Cracking the screen glass is the easiest way to damage a modern smartphone, if only because there's just so much of it. Verizon isn't the only company making offers for a protection plan, giving customers a little peace of mind for reduced-price phone repairs in exchange for a few bucks a month. But the newest version of the plan does have an interesting bonus: they're offering same-day screen replacement for some of the carrier's most high-profile devices. Verizon is hoping that people will be willing to shell out some extra dough for the chance to fix up their screens without having to deal with shipping.
The new plans have an open enrollment period starting today and extending to April 9th of this year. At $11 a month for a smartphone ($9 for a tablet), customers will be paying quite a premium for the privilege of easy, fast repairs - and that's before a $79 deductible for the biggest, most expensive procedures like a screen replacement. The same-day service requires customers to come in to one of 220 authorized locations, or ask for a technician to be dispatched to their home or work - Verizon says that its locations currently cover 60% of its customers. Some areas are blanketed with technician coverage, some less so: New York, California, and Florida have pretty much the entire state covered, but places like South Carolina, Maryland, and New Mexico have only one city on the list. For those outside the same-day service area for repair locations or dispatched technicians, next-day shipping is available.
Now for the real bummer: the same-day screen replacement service is incredibly selective in terms of hardware. This makes sense - keeping repair parts in stock is a tricky process - but it's still discouraging to see only seven Android phones on the list. Note that the Galaxy S6 Edge and S7 Edge, with their complex double-curved AMOLED screens, are not covered. And I'm guessing that the DROID Turbo and DROID Maxx are typos, since both phones are over two years old now- Verizon probably means the Turbo 2 and Maxx 2. It's also strange that none of the Moto Z phones, the LG V20, or the "Verizon-exclusive" Pixel phones made the list.
- Apple iPhone SE, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, and 6s Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, and S7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and 5
- Motorola DROID Turbo and DROID Maxx
On the plus side, equipment protection plans now cover three claims instead of just two, and anyone who adds a new or existing device before March 10th will get a free Mophie battery pack.
Source: Verizon
Image credit: Ashwin Kumar/Flickr