<p>E.g., We had a 6G Verizon plan and today I was able to change the plan to 10G of data. You have to actually change the plan, which is why I’m posting. It isn’t automatic at least on VW. Be careful with when you make it effective: they’ll prorate the new data so think about what you have left for the current bill versus what the prorated part of 10G would be.</p>
<p>New stuff is 10G for $60 (instead of 6G) and 15G for $100.</p>
<p>Yes…we did that with ATT. We have the family share plan. 10gb…to,share, and we haven’t come even close to using that. So many prances now have wifi. We also have unlimited talk and text for all of us.</p>
<p>Ok… I read the link. I did not think the savings were that great with VZ and the link explains that VZ was primarily giving customers more data rather than cutting prices.</p>
<p>Yes, it means in general you get more data for the same money. They didn’t cut prices. If you spend $80 or more on data with Verizon, you can now get more data for that money.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for posting this! I have had issues with data since I upgraded in May. Got both my kids the iPhone 5s and went from using less than 6gb to 10gb and this month again I started getting alerts that we used up all the data. Just added another 5gb to the plan and STILL got the alert that we’ve used all of our data and the cycle doesn’t end until the 9th. I am going to call Verizon and ask about their new pricing. And if anyone has any suggestions on how to cut the data usage PLEASE let me know. Both my S’s insist that they are not using their phones any differently than they used the 4s.</p>
<p>Sis asked and Verizon told her if they DIDN’T upgrade, they could have $25 off per month per line or $100 total off their $200+ bill. They opted not to upgrade and enjoy the savings every month. Am going to see if Sprint will match, as 12/31 is our contract date. </p>
<p>Also will be going to Verizon soon to upgrade and begging for some data relief - we seemed to be fine when S was in college and almost always in wireless. 4gb used to be plenty for 5 of us. We added one more person to our plan and 4 is NOT working anymore! There has to be a better way to have decent data/phones and not have this bill so outrageous! </p>
<p>I am currently getting the $25 discount on my phone since I didn’t upgrade. But it is really very little help when my data plan increased from 6gb to 15gb and that is still not enough. Yes, my kids know to check for wifi and we understand that we can turn off cellular data and we do when we start getting these alerts but really what good is that when the whole point is to have access to everything wherever you are? I just find it strange that they are not using the phones any differently than they used the 4s but our data plan has more than doubled and it’s STILL not enough! I can’t be the only one with this problem.</p>
<p>As for the upgrade…well that wasn’t really worth it either. S1 wanted a new phone but S2 needed one and we were eligible. The discount was $100 off each phone…as a rebate I might add…then I found $35 activation fees per phone on my bill the following month. And no, nobody at the store mentioned the increase in data usage. Nice.</p>
<p>Ours went up when DD’s apartment-mate did the selection on the wirless service and got the cheapest. It does not always work in her room and places she was at in school did not have good wireless so she was starting to use up data at a fast clip. But the phone upgrades did not have much impact. We can pinpoint this year when data use went up and it was when she went back to school. </p>
<p>Also , thanks for the info. I did upgrade our data plan to the 10G to make sure everyone is covered. </p>
<p>@abasket
It absolutely seems to be the case IMO but when I called Verizon, I was told no and that everyone’s data usage goes up when they are trying to figure out their new phone and it would all level off. It didn’t and how hard could it be to figure out anyway? My kids went from the 4s to the 5s. But when I was at a group training class at the Apple Store two weeks ago and mentioned that I would be holding onto my 4s until it dies bc the new phones use more data, I was told that yes, they do. Maybe not all new phones are using more data but the guy at the Apple Store confirmed that iPhones are.</p>
<p>It has to do with the new apple software and the push notification. It is all in the settings. Get someone at Apple who knows what they are doing and they can help you turn many data sucks off…one being the auto play of video on Social Media sites.</p>
<p>@sandkmom - I’ve noticed the same thing when my kids recently upgraded from the 4s to the 5s. Thought it strange that they were using much more data than before without a change in usage habits. It would be interesting to know exactly why the new phones use more. Also have noticed usage - sometimes large amounts - in the wee hours of the morning when I know they are sleeping. Some kind of automatic updates, maybe? I am not tech very savvy so not sure.</p>
<p>You can turn off automatic updates. No one should be seeing much more data usage with new phones. I suggest looking up what could be happening, including lots of location services turned on that don’t need to be, cell updates to every coupon site - like groupon (which eats data) - and subscription to podcasts or the like that one could download to a computer and then sync rather than stream/download to the phone itself. Another is people don’t realize they are streaming music or, rather, that music actually uses a lot of bandwidth. </p>
I did not think the savings were that great with VZ and the link explains that VZ was primarily giving customers more data rather than cutting prices.</p>