Putting Verizon phone on Straight Talk

[jon.nlpc]

Rather than speculate as to what is going on why not let the call go to Verizon and talk to them. For the bill to be hundreds more I'm thinking someone was going over in data and perha5your daughter didn't want you to worry.

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[Jonny Kansas]

Rather than speculate as to what is going on why not let the call go to Verizon and talk to them. For the bill to be hundreds more I'm thinking someone was going over in data and perha5your daughter didn't want you to worry.

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I wouldn't let the call go through in case it IS a scam. That's why I suggested calling Verizon on your own. That way, you know for sure that you're actually speaking with a Verizon rep.

Sent from a backup S3

 

[starchild_dreams]

No one was using more data, we used to get a text at the end of the billing cycle when the data was getting low and my daughter would buy more, I think it was $20 for another chunk to buy. One month when she called to see why the bill was so high they said it was extra data, we had gone over, she told them she had bought more, they checked and saw she had but it hadn't been added on. They took $55 off the bill for this. I have been able to sign in the account and see the billing and data etc and I couldn't figure it out either. It seemed to be misc fees of some kind. I've been Googling this for a few days, mainly Verizon (and Straight Talk) and I kept seeing people who wanted to switch to prepaid because they are tired of Verizon adding so much and the bills going up all the time. The last time my daughter tried to find out why it was so high they said they couldn't tell her. Anyway, I have learned a lot from this topic. I don't think Verizon can or will do anything to my phone right now and I can't get another one (if I do) till next month, so I have time. And, I also find it interesting that my phone isn't on the blacklist, if it really is "owned" by Verizon because of the plan. I also have an older one (Galazy S4) that supposedly was locked by AT&T I put in and says it's not blacklisted and is ready to be activated.

 

[bigmatt503]

I'm not sure where this belongs or even if it's a problem. I don't want people to think I'm trying to do something wrong or breaking laws. I will try and explain simply.
I was on a family plan my daughter had with Verizon, for around 6 months. I got a phone from them (Galaxy S5) for $149 (with a contract). I was supposed to get a $50 rebate from that, but applied twice and never did (which is another topic) Anyway, I paid for the phone, I wasn't financing it.
After a few months, the bills were so much more than we were told at the start, there were misc charges and extra data added (even though we had supposedly had unlimited, at first it was activation fees and they'd explain it in some confusing way) my daughter was always calling them and never got clear answers. The last time she asked if they could tell her why the bills were $200 or so MORE than they were supposed to be and was told "no". So she suspended the phones (they didn't turn them off) and said she would pay all she owed in Feb out of her tax refund.
A month later, I looked into getting Straight Talk and put the phone's iemi number in on their website and it said my phone could be used with ST. I bought an activation kit, sim card and time and put it in, set it up with an online account, and it set up and gave me a phone number. The next month I set up auto pay, it takes it out of my bank and adds it to my phone and is only $43 a month. (I am a "Senior Citizen" and live on Social Security so this is a plus for me.) No problem, but the past few days I am getting VMs from Verizon (they don't call they put the VMs on directly) saying something like it's their fraud check dept and I am not authorized to use the phone and have to call Verizon and unlock the phone and it starts to dial without me even calling it. I hang up. I don't think they will unlock the phone without the contract being paid, which my daughter is going to do next month. But, before this we had ATT and I bought a phone outright, and used up the 2 year contract, got another phone and contract (and fulfilled it) and ATT wouldn't unlock either of the phones to use with something else. So, I'm not sure if Verizon will unlock it even if it's paid for.
What confuses me is Straight Talk set it up with their sim card, and if it was under Verizon contract, and locked would they have been able to? And, what, if anything can Verizon do about this now it's on ST, besides keep putting on VMs?
I don't want to break any laws, and if they can't/won't do anything I'm thinking of just waiting and when my daughter pays up the contract maybe they will unlock it or stop? But, if it's locked how is it set up now with Straight Talk? I'm also thinking of buying another phone, like a used one from ebay, that says "unlocked" and changing the ST sim card to that. I don't have a lot of money to spare, but it seems like this is what I need to do? If phones can be locked and not legal to use with prepay after being on a contract (I have 2 phones from ATT I paid for and fulfilled the contract with years ago that are locked) seems like there are a lot of useless phones around, maybe at some point being thrown out and adding to pollution in landfills, etc.
I just don't want to be doing anything that's illegal, I have been trying to find answers in Google and found out that "unlocking" a phone (on one's own) is illegal. I didn't do this and wouldn't know how. And, Straight Talk said it was okay to put on and set it up, would they have done this if it wasn't legal?
Can Verizon do something to my phone at some point like freeze it so I can't use it? I don't want to call them, they will just say it has to be paid for, and it's not my account. I like having a cell phone since I'm an older person, and live alone, I carry it with me like security.
I hope this isn't too confusing and someone knows, and won't just tell me I am doing something illegal and to pay the bill I didn't know, I figured if I put the number in to Straight Talk and it said it can be used, than it could be.
Thanks...

Verizon has not offered unlimited data for years, it's highly doubtful you had unlimited data and that phone for 149 was a 2 year contract price (I'd bet my life on it)

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[cr6]

Your device isn't going to show up on any blacklist unless you either stop paying on that account, or refuse to pay the fee to release you from the contract. Even then it can sometimes take months for your device to be blacklisted. I'm not sure about your bill going up all the time. Aside from the recent increase for grandfathered unlimited data owners, my bill has remained unchanged for the past 4+ years.
I would suggest you contact Verizon directly.

S5 tap'n

 

[starchild_dreams]

Thanks for all the help. I think I confused things, I tend to do that, by not being too clear and precise about what I wanted to know. Which was mainly, is it something illegal to set up a Verizon phone with Straight Talk, even though it said (in the check your phone space) that it could be used and ST set it up with their SIM card. I didn't think we could do this, but then ST did it, so that confused me. I don't want to do anything that's illegal or not right.
What I plan now is to get another phone in Feb that is MY PHONE and put the ST sim card in it. the Verizon plan is my daughter's and she has talked to them many times, and has told them she will pay them off in Feb when her Tax Refund comes in. Whether they will then not blacklist (at some point) the phones or not i don't know, and won't matter to me.
As to unlimited data, I meant we never went over this (and she didn't tell me) we'd get texts saying it was getting low and she would buy more data like $20 for another "chunk" till the end of the month. One month she bought more data and they didn't apply it and she called to see why it was so high, they checked and saw she had bought it and it hadn't been added on, and took money off the bill for her (so it pays to keep check on this) the last month she called to see why it was so high, asked if they could tell her why and the person said NO. Seems like a person who works for them would/could go over the bill and explain why it was so high? That's when she suspended the phones. She had switched from AT&T - we had had for around 5 years, because Verizon was supposedly better (service in our area, and I think it is) and she was told at the start it would be much less than it turned out to be.
We'd never go back to a plan and contract again. She got Cricket and I like ST (so far) I have my phone and my grandson's (that had been on our plan but we bought on ebay) on this, and they auto take out and refill $43 each month, and it works just as good.
Sorry I was so unclear about this, it was confusing to me but now I know. I guess the main problem I had was if Verizon still controlled (owned) my phone why was I able to set it up with ST and what, if anything would Verizon do to it, in the future. And, was this something I was doing, that was illegal.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I would say you're in the clear. All you could do is check with ST. They said it was OK, so how were you to know if it really wasn't on Verizon's end?

That's not too day that they might not blacklist the phone, but it sounds like you've got the right plan to buy another phone & be done with it.

Sent from a backup S3

 

[starchild_dreams]

Not sure if this is related... i just changed my facebook password, because it had been a few months and I occasionally do this, when I put the new one in and on my phone, a message at the very top (ran by) said "Samsung Galaxy wants to access your facebook" and also a box popped up from FB that wanted to secure my account, it said "is this your phone number.?." (and YES or not now) and how many of my friends had given their phone numbers, etc. the phone number was totally not mine, not even the area code, so I checked NOT NOW and looked it up and it's a porn site.
when I was trying to find out via Google about using the Verizon phone with ST I saw some people writing about how Verizon was doing things to mess up their phone in various ways (like with me, they apparently are sending VM directly to the phone, not via calls, saying I am an unauthorized user) Can Samsung Galaxy (and/or Verizon) directly get into my facebook, or email accounts, or something remotely? Put a virus on?
on same topic, what, if any anti virus protection should I have on a phone? I have Malwarebytes on this, mainly because I use it on my PC and saw they had one for cell phones. I've looked this up and seemed like a lot were saying we don't need anti virus on a cell phone. buyt seems like that would protect me from a virus. (I am going click the app and run it now)
Maybe it's just a coincidence that facebook was asking me if my number was one for a porn site?
I get stressed over these things because I don't know much about it, and it's confusing.

 

[starchild_dreams]

Marwarebytes said my device is clean, and no problems found and real time protection is on.

 

[TisMyDroid]

Not sure if this is related... i just changed my facebook password, because it had been a few months and I occasionally do this, when I put the new one in and on my phone, a message at the very top (ran by) said "Samsung Galaxy wants to access your facebook" and also a box popped up from FB that wanted to secure my account, it said "is this your phone number.?." (and YES or not now) and how many of my friends had given their phone numbers, etc. the phone number was totally not mine, not even the area code, so I checked NOT NOW and looked it up and it's a porn site.
when I was trying to find out via Google about using the Verizon phone with ST I saw some people writing about how Verizon was doing things to mess up their phone in various ways (like with me, they apparently are sending VM directly to the phone, not via calls, saying I am an unauthorized user) Can Samsung Galaxy (and/or Verizon) directly get into my facebook, or email accounts, or something remotely? Put a virus on?
on same topic, what, if any anti virus protection should I have on a phone? I have Malwarebytes on this, mainly because I use it on my PC and saw they had one for cell phones. I've looked this up and seemed like a lot were saying we don't need anti virus on a cell phone. buyt seems like that would protect me from a virus. (I am going click the app and run it now)
Maybe it's just a coincidence that facebook was asking me if my number was one for a porn site?
I get stressed over these things because I don't know much about it, and it's confusing.

First question: ""Samsung Galaxy wants to access your facebook" and also a box popped up from FB that wanted to secure my account, it said "is this your phone number.?"

This sounds like Facebook's security making sure that someone else is not trying to get into your FB.

2nd: "and how many of my friends had given their phone numbers, etc. the phone number was totally not mine, not even the area code, so I checked NOT NOW and looked it up and it's a porn site."

????

3rd: "Can Samsung Galaxy (and/or Verizon) directly get into my facebook, or email accounts, or something remotely? Put a virus on?"

No, Verizon or Samsung would not do this. It would be illegal and it would not benefit them if their consumers were getting viruses on their phones. A virus or scam phone calls are more likely due to a website or email attachment that you (or someone) accessed. Best advice is to not open any email attachments or go to any websites unless you know they are safe (btw, porn sites are notorious for putting viruses on your pc/devices).

4th: "what, if any anti virus protection should I have on a phone? I have Malwarebytes on this, mainly because I use it on my PC and saw they had one for cell phones. I've looked this up and seemed like a lot were saying we don't need anti virus on a cell phone. buyt seems like that would protect me from a virus. (I am going click the app and run it now)"

Typically an antivirus is not necessary, as well as some antivirus programs cause more problems than they prevent. In your case, it may be worth checking into, though. Be sure it is a safe/reputable antivirus program. Malwarebytes will detect malware but not viruses.

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[Jonny Kansas]

Samsung phones can link directly to your Facebook account. That allows them to do things like download people's profile pictures to your contacts list &/or makes signing in to other apps & sites with Facebook easier. That's what the request for Samsung Galaxy to have access to your account is about.

As for the phone number thing, mine has always down my proper phone number, but I believe I had put that in a long time ago, though it's only visible to me.

Sent from a backup S3

 

[starchild_dreams]

I used to have my phone number on, visible only to me, but now I have ST i have a new phone number. When I saw it wasn't mine they had (asking if it was mine) I clicked "not now" to not add a phone number now.
Sorry about the link, I was just upset and not thinking.

 

[cr6]

ST should have been able to port your old number from Verizon, allowing you to keep your old phone number. But you have to ask them to do that...

S5 tap'n

 

[starchild_dreams]

I know, but people have told me it was more complicated to do that, and I don't use my cell phone much (as a phone) I have a landline, so I figured I'd just start over. The last number I had must have been given to me soon atfer the people before had it, I was always getting calls and texts looking for the previous person (with that number)

 

[starchild_dreams]

update.. wanted to finish up with this in case someone finds it in search at some point.
I got another galaxy s5 phone (unlocked) and put the Straight Talk SIM card from the other phone in the one I just got. It said "sim card already active" and started to set up the phone, itself (language, email, etc) which I did. I tested it, it works, calls, texts, sends pictures, goes online.. I asked on ST facebook if this was all I had to do, I thought I might have to give them the imei number of the new phone, but maybe it got that (if it needs it) when I put the sim card in. The person answering on FB said to send a private message, which I did. She said "if it works okay than it's all set". And, asked my phone number said she'd check my account to be sure. I gave her the number and she never said anything more, so I assume it's okay. Almost seemed too easy I don't know if this would work every time in this kind of situation, but it's worth a try. At first I was going to call ST and ask, but decided just change the sim card and see (for a start) So this might answer the question of having a ST sim card in a phone and getting another phone to change it to. BTW,l i love ST so far, one thing that had stopped me from getting it all along was having to buy time and put it in, but with the auto payment and adding time it's the same as a bigger carrier plan (just a lot cheaper)