How to get my new phone activated

4G LTE Phones

New Verizon Wireless Customers

Service activation with or without transferring your existing number

1. Follow the instructions in the owner's manual to insert your new SIM card and battery, and then charge your phone completely.
2. Turn on your phone.
3. Activation will begin automatically. If prompted, follow instructions to accept Customer Agreement.

Existing Verizon Wireless Customers (Contract Extensions/Upgrades/Replacement Phones)

Activating your newly upgraded phone

1. Save contacts from your old phone by visiting Verizon Wireless Backup Assistant. See "How to Back Up Your Contacts" for instructions on downloading Backup Assistant.
2. Once contacts are backed up, turn off old phone.
3. Dial 1-877-807-4646 from any phone and follow the prompts to activate your 4G LTE service.
4. Remove the battery cover and battery from your old phone and snap the SIM card out of the holder without touching the gold electrical contacts or remove SIM from your old 4G LTE device's SIM card slot.
5. Remove the battery cover and battery from your new phone.
6. Insert the SIM card into your new phone by aligning the notched corner of the SIM card and place in the pull out tray or insert into SIM card slot until it clicks into place.
7. Insert battery and replace battery cover.
8. Charge your new phone completely.
9. Turn on new phone. Activation will begin automatically. If prompted, follow instructions to accept Customer Agreement. Follow on-screen prompts to set up your phone and download or activate Backup Assistant to transfer your contacts. (Your phone should now be ready for use.)

Note: Do NOT dial *228 to complete the activation process.

Activating your new replacement phone

• Please call Verizon Wireless customer service at 1-800-922-0204.

Standard Phones (non-4G LTE)

New Verizon Wireless Customers

Service activation without transferring your existing number

1. Before you begin, follow the instructions in the owner's manual to charge your phone's battery.
2. Turn on your phone.
3. Dial *228, press "Send," and then press "1" when prompted. You will be notified via the voice prompt when it has been successfully activated.
4. Return to the Your Account and view your order to retrieve your new phone number. Service activation with transfer of your existing number
5. Before you begin, follow the instructions in the owner's manual to charge your phone's battery.
6. Return to the Your Account section to view your order details. Once you've signed in, follow the instructions at the top of your order details to activate your phone.

New individual service plan customers:

• Turn on your phone. Verizon Wireless will e-mail you when your phone is ready for use (1-5 business days after you submit your request from Your Account in step 2 above). Upon receipt of the email, dial *228 from your new phone to complete the activation. Upon completion of the number transfer, your service with your previous provider will automatically be canceled.

New family service plan customers:

• We are not able to transfer your numbers for now due to some technical limitations. But if you have signed up for a family account through us, you can still call
• Verizon Wireless customer service at 1-800-922-0204 to port your numbers (if they are eligible).
• Existing Verizon Wireless Customers (Contract Extensions/Upgrades/Replacement Phones)

Activating your newly upgraded phone

1. Before you begin, follow the instructions in the owner's manual to charge your phone's battery.
2. Turn on your new phone.
3. Dial *228, press "Send," and then press "1" when prompted. You will be notified via the voice prompt when it has been successfully activated. Your existing service will be canceled automatically once your new service is activated.

Charging your new phone

• Follow the instructions in the owner's manual to charge your phone's battery.

Completing activation

• Please call Verizon Wireless customer service at 1-800-922-0204 to complete the activation process.

If your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) can't be activated or an alert says the activation server is unavailable or the SIM card is unsupported, learn what to do.

Before you begin

• Learn what to do if you get an error message that says "No SIM" or "Invalid SIM".
• Check the list on the System Status page. If the box by iOS Device Activation isn't green, try to activate your iPhone or iPad later.
• If asked to enter your password as you activate your iPhone or iPad, enter the password. (A password prompt means that Activation Lock might be enabled in Find My iPhone.)

Follow these steps

1. Restart your iPhone or iPad.
2. If you're using a cellular-data connection, connect to a reliable Wi-Fi network instead.
3. If you get an error message on your iPhone or iPad that says the activation server is temporarily unavailable or cannot be reached when trying to activate, wait a few minutes, then repeat the previous steps.

If you still can't activate your iPhone or iPad, try again using your computer instead:

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of macOS or the latest version of iTunes.
2. Check that your computer has an internet connection.
3. With the cable that came with your iPhone or iPad, connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer. Locate your device on your computer.
4. Wait while your computer detects and activates your iPhone or iPad: 
   • If an alert appears that says "Set up as New" or "Restore from Backup," it means your iPhone or iPad is activated.
   • If you get an error message on your computer that says that the SIM card isn't compatible or is invalid, contact your carrier.
   • If you get an error message that says the "activation information was invalid" or "activation information could not be obtained from the device," use recovery mode to restore your iPhone or iPad.

If you still can't activate your iPhone or iPad, contact Apple Support.

Published Date: May 18, 2022

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