Guide to activating a new/used phone online

[WarreN1ncredible]

Hey all, I know a lot of people were talking about activating the phone online as they had never done it before. This will save you some of those fees Verizon charges and what not, and can be done at anytime.

What you will need....
Internet Access
A phone with a clean ESN/MEID (this is a number behind the battery on the phone - by a "clean" ESN/MEID I mean it cannot be activated on another account or phone line currently)
A "My Verizon" online account (can be set up online if you need one)

Go to VerizonWireless.com and click on "sign in"

Once you have signed in, You should be on the "My Verizon" homepage with the overview of your account.

On the Right Hand side, click on "Activate Phone" Under "Account Actions"

Once loaded, it will ask about backing up your contacts and stuff, you can do that if you would like, but i will not explain that as I've never done it and don't need to.

The next step is entering the ESN/MEID number under the battery of the phone you want to activate. Remove the battery and look for the number and type it in

The last step it will have a drop down of all of the phones, and you can choose which line you want to activate on.

Then it will process, and you must dial *228 and use option 1 to activate your phone!

There you have it, as this will save you money and it is very easy!

[Ads]

[MiXoLoGiSt]

I might have to use this soon. Thanks for the guide.

[mach330]

yeah, i've done activation online many times with no problem.

[MiXoLoGiSt]

yeah, i've done activation online many times with no problem.

In my situation its just more of a pain in the donkey than its worth. I just do everything in store.

[WarreN1ncredible]

Sticky????

[The5rivers]

I posted this in a previous thread that was started regarding online activation/ESN switching. Using online activation is very convenient!


Online activation/ESN switching is pretty easy, and this the only way I activate now actually. And I have been in your situation too, where I would use an upgrade from a secondary line and then activate on my line, or from another line in a Family plan, etc. I have done this with buying phones off ebay (my droid, old razrs and Q9C's) as well. To me, its very convenient instead of going into the store. I usually leave that as a last resort, but to each his own. If you feel more comfortable by going to the store, by all means go for it. Just trying to save you some time!

Its quite simple via my verizon. Log into your account, and find the number you want to activate your new phone on. Click on "details" for that number, and on the next page that pops up, you click on "Activate phone." After you do that, it will ask to enter in the new MEID/ESN number, which you get from the new phone, and pick the number from the dropdown box that you will be activating the new phone on.

The usual caveats apply, make sure you backed up your contacts somewhere, and whatever data you would need for your new phone. Now, before you press continue, make sure your old phone is off. Press continue, and then if there are any changes that need to be made to your contract/plan i.e. adding a data plan, removing some option, etc, it will show you a page with all of the options and changes that may or may not be made to your contract./plan, depending on what type of phone you are activating. Verify any changes, and after that the ESN switch is complete, and it should show a page that says activation successful, and to wait about 10-15 mins and then turn your new phone on and do OTA programming via option 1.

Sorry for the long post!! And you can PM any questions (if you have any). Take care and cannot wait for this phone to release!!

[rabernet]

I've activated my last three phones myself that I didn't even know that they charged you now for activation.

[WarreN1ncredible]

I've activated my last three phones myself that I didn't even know that they charged you now for activation.

They do only if you do it in store

[MiXoLoGiSt]

They do only if you do it in store

Thy never charge me when i upgrade phones in store and have them activated there.

[WarreN1ncredible]

Thy never charge me when i upgrade phones in store and have them activated there.

Oh, well they have for me before.