[Q] Using a cut-down sim to keep unlimited data

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Freedom First

Senior Member
Dec 7, 2011
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Western Washington
cntryby429 said:
I ordered my M8 through the BB website with the "keep my existing plan" option in late March. The new contract end date appeared within a day on the VZW website. I received the phone in the mail and activated it on my cut-down Rezound sim on April 2. It's now 3 weeks later and my VZW account still shows the new contract end date, my M8 as my device, and unlimited data. I won't be completely convinced until I receive a bill with an entire billing cycle (16th - 15th for me) on this new contract but so far so good. There's also a reliable source (an XDA moderator) who used this method to keep his UDP while purchasing a One Max a few weeks earlier than I bought my M8. He hasn't reported anything negative either.

My grandfathered UDP happens to be one of two lines on a family plan (the other is grandfathered as well) but I don't think that has anything to do with my apparent success.



I chose to buy a Noosy cutter to be safe (scissors just seemed crude considering my perceived risk of losing my UDP should anything go wrong) and it worked like a charm. NFC didn't work but I just took my new phone into my local Verizon store and told them I bought the phone elsewhere and used my old SIM just to make sure it was functioning. They got out a new nano sim and activated it to my current account and I was good to go. Even that was over two weeks ago with no changes to my account info as of a few minutes ago.

If anything changes, I'll be sure to post it here immediately as well as the Rezound threads. I have quite a bit of lingering loyalty to that great community. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I had purchased a cutter to trim my sim down to micro (when I snagged a M7 on the April 1 promotion), but then decided it really wasn't worth the money to buy another when I returned the M7 for the M8. If you're careful, shears work great (but, I'm a machinist/fabricator by trade, and very meticulous about details and dimensions). There's nothing crude looking about my cut-down sim.

I'll be very interested to hear if you guys are able to fly "under the radar" on your upgrades, and not lose your unlimited. I got my M8 by using my wife's upgrade (she's still rocking a Rezound), but may consider getting her a M8 if/when the red Verizon version becomes available. Then, I'll have to transfer/use my upgrade to buy her phone.
 
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    M
    MultiDev
    Just go to a Verizon store (a corporate one) and ask for a nano SIM.

    There is no charge for it. There is no change to your plan for asking for a new SIM, any kind of SIM.
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    Lazy8
    Lazy8
    I just got my m8 today....I used some scissors a template and a YouTube video for reference...I cut my sim from my rezound and swapped it for the one that came with the phone. I ordered mine thru HTC with my new every 2. Didn't have to change my plan when buying and after powering on the m8 with my cut sim....it activated successfully and all is good. My data is unlimited and my contract says 2016 now. :)

    Sent from my Rezound on Tachyon using Tapatalk
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    cntryby429
    cntryby429
    Djay1809 said:
    How did it turn out for you?

    Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    It seems to have turned out beautifully. My M8 has been on for 3 days now and VZW still shows two more years under contract with unlimited data retained. I got ballsy and even went into the verizon store with my M8 activated on my cut sim. I asked for a new sim so that NFC would work. The guy looked a little puzzled when he pulled out my ghetto sim, In hindsight I should have taken it out before just to stay under the radar. The only reason it took 20 min vs 2 min was because the guy was trying to put the new sim into the SD card tray. My preliminary advice is get it while you can. The Best Buy website forces you to select a plan so the HTC website will surely be fixed soon.
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    cntryby429
    cntryby429
    Morpheus991 said:
    I'm in a similar situation..I have the Rezound and unlimited on a family plan, trying to find the best way to go about it. Rezound started power cycling yesterday, had to do a factory reset and I'm getting fed up. All of you guys.. Keep us posted let us know if your plans get auto changed etc. I baught a SIM cutter adaptor today and I'm on a family plan unlimited with my Rez along with a 2gb iPhone 4s, and a no data flip phone; all eligible for updates. Lots of different stories from different sources. Even thinking about buying outright to avoid all the drama.
    Using the 4s line/update would be easy but it's on 3g so I'm sure there would be SIM drama there because the SIM doesn't really do much.
    Sorry side tracking a little: Any of you guys super nervous about the aluminum scratching and the camera resolution (slightly OCD and a Photographer)? Cant decide which finish would hold up better, they both seem very delicate. Feel free to ignore this part
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    I have many opinions on this comment:

    1: The Rezound, in my opinion, is still a pretty great phone. I was running an Evervolve KitKat rom and its nearly flawless. If you're ok with the screen size and you typically don't push it hard enough to notice that it doesn't have the processing power of today's phones then I'd suggest keeping it. I would absolutely unlock it and install a custom ROM. Mine ran so much better once I dove into the flashing world.

    2. If you have a dumb phone on your account that's eligible for upgrade, you should use that. I don't know exactly how the process goes but I THINK you use that upgrade and get a smart phone, select a data plan, activate the new smartphone on the dumb phone line. Switch the phone over to your line, and return the dumb phone to its line removing the data plan. You shouldn't follow these instructions alone. Other people on XDA, probably in this forum, have discussed it in great detail.

    3. Scratching the case isn't a concern for me. I've always been happy buying the silicone cases from Verizon. They're sleek, relatively thin, cover up annoying logos, and on this phone it gives me adequate grip. The metal case slips out of my hand too easily for my comfort. Plus, it's only $15 with my 25% discount.
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    cntryby429
    cntryby429
    dante020 said:
    When selecting a line to upgrade, I get the warning "With Verizon's new Share Everything plan, unlimited data is no longer available. If you upgrade a line that has an existing unlimited data plan, you will lose unlimited data on that line."

    For the people who had success using this method, did you receive this warning too?
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    haitu said:
    How are people getting away with this? Op was actually able to purchase subsidized M8 from Verizon store and continue to keep his unlimited?
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    Dante: I assume you're talking about the one message at the beginning of the HTC ordering website? Yes, I got that too. This website is "powered by Best Buy" but if you go directly to the Best Buy website and try to purchase this phone as an upgrade, once it checks your account info, it forces you to select your new plan before continuing. However, this only happens if the M8 is in your cart. If you try and upgrade to a One M7, it doesn't force you to select your new plan (at least that was the case a week ago). I would think this is an oversight on BB's part, or maybe HTC, cause Verizon certainly wants to keep people from extending unlimited data contracts which I have (arguably) done. To build ammo in the event they try to switch me later on, I took screen shots all along the way to show how many times it told me that my plan/bill would not change.

    Haitu: See above. I will note that you cannot do this in a brick and mortar store because they will activate the phone with the new sim which seems to be what switches your contract :bad: Even some websites will force you to pick up the online-ordered phone in the store so that they can "assist" you with its setup where they inevitably turn it on :bad: The key seems to be a website that doesn't force you to select a new plan AND ships directly to you so that you can immediately remove and toss the included sim.

    Disclaimer: I can only speak to my personal experiences SO FAR. I started with an old 4G phone on a grandfathered UD plan out of contract (month to month). I upgraded at the subsidized price ($200), cut my mini sim to nano, and activated the new phone on my old (cut) sim. My online VZW account now shows the M8 as my device, a contract end date in 2016, and a data usage of "1.7 Gb of Unlimited". That's not to say that this won't change tomorrow and I'll be screwed. I'll cross that bridge if/when I get there.

    Should anything change I'll be sure and let folks know here.
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