Trying to transfer my old phone number to a used phone

[godlyoverlord]

I recently bought myself a used droid razr phone off of ebay and I am having trouble transferring my old phone number to it from my droid x.

I tried activating it from the verizon wireless website under myverizon, but it asked for either an ESN or MEID number and when I looked for those numbers, all I found was an IMEI number in the area where they said the numbers would be.

I looked online to find a different way to transfer the number to the new phone and found a bunch of people saying to dial *228 on the new phone and then listen to an automated message and follow the steps and enter the old number. So I dialed *228 on the new phone and instead of hearing an automated message, a notification popped up on the phone saying that it had been activated even though I had not entered my old phone number. I looked under the phone's information to find the number it was using and saw the previous owners phone number.

I tried to look up why this happened and the best answer I could find was that sim cards can not be reset with a new number and that I would need a completely new sim card to transfer my phone number (I don't actually know if the sim card I got with the phone had been used before). So I ordered a brand new verizon 4G LTE sim card online and when it arrived I put it in the new phone and dialed *228 and got the same notification as before instead of hearing an automated message and the phone was again activated with the previous owner's phone number.

Does anybody know what I did wrong or can anybody tell me how to transfer my old phone number to my new phone? Also, will I need another new sim card since I seem to have accidentally activated this one with the wrong phone number?

 

[MissionImprobable]

It seems like a lot of people have issues when trying to activate devices online only if the prior owner didn't contact VZ and have it taken off of their account.

 

[jackiescivic]

You did not do anything wrong. The previous owner did not remove it from his account. And SIM cards don't need *228, they automatically activate. You need to contact the previous owner to make sure that either the phone has been replaced (and activated) with a new phone, or the line has been cancelled. At least that is my thought.

 

[godlyoverlord]

You did not do anything wrong. The previous owner did not remove it from his account. And SIM cards don't need *228, they automatically activate. You need to contact the previous owner to make sure that either the phone has been replaced (and activated) with a new phone, or the line has been cancelled. At least that is my thought.

Thanks. I'll contact the previous owner and see if that works. Would I still need another new sim card, though?

 

[jackiescivic]

Thanks. I'll contact the previous owner and see if that works. Would I still need another new sim card, though?

If the previous owner had the phone active on their line, then yes, you will need a new sim card. Unfortunately, these cards can only be used once