Help Activation question - Verizon

[pseudoveritas]

So I just purchased a Note 4 off of ebay that came with its own sim card. The ESN is clean however the seller stated that he got it as a gift and never activated it. My question is can I put my old sim card and activate it and keep my unlimited data? If the person that bought it used an upgrade will that plan move to me when I try to activate it?

I bought my S4 off of ebay and called Verizon to activate it a couple of years ago but I think it was used so there were no problems. I am just nervous about losing my unlimited data. Thanks!

 

[Rdjr74]

Don't turn the phone on yet, remove the preinstalled sim card and throw it out, insert your sim card, turn on your phone and you should get a screen that says something to the effect, "this sim card has already been activated" and should display your phone number. You're done!

 

[pseudoveritas]

It was on when I opened the box. Is that a big deal? I did take the sim card out and did a factory reset afterward...

 

[The_Chief]

You should be fine. Your Verizon account is on the SIM, not the phone. When I buy my new phones full retail, all I do is put my SIM in and go. Moving your SIM from one device to another changes nothing on your account.

IMPORTANT: Just go online to MyVerizon.com after about 48 hours and make sure they didn't automatically throw TEC (Total Equipment Coverage) on your phone at $9 a month - they probably will. If you don't want it (I don't, because it's a Developer Edition and they can't replace it anyway), call Verizon and tell them to take it off your account.

 

[pseudoveritas]

Ugh neither phone works now. This isn't good.

 

[mikedt]

Ugh neither phone works now. This isn't good.

This is second hand from Ebay, are you absolutely sure the device is clean and the vendor was telling the truth. Could be worth checking with Verizon, to make sure the phone isn't blacklisted.

 

[pseudoveritas]

Just an update. When I moved my sim from my S4 to my Note it worked. The problem was that my S4 got flagged after I activated it. So when I took the sim out and then put it back in again my account got suspended. I called Verizon and had that fixed. Everything is all set now.

 

[Rdjr74]

Good to know! Glad it worked out for ya. What Verizon did by black flagging you account seems to be a way to make sure you're not doing things to acquire phones through said "loopholes." Just my 2 cents.