Question about Smartphones.

So, I got my first "smartphone" today. Was supposed to be a free phone with 2 year contract. I wanted to get 2, but it was a 400 dollar deposit per phone/line. What I'm wondering is this:

Can I buy a used smartphone, then just goto the verizon store and buy a new "sim card" or whatever, that has the data plan/etc on it?

No verizon doesnt use simcards and they dont have prepaid that i know of.. they are charging you a deposit for the phone line in case you dont pay the bill.. meaning you have bad credit... not the phone itself.

I can't believe that I'm getting charged for the line and not the phone itself. In fact, I don't. The phone is $500 MSRP.

Also, when I bought the phone at the store, the guy activated and put SOME sort of chip in there.

reply to post by graphuto


it was probably a memory chip not a sim card verizon does not use GSM technology like ATT and T-Mobile..

They hardly charge you for the phone because you end up paying for it over time anyway over the 2 years you sign the contract for they make much more then the cost of the phone off you for you paying your bill for 2 years thast why they offer you another free phone or cheap nice phone for another 2 year contract...

The deposits they put on is for the phone line in case you dont pay the bill and it also helps cover the cost of the phone if you decide to skip on your bill they still have ur deposit plus they they charge you a $400 fee for breaking contract and they put that on your credit.

You should certainly be able to do that, I work at a telecommunications center dealing with information regarding these types of questions.

But first id suggest you to call up your provider before making any move's.

What do you mean it's for the phone line? That doesn't make any sense, they can just disconnect your service...

Either way, thanks everyone!

I work for a certain cell provider, not Verizon, and am confused by what you mean?

So you got your one line, and one phone, but you'd like to add another line but add a phone that you buy WITHOUT commitment? Why wouldn't they require a deposit to activate that other line, regardless of a commitment or purchase of a device?

Sorry, your information was a bit vague.

Nono, I'm saying that:
I'm willing to signup for another 2 year contract for the second line. But if I already have the 500 MSRP phone, why would they need a deposit?

reply to post by graphuto


Of course they can just disconnect it and yes it does make no sense lol you are right but what they do is let you rack up a huge bill before they turn it off usually double your deposit... Then they keep your deposit, they get to add that huge bill to your credit along with the $400 fee for not keeping up your service

Then if you never pay it its cool because they sell it to a collections company anyways plus they get tax breaks for you not paying them.. In the end they make allot of money and really it costs them nothing since they already have the cell service running through the air it costs them nothing its been paid for many times over already they just pay to maintain the towers which isn't very much money and they pay for customer service.

reply to post by graphuto


From what I understand, the deposit is per line. Hope that helps, I would head to Verizon forums or contact them directly.

I would also highly advise of only purchasing brand new in box, or from someone you trust if not from the store itself.

The US system stinks. I'm an American but live in the middle east. Every phone here is sold unlocked (cheaper than US) and all "contracts" are either month-to-month. You can pay a deposit for monthly billing, or prepay.

This summer when I went home to visit for two months, I bought a sim card online from Straight Talk. It was $45/month for unlimited talk, text, & data. It re-upped itself automatically through my credit card (so no buying cards or entering long codes) and it was reliable everywhere I went, in major cities & in the boonies. I used it in my middle-east-purchased iPhone.

I CANNOT IMAGINE why anyone would buy a contract when this is available! Everyone I talked to this summer was spending TWICE as much OR MORE every month for contracts that limited services.

For what you would save you can easily buy whatever unlocked phone you want.

I don't think I will ever go back to a contract. Can't imagine why I would.

reply to post by Schkeptick

The US system stinks.

The North American system stinks.

I'm up in canada and this is the same ripoff...

I had to sign for 3 years contract to get my phone at reasonable cost.

Right now my phone is kinda broken, the speaker make noise, second time its happen. First time it was on warranty but now if i want to change my phone i have to pay the balance on the phone which is like 20 months ( over 300$ ) plus the reduced cost on the new phone, cheaper is 10$ to 140$ for the new high end phones.

Which mean i have to pay 310$ to 440$ + taxes ( 15% sales taxes here ) to get a new phone...

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