Switching Phones while in contract?

I

Ivan John Chin

New member
Hi all - I'm new to this forum and new to Verizon (well, since May).

I'm looking to switch phones, and like I said, I'm only 6 months into the 2 year contract.

I was with Cingular, and all you had to do was switch your sim card. So, I'm wondering how you switch phones with Verizon?

I have the SMT5800

I'm hating it, and am wanting to switch to a Blackberry. Would love the Storm but would settle for Curve.

Anyway - any help would be greatly appreciated. And remember - I'm new to Verizon so help me to understand it all :-)

Thanks!

Yours in Christ,
~Molly~
 
Molly, welcome to CPF.

All it takes is a Verizon branded phone that has not been reported lost or stolen, then you can just call customer service and they'll do the switch for you or you can also access your account on line and activate your phone from there, again just make sure the phone is a Verizon branded phone or you will not be able to activate it......good luck.
 
When you do an ESN change online, through your VZW account, it is free of charge; you can actually do them as often as you like. If you have an agent do it for you, it costs $20. There are some exceptions to this where they will waive the fee; switching between different types of phones (based on features) you may get a message online that says you have to call Verizon for assistance. In this case, let the agent know you tried doing it online and they should waive the fee.

Good luck...
 
Thanks so much you guys! Coming from AT&T/Cingular, I can't believe how easy Verizon makes it! With AT&T you had to sneak behind their backs... but this is great!

I'm thinking about getting an HTC Touch Pro -- I posted about this in another thread but haven't received a response so I thought I'd just ad it on to here.

What is Verizon's version of the HTC Touch Pro? I'm trying to do a search on eBay but all I'm finding are AT&T's and Sprint's versions.

Thanks!
 
Just remember if you opt for a Berry, you'll have to call CS to add the BB service to it, and so they can provision your account correctly. But, if it is a "dumb" phone, lol, the *228 option usually works great if there are no issues with the phone, i.e. Verizon branded, not black listed, etc.
 
Remember, when I post I don't necessarily read through all of the posts on the topic, since they are numerous, so if this has been posted, it is posted again.

Well, you're in luck. Verizon Wireless has released a few services which have made the switch much faster and easier from device to device. If you already have a device (another one you wish to activate), or if you plan to get one from a source other than Verizon Wireless (EBay, Amazon.com, etc) and you have the device...simply dial *228 and press option 3. It will ask a few questions and boom, all data (just your wireless number) is transferred to the new device!

This will not work if the device is not a Verizon Wireless device. If it is a device from another carrier (that uses CDMA, no SIM cards) then you can contact Verizon Wireless at 1-800-922-0204 from a landline device. Enter mobile number and press 0. Then enter account passcode or last 4 of social security number. Then ask them to verify if the device could be activated. If it is a newer device, they can activate it. They shouldn't charge you for this feature if you are willing to extend your contract a year or two. If you don't want to extend contract, they have the right to charge you a small fee, some representatives will waive this if you ask them to.

If you wish to get the phone from Verizon Wireless before your contract expires (or before upgrade eligibility), you must pay for it at full retail value, unless the wireless agent offers you otherwise...try and ask for a more reasonable price, they can be generous. They can bill up to $200 onto the account. Once you receive the new phone, you can try the *228 option 3 feature. If it fails to work, contact the Verizon Wireless customer service department from a landline phone at 1-800-922-0204, enter your phone number...press 0 to get to someone. Enter last 4 of social or account password. Then have them activate it. They shouldn't charge you a fee if you can verify *228 option 3 will not work...ask them to waive the fee.
 
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