Upgrade Fee

[Adri1]

I am trying to avoid paying an upgrade fee. 

If I pay off my device and then purchase a new phone without going through the "upgrade" process will I still be charged an upgrade fee? 

[glitchedpixel]

Getting the device at all through Verizon is going to get an upgrade fee -- same for getting it at any store where your account is accessed. This includes Costco, Best Buy and Apple.

Get it without a SIM card so you don't get an upgrade fee. 

[mama23dogs]

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@Adri1 wrote:

I am trying to avoid paying an upgrade fee. 

If I pay off my device and then purchase a new phone without going through the "upgrade" process will I still be charged an upgrade fee? 

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Walk into Best Buy and tell them your prepaid and what phone you want.  You pay full retail, no fee, and swap your own SIM card, set up and data transfer yourself. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Adri1. Now is a great time to upgrade your phone, we're here to help. The good news is that the upgrade fee is a one-time fee when you purchase a new phone from us. If you purchased your phone online, this will automatically take 50% off the upgrade fee. For more information about our upgrade fee, see question number two by visiting, http://spr.ly/66031EFg1.

TrinetteW_VZW

[bonjon9]

To Vzw_customer_support:  Can you verify that if I buy my own phone (new, without a sim) and use the sim from my current phone in the new phone, there will be no upgrade fee?

[mama23dogs]

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@bonjon9 wrote:

To Vzw_customer_support:  Can you verify that if I buy my own phone (new, without a sim) and use the sim from my current phone in the new phone, there will be no upgrade fee?

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Asking the people who want to charge you fees, how to avoid fees.  🤷🏼‍♀️
If you buy from Verizon, they will charge you.  Buy your phone somewhere else, move your own sim.  Transfer your own data.

[rcschnoor]

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@bonjon9 wrote:

To Vzw_customer_support:  Can you verify that if I buy my own phone (new, without a sim) and use the sim from my current phone in the new phone, there will be no upgrade fee?

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There are COUNTLESS examples on these forums where "Verizon" has verified someone would not be charged a fee and the person asking was then charged the fee.

As someone who has purchased their last 10-15 phones as "unlocked"(i.e. devices which did not come with a SIM card for a specific network) devices and simply taken my old SIM card and inserted it in the new device, I was not charged any fee on ANY of those 10-15 devices. I just purchased an unlocked iPhone 11 over the holidays and do not expect to see any upgrade fee on my next bill, either. I will update if this is not the case when I receive my next bill.