Bionic activation issues

unseenme
Newbie

I upgraded Friday to the iPhone but decided to come back to Android via the Bionic. Guess what...won't activate. A $300 phone won't activate. A $300 PHONE WON'T ACTIVATE! Come on guys...you release a phone that won't even activate in a non-4G area?? I tried the SIM in the Thunderbolt trick (I still have my Thunderbolt...thankfully) but its still a no go. I've seen where people are waiting 24hrs with no activation yet. I was told by customer service that it should activate by midnight. That'll be 6 hours after initial activation attempt. Has anyone found a solution that actually works?? Do I need to take it back and swap SIM and/or phone?? Don't really see where that would do any good if the first SIM/phone didn't activate. Surely SOMEONE has a solution to this...or at least your phone eventually activated?!? I'm dying to use this phone, but this is turning out to be a 'sign from above' maybe. Looks like I should have stuck with the iPhone...

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19 Replies
Wildman
Legend

A number of users just disable the 4G radio and then activation worked, give it a try and see if you have luck..

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gerio
Specialist - Level 2
Did they try to activate the Bionic SIM card or did they put the T-bolt's card into the Bionic?

I may have been the first person to mention the T-bolt activation method. I've since heard of a few other not-quite -official methods of activating the Bionic.

Geri O
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unseenme
Newbie

@Wildman no dude...once I touch the Droid I get a white screen that says 'PLEAE WAIT UNTIL YOUR PHONE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED AND RESTARTED' for 10 minutes then a white screen that says 'THERE WAS AN ERROR IN ACTIVATION. PLEASE TRY AGAIN OR CONTACT CUSTOMER CARE'. I can't even get Android to boot up. They say it's 'stuck in the switch' which they describe as being an issue with the switchover from the iPhone to the Bionic in their system.

 

@GeriO they scanned the SIM card and activated it through their system, waited 45 minutes while making several calls to their own IT department, then sent me home and said it'll be 2hrs. After 4 hours and another call to Tech, I started reading forums and searching for issues/resolutions and found the Thunderbolt trick, but it didn't work. any other suggestions would be very appreciated.

 

thanks for the responses! sorry to sound so mad but unfortunately I am. This is ridiculous. 

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Elitist_Jerk
Contributor - Level 2

take battery out for 5 mins, put it back in see if sim activates

 

its cutting edge technology, there are a lot of people activing, its still a network that is less than a year old

 

 

I have a feeling you should just go back to the iphone

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unseenme
Newbie

tried that a dozen times. one thing i noticed when i insert the SIM card into my Thunderbolt and power it on is it automatically dials *22899 but i stop it before it connects because you're not supposed to dial *228 from a 4G phone as it'll fry the SIM. I dont know what else to do. 12hrs and no activation yet. logging in to my verizon account online still shows the iPhone activated on my line but theres a message that says 'YOUR NEW DEVICE HAS BEEN DETECTED'. geez...this is nauseating now.

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Bionic_3
Enthusiast - Level 2

I had similar issues when activating my Bionic. I received the same screens and ended up calling the support line. Level 1 support was helpful and checked for any issues. When they couldn't find anything, they passed me to Level 2 and the gentleman told me he could see my phone was in the activation queue and it would take a while. 

 

He did tell me that if the phone didn't activate within the hour to power down, pull the battery and the sim card, wait for at least 60 seconds then insert the sim and battery and try again. I was told if it didn't activate within an hour after that to call back.

 

So try calling the support line and ask them to help you activate your phone. I think it is well worth the hassle.

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unseenme
Newbie

36 hours later....still no activation. I have LITERALLY talked to 20 people at every level of support. they say the 'order is pending and it's in a status that won't let them manually push it thru'. it won't let them change the SIM card in the system, we tried the Thunderbolt trick, they can't cancel the order & re-enter it, they can't put a different phone on the line because it will just just get locked in to the pending order like the Bionic is, they can't do anything so i just have to sit here and wait until the system 'decides' to push the order through. so i'm stuck with no phone until that happens...IF it ever happens. i told the rep at the store last night that i'm gonna give it one more day and if it doesn't push through i'll be back in and i won't leave without an activated phone. i don't have an office job...i'm on the road all day...i have a family and an elderly mother...i have to have a phone. they've already credited me for 24hrs on my bill.

 

it's hard for me to believe that an order can achieve status to the point that NOBODY can do anything with it. this is absurd and madening beyond belief. and that's putting it VERY lightly.

 

i think Verizon needs to re-think their decision to claim to be the 'most reliable network' when they have a $300 phone that won't even activate... 

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MrIceT
Newbie

I bought my Bionic from Costco Online in order to get a free bundle of accessories. The phone was delivered yesterday afternoon. The only activation instructions were the Bionic User manual which said: Insert SIM card then power up. The activation failed and said contact customer care. When I called Wireless Advocates (runs Costco wireless stuff), they said the SIM card was deactivated and I needed a new SIM card. They could either ship me one or I could go to a Verizon store.

 

I called Verizon customer service, they took the SIM card number, and said the number had been retired. They also said I needed a new SIM. When I went to the store, they asked if I had called to register the SIM before inserting. Well no, since there were no instructions to do so.

 

They had to try 3 or 4 times to get everything correct. They had to rescan the phone ESN number AND the SIM card. Maybe Costco had entered something incorrectly. I don't know.

 

Activation instructions need to be revised or made clearer. Not sure if this is only a Wireless Advocates issue or a verizon issue.

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gina7289
Contributor - Level 2
Did it ever give u a sim card error? To be honest i have never heard that before... i think of retired sim mean it was active then inactive after a period of activity. From what i understood the phone registers the card after the phone actvates.i was told that 4g phones in general were haveing trouble active since this phone came out. I never had to register my sim card for my bionic but i bought mine at a corporate store. Ive heard stories of activation problems. Hope u are activated now.
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unseenme
Newbie
They cant even edit the order for mine. They were gonna change sim cards but they can't cause the status the order is in won't let then change it. Basically at this point I have a $300 iPod. They promote themselves as being the most reliable network & promote the Bionic as controlling all machines...and mine won't even activate. They're about to lose a long_time customer over this.
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EdW_VZW
Verizon Employee

Hi Unseenme,

 

I apologize for the length of time it took in trying to activate your Bionic with understanding the frustration in not being able to get it activated faster. Perhaps an issue with the Sim Card contributed to the delay beyond normal circumstances that once they were cleared up, allowed your Bionic to be activated. However, I am glad that your were able to get your Bionic activated. I'm providing a link for an online reference on a Sim Cards which gives some light on their usage and how they function a 4G device.

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gerio
Specialist - Level 2

EdW_VZW wrote:

Hi Unseenme,

 

I apologize for the length of time it took in trying to activate your Bionic with understanding the frustration in not being able to get it activated faster. Perhaps an issue with the Sim Card contributed to the delay beyond normal circumstances that once they were cleared up, allowed your Bionic to be activated. However, I am glad that your were able to get your Bionic activated. I'm providing a link for an online reference on a Sim Cards which gives some light on their usage and how they function a 4G device.


EdW, with all due respct, 

 

I was in my Verizon store today they are still activating Bionics by first inserting the SIM card into an HTC Thunderbolt, activating the card, then inserting the SIM card into the Bionic to complete the activation. Both urban stores are doing this. They tell me that it's the fastest and best way to activate the Bionic, in spite of hours and hours on the phone with whomever they call for tech support. And I gotta say, these guys and gals are really sharp. FWIW, We are in a CDMA-only area. 

 

I love the Bionic, but really, no solution for this yet?

 

Geri O

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gina7289
Contributor - Level 2
Thats bad so what can u do?
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unseenme
Newbie

Mine has been sent to a department in tech support that can release the order so it either goes through or can be pushed manually. HOPEFULLY it goes through tomorrow, but I have the absolute best reps at my local store. I'm on the road all day, so one is letting me use her extra phone that is activated on another reps extra line until my Bionic activates. I have honestly never been taken care of by anyone in any company as good as these guys are doing. 

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unseenme
Newbie

After an exhausting 64 hours, my Bionic FINALLY activated. the system eventually pushed the order through, but the rep at my store said he's never seen one take that long. I really hope VZW works a resolution out on this thing. It's an awesome machine but this activation issue is beyond ridiculous.

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Brrcda
Newbie

Dang!  I am on my 5th day without activation.  I too have been through several tech support calls and 5 different SIM cards.  I saw a video on YouTube on how to activate and that still didn't solve the problem.  I can totally share your level of frustration.  This is a company phone and I am letting the tech guy who handles this from now on.  This wait is total BS and ridiculous!  Anyway, glad at least someone with the same phone I have was activated.

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi Brrcda,

I am confident that we have been able to assist you with activating your device since your orginal post! If not I can happily assist with the activation process. At your convenience, please DM me your wireless number. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you for your involvement in our community forums,

AyaniB_VZW

Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

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gina7289
Contributor - Level 2
Wow 64 hrs. What the heck. This guy was at the store today he was at the store 3 hrs and counting.
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MrJcis1
Enthusiast - Level 1

YOU HAVE TO ACTIVATE YOUR 4G LTE SERVICE.

1. DIAL 1.877.807.4646 FROM ANY PHONE

2. FOLLOW PROMPTS TO ACTIVARE 4G LTE SERVICE.

RESTART YOUR PHONE AND SHOULD ACTIVATE.