Is a Samsung phone leased from Verizon locked to the number/account it was leased under?

[Android Central Question]

Looking to upgrade to a Galaxy Note 8. I currently have a Verizon prepay account and want to keep it but also do not want to cough up the $960.00 that Verizon wants for the Note 8 when buying it outright. My brother is about to start a new plan with Verizon for his business but already has the phone he plans to use. If he were to get the Note 8 on his plan with 24 months of payments is it locked to his number/account during that 24 month payment period or is it possible for me to pop my sim or sims in it from my Verizon prepaid account as if he sold the phone to me and get it to work before all 24 payments on phone are made? If so, how much trouble will it be? I'm far from an expert but know my way around Android phones enough to be kinda deadly. I would just prefer to avoid taking drastic steps and/or complex procedures to get the phone to work on my account. Especially if the procedures include risk of permanent damage and/or voiding of the warranty on a new $1000.00 phone just to pay for it over 24 months. I would love for it to be as simple as popping in my sim and hitting the power button but I won;t hold my breathe.

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. Any help, direction, and/or advice on this situation is greatly appreciated. You can also include your feelings on the Note 8 and/or suggestions on other phones if you have them. I've had a Note 3, 4, and 5 and I am a fan but always open to the opinions of others if something better is available.

Thanks!

 

[dpham00]

I believe that it should work

But should your brother decide to stop paying for the phone then it will be blacklisted

 

[Rukbat]

Before you do anything, put your SIM into your brother's phone and see if it gets calls to your number. (Verizon used to use the phone's ESN number before they started using SIMs [and I haven't been a dealer since before then] so I don't know if the number still goes with the ESN or it goes with the SIM number.)

It won't damage anything, it might just not work - you put your SIM in his phone and it still gets calls to his number. If that's the case, you could port your number out to Google Voice, then get a Note 8 and forward the GV account to your new number (and use Hangouts Dialer to make calls from your GV number).

If it works, though, just get the Note 8, put your SIM in it and you're good to go.