AT&T Emphatically Declares it Will Not Support Unlocked Bootloaders Now or Ever

[bkdodger]

That is true. You pay either way. I figured it was better to pay for the phone outright and not deal with a contract. The problem is, if I pay full price for the phone, I am still paying a subsidy in my monthly bill.

They bake the subsidy in to everyone's bill, it is why they can sell you a $700 phone for $199 a month. But if you pay the $700, they don't lower your bill because you are not needing a subsidy.

So in the end, even if you pay full price, you then end up paying for your phone TWICE.

They way I look at it..even the extra cost of the full price I pay I'm still ahead with my unlimited over the life of a contract..I can leave anytime I wish...sell my phone and get the latest or switch to another phone if I'm not happy...I barely tether and can still average 21GB per month it's easy to do...

N2 tap'd HD

 

[droidprincess]

lol hotspot is NOT free

Correct me if I am wrong, are there still apps like FoxFi that you can buy from the Play store and use unrooted?? I purchesed Foxfi about 9 months ago and have free hotspot on my unlimited data plan......Wonder when Big Red will make that die?

 

[bkdodger]

Correct me if I am wrong, are there still apps like FoxFi that you can buy from the Play store and use unrooted?? I purchesed Foxfi about 9 months ago and have free hotspot on my unlimited data plan......Wonder when Big Red will make that die?

It was working last time I tried it with stock phone..not sure if issues now..I see a few posts today saying it's broken...I've seen it broken and fixed b4

N2 Tap'd

 

[kodiak799]

Normally the full price at Verizon is $400 more than the subsidized price, so I assume that is the subsidy.

You would think that, but it's all part of the racket to force you onto contract pricing and subsidized phones. The subsidy used to be up to $250, but some thought it was higher with the IPhone and the latest "high-tech" devices. Given the ETF is $350, I suspect it is something less than that.

Judging that most OEM's struggle to make a profit, and the vast majority of phones are sold on contract...I'd peg the price VZW/AT&T pays somewhere in the neighborhood of $450. I forget which phone it was (GNex, I think), but I remember seeing a BestBuy invoice that showed a wholesale price of like $400. That makes more sense - that's what BB pays the manufacturer, and that likely is the same cost of the phone to VZW or AT&T. Even the retail price charged by BB is wonky because they get a nice commission for selling on contract.

Unlock the phones and get rid of the subsidy and I don't think a phone out there right now would retail for over $500

 

[TheOldFart]

You would think that, but it's all part of the racket to force you onto contract pricing and subsidized phones. The subsidy used to be up to $250, but some thought it was higher with the IPhone and the latest "high-tech" devices. Given the ETF is $350, I suspect it is something less than that.

Judging that most OEM's struggle to make a profit, and the vast majority of phones are sold on contract...I'd peg the price VZW/AT&T pays somewhere in the neighborhood of $450. I forget which phone it was (GNex, I think), but I remember seeing a BestBuy invoice that showed a wholesale price of like $400. That makes more sense - that's what BB pays the manufacturer, and that likely is the same cost of the phone to VZW or AT&T. Even the retail price charged by BB is wonky because they get a nice commission for selling on contract.

Unlock the phones and get rid of the subsidy and I don't think a phone out there right now would retail for over $500

Agreed. Charge me $500 for that $200 phone on subsidy (ex. Moto X) and charge me $15/month for 2GB data and I'd be happy. Isn't that the way it's done in Europe?
P.S. I've never used over 1GB. I guess being retired and nearly always at home or somewhere that has wi-fi has its advantages.

 

[bweN diorD]

Correct me if I am wrong, are there still apps like FoxFi that you can buy from the Play store and use unrooted?? I purchesed Foxfi about 9 months ago and have free hotspot on my unlimited data plan......Wonder when Big Red will make that die?

despite what you can buy or tweak to get it working, the use of a hotspot or tethering on the verizon network is not free. the fact that vzw cant seem to stop unauthorized use is more or less irrelevant.
as long as they offer it as a service, charge for it, and have its use detailed in their tos, obtaining its use for free is no different than walking out of any store with something you didn't pay for.

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

Correct me if I am wrong, are there still apps like FoxFi that you can buy from the Play store and use unrooted?? I purchesed Foxfi about 9 months ago and have free hotspot on my unlimited data plan......Wonder when Big Red will make that die?

They don't actually care if you tether so long as you have tiered data.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

 

[bweN diorD]

They don't actually care if you tether so long as you have tiered data.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

which would make it almost useless for most people lol
they want you to pay more and more lol

 

[droidprincess]

It was working last time I tried it with stock phone..not sure if issues now..I see a few posts today saying it's broken...I've seen it broken and fixed b4

N2 Tap'd

Oh its working!.....I use Foxfi everyday. I was just wondering if/when it will become unavailable...

Sent from my sexy galaxy s 3 ;-)

 

[droidprincess]

despite what you can buy or tweak to get it working, the use of a hotspot or tethering on the verizon network is not free. the fact that vzw cant seem to stop unauthorized use is more or less irrelevant.
as long as they offer it as a service, charge for it, and have its use detailed in their tos, obtaining its use for free is no different than walking out of any store with something you didn't pay for.

I'm not "stealing" a service like you make it sound.....I just found a service I wanted at a cheaper price. People do that with almost all products and services that they buy.

Sent from my sexy galaxy s 3 ;-)

 

[Mike.757]

despite what you can buy or tweak to get it working, the use of a hotspot or tethering on the verizon network is not free. the fact that vzw cant seem to stop unauthorized use is more or less irrelevant.
as long as they offer it as a service, charge for it, and have its use detailed in their tos, obtaining its use for free is no different than walking out of any store with something you didn't pay for.

The FCC ruled on this last year. Verizon cannot legally stop people from using a third party app to tether. We are allowed, by law, to download third party apps to use. It is not like walking out of the store without paying for something. It is like walking out of the store without paying for something that should never have been charged for in the first place. JMHO...FWIW.

What Verizon's FCC tethering settlement means to you (FAQ) | Mobile - CNET News

 

[SquireSCA]

They way I look at it..even the extra cost of the full price I pay I'm still ahead with my unlimited over the life of a contract..I can leave anytime I wish...sell my phone and get the latest or switch to another phone if I'm not happy...I barely tether and can still average 21GB per month it's easy to do...

N2 tap'd HD

Not for long. Unlimited will be going away whether you renew a contract or not.

 

[bkdodger]

Not for long. Unlimited will be going away whether you renew a contract or not.

I'm waiting for that day..I'd love to see Verizon try to force people off their plans ...I've been hearing that talk forever...they jumped on the bandwagon giving these data plans to ramp up business and get more customers..now they don't like it...boohoo...lol

N2 tap'd HD

 

[SquireSCA]

It will happen. They couldn't throw everyone off all at once for fear of a consumer backlash. But by taking it incrementally, they are doing it. First it is one group, then it is people renewing contracts, then it will be something else. Piece by piece, in small bites that people are willing to swallow, until everyone is on to a higher priced tiered plan.

 

[pc747]

Not for long. Unlimited will be going away whether you renew a contract or not.

I'm waiting for that day..I'd love to see Verizon try to force people off their plans ...I've been hearing that talk forever...they jumped on the bandwagon giving these data plans to ramp up business and get more customers..now they don't like it...boohoo...lol

N2 tap'd HD

I actually heard that news as well but until it's official we can only speculate. I think once they move to AWS they will feel like they have no choice but to.

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