Way to use a Blackberry on a basic cell service plan?

W

Wasabi MiLK

New member
Well, since 2006, Verizon Wireless has had a policy that states that any CDMA wireless device (whether Sprint, Metro, etc. or another Verizon device) can be activated on Verizon Wireless contract and prepaid service, with few exceptions. They won't activate devices that are push to talk from another carrier and the device must be E911 capable.

I've brought the Sprint Samsung Instinct (not a smartphone) to Verizon.

Just make sure it is CDMA and not GSM and it should work.

Some reps don't know their job well so it could take time to find one who will activate a non-Verizon device.
 
Within the past 6 months I've had salespeople at both a Verizon-authorized store and an actual Verizon store tell me they can only activate a cell phone that has "Verizon" printed on it. I guess either they were willing to lie in hopes of selling me a new phone, or they literally meant that they personally don't have the know-how to activate anything other than a Verzion phone. If you're correct, they were being dishonest either way. I'll be more insistent next time. I have a used Alltel phone I'd rather be using than the Verizon one I currently have activated. I'll read up on the WiFi smartphones you mentioned and let you know which one I decide to buy. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
 
Verizon stores have the ability to activate any CDMA device, but since they work off of commission, they rarely will.

Authorized agents do not have the ability to activate anything besides a Verizon Wireless device PURCHASED AT THEIR STORE. Sometimes there is an exception where the store will call into customer service to activate a phone that is not from their store, but this rarely happens.
 
But I should be able to activate any CDMA device myself online through Verizon's website, right?
Also, are you certain that the WiFi on a smartphone, the DROID Eris for instance, will work even if there is no service activated on the phone? Just want to know for sure that everything except phone and mobile internet will work for me on a smartphone that's not activated.

A related question -- why would anyone buy an i-pod touch instead of just buying and using an i-phone without the mobile service? Then you would have a device with the same features, plus the ability to have 3g mobile and phone service if/when you decide to subscribe.
 
Purchasing an iPhone for 1) is almost impossible to get brand new without service. You're stuck trying to find one on eBay or Amazon.com because AT&T is reluctant to sell you one without the plan.

2) it is CRAZY expensive. A phone without service more than doubles the price of the new two year agreement price.
 
I was thinking in terms of a good condition used one, but with a quick check on ebay I see that even a used 3g (not s) 16gb goes for around $320-$380. More than a brand new 32gb touch. So even a used iphone without service is not a financially sensible alternative to buying a touch.
 
--I tried to activate an alltel phone online to my verizon account and it wouldn't work. When I called Verizon about it, they said no can do. Asked to talk to a manager. He said no can do. He said that the fact it's a CDMA phone is irrelevant because the software loaded on the phone by Alltel will not interact with the verizon network. (the phone is not a push to talk phone, and it is E911 capable.)

He said they cannot activate any phone other than a Verizon phone because it simply wouldn't work; that a non-verizon phone wouldn't be able to interact with the cell phone towers because the software on the phone isn't Verizon's. Or to put it another way, he said that a CDMA phone that does not have Verizon software on it will not work on their network.

I'm Interested to know if you have any further insight. If Verizon was willing to activate non-verizon CDMA phones in the past, they don't appear to be willing anymore. This guy also said it's not true that they used to activate non-verizon CDMA phones.
 
I tried to acitvate an Alltel phone (cdma, not tied to any account, not push to talk, is e-911 capable) online via myverizon website and it wouldn't accept it. Called Verizon,who said I can't activate a non-verizon phone.

Asked to speak to a manager, told him I thought I should be able to activate a CDMA phone even if it's not Verizon. He says not true, says CDMA isn't even the issue, says that a non-verizon phone will not work because the software on the phone is not Verizon's software and therefore it will not interact with the Verizon network to provide phone service.

Says that's always been true, that they have never been able to activate a phone that does not have Verizon's software loaded onto the phone, Says it would be pointless to activate it, because the phone simply wouldn't interact with Verizon's network.

Can you can shed any light on what's going on here? Is it because something about the phone itself has to altered before it could work on Verizon's network? Should someone at a Verizon store be capable of doing that?

Is it a Verizon cell phone?
 
It is a Verizon phone. That's not the point. The point is, it's running non-Verizon software, and interfaces with the Verizon network without issue. In other words, Verizon's reason for refusing to activate your phone with non-Verizon software is untrue.

In addition, there are several accounts of people activating Sprint phones. These may be flukes, but the point remains. They work on the network.
 
Back
Top