Verizon to Initiate $30 Device Upgrade Fee on April 22

verizon iphone cook
Verizon today announced that as of April 22 it will initiate a $30 upgrade fee for current customers moving to new devices.

On April 22, Verizon Wireless is implementing a $30 upgrade fee for existing customers purchasing new mobile equipment at a discounted price with a two-year contract. This fee will help us continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect which includes Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever.

Verizon is the last of the major U.S. carriers to add a device upgrade fee, a secondary revenue stream carriers justify by citing costs associated with setting up new devices and updating account information. Sprint and AT&T previously charged $18 device upgrade fees, but Sprint doubled its fee to $36 last September and AT&T followed suit back in February.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

bevo Avatar
157 months ago
ugh.

we are being nickeled and dimed to death by all these companies...
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Matthew Yohe Avatar
157 months ago
This fee will help us continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect which includes Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever.

Here's an idea, stop these programs, cut the fee, and direct these people to Apple's support.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boshii Avatar
157 months ago
So these upgrade fees aren't charged when you are a new customer? What's the incentive to stay with your current provider then??

When you're new they call it an activation fee.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dweez Avatar
157 months ago
That is such ********.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nothlit Avatar
157 months ago
so I am wondering why the carriers don't cut the monthly fees after our contract is up?

We sign a 2 year contract to make sure that our new fancy phone is subsidized, but once that period is over, shouldn't the subsidy payment be discontinued?

The whole thing is a racket.

Maybe I'll switch carriers every 2 years.

They'll just hit you with a new-customer "activation fee" instead of an existing-customer "upgrade fee." You can't escape it.

----------

Hmm....Glad I have AT&T...never had any issues and they never try these kind of things.

Uh, AT&T has always charged an upgrade fee. It used to be $18. Now it's $36.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
webworks415 Avatar
157 months ago
We need to go against this. It has been proven that if the people speak up loud and clear, these wireless companies have no choice but to make us happy. This is such BS....it's not like any work goes into upgrading our devices. If anything they should be crediting US for continuing to use their service and extending our contracts.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
iPad And Calculator App Feature 1

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...