There's something strange going on with TracFone's Page Plus brand. Multiple Page Plus customers have reported on HowardForums that they have received texts from Page Plus saying that their phone '.is not receiving optimal network service from our network partner. Page Plus 4G LTE Sim Use on any Verizon 4G LTE Phone Prepaid. Told cheaper activate. Page plus is slightly cheaper than Verizon if. Activate any Verizon iPhone on Page Plus Cellular for FREE, today! All Page Plus activations are processed FREE, same day Activate my verizon phone to pageplus. In order to avoid further degradation, including full service interruption on April 1st, you will need to replace this device.' Verizon is PagePlus's network partner. However, Verizon has not announced any network changes that would make any currently usable phones unusable on April 1. I would dismiss this as an April Fools joke were it not the fact that the texts contain a link to the page below which is on the official pagepluscellular.com domain. Further confirming that these messages are no joke, two different Page Plus Dealers forwarded me the image above that they received from Page Plus today. The image is accompanied by this message; ' Select Page Plus devices will no longer be supported on the carrier network. Your customers may receive an SMS notification regarding this update. If they receive this notification, it means their phone is outdated and requires an upgrade. To upgrade their phone, select from the TracFone Handsets on VIDAPAY.' VIDAPAY is the system that dealers user to process customer payments and to order SIMs and phones. Interestingly no one at Page Plus seems to know what's going on. One of the dealers told me that they contacted their master dealer who contacted TracFone but was unable to get an answer as to what type of phones were getting kicked off the network and why. There have been a number of theories posted on HowardForums as to what's happening. Some think Page Plus is kicking off that were activated before January, 2015 when Verizon stopped allowing Page Plus and other Verizon MVNOs from activating non-Verizon phones. However users have reported receiving the message on many Verizon phones that were not flashed including a Verizon iPhone 6, Verizon Galaxy S5, Verizon LG G Vista and a Verizon Motorola RAZR HD. A user of one of the crippled 3G-only Samsung Galaxy S III phones from Straight Talk also got the message. I really don't have a clue as to what TracFone/Page Plus is up to. It's bad business to tell customers that their perfectly good phones will stop working tn three weeks with no explanation. No other Verizon MVNO has said anything about phones being kicked of the network April 1 and neither has Verizon. TracFone has a reputation for buggy billing and activation systems and poor communication to both customers and dealers so this fiasco doesn't surprise me. Is it a mistake, a joke or incompetence? If you have received a message from Page Plus or any other Verizon MVNO saying that you have to replace you phone, please leave a comment saying what phone you are using. Update: according to industry sources familiar with the matter Verizon will start blocking 'unapproved' phones on all Verizon MVNOs starting sometime in May, 2017. Phones to be blocked include: 1) Flashed non-Verizon devices. (These were previously said to be grandfathered by Page Plus management so this will not be popular.) 2) Lost and stolen phones that got in on a loophole like swapping sims. 3) Prepaid Verizon devices that haven't fulfilled their obligations to be let out of the Verizon prepaid ecosystem. As much as I am against Page Plus newest policies since their purchase by TracFone and the many degrades in their service to customers and dealers, I have to say it isn't JUST Page Plus that this will happen to. As the owner of Wireless Services U.S. (another Verizon MVNO - NOT owned by TracFone), I received the following 2 days ago: Verizon will be making changes in May (Date is TBD) where any existing or new customers in ineligible devices will stop working. Our provisioners are working with Verizon on all the details on this, and more official communication will be coming in the next two weeks.I am sure Selectel, Rok, Eco and any other Verizon MVNOs will experience this eventually. I don't want to take guesses as to what it all will entail, I will wait for the further upcoming official info. Anonymous @Dennis Your site has a possible malicious ad that's been redirecting me away from your site for the past 3 or 4 days. This usually happens after I click on an article and shortly after the article loads. I'm using Chrome on Android and viewing the desktop version of the site. I'm being redirected to And to http://comumx.site/newip7b/index.php?s1=mas_jiami_otherc&pubid=4C16EE07FA7DBBD4AA788746945E768D&bid=43a486af1985913ef7d9a7aaf1040441. Anonymous My first thought was that Page Plus was dropping 2G or even 3G phones but the phones listed are too new for that to be the case and I would expect that such a network change would be announced months in advance. Considering the short notice it sounds like Verizon is cutting off Page Plus on April 1 and Page Plus is moving customers to another network but that would mean that all customers would need a new phone with the exception of those with universal phones. But that doesn't seem to be the case either unless Page Plus is neglecting to inform the vast majority of their customers. The most likely explanation is that, as the article says, customers with non-Verizon phones are being kicked off and Page Plus is sending notifications to the wrong customers by mistake. Another possibility is that Page Plus is kicking off phones that were originally sold for another TracFone brand, such as Straight Talk phones. It's long been TracFone policy that phones sold for one TracFone brand can not be used on another TracFone brand but most Verizon-based phones would activate on any Verizon MVNO, including TracFone owned ones, despite TracFone's policy. TracFone might not want phones sold for a brand like Straight Talk, who's cheapest plan costs $45/month, being used on lower priced Page Plus plans. I own a prepaid cell phone store, and from talking with other store owners, it seems to be a combination of a lot of the above. Anything that was flashed or is not verizon native wont work. Also, on verizon network, the imei of the phone was not verified by the network. So a lot of people activated phones that were on contract, unpaid bills, lost/stolen. You could not officially activate those imeis, but you could use a different imei, put the active sim in the bad phone and it would work. It seems like that is no longer the case. It was a loophole that some were exploiting actively, and now they are regretting that choice, at least the dealers. Anonymous 'also, on verizon network, the imei of the phone was not verified by the network. So a lot of people activated phones that were on contract, unpaid bills, lost/stolen. You could not officially activate those imeis, but you could use a different imei, put the active sim in the bad phone and it would work. It seems like that is no longer the case. It was a loophole that some were exploiting actively, and now they are regretting that choice, at least the dealers.' I would say that the above is what is at the center of this issue. Anonymous The problem here, of course, is a total lack of knowledge and lack of transparency on the part of TracFone or PagePlus. Are these warnings random or is there a pattern? Is it a system glitch or will lots of phones stop working April 1st? I have a flashed LG Boost phone that was activated on PP just before the deadline for non-VZ phones. I use it very little on the standard PP plan and no unwelcome text so far. But the rest of March may be a long month Really makes me want to look elsewhere than America Movil. Incompetence is the subject of the day over there PayGo non-TracFone options don't exist or are very scarce using the VZ network. You'll have a new phone number on Page Plus Cellular, and can enjoy your new Page Plus Cellular service same day! We activate any Verizon or Alltel handset to Page Plus Cellular, instantly! 4G LTE devices will need a Page Plus 4G LTE SIM card to function on the network. Make sure you have one before activating a 4G LTE phone on Page Plus Cellular How do I activate my phone? After clicking 'submit', your activation will be sent for processing immediately. You will get an e-mail within 2-3 minutes with further details on your activation progress. When complete, our representatives will send you an e-mail with your new phone number and further instructions. After the fact: We also offer discounted Page Plus Cellular refills for new activations! In the e-mail, you'll find a link to purchase your new plan at a discounted rate! BUT FIRST, fill out the form above to activate your phone!
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