Can you accidently reactivate an old phone?

[pshhjay]

I recently upgraded to a new phone, but want to continue using my old phone with WiFi.

The problem is, I did a factory reset without knowing that it [still] requires me to activate it.

Being the dummy that I am, I did what is usually required. I allowed the phone to call the number that is used to activate the phone. (The one where you get a Verizon automated message that asks you to hit "1" to activate your phone.) Without thinking, I did exactly that.  I actually ended up using the activation screen to call that number a lot (more than 10 times) trying to get past that activation screen... I can't remember for sure what message I got from trying, but honestly, I don't want to try again cause I'm paranoid I will reactivate my old phone (if I haven't already) by mistake. I don't want to have to go to the Verizon store to fix this problem (if I did activate it by mistake)... 😕

So my question is:

After activating a new phone at a Verizon store, is it possible to reactivate your old phone by just factory resetting?

I eventually found a way around it, bypassing the activation screen with the ##blur thing.

However, when I look at the about phone section, it still says the phone's number is MY number.

Does this mean I activated my old phone? Will this cause issues on my new phone?

Issues such as not receiving/sending calls or texts properly, etc.?

If this is all too confusing... I guess what I'm trying to ask is... is it possible to activate your old verizon smart phone by just calling that *228 number? Or does it have to be done by some other process that requires speaking to Verizon?

Thanks in advance~

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

[mortb]

If you did a factory reset, that usually wipes the phone 100% clean and you have to start all over: activation, setting up your account, etc. So, the answer to "Can I activate my phone by doing a factory reset?" The answer is no. However, you can reactivate an old phone by going through the normal activation processes. People with family accounts who have multiple phones have to activate each one of them. Could your old phone work without reactivating it? Yes, as a miniature computer. But you can not do any network stuff on it, such as send and receive messages. If you do a reactivation, that will be an additional charge on your bill. You might want to check out the "Share Everything" plan.

[StreetDocRN]

Hey,

I will tell you of my experience on activating my old phone.  First, I have a Motorola Droid 3 that I upgraded from a Blackberry Bold.  I activated the Droid 3 and it worked fine.  I then, like you, wiped the Blackberry and tried to use it with just WiFi.  I had to reactivate it, or so I thought.  What I did was to log onto My Verizon and reactivated the Blackberry and it worked fine.  I set everything back up on it, email and BB Messenger.  Then, I went back onto My Verizon and reactivated the Droid 3.  I had turned the radio part of the Blackberry off and left the Wifi going.  It worked.  I can use my Droid 3 as normal and my Blackberry with just Wifi.  All you need to do is to log into My Verizon on your computer and try it.  Let me know if this works for you.

Doc

[demmo86rt]

Even if it did get reactivated, you can always reactivate your new phone.  Just don't do a factory reset again