Verizon Set to Alter their Upgrade Policy

[peterjariel]

For me, I think the Bionic will last me the 2 years, but I said that with my Droid 1. When I got my Droid I told my self that I was goin to have that phone forever, but now with this new phones man im ready to switch.

 

[kodiak799]

Exactly! US Cell's commercials now all tout you can upgrade in "months not years like other companies". For VZW to go the other way is odd.

But you can upgrade daily with any carrier...it's called "paying retail".

Honestly, that's a marketing gimmick. They aren't going to lose money on their upgrades. Main difference, my guess, is that they straighline your subsidy, so if you wait the full 12 months you get $300 off and if you want to upgrade after only 2 months you get $50 off.

These carriers give you a subsidy and it takes X number of months for them to recover that. There's nothing sinister, evil or unfair. If you want to upgrade early, they would lose money and they aren't going to do that. The people who get hosed are the NE2 - $50-$100 is hardly worth another 12 months, at least when you consider retail vs. contract price - the annuals are getting a $300 subsidy while the NE2 get $200 per year effectively.

 

[brianr0131]

I spoke to a rep a couple hours ago about this. She was a little surprised that I knew about this because she didn't realize the info had leaked, but she told me that all promos that anyone may have by 16 Jan will still be valid. Thus, they will not take your promo away or make you wait longer than necessary. She even said that these promos ARE written into the contracts. This policy change will only affect accounts that are started or re-upped after 16 Jan. She also mentioned that she was not sure if 16 Jan was the official date and that it may occur some time in Feb.

I had the exact same experience. I was calling to activate my new D2G. I asked specifically if I will get another 12 month upgrade and she said yes it will be your last one though. I hope she was right. For what it's worth she said she just did the training on the new policy a few hours beforehand.

 

[???]

ok, so they are telling me I cant because I'm on a old altel plan. I gotta wait 2 years.

blah. better be something good out lol

 

[rjenk]

As one other has mentioned, I believe this announcement has more to do with the pending iPhone being announced than anything else.

Couple of thoughts on this...

1. Apple follows a predictable time frame for phone updates (at least yearly - and they are often major updates). This would get expensive for Verizon.
2. The subsidies for the iPhone are likely much different than that of other manufacturers, probably much more stringent. It has been said that Verizon initially turned down the iPhone because of the payments Apple was requesting.

I would think that those items would force a change in how Verizon handles their NE2 and other similar programs.

As for the time frame of the announcement, our major accounts rep has told us over the last couple of months to expect an iPhone announcement the first month or two of 2011 and that the iPad being sold by Verizon was as strong of an indicator as possible of what was coming down the pipe. Yep...know the whole iPhone thing has been played time and time again, but there are too many indicators to not believe there is something there.

 

[missrachel]

Just called VZW and spoke to one of the higher-ups, he assured me that if you are currently eligible for an upgrade, your upgrade will NOT be taken away or changed because of this new policy. dancedroid Droid Bionic, here I come!!!!!!!!! ...or LG Black...

 

[Gomboman]

I'm still a little confused with the new upgrade policy that will take place on January 17th. I just purchased a DX one week ago with a 2 year contract. I was hoping I could upgrade early in my 13th month like you can today.

Will I be grandfathered into the current early upgrade program since I purchased prior to January 17th, 2011 or is Verizon going to take this away from me? Sorry if this has been repeated in this thread but there seems to be conflicting information.

 

[sandfreak]

Subscribing

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[kodiak799]

Just called VZW and spoke to one of the higher-ups, he assured me that if you are currently eligible for an upgrade, your upgrade will NOT be taken away or changed because of this new policy. dancedroid Droid Bionic, here I come!!!!!!!!! ...or LG Black...

Yeah, but what happens to those not technically eligible for an upgrade yet but have a NE2 coming up in a few months?

 

[kodiak799]

I'm still a little confused with the new upgrade policy that will take place on January 17th. I just purchased a DX one week ago with a 2 year contract. I was hoping I could upgrade early in my 13th month like you can today.

Will I be grandfathered into the current early upgrade program since I purchased prior to January 17th, 2011 or is Verizon going to take this away from me? Sorry if this has been repeated in this thread but there seems to be conflicting information.

For starters, do you even know if you'll get an early upgrade? That's only for people on voice/text plans over $50 a month (so those of us with the base $40 voice plan don't get it).

Second, no one really understands the policy, but the thinking is there's NO incentive to be on a 2-yr contract. The extra subsidy has been like $70 to be locked-up for another 12 months. The thinking is the extra 12 months isn't worth $70. The other way to look at it, if you go with the 1-yr contract and the 2-yr subsidies end-up being much better, then you just do a 2-yr contract at the end of your 12 months and all you really lose is the extra $70 or whatever it costs you.

If it were me, I'd look into reverting that contract to 12mos instead of 2yrs. Might cost you another $70-$100, but I doubt you'll be happy with the DX for another 20-24 months with what's coming out.

 

[Gomboman]

I'm still a little confused with the new upgrade policy that will take place on January 17th. I just purchased a DX one week ago with a 2 year contract. I was hoping I could upgrade early in my 13th month like you can today.

Will I be grandfathered into the current early upgrade program since I purchased prior to January 17th, 2011 or is Verizon going to take this away from me? Sorry if this has been repeated in this thread but there seems to be conflicting information.

For starters, do you even know if you'll get an early upgrade? That's only for people on voice/text plans over $50 a month (so those of us with the base $40 voice plan don't get it).

Second, no one really understands the policy, but the thinking is there's NO incentive to be on a 2-yr contract. The extra subsidy has been like $70 to be locked-up for another 12 months. The thinking is the extra 12 months isn't worth $70. The other way to look at it, if you go with the 1-yr contract and the 2-yr subsidies end-up being much better, then you just do a 2-yr contract at the end of your 12 months and all you really lose is the extra $70 or whatever it costs you.

If it were me, I'd look into reverting that contract to 12mos instead of 2yrs. Might cost you another $70-$100, but I doubt you'll be happy with the DX for another 20-24 months with what's coming out.

Yes, I'm on a +$50 plan. This is why I posted the question. I don't think the DX will last two years. I was planning on keeping the phone for 1 year max.

I'm still within the 30 day return policy so I might decide to return it if I'm going to be held hostage for 2 years even though I absolutely love the DX.

 

[Martin030908]

5 things to know:
1. All customers who activate / upgrade on a qualifying plan prior to January 16th, 2011 are enrolled in NE2 (New Every 2) and eligible to use the NE2 discount for up to six months from the date they become eligible.
2. Any customer who uses an NE2 credit or Annual Upgrade after January 16, 2011 will no longer be eligible for either program. On March 6, 2011, VZW systems will be updated to reflect this.
3. All customers who exercise the NE2 or Annual Upgrade option on or after January 16th will receive a letter notifying them that it was their last NE2 or Annual Upgrade.
4. Business customers continue to receive either the two-year corporate matrix tiered device pricing or two-year retail device pricing per contract.
5. Customers will now be eligible for promotional pricing after 20 months on a 2-year contract and 10 months on a 1-year contract.
We are also hearing that the $100 credit that was included in the current NE2 deal will no longer be provided. It looks like promotional pricing is all you will get when eligible for an upgrade. We should also point out that more and more phones are offered for free these days, but still.

 

[yahwarrior]

Verizon knows each new smartphones will have a life of 6 months, it will then be outdated, and you will pay full price for the new model. They or now selling the already outdated Iphone which you will be stuck with for 2 years with 3g when everything else will be 4g. You'll then want to ditch that Iphone for Android but of course that will cost you full price. I cant blame them because this is how business runs,their goal is to make as much profit as possible. Therfore I'll buy my tablet full price online, use Skype or any VOIP app, connect it with my portable 4g hotspot and forget all about Verizon. The money I'll save in 6 months from my phone bill will be enough to get another tablet if I want.

 

[Gomboman]

5 things to know:
1. All customers who activate / upgrade on a qualifying plan prior to January 16th, 2011 are enrolled in NE2 (New Every 2) and eligible to use the NE2 discount for up to six months from the date they become eligible.
2. Any customer who uses an NE2 credit or Annual Upgrade after January 16, 2011 will no longer be eligible for either program. On March 6, 2011, VZW systems will be updated to reflect this.
3. All customers who exercise the NE2 or Annual Upgrade option on or after January 16th will receive a letter notifying them that it was their last NE2 or Annual Upgrade.
4. Business customers continue to receive either the two-year corporate matrix tiered device pricing or two-year retail device pricing per contract.
5. Customers will now be eligible for promotional pricing after 20 months on a 2-year contract and 10 months on a 1-year contract.
We are also hearing that the $100 credit that was included in the current NE2 deal will no longer be provided. It looks like promotional pricing is all you will get when eligible for an upgrade. We should also point out that more and more phones are offered for free these days, but still.

I understand the new details with the "New Every Two" program. What's unclear for me still is the "Early Upgrade" program. Currently, Verizon will allow you to purchase phones at the discounted rate as early as the 13th month in a 2 year contract. I've never seen the details for the Early Upgrade in any Verizon contract but it's been common practice if you ask for it. If someone can find this information detailed by Verizon please let me know.

Will the current early upgrade program (upgrade in the 13th month) still be available if you sign a two year contract prior to January 16th?

Verizon ending ‘New Every Two,’ early upgrade programs | iLounge News

 

[Blackhawk55]

I am used to the fact that one gets a different story from different VZW reps. I just called to ask about the "announcement" since my early upgrade is due Jan 21st and the program is supposedly ending on Jan. 16th. The rep said I was the third person caller today with a similar question yet he had heard absolutely nothing about any announcement affecting the annual upgrade program. I called back and got the same answer from a different rep. So both said they couldn't answer my questions because as far as they were concerned it was all based on "internet rumors" not Verizon announcements. Always somethin'....