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Verizon is the only cell company that has coverage in my home town in central Massachusetts. Thus I have used them all my life. I recently had my first "positi

Verizon is the only cell company that has coverage in my home town in central Massachusetts. Thus I have used them all my life. I recently had my first "positive" customer service with experience with Verizon switching to their unlimited plan. My bill dropped significantly. ($120 base -> $80 but really $200 -> $80 because I always go over on data) I just noticed that I have a "phone upgrade" waiting as well. I am an Android dev and typically just buy unlocked phones when I need them and switch SIM cards. This sort of shit is why. Even as it is, Verizon branded phones are filled with crapware you can't delete. It sucks knowing that thru my monthly bill that I am subsidizing a "phone upgrade" program that I am never going to take advantage of due to the way Verizon molests Android before giving you the phone.

ourmandave 10y ago
Verizon is very big in my town, but I pay $35/month for less-than-wonderful Virgin Mobile. Can't get a signal in the office but it's not worth +$85/month more to me.
- beamatronic 10y ago
  Perhaps you can convince your employer to cover/expense your cell phone, as it is necessary for you to perform your job. If they disagree, completely stop using a personal cell phone, and then watch how fast they provide you with one.
  - sushid 10y ago
    Seems a little vindictive to me. How about suggesting them to add a cell signal booster for his carrier at the office?
moltenbobcat 10y ago
Surely they are going to be loading it using Carrier Configuration tied to the sim card... As soon as you put a verizon sim card into your unlocked non verizon phone it installed a bunch of helper apps. https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/carrier.html https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/carrier.html
- cryptarch 10y ago
  Anyone know of a way to disable that? Just "don't upgrade to Android 6.0", or burning a custom ROM with some parts hacked out?
  - wernercd 10y ago
    Apps such as Titanium Backup * Root ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.... ) ( Or similar )
- jaredandrews 10y ago
  Very interesting, thanks for pointing out. As far as I can tell nothing was installed by Verizon on my most recent phone. I was using it as a dev device before using at as my primary phone, so I was pretty aware of what was installed on it. This was over a year ago and I think I started with a 5.X version of Android. Will have to see what happens next time I switch phones... welp.
  - criddell 10y ago
    Because of these kinds of shenanigans, I'm seriously thinking about an iPhone for my next phone. If Verizon did all this stuff on an opt-in basis, I'd have no problem with it. If it were opt-out, I'd be grumpy, but would probably deal with it. When it's required, I'm going to be looking for alternatives.
- 0xfeba 10y ago
  Ah, so that's how those Verizon apps got on my Pixel!
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    Wondering when they started doing this. I have a Nexus 5x on Verizon for less than a year and I never got any Verizon apps installed.
- 10y ago
bognition 10y ago
> It sucks knowing that thru my monthly bill that I am subsidizing a "phone upgrade" program that I am never going to take advantage of One of the reasons that your phone bill likely dropped is that Verizon no longer couples the cost of your phone with your contract.
colanderman 10y ago
Have you tried a Verizon MVNO? There's a list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_v... The biggest name I know from that list is Credo. This is what my wife & I did for a while (but with AT&T, since we wanted GSM). Although now we're both happy Republic Wireless customers.
- jaredandrews 10y ago
  Never looked into it. Thanks for the link!
  - chrisper 10y ago
    Just know that MVNOs usually have some drawbacks. E.g. slightly higher pings, lower priority etc.
  - tgb 10y ago
    I use page plus cellular on a Moto G4. Uses the Verizon network and I have no Verizon bloat at all. I never had to root the phone either. The Motorola/Lenovo bloat is quite minimal. I pay under 30 dollars a month, but don't need much data.
wernercd 10y ago
> This sort of shit is why. This sort of shit is why I only get phones I can root (except for my current iPhone, which was Buy One, Get One). Root gives you access to tools that can disable/backup/uninstall stuff you otherwise couldn't - as well as access to more powerful adblockers and other goodies. You have to be careful to try and get "trusted" apps (I don't download "cracked" ZOMG!FREE! games... anymore cough) but it's not like you control what's on your phone 100% anyways...

ourmandave 10y ago

Verizon is very big in my town, but I pay $35/month for less-than-wonderful Virgin Mobile. Can't get a signal in the office but it's not worth +$85/month more to me.

beamatronic 10y ago
Perhaps you can convince your employer to cover/expense your cell phone, as it is necessary for you to perform your job. If they disagree, completely stop using a personal cell phone, and then watch how fast they provide you with one.
- sushid 10y ago
  Seems a little vindictive to me. How about suggesting them to add a cell signal booster for his carrier at the office?

moltenbobcat 10y ago

Surely they are going to be loading it using Carrier Configuration tied to the sim card... As soon as you put a verizon sim card into your unlocked non verizon phone it installed a bunch of helper apps. https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/carrier.html https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/carrier.html

cryptarch 10y ago
Anyone know of a way to disable that? Just "don't upgrade to Android 6.0", or burning a custom ROM with some parts hacked out?
- wernercd 10y ago
  Apps such as Titanium Backup * Root ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.... ) ( Or similar )
jaredandrews 10y ago
Very interesting, thanks for pointing out. As far as I can tell nothing was installed by Verizon on my most recent phone. I was using it as a dev device before using at as my primary phone, so I was pretty aware of what was installed on it. This was over a year ago and I think I started with a 5.X version of Android. Will have to see what happens next time I switch phones... welp.
- criddell 10y ago
  Because of these kinds of shenanigans, I'm seriously thinking about an iPhone for my next phone. If Verizon did all this stuff on an opt-in basis, I'd have no problem with it. If it were opt-out, I'd be grumpy, but would probably deal with it. When it's required, I'm going to be looking for alternatives.
0xfeba 10y ago
Ah, so that's how those Verizon apps got on my Pixel!
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  Wondering when they started doing this. I have a Nexus 5x on Verizon for less than a year and I never got any Verizon apps installed.
10y ago

bognition 10y ago

> It sucks knowing that thru my monthly bill that I am subsidizing a "phone upgrade" program that I am never going to take advantage of One of the reasons that your phone bill likely dropped is that Verizon no longer couples the cost of your phone with your contract.

colanderman 10y ago

Have you tried a Verizon MVNO? There's a list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_v... The biggest name I know from that list is Credo. This is what my wife & I did for a while (but with AT&T, since we wanted GSM). Although now we're both happy Republic Wireless customers.

jaredandrews 10y ago
Never looked into it. Thanks for the link!
- chrisper 10y ago
  Just know that MVNOs usually have some drawbacks. E.g. slightly higher pings, lower priority etc.
- tgb 10y ago
  I use page plus cellular on a Moto G4. Uses the Verizon network and I have no Verizon bloat at all. I never had to root the phone either. The Motorola/Lenovo bloat is quite minimal. I pay under 30 dollars a month, but don't need much data.

wernercd 10y ago

> This sort of shit is why. This sort of shit is why I only get phones I can root (except for my current iPhone, which was Buy One, Get One). Root gives you access to tools that can disable/backup/uninstall stuff you otherwise couldn't - as well as access to more powerful adblockers and other goodies. You have to be careful to try and get "trusted" apps (I don't download "cracked" ZOMG!FREE! games... anymore cough) but it's not like you control what's on your phone 100% anyways...