Very hesitant to do Verizon Wireless iPhone 6 Trade-In Program

On September 28, 2014 I ordered an iPhone 6 for my wife and signed up for the iPhone 6 Trade-In Promotion. My wife's iPhone 4 was "appraised" for $200 online and Verizon mailed the extremely flimsy tiny envelope for my wife to mail her iPhone 4 to Verizon for her "$200" Electronic Gift Card. First of all, the tiny little envelope is so flimsy and contains very little bubble wrap. It offers very little protection and I can easily see the screen breaking during the mailing process when it is such a poor envelope. In addition, there is no tracking information whatsoever on the envelope. If the iPhone 4 gets lost or broken, adios $200. My wife's iPhone 4 is in Excellent Pristine condition but I am very hesitant for my wife to take part in this program because of all of the horror stories I have been reading on the Verizon forums (please see links attached below) or on the internet. People who took part in the program are reporting of lost or broken phones but they were in perfect condtion when they were mailed. Furthermore, there are stories of "Find My Phone" not being turned off even when people have photos of the process. People have even taken photos or videos of the condition of their phone upon mailing to Verizon but this doesn't seem to help.
At this point I am probably going to try to sell my wife's iPhone 4 on eBay because we can't take the risk of getting $20 or less instead of the $200. I am surprised more of these stories haven't gotten to the mainstream press. It would be good if some news station like CBS or NBC would cover the mounting complaints. I am thinking of writing an email to some head honcho at Verizon and venting my concern to tell him why us 20+ year Verizon customers probably won't take part in the program.

This is a photo of the very flimsy envelope that Verizon Wireless provides to ship the iPhone which is being traded in to Verizon. There is very little Bubble Wrap inside this VERY FLIMSY TINY envelope. No wonder iPhones are lost or being delivered broken to Verizon.
I might re-consider taking part in this iPhone Trade-In program if a Verizon Customer Representative monitoring this board reaches out to a manager at my local Verizon Wireless Store in Trumbull, CT and allows me to bring in the iPhone for an immediate $200 credit since my wife has already bought the iPhone 6. With the flimsy envelope which has no tracking I am afraid of the consequences it will bring if I use it. I am not about to spend countless hours with Customer Reps on the phone if I use the envelope and I don't get the $200 credit because the phone gets damaged in the mail or lost by Verizon. This is Verizon's chance to reach out to me so they don't lose me as customer. Let them make the effort to allow me to do this rather than me having to get the run around thru phone calls, being put on hold, and unaswered emails.
I have been a loyal customer for over 20 years. For the last several years my family of 4 has been paying close to $250 per month for Verizon Wireless services. I am going to strongly consider switching to AT&T after our contracts expire. AT&T has a Bring Your Own Device montly plan which would cost us only $160 per month vs. $237 per month we are paying Verizon. This potential $77 per month savings and Verizon's iPhone Trade-In joke of a program is what will push us over the edge to switch.

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Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:
Two models available:
Apple® - iPhone® 4 16GB Mobile Phone (Verizon Wireless) - Black
Apple® - iPhone® 4 32GB Mobile Phone (Verizon Wireless) - Black
When was the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 made available at Best Buy®?
Thursday, February 10th, 2011.
What is the pricing for the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 at Best Buy®?
$199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model. A two-year agreement is required with a new activation or qualified upgrade.
Full retail price is $699.99 for the 16GB model and $799.99 for the 32GB model.
Verizon is not offering an early upgrade promotion.
Was there a pre-order available for the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 at Best Buy®?
No. Units were sold on a first come, first served basis. No reservations were accepted.
What plans are available with the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4?
Standard Verizon Wireless plans. All iPhone 4 subscribers on Verizon Wireless will be required to subscribe to a $29.99 monthly unlimited data plan.
Is the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 available for ordering on BestBuy.com?
In store pickup orders are accepted on BestBuy.com.
How do I know if I qualify for the discounted pricing if I am an existing customer wanting to upgrade?
Existing Verizon Wireless customers may check their eligibility here: http://www.bestbuymobile.com/upgradechecker
If I have existing iOS software applications from an iPhone or iPad, can I sync them with the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4?
Yes, you may use iTunes to sync as normal.
Can I use my existing iPhone from AT&T on a Verizon Wireless account?
No, the two phone versions use different cellular technology to communicate with the network.
Can I keep my phone number from another wireless network?
Yes, check the number portability here: http://bbym.us/VZWPort
Accessories:
There are subtle differences in the design of the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 due to an antenna redesign. Therefore, existing iPhone 4 accessories may not fit the new design. Accessories available for the iPhone 4 in our stores will be labeled accordingly. Please see a Best Buy Mobile associate for details.
Will my existing power and data cables for the iPhone 4 remain the same?
Yes, this has not changed.
Will my existing screen protector or screen protectors made for the AT&T iPhone 4 work with the Verizon Wireless version?
Yes, the screen dimensions have not changed.
Will my existing case or cases made for the AT&T iPhone 4 work with the Verizon Wireless version?
It might attach but will not be an exact fit. We will have cases available for the Verizon Wireless iPhone 4.
New accessories that will fit all versions of iPhone 4:
2023379
Griffin Technology - Elan Form Shell for
Apple iPhone 4 (Verizon Wireless) - Graphite
1974688
Rocketfish™ Mobile - Soft Gel Case for
Apple® iPhone® 4 (Verizon Wireless) - Black
Existing accessories that will fit all versions of iPhone 4:
1288863
iFrogz - Luxe Case and Ozone Earbud
Headphones for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Red/Black
1288845
iFrogz - Luxe Case and Ozone Earbud Headphones for Apple® iPhone® 4 -
Red/Black
1039355
iFrogz - Case For Apple iPhone 4 - Red/Black
1040147
iFrogz - Case For Apple iPhone 4 - Blue/Black
1288854
iFrogz - Luxe Case and Ozone Earbud Headphones for Apple® iPhone® 4 -
Pink/Silver
1258523
iFrogz - Luxe Lean Phase Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Clear/Slate
1258587
iFrogz - Luxe Lean Phase Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Clear/Mulberry
1258541
iFrogz - Luxe Lean Phase Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Clear/Azure
1258514
iFrogz - Luxe Lean Phase Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Clear/Lime
1155475
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 -
Black
1155439
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - White
1155615
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Gunmetal
1155679
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Dark Mauve
1155402
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Grape
1155457
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Ink
1155466
Incase - Slider Case for Apple® iPhone® 4 - Blueberry
For all cases that fit the Verizon iPhone 4, click here.
Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and Multi-Touch are trademarks of
Apple Inc. TM & © 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. BEST BUY, the
BEST BUY logo, the tag design plus the BEST BUY MOBILE logo are
trademarks of Best Buy Enterprise Service, Inc. TM and © 2010 Apple Inc.
All rights reserved.
The iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless retails for $199 for 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model with a new or qualified upgrade with two-year agreement.
Jacob|Web Planner | Best Buy® Corporate

I am not a techy, but I am usually able to describe to the support people the exact conditions under which errors occur. Why this issue that we are both having, as common as it is (do a search and you will see it everywhere), is not common knowledge is beyond me.
To review my situation: If I was hooked to a Wi-Fi connection, I had no problem receiving or sending emails from my Time Warner account. Once I disabled the Wi-Fi switch on iPhone (as if I were out of range, traveling) and tried to send a message with my TW email account, I got the error message that it "could not identify" the server and then the email would go to my outbox.
I think I have found the answer after about an hour on the phone: a call to Time Warner who eventually urged me to call Verizon about outgoing server settings, a call to Verizon who told me that the problem was with TW and their settings, a call again to Time Warner, and finally I received a call from Verizon tech support to make sure I got my answer from Time Warner! The short answer is: Time Warner has an issue/limitation (Perhaps with the 3G network?)
*The second call to TW revealed what Verizon support suspected....YOU NEED TO BE ON A WI-FI TO SEND EMAILS VIA TW. No problem ever receiving--just sending.* I hope this sheds some more light on your situation. Not a major deal for me, (I'll probably use a gmail account), but it is good to know WHY something does not work. All parties were helpful and patient at least.

Does anyone now when the iphone trade in program will start in the netherland

Does anyone now when the iphone trade in program will start in the netherland

No one here would know, as there is no one from Apple here.

Verizon wireless iPhone 4 / can receive email cannot send on Road Runner

Help! I just got my new iPhone from Verizon Wireless today and the consultant set up my email for me. I can receive emails from Road Runner, but I cannot send them. I have tried every setting on the Internet that I can find, but none of them work in order for me to receive email. I got this phone so I could send and receive email...I have read that a lot of people who have Road Runner email have the same problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I am not a techy, but I am usually able to describe to the support people the exact conditions under which errors occur. Why this issue that we are both having, as common as it is (do a search and you will see it everywhere), is not common knowledge is beyond me.
To review my situation: If I was hooked to a Wi-Fi connection, I had no problem receiving or sending emails from my Time Warner account. Once I disabled the Wi-Fi switch on iPhone (as if I were out of range, traveling) and tried to send a message with my TW email account, I got the error message that it "could not identify" the server and then the email would go to my outbox.
I think I have found the answer after about an hour on the phone: a call to Time Warner who eventually urged me to call Verizon about outgoing server settings, a call to Verizon who told me that the problem was with TW and their settings, a call again to Time Warner, and finally I received a call from Verizon tech support to make sure I got my answer from Time Warner! The short answer is: Time Warner has an issue/limitation (Perhaps with the 3G network?)
*The second call to TW revealed what Verizon support suspected....YOU NEED TO BE ON A WI-FI TO SEND EMAILS VIA TW. No problem ever receiving--just sending.* I hope this sheds some more light on your situation. Not a major deal for me, (I'll probably use a gmail account), but it is good to know WHY something does not work. All parties were helpful and patient at least.

Verizon Gift Card Trade in Program is a SCAM!!!!

My family and I have been a VZ customers since we purchased our first cell phones over 12 years ago. We always buy in to the upgrade program and purchase new phones and all the goodies that come with them like good little consumers. I have converted numerous AT&T friends and family members to Verizon and this is how I get repaid for my loyalty...
We upgraded to the new Droid in August and received these email in September.
Your trade-in information — KEEP FOR REFERENCE
Submission ID: 5268135
Device Model: Dare
Appraised Value: $100
Your trade-in information — KEEP FOR REFERENCE
Submission ID: 5483216
Device Model: Dare
Appraised Value: $100
I received this email then end of September for only “one” of the phones?
..."We have determined that the value of your device matches your appraised value. You will receive your Verizon Wireless Gift Card in the mail within the next three weeks." I received the card in December!
Now this is the scam/run around I am getting in regard to my second phone we returned... (remember this all started in August 2011!)
I never received an email, phone, letter or any other correspondence from Verizon regarding the 2nd phone we sent in so I started calling them.
First call 12/5/11:Verizon… haven’t received phone yet. I gave them the tracking number as I was tracking it online myself. It was delivered in September! Apology for the delay it will be processed and mailed to you tomorrow 12/6/11.           NO CARD, NO EMAIL, NO PHONE CALL.
Second call 1/11/12 Verizon: it went to the wrong department but we will submit the request and have it mailed out to you with in the next 24 to 48 hours.           NO CARD, NO EMAIL, NO PHONE CALL.
Third call 1/17/12 Verizon: (this is now the 5th person I have talked to) I get transferred to “STERLING” a so called “supervisor” in the Trade In Department in Nashville. I am, again, told the phone was sent to our donation department and so we can not send you the $100 Gift Card! THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!
I asked to speak his supervisor, Sterling told me he was the supervisor. I asked to speak to his superior. (which I have done on each and every call only to be told some one will call me back with the next 24 to 48 hours and not once did I get a call back from any one at Verizon!) This self-righteous jerk told me it wouldn’t matter who I talked to I won’t get my $100 Gift Card.
I have had 4 people tell me they are they were sorry for the delay and confusion and one person, named Megan in Nashville, told me that the phone did get sent to the donation department in error but they would honor the $100 gift card anyway. Ironically the last phone call I made to Verizon on 1/11/12 when I spoke to Megan isn’t on record…hummmm, sounds a little fishy to me. I get my hands on that recording and ever other one and we’ll just see how “SUPERIOR” Mr. Sterling really is.
Now, is it just me or did I get totally screwed here? Believe me, it won’t end here.
I WILL GET MY $100 GIFT CARD IF I HAVE TO FLY TO NASHVILLE TO GET IT!!!!!

this is the lates news. In a fit of anger I sent 4 emails one right after the other to the "Contact Us" email on their website:
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:52:26 -0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Other (WFM86708538)
   Good evening Jody ,
My name is Monica, and I am sorry for the delayed response, due to the overwhelming emails we are currently behind our 24-hour response time.(No kidding? As we both well know...we are not alone in this ridiculousness) I apologize for any inconvenience, this may have caused. I attempted to contact you today 1/20/2012 at approximately 8:45 pm MDT at the provided contact number and unfortunately missed speaking to you directly. I hope you receive my voicemail message. I am sorry to learn you did not receive the $100.00 Verizon Wireless gift card. I can definitely assist you with your inquiry regards to the $100.00 Verizon Wireless Gift card.
In tracking the status on the Trade in Website (Submission ID: 5268135 ), the incorrect envelope might have been used when returning the device to our Trade in Department. Which is why the device was received in our Central warehouse and not the Trade in Department. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I can apply the credit of $100.00 to your wireless account for the second phone that was mailed to the incorrect Department.
Please contact me on my direct line, my name again is Monica. My direct line is 505-999-5300 extension 6998. I am in the office Monday -Friday. My office hours are as follows:
Monday through Friday 2:00 pm -11:00 pm (Mountain Time)
Jody, please contact me so that I may resolve your issue. Thank you for being a loyal customer since 1998! We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless. Should you have additional questions or feel your concerns are not resolved, please reply to this e-mail or contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Monica
Verizon Wireless, Customer Service
Internet Response Team
Hello Monica,
I am very sorry I missed your call on Friday. By the time I checked my email you were gone.
I left you a VM at 12:03pm today forgetting about the time change and your hours.
I will be available to take your call until 5:00pm Pacific Time today and will expecting your call.
Just so you understand and I to make myself perfectly clear Monica, I absolutely DO NOT want you to reiterate Verizon’s excuse as to why this entire situation occurred. I have wasted enough of my precious time on this ridiculousness. I just want you to tell me you have credited my account the $100.00 and give me a conformation number.
After seeing the outpour of other Verizon Wireless customers posting the same anger and frustration at the lack of customer service and dissatisfaction with your Trade In Program I just hope that someone in charge of this whole debacle will take responsibility for the abuse your loyal customers have gone through and fix it!!!!
As I said, I will look forward to your call and the resolution.
Sincerely,
Jody Price

Very fed up with Verizon Wireless customer service, wanting to cancel?

Let me start by saying I've had Verizon since it was Bell Atlantic Mobile. As a current customer I have 7 phones and a hotspot, my monthly billing is somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 a month, my service has never been turned off for non payment. I know in today's wireless this doesn't make me a special customer, if anything just a good customer to have if you are lucky enough to have me.
I only call into Verizon customer service when I need something. Not want, not to complain, only need something. Lets give some examples. I received a $3,000 bill in the mail that had a ton of international LD charges on it. So I call into Verizon because me nor my wife knows anyone in the Caribbean. Not one to jump to judgement I politely called my wife first and asked if maybe she had a pool boy that went home to S. America that she was keeping in touch with, she assured me that she did not so then I called VZW. It ended up being fraudulent activity that I spent a good deal of a day or so ensuring they were going to credit it off, and to VZ credit they did. As annoying as that it, I understand that it happens. Lets rewind to my previous phone call a month before this happen.
I added my wife to my plan, and my rate actually remained the same with the new plan (we won't complained that obviously that means I was over-billed for maybe two to three years if I can add a line and the rate is the same) so I was happy. What I wasn't happy about was when I added her onto my plan I saw my upgrade date had been moved from 22 mo (which is what I agreed too, signed for, and used too) to the full 24 mo. Calling into VZ customer service I just wanted what was fair, the ability to upgrade at 22 mo. After being told no, hung up on by a supervisor (accidentally I'm sure) while they "researched" my current, 7 line $500 a mo account, and then calling in a finally getting someone who gave a rip, they told me I would manually be allowed to upgrade but I would just have to call into customer service and not go into a store. To me this was fair, but again a good hour wasted trying to receive what I deemed fair to myself.
So, ff to after the $3k bill, which occurred after seeing my upgrade date changed, while my pregnant wife is out, and I'm at work I attempt to call her and I receive a fast busy on my cell. I message her, same thing. I log into my online account to see if I have forgotten to pay the bill and its paid, however I see my two devices has been changed from my i phones to some old Samsung phones. Unfrigginbelievable. Some one, some how, has swapped my phones with someone else phones. Once again I check with my other lines to see if something happened accidentally, I was almost sure one of my sisters (one of the 7 lines) had went into a store and screwed up the account. I called both (I own an ATT iphone as well) and neither has changed anything. I then called VZ from my ATT phone and ask them WTH happened? Being a former telecommunications rep I ask all the relevant questions (can you give me a location id where the change was made? Was it online or a store? etc), after being blamed of changing it myself, I finally got my original phones turned back on for my wife and I. However I then address the obvious with the representative, "honey your customer accounts are being hacked, and it's serious, I've been hit twice in three months." Knowing this rep is on the bottom rung, will probably mention it to her supervisor who won't do anything about it, I also forward a suspicious text to VZ fraud dept as well. While on the phone Im assure this won't happen again and for "safety and security" we changed my verification password.
So lets count, we have my account hacked once and my phones swapped, we have my numbers hacked and used for LD calls to the tune of $3k, and we have me adding a line and seeing my upgrade date has changed. This is from July to DEC 2013
FF to 2014 Jan, my father is concern about his hotspot usage and would like to know why he keeps coming close to usage. After explaining to my dad he shouldn't be using his ipad to view anything on NFLX he assures me he is not. So I call in to verify what line is using up all the data usage on the account, when asked to verify my code, you know that code we assuredly had changed a few months earlier, Im told I need to go into a store and show ID. Not sure about everyone else but I don't really like near a corporate VZ store, and secondly I can verify my SS, address on both accounts, all MTN's, when the phones were activated etc. Yeah I just don't have the verification code that you guys supposedly changed after I requested a specific code since my account has been HACKED 2x in 6 mo. Oh yeah, ALL I WANT IS USAGE ON MY ACCOUNT to see who's hogging the data. Sigh. After reasoning with the representative (and threatening to take the day off to escalate this up to the call center director if I need to so I can find out who is using up the most data) he gives me this information, and finally corrects my pass code. I apologized to the rep because I know he's just doing his job, but at this point every time I need something simple from VZ it's an act of congress.
So lets go to what is the final straw for me, my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world on Feb 7th. On the day we took him home it was raining pretty bad and her phone dropped and basically became water damage, once I had time to call in I was simply going to upgrade my line (remember that promise to upgrade manually if I call customer service) and switch my phone to hers. Well I call in an after not finding the note (on hold 15 mins, then once the nice young lady came on line she had me on hold for maybe another 5, and her advising me of all she couldn't do), they finally locate the note that I am allowed to upgrade and bill my phone to my account EXCEPT an iphone. Not to sound like a pretentious apple whore but everything I use is aapl. Two laptops, one desktop, 3 iphones, 2 ipads, 2 ipods and a partridge in a iphone tree. Yeah Im that guy. At this point I tell her (VZ customer service rep) of my last 6 mo. with VZ and at this point, Im beyond frustrated. My wife needs a phone and Im supposedly allowed to upgrade yet again VZ is telling me what they can't do. Im not asking for a free phone, I just wanted to pay for a 64gb, iphone 5s, and switch my existing phone over to my wife number.
I ask the representative to just take ownership of this, I cannot spend hours on the phone with VZ every time I call in. At this point I wanted one of two things, either allow me to upgrade my phone line or just zero out the contracts on these two lines and allow me to leave. I have been more than patient and understanding with VZ. At this point I believe any rational objective person can agree, VZ and I need to break up at this point. Even the representative is in a bit of disbelief, she assures me she or someone will call me last night.
Well now it's today. Ball is in your court VZ. Im a good day away from buying the domain, www.VerizonETFclassaction.com, tweeting it at you, making it a comment page until some ambulance chasing attorney decides to make it a class action case. I couldn't care less about the money as much as Im demanding FAIR customer service to customers like myself that dealing with your nonchalant bullying. So I ask you, what do you think is fair at this point? Contact me directly. Thanks.

Well that's several minutes of my life reading this long post that I'll never get back....
I'll explain somethings to you. 1...This is not a direct message board to a vzw rep or higher who will read your post. 2. Yes, although things that happened to you are unfortunate, YOU have to take ownership of your account. Verizon does not babysit accounts. 3. Also due to high cases of fraud vzw does not allow I phones to billed to consumer (and possibly business) accounts. I never understood why cell phone carriers allowed phones to be billed to the account anyway. If you want or need the phone that bad pay for it like any other customer. If you can't do that and want to "break up" over it, be my guest. However any lines still under contract will be subject to a valid etf owed by yourself. 4. It was well publicized that upgrade dates would be changed going forward from date of said announcement. This was in bill notifications and print media. It's not Verizon fault that you may not receive a paper bill however if you log in your account you can regular see notifications.
congrats on the baby, sorry for the wet phone (again not a vzw issue)
See a pattern here?

HT4528 How do I unlock a Verizon wireless iPhone 4S to use in Australia?

I moved to Australia and am trying to unlock my old verizon iPhone 4S, so I can put a local SIM card on it. Do I speak with apple or verizon?

Verizon.
(101190)

HT5163 Can't find a sim card on verizon wireless iPhone 4

I have an iPhone purchased from VerizonWireless. I can't find a sim card to eject -- considering having phone "unlocked" so I can get international sim card

The iPhone 4 is not an International phone.
You will be unable to use it outside the US except in areas where Verizon has CDMA roaming partners.
Talk to Verizon, I believe they have a program where they loan or rent your a GSM or World phone for International travels.

Stonewalling on the iPhone trade in program- been calling every week since October.

@verizonwireless I sent 2 iPhone 4 at the exact same time in separate envelopes. One was received and a gift card was issued in September. When the 2nd phone was never processed, I started calling. Every time, I'm told this will be "escalated" and a customer service rep should call me in 2-3 days. I have never gotten a single call back or even an email acknowledging the issue. It's now the middle of January. When will someone contact me about this problem?

Swattles,
This definitely is concerning. I am sorry to hear that you have not received your trade in gift card for your second iPhone. Unfortunately, we don't have much access to the trade in information. We do have a dedicated team that will be able to assist you with this further. They can be reached directly by calling (877) 835-2024 or you can email them by click on the Contact Us link here: http://vz.to/WIxRQ2.
ErinW_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

A friend of mine lives in colombia and wants me to buy him an iphone 5. I was wondering if it could be used there if it is from Verizon Wireless or Sprint. or Just Tmobile

i just want to know if i could purchase a spring or verizon wireless iphone and it would be able to work in colombia

Mac OS X will install in whatever language you wish, and will offer you the option when you first boot from the installer disk. Other than perhaps labeling there won't be any difference in the disks.
Regards.

Trade-in Program Experience

Thought I would share my Verizon Trade-in Experience with others after seeing all the past posts about the pains and struggles they've gone through.
I was one of the first to pre-order an iPhone 6 through the Verizon Wireless website. Beforehand I had heard about the 'Free iPhone 6' offer through trade-in of a previous generation of iPhone. I actually contacted Verizon Wireless Customer Support beforehand and asked for clarification on the offer. While most of the information I got from that conversation was valid, I did get the impression initially that this was only for the iPhone 6 16GB and not an offer against any iPhone. I was also told that the iPhone 6 pre-order went live at 12pm EDT and not 12pm PDT. It was also important to note that the customer service rep was a big proponent of using the mail-in method for the Rebate Program and they would send a pre-paid/pre-addressed package to mail my iPhone back to the Verizon Device Recycling Center. He told me that I could still take my phone to a Verizon Wireless store but why would I when the mail-in process was much more convenient.
Nonetheless, I pre-ordered my iPhone 6 16GB on Friday, September 12th without issues and subsequently filed a Trade-In Submission in which I got my device appraised and the shipping materials were then sent out to me. If I had known at that time that the Trade-in Offer was valid for ANY iPhone 6 purchase then I would have pre-ordered the iPhone 6 64GB. But by the time I tried to change my order, it pushed my ship date into mid October so I kept my original order intact. For background information, I was trading in an iPhone 4s and the appraised value was $200. I received both my iPhone 6 16GB and the shipping materials on the same day, Friday, September 19th. Based on my first impressions of the shipping materials, I should have changed my mind and brought in my phone for Trade-In at the Verizon store. The package was equivalent to one of those shipping envelopes with bubble wrap lined on the inside. I would have initially thought that the shipping materials would be something similar to what my iPhone 6 was shipped in, a shipping box with insulation inside. I actually still had my old iPhone original box that I could have put it in as well before putting it into the box which I couldn't with this smaller shipping envelope. Also I noticed there were no tracking numbers on the envelope, just my submission ID printed on the label as well as the trade-date. I actually took photos of the final package so I could reference it later but there was no way to track it in-transit.
Nevertheless, I shipped it anyways to the Verizon Device Recycling Center in Bloomington, IN that following Monday, September 22nd. Over the subsequent weeks, I would periodically check the status and for the next 3 weeks the status was always 'Device not received'. After so many weeks I thought my Device was lost in the mail. Finally one day I saw a status change and it was received! Although my excitement quickly turned into shock when I saw the final trade-in value was $76! I looked over at the adjustment reason and the claim was that the SIM tray was broken or missing. This seemed like a much different description of my iPhone 4s. The iPhone 4s that I mailed in was in mint condition before I put it in the shipping envelope. To top it off the SIM tray couldn't have been broken prior to shipping since I had to remove the SIM card before shipping and was sure to push the tray back in before packaging. I followed all the instructions that were sent with the Shipping Materials from removing all personal date/password to disabling the Find My iPhone feature.
As many customers have mentioned prior, I experienced all the typical emotions based on what I thought was going to be a straight forward and fair process. I was enraged, disappointed, shocked, and confused. I immediately when to the Contact Us tab of the Verizon Device Recycling Program homepage and submitted my feedback and request. I also scoured the web to see if I was the minority and was surprised to see complaints across Verizon for the Trade-in program even much prior to the iPhone 6 offer. At the time, I kicked myself for not checking this out earlier.
Over the past week I've been researching and searching for the best approach to get this resolved. I tried calling the Verizon Device Recycling Program customer support by phone but could never get through, not even to leave a message. There was no easy way to email customer support and I didn't have time to sit on hold during the long queuing times with Customer Support. I thought about my negotiation and complaint tactics, consideration to leave Verizon Wireless after being a customer for over 10 years, demand for proof that my phone was really in the condition stated, sending photos of my phone just days before I shipped working and SIM tray intact.
Then from out of the blue yesterday I received a couple of emails. The first was an email that a courtesy credit was on its way. It informed me that they were sorry I was not satisfied with the program and a courtesy credit will be processed and sent via email. The subsequent email were two gift cards, one for the amount of the final trade-in value which was $76 and the other for the remaining difference of $124.
In summary, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the Verizon Trade-in process that needs to be fixed. But thank you Verizon Wireless customer support for listening to my complaint, I thought my message through the website was going to go unanswered and that I would have to talk to someone physically on the phone and inevitably talk to multiple tiers of managers to get anything resolved. I am satisfied with the resolution, a little pain staking but the company did the right thing for the customer. I hope everyone who has had similar issues gets a similar resolution, so that even though processes might be broken, customer service is still alive and well.

You are not alone.
Re: Verizon Trade In Program Failure
I mailed a phone in on 25 Nov and on 5 DEC received an email that they received it and nothing since. All the status checks on line and with their trade in Customer Service say they never received it.
Twice I was told all they could do was elevate my issue and I would receive an email status in 72 hours. Neither time I got a response. The last time, they told me I had to wait 2 – 6 weeks for a response to elevation of my issue.
Verizon Customer service response was to tell me there was nothing they could do and contact the trade in customer service - despite me telling them the trade in customer service has been unresponsive.
Verizon and their trade-in subcontractor keeps you powerless to do anything and continue to hold us hostage with no recourse.

We have had Verizon Wireless service since 2007. We have 6 lines on our account. Unfortunately in 2012 when I (903.647.0073) upgraded from the iPhone4s to the iPhone 5 I started having reception problems. I started having dropped calls in my home. I had t

We have had Verizon Wireless service since 2007. We have 6 lines on our account. Unfortunately in 2012 when I (903.647.0073) upgraded from the iPhone4s to the iPhone 5 I started having reception problems. I started having dropped calls in my home. I had to go outside to get reception without dropped calls. I was told that because of metal in my home I would have to purchase a Network Extender for $250. And we HAVE not metal in our home. AND our other lines all work fine. I felt this was ridiculous. We already pay $350+/month for service and I should NOT have to purchase additional equipment for a service that I already pay for. The manager of our local store at the time gave us at no cost a Samsung Network Extender. It worked beautifully until about a month ago. I went to our local Verizon store and was told that I would have to purchase an extender. THIS is RIDICULOUS. We have been loyal customers for over 7 years and have been very satisfied with our service. Unless this issue can be resolved without purchasing an extender we will be switching our service as our lines come up for renewal. I regret this as we have been very happy with our service. But we should NOT have to purchase anything extra for one line that will not get good reception. Again, we pay $350+/ month for a service that does not work properly, simply RIDICULOUS! Currently the "sys" light flashes red (slow) and the GPS light remains red. Please help this very frustrated customer.

Regardless with what carrier your with you might have the same issue, My recommendation would be to get a router that will help you with viewing live traffic and keep a tally of your usage and any device connected to your internet connection. You can go with the peplink balance 20 and be able to look at your traffic by the hour, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. Look for trends, see what computers or devices are doing what I attached a screen shot so you can see an example of mine. You can purchase the router at 3gstore
http://i45.tinypic.com/6zc674.jpg

Just canceled iphone 6, beware of Verizon Trade in program. Regret it all.

Today has been the 2 week mark since I first used Verizon's trade in program. I canceled my sprint ( $100 ETF ) and decided to move over to Verizon since they were offering a $200 Gift Card if I traded in my Iphone 5. Sounded like a great deal, and I went ahead and switched over and got a new Iphone 6 from Verizon.
Fast forward 2 weeks later to today, I noticed an email saying my device had not been received. I decided to go online and chat with a woman who informed me that the email was automated, but I should wait at least 6 weeks. 6 weeks is not an acceptable time frame in my opinion, so I told her I would cancel my service if they can not at least locate my phone. They were unable to locate my phone, and claim is still has not been received.
I looked around the forums here, and low and behold a number of users are claiming they sent in perfectly working devices only to be given a $36 Gift Card because of a cracked screen. They are unable to locate the phones for tons of users, and this really worries me. She also let me know that there is no tracking number whatsoever on the package. As a consumer, I find this completely unacceptable.
Hoping they could offer further help, I went to my local Verizon store here in Battle Creek, MI. I informed the manager Cam that I was planning on returning the phone because I feel that my trade in was being mishandled and pointed him to the forums where users were complaining about the program. While talking with Cam I noticed a couple checking out the Iphones, and the Verizon rep in the store, who was a very nice gentelman was explaining the trade in program. I could not help myself from saying out loud not to trust the brown envelope that they give you since there is no tracking and I believe my phone was possibly lost or stolen and that I would not receive any credits.
Cam immediately told me to leave, threatened to call the police and told me that I was soliciting. I explained to Cam that I was here for a return, not to solicit a sale of any kind and that I too was a Verizon customer and was only sharing information on the trade in from my experience with other fellow Verizon customers. He asked me not to say it again or he would call the police, so I childishly said brown bag a few times before quietly waiting to be helped. The return was processed after this, and I argued the $35 activation fee be removed from my account and I also argued the $35 restocking fee because they did not hold up their end of the trade in deal.
I realize that I am being fairly impatient here, with it only being 2 weeks and I did overreact a little after the police were threatened. I do however lack any sympathy for Verizon not being able to process these trades in a timely manner. They knew well ahead of time that the Iphone 6 was going to cause a ton of trade ins and they could have been more readily prepared.
After I returned home, I got online and spoke to Zach from Verizon who I tried a second time to have the activation and restocking fee returned to me. He told me that it was fair charge and would not be removed so I gave in and agreed that it was my fee to pay. I want to share a few excerpts with my chat with Zach because although he is a Verizon employee, he admited to me the faults of the trade in system.
Visitor: At least just the activation should be waived, since I was paying to activate a phone I had for 2 years, not 2 weeks.
Zach: Well those fees are valid charges so they're not something I can waive. The activation fee is for new line activation and that?s waived if returned within 3 days but your paying for a line of service to be activated.... which it was. As far as the restocking fee goes that charge is to recoup some of the costs that we incur because you've returned that device. That phone can no longer be sold as new because it's been opened and used and since you returned that for a full refund of the purchase amount we end up losing money on that return so that $35 fee is assessed. None of these fees were charged in error. I'm sorry that this was the decision that you felt you had to come to especially when this would have ended up with you getting the credit for that trade in within a couple of weeks.
Zach: We could have helped you research that submission and work with the trade in center to find your device but you made the decision to go ahead and cancel service and return the phone so that limits what we could have done in that case since it's already been cancelled/returned.
Visitor: I see you are all about the money, glad to no longer be a customer then.
Visitor: You are lying on that last post Zach.
Visitor: The trade in submission is a completely seperate process than me buying the iphone and returning it.
Visitor: So you are not willing to help me, because you can't find my phone.
Zach: You're right about that process, and though I can't find your phone we can partner with the trade-in team to work out a solution.
Visitor: I am filing a complaint against Verizon with the Better Business Bureau and I will name you as one of the people who went out of their way to not help me.
Visitor: I can not believe I just read that you could have helped me, but won't since I returned the phone.
Visitor: That was flat out wrong, you deserve to be punished for that misinformation.
Zach: I'm not saying I won't help you. I'm saying that our options are now more limited because you returned that device.
Visitor: That is not an accurate statement.
Visitor: The options are exactly the same as they were.
Visitor: You can search by submission ID, phone number, and email, which provides no results.
Visitor: Your other option, calling the trade in department, is also still available.
Visitor: Those were your 2 options before and after I returned the phone, and those are still the same 2 options you have now. The fact that your company goes out of your way to argue ridiculous points makes me 100% happy I returned my device while I had a chance to.
Visitor: Now I want my phone back.
Visitor: The iphone 5 that is.
Zach: Well, not exactly. Your trade-in would have been worth $200 with a iPhone 6 purchase, however since that phone has been returned and service has been cancelled then the trade in value may be less. Have you contacted the trade in center at all about the device you shipped to them?
Visitor: No that should be your job, I'm right here on the website that had me use the cheap brown evnvelope in the first place.
Visitor: if you go check the forums on verizon
Visitor: people are straight up trashing the trade in system
Zach: In my experience it takes about 3-4 weeks. 6 tops
Visitor: $36 for broken devices given out to people that sent in working phones
Visitor: other phones never being received
Visitor: it's all over the verizon forums
Visitor: did this worry me? yes
Visitor: and did it have an affect on me returning the phone? absolutely
Visitor: and the reason is that not ONE verizon rep replied with a solution, 1 guy was credited the $200 and they still claim they never got his phone
Visitor: the rest of the people are out of luck, and they will not help them
Visitor: this should be reported to the FCC too
Zach: Can I offer you a personal suggestion?
Visitor: i'm going to talk to a lot of people tomorrow
Zach: Not necessarily the VZW suggestion but from one person to another?
Visitor: sure
Zach: Call the 877-247-3846 number (the trade in program support center) and ask to speak to a manager and escalate the issue through them. Have them give you a timeline on when to expect an answer. If that timeline is not met, then escalate again. I've had to do this, I don't tell a lot of customers that because it doesn't look good but I think it's important in this conversation that you know that I have been through the exact same situation.
Visitor: Alright thank you Zach
Zach: And I was able to get it resolved after about a month from the time I sent it in but it took me having to follow up. I hate that you may have to do the same thing and I hope you have an easier experience than I did... my situation was almost two years ago so I expect that to be better and I hope it is for you
Visitor: I do appreciate the help you've given. Unfortunately I'm out a $35 activation, a $35 restocking fee and a $100 ETF from sprint. It's too little too late, I guess I can pay my wifes bill with the gift card since I no longer have a cell phone.
Zach: You're very welcome, I did add the 1GB of free data and the 50% off your $40 smartphone charge which will be reflected on your bill moving forward as my way of saying sorry for the mess and I know it doesn't fix everything but I hope it at least helps in letting you know that I do care about your experience.
Visitor: I really screwed myself for work, and talking to my family and everhthing. Lost my phone number that I had for the last 8 years.
Zach: Well, I wouldn't give up on the trade in just yet. and that 50% off saves you $240 over the next year. So it's every little bit that I could do.
Zach: Well.... here's this....
Visitor: It doesn't matter, my cell phone number that I had for almost a decade is out in the wild now. It's quite depressing thinking about everything honestly.
Zach: We can reactivate that line of service that you just cancelled
Zach: was that the number you're worried about?
Zach: the 419 number?
Visitor: yeah
Zach: What if we reactivate that and then get you a phone ordered from our system?
And then it hit me, even Verizon admits the faults with the system trade in system. I wish I would have been more patient and I wish I never returned the phone, and I almost wanted to say yes to Zach activating me a new phone. I overreacted in this situation, but I'm just so stubborn sometimes I wouldn't back down. I felt like threatening Verizon with canceling was going to get me farther with figuring out my trade in credit, and at the end of the day it only cost me more money.
So now I'm out of:
$78 Last month bill to Sprint ( Only used 1 week of this month, but they will not prorate since I was under contract )
$100 Early Termination Fee to Sprint
$35 Activation Fee from Verizon
$35 Restocking Fee from Verizon
Out a Total of $248, have no phone at the moment and my Sprint Iphone 5 that I sent in has still supposedly just vanished into thin air. I'm mad at myself for trying to stand up as a consumer and say no, because at the end of the day I was happy with my device. I guess I'm going to go without a phone for awhile and think about my poor choices in this whole situation, if I could go back in time I would have just waited and kept the phone. Hopefully this helps someone else out because I spent a lot of hard earned money and time on this whole ordeal.

They do not know where your phone is yet because it has not had enough time to go through the process yet. I also started to worry when two weeks had passed and my iPhone 5S was still showing not received on the status website. That's when I joined this forum to see if anyone else was having the same problem. What I found out was that some people had been given reduced value for their trade in, but I also found posts from people like myself that were worried that their phone was lost and then came back and posted a week or two later that they had received their gift card.
I decided to chill and give it some time and about a week later my gift card arrived. If it had been for less than the promised amount I would no doubt still be upset and posting about it like the many posts I still see on here on a regular basis.
This is no doubt a popular program for Verizon. I would imagine there have been thousands of phones traded in. There are going to be at least some screw ups in the process. There is no point in getting ahead of yourself and assuming your case will be one of the screw ups unless it already is. Verizon has been consistently posting that it could take 4-6 weeks for processing. You will at some point likely hear the status on your traded-in phone. Patience would not hurt in this case.

Verizon Wireless Trade-In Program is a scam!

I recently traded in my iPhone 4s as part of Verizon's Recycling Program. I activated a temporary phone on the line until I received the gift card via email. Having received it, I attempted to purchase a new phone to replace the temporary one, but apparently I can only do so at full retail cost. I was never told that this would be an issue for me. In fact, I expressly asked if this could affect my contract in any way, and was told that it would not. I was given the assurance that all I had to do was perform a Device Swap, much like I did to activate the temporary phone, which by the way was no problem at all - it was a breeze!
Obviously, there are communication problems between the Recycling Program and the rest of VZW. I spoke with multiple representatives at the Recycling Program, who checked my account and never notified me that I would have to pay full retail cost on a new phone. This is absolutely ridiculous! And of course, I cannot get my iPhone back.

Totally true... I sent in my PERFECTLY working phone (VERY VERY (removed) about keeping my phone working 100%) and I received an email saying the phone would not turn on even though my phone worked 100%!!!!! I have a Verizon Wireless employee that inspected my phone before shipping and he will vouch for me. This is complete **, this program is a scam. I have called NUMEROUS times about reaching a solution but NO ONE has helped me.
Comment edited as required by the Terms of Service.
Message was edited by: Admin Moderator

HT201436 how to send a direct voicemail to an IPHONE from a Galaxy S III on Verizon wireless?

I can not send a direct voicemail using Promt 2 to send a message from my Galaxy SIII to an Iphone 5 or 4. Is there something I can do with my phone or should the iphone recepient do something with their phone so that direct voicemail can be achieved?
Both phones are on Verizon wireless. I tried to research this online. There is no information available at all! I called Verzon Wireless support, they did not know why. CAN ANY ONE HELP ME figure this out?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Alex

Try calling into your voice ail instead of using the Visual Voicemail. You can call in by dialing *86. Then you'll need to listen to the prompts. It used to be possible to send messages to other VZW users that way but I haven't done it in forever.

Very hesitant to do Verizon Wireless iPhone 6 Trade-In Program

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