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Comment by bahman2000 | Hacker News Reader

bahman2000

FTA: "So, now I’ll just give my money to Verizon, since I can’t give it to T-Mobile."

This, in the USA, normally comes at the cost of getting a Verizon-compatible device.

The Verizon versions of iPad Air, iPad Retina Mini, iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are identical to those sold for AT&T and T-Mobile, and will work on any of those three networks[1]. (It's different/more complicated for older devices.)

Also, an agreement Verizon signed when buying their LTE spectrum from the FCC says that all Verizon LTE devices must be carrier-unlocked out of the box[2].

However, Verizon will refuse to activate any device that was not originally sold for use on its network (they use a unique device hardware ID for this). AT&T and T-Mobile don't do this.

Therefore, for maximum flexibility, buy Verizon versions of recent Apple devices. You can then switch to AT&T or T-Mobile (not Sprint), or back again to Verizon, at any time, as many times as you wish. This is what the author did[3].

[1]: http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_2008_wireless_sp...

[3]: http://www.caseyliss.com/2014/5/21/tmo-vs-vzw-plans

> Also, an agreement Verizon signed when buying their LTE spectrum from the FCC says that all Verizon LTE devices must be carrier-unlocked out of the box[2].

> However, Verizon will refuse to activate any device that was not originally sold for use on its network (they use a unique device hardware ID for this).

Which is a violation of those FCC rules you linked to. It's monopolistic, shitty behavior.

> AT&T and T-Mobile don't do this.

> Therefore, for maximum flexibility, buy Verizon versions of recent Apple devices.

Or just avoid Verizon entirely. That way you won't be rewarding their bad behavior.

Yeah, I don't get why people use the big-name providers unless they have a family plan. Prepaid services like Net10, Straight Talk, Cricket, Metro PCS, Boost, H2O, Jolt, Redpocket, etc are less than half the cost of the bigger ILECs/CLECs and most of them are or have GSM offerings. I like that Net10 and Straight Talk give you T-mobile or AT&T sims to bring over locked phones.

My personal favorite combo at the moment is Straight Talk's "Unlimited" 30 day service for $45, combined with an AT&T Radiant pre-paid phone ($70 cash). This phone is the same specs as a new Moto-E smartphone but for half the price. (I find it hilarious that I can lose or break my phone 7 times and still pay less than for one iPhone 5)

Just to be clear, most of those are MVNOs -- they basically buy wholesale network access from the big name providers and resell it (and provide support) under their own name.

But they are much cheaper, usually.

Yeah, except Verizon is notably more expensive than the other networks, particularly T-Mobile. Verizon tacks on random fees into your bill that have no explanation. I would rather push T-Mobile to fix this issue than move to Verizon under the guise that I'm switching to something better. Nope.

I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile this year. My bill dropped from $180 to $160/month. That's with 2 lines, data and a new device installment plan. If you didn't have a new device it's at least $20 less per month iirc.

T-Mobile needs to work on their coverage in some spots, but that's supposedly coming with new spectrum purchases and whatnot.

I'd never go back to Verizon.

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