I’ve been with Verizon for years and I’m pretty happy with their service. It feels time for an upgrade, and Verizon has Motorola Edge for $999. That’s a little too steep for me, but I’d like to get a decently powered (performance-wise) phone as I’m playing this on-line game that is testing the limits of my old Droid Turbo II. Motorola is selling the Edge directly, unlocked for $499. What are the Pros and Cons of unlocked phones (besides the absence of bloatware). I assume I can just take the sim out of my old phone and put it in the Edge, correct? What about transferring contacts and data? That’s all on the cloud now a days, correct?
Need answer fastish, as sale ends 8/9. I guess I can always wait til the next sale, or until the price comes down at Verizon. One benefit of buying from them is in store pickup and they transfer all the data.
It’s easy and Verizon will actually help you because you are still a Verizon customer. Most people at the store stop caring about selling you one when you show up with a new one. I’ve done it twice already. But you can also back up everything to Google before swapping your Sim and do it yourself. The only issue I had was with files in my Secure Folder. I doubt that you are using that feature from the nature of your request.
FWIW, I bought an iPhone at Best Buy, because it was so much cheaper and the pleasant tech clerk there did the changeover for me in a few minutes. Couple months later I had reason to take the phone to Verizon and they didn’t care one whit.
Thanks for the replies guys. Upon looking a bit closer however, it appears Verizon is selling the Edge+ ($1000) and Motorola the Edge ‘Standard’ (marked down $200 from $700 to $500). The Edge+ is definitely a better phone, but I don’t think it is $500 better. I think I’ll wait a few more months and see if the Edge+ comes down in price. I can always get an Edge (standard) later if the Edge+ price doesn’t move. I also found unlocked Edge ‘standard’ on Amazon for $500.
And thanks for info about Verizon supporting unlocked phones.
I just pre-ordered an unlocked Pixel 4a directly from Google which should be shipping in a couple of weeks. I have a Verizon pre paid plan. I can swap out the SIM card easily enough and all my contacts are either in my gmail account or Outlook. I’m pretty sure once I download those apps that all my contacts will be available. But if I run into trouble, how much help can I expect to get at the Verizon store seeing that I am a lowly pre-paid customer and not one of their “premier” customers? Anyone have any experience with a situation like mine?
Had a fascinating chat with Verizon a few weeks ago. I was told that on Jan 1, 2021 they will no longer sell CDMA SIM-card phones. Only GSM phones. That said, they’re not allowed to stop supporting CDMA phones.
If you’re buying into a CDMA unit, do it now. After Jan 1, it’s all GSM for Verzion for new units- and I’ve no idea how they will apply this rule to used units activated by customers.
I never EVER buy new phones. Just not my way. I buy them used on Craigslist. Check to make sure the special number on the inside of the phone is clear of theft and off I go. Activating has always been simple and gets more simple as the years go by.
No clue what will happen next year when I buy a gently used phone. It’s possible they would refuse to supply me with a new CDMA Sim Card for it and I’d have to shop accordingly.
I bought a Pixel last year from Amazon. It came with a USB-C cord for charging/data transfer, and it also came with a USB-micro adapter for one end of that cord so that I could connect the Pixel directly to my old phone and transfer everything (apps, contacts, photos, messages) to the new phone.
Alternatively, if your old phone is freshly backed up to a Google account, you should be able to download that backup to your new phone.
Cartooniverse - thanks for that info, but could you briefly describe what that means? I’ve only ever upgraded my phones directly from Verizon so I haven’t had to worry about the difference between CDMA and GSM.
I should be able to back everything up OK, but that raises another question: One of the benefits of Unlocked phones is the absence of bloatware. If I backup and transfer all my data - or have Verizon do it - does all the bloatware get copied?
I think you can specify what items get backed up from your old phone - pics, contacts, messages, apps. Just deselect apps for the backup. You can then manually install apps from Google Play on your new phone.
There are two standards on the planet. Analogous to Windows and Mac.
Few countries besides the United States use CDMA.
That ends soon.