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Is it possible to make a regular verizon phone available for prepaid?

So I was told that the Verizon Wireless Casio G'z One Phone would work. I paid 70 bucks for it on Amazon and when I went to activate it, Verizon said it was not compatible. I just want to know if I can get around this anyway because one I was told it would work and two I am super rough on phones and need a strong durable one and prepaid doesnt offer any.
Thanks!

I'm assuming you bought the phone non subsidized, probably used at that price? Not sure how Verizon's prepaid plans work but you could look into Page Plus. They are a prepaid service that uses Verizon towers and they allow Verizon Android phones on their prepaid plans as long as the ESN is good.

spunker88 said:
I'm assuming you bought the phone non subsidized, probably used at that price? Not sure how Verizon's prepaid plans work but you could look into Page Plus. They are a prepaid service that uses Verizon towers and they allow Verizon Android phones on their prepaid plans as long as the ESN is good.
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I will definitely look into it, thanks!

[Q] Anyone work for T-Mobile or have in depth understanding of their policies?

I have what I think may be a complicated question which I can't seem to find the answer to regarding T-Mobile's promo with paying your previous carrier's Early Termination Fee. I'm thinking of switching from Verizon to T-Mobile and currently have a Galaxy S4. I understand in order to qualify for the promotional phone prices you need to trade-in your old device.
Here's the Question of the day...
Before switching over to T-Mobile, can I just swap/activate my (Verizon) Samsung Galaxy S4 with my old (Verizon) Samsung Stratosphere, so THAT'S the phone they take from me? Because I would love to keep my Galaxy S4 to sell or even for just play!
So, in other words...
Does the phone you trade in to T-Mobile NEED to be the exact same model that you had when starting/renewing your most recent 2 year contract with Verizon you think?

calebcabob said:
IDoes the phone you trade in to T-Mobile NEED to be the exact same model that you had when starting/renewing your most recent 2 year contract with Verizon you think?
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I recently made the switch from Verizon to T-Mobile (best decision I've made in my life). I didn't do the ETF promotion, since I made the switch the day after my contract was over and was bringing my own device. I don't remember exactly what was involved, but I remember that they needed access to my Verizon account info (not just my phone number). I remember having to go to VZW's website on my phone, looking for a previous bill that had my full account number on it, so they could put it in their computer and port everything over to their service.
Seeing as how the Stratosphere is 4 years old, and they'll have at least some access to your account information, I really doubt that they'll take your old phone instead of your S4. I can't say for certain, obviously, but I really, really doubt it. I would venture to guess that when you grant them at least some access to your account, they can also see what phone you're on contract with. While the way to "sway/activate" your device is simply swap which phone your SIM card is in, I think they'll still know that you're on contract for the S4, and not the 4 year old Stratosphere.
FWIW, paying the ETF fees for Verizon might be better than simply turning over your S4, but that depends on how much you have left on your contract. If it costs, say, $250 to break your contract, and your phone is in good condition, it might be prudent to pay the ETF and sell the phone after making the switch. But I don't think you'll be able to pull one over on T-Mobile and give them your dinosaur phone. Either you'll have to finish your contract or pay the ETF to keep your phone, or you'll have to turn in in to T-Mobile to have them pay the ETF.
I happily stuck it to "Big Red" when I switched. I needed a warranty replacement on my Droid Razr Maxx (the battery was about to explode). So I went to the store, but the entire country was out, so they had to send me a Razr Maxx HD instead. The day I received the replacement was the day my contract was up, so I switched to T-Mobile, sent back my Razr Maxx, and sold the Maxx HD on eBay for $275. Speeds and coverage in Tucson with T-Mo is better than Verizon, it's cheaper, and I have UNLIMITED EVERYTYING. Best decision of my life.

How to get a Note 5 for only $300!

Note: I take no responsibility if you try this and it doesn't work for you...
So this was totally accidental. But I essentially bought my Note 5 for $300 after trading in two other devices for it. I ordered the note 5 on the edge plan so I could take advantage of the $200 device trade-in. As soon as I got the phone, I paid off the remaining balance so that my monthly fee essentially stayed the same (actually, it somehow got cheaper). In essence, I bought the phone outright for $496 plus tax.
But then about a week or so later, I received a text message saying "Congratulations on buying a new Note 5, you are now eligible for a $200 trade-in" along with a promo code to enter at their website. Mind you, I was skeptical at first since I already traded a phone in, but I went ahead and gave it a shot anyway figuring I've got nothing to lose. I went to the website and put in the promo code (the value of my trade-in device jumped from $1 to $200 lol), received the packaging material in the mail, sent in a pos phone, and received a $200 verizon gift card. This brought my total out of pocket with tax down to $330 for a brand new Note 5. My next step is convincing them to unlock it as I will be doing a lot of international travelling and if they think I'm going to be paying Verizon international roaming fees they are out of their damn minds.
So while I hate Verizon for locking bootloaders, disabling features, and blocking Samsung pay, along with all of their other gimmicks, I am at least a little internally satisfied that I DID get my money's worth on this particular phone. Thank you Verizon. You still suck!
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I did something similar. About to send in my m7 and s3
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Verizon phones are globally unlocked now I believe. Has been that way for a while now.

This has been true for the past few releases since the note 2. However nobody I have talked to at Verizon has been able to give me a straight answer on whether or not the note 5 is factory unlocked which raises my suspicion. In the past, that information was readily available and was actually used as a selling point.
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I got the same text. I wish I had a junk smartphone laying around. I thought about buying a phone on ebay, but didn't want to take the risk.

toskabab said:
This has been true for the past few releases since the note 2. However nobody I have talked to at Verizon has been able to give me a straight answer on whether or not the note 5 is factory unlocked which raises my suspicion. In the past, that information was readily available and was actually used as a selling point.
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It is def unlocked. Verizon was forced to unlock all LTE phones. It was part of an agreement for frequencies or bands.

Due to Lte 700 Mhz C block rules, the Verizon LTE phones have been sim/carrier unlocked.
That doesn't mean it supports all LTE bands though. You have to check the bands the phones support if you want to use them on another carrier.

I found this cool website willmyphonework.net. to check for frequencies in various countries.
Verizon Note 5 is sim unlocked but i believe they have Knox locked. Meaning you cant root the device and install custom ROMs.

This worked for me!
Thanks!

If you are on one of old's Verizon plan, I am on 1400 family plan, then I upgraded my wife's and my sister in law's phones to note 5 through Costco in California and they signed 2 years contract and got the phones subsidized at $277 including tax with free external charger. I didn't lose my unlimited data either when they upgraded.
I have edge plus that I bought at full price from best buy
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Guide to buying S9+

As the title would suggest, I going give my opinion on buying S9+. Again this is my experience and my opinions. I understand most of the community here is smart and don't need financial advice about how to spend their cash. I'll try to break it down into parts so people understand my opinion. So let's start:
So as many as you know S9 and S9+ was release 3/16/2018. There is 2 version of this phone you can get bloat or no bloatware. What do I mean? In San Diego where I live, my carrier is AT&T. They sell the S9+ at $789.99 if you do one of their payments plans. However if you want buy the device out right then the price is $940.99 this is the att version. I believe the same for Verizon and Tmoblie. But Tmoblie sell it at $839.99. If you are willing g to buy the unlocked version without carrier then it $839.99 however you have to buy it from a retailer like bestbuy or amazon.
My suggestion is to buy the phone out right and unlocked. The main reason is there is no bloatware. If you buy carrier version of the device out right from they add $100 more just to have bloatware. There is no difference hardware specs on the device. So why pay more just to have the carrier bloatware?
Now if that is not an option and you want to make payments, still buy the unlocked version and do payments with credit card. If you cant do that and you have to go thru your carrier then understand the payment plan and I advise against it. Right now all of the major carriers have deal where you can trade in your old Samsung up to $350 towards the S9 & + and its good. The catch is that credit goes towards your bill and not the device. That is crazy. Plus they give you an $150 Visa gift card. So in reality they are only giving $150 for the phone. I'm talking about AT&T. I'm pretty sure it's the same for the other carriers as well. Now my advice is to sell your device yourself and use that money towards the phone or come with at least half when you upgrade setup the payments wait a bill cycle and payoff the other half.
Honesty, buying this phone unlocked is the way to go. There is no reason to buy the carrier version since they just add bloatware and slow down performance. Plus you have the option of leaving your current carrier if they **** up your bill or there is a better deal out there.

I bought the ATT carrier locked version. The only "bloat" I see is a couple of games which I was able to uninstall. Not just deactivate, but actually uninstall. The ATT apps themselves I either uninstalled or use. Again, not disable but uninstall.
If you have the money to buy unlocked, good for you. However, the payment plans are 0% interest. Buying a 800-900 dollar phone on credit, your now paying more than what your claiming to save by buying it unlocked. Again, all the "bloat" I've noticed is uninstallable. On my last phone you could only disable them.

In my case I was able to sell my old device and only pay the difference. I considered just going through the carrier. Honestly I don't want to be held to a two year contract of paying off the device. Your right, buying a device on credit compaired to the carrier is cheaper with 0% interest. That not always going to be the case in the future. Again I'm just suggesting there options out there.

Certain cards, like best buys, offer 0% over 12 months. I upgrade every year with that and sell past generations phone and it covers about ⅔ the cost of the new phone
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Though this doesn't apply to everyone, I agree with OP on going the unlocked route to ensure faster official updates directly from Samsung. I am actually going a step further and getting international unlocked model (with unlocked bootloader) as I can't imagine buying a phone that has manufacturer/carrier enforced locked boot loader.

Not really followed the Galaxy Series as of late but I'm thinking of importing the SD 845 variant (for emulation) and wondering how long until bootoader can be unlocked? Would love project treble ROMs on it.
And does the Google camera work on the SD 845 variant?

There are ups and downs to each way of doing it. Though you mention the upside of doing unlocked, there is a downside if you want to use some functions too.
One upside you didn't mention on the unlocked versions is you get the Caller ID function stock! Most carriers will charge $3 a month for their "supreme" service.
Downside of doing unlocked is you might miss out on additional carrier features as well.
- HD Calling (hit and miss on this odd one at least with Verizon on past phones)
- Wifi / VoLTE Calling
- Hotspot (there can be work around to this)

Buying from the Google Store

I am looking to buy a Pixel 3a after my original Pixel went swimming. I use Verizon, but I want to buy from the Google Store vs. the Verizon store because I want to be able to unlock the bootloader. The monthly price at both the Google and Verizon stores are nearly equal. But I have a few questions, if anyone could help.
1. I see on the Google Store, I can buy a carrier-unlocked phone or a phone with the Verizon sim card. Is this the same model phone for both options, or is the pone with the Verizon sim card the same as buying directly from Verizon?
2. If I need to get the carrier-unlocked model, how difficult is it to get the phone activated through Google?
3. I am leaving for vacation on July 31st. The Google Story offers free shipping, but how long does it really take?
Thanks!

1. It would be the same as unlocked, but the option to unlock bootloader is disabled in Developers options.
2. Unlocked model could be activated on any supported Carrier by inserting SIM card. It can't be simpler than that.
3. Both 3a models I ordered from Google came in less than 4 business days.

I am in Canada, and ordered from Google Store instead of my carrier.
Google shipped it really quickly. I think I got it in 2 business days from what I recall, if not, it was 3. The only downside I saw from Google Store is that if you want to return the phone, you need to cash out some restock fee and only gives you 15 days (I see this on both US and Canadian Google Store site policies).
I didn't get it from the carrier, as I discovered that purchasing your phone give you more benefits, such as:
- Well, as you noted, fully unlocked.
- No ugly carrier logo on the device.
- Negotiating power on your plan, at any time, as you are not under a yearly contract, and you can switch to the competitor with great ease the next day, pretty much. (This is more important to me, as in Canada our mobile service operators, is just as bad the US internet service providers. Backed by a government institution that say that competition is bad for Canadians, and some carriers chargers 10$ just for calling, and hope you don't get disconnected or hang up on you). Thanks to this, I have a plan and price that is simply unmatched.
Hope this helps

So I ordered the unlocked Pixel 3a. Last question. Will inserting the Verizon SIM card before I unlock the bootloader make the bootloader unable to get unlocked?

Bramton1 said:
So I ordered the unlocked Pixel 3a. Last question. Will inserting the Verizon SIM card before I unlock the bootloader make the bootloader unable to get unlocked?
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It shouldn't but I wouldn't chance it.