Verizon Wireless

melmac86

Question for anyone that has Verizon or may know anything about it...

I'm not eligible for an early phone upgrade until June. Does anyone know if it's possible to buy a phone on Amazon or ebay and then activate it using the same number/account info?

melmac86

Nevermind. According to the customer service rep, it is possible. Now the trick is finding a phone at a decent price.

jorja86

It is...I ordered one on ebay once, then took it in to the store and got it activated. You just need to be sure that it's a "Verizon" phone. They all have different cards.

melmac86

Awesome, thanks!

MerNuss

I happen to sell VZW at my kiosk, and as mentioned earlier, it is of course possible! Again, make sure it's stamped as a verizon phone... and iphones are tricky, especially the 4s! If it's a 4, or ANY other *NON 4G LTE* Verizon phone, the main device ID (often known as an ESN or IMEI number) will start with an A00000 and then have several characters after that. The 4s is harder, because the IMEIs start similarly to the AT&T ones. if it begins 99 and several 0's, you should be okay! 

Another way to get a phone early if you don't find any decent phones is to add-a-line. This is usually only worth it if you already have a family plan, but what some people do is they'll add the line to get the phone at the discounted rate, then activate the new phone on the existing line, and put an old phone (you can find the serial number of an old flip phone from the account history in vzw's system, just ask a rep to look it up), and activate the old phone on the new line... just like an upgrade swap! The new line with a superbasic phone on it will only cost $10/month and it's usually still cheaper than buying a phone full-retail and safer than doing it online!  Then at the end of two years, you get rid of the extra dummy-line, or in the meantime you can give it to a friend or relative to use with their own device!

Hope I could help! 

melmac86

Thanks! That's super helpful. I ended up buying a new droid from ebay with a clean ESN, so luckily I don't have to worry about the iPhone thing. It should be here in a couple of days! I have had a Blackberry Curve for like 4 years and I'm excited for a touch screen phone.

MerNuss

YAY! Droids are supercool, and if you get another one on your upgrade, your info will back up automatically to your Google account. I love the Android OS ^_^

You also shouldn't have to go to the store to activate it. Just dial 611 from the droid once you get it and follow the prompts; an agent can help you set it up over the phone. It's pretty easy.

Glad your phone is on its way!!! :-)

melmac86

Thanks again!