Question about Verizon unlimited data plan and adding new line..
November 4, 2013 8:39 AM Subscribe
We're thinking of adding another line to our family Verizon plan - currently we have 3 people month to month, grandfathered in on unlimited data. Will we lose that if we add a new line/purchase a phone through them?
So we have two iPhones and an Android phone on the old Verizon unlimited data plan. We purchased our iPhones at full price in order to keep this plan, so it's pretty important to us. (One of the three of us pretty regularly goes over the current data limits, so if we downgraded, it would actually affect phone usage.)
However, we'd like to add a phone/line for our niece. we could go with prepaid, and a separate account, but it would wind up being $50/month with no controls. If we could add it to our current plan, I think we could set up family controls (and lock the phone down at night, set limits on minutes/data, etc).
Has anyone been in this situation? Will we lose our unlimited data if we try to do this? I went through part of the process online, and it looked like the answer was yes. I don't trust the reps in the store to know whether or not, or to have our best interest in mind.
I'm open to the possibility of purchasing her a phone off ebay or secondhand instead of through Verizon. She'll be in a semi-remote area, so we think Verizon coverage would be best, although we're open to other suggestions.
So we have two iPhones and an Android phone on the old Verizon unlimited data plan. We purchased our iPhones at full price in order to keep this plan, so it's pretty important to us. (One of the three of us pretty regularly goes over the current data limits, so if we downgraded, it would actually affect phone usage.)
However, we'd like to add a phone/line for our niece. we could go with prepaid, and a separate account, but it would wind up being $50/month with no controls. If we could add it to our current plan, I think we could set up family controls (and lock the phone down at night, set limits on minutes/data, etc).
Has anyone been in this situation? Will we lose our unlimited data if we try to do this? I went through part of the process online, and it looked like the answer was yes. I don't trust the reps in the store to know whether or not, or to have our best interest in mind.
I'm open to the possibility of purchasing her a phone off ebay or secondhand instead of through Verizon. She'll be in a semi-remote area, so we think Verizon coverage would be best, although we're open to other suggestions.
Best answer: Any change you make to your current plan will lose your grandfathered unlimited data--and the sales guy probably won't tell you that in clear uncertain terms. We just went through this with Verizon a few months ago and it wasn't clear. After I went back to try to sort out what had happened, it was made pretty clear to me that any change at all would have lost the grandfathered plan because there is no more unlimited data.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:58 AM on November 4, 2013
posted by crush-onastick at 8:58 AM on November 4, 2013
I happened to get a good rep a few weeks ago and bumped up the minutes class and kept unlimited. Drop the call and try again with a different rep a few times, not all know how to work the system as well as others...
posted by sammyo at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2013
posted by sammyo at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2013
When I changed my daughter's line to a data plan last Xmas, it did not affect the other, grandfathered lines. But, I was told, in the future when we upgrade a phone on one of the grandfathered lines, we will lose the unlimited data plan on that line. So a couple of us are hanging onto moribund phones just as long as we can.
posted by bricoleur at 2:02 PM on November 4, 2013
posted by bricoleur at 2:02 PM on November 4, 2013
Best answer: I just (last month) added my daughter to our family plan and lost my grandfathered unlimited data. Making ANY changes to your plan (upgrading your phone, for example) will make it go away. Even if you purchase a used phone, adding the line will make it go away. I went to the store to try to keep it, and was soundly shot down.
posted by Ruki at 4:03 PM on November 4, 2013
posted by Ruki at 4:03 PM on November 4, 2013
Oddly, someone from Verizon support responded to this on Twitter.
posted by mathowie at 7:24 AM on November 5, 2013
posted by mathowie at 7:24 AM on November 5, 2013
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Anyway, they'll give you answers to all of these questions if you just call in. FYI, they're definitely looking for any excuse to dump people off the unlimited plans.
posted by nosila at 8:43 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]