My verizon phone broke what do i do

If My Verizon Phone Broke and It Wasn't My Fault, Can I Get a Free Phone If I Don't Have Insurance?

Although most expensive smartphones now come with durable covers to protect against preventable damages, thousands of these devices are lost, damaged or destroyed every week. Cell phones are simply too useful for their own good: Their users often take them out when it's not warranted to do so. A single ill-advised decision could have lasting ramifications that might significantly reduce the operational value of a given phone.

Every major cell phone provider maintains its own unique policy with regards to the replacement of damaged or lost phones. In general, most providers have been moving away from offering "free passes" for customers who lose or destroy their phones after the expiration of their warranty periods. If your phone becomes unusable after it has dropped off of its initial 90-day warranty coverage. you may be justifiably worried that you'll have to pay out of your own pocket for its replacement. As a Verizon customer, you may be especially worried: If you've been paying attention to recent online chatter, you've probably heard plenty of horror stories to this effect.

Fortunately, you probably won't have to pay for a brand-new phone after losing your existing Verizon phone. The company has several interrelated policies that govern its treatment of lost or damaged phones.

First, it's important to note that Verizon still replaces some base-model cell phones on a no-questions-asked basis. Although it changed its policies for most of its higher-margin smartphones in 2011, most "entry-level" phones remain protected by a "courtesy" warranty that may save substantial sums of money for customers who lose their regular cell phones. If your phone cost less than $99 before the application of any discounts or rewards points, it's likely that you won't have to pay for its replacement.

For lost or damaged data phones and smartphones, you'll almost certainly have to make a compromise in order to receive a replacement phone. Such a compromise will come in one of two forms: a pre-owned "refurbished" phone or a pro-rated replacement-phone fee. In either case, you'll sacrifice some of the value of the original phone in order to receive its replacement.

Most refurbished phones are functionally identical to the devices that they replace. If you receive one of these phones, the contents of its hard drive will have been erased. In other words, you won't have to worry about the potential of any spyware, bugs or old contact information to affect your "new" device's performance .