Verizon LTE NOT supported on LTE Nexus 7

[ew800]

SUCCESS! I hope.

I did more research after hanging up with Felicia and I came across Verizon's DMD - Device Management Database. If a phone is not in the DMD, an "add device request" is filled out by the rep and the new device, with it's IMEI, is listed under the customer's account. I called tech support at 866-221-4096. After entering the personal info it required, I selected option 6 for 'Tablets'. Someone was on the line not 5 seconds later. His name was Bobby and he is by far the best customer service rep I've ever spoke with in my experience with 4 different wireless providers. We talked all about the tablet and why it wasn't supported by Verizon. He agreed that the FCC 700 MHz open access regulations required Verizon to enable my device since it had a 700 MHz antenna. I told him about the DMD and he put me on hold. He came back after speaking with an engineer and said the add device request was exactly what we needed to do.

After he submitted the request, he put in an order for a "naked" SIM card to be shipped to me overnight for free. When the SIM card arrives I am supposed to call Verizon customer service and reference the DMD request and it will be added to my account as a $10/month tablet. That's why I started with "I hope"; we all know everything can go horribly wrong between now and then. I currently have a 4G SIM card from my old S3 in my Nexus 7 and I get great service here in Colorado Springs. I'm paying the $140 for voice and data until the new SIM comes in and takes its place.

THE CATCH: Since the Nexus 7 2013 is not provisioned, and therefor not supported, by Verizon (YET), I will not be able to receive technical support from Verizon. I would have to call Google if something went wrong with the device. That's what I would do anyway since Verizon has absolutely no foothold in this device like they do in all the devices they sell from their stores/website.

There is a brand new SIM in the mail from Verizon. My Nexus 7 wasn't in their system but now there is an official add device request from Verizon to Verizon. I didn't have to buy a tablet, activate it, and return it just to get the $10/month tablet plan.

I'm going to call that a win.

Great job, Spirk! A couple of questions....

-- How do you suggest those of us without quite as much knowledge about the 700MHz issue and such go about pulling this off like you did? Should we be able to call the same number now and possibly have the same luck?

-- Did they give you any idea how long the "add device" process can take? Hopefully this will make the device official in a short period of time.

Thanks for all that you have done to all of us get this resolved!

 

[bobisculous]

An activation fee of $35 seems really steep. That makes me more inclined to just get a Wi-Fi version and hotspot it to my phone.

Has anyone tried to activate their Nexus 7 on a Verizon prepaid tablet plan?

Pretty standard I'd say. Not sure the success rate at calling and requesting it go away. But I know its more than 0% and less than 100%. May give them a call to try.

 

[SirLance99]

I have a third line with unlimited data still. All I had to do was take out the SIM card, pop it in my Nexus 7, BOOM! unlimited data on my Nexus 7. I call that a good day.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Spirk]

Great job, Spirk! A couple of questions....

-- How do you suggest those of us without quite as much knowledge about the 700MHz issue and such go about pulling this off like you did? Should we be able to call the same number now and possibly have the same luck?

-- Did they give you any idea how long the "add device" process can take? Hopefully this will make the device official in a short period of time.

Thanks for all that you have done to all of us get this resolved!

Honesty, my knowledge of the open access regulations only helped a little. Knowing that Verizon had a process in place for devices not in their Device Management Database was much more important. Of course, getting the most helpful technician in the world was just luck. Tier 2 tech support has floor supervisors available at all times so you'll never get stuck with a phone monkey like you would when you call customer service.

They told me it would take 1-3 business days for my device to be put into the system. I'm going to be patient and wait until Friday to call back.

Call customer service first just to get a case opened and then call tech support when you hit a wall with the service rep.

 

[ew800]

I just came across this article. This does not sound good....

Nexus 7 LTE gets shunned by Verizon, can’t be activated - Android Community

 

[sbudaj]

According to this article, Verizon is not going to support the LTE Nexus 7.

Nexus 7 LTE gets shunned by Verizon, can’t be activated - Android Community

 

[danyzfr6]

I just came back from the Verizon store on Pine Street & Battery Street in San Francisco, CA. I had absolutely NO ISSUES activating my Nexus 7 LTE. The rep there just activated a SIM card for me, installed it, asked me which data plan I wanted and it worked with one reboot of the device. So, if you're in SF, go to this store and ask for Tim. He knows what he's doing.

Also, and I know this will be music to a lot of people's ears, I have successfully (and very easily, I might add) tethered other devices to my tablet's Verizon LTE data.

So, there is hope, people!

 

[sflxn]

I am using the Verizon micro sim from my iPad 3 in my Nexus 7. However, I am seeing lower speeds than I was seeing in my iPad. On my Nexus 7, the max download speed I am seeing is 3 mbps. If it doesn't improve, I might look into AT&T's LTE. I'm on a 2MB/mo plan so there isn't really any cost savings with staying with Verizon. T-Mobile signal in SF is worst than AT&T's 3G signal a few years ago.

 

[Aquila]

Att also has the advantage of having hspa to fall back onto.

XT1060. Through spacetime.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

FYI guys.

Rather than speculate, we asked Verizon earlier exactly what was up. They replied:

This is not yet a device that is Verizon 4G LTE certified. We?ll let folks know when it's certified.

Nothing further. This is gonna be a fun one

 

[hokiesteve]

FYI guys.

Rather than speculate, we asked Verizon earlier exactly what was up. They replied:



Nothing further. This is gonna be a fun one

That response from Verizon doesn't say anything other than that they are delaying compliance with the 700Mhz FCC open access rules that they agreed to when they licensed the spectrum. There's absolutely no technical reason why they can't activate a sim for a Nexus 7 to access their network.

 

[danyzfr6]

There's absolutely no reason for this. As I wrote before, the rep that helped me hooked me up with a working SIM and I was up and running in about 5 minutes. He didn't seem to have to do any hacking or anything. Granted, mine is a business account and they do go the extra mile to make us happy, but still.....IT'S POSSIBLE. That speech about the Nexus 7 LTE not being "certified" is B.S. They just want to figure out how to restrict the device (which can be used as a hotspot, by the way) and possibly add bloatware to it. Verizon needs to stop being such control freaks and think about being more customer friendly because AT&T is getting better and better with their LTE roll out and they (as would T-Mobile and Sprint) would be more than happy to take your money.

*Edit - This was in reply to Jerry's post of Verizon's reply that said that the Nexus 7 is not a certified device.

 

[ew800]

I am pleased to report that I had success! After reading some posts of some that have been successful, I decided to give it a try. I went into a Verizon Corp store and was lucky enough to be greeted by the manager. I was straight up with him, telling him that I had the Nexus 7 LTE, which was not currently "supported" by Verizon, but that I had read many messages from people who confirmed that it is possible to activate. He and a sales rep that seemed very knowledgeable said they were sure they could help me. They put a SIM in, did a bunch of stuff in the computer (no idea what they did) and the next thing I knew, it was working like a champ. It looks like it is a matter of who you get and how hard they want to try to assist.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

That response from Verizon doesn't say anything other than that they are delaying compliance with the 700Mhz FCC open access rules that they agreed to when they licensed the spectrum. There's absolutely no technical reason why they can't activate a sim for a Nexus 7 to access their network.

There's absolutely no reason for this. As I wrote before, the rep that helped me hooked me up with a working SIM and I was up and running in about 5 minutes. He didn't seem to have to do any hacking or anything. Granted, mine is a business account and they do go the extra mile to make us happy, but still.....IT'S POSSIBLE. That speech about the Nexus 7 LTE not being "certified" is B.S. They just want to figure out how to restrict the device (which can be used as a hotspot, by the way) and possibly add bloatware to it. Verizon needs to stop being such control freaks and think about being more customer friendly because AT&T is getting better and better with their LTE roll out and they (as would T-Mobile and Sprint) would be more than happy to take your money.

*Edit - This was in reply to Jerry's post of Verizon's reply that said that the Nexus 7 is not a certified device.

Of course it's a total crap answer. Verizon isn't above inventing the truth to fit their needs. But it's all they are gonna say.

 

[mobrules]

Does anyone have an opinion if it is better to get the tmobile or the at&t????? I have a verizon sim that I can use but want to know if there is any difference with the radios on the 2 different devices. Any reply is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[patruns]

There is no physical difference between any of the LTE devices. As to a choice between AT&T and T-mobile, buy whatever has better coverage for where you will use it.

 

[bplewis24]

There's absolutely no reason for this. As I wrote before, the rep that helped me hooked me up with a working SIM and I was up and running in about 5 minutes. He didn't seem to have to do any hacking or anything.

The "certified" excuse is simply semantics. It's their way of excusing their archaic system of "provisioning" phones, which doesn't work well with an unlocked device on new spectrum (relatively speaking).

Nevertheless, I quoted you to ask, what does the device show up as on your account? My guess is that he did do some trickery, which simply means he did the same thing guys here did: he added the SIM to your device by using some random, certified device as a "dummy" device so that it would activate. If he did, I'm guessing it would show up when you search your account online.

 

[Farish]

Hey Att is giving a 100 dollar bill credit if you get the Nexus 7 on their network with 2 year commitment. Either way you don't have to go through hoops to activate it

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[sbudaj]

Here is the latest from Verizon.

Verizon Wireless Device Certification - Mobile Device Certification

 

[Scott7217]

Here is the latest from Verizon.

Verizon Wireless Device Certification - Mobile Device Certification

At least the statement from Verizon mentions that the certification process will take around 4 to 6 weeks. I wonder what would happen if the Nexus 7 failed certification?