[VZW] How to Get a Subsidized Phone on Verizon and Not Lose Unlimited Data

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Cozume

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Jan 30, 2014
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I asked for a Verizon forum to be created to discuss issues like this, but while the admins are deciding on that I thought I would post this here for other Verizon Moto X unlimited data plan users to see in the mean time.

The easiest way that has been working to get a subsidized phone using your unlimited data plan's upgrade without losing your UDP is to buy from Best Buy online. Now since Moto Maker uses the Best Buy system, at least one poster on another forum reported it worked using his upgrade on Moto Maker, too. I have not personally used this method but others on another forum have and have posted screen shots showing it worked for them to keep their UDP.

There is a glitch in the Best Buy system (and in Moto Maker since it is the same system) whereby if you use your UDP line's upgrade, it tells you that you are going to lose your UDP but it does not make you select a new plan before checking out. And when you complete the check out it says Keep Current Plan. This appears to be true for all phones except the Droid Maxx. To progress through check out with the Droid Maxx you have to select a new Share/More Everything plan. Why that is no one knows and I suspect this glitch will be fixed eventually for all phones as it has been fixed for the Droid Maxx.

You also need to ship the new subsidized phone to your home to do the activation yourself. Do not ship to the store because many stores will not give you the phone without activating it with the SIM card it shipped with in it. That is the step you want to avoid - you do NOT want to activate the new subsidized phone with the SIM card it shipped with in it. If you do, you will be switched off of your UDP and onto the 2GB data plan. Instead, you want to swap out the SIM card the new phone shipped with and replace it with your current SIM card. If they are different sizes get a SIM card cutter/adapter as needed.

All Verizon 4G LTE phones are shipping with the SIM cards already installed in them. All you have to do is turn them on and they connect to the network and this is all it may take to lose your UDP. So the first thing you should do when you get your new subsidized phone is remove the SIM card it shipped with and throw it out. Do NOT turn on your new subsidized phone before removing the SIM card it shipped with.

So here are the steps:

1) Order a subsidized phone other than the Droid Maxx from Best Buy online using the upgrade on your UDP line, choosing Keep Current Plan and selecting No Change each step of the way, and taking screen shots of the ordering process at each step to document;
2) Ignore the warning that you will lose your UDP;
3) Do NOT select a new plan; choose Keep Current Plan and select No Change at each opportunity throughout the ordering process;
4) Select ship to your home address and do NOT ship to store;
5) Before you check out confirm that it says Keep Current Plan;
6) When your new subsidized phone arrives to your home, do not turn your new subsidized phone on, remove the SIM card that shipped with the phone and throw it out, shut off your current phone and remove the SIM card from your current phone. Then put your current SIM card in your new subsidized phone - get a SIM cutter/adapter as needed if the SIM cards are different sizes;
7) Turn on your new subsidized phone - this should activate the new subsidized phone;
8) Log onto Verizon online and confirm that you still have your UDP on your line; and
9) Keep checking for the next 14 days to make sure you keep your UDP.


Again, I haven't done this myself, but I have read about others doing it on another forum and they posted screen shots. Kicking you off of your UDP appears tied to activating the new subsidized phone using the SIM card that shipped with the phone. My understanding is that this works because you aren't doing that and because the Best Buy system warns you that you will lose your UDP but does not make you select a new plan. The only exception so far is the Droid Maxx, but I am sure in time this glitch will be fixed for all the phones. But for now, from all I have read it is still working.

There has been 1 poster on another forum who claimed the Best Buy Method outlined above did not work for him and he was switched off of his UDP to the 2GB plan. However, he did not do the SIM card switch himself without involving Verizon. He said it didn't work and so he called Verizon and the phone rep did something to make it work and that is when he lost his UDP. Moral of this story - if you are going to do this do NOT involve a Verizon rep or a Best Buy rep for that matter. If it doesn't work for you for some reason, my advice is to return the phone to Best Buy and have your upgrade restored. You may or may not be able to get out of the restocking fee if the phone has never been activated. Whatever you do, do not involve a Verizon or Best Buy CSR in the activation process. Other posters have posted screen shots showing they kept their UDP when they didn't involve a Verizon rep. YMMV.

Also, other posters on the other forum that have made mistakes and not followed the protocol precisely have been able to return their phones to Best Buy, get their upgrade restored and get their UDP back as long as they did it within 14 days.

If you want a Moto X Dev Ed, which you can't get using an upgrade, I suggest you use your upgrade to buy an iPhone 5s and sell it and use the cash from the sale towards purchasing a Moto X Dev Ed. I worked out the math on that in this thread:

Using Your Upgrade to Buy an iPhone 5s to Sell So You Can Buy a Moto X Dev Ed
 
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Cozume

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Jan 30, 2014
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Transfer UDP Upgrade Method

There is another method that works if you have a family plan and at least one line has a basic phone or a capped data plan on it. This works because you can transfer your upgrade from your UDP line to the basic or capped data plan line and then upgrade and activate the new subsidized phone on that line. Then you switch the new subsidized phone to your UDP line and you will not lose your UDP. I have done this personally so I know it works. If you want a Moto X Dev Ed, since you can't get one using an upgrade, I suggest you get a subsidized iPhone 5s with your upgrade and sell it and use the cash from the sale proceeds to put toward purchasing a Moto X Dev Ed.

If you are transferring your UDP line's upgrade to a basic phone line, you will have to pick a data plan when you purchase a new subsidized smartphone on the basic phone line. You can later drop that data plan but the only three retailers that will let you do this without charging you a secondary ETF of $400 are Verizon, Best Buy and Costco. So don't buy from any other retailers if you are using a basic phone line to transfer your UDP line's upgrade to. And when you do buy from those three I mentioned, double check that they are still not charging a secondary ETF for downgrading a data plan before 181 days are up. It is hit or miss whether a Best Buy or Costco rep will know how to do the upgrade transfer properly. I have done this once at Best Buy and the rep was very knowledgeable so it worked without a hitch but I have read others have not been so lucky. The safest way is to do it yourself through Verizon online. I avoid the Verizon stores because some of the reps get ticked off that this works and refuse to do it for you. YMMV.

Also, you cannot transfer an upgrade from an UDP line to a line that currently is eligible for its own upgrade. You have to use that line's upgrade first. That is no problem though because you can just then transfer your UDP line's upgrade to that line when you are ready to get a new phone for that line.

Here are the steps if you have a capped data plan line on your family plan and are doing this through Verizon online:

1) Log onto Verizon online and click Shop;
2) You will now see which lines in your family plan are eligible for an upgrade - the CDP line you are going to use to transfer your UDP line's upgrade to cannot be eligible for an upgrade;
3) Select your UDP line and click Transfer on your UDP line and select the CDP line to transfer the UDP line's upgrade to;
4) Purchase a subsidized phone of your choice on the CDP line and have it shipped to your home;
5) When you get the new subsidized phone at your home, turn off the CDP line's current phone and follow the instructions to activate the new subsidized phone on the CDP line - THIS IS A CRITICAL STEP THAT MUST BE DONE;
6) Turn off the new subsidized phone and click My Verizon Activate or Switch a Device to put the CDP line's original phone back on the CDP line by following the directions; and
7) Turn off the phone currently on your UDP line and click My Verizon Activate or Switch a Device to put the new subsidized phone on your UDP line by following the directions.


Steps 6 and 7 also can be done by putting the new subsidized phone's SIM card into the CDP line's original phone after activation and then putting the SIM card from the UDP line's original phone into the new subsidized device if all of the SIM cards are the same size.

If you are using your UDP line's upgrade to get a subsidized iPhone 5s to sell, you stop after Step 6 and then the iPhone 5s is off of your account and available to sell. Remember to take the SIM card out of the iPhone 5s and discard it before you ship your iPhone 5s to its new owner.



Here are the steps if you have a basic phone line on your family plan and are doing this through Verizon online:

1) Log onto Verizon online and click Shop;
2) You will now see which lines in your family plan are eligible for an upgrade - the basic phone line you are going to use to transfer your UDP line's upgrade to cannot be eligible for an upgrade;
3) Select your UDP line and click Transfer on your UDP line and select the basic phone line to transfer the UDP line's upgrade to;
4) Purchase a subsidized phone of your choice on the basic phone line, pick the 2GB data plan and have the new subsidized phone shipped to your home;
5) When you get the new subsidized phone at your home, turn off the basic phone and follow the instructions to activate the new subsidized phone on the now 2GB data plan line - THIS IS A CRITICAL STEP THAT MUST BE DONE;
6) Turn off the new subsidized phone and click My Verizon Activate or Switch a Device to put the basic phone back on the line by following the directions;
7) The 2GB data plan may or may not drop off when you complete Step 6 - if it doesn't, you can block data on the basic phone line and the data plan will drop off or you can call Verizon and tell them to take the data plan off of the basic phone line and they will do it; and
8) Turn off the phone currently on your UDP line and click My Verizon Activate or Switch a Device to put the new subsidized phone on your UDP line by following the directions.


Step 8 also can be done by placing the UDP line's original phone's SIM card into the new subsidized phone if the SIM cards are the same size.

If you are using your UDP line's upgrade to get a subsidized iPhone 5s to sell, you stop after Step 7 and then the iPhone 5s is off of your account and available to sell. Remember to take the SIM card out of the iPhone 5s and discard it before you ship your iPhone 5s to its new owner.
 
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Cozume

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Jan 30, 2014
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Add A Line Method

If you have a family plan and do not have at least one line that has a basic phone or a capped data plan on it to transfer your upgrade to, you can add a basic phone line and get a subsidized iPhone for that line to sell to recoup the cost of the added line. You can do it if you have an individual plan, too, but it is not cost effective to convert an individual plan to a family plan as selling a subsidized iPhone will not recoup the added cost of a family plan.

You need to have a Verizon basic phone to add to the basic phone line or you can put the ghost ESN on the line. Keep in mind that Verizon prepaid phones can't be used for this unless they have met the requirements to be put on a postpaid account. Also keep in mind that some people claim that putting the ghost ESN on your line yourself is a violation of Verizon's TOS. Other people say Verizon reps will do this for you and it is not a problem. Idk what the correct answer is. The Ghost ESN = 13800000400. NEVER PUT THE GHOST ESN ON AN UDP LINE AS YOU WILL LOSE YOUR UDP IF YOU DO!

Since you will be dropping the data plan on the new line before 181 days to make this cost effective, you can only do this at three retailers - Verizon, Best Buy and Costco - since all other retailers will charge you a secondary ETF of $400 if you downgrade a data plan prior to 181 days. And of course, double check before you add a line that the three retailers still have this policy in place when you are ready to do it.

If you have a special plan, like the any mobile to any mobile for $5 promotion that ran a couple of years ago, you can't add a line online and keep that plan. You will have to call Verizon to add a line or do it in a store. Supposedly Best Buy reps and Costco reps know how to do this, too, but YMMV.


Here are the steps to add a line to your family plan through Verizon online:

1) Buy a used Verizon basic phone off of ebay/craig's list that is eligible for use on a postpaid account (skip this step if you are using the ghost ESN);
2) Log onto Verizon online and click Add a Line;
3) Select the subsidized phone of your choice and pick the 2GB data plan for the new line;
4) When you get the new subsidized phone at your home, follow the instructions to activate the new subsidized phone on the 2GB line - THIS IS A CRITICAL STEP THAT MUST BE DONE;
5) Turn off the new subsidized phone and click My Verizon Activate or Switch a Device to put the used basic phone or ghost ESN on the new line by following the directions;
6) The 2GB data plan may or may not drop off when you complete Step 5 - if it doesn't, you can block data on the basic/ghost phone line and the data plan will drop off or you can call Verizon and tell them to take the data plan off of the basic/ghost phone line and they will do it - caveat emptor if you use the ghost ESN as some people claim that is a violation of your TOS and others say it is not and the reps will do it for you, idk what the correct answer is; and
7) Turn off the phone currently on your UDP line and click My Verizon Activate or Switch a Device to put the new subsidized phone on your UDP line by following the directions.


Now that you have a basic phone line, you can use it to transfer any of your other family plan UDP line upgrades to by following the instructions for doing that in my previous post.

After you have upgraded all of your UDP lines, you will have 1 extra upgrade available and you can use that to buy a subsidized iPhone 5s to sell to recoup the cost of the added line.
 
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caseyatbt

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Oct 31, 2008
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If I am getting the iPhone 5s with plans to flip it, do I pull the sim card before sending it to the new owner?
 

Cozume

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Jan 30, 2014
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If I am getting the iPhone 5s with plans to flip it, do I pull the sim card before sending it to the new owner?
Yes. Once you have activated a phone on your line, the SIM card will be attached to your account for a period of time before it becomes inactivated, could be active for up to 90 days. Now the new owner could reprogram the SIM card for their account, but no way would I trust they could do it right. And if they don't do it right, it will only cause you problems.

If the new owner is on Verizon, all they have to do is go into a corporate store and they will give them a SIM card for free to use if they need one. Or if they call Verizon, they will mail one for free. They can even ask for one online and it will be mailed free. Non-corporate stores charge for SIM cards but corporate stores do not.

If the new owner wants to use the phone on a GSM network, the Verizon SIM card wouldn't work anyhow.
 
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bigv5150

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Jan 8, 2011
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OK I get all of this one question my UDP plan has an eligible upgrade now. I can transfer that to another line and get a new phone and not lose UDP on this line. Also does the line I transfer to have to be eligible for an upgrade. All two of my lines upgraded in the last 8 months can they upgrade again.

Sent from my XT1080 using xda app-developers app
 

Cozume

Senior Member
Jan 30, 2014
429
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OK I get all of this one question my UDP plan has an eligible upgrade now. I can transfer that to another line and get a new phone and not lose UDP on this line.
Correct.


Also does the line I transfer to have to be eligible for an upgrade.
No, just the opposite - it cannot have an upgrade of its own for you to be able to transfer an upgrade to it.


All two of my lines upgraded in the last 8 months can they upgrade again.
I am not sure what you are saying here. If there is an upgrade available on a line, it will say so when you log on to your Verizon account.
 

bigv5150

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Jan 8, 2011
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Let me explain better what I mean is I have a phone my wife has a phone my daughter has a phone they're all under my name I use my wifes upgrade to get my max i used my daughters upgrade to get my wifes RAZR M. I I use my wifes upgrade in August and signed a two-year contract I use my daughters upgrade in June and signed a two-year contract. My question is if I give one of those lines my upgrade would I be able to get subsidized phone. Since they're both only about six to eight months into a2 year contract. Can I still use my upgrade on one of their lines.
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Cozume

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I use my wifes upgrade in August and signed a two-year contract
That extended your wife's contract by 2 years.



I use my daughters upgrade in June and signed a two-year contract.
That extended your daughter's contract by 2 years.


My question is if I give one of those lines my upgrade would I be able to get subsidized phone. Since they're both only about six to eight months into a2 year contract. Can I still use my upgrade on one of their lines.
Yes of course. That is the whole point of this process - you transfer your UDP line's upgrade to a capped data plan line or a basic phone line and the capped data/basic phone line cannot be eligible for its own upgrade when you do the transfer. You must first activate the new phone on the capped data or basic phone line, then switch the new phone to your UDP line.

After you do this, your UDP line's contract will be extended 2 years.
 
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bigv5150

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Got it so after activation on the capped line my UDP line keeps unlimited but I get stuck in a 2 year contract again. Sounds good I didn't think I would be able to ever use this upgrade again I have been sitting on it over 6 months. I may just wait and see what is up all the manufacturers sleeves and just get a new phone. I love my maxx but this locked boot loader is a pita. Or I may get a new phone sell it and my maxx and buy a Dev maxx. Thanks for the info when I checked with Verizon they told me if I switched my upgrade to another line this line would lose unlimited. I guess they are trying to keep these work around to a minimum and lie to the customers. That is great customer support. If they don't want us to do this then close the loop holes. Don't lie about it that is just shameful.

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Cozume

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Jan 30, 2014
429
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Got it so after activation on the capped line my UDP line keeps unlimited but I get stuck in a 2 year contract again.
And getting "stuck" in a Verizon truly, unthrottled, unlimited data plan is bad? You can sell your line for about $300 on ebay if you want out of your contract. And probably more as fewer and fewer of these contracts remain.


Sounds good I didn't think I would be able to ever use this upgrade again I have been sitting on it over 6 months. I may just wait and see what is up all the manufacturers sleeves and just get a new phone. I love my maxx but this locked boot loader is a pita. Or I may get a new phone sell it and my maxx and buy a Dev maxx.
Only get an iPhone for resale. I have an UDP line upgrade available now but I am waiting for the Moto X2 Dev Ed to come out. I will buy it full retail and then get the iPhone 6 with my upgrade to sell.

Flip an iPhone with Your Upgrade


Thanks for the info when I checked with Verizon they told me if I switched my upgrade to another line this line would lose unlimited. I guess they are trying to keep these work around to a minimum and lie to the customers.
Some of them actually believe that. I did 2 upgrade transfers during the holidays to a basic phone line that I added to my account just for transfers. Still have UDP on both of my smartphone lines.
 
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bigv5150

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Jan 8, 2011
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Two year contract or not I'm stuck Verizon has the best coverage.

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caseyatbt

Senior Member
Oct 31, 2008
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Colorado
Yes. Once you have activated a phone on your line, the SIM card will be attached to your account for a period of time before it becomes inactivated, could be active for up to 90 days. Now the new owner could reprogram the SIM card for their account, but no way would I trust they could do it right. And if they don't do it right, it will only cause you problems.

If the new owner is on Verizon, all they have to do is go into a corporate store and they will give them a SIM card for free to use if they need one. Or if they call Verizon, they will mail one for free. They can even ask for one online and it will be mailed free. Non-corporate stores charge for SIM cards but corporate stores do not.

If the new owner wants to use the phone on a GSM network, the Verizon SIM card wouldn't work anyhow.

If I am going to sell it, do I have to activate it?
 

Cozume

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Jan 30, 2014
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If I am going to sell it, do I have to activate it?
The problem with not activating it is that your account will show pending activation on it until you activate the device. That blocks you from doing some things on your account until that gets lifted. Some on other forums have claimed that the pending activation eventually goes away on its own without having to actually activate the device on your account. I am guessing you could probably call up Verizon, tell them you gave the phone as a gift to another person before you activated it (which you are allowed to do) and have the pending activation removed. But I would remove the SIM card that shipped with the device because that is still linked to your account even if you don't activate the SIM card.

If you want to sell a device without activating it, I would call Verizon and ask what will happen. Don't mention UDP. Just ask them if you use an upgrade and give the phone away as a gift to a person for use on another account, what would happen to the pending activation on your line?

All Verizon cares about after they ship you a subsidized phone is that you don't break your contract with them because they recoup the subsidy in the monthly wireless charges. It is your right to gift or sell your subsidized phone as you see fit. I would just tell them it is a gift simply because I would not want them to ask me any more questions.

ETA - I called and the CSR I spoke with said you have to activate the phone on the line you used the upgrade on to remove the pending activation hold from your line. I call bs on that because what would they do if the phone got lost by FedEx - they have to have a way to do it.

Just don't sell the phone with the SIM card it came with in it. Take the SIM card it came with out and throw it away.
 
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Nov 20, 2013
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There has been 1 poster on another forum who claimed the Best Buy Method outlined above did not work for him and he was switched off of his UDP to the 2GB plan. He did not post any screen shots of the ordering process showing he did not select a new plan and that it said Keep Existing Plan nor did he post any screenshots of his account, so there is no way to know if he followed the directions properly. Other posters posted screen shots showing they kept their UDP. YMMV.

This poster has now revealed that he experienced a glitch when he transferred his SIM card to the new phone, called VZW and they "fixed" it.

I'm gonna give it a shot. About time I put my Thunderbolt to rest.
 

DonKilluminati23

Senior Member
Nov 2, 2012
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OnePlus 11
So my girlfriend has an iphone 4 and is eligible for an upgrade. She wants an iphone 5s, despite my prodding for her to move to android.

Is there any way to use the best buy glitch to get her a new iPhone without losing unlimited? I know they use different sims..

Edit: I should probably mention that we are on separate family plans and we (as well as everyone else on my account) has unlimited data and are eligible for upgrade).

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
 
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KidJoe

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Aug 23, 2008
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Thorndale/Romansville, PA
So my girlfriend has an iphone 4 and is eligible for an upgrade. She wants an iphone 5s, despite my prodding for her to move to android.

Is there any way to use the best buy glitch to get her a new iPhone without losing unlimited? I know they use different sims..

Edit: I should probably mention that we are on separate family plans and we (as well as everyone else on my account) has unlimited data and are eligible for upgrade).

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
Verizon iPhone 4/4S is 3G/EVDO only. The SIM in it was only for GSM "global roaming", and you could operate without it. The iPhone 5S is 4G/LTE and and sim is required for operation and used for LTE connections as wel as roaming.

If I recall correctly, the 3G unlimited data plan was a different feature code, and upgrading a 3G phone to a 4G/LTE phone meant picking a 4G/LTE data plan feature code. Since 4G UDP's are not available you'd need to pick from their currently available 4G/LTE data plans :(

---------- Post added at 07:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 AM ----------

Yes. Once you have activated a phone on your line, the SIM card will be attached to your account for a period of time before it becomes inactivated, could be active for up to 90 days. Now the new owner could reprogram the SIM card for their account....
In the past, when you activated a SIM on your account it was a "once and done" thing. If you switched away to a different SIM on your account, you couldn't re-use it, even for the same line. (i.e. had MicroSIM and Galaxy S4 on account, switched to Nano SIM and iPhone 5. Want to switch back to the GS4, and you can't reuse the MicroSIM from before, you have to get a new one). Has that changed?
 

DonKilluminati23

Senior Member
Nov 2, 2012
382
75
OnePlus 11
Verizon iPhone 4/4S is 3G/EVDO only. The SIM in it was only for GSM "global roaming", and you could operate without it. The iPhone 5S is 4G/LTE and and sim is required for operation and used for LTE connections as wel as roaming.

If I recall correctly, the 3G unlimited data plan was a different feature code, and upgrading a 3G phone to a 4G/LTE phone meant picking a 4G/LTE data plan feature code. Since 4G UDP's are not available you'd need to pick from their currently available 4G/LTE data plans :(

---------- Post added at 07:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 AM ----------


In the past, when you activated a SIM on your account it was a "once and done" thing. If you switched away to a different SIM on your account, you couldn't re-use it, even for the same line. (i.e. had MicroSIM and Galaxy S4 on account, switched to Nano SIM and iPhone 5. Want to switch back to the GS4, and you can't reuse the MicroSIM from before, you have to get a new one). Has that changed?

Youre correct about the SIMs.

I have 4 lines on my family plan, as of a month ago 3 of them were on 4G and the 4th was still an old Droid 2 Global (3G), ALL WITH UNLIMITED DATA. When I bought my DevEd Moto X, I suddenly had an extra 4G phone laying around, so I decided to try to move that phone to the line with the D2G. I called Verizon and told them that the D2G was acting funny and would like to activate my old Razr Maxx HD on that line until she could figure out what she wanted to use her upgrade on (LOL). It took a little while, but eventually it worked. The Rep found my Razr Maxx HD in the system and replaced the 3G phone with my old 4G phone, I didnt have to switch out the SIM card or anything, she is now using my old phone AND LTE SIM card on a line that previously had a 3G phone / SIM card.

Knowing all that, it seems like it should be possible to use one of our family lines' upgrades to buy an iPhone 5, send it to my girlfriend, have her somehow get a new SIM for it, and activate it on her line without losing unlimited. Crazy, or crazy enough it just might work??
 

Cozume

Senior Member
Jan 30, 2014
429
97
This poster has now revealed that he experienced a glitch when he transferred his SIM card to the new phone, called VZW and they "fixed" it.

I'm gonna give it a shot. About time I put my Thunderbolt to rest.
Just checked over there, it appears that he did not just transfer his SIM. He transferred his SIM and then it didn't work and so he called Verizon to get them to activate it and that is when he lost his UDP.

So moral of this story - if it doesn't work with your old SIM, DO NOT CALL VERIZON! Return the phone and your upgrade will be restored. Or you can request a SIM card by phone and see if a completely fresh SIM card will work. To request a SIM card by phone, you call in and say you are having a lot of dropped calls and pulled your SIM card to see if that would help and you damaged it when you did. They will mail you a new one and you can try activating the new SIM card in your old phone and then in your new phone.

I would avoid the stores at all costs unless you know you have customer friendly CSRs.
 

Cozume

Senior Member
Jan 30, 2014
429
97
So my girlfriend has an iphone 4 and is eligible for an upgrade. She wants an iphone 5s, despite my prodding for her to move to android.

Is there any way to use the best buy glitch to get her a new iPhone without losing unlimited? I know they use different sims..

Edit: I should probably mention that we are on separate family plans and we (as well as everyone else on my account) has unlimited data and are eligible for upgrade).
Like the other poster said, those old SIMs in the iPhone 4/4s series aren't 4G LTE. Do you have any old 4G LTE phones you can put on her line? You can't use any that are currently active on one of your lines because you can't let a UDP line be without a 4G LTE phone on it - it will drop the data plan if you do.

If you can find a spare 4G LTE phone to put on her line, you can reprogram the SIM card in it for her line. If you have a spare 4G LTE phone, let me know and I will type out the steps to reprogram the SIM card.
 

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    I was concerned that it may be a problem for her to activate the iphone 5s on her line because she is coming from an iphone 4 (3g) but it sounds like if they just give her a new SIM it should activate fine.
    In January of 2013 I put an iPhone 5 that had already been activated on another capped data line onto a UDP line that had an iPhone 4s on it. It did not affect the UDP on that line. You do not lose your UDP if you put a 4G LTE phone on a line that previously has only had 3G phones on it.

    Once the iPhone 5s has already been activated on your line using your Moto X SIM card, it is fine to reactivate your Moto X on your UDP line and at that point involve a Verizon rep to handle getting the iPhone 5s on your girlfriend's line. They can't do any harm at that point, lol!
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    Hey guys I have a warning about these loopholes. I use huge amounts of data so I can't lose unlimited. So I called tier 2 support and wanted to double check that I wouldn't I lose unlimited. The CSR said I wouldn't lose unlimited if I switched out the Sim card. She basically said the instructions in this thread for best buy will work. But and this is a huge BUT I will eventually lose it. She said Verizon is looking into doing an audit and if they found that you upgraded on unlimited you are losing unlimited. Now this may be true or not but after speaking with her I believe what she said. She was being cryptic and I guess is not supposed to be talking about it. She began to explain and then said "I can't get into specifics" but if you want to keep unlimited don't activate the phone return it to best buy. I then said damn there are going to be some unhappy people she said yes there are it is coming. I think this goes hand in hand with the other loophole they closed as of August 24th. I am not trying to start a panic here however if you haven't used the loophole but are considering it think twice. If you have I wish you luck and hope this is just a CSR trying to steer me away from this loophole. What you have to ask yourself is are you willing to gamble away your unlimited.

    sent from "my kungfu is stronger then yours" XT1080
    1
    Does anyone know if this works with MotoMaker?
    It does b/c they use the best buy check out system.

    ---------- Post added at 08:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 AM ----------

    Hey guys I have a warning about these loopholes. I use huge amounts of data so I can't lose unlimited. So I called tier 2 support and wanted to double check that I wouldn't I lose unlimited. The CSR said I wouldn't lose unlimited if I switched out the Sim card. She basically said the instructions in this thread for best buy will work. But and this is a huge BUT I will eventually lose it. She said Verizon is looking into doing an audit and if they found that you upgraded on unlimited you are losing unlimited. Now this may be true or not but after speaking with her I believe what she said. She was being cryptic and I guess is not supposed to be talking about it. She began to explain and then said "I can't get into specifics" but if you want to keep unlimited don't activate the phone return it to best buy.
    What did you expect her to say - go ahead and do it? Of course she is going to tell you that you are going to get caught so return it. She has to say something to discourage you; that's her job.

    Why on earth would you call Verizon and ask about this?!?!?!!? You got exactly the answer you should have expected to have gotten - they aren't going to tell you that it is fine to do this.


    hope this is just a CSR trying to steer me away from this loophole. What you have to ask yourself is are you willing to gamble away your unlimited.
    If you are off contract and use huge amounts of data starting 10/1/14, you are going to be throttled for 2 billing cycles so how valuable is your unlimited data plan then?

    At least with the Best Buy Method you get back on contract and avoid throttling.
    1
    As far as throttling it won't affect me. It only affects heavily congested towers. I live In the sticks.
    Verizon has not stated how they are going to determine what a congested tower is. Hopefully the FCC will investigate that and shed some light on how this is determined. Otherwise, I really doubt it will be based on congestion but only time will tell.

    If you live in the sticks then it is probably best for you to just wait and see how the throttling goes.

    Write the FCC and complain about this if it is important to you. Verizon is only doing this to people who have UDP. They will let you use as much data as you want if you pay exorbitant fees for it or if you are a government or large corporate client. So it has nothing at all to do with congestion; it is only about profit.

    Contact the FCC.
    1
    I used the best buy method back in the spring, there is nothing that could happen to me that could make me regret it. Two people on my plan got new phones that they love and "needed", and two of us bought and sold iphones.. If they try going back and taking our unlimited away, I'll fight it as best I know, but if it comes down to it there are other options for us. No panic here, just happy I pulled the trigger :)

    I live outside of a decently populated area, and I joke that we have our own tower because I can see it from my house and there isn't a time of day I can't get ridiculous speeds off of it. We aren't affecting anyone else, but that doesn't mean Verizon won't try to throttle me. I'm actually somewhat interested to see if anything changes, after so many years on this great plan who am I to expect it to continue forever? Having said that.... I hope they leave us alone and, for our sake as well as their own, they back off and keep taking my money.