My Verizon Mobile App on Motorola Xoom--no text message to complete registration

[malanhardy]

I added the verizon mobile app on my xoom and when registering for a login on the verizon wireless web page step two is that they send me a text with a temporary password to enter to continue. Only one problem, I can't receive a text on the Xoom so where do I go from here?

[JBS]

You are not alone.  I went through the same steps you described.  I called Verizon support for help, and after being transferred to two tech support reps who each were only capable of researching the issue, and after being on the phone for two hours (2) hours and twenty-four (24) minutes I was told that they were unable to resolve the issue, and the only way to get the temporary password to complete the My Verizon account setup was through snail mail. 

Our mutual and identical initial experiences lead me to believe that this is an issue that will be experienced by all who attempt to setup a My Verizon account using the Motorola Xoom.  This is clearly caused by either Verizon's oversight in not including a texting applet on the Xoom, or not properly reviewing beforehand their My Verizon account setup process when using a Motorola Xoom.

Considering that, for tablet devices, Verizon currently only offers data plans with set Monthly Data Allowances, they “Verizon” should expect customers to want to track their data usage, and provide from the first day of usage, a way for customers to track their data used.  From what Verizon has told me today, customers will need to wait, at minimum, a couple days for the snail mail with their My Verizon temporary account password to reach them so they can finish their My Verizon registration to access their account and retrieve their data usage information.

PS, I did ask for consideration for the time I spent in helping Verizon troubleshoot the My Verizon account setup process when using the Motorola Xoom.  Verizon offered to give me a “courtesy credit” of $15.00.  Considering the time I spent, I think the courtesy was all mine.

Good luck to all. 

[mnpphoto]

Same problem here.  Tried to sign up on web so I could access account and use data/account manager app on Xoom and said I would get a text message with temporary password, problem is, Xoom does not receive text messages.  If you don't have a phone with Verizon or existing account, you are out of luck.

Sent an email request for help and when I didn't hear back, called tech support.  They were lost.  Kept telling me to go to app on Xoom and could access account to get text messages...Huh, need a password to use this app to get into account, that doesn't work.  Lots of checking and talking to other support person and then suggested downloading and installing VZ Access Manager.  Told them I thought I would need a password for this but said I could use phone number from device to use this and sign up. Told her I would find software and see if that worked.

Just as I get off the phone with this tech support person, a tech support person calls responding to my email.  We go through the whole no ability to get text messages on Xoom device thing and no other Verizon phone, so not able to get temporary password.  At one point I asked about password by email and it sounded like YES, but then due to security, could not be done, just a text of by postal mail to billing address.  He also spoke of downloading VZ Access Manager to get text message to get onto account so we tried to step though this.  I already had my doubts from seeing info about this but gave him the benefit of doubt and tried it.  No device listed.  I tell him.  Tell him what is on screen, yes, under Windows 7, no Xoom...but he says "Xoom is Android, not Windows 7", yes, no choice for Android, only the App I already downloaded, but need the password for this.  Do I download to my computer and then use it, "Yes, you have a laptop, right"  Yes, but which device do I select under the selections and I would need a password for this too.  "Hmm, check with other tech support"  Finally it is determined that only way to get this is by postal mail.

Today, for the heck of it I stop into Verizon store and see if they can get me my password with ID and device to show the number is mine and he tries, but no go.  One option was to set up a phone account temporarily and get a password for this phone for Verizon online access and then I could get to account and such, but this was going to take some time and I didn't want to deal with the possible issues if this went wrong, so I thanked him, as he did seem to know more and tried, but it will be just as easy now to wait for the snail mail and get the password.

I have set-up other data accounts with an iPad and a Galaxy Tab with another carrier in the past and neither of these had text capabilities and I had accounts set up within minutes and could access them from the internet.  Just set-up the account and password online and maybe a confirmation/activation email and you were good to go within minutes.

Here we are in the age of instant information and a device that delivers information to you instantly, practically where ever you are and we need to wait for postal mail to get a password.  Certainly someone did not plan well for this.  I have had nothing but problems with Verizon online, even trying to sign up for these forums and my first attempt and my user name would not activate and then no matter how many times I changed the password it would not work, eventhough my account was created and activated and obviously there as I could reset the password multiple times.  Hopefully things go much smoother in the future with Verizon, the first 48 hours with them has not impressed me at all.

[Jax_Omen]

What I don't understand is why the Xoom can't text in the first place: the Galaxy Tab on Sprint can. The hardware CLEARLY is SMS capable. Why doesn't it just have an SMS app built in? Would solve the whole problem in the first place.

[#5]

What am I missing here? Set up your "My Verizon" account on a computer.

[mrhoads43]

They want a verison phone number.  The only one I have is on the Xoom.  I have a Sprint cell phone and based on Verisons sell phone service I will never have a verison cell phone!

[mrhoads43]

---

jimfitzgerald wrote:
What am I missing here? Set up your "My Verizon" account on a computer.

---

They want a verison phone number.  The only one I have is on the Xoom.  I have a Sprint cell phone and based on Verisons sell phone service I will never have a verison cell phone!

[mrhoads43]

---

jimfitzgerald wrote:
What am I missing here? Set up your "My Verizon" account on a computer.

---

They want a verison phone number.  The only one I have is on the Xoom.  I have a Sprint cell phone and based on Verisons sell phone service I will never have a verison cell phone!

[kazetsukai]

Actually, I don't think SMS is supported, since the Xoom's 3G radio doesn't support Voice bands.

[EdW_VZW]

Thank everyone for your feedback on the matter about no text messaging on the Motorola Xoom. Currently, the only option available to get the password into "My Verizon" would be via a letter sent via US Mail to the user's address.  

Thank You,

edw@vzwsupport

[fishin33]

Thanks Ed -

So then who do we talk to to get these issues rectified?  Obviously if this is going to be a successful device you have GOT to take us into consideration.  Give us VZ Access in an over the air update or something.  Arrange for a different validation method...we don't care.

And surely someone can come up with a data usage tracking program. 

Where is the 'suggestion' box with verizon?

[mnpphoto]

Once you get your temp password via postal mail, you should be able to access the program on your Xoom and access it via the web too.

As others have posted and I have found...if you turn off Wi-Fi and restart Xoom with 3G only on, you can access many features of the program without the need for a password, including current data use.  You just cannot access some of the features of the program without the password and when you turn Wi-Fi back on, the data counter will go back to "not available" or a similar message. 

A short term solution and there are some other data use programs on the Android market as well, just to see official use from Verizon would be best.

[shirokuro]

Hi Ed,

Thank you so much for your reply, and for confirming that postal mail is our only option.

I, and I'm sure most others on this forum, would appreciate it very much if you could communicate to your management, in the strongest terms possible, the complete unacceptability as a customer of this situation.

Verizon has launched this flagship device, without making sure that the online account system (My Verizon) was ready for it.  Leaving customers in this day and age with postal mail as the only option to receive a password is not only highly inconvenient, in my opinion it is also worthy of ridicule.

This problem is only going to get worse as more tablet devices become available.  For example, from next week, Verizon will begin selling the newly-announced iPad 2.  I can't speak for that device in particular, but I believe the original iPad 3G, even on AT&T, has no text message capability, without hacking the device, or possibly by downloading some app.  Assuming this is true, it's reasonable to assume that the iPad 2 may have the same limitation.  If that is the case, Verizon iPad 2 buyers may face the same problem as we Xoom purchasers.  With the iPad 2 being - in all honesty - a higher profile device than the Xoom, the opportunity is there for an extremely embarrassing PR fiasco for Verizon.  I can only hope Verizon has some plan in place to avoid such a mess, or deal with the fallout.  I apologize if I am incorrect in the preceding assumption about the iPad 2.

I strongly urge Verizon to rethink the security policy for My Verizon, and to make passwords available via another method, for example email.  At the very least, until this can be done, Verizon should work to make sure that store personnel, and customer service agents are acutely aware of this issue, and can advise customers beforehand, to avoid us having to scour the internet for forums such as this.

Thanks once again for your attention to this matter.

Craig

[kcrudup]

+1 to the above post!

I, too, am waiting for my code to be recieved via Snail Mail, but at least we can get usage details. It'd be nice to be able to pay my bill, though

[acathrow]

+1

Although the letter did come today with my temporary password but it didn't work.

I'm on my 3rd call to customer service now to get this resolved, not feeling hopeful.

[mnpphoto]

I did finally get my temp access code by snail mail today.  For some reason it didn't work first time I tried on computer and then when tried on Xoom.  When I clicked to confirm username, it said I did not have a security question set-up (well no, I still was not able to get into account as of yet) so it said it would need to send via text...oh no, back to that whole round and round mess.  I tried again with my phone/Xoom ID and it finally worked so I was able to change password and get into account online and on Xoom with new password.

Much too complicated and over a week to get going, felt like we were back in the 1970's for a bit...

[Kim2002]

Yet another unhappy experience trying to get the My Verizon account set up (I only have the Xoom and not a phone accout).  All the prior posts state exactly the same situation I have been through.

Today I received the snail mail letter with temporary password and now I am locked out because the system didn't like my user name and password.  I tried my device phone number with the password, then tried my gmail account with the password.  Didn't like either one.  Tried again since I figured I must've had a typo, but nope - it just doesn't work.  Now I am completely locked out and according to the error message it will require yet another password retrieval to get back in.  It's like a vicious circle.

This is the most stupid situation I have ever encountered with Verizon.  They give a phone number to a device without a phone built in, they require you to use a gmail account but don't even use it to send passwords, and then the password they do send doesn't work.  How archaic is this?!

Not happy. 

[acathrow]

VERY frustrated with verizon

So on the 3rd call to support I was told that there was a problem with the temporary password and verizon would have to send another letter to me. I tried speaking to a supervisor but to no avail, I have to wait for another 5 days.

I'm on a tiered data plan and I'm concerned about overage so really need to be able to track usage.

First impressions really count and given the fact that I've been a verizon customer for 5 days I have to say that I'm really disappointed. There's a short window where I can return this device otherwise I'm locked in with Verizon and given VZ's performance so far I'm not sure I want to be locked in for two years, if such basic errors are being made now, then what's next?

I'll give this another day, I'll try support again, but I'm not hopefully.

It's a shame, this device was going to be a first step away from ATT for all my family phones.

[kcrudup]

I'd wondered if the activation code was/is only good for a few days, and if it would expire while en-route. If they've engineered a solution for the iDevices but not Xooms, I guess that's a clear indicator of how relevant we are to VZ.

But as far as tracking your usage, you can still do that, it turns out- go get the "My Verizon" app from the Market- as long as you're connected via VZ 3G, it'll give you basic usage information w/o your password. It's also got a widget you can install on your desktop, too.

[michaelk]

Ed- thanks for the reply- but please pass on to our management that it is idiotic. I have a business account with 8 lines of service but there's no way to get the stupid account created for my xoom since it can't get the text. there doesn't even seem to be a snailmail option online- do i need to call a CSR and spend 20 minutes explaining this mess so that they will me the password? thanks

[mnpphoto]

To access account, check data use, change plans, pay bill, etc. I believe. Can access online from computer via web page or use Android App to access on Xoom. Need user name (device phone #) and password to do so. My Verizon account does this. When registering, asks for device number, billing infom etc and then once registered sends a temporary password via text message. for security reasons it is going to device and thus owner of device and not just any email.