1. TeckSupport05's Avatar
    I have a storm, I was trading it with a friend who has a tour for Bell. I wanted to activate the unlocked tour with Verizon here in the US. Is that possible?

    I called VZW and they said yes, but when i tried they said i couldnt do it. Is there a reason why?
    12-21-09 08:10 PM
  2. jeffh's Avatar
    Unlocking applies to the GSM side of the Tour. On the CDMA side, Verizon would have to agree to activate the Bell Tour on their network. The top-tier CDMA carriers generally refuse to activate other CDMA carrier's phones. You'd more likely be successful asking Bell to activate a Verizon Tour than asking Verizon to activate a Bell Tour.
    12-21-09 10:35 PM
  3. TeckSupport05's Avatar
    well how can I go about doing this? I kind of like the tour and would rather keep it than not. They said they're unable to do so because the MEID is a number short.
    12-21-09 10:47 PM
  4. jeffh's Avatar
    If Verizon says they won't activate it, you can't. There's no way you can use a phone on Verizon without their consent. You could always use it on T-Mobile or AT&T since it is unlocked.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    12-21-09 11:05 PM
  5. TeckSupport05's Avatar
    That's the thing... Its not that they won't... Its just they can't because it is a weird IMEI number. They said they do it all the time. I just find it odd.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    12-22-09 09:55 AM
  6. pkcable's Avatar
    That's the thing... Its not that they won't... Its just they can't because it is a weird IMEI number. They said they do it all the time. I just find it odd.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    My experience is the opposite they generally WON'T add another carrier's device. I suggest you sell the Tour to a Bell customer and then buy a Verizon branded one. A trade between carriers is difficult so you will probably need to do it in 2 transactions. You can use our Market Place Forum, or one of the popular aution sites.
    12-22-09 10:14 AM
  7. Xopher's Avatar
    I doubt the MEID number is the issue - the numbers are always going to be the same (its a standard format). The only way the MEID number could be too short is if you are reading the hex number vs. the decimal version (both numbers are listed on the status page).

    The main problem is usually the MEID number is assigned to a carrier. It goes into their database when the company receives the phone initially. The original carrier would have to purge the MEID from their database, and the second carrier would add it into their database.

    The next issue would be the internal programming of the phone. If you took the Bell phone and put it on VZW's network, it will always look like it is roaming. The phone itself would have to be reprogrammed to show everything properly.
    12-22-09 10:49 AM
  8. jeffh's Avatar
    I would echo pkcable's advice. You're just being told the IMEI is invalid because that's an easy answer. Not that the guy is lying to you; he just has an easy out of the situation. The top-tier CDMA carriers would rather sell you their Tour than activate one you bought from a competitor.
    12-22-09 10:51 AM
  9. Flip_Berry's Avatar
    There is an option for you. Since the Device's MEID is not the same length or format as VZW's, here's what I suggest. Since neither Customer Service nor Tech Support reps in the call center can handle this - go to a full service Verizon Wireless Retail store. The Tech Support staff has a procedure in place to submit your device for approval on the VZW Network. It will require that you'll be without the device for a period of time (unsure of the length I apologize) while VZW tests the device and deems it as approved (if applicable).
    Hope this helps.
    12-22-09 10:54 AM
  10. Flip_Berry's Avatar
    As an Add-on to my previous post --- as long as the Bell Device is CMDA this process should work.
    12-22-09 11:10 AM
  11. TeckSupport05's Avatar
    As an Add-on to my previous post --- as long as the Bell Device is CMDA this process should work.
    When i went into the store yesterday, the woman in tech support or customer assistance wouldnt touch the phone due to the face that it wasn't a verizon phone.

    I said to her "its a bell phone from a bell carrier in Canada, and I want to switch the phone number on my account to it. It is unlocked if that helps"

    she says Ok, im going to enter the MEID in, she does and says "is this a verizon phone? its not showing up as one, oh its bell? yeah i can only do verizon phones"

    And as to the easy answer, 3 times that I called they all said that it should have had one more number. They said they have switched over Bell phones before, and for some reason it would say "stolen" or an excuse, but this one its just saying ints unable to be found as any phone on the system at all... almost like entering an invalid number, or an non-existent phone (as it was explained to me).
    12-22-09 01:41 PM
  12. TWN's Avatar
    That is a very good question.
    12-22-09 01:48 PM
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