? cancelling Verizon wireless but keeping iPhone.

[eeyoresmom]

I have been going back and forth with this issue and am determined to do something now! Currently have Verizon Family Share Plan, 5 lines, only one phone still under contract (dd's iPhone 4). If I break the contract now I will pay $180 to get out but what prepaid plan can she use after we leave ? Does she have to buy a prepaid plan from Verizon? Can she keep her phone number? For myself, I think I am going to buy a iPhone 5s from Walmart and use their Straight talk plan..…….any advice ? Thanks in advance.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Her phone would have to be unlocked in order to use it with another carrier. Google "unlocking a phone" and you will see the details involved. If its unlocked she can go with pretty much any company.

I have a Virgin no contract and love my service no issues at all. $35 a month. Yesterday they sent me a $15 off this months payment.

 

[lisaross]

iphone 4 works on pageplus - they use verizon lines - great service great prices!

I have been going back and forth with this issue and am determined to do something now! Currently have Verizon Family Share Plan, 5 lines, only one phone still under contract (dd's iPhone 4). If I break the contract now I will pay $180 to get out but what prepaid plan can she use after we leave ? Does she have to buy a prepaid plan from Verizon? Can she keep her phone number? For myself, I think I am going to buy a iPhone 5s from Walmart and use their Straight talk plan..…….any advice ? Thanks in advance.

 

[wiigirl]

iphone 4 works on pageplus - they use verizon lines - great service great prices!

 

[LadiiAstroid]

Her phone would have to be unlocked in order to use it with another carrier. Google "unlocking a phone" and you will see the details involved. If its unlocked she can go with pretty much any company.

Unfortunately, she cannot unlock the iPhone 4. The only phones that are unlockable on Verizon are the 4G LTE phones. However she can flash the device to another carrier.

I have been going back and forth with this issue and am determined to do something now! Currently have Verizon Family Share Plan, 5 lines, only one phone still under contract (dd's iPhone 4). If I break the contract now I will pay $180 to get out but what prepaid plan can she use after we leave ? Does she have to buy a prepaid plan from Verizon? Can she keep her phone number? For myself, I think I am going to buy a iPhone 5s from Walmart and use their Straight talk plan..…….any advice ? Thanks in advance.

If you want your daughter to get a Verizon prepaid plan I would suggest going to the store and asking for a brochure about their prepaid plans, you can also talk to a representative at the store who would know about the prepaid plans to find out if you are able to use the iPhone for a prepaid. (I don't see why they would stop you.) I would not try to do everything on the web because things can get complicated and if something gets messed up then it's your fault. Rather if you go to the store and they mess something up, then blame them and they will fix it. (Well they did in my case with T-Mobile.) If you want her to move to a different company, then most likely you will need flash her phone. However, make sure you do your research on where to flash it to, I read that Sprint does not allow you to use flashed Verizon phones.

As for her keeping her phone number, I'm not sure about that. I attempted to keep my phone number with T-Mobile and that did not go so well.

Hope everything works out for you!

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thanks for the replies everyone. As long as she can use the Verizon prepaid I want to break the contract ( even better if we can use page plus or another provider). I am so tired of being tied to a contract.

 

[supersnoop]

Last I checked, you can't port a number from the mainline carrier to their prepaid brand. You might need to take her over to T-Mobile for a day in order to keep the number.

The Verizon and Sprint version of the iPhone hardware has the widest compatibility; it should work on any system in the U.S., but it will need to be unlocked to use on any other carrier.

 

[c8k6k]

I agree with the previous posters who mentioned Page Plus Cellular. My DD13 wanted an iPhone, but I wasn't willing to commit to a 2 yr contract with a cell phone carrier. After reading on here that you can activate an iPhone 4 or 4s (Verizon branded only) on Page Plus Cellular, I paid around $200 for a used iPhone 4s in excellent condition on eBay for her. It also included a Lifeproof case. I buy the $25 pay-as-you go plan, and it lasts her on average 2 months. I also use an iPhone 4s with Page Plus Cellular, and my cost is only about $6/month because I don't talk and text as much as my daughter. I have data turned off, and use wi-fi when able.

I don't think Page Plus Cellular will be able to activate the phone for you. I paid a 3rd party vendor on eBay to activate the phone. It was done in about a minute. I think it's .99 cents if you're activating a new account/phone # and 4.95 to port (ESN change) existing Page Plus # to an iPhone 4 or 4s.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Ok, page plus sounds the most appealing..... I guess i'm just wondering if we will have an issue since we got this phone at a reduced price using an upgrade with Verizon's Family Plan ( although that is why I have to pay to break the contract) .BTW, why bring the phone to T-Mobile?

 

[tinyrip]

I just broke my contract with Verizon, its going to cost me $150 in early termination fees. but since I pay $35 now instead of $145. It's going to pay for itself. I was able to port my number but I couldn't keep the phone. I ended up buying the cheapest phone they had. which I actually like... weird. and then I'm going to put the money i'm saving from having a cheaper line away until I can afford a nicer phone... or maybe i'll keep this phone awhile. it's kinda growing on me.

 

[seven dwarfs]

I just broke my contract with Verizon, its going to cost me $150 in early termination fees. but since I pay $35 now instead of $145. It's going to pay for itself. I was able to port my number but I couldn't keep the phone. I ended up buying the cheapest phone they had. which I actually like... weird. and then I'm going to put the money i'm saving from having a cheaper line away until I can afford a nicer phone... or maybe i'll keep this phone awhile. it's kinda growing on me.

who did you choose to go with for your new service?

 

[i like stitch]

Another fan here for pageplus!

Your Verizon phone should work on pageplus. It doesn't need to be unlocked and you don't need to do anything special to it for you to activate it on pageplus. Since it's not a prepaid Verizon phone and you know it works, you shouldn't have any problems.

I bought a Verizon cellphone in December from ebay, made sure the esn # was clean (yours should be fine since it's not stolen), ported my previous phone number and activated pageplus service with no problems.

I pay right under $30 for 3000 texts, 1200 minutes, and 500 mb data. I don't use all of it but it's there if I should need it. I've not had any problems so far.

I was a sprint user for 15 yrs and was leery of going noncontract. After making the leap of faith to virgin mobile and then to pageplus, I will never go back to contract.

 

[peytonfinnmom]

I just did this two weeks ago with my husbands phone so I hope this helps. He has an iPhone 4 (however his contract just ran out so we were on their family plan still). The key is to change all non primary phones first in order to keep your number. So I changed to straight talk and just got a cheap phone from straight talk first. Then I researched high and low what to do with my husband phone as an iPhone 4 does not have a SIM card so you cannot simply take it to another carrier. I called verizon and asked if he can keep his phone if I change him to verizon prepaid and they said yes. So I called the verizon prepaid number (they will transfer you to a salesperson) and they simply transferred his phone over the phone ( I wanted the $50 plan they sell at Walmart as Verizon only does the $60 and $70 so I went to Walmart and bought the $50 prepaid card and then the salesperson was able to add it to the phone for me). It did take calling 3 times to get to the right department but the phone works just like normal except it doesn't alert him to new messages for some reason and I still can't figure out when his 30 days is up to add more minutes but going from a $200 cell bill to $80 is a great feeling!

 

[JillyBean1899]

The PP that said that you can unlock the phone and use it "anywhere" is not entirely true. Verizon and Sprint phones use CDMA technology. AT&T and T-Mobile (and most of the rest of the world) use GSM. You can not use a Verizon phone on an AT&T account, for example, because they're different technologies.

If you're old enough to remember, think back to VHS and Betamax. Yeah, they were both tapes, and yeah, you could watch movies on each of them, but you couldn't put a VHS tape into a Betamax player and have it work.

GSM phones will have a SIM card that you must use in the phone in order for it to work; a lot of people that travel internationally will either have domestic service with T-Mobile or AT&T or purchase a cheap GSM unlocked phone so that when they travel overseas they can just buy a prepaid SIM for the country they're in and use that. CDMA phones don't use a SIM card, so this makes it the easiest way to look at a phone and see which technology it uses.

 

[lgjjp]

I have an iPhone 4S that was under contract with Verizon till dec. I looked into Verizon prepaid as I didn't want to get a new phone. I switched to the 60$ prepaid plan kept my phone and number. I did have to call and have them switch it. Only took about 20 min and I save almost 40$ a month. I get unlimited talk and text and 2 gb data. Much better plan than I had before.

 

[tinyrip]

who did you choose to go with for your new service?

I chose to go with virgin. if I do buy the iPhone and use auto pay then I can save an additional $5 a month. the downside of course is that you don't really get a discount on the phone. but i'm no longer under contract so I can switch phones or plans or even companies whenever I like. so far I haven't seen any difference in the service. I guess i'll see how things go this summer when I go to Washington dc and my possible winter trip to Disney

 

[eeyoresmom]

I have an iPhone 4S that was under contract with Verizon till dec. I looked into Verizon prepaid as I didn't want to get a new phone. I switched to the 60$ prepaid plan kept my phone and number. I did have to call and have them switch it. Only took about 20 min and I save almost 40$ a month. I get unlimited talk and text and 2 gb data. Much better plan than I had before.

This is exactly the situation with dd's phone. Thank you.

 

[lgjjp]

This is exactly the situation with dd's phone. Thank you.

If you go to the verizon store to switch don't let them tell you it's not possible to use the iPhone on the prepaid. I went to the verizon kiosk at our local mall to change my plan and the girl wouldn't do it. Told me I could only get the prepaid plan with a new phone. Came home called and switched my plan

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thank you again. I have been researching , making calls etc . for almost a year. This is definitely our last month on this plan!

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

You can port the number to PagePlus, and an iPhone 4 will work on PP. iPhone 4s will also work on PP.

I have a 4s myself, and my mom has the 4. They both work fine on PP.