On Field Cell Service...

onebadhawk said:

Ya know,, that rings a bell..
I remember hearing about those boosters..
And it was positive,,
but outdoors ?? at the field ?? and it worked well ??
That's really great to hear...



I spoke to a Verizon rep the other day,,
I asked about pricing of the phone with a 2 year contract,,
I was quite surprised when she said Verizon doesn't do contracts anymore..
Must be the direction the industry is taking..
They just charge you per month for the new phone..



This is actually important to me..
I do like the idea that I'm not locked in to whatever I choose..
There's one problem,,
I'm interested in switching over to the dark side,,
this'll be a big change for me..
OK,, I'm going to type it,,
I'd like to try an iphone,,
whew,, ok,, there,, I said it..lol..
This phone is expensive,,
I was told I can buy it unlocked at any apple store..
If I buy it through Verizon it's locked to that system ?? and it won't work on another cellular provider's network ??
But if I buy it through Verizon I pay monthly,, like $15 or $20..
That's a whole lot easier then buying it outright all at once..

Teddy

Click to expand...

The mobile booster is not something that works outdoors. You place one antenna on the top of the cab and the other inside the cab. The amplifier picks up the signal from the tower outside the cab and repeats it inside the cab. Then it picks up the signal from your cell phone inside the cab, boosts the power to 3 watts, and sends it to the antenna on the top of the cab.
I was able to use a Bluetooth speaker at my work table to hear if I received a call. FAA required that they be able to call me to place a hold on launch activities.
The inside and outside antennas must not see each other or you end up with a feedback loop.

cerving said:

I can't help you with coverage in NJ, but I can tell you definitively that Verizon's coverage is far and away the best in remote areas. I haven't been to Black Rock yet (you probably need a satellite phone there!), but every other place I've ever been to (and that includes Eagle Eye) has had coverage with Verizon. At my day job, we use Verizon because we have to support technicians going out into rural farmland areas in Central California... Sprint does not work, AT&T is sketchy, and Verizon always works.

If you have a Verizon phone already, you CAN get an upgrade on a 2-year contract, but not at the Verizon stores. You have to go to Best Buy or Walmart, and you want to specifically ask for the 2-year contract price. You can get something like an iPhone SE for essentially nothing, just the cost of the sales tax (in CA, at least) and the $35 upgrade fee, which they'll put on your bill.

Click to expand...

cerving, verizon doesn't do upgrades or contracts any more.

JJSR said:

cerving, verizon doesn't do upgrades or contracts any more.

Click to expand...

They must, because I just (early/mid December) upgraded both my phone and the kid's to iPhone SE's. $.99 for each phone with a 2 year contract. $40.00 extra per phone to upgrade from 16 gigs to 64gigs per phone (which I did). Ya never know I might digitize my CD collection someday... :eyeroll:

Teddy, you'll like Apple phones. They do some things a little different which take some getting used to, but they've lasted much longer than the Android phones I used to get at work. In fact, there was nothing wrong with my 5S, just my contract was up, and they made me an offer I couldn't refuse... :wink:

Teddy, another word of advice: Don't go to one of those "Authorized Resellers" Verizon places. Only go to a Verizon owned store. Much better handle on things IMHO...

Name a remote desert or location in the US and there's a very good chance I've been there. Very rarely have I found myself without coverage on Verizon, and even rarer that another carrier has coverage when Verizon didn't.

My Verizon bill is high but the customer service has always been good (your mileage may vary) and I won't beven changing service providers soon. That said, straight talk may be a good solution.

Verizon works at METRA, and seems to do fairly well with square

Guy's,,
I spoke to someone in a Verizon store ( not a kiosk in the mall ) yesterday..
Then left there and went to Best Buy and spoke to the Verizon guy there..
Verizon did away with contracts over a year ago..
There were 3rd party contracts available up until 3 weeks ago..
If you signed a 2 year contract through Best Buy the phone was 1/2 off,,
and there was an extra $20 / month fee added to your bill,, so that was pretty much a wash..
If I buy the phone at apple it is unlocked..
Verizon says if I buy the phone from them and pay for it all upfront they supply it unlocked..
If I buy it and elect to pay it out over the 24 months then they supply it locked to their system..
The Verizon guy in Best Buy called BS on that and said he can unlock that Verizon locked phone simply by switching the sim card in it..
I am going to be off an existing 2 year contract on my tablet in another month and my bill will drop another $10...
I think I'm going to do this with Verizon and just pay it out over the 24 month period..
Considering how many lines I have and the service provided I don't think it's a bad deal..
I just saw an ad in their window for $40 / line for 4 lines with unlimited everything..
They do stay competitive in a very competitive market...
And though all the other providers say "our's is just as good as Verizon now",,
for the most part,, everyone here disagrees.. ( and I've seen this for myself traveling to launches )...
Rick, as far as accepting a credit card on the field goes,,
I generally don't do that anyway,, when I do that I get killed in fees..
I always just give the person my card with the amount they owe on it and ask that they pay via PayPal when they get home...
I've never had a problem doing this and I pay less fees by doing it this way...

Teddy

I went into a Verizon store about a week ago and the guy swore up and down that it was cheaper to be off the contract and pay for the phone than to be on the contract and get a discount. They reduced the cost of the line from $40 to $20, but you have to pay about $25-$30 per month for an iPhone, so you end up paying more per month because they still charge you the upgrade fee and the CA sales tax regardless. They're focusing on people who buy a new phone every year instead of people who've been with them for over 20 years (like me). Seems pretty short-sighted to me...

I find it hard to believe any of those salesmen, cause they work on commission and just want to sell you something.
Last Sept. I went to get a new phone the guy swore up and down that I'd get a big discount by paying over time. but when I got home and ran the numbers, I hit the roof. Nothing he said was in the paper work,
then it was a PITA to return it.

I have Verizon and it's worked at all of the launch sites we've visited. We are often at the NEFAR and ROCK launches in Central and Northeast Florida and have traveled occasionally to the TRA launch in Plant City as well as a couple of launches in Georgia and South Carolina.

-- Roger

cerving said:

I went into a Verizon store about a week ago and the guy swore up and down that it was cheaper to be off the contract and pay for the phone than to be on the contract and get a discount. They reduced the cost of the line from $40 to $20, but you have to pay about $25-$30 per month for an iPhone, so you end up paying more per month because they still charge you the upgrade fee and the CA sales tax regardless. They're focusing on people who buy a new phone every year instead of people who've been with them for over 20 years (like me). Seems pretty short-sighted to me...

Click to expand...

They've increased the amount of data that you get on each plan. So, you may be able to downgrade and save a little. It's worth a call periodically. The representative can look at your data usage to see which plan is best for you.

Your situation might be different, but our Verizon bill is about $50 a month less now than it was a couple of years ago. So, if we upgrade (and pay for) two new phones, the monthly bill will be about the same as it once was.

-- Roger

It should be an easy thing to go to Verizon.com to see what's currently offered.