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Adding a line to get the upgrade discount.

offanairplane

Android Enthusiast
Aug 17, 2010
550
40
TX
I already have a family plan with just two lines, and neither line was eligible for an upgrade, so the salesguy told me I could just add a line for $10 per month, and I could buy the Thunderbolt with that new line's discount, then I could just switch the Thunderbolt to my line afterwards, and they said they do it all the time.

So I thought, what the heck. I'll do it.

This was last Sunday, and they said I should get my phone Tuesday. I didn't get it till Wednesday. Minor annoyance, but not a big deal. Then I activated it to the new line (which apparently you have to do first, before you can put it on whatever line you want.), and after that, I activated an old flip-phone to that new line, de-activating the Thunderbolt.
Now I thought, cool I just need to activate the T-Bolt to my number, and I'm good to go. But no.
You can't re-assign the sim card to a different number. And since it had already been assigned to the new number, I needed a new sim card.

Nobody told me that at the Verizon store.

So now it would be another day before I could start using my T-Bolt.
The customer service rep said that I just need to swing by a Verizon store and tell them what happened and they will give me a Sim card, for free. So I planned on going by a Verizon store on my lunch break the next day. I did, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They can't just give out a Sim card, they said. It only comes with the Thunderbolt. They had sim cards but they couldn't sell me one or give me one. They told me to call customer service again.

I called again, and now customer service is going to ship a new sim card to me. It will be here next monday. lol
So now I will have had my T-Bolt a week before I can start really using it.

I mean, I have connected to the wifi at my house, and setup my google account, and downloaded a few of my apps. (which was an extremely quick process compared to my Eris), but I can't make calls or texts on it, and I still have to carry my Eris.

So anyone planning on upgrading this way, just know that it's not as quick and simple as they make it sound in the store.

I think the wifi antenna is better on the Tbolt, because it picked up a strong wifi signal at my house, while my Eris barely picked it up at all.
 
You probably should have just taken care of it in the store. I work for VZW and you have to understand that though Customer Care and the corporate stores are under the same company there are HUGE disconnects between them that can get you in a weird situation like you are now. Were they out of stock? Sorry you've had so much trouble but you were also kind of skirting the system and you are using our first phone with a SIM card so the whole process is kind of messed up... did you suggest the store exchange your SIM that came with it? Then they could put the new SIM on your line and I would think that would work...
 
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That's the chance you take when you are an early adopter of new technology though... it was similar to the Droid 1 launch. When people have problems with the Droid 1 or HTC Eris I tend to remind them that being the "first" to have something is fun and exciting but it also comes with a bit of experimentation. I love my Tbolt so far (besides the battery but it's getting better) and trust that HTC and Verizon will work fast to make sure this new phone gets fixed... if not for the customers then at least to make this new technology look good and not appear to be a failed launch of the "future technology" of 4G.
 
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You probably should have just taken care of it in the store. I work for VZW and you have to understand that though Customer Care and the corporate stores are under the same company there are HUGE disconnects between them that can get you in a weird situation like you are now. Were they out of stock? Sorry you've had so much trouble but you were also kind of skirting the system and you are using our first phone with a SIM card so the whole process is kind of messed up... did you suggest the store exchange your SIM that came with it? Then they could put the new SIM on your line and I would think that would work...

I don't know if it would've been any different had I done it all in the store.
The way the salesguy made it sound is that their system does not have any allowance for issuing just a sim card alone, or even exchanging one for a new one. It's not really a technical issue, but a stock/inventory issue, like the sim card doesn't have it's own inventory number, but rather it's grouped with the T-bolts. They did have some sim cards in stock, and they weren't packaged with any phones. But they couldn't release them for whatever reason.

I really am not skirting the system, when Verizon reps are the ones who suggested going this route. Maybe the Verizon rep is skirting the system, but I'm sure corporate is fine with it, since I had two different salesguys at two different locations suggest the same thing. They probably encourage it, because they make money on the T-Bolts (even at the discounted price) and they make money on the data plans. Win/win for them.

I remember way back when you would go in the store to just look at phones, knowing you were not eligible for an upgrade, and couldn't afford to buy a new phone at retail price. And the salespeople would ask if they could help you. You would say something like I am just looking, I am not eligible for any upgrades. And they would drop you like a hot potato (especially if they were really busy.)
But now, you tell them you aren't eligible for any upgrades, and they are still like well let's check and see what we can do anyway. lol

It is a pain, but I'll get over it.

I just mainly wanted to share my experience so people would know what they are getting into if they chose to go this route.

If I were to do it again, knowing that I would need two sim cards, I would request that from the get-go. But even then, they probably wouldn't have been able to do it. They will work out the kinks eventually.
 
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I did that for the Droid X and it was no problem but that was before 4G and sim cards. I wouldnt have even thought about that happening now.

Right, because the sim card is the issue here. Swapping phones on Verizon is about a piece of cake, which is one of the reasons I like Verizon.
But when you throw sim cards into the mix, it changes things a bit.
 
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Well, I did just that, upgraded my line to a family plan and ported number from T-mo so I can buy the TB for $230/1yr., all this was done online. I had droid x which went on the added line and the new TB was assigned to my existing line. All this was done last night at corporate store and took about 1.5 hours due to no one knowing how it needs to be done. However at the end the guy at the store and the guy on the phone at customer service were able to find a way to do it. All that needed to be done is at the store they had to assign new sim card from the cards they have in inventory but they just did not know how, because the system does not allowed them to sell just sim cards. I think they went around this problem by assigning a new sim under new service or something like that, I am not sure but nevertheless they found a way to do it. All it takes is someone really willing to help at the store, which is not always the case.

Thank you Michael at Verizon store in Portsmouth, NH (Hope I got the name right)
 
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Well, I did just that, upgraded my line to a family plan and ported number from T-mo so I can buy the TB for $230/1yr., all this was done online. I had droid x which went on the added line and the new TB was assigned to my existing line. All this was done last night at corporate store and took about 1.5 hours due to no one knowing how it needs to be done. However at the end the guy at the store and the guy on the phone at customer service were able to find a way to do it. All that needed to be done is at the store they had to assign new sim card from the cards they have in inventory but they just did not know how, because the system does not allowed them to sell just sim cards. I think they went around this problem by assigning a new sim under new service or something like that, I am not sure but nevertheless they found a way to do it. All it takes is someone really willing to help at the store, which is not always the case.

Thank you Michael at Verizon store in Portsmouth, NH (Hope I got the name right)

Good for you then. I am glad they worked it out.

I was on my lunch break, so even if he had wanted to take the time to do all of that, I wouldn't have had time. I guess I could've left the phone with him and came back and picked it up after work. Oh well.
 
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I already have a family plan with just two lines, and neither line was eligible for an upgrade, so the salesguy told me I could just add a line for $10 per month, and I could buy the Thunderbolt with that new line's discount, then I could just switch the Thunderbolt to my line afterwards, and they said they do it all the time.

So I thought, what the heck. I'll do it.

This was last Sunday, and they said I should get my phone Tuesday. I didn't get it till Wednesday. Minor annoyance, but not a big deal. Then I activated it to the new line (which apparently you have to do first, before you can put it on whatever line you want.), and after that, I activated an old flip-phone to that new line, de-activating the Thunderbolt.
Now I thought, cool I just need to activate the T-Bolt to my number, and I'm good to go. But no.
You can't re-assign the sim card to a different number. And since it had already been assigned to the new number, I needed a new sim card.

Nobody told me that at the Verizon store.

So now it would be another day before I could start using my T-Bolt.
The customer service rep said that I just need to swing by a Verizon store and tell them what happened and they will give me a Sim card, for free. So I planned on going by a Verizon store on my lunch break the next day. I did, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They can't just give out a Sim card, they said. It only comes with the Thunderbolt. They had sim cards but they couldn't sell me one or give me one. They told me to call customer service again.

I called again, and now customer service is going to ship a new sim card to me. It will be here next monday. lol
So now I will have had my T-Bolt a week before I can start really using it.

I mean, I have connected to the wifi at my house, and setup my google account, and downloaded a few of my apps. (which was an extremely quick process compared to my Eris), but I can't make calls or texts on it, and I still have to carry my Eris.

So anyone planning on upgrading this way, just know that it's not as quick and simple as they make it sound in the store.

I think the wifi antenna is better on the Tbolt, because it picked up a strong wifi signal at my house, while my Eris barely picked it up at all.


Same situation here; verizon store gave me a new sim card though. They had to learn how to do it, but they had no problem helping me out.
 
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yes you can do it in store and its instant. I did it, I had an iphone 4 and thunderbolt and I switched the phone numbers and got a new sim and they did it all instore.

That is not really what I was talking about though.

I was talking about adding another line to your family-share account, to get the upgrade. And having a whole new phone number to deal with. I think that is what complicated things.
 
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Each sim card is tied to a number XXX-XXX-XXXX, they only deactivate after 90days to be transferred to another number if im correct.

so when you activated your new line and got the new number the sim card went to that line, what you should have done was had your current phone activated on the new line and had the bolt activated on your line.
 
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I kind of did the same thing. I have a family plan and both lines were eligble for an upgrade. I upgraded my parent's phone to the TB, added a line and then switched it over. I now have a TB and a new line with no 2-year contract (my parents will only ever need/use a phone.)

The VZ guy at the store offered this too me, I didn't even know they could do that. He also had to use two SIMs to make it work so that is par for the course with this kind of deal.

FWIW
DLM
 
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He also had to use two SIMs to make it work so that is par for the course with this kind of deal.

This is how it was done for me as well. I had a family plan with 3 lines on it. None of my lines were available for an upgrade. I walked in the store ready to pay full price for the phone and the associate told me I could just add a line and he would use a dummy number to activate the first SIM card so I can get the discounted price and then activate another SIM card with my phone number.

It took a little longer than he thought it would have but in the end he was able to do it. He couldn't add a dummy number to the first SIM card so he had to add it to the new line and then he somehow credited that card back to the system and activated the new SIM card with my number. All in all it took about 40 minutes but he made sure everything was working before I left and threw in a couple of extra's for me. So it can be done..it just takes some work to get there. :D

All in all it was a great Verizon experience!:D
 
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Wait a sec, how could you add a line with a smartphone for $10. I understand its to add a phone but to my understanding, even if you take that phone off the new line your still going to be paying for the data...even if there isnt a phone on it. So your going to be paying an extra $40 a month just to have the thunderbolt. That line wont even have a phone on it so essentially your paying for something thats not being used. Even if you put that flip phone on there, you still agreed to pay $30 a month for 2 years no matter what you put on it or if you dont use it. So the $10 for the line and the $30 for the data. I hope they made that clear to you. If this is not the case please someone correct me but i was told this before.
 
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I added a line to my family account by the suggestion of the Verizon employee. The line is only going to cost me ten bucks a month. They switched the TB to my main line and moved my Droid 2 to the new number. When I got home I deactivated the D2 and activated an old flip phone. Price of the bill is up only ten bucks. They had to use two sim cards at the store also for me. Further the employee told me that the next line up for experiation was in November. So all I would have to do is cancel that line and use the new number at that time. Then I would be back to three lines in November. So it costs 90 bucks extra not 240.
 
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I already have a family plan with just two lines, and neither line was eligible for an upgrade, so the salesguy told me I could just add a line for $10 per month, and I could buy the Thunderbolt with that new line's discount, then I could just switch the Thunderbolt to my line afterwards, and they said they do it all the time.

So I thought, what the heck. I'll do it.

This was last Sunday, and they said I should get my phone Tuesday. I didn't get it till Wednesday. Minor annoyance, but not a big deal. Then I activated it to the new line (which apparently you have to do first, before you can put it on whatever line you want.), and after that, I activated an old flip-phone to that new line, de-activating the Thunderbolt.
Now I thought, cool I just need to activate the T-Bolt to my number, and I'm good to go. But no.
You can't re-assign the sim card to a different number. And since it had already been assigned to the new number, I needed a new sim card.

Nobody told me that at the Verizon store.

So now it would be another day before I could start using my T-Bolt.
The customer service rep said that I just need to swing by a Verizon store and tell them what happened and they will give me a Sim card, for free. So I planned on going by a Verizon store on my lunch break the next day. I did, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They can't just give out a Sim card, they said. It only comes with the Thunderbolt. They had sim cards but they couldn't sell me one or give me one. They told me to call customer service again.

I called again, and now customer service is going to ship a new sim card to me. It will be here next monday. lol
So now I will have had my T-Bolt a week before I can start really using it.

I mean, I have connected to the wifi at my house, and setup my google account, and downloaded a few of my apps. (which was an extremely quick process compared to my Eris), but I can't make calls or texts on it, and I still have to carry my Eris.

So anyone planning on upgrading this way, just know that it's not as quick and simple as they make it sound in the store.

I think the wifi antenna is better on the Tbolt, because it picked up a strong wifi signal at my house, while my Eris barely picked it up at all.
Wait! What??????????:eek: Am i missing something here??? $10???? I just did the same, a salewoman told me; add a line to your family plan, then we swap the numbers, and you would have a TB for 249. Then we will use a dummy IEMI number, but because it was a smartphone added, you will end up paying 49 bucks per month for additional line in your family plan. And you said, you have been told $10? ARE THEY PULLING MY LEG HERE?
Now, about Sim card; one Sim is assigned to one cell number. So, after they have swapped my numbers, they gave me a new Sim with no problem. Then, after few days, i noticed that my 4G network is cutting in and out, as many of us saw it. So, i went back to the store, and told them that, also suggesting that maybe my Sim card is faulty, and why don't we just replace it with the new one, to see if this would help? And they gave me another Sim without any problems! (that, unfortunately, did not help, BTW). I think that store managers could do pretty much everything they want, if they are willing to.
Anyone could please clarify that additional line charge od family plans? TY.
 
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There was no data plan or phone added to my new line. That was my number one worry but I was told they didn't need to add it to the new line since he was switching it over to my number in the end and my line already had a data plan on it. When I look at my account online I can see the new number but there is no phone associated with it. I don't know how he did it but it is working so far. I'll report back when I see my first bill :)
 
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There was no data plan or phone added to my new line. That was my number one worry but I was told they didn't need to add it to the new line since he was switching it over to my number in the end and my line already had a data plan on it. When I look at my account online I can see the new number but there is no phone associated with it. I don't know how he did it but it is working so far. I'll report back when I see my first bill :)
Yeah, i can see a new # without phone on my site too. Yhey said, it will cost me 49.99 for it............
 
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I already have a family plan with just two lines, and neither line was eligible for an upgrade, so the salesguy told me I could just add a line for $10 per month, and I could buy the Thunderbolt with that new line's discount, then I could just switch the Thunderbolt to my line afterwards, and they said they do it all the time.

So I thought, what the heck. I'll do it.

This was last Sunday, and they said I should get my phone Tuesday. I didn't get it till Wednesday. Minor annoyance, but not a big deal. Then I activated it to the new line (which apparently you have to do first, before you can put it on whatever line you want.), and after that, I activated an old flip-phone to that new line, de-activating the Thunderbolt.
Now I thought, cool I just need to activate the T-Bolt to my number, and I'm good to go. But no.
You can't re-assign the sim card to a different number. And since it had already been assigned to the new number, I needed a new sim card.

Nobody told me that at the Verizon store.

So now it would be another day before I could start using my T-Bolt.
The customer service rep said that I just need to swing by a Verizon store and tell them what happened and they will give me a Sim card, for free. So I planned on going by a Verizon store on my lunch break the next day. I did, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They can't just give out a Sim card, they said. It only comes with the Thunderbolt. They had sim cards but they couldn't sell me one or give me one. They told me to call customer service again.

I called again, and now customer service is going to ship a new sim card to me. It will be here next monday. lol
So now I will have had my T-Bolt a week before I can start really using it.

I mean, I have connected to the wifi at my house, and setup my google account, and downloaded a few of my apps. (which was an extremely quick process compared to my Eris), but I can't make calls or texts on it, and I still have to carry my Eris.

So anyone planning on upgrading this way, just know that it's not as quick and simple as they make it sound in the store.

I think the wifi antenna is better on the Tbolt, because it picked up a strong wifi signal at my house, while my Eris barely picked it up at all.


Same thing happened to me. The Verizon store replaced my TB, but activated it under the new line which I opened only to get the upgrade price. I had to call tech support and they shipped me another SIM CARD, because my Verizon store bent and disposed my sim card. lol.
 
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Ok so did your original plans not have data plans? Like you already werent paying the extra $30 for data? and then you got the Thunderbolt with data on one of the lines? or did you have a phone that used data and now you used the upgrade on the new line? i dont understand how this worked out for you without having to pay an extra data fee. From what i understand, if you use a line to upgrade a phone, even if the phone doesnt stay on that line if you move it to another line with data your going to pay for both. Because if you already pay for data and dont have to with the new line after using it for an upgrade please explain how you did it because i really want this phone badly and i refuse to pay $500 for it.
 
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