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If you just received a new mobile device, you may be left wondering how to activate Verizon phone. The mobile carrier is notorious for its lengthy activation process, especially on second have mobile devices which have been used by other Verizon customers. Before stepping in and actually using your phone to its optimal capacity, you have to get through a few steps first. These are to make sure that you have everything that you were used to on your new phone.
Rest assured, even we have had countless problems in the past dealing with switches between old phones and new phones. The results were a great big headache and a lot of time wasted doing something that should’ve been extremely easy from the get go. And the most frustrating part about struggling to change your phone is the end realization that everything could’ve been done so much more easily. So – to spare you the trouble – we have made a small but conclusive review of how to activate Verizon phone.
But before activation, you have to turn off your old phone. Yet, some measures need to be taken so that your new phone gets a kick-start:
How to Activate Verizon Phone – the Backup
There are two stages when it comes to backing up data from your old phone. The first stage has to do with backing up contacts while the second is for backing up all of the other apps and files that you have on your old, outdated phone.
Backing up Contacts
Fortunately, Verizon has a really awesome app that allows you to backup your contacts in a safe and secure way. Here’s what you have to do:
- Go to verizonwireless.com OR to your mobile app store (Verizon supports Google Play, Apple iTunes, and the Windows Phone Store).
- Search for the Backup Assistant. You should now see an app, as well as a “Plus” version of this app. Both will work for the simple task of backing up contacts. If the app doesn’t show, then your particular smartphone isn’t compatible with the current version of the app.
- Backup your contacts. Next, for the actual backing up of contacts. There’s but one simple step to this: open the Backup Assistant app and select the Backup Now option.
- Scheduled backup (optional). If you plan on getting a new phone, but will still hang on to your old one for a while, you can schedule routines on your phone so that it automatically checks for new contacts. This is especially useful if your old phone is playing tricks on you and you can’t say for sure when it will stop working.
Backing up Files & Apps
The apps are the easy part here. If you use an iPhone, all your previous apps will be shown in iTunes if you’ve backed up your phone. You don’t even need an iCloud for this. If you use an Android device, backing up your apps is really easy – you don’t have to! All of your apps store data related to your account in the Play store. Once you switch to a new device, you will see all your previously purchased apps in the store.
When it comes to the files on your device, it gets a bit trickier. You have two options: backup in a cloud service, or backup on a computer. While backing your data in the iCloud, Google Drive, or the Microsoft OneDrive is easier, using a traditional computer can be safer for your data. While clouds are generally safe, these packets of data in the sky are still connected to the internet, and there have been security issues. Simply connect your old phone via USB and then copy all the files to your PC.
How to Activate Verizon Phone – the New Phone
Behold! You open the case, you see the shiny device, you turn it on – and you can’t do anything with it, yet. Before actually using it, you have to first set it up. What’s important to know is that if you’ve bought the new phone from Verizon, this part can be almost entirely skipped. If you keep your Verizon account when moving from an old phone to a new one, chances are everything will be in place. But if it’s not, here’s what you have to do.
Verizon Phone Activation
- The first step in how to activate Verizon Phone is easy. Move your old sim card from the old device to the new one. After you start it up, it should already show Verizon as a carrier.
- Next, it’s important to program your phone. This means applying the necessary settings so that your internet, your messages, and all your other carrier-dependent functions work properly. The number to activate Verizon Phone is *228. This number should be callable from all Verizon phones and dialing is free of charge.
Restoring Backed up Data
- The time has come to put all your data back. For your contacts, simply repeat the process above. Find the Backup Assistant, install the app on your new device, connect with the same Verizon account and that should be it! All your contacts will be restored automatically.
- Restoring the apps isn’t as easy, For the iPhone or Android devices, the easiest way to do this is by accessing your iTunes or Play account on a computer. From there you can remotely command your new phone to install all the apps on your previous device.
- The last thing you will want to do is bring back your files (assuming you haven’t deleted more than half of them by now).
Conclusion
We have answered all the questions about how to activate Verizon phone. However, if you’re still having problems with switching from your old phone to your new replacement phone, leave us a thought in the comments here and we’ll try to solve your issue as best we can.
