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Yes it sounds like your plan will work. I would not put the "dumb" phone on the ULD plan, just wait to sell the 4s after you get everything switched.

It does look like some folks have had success switching the phones online.

Ok, good.

As far as the data plan being activated on my Mom's line, will it automatically come off once her dumbphone is reactivated on her line or do I need to speak with Verizon or change it in store?
 
Here is my experince doing this.

My account setup. 2 iPhone 4 and one flip phone on NATIONWIDE TALK & TEXT FS 700 with the 2 iPhones on unlimited

Only the standard account was eilg for upgrade. I upgraded that line and they had to activate the iphone on that line, and the store wouldn't switch it back for me. I went online and switched the standard account back to the flip phone, and turned off the data plan. I then tried to activate the 5 on my line to replace my 4, and it said there was a issue. I then called VZ and they said the sim card in the 5 was now tied to the account it was orginally activated on and I needed a new sim card to activate it on my line. They also said the sim card shouldn't be perm tied to that line, and she wasn't sure why the phone couldn't be switched. I went back to the store, and got the last sim card they had and my 5 is now on my account with unlimited. The VZ emp said something like the sim cards are worth gold today.

So - it works using a 3rd line, but you might have sim card issues. I upgraded at a VZ store and they force you to activate. If you upgrade at a apple store, I am not sure if they make you activate the phone.
 
I just chatted with costumer service on the Verizon website. They told me that even though I ordered the 5 on my line and had to change my data plan for it that when I receive the phone and if I activate it on a different line and then activate the phone on my line I wont lose my unlimited data plan. Can anyone confirm this? I pre-ordered my phone so that's why I'm doing it this way so I don't have to wait longer for a phone.
 
I just chatted with costumer service on the Verizon website. They told me that even though I ordered the 5 on my line and had to change my data plan for it that when I receive the phone and if I activate it on a different line and then activate the phone on my line I wont lose my unlimited data plan. Can anyone confirm this? I pre-ordered my phone so that's why I'm doing it this way so I don't have to wait longer for a phone.

If you look through this thread you'll find your answer. If you order on a dumbphone line you won't have to change the data plan for your UDP line. What most people, including myself, have done is order the phone through the dumbphone line (or if the upgrade is on your UDP line, do an Upgrade Transfer on MyVerizon from your UDP to the dumbphone line; confirmed by a poster), and then activate the phone on the UDP line through MyVerizon before even turning on the phone. After you input the IMEI and SIM numbers, it should give you the option to keep your UDP plan.

----------

Here is my experince doing this.

My account setup. 2 iPhone 4 and one flip phone on NATIONWIDE TALK & TEXT FS 700 with the 2 iPhones on unlimited

Only the standard account was eilg for upgrade. I upgraded that line and they had to activate the iphone on that line, and the store wouldn't switch it back for me. I went online and switched the standard account back to the flip phone, and turned off the data plan. I then tried to activate the 5 on my line to replace my 4, and it said there was a issue. I then called VZ and they said the sim card in the 5 was now tied to the account it was orginally activated on and I needed a new sim card to activate it on my line. They also said the sim card shouldn't be perm tied to that line, and she wasn't sure why the phone couldn't be switched. I went back to the store, and got the last sim card they had and my 5 is now on my account with unlimited. The VZ emp said something like the sim cards are worth gold today.

So - it works using a 3rd line, but you might have sim card issues. I upgraded at a VZ store and they force you to activate. If you upgrade at a apple store, I am not sure if they make you activate the phone.

Most people have been doing this through preorders and activating online. Seems like they don't want to go through this workaround at the store.

Some people have encountered the issue with switching SIMs after activation, but it could just be that you may have to wait a little bit before doing that. It's been said that there's a "24 hour rule" to allow SIM cards to reset, but one poster was successfully able to reactivate beforehand.
 
If you look through this thread you'll find your answer. If you order on a dumbphone line you won't have to change the data plan for your UDP line. What most people, including myself, have done is order the phone through the dumbphone line (or if the upgrade is on your UDP line, do an Upgrade Transfer on MyVerizon from your UDP to the dumbphone line; confirmed by a poster), and then activate the phone on the UDP line through MyVerizon before even turning on the phone. After you input the IMEI and SIM numbers, it should give you the option to keep your UDP plan.

----------

My problem is I pre-ordered on the 18th on my line before even knowing about this loophole. So the phone is already ordered and will be here next week setup for my line. But if I get the phone and immediately activate it on a different line will that still affect my data plan since the upgrade was through my line but wont be activated on my number? I've talked to two different verizon reps and one said no it won't affect me and the other said it will(probably just trying to hide the loophole). If it's going to affect my data plan I'm going to have to cancel my pre-order and start all over.
 
If you look through this thread you'll find your answer. If you order on a dumbphone line you won't have to change the data plan for your UDP line. What most people, including myself, have done is order the phone through the dumbphone line (or if the upgrade is on your UDP line, do an Upgrade Transfer on MyVerizon from your UDP to the dumbphone line; confirmed by a poster), and then activate the phone on the UDP line through MyVerizon before even turning on the phone. After you input the IMEI and SIM numbers, it should give you the option to keep your UDP plan.

----------

My problem is I pre-ordered on the 18th on my line before even knowing about this loophole. So the phone is already ordered and will be here next week setup for my line. But if I get the phone and immediately activate it on a different line will that still affect my data plan since the upgrade was through my line but wont be activated on my number? I've talked to two different verizon reps and one said no it won't affect me and the other said it will(probably just trying to hide the loophole). If it's going to affect my data plan I'm going to have to cancel my pre-order and start all over.


Don't activate that phone. You will lose your unlimited if you do. When you use the upgrade on your UDL you will lose it regardless of what line you actually use it on. Either return the phone and get another either from Verizon or locally on the other line or lose your unlimited.
 
I just chatted with costumer service on the Verizon website. They told me that even though I ordered the 5 on my line and had to change my data plan for it that when I receive the phone and if I activate it on a different line and then activate the phone on my line I wont lose my unlimited data plan. Can anyone confirm this? I pre-ordered my phone so that's why I'm doing it this way so I don't have to wait longer for a phone.

So you ordered your phone upgrade on your line with unlimited data but are going to activate the phone on another line when it comes in then swap it back? I hope this works for you if they said it would, but if you used that line to get the iPhone for a discount, I hope they will reverse it back. My understanding was any line used to upgrade at the discount price would be switched off unlimited data.

It would be so much easier for people if Verizon would just allow those on an unlimited data plan keep it like AT&T then for everyone have to find activation loopholes and sim swapping just to keep their unlimited data plans.
 
As I stated earlier, I have successfully ordered the iPhone 5.

Here are the steps on how I did it:
- Pre-ordered the iPhone 5 using my wife's dummy line
- Once received, activated the iPhone on my wife's dummy line
- Re-activated back the dummy phone
- Removed the 2gb data plan
- Got a new nano sim then activated the iPhone 5 on my account with the UDP.
- Verified that I still have the UDP on my account

Everything is now up and running. The only issue that I have: When I go to my wife's dummy line account in the portal and try to "Activate" a new device just to check if it will let me, it asks me to enter the billing password then it asks for the last 4 digit of my wife's SS# in order to "Activate Now" the initial iPhone 5 order. It seems that the system still thinks I have not activated the iPhone on the dummy line. I'm assuming that this should have gone away since I initially activated the iPhone already prior to putting the dummy phone back to this line.

Has anyone else encountered this? I'm hoping that this will eventually just go away.
 
So you ordered your phone upgrade on your line with unlimited data but are going to activate the phone on another line when it comes in then swap it back? I hope this works for you if they said it would, but if you used that line to get the iPhone for a discount, I hope they will reverse it back. My understanding was any line used to upgrade at the discount price would be switched off unlimited data.

It would be so much easier for people if Verizon would just allow those on an unlimited data plan keep it like AT&T then for everyone have to find activation loopholes and sim swapping just to keep their unlimited data plans.

That is correct. I've talked to 4 different reps now and 2 said it would work and the other 2 said it wouldn't. I'm probably not going to take the risk so I'll probably cancel my pre-order and reorder on the dumbphone line. That or try to switch the order from my line to the dumbphone line if that's possible. I would go to the store and get one in person but the stores around here sell out so fast it's ridiculous.
 
Any one have any success with their SIM Cards refreshing after deactivating it from a different phone line?
 
This whole thing started when some Verizon spokesperson told 9to5 Mac that ULD customers couldn't keep their plan when upgrading. Now I'm wondering if this is actually the case from the beginning. There's no one to testify as to whether this rule is actually true, since the information caused everyone to order from separate lines to avoid risking a loss of their ULD.


So far only ajm222 has successfully done the transfer upgrade option. Did anyone else try this yet? Or was the whole 9to5 Mac statement by Verizon patently false? I don't have my upgrade until 10/10 so hopefully we hear more success stories. Maybe we should start a new thread w/ a poll specifically for this option.

Right now, Verizon is making money on all the extra new lines people are buying just to keep their UDP plans. They are also making money on all the people who don't want to deal w/ the hassle and decide to voluntarily give up those plans. It just seem too convenient that this "Verizon statement" came out right before the release of the iPhone 5 when in reality, this option has existed for years. Why the suddenly change in policy? Do this date, we have no official word of this change in policy. If more people start posting success stories, then we know its one big lie.
 
I am a bit annoyed at the moment with my Verizon Business rep.

I am on a Business plan with an iPhone 4s, unlimited data but not eligible for an upgrade. I have several other family members also on the Business plan with iPhone 4 phones and tiered data plans. Those family members are eligible for an upgrade but have no interest in upgrading and use little to no data in general.

I called 2 different customer reps at the Verizon Business help center and was told by 2 different people that I could use a family members upgrade IF the family member understood that their phone line was still be pegged with a 2 year deal and a tiered data plan...fine, understood.

I talk to our Verizon Business rep today and he tells me that he has never heard of this and he won't allow it. Huh? I even sent him links to Verizon forums where people are doing exactly what I want to do. He wrote me back stating that he could only upgrade lines for people using just those lines.

If what I want to do is not allowed, that is fine. But according to multiple people on the Verizon Business customer support line, it is allowed as an "Alternative Upgrade" or something like that.

Since I can only get phones/lines through my work place's business rep (as in, I know if I bought a new phone outside of work I would lose my unlimited), I am not really sure if I can do anything outside of the rep.
 
It will be interesting to see when the whole unlimited data plan goes poof. I guess I am good for two more years. My 2nd line on my account is a dumb phone and as long as Verizon keeps offering it and my dumb phone stays alive, I guess it will be okay, however I am sure when the next 2 year cycle is up, it will be a different ball game.
 
I am a bit annoyed at the moment with my Verizon Business rep.

I am on a Business plan with an iPhone 4s, unlimited data but not eligible for an upgrade. I have several other family members also on the Business plan with iPhone 4 phones and tiered data plans. Those family members are eligible for an upgrade but have no interest in upgrading and use little to no data in general.

I called 2 different customer reps at the Verizon Business help center and was told by 2 different people that I could use a family members upgrade IF the family member understood that their phone line was still be pegged with a 2 year deal and a tiered data plan...fine, understood.

I talk to our Verizon Business rep today and he tells me that he has never heard of this and he won't allow it. Huh? I even sent him links to Verizon forums where people are doing exactly what I want to do. He wrote me back stating that he could only upgrade lines for people using just those lines.

If what I want to do is not allowed, that is fine. But according to multiple people on the Verizon Business customer support line, it is allowed as an "Alternative Upgrade" or something like that.

Since I can only get phones/lines through my work place's business rep (as in, I know if I bought a new phone outside of work I would lose my unlimited), I am not really sure if I can do anything outside of the rep.

I would honestly call back and try to get someone else. Yes, it's called an alternate upgrade, and I did a handful at work today. Can't trust every representative. Good luck.
 
Any one have any success with their SIM Cards refreshing after deactivating it from a different phone line?

I have. Ordered 2 iPhone 5s on 2 dummy lines, attempted to activate them online on the two main lines before turning them on and got a SIM error, but still somehow it said the activation was complete, so we turned on the phones and found they were still attached to the two dummy lines we ordered them on. Called Verizon up, the rep deactivated the phones and instructed us to power off the devices and not power back up until 24hrs had passed and then to call back.

Took about 30 mins for each phone to reactivate on our mainline with usable SIM cards. Something called "SIM Aging" more info of it here https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/876087#876087
 
That is correct. I've talked to 4 different reps now and 2 said it would work and the other 2 said it wouldn't. I'm probably not going to take the risk so I'll probably cancel my pre-order and reorder on the dumbphone line. That or try to switch the order from my line to the dumbphone line if that's possible. I would go to the store and get one in person but the stores around here sell out so fast it's ridiculous.
Let us know what you end up doing and if it works. I'm in the same situation as you - I ordered on my actual line with unlimited data, and the phone has arrived. It's still sitting in its unopened box though since I'm waiting to try and figure out what the easiest way is to keep my unlimited data. Given how difficult they now seem to be to get around where I live, I don't just want to up and return it. I've thought about going into an Apple store and seeing if they could somehow switch the line that I ordered it on.
 
Can we get this thread stickied? It keeps getting lost amongst all the other threads.

Also, can we try to reach a consensus on ways this will work. It seems like there are some alternate methods of doing this and conflicting reports whether or not they work. If we could have the OP edit his first post with these instructions it'd make it much easier for everyone.
 
Although it was not for an iphone 5, just a 4s I wanted to share my success story as the process should be the same.

Before:
Family Plan 1400 Unlimited Talk Text + Unlimited Data

Line - 1 4s with unlimited
Line-2 4s with unlimited
Line -3 Droid with unlimited (Upgrade available)
Line -4 Dumbphone (no upgrade available)

My Sister (Line 3) wanted to upgrade her droid to iphone 4s but keep unlimited data.

Had her go to Verizon store and TRANSFER upgrade from her line 3 to line 4 dumbphone, after it was activated on line 4 she left the store.

I logged into My Verizon and checked to see that LINE 3 Contract Date had been extended to 2 years but features still showed ULD

Then added dumbphone IMEI back to Line 4 using Activate/Switch Device option in My Verizon.

Then added IMEI from newly purchased 4s to Line 3, it asked if I would like to change my data plan BUT unlimited was still listed and selected by default. I kept this setting and activated the 4s successfully.

After:

Line 1 - 4s with ULD
Line 2 - 4s with ULD
Line 3 - 4s with ULD - no upgrade available, contract extended 2 years
Line 4 - Dumbphone
 
Today I received my iPhone 5.

I upgraded my mother's iphone 4 which is already in a 2GB plan, to get the iphone 5.

All I did, was call customer service, they asked for some information on the invoice that came in the package. I didnt even have to open the iphone 5 to do this.

5 minutes later, the iPhone 5 was activated on my Unlimited Data Plan :D
 
Although it was not for an iphone 5, just a 4s I wanted to share my success story as the process should be the same.

Before:
Family Plan 1400 Unlimited Talk Text + Unlimited Data

Line - 1 4s with unlimited
Line-2 4s with unlimited
Line -3 Droid with unlimited (Upgrade available)
Line -4 Dumbphone (no upgrade available)

My Sister (Line 3) wanted to upgrade her droid to iphone 4s but keep unlimited data.

Had her go to Verizon store and TRANSFER upgrade from her line 3 to line 4 dumbphone, after it was activated on line 4 she left the store.

I logged into My Verizon and checked to see that LINE 3 Contract Date had been extended to 2 years but features still showed ULD

Then added dumbphone IMEI back to Line 4 using Activate/Switch Device option in My Verizon.

Then added IMEI from newly purchased 4s to Line 3, it asked if I would like to change my data plan BUT unlimited was still listed and selected by default. I kept this setting and activated the 4s successfully.

After:

Line 1 - 4s with ULD
Line 2 - 4s with ULD
Line 3 - 4s with ULD - no upgrade available, contract extended 2 years
Line 4 - Dumbphone

Hmm interesting. I almost want to go to and try this on my wifes line just incase we lose unlimited data she only uses 2gbs a month and I could essentially sell the upgrade to someone else.
 
Today I received my iPhone 5.

I upgraded my mother's iphone 4 which is already in a 2GB plan, to get the iphone 5.

All I did, was call customer service, they asked for some information on the invoice that came in the package. I didnt even have to open the iphone 5 to do this.

5 minutes later, the iPhone 5 was activated on my Unlimited Data Plan :D

Awesome, that's exactly what I wanted to do.
 
Today I received my iPhone 5.

I upgraded my mother's iphone 4 which is already in a 2GB plan, to get the iphone 5.

All I did, was call customer service, they asked for some information on the invoice that came in the package. I didnt even have to open the iphone 5 to do this.

5 minutes later, the iPhone 5 was activated on my Unlimited Data Plan :D

ok, looks like calling is the best option. i'm gonna do the same thing and try to do it online like some people here. if it doesn't work for some reason, i'll call. guess i'll be jumping in. thanks for posting your experiences everyone.
 
Ok so... I think I have a handle on this. Here is my process.

I have a 1 smartphone with unlimited data. I have 2 dumb phone lines. One of the dumb phone lines has an upgrade. After reading the link from the OP, I just use the upgrade to get the 5. When it comes i dont have to activate it on the dumb line at all? I can just activate it on my unlimited plan?

What if I buy it in the store using the upgrade? Will they just put it on my unlimited line? I imagine I'd have to put on the dumb phone line and then call in and get it switched?
 
Although it was not for an iphone 5, just a 4s I wanted to share my success story as the process should be the same.

Before:
Family Plan 1400 Unlimited Talk Text + Unlimited Data

Line - 1 4s with unlimited
Line-2 4s with unlimited
Line -3 Droid with unlimited (Upgrade available)
Line -4 Dumbphone (no upgrade available)

My Sister (Line 3) wanted to upgrade her droid to iphone 4s but keep unlimited data.

Had her go to Verizon store and TRANSFER upgrade from her line 3 to line 4 dumbphone, after it was activated on line 4 she left the store.

I logged into My Verizon and checked to see that LINE 3 Contract Date had been extended to 2 years but features still showed ULD

Then added dumbphone IMEI back to Line 4 using Activate/Switch Device option in My Verizon.

Then added IMEI from newly purchased 4s to Line 3, it asked if I would like to change my data plan BUT unlimited was still listed and selected by default. I kept this setting and activated the 4s successfully.

After:

Line 1 - 4s with ULD
Line 2 - 4s with ULD
Line 3 - 4s with ULD - no upgrade available, contract extended 2 years
Line 4 - Dumbphone

That makes TWO ppl that has successfully done the transfer upgrade option. It's looking good ;) Please update us in a week if the UDP is still on your plans.

Thanks!
 
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