Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
Cocoadog1
Newbie


Verizon told me I could buy a 3G phone to replace my 4G phone, and as long as it said "Verizon" on it, it would work. I bought the phone and tried to activate it. They said they couldn't acitivate it. 2 hours and a supervisor later and they still can't activate it unless I pay a fee to break my contract. Hate, hate, hate this company. After years of contracts and thousands of dollars paid, never ever again--as soon as my contract is up in a couple of months, it is over.

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
tikibar1
Community Leader
Community Leader

I'm confused ... your title said you switched to a basic phone and the post is in the Basic Phones space, but you said "Verizon told me I coiuld buy a 3G phone" ... a 3G phone isn't a basic phone. 

Not only does the phone need to be Verizon branded, but it needs to have a clean ESN/MEID.  Where did you buy the phone? 

Activating a bring-your-own-device on your plan shouldn't require you to "break your contract".  Were you given a reason as to why the phone wouldn't activate and why you would have to cancel your contract?

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
HappyHelper
Specialist - Level 1

Did you buy a prepaid phone? Prepaid phones have to be active for 6 months before being used on a postpaid account.

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
Cocoadog1
Newbie

I don't know much about the delineations between types of phones, but this

one is more of a basic phone than the one I have (a so-called "smart

phone.")

All I know is I was told this would work, and it won't.

Yes, they cited the rule about it having to be active for 6 months on a

pre-paid account. I bought the phone on Amazon used. I have no idea about

the phone's history and wasn't told that its history would be an issue. I

was just told the phone should say "Verizon" on it, which it does.

Best regards,

Alice

Private info removed as required by the Terms of Service.

Message was edited by: Admin Moderator

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
HappyHelper
Specialist - Level 1

Not sure if you really want to post your cell and home numbers on a public forum on the internet. Not only does it violate T&Cs but you could get a lot of unwanted calls from internet trolls.

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
Cocoadog1
Newbie

I don't want to do that -- didn't know that I did. How can I remove it?

Best regards,

Alice

Private info removed as required by the Terms of Service.

Message was edited by: Admin Moderator

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
Cocoadog1
Newbie

can you tell me how to delete that information?

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
HappyHelper
Specialist - Level 1

Moderators are pretty good about editing it pretty quickly and seem to have already hidden it to remove the personal information. I was just giving you a heads up because while this may be a verizon wireless forum, you never know who might be lurking.

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
Cocoadog1
Newbie

It must have been because I chose the option of replying from my email and that info is part of the signature. I still see the sigature information in my posts. Is there any way for me to go in and edit my posts? Or do I have to wait for a moderator to do it?

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Re: Was told I could switch to a basic phone, so I bought one, and then they wouldn't activate it
HappyHelper
Specialist - Level 1

There's a very limited window in which you can edit your replies. I think it's about 5 minutes but I don't know the exact. For what it's worth, I'm not seeing your personal info on any other post and the one it was in is currently hidden from public view.

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