Author Topic: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)  (Read 3869 times)

MayDay

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Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« on: June 07, 2014, 05:17:37 AM »
H and I both have smartphones and are under contract with Verizon.  Our contract is up in November and we plan to switch to a pay-as-you-go plan then. 

I don't know exactly which plan- we want some (minimal) texting and data.  Primarily we want data for using GPS and for the occasional need to look something up while out and about.  We have HTC One's that were new in Nov 2012. 

On to the question:  I dropped my phone hard yesterday and now it won't turn on.  We have an insurance plan, but the charge is 100$ to either fix or give me a new refurbished phone.  So, should I pay the 100$ and get a new-to-me phone, but then be stuck with a Verizon pay as you go plan, or should I just buy something like the google nexus (they are 200$, right.), so I have a new phone rather than a refurbished one?  Or something else? 

We don't have old smart phones to activate for the rest of the contract, so I need to get something.  My phone requirements going forward are not super crappy, and not a tiny screen.  I am open to suggestions. 

We are in a rural-ish area so when selecting a carrier going forward, signal availability in the country is a concern.  I am wondering if we should also consider trying to get my mom and brother to switch over with us to that carrier that is now offering 4 smartphones for 100$ a month- is it sprint? 

So, WWYD? 

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2014, 05:40:28 AM »
If you have them fix it, will you still be able to terminate the contract at the same time?

It would help to know which phone it is. Just like a car, some phones are worth $100, and others aren't.

I'd personally get away from Verizon, either through a Verizon based MVNO or another network altogether.

Rural and Sprint rarely go together. Ditto T-Mobile. YMMV.

MayDay

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2014, 05:44:45 AM »
If you have them fix it, will you still be able to terminate the contract at the same time?

It would help to know which phone it is. Just like a car, some phones are worth $100, and others aren't.

I'd personally get away from Verizon, either through a Verizon based MVNO or another network altogether.

Rural and Sprint rarely go together. Ditto T-Mobile. YMMV.

The phone is an HtC one.  It was their expensive new phone when we got them 1.5 years ago, retail at the time was 600$+.

If t-mobile and sprint are out due to rural, what choice do I have besides Verizon?  I was assuming a Verizon MVNO would be our best bet due to signal issues.  Which would probably point towards getting my current phone fixed.  I have had no issues with it and like the phone.

If I pay the 100$ to get it fixed, it doesn't affect the contract.  We can still get out in November. 

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2014, 05:55:32 AM »
I'd fix it for sure. It's definitely worth it. I have one of those from t-mobile. Currently waiting for my unlock code.

Once it can be unlocked, a Verizon MVNO can save a lot of money, but the One is GSM capable, so it would also work on MVNOs like AirVoice (ATT). I don't think it would give you LTE (different bands) but the 3G coverage would be compatible.

Look at coverage maps for your area, then ask friends in the area who they have and if they're happy. Some coverage maps really lie and say you're covered when the cell signal is barely above the noise floor.

Rural

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2014, 07:14:56 AM »
I'd talk to friends and neighbors about what service they have and what coverage is like. It can vary across a rural area. The only two options where we live are Verizon and AT&T, and my husband can get away with Verizon, but on my commute, nothing but AT&T has even voice coverage, and even that drops out completely for a few miles. But in my experience, Verizon and AT&T are most likely to have coverage in rural areas.


The coverage maps for all the majors are a good starting point. If they say they have limited coverage, take it with a grain of salt because they may have very spotty to no coverage. However, if they say there's no coverage, there's really nothing at all. Believe them.

CarDude

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2014, 07:37:43 AM »
You can often buy used phones from eBay and activate them for much less than the cost of buying new or repairing broken phones. I've done this twice now; you just need to make sure you're buying from a seller you can trust who isn't selling a phone that can't be activated.

Left

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2014, 07:59:59 AM »
I found sprint to do better in rural areas myself in the midwest :S If you get verizon service in rural area, sprint roams on verizon and vice versa so saying you get verizon and not sprint isn't t really accurate.

I say sprint because there's a bit more mvno i think than verizon ones

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Cell phone WWYD (broke my smartphone)
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2014, 08:03:21 AM »
You can often buy used phones from eBay and activate them for much less than the cost of buying new or repairing broken phones. I've done this twice now; you just need to make sure you're buying from a seller you can trust who isn't selling a phone that can't be activated.

The HTC One is a nice phone, and still quite nice compared to even the top-end flagships currently. I'd pay $100 to fix it versus the kind of phone you can buy used for $100.

The only way I'd go cheap is if you were inclined to ditch a lot of the smartphone features and go back to more of a voice-only, emergencies phone. Then of course you can go super cheap.