Why they wont activate it

**lterrian** · 01-29-2009, 11:39 AM

Ok heres the deal. I bought this blackberry curve from craiglist. The lady i got it from. Use the phone with her job, well her job switch carriers and so did she. She sold the phone for a very low price n the curve is n excellent conditions and it came with all accessories. The problems is that verizon is telling they cant activate it without her permission even though the phone is not even turn on. Something about its n the policy. And the number she called me on is the number 2 the curve which is now turned off. Idk, i guess i have to try my best to remembering where she live. I just wanted to check on here to see if theres any other way i can get this phone activated and switched tom my # ASAP.

**TwinsX2Dad** · 01-29-2009, 11:47 AM

The phone has to be released and any contract obligations must be paid for before they can activate it for someone else. Otherwise, stolen phones could be in use.

You bought a phone without a clear ESN. It has nothing to do with its activation status.

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**kboyd1273** · 01-29-2009, 11:49 AM

Not sure how Verizon works but if they are anything like Sprint. The ESN number for that phone is probably still assigned to an existing account. She will have to call Verizon and have the phone released.

**jfriz81579** · 01-29-2009, 11:51 AM

yeah...if the phone has a clear ESN, and the final bill is paid, then it should be able to be activated....I do it all the time with "used" phones, and BBs

**lterrian** · 01-29-2009, 12:14 PM

Ok...And thanks for the replies. The ESN is clean and its not stolen. She showed the receipt (only 2months old) and everything when i went to get the phone. Based off the responses, I guess i have to find here and have her release the phone off the account it was on...Thanks!

**TwinsX2Dad** · 01-29-2009, 01:15 PM

If it had a clean ESN, there'd be no trouble activating it.

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**lastraid** · 01-29-2009, 05:34 PM

Even though the seller may have cancelled the account, it does not cancel the caccount till the end of the billing cycle, i believe. THis might be the issue.

**Jared DiPane** · 01-29-2009, 05:54 PM

I had a very similar problem, and I called customer service, had them call the owner while I was on the phone and then they verbally released it since they were the account holder, and I was able to activate it.

Not sure if it was just luck for me, but it worked.

**gotblackberry** · 01-29-2009, 05:55 PM

If their account is still active then you can't activate it and the account has to be paid off.

**Jared DiPane** · 01-29-2009, 06:12 PM

...and sometimes there records dont always update, so I would call again.

Also, try to dial *228 then option 3 from the BB you purchased, and that is another way to attempt to activate it.

**scurvydlicious** · 01-29-2009, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by lastraid

Even though the seller may have cancelled the account, it does not cancel the caccount till the end of the billing cycle, i believe. THis might be the issue.

X2, this is probably the culprit. If her company ported to another carrier, the account won't actually close out until the end of their bill cycle date, so you won't be able to activate the phone until the phone number is disconnected. It's more than likely sitting in suspend status, waiting until the end of the bill cycle date to disconnect, then it will be released from that account/phone number.

Originally Posted by dreamtobelieve

...and sometimes there records dont always update, so I would call again.

Also, try to dial *228 then option 3 from the BB you purchased, and that is another way to attempt to activate it.

*228 option 3 will only work if you already have a Blackberry. If you don't, it will fail because the Blackberry needs to have the data feature activated and it won't allow you to add the feature through the automated system. You can do it online and you can do it over the phone with a rep ( once the ESN is released from the old phone number ). The reasoning behind that is so that people can't say they just activated a friends Blackberry on their account and didn't know they needed a data plan and then want credit back for it.

**lterrian** · 01-31-2009, 05:57 PM

Called Verizon the other day and I lucked out

...I guess the billing cycle was over with and I officially have my Blackberry Curve Activated

**Jared DiPane** · 01-31-2009, 06:00 PM

Good to hear you finally got it workinggg!!! Hope you enjoy it to the fullest!!!!

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**mrsFAB** · 01-31-2009, 06:05 PM

You can activated a phone from Verizon yourself! dial *228 send. then opt #3, then follow the prompts. Use the phone that you want to activate to make the call.