[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by jocampo

I told you I have two friends in FL that brought a Tmobile mini, walked into Verizon and activate a new SIM with their Tmobile retina Mini.

And on my case, I used an already activated SIM on a Tmobile retina Mini.

It seems you don't believe me or you are implying that I'm lying?

I have no idea if you have tried before or what they said to you or what they refused. Or maybe the problem is that you are just trying to do that yourself at home. Get your iPad air or Mini and bring it to Verizon. I'm almost sure that if you enroll on a monthly plan or just say that the Tmobile mini was a gift, they will activate a brand new SIM for you.

Sometimes people have to know how to ask for some stuff. You will be surprised of of all the things I've made possible on my old cellphones , legal of course, just talking the right way and to the right person, on both companies, Verizon and Tmobile.

The question is how did your friends activate the SIM on their iPads? Perhaps you can ask them if it was a straightforward activation. There are several workarounds to Verizon's system - the most common being to activate the SIM card on a Verizon device and then transfer the already activated SIM to a the non-Verizon device. However, that's just a workaround. Until Verizon's automated system actually allows for OTA activations on non-Verizon devices, I would consider your case the exception rather than the rule.

I never said you were lying. Besides, I know for a fact that what you've done works (already activated SIM on a non-Verizon device). I'm just saying it might not be as easy to get everything activated as your post suggests.

On the iPad Air and rMini purchase page, they've changed the verbiage from:

Your iPad will only work with the carrier you choose.

to:

Your iPad will be configured to operate with the carrier you choose right out of the box.

I do think Apple may be negotiating with (or strong-arming) US carriers to allow activation of any WiFi + Cellular iPad with compatible hardware on their networks. I'd be very happy if/when BYOD is allowed on all US carriers. For now though, I'm sticking to Verizon hardware for guaranteed activation on Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile - no need for a trip to the Verizon store.