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I appreciate the feed back - just confused. The Samsung Galaxy 4 phone was purchased as an upgrade to a flip phone from Verizon from a "time to renew" opportunity from the company account of the company it was billed through. It cost $99.00 and was purchased outright by me. Does this make it a "Verizon" phone?
I think of it as a Samsung phone - that is owned by me. And I should be able to get service from anyone? Is that wrong?
I appreciate the feed back - just confused. The Samsung Galaxy 4 phone was purchased as an upgrade to a flip phone from Verizon from a "time to renew" opportunity from the company account of the company it was billed through. It cost $99.00 and was purchased outright by me. Does this make it a "Verizon" phone?
I think of it as a Samsung phone - that is owned by me. And I should be able to get service from anyone? Is that wrong?
There are two issues at play here.
First the phone was sold to your employer for $99 (I know you paid for it, but they bought the phone). That's almost definitely a subsidized price, meaning that the price was given to the owner based on the promise of a two year contract. I'm not sure how far into the contract your employer was before they closed, but it could be an issue if Verizon feels that they didn't recover the contract price of the phone.
I doubt that that this will be an issue, but it's worth pointing out.
The second issue is the technology in the phone.
The different phone carriers each use slightly different technology to communicate between the phones and their networks, so a Verizon phone will only work on Verizon's network.
This is a gross oversimplification of the complex technology behind it, and there are some phones that have the correct technology in them to work on multiple carriers, but the carriers don't want you to bring another phone onto their network, and will make it hard for you to do it even with a phone that will work on their network.
Also, keep in mind that there are really only 4 major carriers in the US: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
Almost all of the other companies are just reselling (or are owned by) those 4 carriers.
So you have a Verizon phone, and can use it on Verizon's network: either via Verizon directly, or through a Verizon reseller (known as MNVOs).
You can check the link below for a list of carriers that use Verizon's network (the second column shows the parent carrier).
First the phone was sold to your employer for $99 (I know you paid for it, but they bought the phone). That's almost definitely a subsidized price, meaning that the price was given to the owner based on the promise of a two year contract. I'm not sure how far into the contract your employer was before they closed, but it could be an issue if Verizon feels that they didn't recover the contract price of the phone.
I doubt that that this will be an issue, but it's worth pointing out.
The second issue is the technology in the phone.
The different phone carriers each use slightly different technology to communicate between the phones and their networks, so a Verizon phone will only work on Verizon's network.
This is a gross oversimplification of the complex technology behind it, and there are some phones that have the correct technology in them to work on multiple carriers, but the carriers don't want you to bring another phone onto their network, and will make it hard for you to do it even with a phone that will work on their network.
Also, keep in mind that there are really only 4 major carriers in the US: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
Almost all of the other companies are just reselling (or are owned by) those 4 carriers.
So you have a Verizon phone, and can use it on Verizon's network: either via Verizon directly, or through a Verizon reseller (known as MNVOs).
You can check the link below for a list of carriers that use Verizon's network (the second column shows the parent carrier).
What a bunch of malarkey - I own the phone - but they control the provider by tweaking the technology enough to make you dance to their tune. That to me is like a Samsung TV getting different channels than a Sony.
What a bunch of malarkey - I own the phone - but they control the provider by tweaking the technology enough to make you dance to their tune. That to me is like a Samsung TV getting different channels than a Sony.
It's really not about tweaking. Like I said my explanation was super simplified; it's really about wireless spectrum, and the underlying technology involved. Each carrier uses different frequencies in the available spectrum, so their hardware can't really talk.
It's really more about the difference between UHF and VHF, or AM and FM. Like I said, there are some phones that can use more than one network (by employing multiple radios, or more expensive radios), but with the subsidized phones (getting a $500+ phone for $99) carriers are allowed to protect themselves until the phone has been paid for (via the contract).
I don't know exactly what phone you have, or the details of the old employers contract, but Verizon may unlock it for use on a different carrier.
It would still have to have the correct hardware for that carrier, and even then the other carriers aren't required to accept it.
I guess I will start at the Verizon Wireless store and go forward from there - thank you!
Edited to add - Verizon will go against the closing company the account was with for the balance of the contract (early termination fee) if there is one. It shouldn't matter to the phone itself whether the contract is fulfilled or not. (Seems to me)
I guess I will start at the Verizon Wireless store and go forward from there - thank you!
Edited to add - Verizon will go against the closing company the account was with for the balance of the contract (early termination fee) if there is one. It shouldn't matter to the phone itself whether the contract is fulfilled or not. (Seems to me)
Except that the phone was subsidized, and they may feel that it wasn't fully paid for. This isn't really about the EFT, or the other companies contract, but the device itself.
Like I said, I wouldn't think it would be a problem, but they may have blacklisted the EIN (it's probably a very slim chance, and I've never actually heard of it happening).
Keep in mind that you can always go to one of the small wireless resellers and probably get a better deal (for less minutes or data).
Except that the phone was subsidized, and they may feel that it wasn't fully paid for. This isn't really about the EFT, or the other companies contract, but the device itself.
Like I said, I wouldn't think it would be a problem, but they may have blacklisted the EIN (it's probably a very slim chance, and I've never actually heard of it happening).
Keep in mind that you can always go to one of the small wireless resellers and probably get a better deal (for less minutes or data).
Walmart, Page Plus, Straight Talk, etc.
After Verizon - Page Plus will be the next stop - you have been so helpful - thank you!
My phone was a Verizon phone, it has Vz apps on it, voice mail is Vz voicemail, text is Vz test. I ported the number from Verizon on a previous phone.
This is so helpful - thank you!
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