Switching to Verizon right now. Help me find a phone?

[jkraghify]

Hey guys, so my phone bill came today and I was fed up with bad service so I opted to not buy my next month of service. I found out I can join my parents' Verizon plan for $15/month instead of the $35/month I pay now and I get unlimited minutes, which is important to me.

I have a galaxy s3 right now (bought it new last summer) and I've had a good experience with it, but in my new phone I would like the following:

-better battery life than my s3 (it lasts about 1.5 days how I use it)

-better build quality - the charging port broke after 2 months of use and I DONT want that to happen again

-better camera because why not

-good app support

-long lasting phone (I want to use it for 3 years) <-- TOP PRIORITY

I am completely open minded and willing to learn a new mobile OS. I looked at the iPhone 6 and liked the build quality while it is still cheaper than the s6. I looked at the One plus One but the reviews talking about endless glitches relly turned me off.

As long as the battery is good, removable battery is not important to me. As for expandable memory--I have used my iPad for 2 years now and I have yet to fill the 16 GB memory on it. Expandable memory is not one of my top priorities.

[EarthboundHero]

I'd say HTC One M8, but the camera likely isn't going to be better.

[Ganz]

Samsung Galaxy S6, iPhone 6, Htc One M8, One plus One are all good options.

[Oberon.Smite]

Well given that this is a tech forum, and most of us are technically literate, reccommendations are going to fall here somewhere within the following.

 

The M8, the M9

The LG G3

The One Plus One

The Note 4

The Galaxy S6 (edge)

The Moto X/G

[jkraghify]

Samsung Galaxy S6, iPhone 6, Htc One M8, One plus One are all good options.

Do you know if the one plus one is full of glitches? I've read it can be frustrating to use because there are lots of glitches (eg. double tap to wake is often activated in pocket).

[QueenDemetria]

-better battery life than my s3 (it lasts about 1.5 days how I use it)

-better build quality - the charging port broke after 2 months of use and I DONT want that to happen again

-better camera because why not

-good app support

-long lasting phone (I want to use it for 3 years) <-- TOP PRIORITY

iPhone 6, great device and satisfies your requirements.

[jkraghify]

Well given that this is a tech forum, and most of us are technically literate, reccommendations are going to fall here somewhere within the following.

 

The M8, the M9

The LG G3

The One Plus One

The Note 4

The Galaxy S6 (edge)

The Moto X/G

Mind mentioning why you don't put the iPhone 6 isn't on the list? I would consider myself technically literate-as well as Linus. Why would he have one of it were not good? Take this as an invitation to bash all it's flaws. I want to make a good choice

[jdidia1006]

Droid Turbo from Motorola!!

[Koffehh]

Do you know if the one plus one is full of glitches? I've read it can be frustrating to use because there are lots of glitches (eg. double tap to wake is often activated in pocket).

I have the one plus one, Imo the phone is great, especially for its price. It rendered my Samsung tablet 10.1 useless making it looked like something 5+ years older.

The OPO for me personally has had no glitches till CM12 OS came along. I did have some issues with calls not working and names being lost with numbers in the dialler. But that all got resolved when I went back with the main CM12 theme. Never had a double tap to wake in my pocket, although i have had warm thighs from the torch being turned on with the "V" short cut.

As for battery life when, I'm at home in England a charge will do me 2 days, in Europe I get about a day for some reason.

The only negative thing I can say about the one plus one is its really big, to navigate with one hand is poor, and I would say I have average sized hands too. Also pocket space, bend down too quick in your jeans and you'll be looking at some groin/hip pain.

After having it for 8 months with no cover and no screen protector, it still looks like it came out of the box.

I can't compare it to other newish phones as I have never owned them, but besides its one negative I personally think I made the right decision.....

Oh and it raises eyebrows when every one has a mundane S5/6 or iPhone 5/6 down the OK boozer.

On another note I want longevity with a phone too, but 3 years? Personal experience tells me stay away from Samsung products then, from a former S3 and S3 mini user.

[TopWargamer]

Samsung Galaxy S6, iPhone 6, Htc One M8, One plus One are all good options.

 

Do you know if the one plus one is full of glitches? I've read it can be frustrating to use because there are lots of glitches (eg. double tap to wake is often activated in pocket).

 

OnePlus One is not compatible with Verizon because the OPO is a GSM phone and Verizon is a CDMA wireless carrier.

[TopWargamer]

Also @jkraghify, which carrier were you on before? And on your family's family plan with Verizon, how much data do you guys get per month?

[Mew]

You do realize the $15 is for basic phones, not smartphones right? It's about $40 a month if you add a smartphone. 

[jkraghify]

OnePlus one is not compatible with Verizon because the OPO is a GSM phone and Verizon is a CDMA wireless carrier.

 

Also @jkraghify, which carrier were you on before? And on your family's family plan with Verizon, how much data do you guys get per month?

Thanks for catching that, I did not notice that the OPO would not work with Verizon. I will check that for the phones I'm considering.

 

I was on Virgin mobile $35 for unlimited text, 300 minutes voice and unlimited 3g data

 

My parents bought a MiFi hotspot and have a shared 6GB data plan and they each use about 1 GB, as did I on my unlimited data plan.

 

You do realize the $15 is for basic phones, not smartphones right? It's about $40 a month if you add a smartphone. 

When I was activating my dad's phone, I noticed that with the MiFi I could use a promo for smartphones to be +$15 per month if they shared the data. My dad's iPhone 6 is currently using the $15/month promo tied to the MiFi plan and I think I could do the same thing when I add another phone. I need to remember what promo it was, but I am sure I can find it.

[TopWargamer]

 

Okay, so you were on Virgin Mobile which means you were on Sprint... I don't blame you for wanting to switch...

 

Anyways, give T-Mobile a try, or rather, try out an MVNO that runs on their network. You can get more for less. Personally I pay $50 for unlimited talk and text and unlimited LTE data (not throttled). Plus I get free roaming and ya. 

I use the TMo reseller Harbor Mobile. I have no complaints so far. 

https://www.harbormobile.com/plans/

 

You have to have invite code to get a plan through them since Harbor is for businesses, but it's not hard to do. Just email them and ask for a code. If they ask for more information, fake it, and stay general. They won't check. Ince you get your code, you're good to go. 

 

They also have a $30 plan that gives you unlimited talk and text and 2.5GB of data and a $40 plan that comes with the same as before but with 4.5GB of data. Both plans comes with unlimited music streaming (music streaming doesn't count against your data), free roaming, and the $40 plan comes with data rollover. 

 

You will have to get a new phone. Now, you could use the OnePlus One on Harbor. You should also look into the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3. It's one beast of a phone for only $250. 

[jkraghify]

Okay, so you were on Virgin Mobile which means you were on Sprint... I don't blame you for wanting to switch...

 

Anyways, give T-Mobile a try, or rather, try out an MVNO that runs on their network. You can get more for less. Personally I pay $50 for unlimited talk and text and unlimited LTE data (not throttled). Plus I get free roaming and ya. 

I use the TMo reseller Harbor Mobile. I have no complaints so far. 

https://www.harbormobile.com/plans/

 

You have to have invite code to get a plan through them since Harbor is for businesses, but it's not hard to do. Just email them and ask for a code. If they ask for more information, fake it, and stay general. They won't check. Ince you get your code, you're good to go. 

 

They also have a $30 plan that gives you unlimited talk and text and 2.5GB of data and a $40 plan that comes with the same as before but with 4.5GB of data. Both plans comes with unlimited music streaming (music streaming doesn't count against your data), free roaming, and the $40 plan comes with data rollover. 

 

You will have to get a new phone. Now, you could use the OnePlus One on Harbor. You should also look into the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3. It's one beast of a phone for only $250. 

 

Thanks, I will look into it. If I can't get the $15/month promo for Verizon service I might go hunting for that $30 plan you mentioned. I just have to check to see if T-mobile has service in the area I will be working in this summer. It definitely works where I live, so I have to check with a friend to see how well it works before I buy it. I know Verizon works--I've done it before. I used to be happy with the Sprint network, but after I saw that I could jump back onto Verizon and pay less I was like why the hell not

[dylan43270]

I switched from T-Mobile since they don't have any coverage outside of my city. I tried Verizon for about a week, but I could not handle the higher price with the lower data cap (as well as I was not able to use my OPO).  I would recommend the Sony Z3v, but you will need to be aware that it is more of a Z2 than a Z3, but it is waterproof, which is nice. They were offering a deal to get the phone for $1 with a contract, but I don't know if they are offering that anymore. 

 

I am probably more of a data user than you, but I ultimately ended up going with an AT&T gophone plan surprisingly, since I already have an unlocked phone. $55 a month for unlimited talk, text, and 4gb of data.

[Aniallation]

Droid Turbo from Motorola!!

+1 for Droid Turbo. If you're going on Verizon, enjoy the benefit of being able to get this phone. 

 

 

Do you know if the one plus one is full of glitches? I've read it can be frustrating to use because there are lots of glitches (eg. double tap to wake is often activated in pocket).

Pretty much all the big glitches related to software have been ironed out by now.

[Mew]

When I was activating my dad's phone, I noticed that with the MiFi I could use a promo for smartphones to be +$15 per month if they shared the data. My dad's iPhone 6 is currently using the $15/month promo tied to the MiFi plan and I think I could do the same thing when I add another phone. I need to remember what promo it was, but I am sure I can find it.

 

It's usually $15 with Verizon Edge if you're adding a smartphone that you already own. However, if you're getting a phone on contract, it's $15 for the line on top of the $20-$30 for the phone. Just trying to make sure you read their fine print and everything because last year when I got my 5s, they tried pushing me towards the share everything plan which would make the monthly price higher than the older price structure. 

[jkraghify]

It's usually $15 with Verizon Edge if you're adding a smartphone that you already own. However, if you're getting a phone on contract, it's $15 for the line on top of the $20-$30 for the phone. Just trying to make sure you read their fine print and everything because last year when I got my 5s, they tried pushing me towards the share everything plan which would make the monthly price higher than the older price structure. 

 

Yeah I'm planning on buying the phone outright. I think I'm going with the galaxy s5 or the iPhone 6. They seem to fit my priorities, and I understand both iOS and android pretty well.

[TopWargamer]

+1 for Droid Turbo. If you're going on Verizon, enjoy the benefit of being able to get this phone. 

The Droid Turbo is available unlocked and not through Verizon... The non-Verizon version is called the Moto Maxx.

http://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-XT1225-Ballistic-Factory-Unlocked/dp/B00QSN8Y7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431486118&sr=8-1&keywords=moto+maxx