New Verizon data plans

Verizon has added new data only plans to their lineup for both pre-paid and post-paid customers. This is great news for those folks needing VZW coverage.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://seabits.com/new-verizon-data-plans/

Just FYI, I tried to buy the premium online with an IMEA from the PepLunk MAX BR1 Pro 5G and Verizon is giving me a not supported error on both pre paid and post paid. t-mo accepted it no problem. Going to head into a local store on my way to the boat tomorrow to see if they have better luck.

Hi @David_Medd,
I’m going to guess it is because The BR1 Pro 5G is a brand new product from Peplink, and Verizon doesn’t have it in their system. It always takes them a little bit to do that, and usually because someone with the new product calls in and tries to activate it :grinning:

Hopefully you’ll have better luck in person!

Hi @David_Medd - did you get your BR1 Pro 5G activated or working with Verizon?

Just as a follow up, I have a MAX BR1 Pro 5G working with several Verizon plans including the one I believe @David_Medd was trying to activate. Verizon must now have the BR1 Pro 5G in their systems. Yay!

Anything special you had to do in order to activate? Verizon today told me that they don’t support this device…

Bummer, would like to know the answer to this too. Mine is slated to arrive later this week.

https://forum.peplink.com/t/verizon-certification-status-(2022)/36934/2

suggests January sometime for final approval.

It is pretty common for Verizon to say they “don’t support” something. In fact, all of the providers do this at one point or another because they want you to buy their stuff, or their front line support folks legitimately are told that these IMEI’s/products aren’t supported.

I’ve been using mine since it came out on Verizon. I think for the first 1-2 weeks it was hard to get it to work for some of us because they legitimately hadn’t ever seen it in the wild, but it was working after that.

If you try to activate a new line of service in a router, as I’ve mentioned before in posts and such, it can be a pain. Some of their systems will stop when you get to the IMEI stage and not allow you to proceed if it is not one of their core devices that they sell.

The way around this is to use a hotspot or other Verizon supported device to do the activation. This is why when I get a new plan through Verizon, I usually get one of their hotspots on whatever promotion they have, and then keep that as a backup, but also a way to activate.

It might sound like a lot of work but it can save you hours on the phone with someone who doesn’t even understand what a mobile router is.

Being supported and being certified are two different things in most cases. Gaining certification means that the device has gone through testing by the provider to ensure that there aren’t any weird interactions on their network, that they can on board the product, and a lot more beyond that. Verizon is usually one of the slowest to certify things, so it’s not surprising that it’s still pending for them.

Verizon may have also chosen to block new activations from the BR1 until it is certified, so my note above about activating a new line on something else would potentially get around that.

Finally, there is always the possibility that the plan you’re trying to use, if it happens to be different than the one I cited above in the original article, could have restrictions too. All providers have done this at some point. T-Mobile did this here Problems with T-Mobile voice+data plans and Peplink CAT18 where they prevented specific plans from using a voice plan to do data-only stuff. They prevented activation for some of us trying to use it, and if they were already activated, prevented the device from actually being able to send data.

It sounds like this is just the activation side of things, which you should be able to get around by using another device - my plan is still working just fine with it.

Hi All, Reviving this antique post :slight_smile:
I just went through a week of Customer Service hell trying to get Verizon to accept my new Peplink MAX BR1 Mini. All the lower level reps just stopped at the error (which tells them that the device is not supported) and then started trying to upsell me - except Verizon doesn’t sell anything of interest to us boaters! They think an LTE router is for “home” use, so they wanted to sell me a “home internet” package - but asking them where it would work as we sailed around pretty much stopped their clocks. “Atlantic Ocean” wasn’t working as a home address… :slight_smile:
I finally got a savvy tech who pushed a new SIM number (which he had to forcibly instruct the Store folks to give me) through using my really olde MiFi device IMEI. This worked, and my Mini popped to life! I note that today (36 hours in) the device description and IMEI on my account are correct.
The “customer service” experience was NOT fun - so I’m seriously considering taking our 4 lines and moving to T-Mobile – cheaper, can handle an LTE Router, and it works in the Bahamas! They do force a plan on the router that is not “unlimited”, but it still works if you hit the wall, just slower.
Hartley
S/V Atsa

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