Verizon

Verizon introduces new $80 prepaid unlimited data plan

Verizon on Tuesday announced that it's launching a new unlimited data plan for its prepaid customers. Starting today you can activate the plan, which features unlimited data, talk and text, for $80 per month.

“In just months, Verizon has transformed its prepaid offerings to make it easier and more affordable for customers to get access to the best network at a great value, no matter how much data they need,” said Tami Erwin, executive vice president of operations for Verizon. “This plan is all about giving our prepaid customers more choice. With data plans from as little as 2 GB to unlimited data, we’ve got a plan that fits your needs.”

In addition to the 2GB and unlimited plans, Verizon offers a 5GB plan for $50 and a 10GB plan for $70. Each of these plans include Always-On Data, international text to over 200 countries, and CarryOver data.

Today's news comes less than a week after Verizon announced it lost nearly 300,000 postpaid subscribers during its first quarter. The carrier pointed to its lack of unlimited offerings as the biggest factor in the slide.

Source: Verizon

Verizon launches unlimited data plan with 10GB of LTE tethering, offers free iPhone 7/Plus

Verizon is no longer the only major US carrier without an unlimited data plan. As announced yesterday, the carrier's newly launched Unlimited plan gives you unlimited 4G data, texts and minutes on a single smartphone or tablet in exchange for $80 per month, or $45 per month for four lines ($180 total).

Those prices entail paper-free billing and AutoPay and exclude taxes. It's unclear if Verizon's access fees of $20 per month per smartphone and $10 per month per tablet apply to the new plan.

Like with other carriers, you don't really get truly unlimited data: consume more than 22 gigabytes of 4G LTE data per line in any given month and the system begins prioritizing usage behind other customers in the event of network congestion. For a limited time only, the big red carrier is offering a free iPhone 7/Plus, Google Pixel or another flagship smartphone to those who'd switch to the new plan.

iOS 10.3 brings support for Verizon Wi-Fi Calling on other iCloud-connected devices

U.S. wireless carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have supported Wi-Fi Calling for some time now, with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile also supporting Wi-Fi Calling on other iCloud-connected devices like iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch and Mac. According to user reports on MacRumors' forums, iOS 10.3 beta 1 supports Integrated Calling on Verizon.

With this handy feature, compatible iCloud-signed devices can make and receive calls using your carrier's account even when your iPhone isn't nearby.

Apple denies throttling LTE performance of Verizon iPhone 7

Bloomberg today shared research conducted by Twin Prime and Cellular Insights in a story suggestively headlined “Apple's Chip Choices May Leave Some iPhone Users in Slow Lane” which asserts Apple may have throttled LTE performance of the Verizon iPhone 7 handsets to make them perform about as well as the AT&T iPhone 7 models.

Apple in a statement shot down the report and denied throttling, insisting there's “no discernible difference” in wireless performance between various iPhone 7 models.

Yahoo confirms hack, says data from 500 million user accounts stolen

Yahoo on Thursday confirmed that certain user account information was stolen from the company's network in late 2014. Recode has the official statement, which says that it believes more than 500 million users were affected by the breach.

The good news is that Yahoo says from what it knows so far, the stolen information doesn't include payment card data, bank account information, or unprotected passwords. The firm is working closely with law enforcement in its investigation.

Verizon rolls out LTE Advanced with 50% faster peak speeds in 461 U.S. cities

Verizon, the nation's leading telecommunications company, today said that mobile users in 461 cities across the United States now get fifty percent faster peak wireless data speeds thanks to LTE Advanced, the next generation of wireless technology.

A major enhancement of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, LTE Advanced uses existing cell towers and a software technique called carrier aggregation which combines multiple channels to transfer data more quickly than with LTE.

Verizon to buy struggling Internet giant Yahoo for a reported $4.83 billion

Monday, both Yahoo and Verizon Wireless said that the nation's leading wireless carrier will be buying Yahoo's operating business for a reported $4.83 billion. The transaction, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, should grant the carrier over one billion total monthly search users while giving the two companies more than two dozen media and advertising brands, to be added to the AOL network, plus an email service with 225 million monthly active users.

Verizon launches new wireless plans with higher prices and more data

Verizon on Wednesday announced a new wireless plan platform and several new features for its customers. The new plan is more expensive, but it includes at least 30% more data than the previous offering, as well as new stuff like Carryover Data and Safety Mode.

It looks like they're calling it simply the new Verizon Plan, and it comes in 5 flavors: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large and XX-Large. The Small option costs $35 per month for 2GB (previously $30/month for 1GB), and the XXL gives you 24GB for $110 per month.

OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 is out with full Live Photos sharing, password-protected Notes and more

After spending more than two months in beta, OS X 10.11.4, a fourth major update to OS X El Capitan, today released for public consumption. The software update is now available and recommended for all OS X El Capitan users.

Even though it comes with a few noticeable outward-facing changes, OS X 10.11.4 does pack in some newsworthy improvements—namely in stock Messages, Notes and Photos apps. Full sharing of Live Photos via iMessages has been implemented throughout the system, too. Like other major OS X releases, 10.11.4 includes a handful of under-the-hood changes and tons of bug fixes and performance optimizations.

Verizon offering More Everything customers 2GB of free data to try out GO90 app

Heads up Verizon Wireless customers, the carrier is currently offering a limited-time promotion that awards free data to those on its More Everything plan. The promo is good for an extra 2GB for three months, and all you have to do to take advantage of it is download Verizon's GO90 app.

So for those of you on one of the aforementioned plans, grab GO90 from the App Store here or the Google Play Store here. Once it's downloaded, you should receive a text message from Verizon telling you that the free data has been activated on your account, along with an expiration date.

T-Mobile and Verizon are offering free data for existing customers

With Black Friday coming later this week, the various carriers are unveiling their plans for the big sale. While the big four (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon) all have various deals, only T-Mobile and Verizon have really good offerings for existing customers, including free data.

Verizon is offering existing customers an additional 1 GB of data for two billing cycles, while T-Mobile is giving all customers unlimited data for three whole months. These deals start on different dates, so head into the story to see how to get them and where.

Verizon gets FCC waiver to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday gave Verizon permission to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling. As noted by MacRumors, the Commission granted the carrier a waiver today that will allow it to rollout the feature, which was introduced last year with iOS 8.

The news comes a month after AT&T was granted the same waiver, and it activated Wi-Fi Calling for compatible devices days later. In a statement, it also criticized the FCC for excusing the fact that Sprint and T-Mobile have long been offering the feature without a waiver.