Negotiation.

[a_baker]

I'm trying to get the best deal possible on upgrading my phone. I've stuck with my Thunderbolt for as long as possible, but google is starting to blacklist it for app updates. I can probably wait things out for a bit longer, but it's hard to keep the thunderbolt running reliably.

The website offer is less than attractive. I wanted to get the Samsung Galaxy S5 16 GB for $99, but I want to trade in my thunderbolt at the same time. When I checked the recycle your devices link, my phone was not listed, so I can't get an appraisal.

A $40 upgrade fee is included in the website's "Offer." I was due an upgrade in 2013. Did it expire? Or is the website designed to play hardball?

Additionally, I am not a fan of rebates. I want to pay the $99.00 rate out the door, so I don't have to fiddle around with an insurance company to get my money back.  I know rebates are a way to bring in price conscious customers, but I think of them as an expensively annoying game of musical chairs.

I've interacted with in-store personnel as little as possible over the life of the contract, but my experiences have been overwhelmingly negative. When I needed to replace the battery door on the phone, Employees gave me incorrect information that I had to go order the door on amazon. I went to another retail location and they were able to get me a battery door out of the back room. When my battery burst later, I was once again told that verizon could not order the battery, and to go buy one on amazon. It's not directly related to the phone, but the charge cable unraveled from the connection point, so I had to buy a replacement cable. I put my phone on a  pressboard shelf with clear ventilation when I go to bed at night, these heat issues were from the phone overheating, not misuse. The only reason I am considering staying with verizon is because prepaid samsung phones suck, and my mother is already locked in to a contract with verizon through 2017. I know retaining customers are less valuable to store employees than landing new ones, but I've read that Verizon makes most of the money off service. I would just like them to meet me at a level that is comfortable for both of us.

[Ann154]

Which applications are not updating on the Tbolt? Mine still updates without issue.

The trade-in value through Verizon Wireless will be a lot lower than if you sold the Tbolt elsewhere like Swappa.com. It might also be prudent to keep the phone as a backup device in something happens to the new phone you eventually purchase.

The upgrade fee has been around since April 22, 2012 which probably was after you purchased the Tbolt. Do you still have the unlimited smartphone data plan? If you do and want to keep it, you need to rethink the minimum purchase price of the phones. To keep the unlimited smartphone data plan, you must purchase the new phone at full retail price not the Edge payment option or the two year contract price (ie $99 for the Galaxy S5 16 GB).

I never had overheating issues like you describe regularly with my Tbolt. It was usually when I was navigating in the car and not getting enough cool air conditioning around the phone. I'm still using the original extended battery I purchased shortly after getting the phone. I don't have the Tbolt on an active line, but it lasts about 2 weeks in airplane mode and as a backup alarm clock. The charger cord did go bad on me, but the Verizon Wireless store replaced it for free under warranty as it was within the first year of owning the phone. I later figured out that the cold concrete the micro USB end usually rested against on the floor was causing the cord to become brittle and crack as a Samsung cord did the same thing less than a year later. Since then I keep the cord end off the floor and haven't had any problems.

As for purchasing the batteries, the stores don't keep batteries for four year old phones. The stock is usually removed about the same time they stop selling the device. This requires looking elsewhere for replacement items. Were these OEM batteries or third party aftermarket version?

[a_baker]

The battery that blew up was the original battery that came with the phone. I purchased the same model HTC OEM off amazon. I put my phone up at night, and it swelled up and popped during that timeframe. I honestly thought the whole phone was toast, and it booting up again with the new battery was a very pleasant surprise. The replacement USB cable seems a little thicker, and I've never had any problems with it. The old cable still works, but that exposed cable just feels unsafe. So it sits in the retail packaging.

Chrome will install on the tbolt, but it won't update to the latest version, so some websites will not load.

Google keep refused to install, so I'm still using AK notepad.

I did manage to get the tbolt to chromecast tonight, so that might extend the life of the phone for a while.

I lost unlimited data when my mother upgraded her phone. I handle her financials, but she still gets to make buying decisions herself. Her salesman, Jose,  told her that her bill would be lower if she ditched the unlimited data. He did one of those four square sheets with flexible math. When she got home and I checked the real contract, it actually worked out to be ten dollars higher. I drove directly to the store. Threatening to return the phone and accessories led to a manager inputting his magic override code, and our bill actually went down to $120 a month. That's certainly affordable, but I'm worried if I were to upgrade my phone the bill would go up. I wouldn't touch edge with a ten foot pole. I don't take out credit cards with store, and edge sounds a lot like credit, no matter how it's sold. I'm obviously not a frequent upgrader, so the only benefit would be to defer the payment at checkout.

Thank you for your advice, Ann154I think I'll hold off on upgrading a bit. While the S6 is considerably faster than the S5, the feature removals in the 6 are unattractive to me. I had a friend offer to help me negotiate, but I'm worried she'd just annoy the salesperson.