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mcdonoughdr

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
62
0
I just bought a new Verizon iPad 4, Once I set up a data plan, can I cancel it for a few months and start it up again? I say somewhere that I would need a new sim card each time...
 
My understanding is yes, you can cancel then start again but after 5 months they burn your sim card.
 
I am planning on buying my first IPad with cellular and am not sure if I know what you meant. Did you mean that your sim card is cancelled if not used for several months?
 
There is 2 options for you data on your iPad


Post Pay -Starts at $30.00
Where you have to have Verizon activate it and they charge you activation fee ever time. So if you activate 3 time in 1 year then there is 3 activation fees and you have to call them to have them add or cancel whenever you want data or want to cancel your data. You have to call Verizon and you can be on the phone for long amounts of time. If post pay is inactive for long amounts of time ur SIM card will be disabled and you will need to keep getting new sim cards. Verizon aways sets people on post pay accounts and never tells them about the prepay option.

Per Pay-Starts at $20.00
Where you go on ur iPad yourself and add and cancel at anytime you want takes 5 min and can do it as often as you want. If you want to cancel it and not use it for 6 months that's no problem. This has no impact on ur SIM card. I have been doing prepay since the iPad 2. Prepay is the easiest and most convenient. Never need to call Verizon and the process takes two minutes.

Hope this clears things up for you and hope it helps. Pre Paid is the best way to go there is never a activation fee with pre pay

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If you set up the data yourself through ur ipad. Go to SETTINGS then go to CELLULAR DATA to go to VIEW ACCOUNT. Once you set it up you add your credit card info and this is the prepay data plan you will never need a new sim. However you have to cancel it or you will just keep getting charged. You can add 2gb of data for $20.00 and if you cancel it right away. You can still use your 2gb that you paid for even if you cancel it. If you don't cancel it right away make sure you do before your 30days is up or your card will be charged again
 
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Thanks for the information. I wish other posters would answer questions as well as you did.
 
Depending on your circumstance, the cheapest way to get the data active on your VZW iPad is to add it to a share everything data plan. My wife and I have 4GB data between two iPhones, and I added my LTE iPad 4 for $10/month. Now mind you I don't use a ton of data, but for $10 a month it's a pretty good deal. I think the next step to 6GB data is only an additional 10 bucks a month as well.

Just a thought.
 
Yeah, the menu is a bit confusing on how to cancel/pause your plan. I'm not sure with the specifics but 1 option can destroy the SIM and the other can keep it working ... for up to 6 months. Something like that. I'm not sure if they've managed to clean up the menu in the mean time though.
 
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