Carrier Verizon's Prepaid iPad Data Plans

[avanpelt]

Something seems to have changed with Verizon's prepaid iPad data plans.

Up until the past month, I've been able to add data as needed on my third-gen iPad and once the data is added from my iPad, within a day or two I'll go back in on the iPad and cancel the data plan but choose "Delete Later" so that I can continue using the data I just purchased for the next month but then the data won't auto-renew.

For the last several weeks, whenever I tried to add data via the iPad, I got an "Unexpected Error" message when I tapped how much data I wanted to add. Finally, I called Verizon prepaid support last week and they processed my payment and added data over the phone.

Yesterday, I went in to cancel the data plan via the iPad like I typically have in the past but this time, there was no option to "Delete Account Later". There was only a message that said if I cancelled the data, my account would be cancelled immediately, I would forfeit any unused data, and the SIM card would be unusable and I'd have to get a new SIM card from Verizon.

I immediately called Verizon prepaid support and I got a lady who did not give me any confidence that she knew what she was talking about. She insisted that while my credit card was on file, it was not setup for Auto Pay so therefore my data plan would not auto-renew even if I didn't proactively cancel it from my iPad.

However, anything I've read on Verizon's website says all prepaid monthly data plans auto-renew on the day of the month the plan was started. The website clearly says that the new daily 300 MB plan does not auto-renew; but that's not the plan I have right now.

Does anyone know what the deal is with Verizon's prepaid iPad data plans? If I do nothing, will my current monthly data plan really not auto-renew? I don't know why they removed the option to delete the account later from the iPad in the first place. That way I knew for certain that my data plan would not auto-renew at the end of the cycle.

 

[RetiredInFl]

Something seems to have changed with Verizon's prepaid iPad data plans.

Up until the past month, I've been able to add data as needed on my third-gen iPad and once the data is added from my iPad, within a day or two I'll go back in on the iPad and cancel the data plan but choose "Delete Later" so that I can continue using the data I just purchased for the next month but then the data won't auto-renew.

For the last several weeks, whenever I tried to add data via the iPad, I got an "Unexpected Error" message when I tapped how much data I wanted to add. Finally, I called Verizon prepaid support last week and they processed my payment and added data over the phone.

Yesterday, I went in to cancel the data plan via the iPad like I typically have in the past but this time, there was no option to "Delete Account Later". There was only a message that said if I cancelled the data, my account would be cancelled immediately, I would forfeit any unused data, and the SIM card would be unusable and I'd have to get a new SIM card from Verizon.

I immediately called Verizon prepaid support and I got a lady who did not give me any confidence that she knew what she was talking about. She insisted that while my credit card was on file, it was not setup for Auto Pay so therefore my data plan would not auto-renew even if I didn't proactively cancel it from my iPad.

However, anything I've read on Verizon's website says all prepaid monthly data plans auto-renew on the day of the month the plan was started. The website clearly says that the new daily 300 MB plan does not auto-renew; but that's not the plan I have right now.

Does anyone know what the deal is with Verizon's prepaid iPad data plans? If I do nothing, will my current monthly data plan really not auto-renew? I don't know why they removed the option to delete the account later from the iPad in the first place. That way I knew for certain that my data plan would not auto-renew at the end of the cycle.

If you pay over the phone you were probably put on a monthly "contract" (which can be canceled at any time) but when you do cancel it, your sim will be dead. This issue began with the first VZW iPad and seems to still continue. Good luck trying to get a new SIM for VZW. You'' either have to buy one off eBay or ask nicely in an Apple Store. VZW store will do just what happened to you all over again. Put you on a monthly contract which can be canceled but will kill your SIM when you do.

 

[Bulldog3777]

Verizon SIM

I got a new sim from a Verizon store about a week ago. Pre-paid and it was free. Depends on how helpful the sales person wants to be.

 

[RetiredInFl]

I got a new sim from a Verizon store about a week ago. Pre-paid and it was free. Depends on how helpful the sales person wants to be.

First of all, there is no VZW "PREPAID" sim. Any SIM will work from Verizon for PRE or POSTpaid. Was this a corporate store or a franchise store? Did the rep who gave you the SIM setup your "prepaid" plan for you or did he just hand you the SIM and let you walk out of the store with it unactivated? If he set it up for you, you got screwed as I wrote mentioned in my post. If he just gave it to you and let you walk out then you got lucky and he could have been fired for doing that. VZW policy prohibits giving out a sim without an activation attached.

There are MANY posts over the last couple years since the first VZW iPad of people who were "given" a "prepaid" SIM from a VZW store being unable to suspend (skip a month or more) of prepaid iPad service without killing the SIM. You may have been lucky but as a rule it doesn't work that way. If service is setup in the store it's 99% of the time for "continuous" monthly service which can be canceled (but not put on hold) but once canceled the SIM is dead.

 

[avanpelt]

My frustration is that I have never talked to anyone at Verizon to add data on my iPad until the last two weeks because they seem to have broken the system that allows us to add data directly on the iPad. There were several posts from people on various forums running into the same issue I had.

If Verizon made it impossible to add data to my prepaid plan without calling them and then made it impossible to cancel the auto-renew on the data plan they put me in when I called them without rending the SIM useless, I'm not going to be happy.

 

[avanpelt]

I just got another person on the phone from Verizon prepaid support who told me that adding prepaid data on the iPad is broken in the 7.0.3 update (it's throwing the "unexpected error" message) and they're waiting on Apple to push an iOS update to fix it.

The rep told me my data plan will not auto-renew so that makes me feel better. We'll see if she is right in about three weeks when my current cycle ends.

She was also very adamant that I had to add data once every 90 days or the SIM card will be locked and my iPad will require a new SIM in order to use cellular data. I don't know why they lowered the "refill" requirement to 90 days. I believe it used to be six months.

Buying a Wi-Fi only iPad and tethering it to my iPhone is looking more and more like the way I'll go when I purchase my next iPad. Verizon is being too much of a pain in the ass.

 

[scubacat]

I just got another person on the phone from Verizon prepaid support who told me that adding prepaid data on the iPad is broken in the 7.0.3 update (it's throwing the "unexpected error" message) and they're waiting on Apple to push an iOS update to fix it.

The rep told me my data plan will not auto-renew so that makes me feel better. We'll see if she is right in about three weeks when my current cycle ends.

She was also very adamant that I had to add data once every 90 days or the SIM card will be locked and my iPad will require a new SIM in order to use cellular data. I don't know why they lowered the "refill" requirement to 90 days. I believe it used to be six months.

Buying a Wi-Fi only iPad and tethering it to my iPhone is looking more and more like the way I'll go when I purchase my next iPad. Verizon is being too much of a pain in the ass.

I wonder if you could just sign up for the 300 MB one-day plan once every 3 months. That's about the cost of buying a new SIM card off Ebay.

 

[deeddawg]

I wonder if you could just sign up for the 300 MB one-day plan once every 3 months.

Or just go with T-Mobile or AT&T prepaid data in the Verizon ipad until Verizon gets their act together.