Family Cell Phone Plan

I am in a similar situation as you. I've had Verizon since college (12+ years)...but have spent hours getting a phone "fixed" for a stupid issue. (New Android update wouldn't take on my phone, they sent me a "new" phone - which due to age, is refurb - and I've had lots of problems. Including the microphone not working! I'll take my old phone back with "old" software!!)

This bad situation, with customer service that is sub par - to say the least - and I started looking at T-mobile. I've spent some time researching (some of the 2 hours I was in the Verizon store yesterday!) Here is a helpful article:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/consumer/t-mobiles-new-phone-carrier-break-up-plan-worth-it02032014

The plans for T-mobile are DEFINITELY cheaper! They have no "overages" but you have a limit of 4G data. You can pay a bit more for more 4G, however.

The biggest thing I'm learning is, it seems like the "no ETF (Early Termination Fee)" is only going to work if you buy a new phone with them and trade in your old phone . However, (another article I read said) you MAY find that if you pay the cancellation fee for Verizon and then transfer your iPhones over you MAY end up saving money. The "basic" plan for 4 is $100/month. But you pay full retail for T-mobile phones, which you can either pay up front or pay for monthly. So it looks like you "might" save about $140/month...so how long does it take to break even for the ETF fee? Or do you just get new phones? (You can trade in your current device). Verizon ETF is $350 (for smart phones) minus $10 per full month of service used.

Lots of numbers to run, if you want to...but to say I am pissed off and ready to move from Verizon is an understatement.

Oh! And besides running GPS fitness trackers my other "data" usage is music and T-mobile advertises no data usage for certain music service. I <3 Slacker Radio!!