It was a really exciting time for reader Poochie’s wife. She was getting an iPhone 5. Yaaay! Once everything was set up in her brand-new phone, though, the SIM card failed. No problem: Poochie pulled out his own phone and asked his trusty friend Siri where to find the nearest Verizon store. That store wanted $30 to replace the SIM of a phone that was just out of the box and under warranty. If that seems unreasonable, that’s because… it is. [More]
The $30 SIM Replacement Fee: When A Verizon Store Isn’t A Verizon Store
By April 2, 2013
Verizon Thinks My Wife Spent 10-Hour Roaming Call Talking To Co-Worker’s Voice Mail
By March 15, 2013
RL isn’t arguing that his wife made a roaming call to a co-worker from a hotel in Venice, Italy. His dispute with Verizon wireless is regarding how long that call was. His wife says that it was ten minutes long. Verizon counters that it was ten hours and nine minutes. Considering that the call was to a voice mail box, that must have been an epic, almost close to the the actual meaning of the word “epic,” voicemail. [More]
Verizon’s Redbox Instant Video Service Launching New App For Xbox 360
By February 6, 2013
Entering the already busy arena of online streaming video services, Xbox 360 announced yesterday that it’s teaming up with Verizon to offer the company’s Redbox Instant Video exclusively on its gaming consoles. It’s always good to have options, and it seems companies are going to continue coming up with competitors for Netflix, Hulu and Amazon’s video services. And when companies compete, we win. Hurray! [More]
Verizon Wants To Wean Me Off My Discount And My Unlimited Data
By December 20, 2012
Timothy is one of those lucky Verizon Wireless customers who still has an unlimited data plan. He also happens to get some pretty great discounts, and pays less for the four phones on his account with data plans than he would if he were to walk in off the street as a new customer today. If he wants to upgrade those lines, Verizon says that’s cool, but he’ll have to give up his discounts and go from his current unlimited plan to a limited one. [More]
Verizon & Coinstar Launching Redbox Instant Streaming Video Service This Month
By December 12, 2012
Sure, finding a Redbox kiosk in your neighborhood might be pretty easy. But going anywhere to get a movie, even as far as your mailbox, much less getting in your car to drive somewhere, is so 2009, right? That need for instant access to movies is what’s leading Redbox owner Coinstar to hook up with Verizon to launch their very own video streaming service, set to debut later this month. [More]
Report: Cops Want Wireless Carriers To Save Text Messages, You Know, Just In Case
By December 4, 2012
That thing you texted to that person the other night which you deleted out of overwhelming shame the next day? Messages like that could be pored over in the future by cops if various law enforcement officials have their way. They’re reportedly asking Congress to make wireless carriers record and store customers’ private text messages for at least two years, in case police need that info for a future investigation. [More]
Verizon’s Proposed DVR Would Know You’re Still Sitting In Your Pajamas, Air Ads For Real Pants
By December 4, 2012
You won’t have to worry if Verizon can hear — or see — you now, if the company’s dream of a set-top box that could monitor all the activities inside your home becomes a reality. The company has filed a patent for a DVR system that would be used as a tool to then target customers with ads based on their daily doings. Which means I’d get a lot of ads for pajama jeans. [More]
Consumerist Tips Helped Reader Get More Than $200 Back From Verizon
By November 12, 2012
Mischelle was trapped. Her son picked out a new subsidized phone from Verizon Wireless, and in doing so lost his unlimited plan. He could live with a metered plan. What he didn’t know was that Verizon would retroactively change his previous month’s usage to the new plan. He took full advantage of unlimited data while he had it, which meant that his mom was on the hook for 14 gigabytes of data at $15 each. Verizon’s best offer? A $50 refund. Mischelle wasn’t going to let that stand. [More]
Hey, Verizon And Motorola, I Want My Ice Cream Sandwich
By September 19, 2012
Reader GC owns an Android tablet purchased from Verizon Wireless. Customers were promised that the device would receive an update to the latest version a newer version of the Android operating system, called Ice Cream Sandwich, by now. The promised update has come for the larger version of the tablet, the Droid xyboard, but not for its little brother. Sure, GC could jailbreak the device, but why do that and void the warranty when the update was supposed to be here by now? [More]
Will You Be Able To Take Your Unlimited Data Plan With You If You Upgrade To iPhone 5?
By September 13, 2012
Yesterday, Apple went through its occasional ritual of taking an hour to go over every minute detail of its new phone. But what wasn’t mentioned in that overlong introduction to the iPhone 5 was what it means for the folks who still have unlimited data plans from back in the day. [More]
How I Finally Escaped Verizon's Droid R2D2 Smartphone Replacement Purgatory
By August 28, 2012
Like many of our readers, Elizabeth is sort of a nerd. When a special edition of Motorola’s Droid smartphone came out that’s dressed up to look like actual fictional ‘droid R2D2 from “Star Wars,” she took the opportunity to upgrade. Critics say that the phone is just a painted-up Droid 2, but Elizabeth liked it. Well, she liked it until a week or so later when it stopped working properly. That’s when Verizon encased her in carbonite and cast her into Smartphone Replacement Purgatory. [More]
I Get A Replacement Phone, Verizon Fakes My Death
By August 17, 2012
Douglas has been a customer of Verizon Wireless and its ancestor companies for more than 20 years. He’s an executive at a company that cuts Verizon a five-figure check every month for employees’ devices. You’d think that they would be interested in making sure that he’s always happy, but not so much. When his phone stopped working, they didn’t send him to smartphone replacement purgatory: they killed him. Well, they suspended his account in a way that made it look like he had died. [More]
DOJ Tweaks Verizon Deal To Buy Spectrum From Cable Companies So Consumers Still Have A Few Choices
By August 16, 2012
As we wrote earlier this month, Verizon Wireless’ proposed purchase of billions of dollars worth of wireless spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and other cable companies that aren’t using it anyway, could result in fewer cable and Internet provider options for American consumers. Well, it looks like the Dept. of Justice was listening to at least some of the concerned voices, as it has given its approval to the deal — but not without some significant changes. [More]
Not Even Verizon Knows Exactly Why It Charges $5/Month To Keep Your Number Unpublished
By August 15, 2012
Most telecom companies have pat, scripted explanations for each of their many, many monthly fees and surcharges, but when one man tried to find out why Verizon charges a $5 fee to keep his number unpublished, he got two very distinct reasons — or rather, one reason and one description of the service. [More]
Verizon’s Deal To Buy Spectrum From Cable Companies Could Mean Fewer Cable Options For Consumers
By August 2, 2012
It seems like it’s been oh, about eight months since Verizon Wireless announced its proposal to buy billions of dollars worth of wireless spectrum from cable companies who aren’t using it anyway. At first glance, it seems like a not-horrible idea, as Verizon Wireless doesn’t compete directly with the likes of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. But with regulators nearing a decision on the deal, several high-profile folks have come forward to voice their concerns about how Verizon might be sacrificing the growth of its FiOS business in favor of its wireless network. [More]
Verizon Must Pay FCC $1.25 Million Fine, Let Android Users Tether For Free
By August 1, 2012
Good news for people who enjoy tethering their smartphones, but dislike having to pay their phone company extra for the privilege. Well, as long as those people are customers of Verizon. Who have Android devices. And aren’t grandfathered onto an unlimited data plan. Yesterday, the Federal Communication Commission announced that Verizon Wireless has to allow customers access to third-party tethering applications. Verizon insists that they totally never told Google to withhold tethering apps from their customers in the Android Market/Google Play. But they’re “voluntarily” paying a $1.25 million fine as a result of the investigation, and have agreed to train all employees on why they can’t block users from downloading any (legal) apps. [More]
How I Got Verizon To Swap My Reboot-Looping Droid Incredible For A New iPhone
By July 23, 2012
Owners of the Droid Incredible, a Verizon-exclusive phone made by HTC, are in a predicament. Sure, their phones are a little old, but many are still in circulation and working fine. A recent software upgrade sends the phones into a perpetual reboot loop in the wee hours of the morning, which is annoying and drains the battery. These customers could upgrade if they really wanted to, but Incredible owners most likely have unlimited data from Verizon Wireless, which they will lose if they upgrade their phones and accept a carrier subsidy. Verizon isn’t about to replace the looping phones, either…unless it’s with another defective Droid Incredible. Dana found a way around this, and talked Verizon into letting her swap her Droid for a shiny new iPhone. [More]
HTC Incredible Gets Stuck In 2 AM Reboot Loop, Wakes Me Up
By July 20, 2012
There are still a lot of users around with the original HTC Incredible, and many of them need to go out and buy alarm clocks. That’s because a new software update that Verizon just sent out makes their phones go into a freaky reboot loop around 2 AM, wearing down the battery and sometimes locking the phone up entirely. The phone does wake its owner up, though. At 2:00. Reader Joe reports that every night, it makes the DROID startup noise at least once. Loudly. Every time it restarts. [More]
