Why can't I get "backup assistant" on a replacement phone I got off ebay?

Question

Hello,
My wife's basic phone (LG #VX5400) is physically broken, the flip lid broke off.  I bought an exact replacement on Ebay and activated it with no issues.  It is working fine.  However, I find that I can't get Backup Assistant from Get It Now to restore her contacts.  Any ideas? Thanks.

Answer 1

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - but this is a known issue with older phones:  (from a post awhile ago)
They key issue is this: (via MikeS - Verizon Employee)
I understand your issue exactly Robin, and I can provide some insight to your issue as I have dealt with it multiple times in the past. Basically during the period of early fall to 3/25/2011, we notified customers that had BREW (older handsets) phones that they needed to access the Get It Now or Media Center catalog before 3/25/2011. 03/25/2011 was the last day to access the catalog to receive a certificate update. If the Media Center was not accessed during this time, the phone was inactive, or the phone had data blocks on the line, it did not receive the certificate update, and will not be able to access the catalog any longer. We tried to be as proactive as possible during this timeframe alerting customers via bill inserts and text alerts (which would not help you if the phone was deactivated). All other portions of the phone will continue to work normally. You can make and receive calls, text message, picture message, go onto the web, and use all other aspects of the phone. The only thing that will no longer work will be the Media Center/Get It Now catalog on the phone.
Unfortunately, having the phone flashed with new software will not fix the issue. Once the certificate update period has passed, it will not become available again. In order to access the Media Center again, you would need to take a look at getting into a more recent phone.
This did not affect all of the older phones. Most customers did get the certificate update just fine and can access the Media Center/Get It Now catalog just fine. It is only those who did not receive a certificate update that will run into this. You can tell if you are affected by this by going into menu>settings & tools> and clicking on "My Account" or "My Verizon." If this loads, but Media Center/ Get It Now catalog will not, you are missing your certificate update and will unfortunately not be able to get it to work on this phone again.