*BEWARE* Deactivating TB is a one-way deal

[sc32valve]

You should only need to "re-provision" the SIM if it is deactivated. Moving it phone to phone should be seamless.

I asked this question. They said once a SIM is deactivated and "retired" it can no longer be re-provisioned.

 

[Verdes8891]

I asked this question. They said once a SIM is deactivated and "retired" it can no longer be re-provisioned.

Correct. It is a security feature within SIM cards. Once they are deactivated, they are garbage. This way no one can access it and get into your account or get any of your information.

 

[jas o]

think that long time verizon customers are going to take awhile to get used to SIM card tech. but it actually will be great in the long run.. but take it from someone that has to go some cdma only devices to LTE ones on a weekly basis.. its annoying as heck...

I travel to Europe quite a bit. I would just deactive my Dinc and activate my my D2G on that line and come back and reactivate my Dinc.

With the TB am I good to do the same as long as I don't change the phone to a different phone #? or anytime I swap I will need a new sim card?

 

[sniffs]

I thought it was always this way for SIM cards? If you change the phone number you need a new SIM. At least that's been my experience with T-Mobile. It was always a pain to go into store for a new SIM, but I only had to do that if the phone number changed.

Overall, I love the SIM cards. Once we get more phones with them, just swapping them and we're good instead of going through the activation procedure online.

This IS how it's always been for SIM based devices. Only 1 phone # will ever go on a SIM. Once the # is removed, only that # can be put back onto it, a new # cannot.

 

[garyhesq1]

I deactivated my TB this morning so I could run the Droid to get some back up stuff for it off the market. I had to call in to get my TB back on line as doing it over the web stopped me at the SIM card number screen. I was told to never run *228 on the Bolt. That hoses the SIM and it would need replaced. Fortunately I had not done that. Do not run *228 on the Bolt!

 

[Maestro1#AC]

That is interesting, because I know that IDEN (Nextel) phones are sim-card based, and I have changed numbers on them many times.

Also I wonder if you can take you sim out of a verizon LTE phones and put it into another one? because don't the phones use cdma for voice and 3g data which cannot easily be switched to another device.

 

[sniffs]

That is interesting, because I know that IDEN (Nextel) phones are sim-card based, and I have changed numbers on them many times.

Also I wonder if you can take you sim out of a verizon LTE phones and put it into another one? because don't the phones use cdma for voice and 3g data which cannot easily be switched to another device.

You've put more than 1 phone # on a iDEN SIM? not sure how that works.. iDEN is a different tech so who knows?

You can swap LTE devices by just popping in the SIM. I've done this a few times with aircards.. not sure if they are locking down phones, but aircards do work.

 

[o0cdiddy]

i de and reactivated on same number - if i'm reading your post correctly, you activated it on one line and wanted to switch to another? i can see how the sim would only be able to be used on the one number - it isn't 'retired' per se, it is assigned to that phone number it ws actiavted on, and cannot be re-assigned... if you were just trying to re-activate on the same number with the same SIM, then the tech is full of crap, it works

 

[rflores5432]

Had this problem too when I got the phone on a new line and tried to switch to my main account. I guess us VZW customers aren't used to the idea. They also told me not to ever *228 the thunderbolt as it will cause a problem. Ended up having to get my phone replaced anyway (stuck power button) so I got a new sim regardless.

This is exactly what I did and still have yet to be able to activate my Thunderbolt. I went yester morning, added a new line and got the Thunderbolt but swapped the Thunderbolt to my main account phone number. Well, they can't get the sim to take my number. Its telling them there is already a number assigned to it and they told me I would have to wait 24hrs (10 am today) to change it. So, I went back today and still no luck. They said they put a "ticket" in and now I just have to wait until its fixed and it will just all of a sudden to start working. So, day number two with a Thunderbolt that isn't activated. Still stuck with my Storm 2! Yeah!

And, they were stictly told to "Do NOT ISSUE AND REPLACE SIM CARD WITH A NEW ONE"

 

[sc32valve]

i de and reactivated on same number - if i'm reading your post correctly, you activated it on one line and wanted to switch to another? i can see how the sim would only be able to be used on the one number - it isn't 'retired' per se, it is assigned to that phone number it ws actiavted on, and cannot be re-assigned... if you were just trying to re-activate on the same number with the same SIM, then the tech is full of crap, it works

Yes, I tried activating on a new # with no luck. I then asked if they could reactivate the TB on the line I purchased it on and they couldn't do that either. They said the SIM was "retired" and had to be replaced regardless of what line I try to put it on.

 

[sc32valve]

I travel to Europe quite a bit. I would just deactive my Dinc and activate my my D2G on that line and come back and reactivate my Dinc.

With the TB am I good to do the same as long as I don't change the phone to a different phone #? or anytime I swap I will need a new sim card?

This is also part of the reason I need to easily swap. I have to go back to my D2G or TP2 when I leave the country. It's starting to look like I should've just waited for the Merge.

 

[Forgetful]

Thanks for the info OP. I completely spaced the darn SIM card thing.

 

[wiltek76]

SIM cards are free so this doesn't matter. I just called tech support. They said you can go get another one at the store or online with no problem. She also said If you switch your 4g to a 3g your SIM is retired(None reusable). If you switch from 4g to 4g then it can be done without riuning the SIM. They made SIM cards free cuz of this.

 

[o0cdiddy]

uhm.. i think your brain is "retired".. Did you even read the post.

The problem is when you activate the sim with a phone and then deactivate it and then try to reactivate it on a different phone. You can't do that and expect the sim card to change phone numbers. It gets locked with the first phone number you activated with.

You just simply deactivated your TB with the sim card and then reactivated later it using the same sim card on the same phone/phone number.

Essentially.. like any sim card carrier.. t-mob/att, sim cards get locked with the first number that you activate it with.. this is not unheard of and has always been the case.

When activating with the sim card, make sure you are first doing it with the phone that has the phone number you want locked into the sim card.

oh how weird.... i was right, looks like my brain isn't 'retired', as the SIM won't work again after deactivating and switching to a 3G phone... looks like I read it exactly right as the SIM won't actiavte on the same phone number (but mine did) - time to retire in the field of criticism Roger Ebert!

 

[racedog]

Having been on both Tmobile a long time ago and ATT not that long ago I'm used to how sim cards work. Its a real hassle right now because there is only one phone using them but as more phones come on Verizon using sim cards you're gonna find that it is actually a ton easier to work with and really handy.

In the future when you want to change phone numbers from one phone to another all you'll have to do is just switch the sim cards, no getting online, no calling anyone. In the meantime it will be a pain.

R

 

[Edwill86]

Corp vzw store gave my father and myself new sims on the spot for free after they had to deactivate them due to some activation issues.

 

[drumzalicious]

Hey guys I'm sure you all have figured this out by now but if not here's the run down I got at my job:

If you are doing an alternate upgrade you will need a 2nd sim card.
If you are switching between phone #'s you will need multiple some as well.
If you are just switching between phones on one line you will only need one sim.

Apparently the sim cards Verizon is using will only work with one phone #.

 

[justinwjones]

This is NOT just true for switching numbers. I have a TB and an iPhone. BOTH were activate on the same number. I had the TB activated in store yesterday, but reactivated the iphone this morning. When I went to reactivate the TB it will not work. Called VZW and got that same answer. NO MATTER WHAT, even if it is the same number, once a SIM is deactivated it is junk, it will not reactivate/provision no matter what line it came from. This is useless for people who change phones alot.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

The OP ran into a problem here because he changed the phone number. As part of the activation process the sim card serial number is assigned to a phone number. This is something that either cant be changed OR is so complicated to change that they are just telling customers it cant be done.

I thought it was always this way for SIM cards? If you change the phone number you need a new SIM. At least that's been my experience with T-Mobile. It was always a pain to go into store for a new SIM, but I only had to do that if the phone number changed.

Yes a SIM card is assigned to a specific phone number and typically (in my admittedly limited experience with them) that cant be changed once assigned.

Overall, I love the SIM cards. Once we get more phones with them, just swapping them and we're good instead of going through the activation procedure online.

SIM cards have their own set of issues, trust me. Among other things they tend to get corrupted fairly easily, thus requiring a replacement. Also if you physically loose or damage the phone (and SIM card) you need to go to the store or wait for them to send you a new one.

I've personally never understood why so many people are so obsessed with SIM cards and consider them an advantage to GSM over CDMA. Calling customer service (or visiting MyVerizon) to change the IEME on an phone number followed by a *228 activation has always been s snap for me, and yes I swap phones around a lot too.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Hey guys I'm sure you all have figured this out by now but if not here's the run down I got at my job:

If you are doing an alternate upgrade you will need a 2nd sim card.
If you are switching between phone #'s you will need multiple some as well.
If you are just switching between phones on one line you will only need one sim.

Apparently the sim cards Verizon is using will only work with one phone #.

* As part of the activation process SIM cards are assigned to a phone number and this can not be changed -- GSM carriers are the same way.

* If you switch from a 4G phone to a 3G phone the SIM card record is deleted from the system and the sim card can never be used again. However, if you switch to another 4G device (ie another TB) then the card is not retired and can be reused. It's important to remember here that as of now VZW only has 3 LTE/4G devices (TB, Xoom, and a data card), so switching to any other device or phone will cause the SIM to be retired.

* As for an alternate upgrade, just tell the rep that is what you want to do and they will process the upgrade under one number but activate it under another one. I do this all the time and have never (except when dealing with an indirect like BB Mobile) had to actually activate the phone on the markdown line.