TLDR -- Google says my phone IMEI is compatible with Verizon; Verizon says it is not; I just want my phone to work, and hoping that escalating this issue through Verizon Tech Support will get me a working phone again.
I sent my Pixel 7 to Google to be repaired; after more than 2 weeks with their repair service, I finally received a repaired / replacement phone (if it's the same phone, they replaced enough parts that it had a different IMEI # when I got it back than the IMEI on the phone that I sent in for repair).
According to Google, the device I received is unlocked and compatible with Verizon. According to Verizon, the IMEI of the device is not compatible with their network. I spent many hours back and forth between Google/Pixel support and Verizon Tech support, with each telling me that the other one was wrong. This even included a trip to the Verizon store where a Verizon employee checked the IMEI # as well (almost surely because the tech support though I was not reading the IMEI# to them correctly) and -- lo and behold -- they show the device is incompatible, just like when enter the IMEI myself into Verizon's BYOD IMEI checker tool.
Unable to tell who was right between Google and Verizon, I asked Google to replace the phone with a different device. It's currently on the way to my house, but per the IMEI of this second replacement device (which Google includes in their shipment notification), this device also shows up as not compatible per Verizon's IMEI check tool.
Google support has said they have done everything they can, the device is unlocked and compatible with Verizon (indeed, on Google's IMEI check tool, the phone comes up as a Verizon-specific phone).
Google has recommended that I ask Verizon Tech Support to escalate this issue internally with their provisioning/activation team, which I will do as soon as I get the phone in my hands (I've tried to escalate already, since I know the IMEI #, but apparently they need more info to complete the escalation paperwork).
I've been reading on other posts of people having similar issues with other (brand new) devices purchased at Best Buy, directly from Samsung, or other retailers, where their device shows up as "not compatible" with Verizon. In their case, the solution was to return the device to whichever retailer they bought it and get the same device directly from Verizon -- supposedly because these things only work after Verizon has added their "special software".
I find it hard to believe that all of these places can really sell or provide "unlocked" or "Verizon-compatible" devices that then show up as not compatible with Verizon -- seems like in other similar posts where the device IMEI comes up as not being compatible with Verizon (yet the retailer or manufacturer that provided the device say it is compatible), no one has really gotten a clear answer on what the underlying issue is with supposedly #non-compatible-IMEI, but it is extremely frustrating. I'm essentially going on a full month without having a working phone. The best Verizon can offer is for me to "upgrade" to a different phone model (which is just insult to injury).
It really seems like there is just something that Verizon needs to do to add a new IMEI to their database, or something Google, etc. need to do to communicate the IMEI of new devices to the carriers, but I don't really know how this works. As a test, I entered my IMEI into a few other carriers -- AT&T says it device is not compatible on their network either; T-Mobile says it is "partially compatible"; Boost says it is fully compatible.
Anyway, hoping that escalating this issue within Verizon can solve this problem, otherwise not sure what I'm going to do. I really don't understand why the company that makes the device and says it's compatible (& unlocked), yet Verizon cannot figure out how to make it work. I'm about to both go get an iPhone and switch to AT&T. I will post an update here with any resolution.
