Verizon Turned MY 4G newer Ipad into Wi-Fi Only!

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Verizon Turned MY 4G newer Ipad into Wi-Fi Only!

I just experienced a problem on a Verizon enabled Ipad purchased directly from Apple which appears to have no solution. My first month of 4G service was set up on the Ipad without a hitch. Verizon charged me for a second month of 4G which I did not want so I went into my new Ipad and cancelled the service "Now." It deactivated the SIM card forever, burned, useless. After an initial call to Verizon Customer Service , I was told to go to a Verizon retail store and buy a new Sim card for $4.95. I was then told to re-setup the account for cellular service on my Ipad when I wanted 4G again. So I go to the Verizon store and am told by the Manager I cannot buy "just" a Sim card as their system won't allow it. They would sell me a SIM card but I'd have to buy the 2GB service for $30 as they don't sell the 1Gb for $20. I would also have to pay a $35 activation fee for the new card and all account management will have to be online. So now I am going to be $65 in the hole for trying to cancel my auto-renewal 4G service. Also, if I buy the Sim card from the Verizon retail store and activate it there, I will not be able to manage my account from my new Ipad which is an absolute necessity. Furthermore, contrary to the Store provided advice, I have been told that you cannot manage a PURE Ipad account online. Did I just turn my 3 month old 4G Verizon cellular Ipad into a Wi-Fi only Ipad? Any thoughts will be appreciated. Verizon needs to be fix this lunacy and Apple should force them to do so..

iPad (3rd gen) Wi-Fi + Cellular (VZ), iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Jul 2, 2012 4:29 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 14, 2012 11:41 AM in response to ChiTownGuido

Man, I have to tell you that I saw your 'thread' on another forum and HAD to bring it here and Paste (since realizing that you had already posted it here). This is utterly insane to say the least. I just got off the phone with Apple Care...and they had nothing to say on the matter..."sorry, we have no engineering tickets on such a matter" YEAH, because you send everyone back to Verizon stating it's not your issue!

And just got off the phone with Verizon..he was nice..but...did say they were trying to find a solution to such issues..such as NOW putting 4G sim cards with 'multiple' #'s in the new ipad. You have 90 days of 'suspended service' before it automatically charges you again...and you can't suspend service for more than 6 months in a calander year....

Have you found any other ideas...resolutions on your end? This is indeed unacceptable~

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Answer 2

ChiTownGuido Author

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Jul 14, 2012 4:42 PM in response to Logsurfer

I spoke with a representative from Verizon's "Executives' Relations Office" on July 5 and came home to a voicemail from the Rep on July 10. She stated that all of Verizon's retail stores have been told to provide sim cards for the Verizon enabled ipad3 to customers upon request WITHOUT requiring in-store activation. Her message did not state if there would be a charge for the sim card and I do not know if non-Verizon owned stores are subject to this requirement. But according to the Rep you can now visit a Verizon owned retail store and get a new sim card without having to sign up for service at the store. I have already done this and replaced my burned sim card when I got home. Reactivation via my ipad went smoothly.

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Answer 3

Jul 14, 2012 8:06 PM in response to ChiTownGuido

Many thanks for the clarification...I was just getting ready to sign up for the 4G when I saw this thread and was in shock...what a mess. I'm thinking if they are not charging for the Sim, then it might just be a good idea to hit up a # of shops and get a handful 🙂 for 'in case of'. your are soooo right...Verizon NEEDS to iron out said wrinkles and Apple needs to pressure the point! Thanks again

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Answer 4

Jul 18, 2012 4:19 PM in response to ChiTownGuido

I had just posted this (below) myself, then saw your post. I've notified my Verizon rep of your info, but don't know yet if they are a corporate store or contract.

We recently used the prepaid 4G Verizon service on my wife's iPad. When we bought the iPad, we were told you could turn the 4G on and off at will. When we turned off the service at the end of a month, the iPad told us the card had been deactivated and would have to be replaced to get 4G. I went to the Verizon store to get a new card. They would only give me a new card if I signed the iPad up for a plan, or added it to my cell data plan (of course that would entail changing from my unlimited data plan!) They suggested I go to the Apple Store to have them replace the sim- for free.

Today I went to the Apple Store. Two people first told me they only stock AT&T sim cards. Fortunately, another person at the Genius Bar heard our discussion and said they DO have Verizon sim cards. But, they were simply not aware of this issue until I raised it. Then we were told that we could deactivate the credit card at the end of the prepaid time to avoid automatic renewal, but after 60 days of inactivity, the card would deactivate anyway. They did recover well at the store, and actually gave us extra sim cards after replacing the one in the iPad, so we're covered for a while.

Simply put, this was not the premise upon which we bought the iPad, based on clear representations of two sales people, and is not typical of Apple service. Beware! Long term Apple and Verizon are going to have to work this out so it works as represented in a customer friendly fashion. In the meantime, they need to make sure all their Geniuses know about this issue.

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Answer 5

Aug 1, 2012 2:36 PM in response to LowFlyer1

I just got back from our cross country trip and used the 4G which was sweeet! Waiting for the 15th of next month to turn 'off' the 4G plan....scary to see what's going to happen. Hope your right in the fact that we should just be able to go into the V store and get free cards?!>?! fingers crossed 😁 What a joke

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Answer 6

Jun 28, 2013 3:17 PM in response to ChiTownGuido

I too went to the Verizon store and called Apple to no avail. However, when I was at the Verizon store, I watched the employee as he went to:

Settings> General> Reset > Subscriber Services

and pressed "Reprovision Account"

He immediately tested to see if I could activate the pre paid Sim card and it came back with the same error. Of course the only way they would give me a new one is if I subscribed to their monthly plan that is way more expensive. They refused to give me a new card.

However, after a few hours, I tried it again at home just to see...and it worked. I was able to successfully activate the iPad with the 1 Gb/$20 plan.

Hope it works for everyone!

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