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Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:06 pm
by craig11152
Going to Jamaica tomorrow for a step daughter wedding
3 phones on account...
1 apple phone bought from Verizon ..still 8 months of payments
2 Moto G4 phones bought unlocked from Best Buy (they support both GMS and CDMA)

I went on the website today to sign up the 3 phones for Verizon's $10 a day international plan whereby if you text, call or use data its $10 for that day. If you don't its zero dollars.
The website said the iPhone was compatible with the plan but the Moto's were not compatible.

After talking to a rep on the phone I was told the Moto G4 phones are not compatible BUT they will work on an International plan at $40 a month per phone. I argued with the guy that it made no technical sense but it was a corporate decision.
He claimed there were technical reasons he couldn't explain.....

My question to you experts...
If they can make my phone work in Jamaica for $40 a month is there some technical reason it might not work for $10 a day on an as needed basis?
Is the Iphone somehow using different connections to "the clouds" than the Moto G4?
I'm convinced they are "punishing me" because I didn't buy their phone and I am not under contract.
But I will take off my tinfoil hat if one of you smarter than me guys can explain why.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:12 pm
by Deleted User 4520
Not exactly what you are asking, but it was my understanding there is nothing to really sign up to. I was under the impression that when you use your phone out of the country you are automatically billed for each day you use your phone overseas. I remember getting texts when I got real close to Canada in the Soo about being charged $5 or $10 per day if you used Canadian towers.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:16 pm
by ZenithCKLW
The only thing I could hypothesize is that the way the Moto and iPhones connect to Verizon domestically are identical, but they may connect to different international towers or networks differently from each other. Not exactly sure why it affects billing, just a theory.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:32 pm
by TC Talks
After talking to a rep on the phone I was told the Moto G4 phones are not compatible BUT they will work on an International plan at $40 a month per phone. I argued with the guy that it made no technical sense but it was a corporate decision. He claimed there were technical reasons he couldn't explain.....
I have had the same issue with the G4. I moved to a G6 and I am all set. It's not Verizon, but how the phone interacts with their partners. It was even a problem with Canada. The other option you have is to buy a cheap local SIM card that allows you to use the phone with your family.

I love the new G6 if upgrading is an option for you. Pretty cheap on Amazon.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:05 am
by audiophile
The difference is probably related to the phone's VOLTE support (or Voice Over LTE). Verizon routed it's voice/texts calls through 3G (CDMA) until recently. VOLTE uses HSPA which is same protocol used by AT&T and other providers.

HSPA probably is cheaper than CDMA in foreign countries, if your phone supports it.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:21 am
by Inundated
Thr Verizon branded prepaid G4 Play doesn't support either VoLTE or international TravelPass. I got an E4 for VoLTE, and had to move to an E5 Play for TravelPass. Any newer ones should work fine.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 4:02 pm
by craig11152
I am here posting through the hotel WiFi.
My wife's phone is now working at $1.79 a minute for calls 25¢ per text sent, 5¢ per text received and something like $2.50 per mb of data.
So they can make the phone work they just wanted to sell me the most expensive option.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:53 pm
by stopnswop2
Verizon is TOTAL TRASH.

Switch to T-Mobile

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:48 am
by Deleted User 10525
I have them, for just a flip phone there like 42$ a month. Kinda expensive. My parents have always had T-mobile.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 9:33 pm
by Ed Joseph
I have to say.... we are American end-users. We exist for no reason other than to be robbed by giant corporations. It sucks.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 1:47 am
by Lester The Nightfly
Traveling international can get odd with your cellphone. I went to Tokyo about a year ago and was all set to rent a WiFi hotspot to get me through the trip (I was advised to just pick one up at the airport) when I found out that as a Sprint subscriber I didn't need to do anything for internet service on my iPhone. Just turned on the phone and I was up and running and if I recall, no international charges. Turns out Sprint is owned by SoftBank, a Japanese company. In fact their headquarters was in the same office tower complex as was my hotel. Go figure.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:09 am
by craig11152
I am going to try Google Fi.
Turns out the phone I've had my eye on , the Moto G6 is fully compatible AND it's on sale for $99. The only string attached is I have to activate the phone so I have to buy one month of service @ $20 plus data usage.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:19 am
by Inundated
I moved to a Moto X4, still on Verizon prepaid. Got it on sale at a low price of sub-$150.

But it is unlocked, and very much Fi compatible if I decide to go that route.

Re: Is Verizon F-ing Me?

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 6:24 am
by craig11152
I got my G6 about 5-6 days ago and switched to Google Fi.
So far I am happy but I haven't used it outside of town. The only thing I've noticed is my Bluetooth phone reception is not the best when the call is going through WiFi. Seems fine when I'm in a car presumably using a T-Mobile or Sprint tower.