appears they've recently removed that requirement.

Suppose later on we exercise the annual upgrade option on my wife's phone and reset the installment plan, or just outright pay it off. Will that kill the bill credits?

The fine print uses the singular balance and line and not plural, so I'm assuming it's referring to the credits being applied against the "get one" line, but I don't want to go accidentally making a $350 mistake a year from now.

The credit for the free phone should be on be add a line. That one you can’t upgrade early or pay off without losing the credit.

So for your wife should be fine, she should be able to upgrade in 12 months.

AlexDeGruven
Jun 29, 2007

Watch me pull my dongle out of this tiny box


So, SIM-locking is back, eh? It's ok, I didn't want to buy my phones from Verizon anymore anyway.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer
Jury is out on how they are doing the unlock.

Allowing customers to unlock say, after 1 week of service: I’m ok with that. If they start doing wait 1-2 year poo poo then obviously that isn’t a great policy.


Verizon isn’t bullshitting with the fraud and theft problem. It’s a big issue. I have fraud customers come through my store daily. And while we catch it, places like Walmart, target, etc , are not exactly as thorough as the actual stores are. And sometimes it’s still hard to catch.

Most of it is people get stolen identities , come in with fake ID, intent is to sell phones outright overseas. I got the same stuff at ATT, but I would think Verizon gets hit harder because criminals know the phones are unlocked. Also, Equifax leaking half the country’s credit info doesn’t exactly help, I haven’t noticed a huge uptick since that came out, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

Obviously I’ll always be a little biased, but it is an issue that needs safe guards, it’s not just to screw over customers.

Big Bowie Bonanza
Dec 30, 2007

please tell me where i can date this cute boy
When I worked for Costco it was mostly dumb college kids or homeless people being brought in to open an account and then resell the phone to the people who brought them in.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer
Any Verizon users here have an old iPhone for Verizon they’re willing to sell? I’m looking for a first iPhone for my dear mother.

kitten smoothie
Dec 29, 2001

My whole neighborhood has had mediocre-at-best service, and starting in the fall it looks like they began putting up those "small cell" sites.

The towers are plain old wood utility poles with what looks like an oversized coffee can bolted onto the very top, and they're building them out at like 1/3 mile intervals from one another. I noticed they must've finally switched them on, because yesterday I realized I was getting full bars on my phone at home when it was otherwise marginal.

I did a speed test from inside my living room and it pulled down 275Mbps, so I'm glad my Spotify won't go skipping anymore when I go on walks in the neighborhood.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

kitten smoothie posted:

My whole neighborhood has had mediocre-at-best service, and starting in the fall it looks like they began putting up those "small cell" sites.

The towers are plain old wood utility poles with what looks like an oversized coffee can bolted onto the very top, and they're building them out at like 1/3 mile intervals from one another. I noticed they must've finally switched them on, because yesterday I realized I was getting full bars on my phone at home when it was otherwise marginal.

I did a speed test from inside my living room and it pulled down 275Mbps, so I'm glad my Spotify won't go skipping anymore when I go on walks in the neighborhood.

Awesome to hear. What city?

Goober Peas
Jun 30, 2007

Check out my 'Vette, bro


Catburg

AlexDeGruven
Jun 29, 2007

Watch me pull my dongle out of this tiny box


I was backstage on the floor at Little Caesars Arena yesterday and had full LTE signal >20ft below ground level.

Verizon cell repeaters are nice.

Man_of_Teflon
Aug 15, 2003

Does Verizon still allow assumption of liability transfers for grandfathered unlimited accounts? I've been thinking about switching as I don't use as much data as I used to.

If so, does SA-Mart allow sales of accounts like that? I'd rather sell to a goon than deal with ebay nonsense.

Goober Peas
Jun 30, 2007

Check out my 'Vette, bro


I got a weird email from Verizon today that was appreciated. I currently have the 8gb plan.

The gist was "we can move you to unlimited for the same rate or down to the 5 gb plan and save you $30 a month"

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Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Man_of_Teflon posted:

Does Verizon still allow assumption of liability transfers for grandfathered unlimited accounts? I've been thinking about switching as I don't use as much data as I used to.

If so, does SA-Mart allow sales of accounts like that? I'd rather sell to a goon than deal with ebay nonsense.

Nope, that plan is now non transferable. Any transfer require going to a current rate plan now.


Goober Peas posted:

I got a weird email from Verizon today that was appreciated. I currently have the 8gb plan.

The gist was "we can move you to unlimited for the same rate or down to the 5 gb plan and save you $30 a month"

Glad to hear it, and it is correct since you only have 1 line.

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