iPhone 7

Blundatola

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Jun 9, 2008
702
Chicago
I will never understand why people download the updates immediately after it is released. I always give it at least 2 weeks to avoid the bugs.
I've always updated as soon as the new software is available and yesterday was the first time I've ever had an issue. I'll definitely be once-bitten, twice-shy from now on, though.
 

DukeSox

absence hasn't made the heart grow fonder
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2005
11,742
What ever happened to like buy the new phone for $200 and re-up your two year plan? I'm seeing a 24 month payment-per-month option on the AT&T website. Is that $200 and re-up for two years concept gone now and you have to pay the full $750 or whatever amortized over the couple years? Did they lower the monthly service payment to balance it out?
 
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NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
19,271
I can't get voicemail transcription to work for the life of me. I've tried restarting the phone, restored the phone, reset network settings, can't figure it out.

I can't wait to have that feature for when I'm in meetings.
 

NortheasternPJ

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2004
19,271
What ever happened to like buy the new phone for $200 and re-up your two year plan? I'm seeing a 24 month payment-per-month option on the AT&T website. Is that $200 and re-up for two years concept gone now and you have to pay the full $750 or whatever amortized over the couple years? Did they lower the monthly service payment to balance it out?
You pretty much nailed it. They lowered the plans, gave you a payment plan option for the phone or buy it outright. Works out well if you keep your phone over 2 years. Works out about the same if you renew every 2.

If I was buying my phone now and not getting one from work, I'd ditch the carrier plan and do Apple's which includes Apple Care and the new phone every year option for a few bucks if you want it.
 

DukeSox

absence hasn't made the heart grow fonder
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2005
11,742
You pretty much nailed it. They lowered the plans, gave you a payment plan option for the phone or buy it outright. Works out well if you keep your phone over 2 years. Works out about the same if you renew every 2.

If I was buying my phone now and not getting one from work, I'd ditch the carrier plan and do Apple's which includes Apple Care and the new phone every year option for a few bucks if you want it.
Thanks. I must have missed the lowered rate plans haha. I have grandfathered unlimited data on ATT&T but it looks like i never use more than 8-9 GB/mo according to my billing data.
 

mt8thsw9th

anti-SoSHal
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
17,120
Brooklyn
My phone became unplugged while sleeping and was down to about 40%, and shut off and had the no battery/plug in your phone notice on the home screen. When I got to work I fully charged it, and it's been fine since. Over 2 hours and at 88% while listening to podcasts and light browsing. This is a lot more like it.

At some point I need to bring my 6S back to Verizon since it has a habit of shutting down at 40% or under, particularly in cold weather. Probably just a wonky battery.
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,428
Harrisburg, Pa.
The drastic battery drain can be due to indexing. I'd give it a full charge cycle and a few days to see what happens before jumping off the roof.
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
31,885
Alexandria, VA
Thanks. I must have missed the lowered rate plans haha. I have grandfathered unlimited data on ATT&T but it looks like i never use more than 8-9 GB/mo according to my billing data.
Market pressure T-Mobile/Sprint and Straight Talk and other MVNOs (and Google Fi and others) forced Verizon/AT&T to stop the "jacked up rates and subsidized phones" model. Which is for the best, IMO.

I hung onto my AT&T grandfathered unlimited data plan for like 5 years before I realized I was paying through the nose to keep it but not using it; my monthly bill dropped by $60 once I switched to a pay-what-you-use plan (Google Fi in my case).
 

leetinsley38

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 24, 2005
764
SF Bay Area
What do you guys pay for monthly plans?

I just pre-ordered a subsidized iPhone w 2 yr contract renewal through Verizon (had to call them, couldn't complete it online). I pay $60 a mo but it's only 2g of data. I'm usually always on wireless when I'm streaming (home or gym) so actually don't typically go over.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
What do you guys pay for monthly plans?
Two phones sharing, unlimited talk/text and 3GB data with rollover we paid $171 a month the last two years on att. That was with $28/month on the phone leases and $8/month on insurance. When I ordered the new ones they've changed the att next plan (used to be financed over 24, renewed after 18 with trade in; now it's 30/24) and it dropped to $21 something. I also plan to drop insurance, so I'm expecting my monthly for the two of us to be a about $140 including leases and taxes.

Edit: so I guess the monthly plan for the two of us is about $90 before tax?
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
31,885
Alexandria, VA
What do you guys pay for monthly plans?

I just pre-ordered a subsidized iPhone w 2 yr contract renewal through Verizon (had to call them, couldn't complete it online). I pay $60 a mo but it's only 2g of data. I'm usually always on wireless when I'm streaming (home or gym) so actually don't typically go over.
Edit: nevermind, missed the thread title.

Google Fi. I average about $24/month. If you use every bit of that 2g it'd be $40/month for Fi, but you'll automatically be refunded for the unused portion of your data so likely somewhere in the $30s for you.

Certainly for people who use more data (5gb or so plus) Fi doesn't make sense. For you it sounds like it might be worth a look.
 
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Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
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Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
Google Fi. I average about $24/month. If you use every bit of that 2g it'd be $40/month for Fi, but you'll automatically be refunded for the unused portion of your data so likely somewhere in the $30s for you.

Certainly for people who use more data (5gb or so plus) Fi doesn't make sense. For you it sounds like it might be worth a look.
You can use google fi on an iPhone?
 

Oil Can Dan

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Lifetime Member
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Jul 31, 2003
8,014
0-3 to 4-3
I'm grandfathered on AT&T's unlimited data and I pay $105 or so per month for that, unlimited texts and 450 minutes. I think.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
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Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I'm on AT& T .unlimited data , 200 text, 450 mins. Generally I have 2200 roll over minutes to burn. I've never come close to maxing my 450 or 200. With all the shit they add to the bill it comes at$91.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
I'm on AT& T .unlimited data , 200 text, 450 mins. Generally I have 2200 roll over minutes to burn. I've never come close to maxing my 450 or 200. With all the shit they add to the bill it comes at$91.
Wow that's an antiquated plan. I didn't know they still limited texts, let alone minutes, but I'm assuming you need to keep that for the data. Shows how much usage has changed.

Personally I use talk to an extremely small extent in a given month. I'd guess maybe 200 mins on the high side. I text a shitload and I cover about 1 GB of data. Gf probably uses slightly more talk and equal the rest. Product of our jobs to an extent, but I rarely find myself in a situation where I can't get wifi and my calls are limited to short ones to lock in details on stuff or long ones catching up with friends once a month. Honestly I think the only overages I've ever paid were when texting started getting more main stream and the plans hadnt adjusted yet.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
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Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I've only ever gone over 4G once ... I often thought about reducing unlimited. I could get unlimited text and minutes and I think it was 4G but my overall saving was going to be about $11 a month. The store manager advised against it.. Despite general policy to try and switch as many from unlimited. Well, that was two years ago. Not sure what plans are like now.
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,428
Harrisburg, Pa.
My wife and I are on AT&T. The Mobile Share Value 15GB plan, unlimited talk/text with carryover data.

Two iPhones, both on Next 24.

Our bill is $121.67/month. I could pay off the phones and lower that by roughly $40 but I'll take the interest-free loan from AT&T.

I saved nearly $50 for giving up unlimited data and gained unlimited text which is much more preferred anyway.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
Well? How is it??
Sleek. Really like the matte black I got. Feels slightly heavier, but that could be in my head. Definitely is faster (I'm coming off a 6, so others may not notice it as much). The speakers are much, much louder and you can notice the stereo. iOS 10 seems to have a few new features - texting has different options for GIFs, you can even doodle a little picture - but I haven't had time to play with it much.

The 3D Touch home button is going to take some getting used to and I'll have to play with the settings on it. Right now I don't love it. Activating the SIM was the only thing that took any time at all, but even that was about fifteen minutes on ATT chat. In the process I finally figured out why I was having iCloud synch issues, and it was because i had a third party security app (lookout) installed that wasn't allowing it. I'll have to find a new one that plays nicer with apple. It's also nice to have the base model be 32 GB, I found myself finally starting to push the limits on my 16GB but never wanted to spend the money to move up when I could just delete apps I'm not using or old pics.

Edit: I'll also note that FedEx did not require a sig. I swapped stuff around to make sure I was home today and happened to notice the truck pull up. By the time I got out there, he had left the two boxes on the step and was back in his truck. Not sure if that was him sucking or a change in practice.
 

Yaz4Ever

MemBer
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Jul 10, 2004
11,256
MA-CA-RI-AZ-NC
Verizon called me and wants me to come in and trade in our iPhone 6 phones for iPhone 7's. Said we'll get them for free just pay tax upfront. Also suggested it might make my bill decrease. ?? Heading over on Monday to hear him out.

On a side note, I'd be interested in an iPhone 5 or 6 for my youngest if anyone is looking to dump theirs when upgrading. Pm me if you've got one.
 

B H Kim

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Oct 24, 2003
5,719
Washington, DC
The speakers are much, much louder and you can notice the stereo.
I got the 7 plus today and the first thing I noticed after restoring the phone from backup is that notification sounds are considerably (annoyingly) louder (fine once I adjusted the volume down to about 60 percent).
 

bohous

Member
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Jul 21, 2005
4,418
Framingham
Verizon called me and wants me to come in and trade in our iPhone 6 phones for iPhone 7's. Said we'll get them for free just pay tax upfront. Also suggested it might make my bill decrease. ?? Heading over on Monday to hear him out.

On a side note, I'd be interested in an iPhone 5 or 6 for my youngest if anyone is looking to dump theirs when upgrading. Pm me if you've got one.
I would be interested to hear what they say. Are you still on a 2yr contract?

EDIT: actually here is the promo.
Trade in and get
iPhone 7 for $0.
Up to $650 savings.

Here’s how to get your iPhone 7 for $0:

  1. Buy a new iPhone 7 with monthly device payments.
  2. During checkout, select the option to trade in your old device. If you wish to trade in your device at a later time, please ensure you have activated your new iPhone 7 first, then log in to My Verizon and select "trade in old device."
  3. After you have completed your trade-in appraisal, you will receive a box to return your old device.
Your savings will be credited to your account as recurring payments over 24 months beginning within 2-3 cycles. iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are eligible for promotional value of $650. iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C and iPhone SE are eligible for promotional value of $400.
Just playing around, if I try to go through the upgrade process it only offers me $215 credit for my 16gb iPhone 6. My guess is the only way you get full $650 credit and $0 iPhone 7 would be trading in a 128gb 6s Plus which would net you a 32gb iPhone 7 (4.7")
 
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Dan Murfman

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Aug 21, 2001
4,186
Pawcatuck
With Verizon I traded in my 16gb 6. The deal is I get a $650 credit but it's paid out with a $27 credit each month for the next 24 months as long as I stay with Verizon. And I bought the 256gb 7 and that will cost me 35 a month for the next 24 months. If I bought the 32gb 7 it would have cost me 27 a month so that's why they are saying it's "free."
 

drtooth

2:30
Lifetime Member
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Feb 23, 2004
11,305
Someone's Molars
My 6-Plus screen has been freaking out over the last couple of weeks. Debating if I should exchange for another 6 or just go to the 7.
 

bohous

Member
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Jul 21, 2005
4,418
Framingham
With Verizon I traded in my 16gb 6. The deal is I get a $650 credit but it's paid out with a $27 credit each month for the next 24 months as long as I stay with Verizon. And I bought the 256gb 7 and that will cost me 35 a month for the next 24 months. If I bought the 32gb 7 it would have cost me 27 a month so that's why they are saying it's "free."
So are you just paying the difference of the additional $8/mo on top of your voice/data plan?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
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Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
What are people toting around on their phones that they need 256GB? That's not to sound judgmental, though I know it does, I'm genuinely curious. That's a shitload of storage.
 

Yaz4Ever

MemBer
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Jul 10, 2004
11,256
MA-CA-RI-AZ-NC
What are people toting around on their phones that they need 256GB? That's not to sound judgmental, though I know it does, I'm genuinely curious. That's a shitload of storage.
I think this shoots 4K video, which I assume takes up a ton of space. Short of that (and iPhone video probably isn't the best way to get 4K), I have no idea. I've got a 64 now and take tons of pics and don't come close to filling it - with movies, music, audio books and more stored on the phone as well.
 

Dan Murfman

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Aug 21, 2001
4,186
Pawcatuck
I'll admit I'm a moron. After having a 16gb since the 5 and constantly having to delete apps and photos I figured get more storage and since I bought a 4K tv the videos would take up a lot more space and it was either $8 more for the 256 or $4 more fir the 128 I went with the bigger but I should've gone with the 128
 

Dan Murfman

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Aug 21, 2001
4,186
Pawcatuck
So are you just paying the difference of the additional $8/mo on top of your voice/data plan?
Yes but they did drop the price of access price for each device. So my wife just got the S7 and with my new iPhone our monthly bill is going to be $2 less than than we were previously paying.
 

bowiac

Caveat: I know nothing about what I speak
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Dec 18, 2003
12,945
New York, NY
What are people toting around on their phones that they need 256GB? That's not to sound judgmental, though I know it does, I'm genuinely curious. That's a shitload of storage.
I store a lot of movies/TV shows via Plex and Amazon video on my phone. That and photos, and I've blown through my 128GB storage.
 

NortheasternPJ

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2004
19,271
So with iOS 10, one thing was driving me nuts and seems completely unnecessary, is the fact that you have to do TouchID to unlock and the "Press Home to Open". Apparently you can turn it off!

Re-enable touch to unlock

If you’re not a fan of having to physically press the home button to unlock your phone, there’s an iOS settings option that will enable you to unlock your device simply by resting your finger on the Touch ID sensor. You can activate this setting by going to Settings > General > Accessibility > Home Button and then selecting Rest Finger to Open.