Will not activate... "Searching", "No Service"

[rkribs]

I lost my iPhone 4s 16gb, and 2 days ago I purchased a used one.  For some reason, the new one I got will not activate.

It has a clean IMEI, and the people at the Verizon store told me there seems to be nothing wrong with it, but they were not able to get it to activate either.  They called Verizon support, were on the line with them for about 15 mins, and THEY weren't able to activate it either. They advised that purchase a new device from their store... If nothing is wrong with this phone, why would I want to do that?

The phone appears to be activated under the Verizon Website, but not on the phone its self.  On the phone, it said "Searching..." in the top left corner for a long time, however at times it switches from "Searching..." to "No Service".  When dialing *228 to activate it, the call never goes through. 

If you have any advice, please let me know

[rkribs]

Looking through various discussions, a post from ArnettH_VZW, in response to greg5844 (on Jan 19, 2014), under a discussion titled "Cannot Activate Cellular Data Network - HELP" indicates that he may know how to help.  How can I get in touch with him?

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi rkribs,

No need to worry! I can help you as well. Please let me know how I can help out. I want to get this resolved for you.

Thanks, BobbyS_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello rkribs. I'm sorry that you are having trouble getting your new phone activated. If you have purchased another iPhone 4S, you have taken the correct steps with dialing *228. Have you connected the phone to iTunes and tried this method to activate it? Please keep us posted.

AndreaS_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport