If I pay out-of-pocket full price...?

[Stoic]

My wife and daughter both got LG EnV Touches the same time I got my Incredible. If, for any reason before they are eligible for upgrades, could I just pay full price, out-of-pocket for an Incredible or another Android phone provided by Verizon and be able to swap it for any of their phones?

 

[Wrathenn]

I don't see why not, I have never personally done this (as I am new to VZW) but I have read threads on here from members who have done similar actions. Of course you would have to work with customer support to activate (assuming you could find one) the new phones, etc.

 

[appleaj]

My wife and daughter both got LG EnV Touches the same time I got my Incredible. If, for any reason before they are eligible for upgrades, could I just pay full price, out-of-pocket for an Incredible or another Android phone provided by Verizon and be able to swap it for any of their phones?

I believe that should work, but keep in mind an activation fee.

 

[johnnyc418]

My girlfriend did this about a year ago when she had the Envy. She bought the Touch Pro from eBay, and Verizon didn't charge an activation fee. I believe that the activation fee is only for new lines/customers.

 

[sontaikle]

I really don't think VZW cares if you buy a phone every month. You just can't get the upgrade price until you're eligible for it.

When I log on to "My Verizon" it says that I can upgrade now for full retail price if I wish, so I'm assuming that it's alright to just buy a phone at full price if you can afford it.

My girlfriend did this about a year ago when she had the Envy. She bought the Touch Pro from eBay, and Verizon didn't charge an activation fee. I believe that the activation fee is only for new lines/customers.

Yeah this is what I was told. I was able to buy my Incredible in a VZW store without the activation fee because I was already a Verizon customer.

 

[danielevans83]

I don't see why not, I have never personally done this (as I am new to VZW) but I have read threads on here from members who have done similar actions. Of course you would have to work with customer support to activate (assuming you could find one) the new phones, etc.

I bought my DInc on Ebay and activated it via the Verizon Wireless website. Never needed to call customer support for any reason, it took maybe 3 minutes to enable my DInc.

 

[Lw00d]

i payed full price for my incredible. i am not eligible for phone upgrade until next year. i didnt get charged for activation.

 

[boilator]

You must pay full price in order to get the phone without having to obligate yourself to a new contract. That said, the contract is not for the phone, it's for the new line you add. So if you wanted to replace your wife's and daughters LG's with a DINC, then purchase them full price, log into verizonwireless.com, select 'account' at the top of the screen, make sure you are viewing 'account overview'. To the right of your DINC you will see "I Want To...", below that chose 'activate phone'. Follow the directions to activate each phone.... and your done.

You will incur no activation fee's and will not add a new line to the current family plan. Hope this helps.

Lator

 

[pkmn760]

You can get phones from anywhere and use them as long as they are verizon compatible and more importanly the ESN isn't reported stolen or something.

Before you buy off Ebay call them up and check the ESN, if they say nothing bad about it you can buy it worry free, well almost since it is Ebay afterall.

EDIT: as for activation fees sometimes they ask for the 35$ other times they won't. If they do just ask to remove it since you have a 2 year contract anyways, most times they will. Verizon tech support can credit your account for whatever they want if it is justified to them, so as long as you make it sound reasonable they will help.

 

[msjulie]

I believe that should work, but keep in mind an activation fee.

Both my Eris and new Incredible were bought from outside the Verizon contract lockdown; neither has required me to pay anything other than the $29 data plan... just switched from the Eris to the Incredible this week btw... no extra charges

We've been with Verizon a while, don't know if that matters..

 

[allensull]

Just did the samething and no issue what so ever. Even got to keep the insurance on it.

I bought my DInc on Ebay and activated it via the Verizon Wireless website. Never needed to call customer support for any reason, it took maybe 3 minutes to enable my DInc.

 

[xkingofgodzx]

Yes you can do this, i have done it many times with no fees at all. I have owned a decent amount of phones and i have only purchased 2 using my upgrades the first one was the first alias and the second was my DrInc. In between those 2 i used the voyager and the dare. Both of those phones were purchased off ebay and i never was charged a fee. The Env touch has a $10 data plan as im sure you know and the smartphones have a $30 data plan, im sure verizon has no problems getting an extra $20 from you.

 

[droideris]

Verizon never charges activation fees, but you will have to pay the $30/month for unlimited data.

 

[weihl165]

I got mine off craigslistand didnt get charged activation. You can buy any phone at any time from anywhere as long as its verizon and you can still upgrade when its your time