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Razr

I

iShane

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2006
730
1
New York -> SF
Okay guys,

I've been interested in the RAZR for a while now and I asked Verizon if I could get on on they're pay as you go plan, they said yes but that I would have to buy it for the retail price (about 300) I don't really want to spend that much on a phone and then have to spend 30-40 dollars per month on it. So what I was wondering was if I could buy one on eBay and take it in and get it to work with pay as you go (my parents insist that I use a pay-as-you-go plan) and if so what requirements and such would it need to have.

Thanks.
 
I know this probably isn't what you're looking for, but, make your parents up a table of the benefits of having a plan, especially with Verizon. For the same $40/month you could be having unlimited nights & weekends and much, much more minutes to use. Make like a chart or something to show the difference in the "cost /minute" or something to help convince them.

If you really must go with Pay as you go service, don't pick Verizon. Go for Cingular's Go Phone if you can, or even T-Mobile. You can get the RAZR with Cingular's Go Phone and I think it's only $200.

But yeah, with any cellular pay as you go service, you should be able to buy any phone and use it with the thing. Their "plan" phones and "pay as you go" phones are the same thing. Ask them to make sure though, you never know.

EDIT: And the Verizon CDMA RAZR's retail price is $399, I believe, not $300.
 
ITASOR said:
I know this probably isn't what you're looking for, but, make your parents up a table of the benefits of having a plan, especially with Verizon. For the same $40/month you could be having unlimited nights & weekends and much, much more minutes to use. Make like a chart or something to show the difference in the "cost /minute" or something to help convince them.

If you really must go with Pay as you go service, don't pick Verizon. Go for Cingular's Go Phone if you can, or even T-Mobile. You can get the RAZR with Cingular's Go Phone and I think it's only $200.

But yeah, with any cellular pay as you go service, you should be able to buy any phone and use it with the thing. Their "plan" phones and "pay as you go" phones are the same thing. Ask them to make sure though, you never know.

EDIT: And the Verizon CDMA RAZR's retail price is $399, I believe, not $300.
Click to expand...

Good idea, I will make a chart. Also I don't get T-Mobile or Cingular service around here. We only get Verizon or Cell One, otherwise I would definitely go with T-Mobile, they have AWESOME phones.
 
ITASOR said:
I know this probably isn't what you're looking for, but, make your parents up a table of the benefits of having a plan, especially with Verizon. For the same $40/month you could be having unlimited nights & weekends and much, much more minutes to use. Make like a chart or something to show the difference in the "cost /minute" or something to help convince them.

If you really must go with Pay as you go service, don't pick Verizon. Go for Cingular's Go Phone if you can, or even T-Mobile. You can get the RAZR with Cingular's Go Phone and I think it's only $200.

But yeah, with any cellular pay as you go service, you should be able to buy any phone and use it with the thing. Their "plan" phones and "pay as you go" phones are the same thing. Ask them to make sure though, you never know.

EDIT: And the Verizon CDMA RAZR's retail price is $399, I believe, not $300.
Click to expand...

That is some of the best advice I have ever read on this or any forum, nice work ITASOR.
 
yankeefan24 said:
It would have to be the RAZR V3c. not the regular V3 but it must be the V3c.

good luck!
Click to expand...

Oh and thanks for that too. My God if I bought the wrong phone...bad things might happen. :D
 
Do what Itasor said. Also, I would advise against getting that particular phone second hand, in all honestly, i have had mine for about six months and its already looking like its going to die some time soon (its insured so that I just get a replacement when it dies), admittedly I don't treat it with any particular care, just throw it in my pocket and use it, but it hasn't lasted as long as my old nokia phones used to. So try and get a new one, then you'll have the warrenty etc and aren't going to be stuck with one of the soon-to-be-dead models that I fear probably make up most of those on ebay.
 
student_trap said:
...i have had mine for about six months and its already looking like its going to die some time soon ...
Click to expand...
In all honesty, I've been trying to kill my razr for a while, but it even survived being dunked into water, and falling out of my backpack/pocket/whatever multiple times. I've had mine for about six months too, half-decent phone - just too many people have it, and I can barely hear anyone on it...(huge irritation).
Check out some other phones, and also, where do you live that you get verizon but not cingular

PS, a Mac forum is not the best place to ask, go check out hofo - http://www.howardforums.com , it's like THE site for phone stuff.
 
janey said:
I can barely hear anyone on it...(huge irritation).
Check out some other phones, and also, where do you live that you get verizon but not cingular
Click to expand...

this is one of my biggest peevs with this phone...soooooooo quiet! Also, its menu's are super sluggish
 
Read This First!!

I have a Verizon RAZR V3c.

IT WILL NOT WORK WITH YOUR MAC OUT OF THE BOX.

The only bluetooth profile supported by the V3c out of the box is wireless headset. Verizon deletes all the other bluetooth profiles from the phone. They claim it's for protection from bluejacking which is nonsense. The real reason is that they just want to force you to use Get it Now to get pix and ringtones. The only reason I am still with these greedy bastards after all these years is 1) fantastic curteous customer support and 2) I am NEVER in a no-service area.

You need to find a friend with a PC and flash it to the Alltel firmware to re-enable the bluetooth features that Verizon disables. Once you flash it, OBEX, OPP, DUN, etc. are all back and you send/receive files and sync using iSync (although you have to patch it, instructions are here: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=780944 ) As an added bonus, you also ditch the retarded Verizon UI and get the much snappier and infinetly better Moto stock UI. This really unlocks the potential of the phone and also extends the battery life as the Verizon UI is an application that runs on top of the Moto interface using more processor time and draining your battery faster.

Step by step instructions on how to flash your phone and re-enable all the features Verizon denies you are here: http://wiki.howardforums.com/motoro...c_Tutorial:_Flashing_to_Alltel_User_Interface
 
if your plan is expiring, you could switch to CINgular and get a V3, or a V3i. V3i(Razr 2) you can get on online for ~275 unlocked unbranded
 
TrenchcoatJedi said:
I have a Verizon RAZR V3c.

IT WILL NOT WORK WITH YOUR MAC OUT OF THE BOX.

The only bluetooth profile supported by the V3c out of the box is wireless headset. Verizon deletes all the other bluetooth profiles from the phone. They claim it's for protection from bluejacking which is nonsense. The real reason is that they just want to force you to use Get it Now to get pix and ringtones. The only reason I am still with these greedy bastards after all these years is 1) fantastic curteous customer support and 2) I am NEVER in a no-service area.

You need to find a friend with a PC and flash it to the Alltel firmware to re-enable the bluetooth features that Verizon disables. Once you flash it, OBEX, OPP, DUN, etc. are all back and you send/receive files and sync using iSync (although you have to patch it, instructions are here: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=780944 ) As an added bonus, you also ditch the retarded Verizon UI and get the much snappier and infinetly better Moto stock UI. This really unlocks the potential of the phone and also extends the battery life as the Verizon UI is an application that runs on top of the Moto interface using more processor time and draining your battery faster.

Step by step instructions on how to flash your phone and re-enable all the features Verizon denies you are here: http://wiki.howardforums.com/motoro...c_Tutorial:_Flashing_to_Alltel_User_Interface
Click to expand...

All this is not necessarily true. If you download a modified version of iSync, it will work right out of the box. It (the modified version for download) has been posted on these forums a couple times, so search for it. If you can't find it, PM me and I'll send it.

I have the same phone and it works fine. I didn't flash any firmware. I transfer files and ringtones over bluetooth as well as use it with iSync.
 
Heb1228 said:
All this is not necessarily true. If you download a modified version of iSync, it will work right out of the box. It (the modified version for download) has been posted on these forums a couple times, so search for it. If you can't find it, PM me and I'll send it.

I have the same phone and it works fine. I didn't flash any firmware.
Click to expand...

Then you have the old version of the Verizon firmware (v2). All the currently shipping RAZR V3c handsets have a newer firmware (v3) with the bluetooth profiles removed. Even with that older version (v2), OPP is still disabled.
 
Clydefrog said:
if your plan is expiring, you could switch to CINgular and get a V3, or a V3i. V3i(Razr 2) you can get on online for ~275 unlocked unbranded
Click to expand...

Please take the time to read all posts. As stated before, Cingular does NOT provide service in the desired area.
 
TrenchcoatJedi said:
Then you have the old version of the Verizon firmware (v2). All the currently shipping RAZR V3c handsets have a newer firmware (v3) with the bluetooth profiles removed. Even with that older version (v2), OPP is still disabled.
Click to expand...
You may be right, but I'm still doubtful. A bunch of people told me all the exact same stuff you just said about MY phone right after I got it... about how Verizon 'cripples' their phones and all. I just haven't seen anything to make me believe thats actually true. I'm not a cell phone expert, so I could easily be wrong. I just know it works fine with a few changes to the iSync app. That tells me its not Verizon.
 
It's True

It is true that verizon cripples their bluetooth phones. I work in the mobile phone industry and I can tell you that first hand. I've heard it from the mouth's of verizon reps. Google for "Motorola v710 Lawsuit" and you'll get all the info about how they remove the OBEX profiles from the phone. The only problem with the v710 was they advertised them as features AFTER removing them. I don't believe they advertise syncing features anymore.
 
mox358 said:
It is true that verizon cripples their bluetooth phones. I work in the mobile phone industry and I can tell you that first hand. I've heard it from the mouth's of verizon reps. Google for "Motorola v710 Lawsuit" and you'll get all the info about how they remove the OBEX profiles from the phone. The only problem with the v710 was they advertised them as features AFTER removing them. I don't believe they advertise syncing features anymore.
Click to expand...

My buddy was a party to the v710 class action lawsuit. Verizon does advertise their phones now with fine print saying the bluetooth is disabled. From verizonwireless.com: "The RAZR V3c supports the Wireless Headset & Handsfree Bluetooth Profiles. It does not support Bluetooth object transfer (OBEX) profiles." A full description of their bluetooth cripplings can be found here: (PDF link) http://dts.vzw.com/pdf/BT_Chart_Handsets.pdf

The OBEX in the v2 firmware on the RAZR V3c was a fluke. Someone overlooked it but it was corrected in the next revision. Rumor on Howardforums is that Motorola is getting pretty sick of Verizon's demands on their software and fielding calls from angry Verizon customers. They're pressuring Verizon to open up the phones because of this.
 
skipskop24 said:
Too bad Verizon is the only service we get around here (Besides Cell One which has like 3 bars max) :(
Click to expand...

You will not be disappointed with an Alltel flashed RAZR. Just read Howardforums and see how many happy people there are out there.
 
TrenchcoatJedi said:
You will not be disappointed with an Alltel flashed RAZR. Just read Howardforums and see how many happy people there are out there.
Click to expand...

Can I get an Alltel flashed RAZR? Sorry, I'm kind of a n00b with phones.
 
I can't speak for the V3c but I've got loads of friends who got the V3 silver or the V3 black and every single one of them loved it when they first got it because its so sexy but they all hate their phones now because its really irritating to use and useless to text with.
Sorry to give a bad review but I thought its worth getting another point of view!! :)
 
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