[Instruction] How to get a new phone and keep (legacy) Unlimited Data on Verizon

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

I'm on a single line with unlimited data. If I add the mobile hotspot feature online, will I have unlimited hotspot also?

What do you mean unlimited hotspot? The only feature I see I can add is to pay $30 for the privilege of using my phone as a mobile hotspot. Is that what you mean?

I
Is there anything I need to do to make sure I keep unlimited data and unlimited hotspot?

What do you mean? Are you planning on using an upgrade on your single unlimited data line? I am not sure what you are asking.

If you are asking if you can get a subsidized phone on a single unlimited data line without losing unlimited data, the answer is no. You need to add a line to convert your single line into a family share plan (which is NOT a share everything plan) in order to have a non-unlimited data line you can transfer upgrades to. However, the added costs of the family plan make this not cost efficient.

I have heard about people upgrading on single unlimited data lines getting lucky and keeping unlimited data on this thread and IRL, but they are the rare exception and you can't count on it.

 

[japhule]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

I'm just looking to add the mobile hotspot feature to my existing unlimited data plan. I'm trying to verify if there are separate data limits for hotspot usage or if its unlimited also because I'm on unlimited data plan already.

 

[tx_tuff]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

I'm just looking to add the mobile hotspot feature to my existing unlimited data plan. I'm trying to verify if there are separate data limits for hotspot usage or if its unlimited also because I'm on unlimited data plan already.

If you add hotspot to unlimted like it cost $30 a month. But you get to use the unlimited data.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

I'm just looking to add the mobile hotspot feature to my existing unlimited data plan. I'm trying to verify if there are separate data limits for hotspot usage or if its unlimited also because I'm on unlimited data plan already.

Please start a separate thread since that is not what this thread is about. You don't have to pay the $30 to use your phone as a hotspot. Just need an app but start a separate thread.

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

Is it possible/advisable to do this process online? How exactly should I best upgrade my wife's dumb line with the smartphone, i.e., activate it on her line? Online? Through the phone? How would Verizon know to give her 2GB of date, but no more? Can moving the smartphone from her line to mine be done online? Is there a point somewhere down the line when I'd need to have csr's help anyway?

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

Is it possible/advisable to do this process online?

yes.

How exactly should I best upgrade my wife's dumb line with the smartphone, i.e., activate it on her line? Online? Through the phone?

Not sure I understand what you are asking. Is your unlimited data line eligible for an upgrade? Is your wife's dumbphone line eligible for an upgrade?

How would Verizon know to give her 2GB of date, but no more?

you pick that as your data plan when you upgrade the dumbphone line.

Can moving the smartphone from her line to mine be done online?

yes. Not too far back in this thread it was explained how to do this.

Is there a point somewhere down the line when I'd need to have csr's help anyway?

Not unless an upgrade gets stuck, which has happened to people including me. It seems to happen with iPhones sometimes.

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

If you are going to order from Verizon directly online, here is what you do:

1) Transfer Line 3's upgrade to Line 1;
2) Order a new phone on Line 1 using the transferred upgrade;
3) When you receive the new phone, activate it on Line 1 according to the instructions provided (which includes calling a 1-877 number);
4) Shut the new phone off and reactivate an old phone on Line 1;
5) Put the new phone on Line 3.

Step 5 can be done a variety of different ways. The easiest is to take the SIM card from Line 3's current phone and put it into the new phone, but of course this only works if the SIM cards are the same size.

My wife's dumb line has the upgrade I was going to use. I'm not entirely clear about the steps 4 and 5. How do I reactivate her dumb phone? And how do I reactivate the transferred phone on my line if the SIMs aren't of the same size? Maybe it'll become clearer once I'm online with Verizon and actually looking at the screen.

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

My wife's dumb line has the upgrade I was going to use. I'm not entirely clear about the steps 4 and 5. How do I reactivate her dumb phone?

turn off the new smartphone, log on to your verizon account and select switch/activate phone. select her line and then you should get asked if you are activating a phone that has already been used with your account. say yes, and you should be able to select her dumbphone from the list. I can't remember if you have to dial *228 from the dumbphone, but it should tell you if you do.

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

And how do I reactivate the transferred phone on my line if the SIMs aren't of the same size?

it's similar to the process for reactivating the dumbphone on your wife's line but since it is a 4G phone you have to type in the SIM number of the SIM card that is in the new phone. The number is on the SIM card itself. You may get an error that you will lose unlimited data but don't select a new plan and you won't lose unlimited data.

Maybe it'll become clearer once I'm online with Verizon and actually looking at the screen.

yeah, it does.

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

turn off the new smartphone, log on to your verizon account and select switch/activate phone. select her line and then you should get asked if you are activating a phone that has already been used with your account. say yes, and you should be able to select her dumbphone from the list. I can't remember if you have to dial *228 from the dumbphone, but it should tell you if you do.

Do I need to do anything else besides activating and before moving it to my line? Like making a call or sending a text? And how long should I keep the smartphone on her line before transferring it to mine: an hour, hours, a day? The ideal scenario is to complete this whole thing in one day, so she could take her old phone with her the following day.

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

it's similar to the process for reactivating the dumbphone on your wife's line but since it is a 4G phone you have to type in the SIM number of the SIM card that is in the new phone. The number is on the SIM card itself. You may get an error that you will lose unlimited data but don't select a new plan and you won't lose unlimited data.

Since the phone came with the SIM pre-installed, then what?

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

Do I need to do anything else besides activating and before moving it to my line? Like making a call or sending a text?

No, but just to be clear, you activate the new smartphone on your wife's line and then shut it off and reactivate the dumbphone on your wife's line before switching the new smartphone to your line.

And how long should I keep the smartphone on her line before transferring it to mine: an hour, hours, a day? The ideal scenario is to complete this whole thing in one day, so she could take her old phone with her the following day.

you can activate it and once this is completed, make a test phone call, log onto verizon and make sure you see the new smartphone on her line, then shut it off and put her dumbphone back on her line. That way you will be 100% certain you activated it on her line first.

But in your case I am not sure you need to worry because you are using an upgrade that belongs to a dumbphone line. This thread is about transferring an unlimited data line's upgrade to another line in order to preserve unlimited data. You really have nothing to worry about if you are using your wife's upgrade and just transferring the phone to your line. It only gets tricky when you are transferring an unlimited data line's upgrade.

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

Since the phone came with the SIM pre-installed, then what?

pop it out of the phone, put on your glasses and read the SIM card number that is printed on it. If you are under 40 yo, you may not need glasses to read it

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

But in your case I am not sure you need to worry because you are using an upgrade that belongs to a dumbphone line. This thread is about transferring an unlimited data line's upgrade to another line in order to preserve unlimited data. You really have nothing to worry about if you are using your wife's upgrade and just transferring the phone to your line. It only gets tricky when you are transferring an unlimited data line's upgrade.

In my case, it's a bit more complicated. In essence, I have to activate two new smartphones on the same day: my son's and mine. Since I gave my upgrade to my son, my line on Verizon shows as not having any upgrades. My intent all along has been to activate his phone first, so that my line upgrade is gone for sure. And only after that upgrade my wife's dumbline with my "phone-to-be" and then transfer it to my line, whereby preserving my unlimited data. Because I used my wife's line when purchasing my phone, Verizon, at the moment, shows that none of our lines have upgrades available, but, I trust, that is based only on the info as the phones were purchased. Well, to add another wrinkle, my son's line now shows as having a "complimentary discount upgrade" which I hope to ignore to allow for the main scenario to work.

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

In my case, it's a bit more complicated. In essence, I have to activate two new smartphones on the same day: my son's and mine. Since I gave my upgrade to my son, my line on Verizon shows as not having any upgrades.

Which one of you has unlimited data?

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

Which one of you has unlimited data?

Only my line. At the moment, the other lines have dumbphones.

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

I have to activate two new smartphones on the same day: my son's and mine.

This won't be a problem because you are activating your son's on his line (non-unlimited data) and yours on your wife's line.

Since I gave my upgrade to my son, my line on Verizon shows as not having any upgrades.

If you have already purchased the phone by transferring your upgrade to your son's line but not yet activated the phone, it will show your line as having no upgrade. The upgrade is just the buying part, not the activating part.

My intent all along has been to activate his phone first, so that my line upgrade is gone for sure.

That's fine but your upgrade is gone from the moment of purchase. Only if you return the phone during the 14 day return period or extended holiday return period will your upgrade be restored.

And only after that upgrade my wife's dumbline with my "phone-to-be" and then transfer it to my line, whereby preserving my unlimited data.

There is no worry at all that you will lose unlimited data since the upgrade used was your wife's upgrade in the first place. But go ahead and activate the phone on her line first and then do the transfer to avoid any pending activation type problems.

Because I used my wife's line when purchasing my phone, Verizon, at the moment, shows that none of our lines have upgrades available, but, I trust, that is based only on the info as the phones were purchased.

yes, none of the lines will show an upgrade since the upgrades are used at the time of purchase, not activation.

Well, to add another wrinkle, my son's line now shows as having a "complimentary discount upgrade" which I hope to ignore to allow for the main scenario to work.

If you have already transferred the upgrade and purchased the phone, the activation will not be a problem. However, I have never heard of the complimentary discount upgrade thing. Please start another thread to ask about it. I am sure someone has heard of these before but it is best to discuss it in its own thread.

 

[Simon_y7]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

However, I have never heard of the complimentary discount upgrade thing. Please start another thread to ask about it. I am sure someone has heard of these before but it is best to discuss it in its own thread.

I'm not sure this deserves a separate thread. It's what has been an early upgrade, as his scheduled upgrade date is 3/13/14. They called it an exclusive offer, with GN3 for $299.99 and S4 for $249.99. I hope they won't ask me why I had to use my eligibility to upgrade his phone when he had his own "exclusive offer."

 

[NBAJ2K]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

Call what number to put the phone back on Line 3?

If you are going to order from Verizon directly online, here is what you do:

1) Transfer Line 3's upgrade to Line 1;
2) Order a new phone on Line 1 using the transferred upgrade;
3) When you receive the new phone, activate it on Line 1 according to the instructions provided (which includes calling a 1-877 number);
4) Shut the new phone off and reactivate an old phone on Line 1;
5) Put the new phone on Line 3.

Step 5 can be done a variety of different ways. The easiest is to take the SIM card from Line 3's current phone and put it into the new phone, but of course this only works if the SIM cards are the same size.


No. The donee line (Line 1) keeps it same upgrade date and same contract end date (which now are the same on Verizon). The donor line (Line 3) will have its contract renewed for 2 years with a corresponding upgrade date.


You will be fine then because your dad's line will keep the same upgrade date as it had before you transferred your upgrade to his line. Keep in mind though that this is how things are working now. None of us knows whether this will continue to work in the future so check back when you are ready to do it to see if the process is still working for people.

So my Dad (Line 1) has an iPhone 5 with the Total Equipment Coverage on it. When I transferred the upgrade to his line and tried to upgrade to the Droid Maxx it is forcing me to change the insurance plan on the line (since it is $8 for that phone instead of 9.99 for the iPhone)

If I went through with this, when I go to put the iPhone back on Line 1, will I have any issues activating the insurance? I never actually thought of that, but didn't know if it would be an issue.

Thanks,

-J

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[DayThyme]

Re: [Instruction]How to Keep Unlimited Data on Verizon

So my Dad (Line 1) has an iPhone 5 with the Total Equipment Coverage on it. When I transferred the upgrade to his line and tried to upgrade to the Droid Maxx it is forcing me to change the insurance plan on the line (since it is $8 for that phone instead of 9.99 for the iPhone)

I was told by Verizon that as long as you first started paying for an insurance policy on the phone within 30 days of purchase that you can switch the phone back on the line and the correct insurance will automatically update. I specifically asked about the switch between an iPhone and an Android.