A note for all Verizon users, especially RV'ers

[comfortably_numb]

Verizon has announced end-of-life for CDMA, including 1xRTT and EVDO (3G), effective December 31, 2019. They have ceased activating IMEI's of devices with CDMA radios effective June 30, 2018.

I ran into this tonight when trying to re-activate an old LG Optimus Zone 3 phone on my account for hotspot usage on an upcoming vacation. They eventually added it as a "courtesy," but they advised me that if I disconnect it again for any reason, it won't be reactivated.

Here is the official announcement:

 

[dare2be]

My mom just recently had me help her buy another LG Revere 3 to replace her current one that is starting to fall apart. This was about a month before I learned about the end of life. She still hasn't switched over to the new one. Will she have trouble activating the replacement too?

 

[CyberSpock]

That's my question too. I just bought a replacement flip phone for my mom, also the LG Revere 3. It's still in the mail. Should I bother even opening it?

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Juan]

Activate it online

Sent from my SM-G950U using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[Brussam]

There were people who fought the demise of the analog sack phones too.

 

[glynnp]

There must be a way to finagle a freebie out of this.

Maybe the dude with the remotes has some hot tips.

 

[ncted]

This is good to know. I know a lot of IT departments that use CDMA as a stratum 1 time source.

 

[dare2be]

Not helpful. I'll just tell my 84-year-old mom to get with the times and eat the $60 she just spent.

 

[comfortably_numb]

The issue with the older flip phones (and lower-end smart phones) is lack of VoLTE support. While some of these phones have LTE, they still use 1xRTT to make calls. So Verizon blanket blacklisted them all.

 

[CyberSpock]

Yeah just chatted with the Verizon girl. The LG Revere 3 can't be activated now. So the guy sold us one on June 30th knowing full well we couldnt use it. Also they are dropping 3G so the one she has that still works but taped together, would stop working 12/31/2019

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

 

[comfortably_numb]

So the guy sold us one on June 30th knowing full well we couldnt use it

Someone at a Verizon store sold the phone to you? I could see an Ebayer or a private individual not knowing about the June 30 cutoff. I sell phones on Ebay and I try to keep up with the industry and even this slipped by me until I came across it last night.

 

[CyberSpock]

Someone at a Verizon store sold the phone to you? I could see an Ebayer or a private individual not knowing about the June 30 cutoff. I sell phones on Ebay and I try to keep up with the industry and even this slipped by me until I came across it last night.

My brother bought it with mostly my money from someone on ebay. It was a good deal for being new out of the box. I noticed the stock count went to 0 yesterday so he probably just found out about it. Hopefully they can just reverse the deal and send it right back.

To me, this was just about as unlucky as can be.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

 

[comfortably_numb]

My brother bought it with mostly my money from someone on ebay. It was a good deal for being new out of the box. I noticed the stock count went to 0 yesterday so he probably just found out about it. Hopefully they can just reverse the deal and send it right back.

To me, this was just about as unlucky as can be.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

I would refuse the package upon arrival and give it a free trip back to the seller.

 

[dare2be]

My mom is in a different boat. Phone was bought over a month ago from Amazon with the full intent of replacing the exact same model that is on its last legs. I informed her at the time about the December 2019 end of life, but we were unaware of the July 1 activation deadline. She hasn't finished transferring her pictures to my dad's phone yet which is why she hasn't activated the new one yet.

 

[CyberSpock]

My mom is in a different boat. Phone was bought over a month ago from Amazon with the full intent of replacing the exact same model that is on its last legs. I informed her at the time about the December 2019 end of life, but we were unaware of the July 1 activation deadline. She hasn't finished transferring her pictures to my dad's phone yet which is why she hasn't activated the new one yet.

Amazon is good about pleasing the customer. Have you called them? Tell them that no where in the description did it give these limitations. Odds are they didn't know about them. I'm getting the jist hardly anyone knew.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

 

[comfortably_numb]

Initially the advanced tech support guys who helped me last night didn’t know about the June 30 cutoff. It wasn’t until a manager stepped in that they read the bulletin.

It’s almost as if the company announced the cutoff date after it happened. This is after Verizon had said last year that there would be “no customer left behind.”

 

[NYDutch]

I'll likely keep on using my Verizon $5/month unlimited 3G data hotspot as a backup to my AT&T unlimited 4G service until the cutoff date gets closer. Then I'll consider having my hotspot reflashed to one of the $5 unlimited 4G plans if they're still around.

 

[EarDemon]

While I am not a Verizon customer and will never be a Verizon customer, I wonder what this means for areas that are 1X only.

As recent as this past January or February me and a buddy of mine I used to work with went to his cabin down in the southern tier of NY State and into the Northern Tier of PA. While I had no reception on T-Mobile as to be expected, he at least had 1XRTT on his work issued Galaxy J7 for much of the journey Last year when I went to West Virginia and Virginia, my friend that I went with had whenever the most expensive iPhone was at the time, and either had No Service or 1X on a lot of the country back roads. Also wonder what happens with the Sprint roaming agreement. As far as I know, Sprint only roams on Verizon's 1X network.

 

[comfortably_numb]

While I am not a Verizon customer and will never be a Verizon customer, I wonder what this means for areas that are 1X only.

As recent as this past January or February me and a buddy of mine I used to work with went to his cabin down in the southern tier of NY State and into the Northern Tier of PA. While I had no reception on T-Mobile as to be expected, he at least had 1XRTT on his work issued Galaxy J7 for much of the journey Last year when I went to West Virginia and Virginia, my friend that I went with had whenever the most expensive iPhone was at the time, and either had No Service or 1X on a lot of the country back roads. Also wonder what happens with the Sprint roaming agreement. As far as I know, Sprint only roams on Verizon's 1X network.

Everybody with a 1xRTT phone has to get a VoLTE capable device or they are SOL

Maybe they’ll update the remaining (few) 1x towers for LTE. Or take them out of service.

 

[EarDemon]

Then Verizon has some work to do. Besides those two examples, I've seen other times where there's no LTE, typically rural areas. While like I said, I don't have Verizon, just about everyone I know does. They have a huge market share in the Northeast, and I've seen many instances with various traveling companions on Verizon where there is 1x or EVDO coverage but no LTE. This is in recent times with mainstream phones.