I work at a store that sells prepaid Verizon phones and need a replacement device. I'm wondering whether a postpaid Verizon SIM can be used in a TCL phone originally sold for Verizon prepaid service. Verizon says the devices aren't compatible, but I'd like to know if there's any legitimate way to make it work, such as waiting for the phone's network lock to expire after activating it.
1 Answer
It probably won’t work right away. Verizon prepaid phones are often carrier-locked, and simply inserting a postpaid SIM usually results in the device being blocked or rejected. One reported attempt ended with Verizon blocking the SIM immediately.
That matches what I’ve been hearing. I also saw a claim that paying for one month of prepaid service unlocks the phone, but I haven’t found a reliable confirmation that this applies to every TCL model or allows postpaid activation.