iPad 3 Verizon LTE sim issues

I have an iPad3 with Verizon modem, and I've followed this thread and others for two years. I use my iPad3 all the time, but only need Verizon data once or twice a year. Here are some things I've learned.

This post will be helpful if you have an iPad with Verizon modem and am having trouble trying to suspend your monthly service with them. I have an iPad3 with Verizon modem and just figured out how to suspend my service when given only the option on my iPad to DELETE the account -- a big no no if you want to keep your life easy.

Short story -- if you can only DELETE your account on your iPad, then don't do it! Go online to verizonwireless.com, log in with your iPad phone number and password, register, and then cancel/suspend your account on the Verizon website.

Last note: Verizon now states when you suspend their service:

*Continue to use your data plan until it expires or you use all of your data, whichever comes first.

*Your plan will no longer automatically renew at the end of the month.

*After 4 months of inactivity, your account will be deleted from Verizon Wireless.

Note that Verizon will now burn your SIM card if you do not use it for four months, rather than the five months that it used to be.

Read on if you want to learn the details of this problem:

Verizon is appallingly sneaky, downright duplicitous. If you read various forums, you will find many folks like me who bought an iPad 3 or higher, with Verizon service, because Verizon allows folks with iPads to use their iPad as a wifi hotspot at no extra charge. The other promises from Verizon were that you could buy their data for a month at a time, could cancel your account anytime with no penalty, and there would be no activation fees.

You would never think to ask that if you chose not to use Verizon data on your iPad for a few months, that Verizon would inactivate (“burn”) your SIM card and then refuse to give you a new card unless you paid for it (and got involved in other costly complications, such as being forced to enroll in a postpaid plan that involves a two-year commitment, charges activation fees, etc).

I was happy as a clam when I first got my iPad3 with Verizon modem. I could use this in my summer home in another state and when traveling; and I could set up the iPad3 as a wifi hotspot, so I could compose emails and surf the internet on my laptop as usual.

Then I went home for several months and did not need to use the Verizon access on my iPad. When I tried to start up Verizon service again – I was unable to. My SIM card had been burned because I had not started up the Verizon service for more than 4 months. The problem is described in many forums. My favorite is MacMaven, who ended up suing Apple for these problems in small-claims court and won.

http://macmavenconsulting.com/blog/sim-card-deactivation-on-verizon-ipads/

and

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3944328?tstart=0

After reading these forums, I was going to buy a Verizon SIM on Ebay for $8 to solve the problem of my SIM being deactivated, but instead I happened to visit an Apple Genius Bar with this and a MacBook problem. The Apple Genius gave me a new Verizon SIM card at no charge, and I was set to go again. Great! I signed up for a month of data recently, the iPad and Verizon modem worked great in Washington state and when I was traveling, and I was literally a happy camper.

But I was careful. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice – not happening, at least this time. I used my camera to take photos of each Verizon screen that came up when I started up my subscription.

Tonight, I noticed that Verizon had charged my credit card a $35 activation fee (sneaky, they charged this on 8-18, 25 days after my first charge for 2Gb of data!). This is patent ********, incredibly fraudulent.

Verizon's own website states clearly that for tablet data plans, there are no activation fees!

I also quote from a CNET article:

“That said, Verizon charges a $35 activation fee when you sign up for service. But this fee is waived if you activate your device using a credit card and pre-pay for the monthly service, according to a Verizon spokeswoman.”

Now suspicious and annoyed, I decided to cancel my month of data a few days early, just to be sure that I would not be charged for another month of service that I did not need. All of you iPad Verizon users, DO NOT choose the option "DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT"!!!

I had read this forum before, and so I was very careful when I saw only a DELETE ACCOUNT option. Here's a discussion:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3944328?start=105&tstart=0

Note that the ONLY option that Verizon gives on the iPad3 when you are trying to stop your month-to-month service now seems to be DELETE ACCOUNT. There seems to be no way to simply cancel or suspend your account for a few months, then to restart it (see below for the solution that I eventually found).

I believe that Verizon is trying to fool its customers. It is not offering the ability to suspend its monthly prepaid data plans on iPads, but instead only offers the option to nuke your SIM card. This way, Verizon forces the customer to go to their stores to buy a new iPad SIM card and to be sold into a postpaid plan that involves 2-year contracts, early termination fees, activation fees, etc. It's downright fraudulent.

I'll repeat -- I could not get the option to suspend or cancel my prepaid data plan with Verizon on my iPad. I could ONLY get the option to DELETE the account. DO NOT choose "DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT. " You will then have to go back to Apple or Verizon and ask for another SIM card. Verizon will try to charge you all kinds of fees at this point, according to my experience and the collective experience that you can read about in forums. Most Apple staff will not be able to help you.

Here's the solution that I found:

I noticed in the legal language above, that the legalese presented when I started up my prepaid plan stated "If you are unable to log in from your device, visit verizonwireless.com and log into your My Prepaid account to cancel service." I went to the site, entered my Verizon ipad phone number and password, selected an image, and entered my account. My account details were there. I was able to CANCEL, not DELETE, my Verizon iPad account. Success!

Now I just have to deal with Verizon and my credit card company tomorrow to get that fraudulent, duplicitous, sneaky $35 activation charge removed. This is how unethical companies are making money these days. They sneak fraudulent charges onto a credit card hoping a customer won't notice. There's no penalty to them when they get caught, and they waste the customer's time.

Last note: Verizon now states when you suspend their service:

*Continue to use your data plan until it expires or you use all of your data, whichever comes first.

*Your plan will no longer automatically renew at the end of the month.

*After 4 months of inactivity, your account will be deleted from Verizon Wireless.

Note that Verizon will now burn your SIM card if you do not use it for four months, rather than the five months that it used to be.

Just a quick comment, if you can use T-Mobile instead of Verizon, you get 250MB free data per month. And you never need another SIM card, since your account is always active with the free data. And if you want/need more data, you just pay extra for the extra data. A pretty good deal, as long as T-Mobile meets your needs. I've still got it going on for many months now, no problems. I just get an email from T-Mobile every month telling me that they're giving me 250MB of free data for the month...good reminder, too.

Verizon was such a hassle with the iPad, getting new SIMs and all. Between Verizon and Comcast, they just drive me crazy. Nothing at all I can do about Comcast, it's a monopoly around here, and they love to beat up their customers, just like Verizon.