yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dm47:
hey guys, I have a Thunderbolt with unlimited data and just transferred my upgrade to an iphone with 2gb shared data, and bought the GS4.

I'm planning on selling the GS4 to my girlfriend (she's on a separate contract). She has a 4G SIM card from her old Thunderbolt and still has unlimited data. Does she need to use the SIM card from her Thunderbolt or can she use the one that ships with the GS4?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] mrich137:
If I remember correctly, the thunderbolt uses a regular sized 4g sim, and the S4 uses a micro sim. I've seen people cut them to fit, but it's not worth the trouble. If you upgraded to her S4 on your line, the sim is going to activate your line on the phone rather than her a, but if you're on the same account you should be able to switch back online.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Cruiserdude:
The SIM that ships with the phone will be for the line that you actually used the upgrade on. And it's best to activate it first with that SIM, then immediately turn it off and switch that line back to the phone it had originally, which can be done online if it's a 4G smartphone or by dialing *228 if it's anything else. Or you may have to call Verizon and tell them to switch it back.

If you already have a 4G phone, just use that SIM. If not, just order a SIM for your line, or see if the website let's you change the SIM you have on hand (from activating the S4 on the other line) to your line. And that's it.

Just make sure if you're MDK that you root and freeze or delete SDM.apk and FWupgrade.apk to block the update, and remove the file from /cache if it already started downloading. You want to do this as soon as possible, preferably before you put any SIM in. If you get it online it's no issue, but tell any retailer to give you the SIM and not activate it. Tell them since it's for another person who isn't here you want them to activate it if ya want. Doesn't matter what you tell them, just don't let them activate it. Obviously not a problem at all if you get it online. But you can go ahead and root and block those apks before you ever activate it. Just don't flash a rom first or something.

Sent from my VZW Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dm47:
Thanks for the response. So is the SIM card tied to the line that the upgrade was done with? I was hoping I could use the "Activate or Switch Device" tool on MyVerizon, and just activate it for my girlfriend that way.

But you're saying I need to activate it on the upgraded line first, and then I can do Activate or Switch Device from my gf's MyVerizon?

hope that makes sense. The GS4 only comes with 1 SIM card (which is apparently microSIM) so I'm hoping I don't need another one.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
Yes, the SIM card is tied to the line you upgraded, your girlfriends. You do not need to turn the phone on in order to switch it. Once it is purchased it's yours to do what you want. If the SIM card from your old phone does not fit the new phone then yes you will need another one but since you already purchased the phone my advice would be go to a corporate store they will give you a SIM card for free and tell them that you want it activated on your line. They will then tie the new SIM card to your phone number you put it into the GS four and you're good

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dm47:
Thanks for all your help. I sent you a PM!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] IamPro:
I believe they closed this loophole a couple months ago from what I was told when I upgrade recently (but kept my unlimited)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
I know it can be done but I'm not sure exactly how. Thought it was the same way.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] haza12d:
I just paid someone $50 for their upgrade. They upgraded their line to the S4, but they didn't activate it on their line. Took my SIM from S3, popped it in the S4, done deal. Sucks for my buddy that he renewed his contract for two more years, but he got $50 for it. Good for me, shiny new phone and it was on sale at Costco for $160! :D
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oconnell84:
The easiest way to upgrade to a new phone and not lose unlimited data to just not be cheap and buy the phone outright. I always get my phones off ebay then convince best buy to mive my insurance over.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] haza12d:
Do they cover loss or just defects/damage?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oconnell84:
They cover everything, even bricked phones/cracked screens/water damage, etc. $11 a month too.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] haza12d:
I did a little research and turns out that Best Buy will cover everything but lost/stolen devices. :(
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] IamPro:
And I don't have to buy the phone from them :confused:

(I bought my Note 2 from Amazon and plan to do the same with the Note 3)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] najaboy:
They definitely do not cover everything. If your phone is lost or stolen, you're out of luck.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oconnell84:
Who covers lost of stolen phones though?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] najaboy:
Asurion.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] JokerNut:
Are you still showing that you have the Unlimited data plan?

Has anyone else tried this through Amazon?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oconnell84:
I stilk have unlimited data but I buy outright
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] civiksi:
I just bought 2 s4s off swappa. Gave me sim cards for free. Still have unlimited.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] porky101:
Worked for me! Just got everything switched to my line today(took a little bit, since they dont carry the 32GB version in-store so I had to order it online). When I went in and said I was using my mom's upgrade she told me the exact steps that you outlined so that I would keep the unlimited plan, so for the people who were confused about if they lost commission, probably not since the lady told me about it, instead of me telling her about it.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] reubdogg:
I wish I read this post a month ago.

I just upgraded line 1 with a S4 and limited 2gb data about a month ago. I currently already have a Note 2 on line 2 with unlimited data.

Is there a way now to to switch the unlimited data plan to my S4? My wife has the Note 2 but doesn't need unlimited.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thetootall:
Similar method for me - had a friend go back to the iPhone5 after giving the S4 a few weeks. Loss for him but great deal for me!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] got556:
Swap sims between the two phones and enter your gmail account and you're gtg
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] reubdogg:
If I just swap sim cards then we would switch phone numbers too, right. I need to keep my number.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
To the best of my knowledge there is no way to switch data plans.and yes, switching sims switches numbers.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] got556:
Just do it online and avoid the idiots at the counters. No offense to our knowledgable VZW employees on this site but you guys are few and far between.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Cruiserdude:
That's correct. You can't switch a legacy option like Unlimited Data from one line to another. You would have to simply take on that line along with its number. Your plan is tied to your number, and a SIM is assigned to it. So if you keep your SIM when you and your wife switch phones, both of you will keep your numbers, as well as your respective data plans, as those go with the SIM.

The only possibility is to see if you can get Verizon to switch your numbers between you and your wife's line. I would imagine it's possible, no idea if they have any specific restrictions against it (or again, if it is indeed possible). It's certainly something I'd look into, not sure how I'd go about it though.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] bentring:
Just got my S4 a couple of hours ago and the wife and I must have gotten really lucky as the rep at the corporate store suggested that we do what the OP wrote. We were both able to keep our unlimited plans because two of our kids were eligible for phone upgrades.

Loving the phone so far but coming from a Droid X it wouldn't have taken much for a better experience. Now to go browse tons of threads and btw the noob video was hilarious.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] itsmejson:
My wife has an iPhone and I have a thunderbolt both on unlimited data plans.

We both want to upgrade to the S4, however it is only our 2 lines on the account with no dummy lines. What would be the best way for use to proceed?

Should we add 2 s4 lines w/ data to our existing account. Do the device change to our 2 unlimited lines? Then for the new lines would 2 old blackberry curves work for activation on the 2 new opened lines?

Basically our plan would go up an extra <$20 for the 2 newly created lines?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
No, your plan would go up minimum $80 because the blackberry's are data phones. You best bet would be to activate 1 line with a basic phone on it. Even if you had to buy the phone($50 approx with 2 year contract) its cheaper. Your bill goes up $10 bucks a month, and , if you do it right you will still have an available upgrade when finished.

Example: You=A wife=b newline = c

1)activate new line and get an s4(C)

2)take C and switch to line a using Device only change.

3) use b upgrade as an alternate upgrade to upgrade line c to an s4.

4)switch c back to b with device only change.

5)put a dummy ESN on line c. Make sure its a basic phone ESN. (Phone recycle bin are good places to get a dummy ESN I'd you don't have one)

6)you have now used line b and c's upgrade to get the 2 phones. You still have Unlimited data AND an available upgrade on line a and only increased your bill 10 buck.

Take note, I would not do this all in the same day at a corporate store. Go somewhere else like an authorized retailer.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] itsmejson:
Thank you very much for this :). After switching all the lines back to where they should be will the phone numbers still be the same A-me, B-wife etc.?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
Yes they will still be the same.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] itsmejson:
I called my local Costco and they said I couldn't do the above without losing unlimited data. They obviously don't know do they?

Before doing any of the device changes from Line C to Lina A or B, I need to be sure to activate the phone first on Line C right?

Can I do the device changes online or do I have to call or go in store?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
Yes, the people you talked to are full of sh*t. Second, you technicly do not need to activate any 4g phone before you do the switch. In the past, with 3g phones you needed to activate them to lock them into a line, then take them off and switch them. With 4g phones, when the rep enters the ESN and Sim number and hits accept, it locks the phone to the number. With 3g phones, they don't show up on the account status until the phone is active, 4g it does not matter, they are instantly there. Its similar to how they do Holiday activations.

In a nutshell, it doesn't make a huge difference either way.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] itsmejson:
Could I do the sane thing via amazon to take advantage of their lower phone pricing?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
I have no idea about that one. Don't know how they price, sell or handle upgrades. The one thing I do know is some third party stores do not have the ability to do alternate upgrades. But as far as amazon goes, I'm clueless. Sorry

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Draconiuslives:
Just got back from my VZ store and the guy, without skipping a BEAT suggested I do this method of adding two lines, upgrading and he would add two dummy ESN's on the fake lines. All it would cost was activation fee (x2 for two upgrades), and $8.50 (x2 again).

Loved that I didn't have to heckle, ask, beg, suggest, anything. He said he has done it MANY times and no issues. once I convince the wifey to get a new phone, we will be calling that dude up for an upgrade. Unlimited all the time...HEELLLLLLOOOOO!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] starbiker99:
I am going to swing by Costco on the way home and see if I can use my main line upgrade that has been due for an upgrade for over 2 years and with unlimited data and see if I can pick me up a S4 (I have 1 standard phone on my plan as well)!!! :fingers-crossed:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] itsmejson:
Please let us know. I called Costco today and they said it wouldn't be possible without losing my unlimited plan.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] reybie:
Only way I was able to do the upgrade from costco was to add another line and put that S4 on my unlimited line then put an old dumb phone on the new line. Check with the clerk at the kiosk first to see if he/she knows how and save yourself the aggravation.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] starbiker99:
Just left Costco. No luck there. I am 0 for 2 also tried the local corporate store. Make that 0 for 3 tried Wal-mart too. I guess I will try and find a retailer that doesn't have there head in there a$$ anyone know one in the Denver area?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
Costco can do it. There have been several people who confirmed that in previous posts. Also, search for a retailer called Verizon Awireless. Don't know if they exist in Denver but they're really good doing this kind of stuff.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] starbiker99:
The guy as Costco said once you touch a line with unlimited even if just for a transfer it deletes the unlimited data. I know that not to be the case but it wasn't worth my time to argue. The guy at Walmart was completely clueless. The Corp store just wanted to switch me to a family share plan. Said my data usage is well under the 6gb/month. I said no thanks!! I'll keep looking. The weird thing is I can do it online myself if I wanted the brand new HTC ONE but not the S4!! :(
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Kensai:
This might be a stretch for the topic but what happens to your warranty when you use an alternate upgrade? Would you have to put it back to the other line? Or would they just assumed. E the device has a year warranty?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] broderp:
This is not true at all unless VZ just changed thier on line website. You need to do an ALTERNATE UPGRADE. After you buy the phone a dummy throw way account. (I used my 10 year old's non-smart phone eligible line) When I did mine (The guy at Target actually did it for me, but I was right there and watched like a hawk...he was logged into my account after all ;) ) after selecting the alternate upgrade option of the website, you just follow the prompts. I was given the option to select the plan I wanted for the new phone I was alternately upgrading. The very first selection was "KEEP EXISTING PLAN" which is what we did.

As further proof, I just recieved my bill notification, and I am happy to report I do indeed still show unlimited data. The VZ app also still shows unlimited date as well.

I could be wrong and am no expert, but I don't see how it matters. You would probbaly have to go thru samsung for warranty and I'm betting all they care about is the date you purchaced the phone. Not sure VZ will be willing to add a warranty tp the phone since it was not purchaced thru them. Now if you did, then why would they care? I can't see paying $7 for insurance anyways. I'm not rough on my stuff and have encased my S4 in carbonite and titanium. :cyclops:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] synplex:
Will I be able to do this?

So after discovering this thread I was quite exicted to try this out since I have both a Costco and a Verizon Corp store near by. But I have a few Questions.

I have a single line plan with Unlimited Data and my GNex (Which doesn't hold much charge anymore:(). In order to do this do I have to add another line with Limited Data (2gb) and then do a alternate upgrade and phone switch can I then remove the 2nd line i just added?

In the end I only really need 1 line. Is this possible?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] broderp:
I think to do this you need to already have a second line that is elegible for an upgrade. You can't start with just the one line that has unlimited data. You need a line that can be ungraded.

In my case, my sons (non smart phone) was eligible for an upgrade. I bought the Samsung S4 ($139 at Target) and upgraded my sons account. For like 5 minutes, he had the new S4 (with the cheapest data packge). The guy at the store then called Verizen, (you may be able to do this yourself) and had the Samsung S4 removed from that account and placed back his old phone. He then took the new phone and did an alternate upgrade on my line with the unlimited data. During the upgrade, you are given the opportunity to select the data package. One of the options was KEEP EXISTING PLAN. Done.

As I said in an earlier post, I have recieved my bill for this month and all is good.

You can always do an alternate upgrade yourself, but to get the phone for the cheap price that supposed to include a 2 year activation or renewal, you need to go this route. Otherwise, pay the 500-$700 for the phone and just do the alternate upgrade. this allows you to get the contract pricing, and keep unlimited. And YES, my line with the S4 is still eligible for an upgrade! (my sons is not for two more years though ~but I can get him a new phone for under $200. Better than paying $700 for the Samsung Galaxy S4! :laugh: )
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] 20Grand:
Pensacola

If anyone lives in the Pensacola area the kiosk at Cordova mall kept my unlimited data. If you ask them nonchalantly if they know any way to keep unlimited data they will help you out. I don't know how they do it, and I don't care. It has been three days since I bought my new phone and when I checked my Verizon wireless account it still says unlimited data. If you do use them, buy insurance or a phone case from them as it makes them look good to their boss or whoever or slip them some cash as they do not have to do this.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] blueangel0508:
We upgraded to the s4 a few months ago. My line has unlimited thankfully because I love streaming music in my car. We just added an extra line and upgraded our third so we could both get this phone.

As long as you can swing a basic line or two I've been able to keep my grandfathered data :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeren17:
For those with a single line you just have 2 alternatives as far as I know. You can either pay full price for the phone... Or you can use Verizon's payment program, which gives you 12 months to pay off the phone. This is the method I just used, as I didn't want to shell out full price up front.

Obviously you could just use a credit card to pay it off, but I like the convenience of having the charges combined with my monthly bill. I didn't do much research before hand about their payment program, so if anybody has had any negative experiences with this I would love to hear about it... I'm still within my cancelation period.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] PetrichorXFi:
There are third party options for warranties.... I know there is an online option... I'm wanting to say squaretrade, but that sounds wrong
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
You can do it that way but if you cancel the line the early termination fee is more than paying out the contract. It's like $350 vs $240. So not much sense.

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] broderp:
I wasn't aware nor have I seen anything about Verizon allowing you to buy a new phone on monthly payments. (I know Cricket does, but cricket service is the pits.) The entire point behind subsidizing the phone is to get it at a cheap price and save your phone bill. What good does it do you to get the same phone bill, AND have to add the cost of a smart phone on the bill for 12 months?:confused: Doesn't make sense to me.

I'd check and see what the monthly payments would add up to and if the phone is cheaper than buying outright from the same servicer, it may be an OK deal, but VZ's bills are high enough, I'm not adding a $600-$700 phone on top of it! :eek:

I still believe gettting the phone for $200 or less is much better than paying full pricefor the phone over 12 months. In my case, I spent $139 for the S4. Best deal I've ever seen on it and I still have my unlimited. I can take the $139+tax hit much easier than adding $60 a month to my bill every month for a year. But differnt strokes.....;)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeren17:
You're right...I'm definitely not saying it is a GREAT deal. But for those of us who are on single lines and want to keep our unlimited data, we really don't have many other options. Switching carriers is not an option for me, as Verizon is the only provider who gives me consistent coverage where I live (and excellent LTE coverage).

If I had more than one line tied to my plan I would absolutely do what you're doing. As far as the monthly payments, they break down exactly as you would think. A $600 phone/12 months=$50 per month (plus a $2.00 financing charge each month, so bump that phone price up to $624 before taxes). Again, not an ideal situation. But Verizon has us single line/unlimited data users with our backs against a wall. Good news is that in a year from now I could sell my gs4 and recoup a good portion of the money I've spent paying for it outright. If I use that money to put towards a new phone, I'm almost paying subsidized cost.

Of course this could be all just some backwards, twisted logic that I'm using to justify the fact that I just bought a new phone that I absolutely did not need.:rolleyes:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Shaftamle:
Sorry dude, but if you took half the time it took you to write that post, to read mine(OP), then you would have your answer. Get a dummy line!

35 activation fee

240 (10 a month for 2years)dummy line

200 for new phone

EQUALS

475 DOLLARS

which sounds about $150 less than your idea. If my math is right.

Not to mention you have a spare phone line and still have your available upgrade.

But your way sounds good too. :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

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[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jeren17:
Haha... Unfortunately I didn't bother to check out this XDA thread until AFTER I bought the phone (even then, I thought this method could only be done if you previously had multiple lines). DOH!!!!

Luckily I still have time to make a "return" and add a dummy line.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] broderp:
No need to be nasty about it. Show some love. :highfive:

I'd also like to mention, I have had some resistance from Verizon on doing this. They claim that if you add a line (even though your currently on an unlimited plan,) you have to use the new pricing. This will lock you out of the unimited data plan. Crazy yes, but the local corp store would not budge and at the time I didn't know any better. (Also didn't buy it or upgrade either, just walked out. :) )

My second son also wanted an upgrade from a basic line to a smart phone. He was forced into a $30 2GB data package, and was not goven the opportunity to get the ulimited, even though I'm (the main account) on an family plan and it states that additional line are $10 plus a $30 dollar a month unlimiyed package. SO in a sense, they forced me into a "hybrid" package on my sons line. Doesn't seem right. Does it? :(