How to use Droid Incredible 2 from Verizon after service contract ends

[aumanpj]

About a year ago, I discontinued use of the Droid Incredible 2 and moved on to the Samsung Galaxy 5S from Verizon. I am now interested in making use of the Droid Incredible 2 as a wifi - only device. While I can connect to wifi and use it for email and web browsing, for some reason, the phone will not allow me to download or update any apps or perform a software update. From the reading I have done, it seems Verizon has locked the phone from being used on wifi for getting apps and updating the software after the service contract ends. Additionally from my reading, I get the sense it may be possible to unlock the phone or otherwise get it to a state where it will interact well with wifi and enable app downloads, etc.

Is my sense accurate? If so, I am looking for some step-by-step instructions on how to achieve this.

Thank you for considering my question. I appreciate the help and advice very much!
Phil

 

[TisMyDroid]

Welcome to the forum aumanpj. I'm not sure how accurate my information is but I believe you should be able to use your dinc2 as a wifi only device. I believe the software updates for the dinc2 would have been delivered via Verizon so you would either have to temporarily activate the phone on Verizon to see if there are any updates available and download them or you would have to manually install them if they are available (I'm not sure how babysit installing an update on the dinc2 works so I can't help there). Also, it is possible that the dinc2 already has the latest updates and there are no more available. I have not had to do this in a few years but you used to be able to just move your sim card from your current phone to your old phone (provided they both use the same size sim card from the same carrier) to activate, then move it back again when you're done.

For app updates, if the app is compatible with the dinc2 then you should be able to update it via wifi. Many apps are now being optimized for lollipop which may conflict with the dinc2's current os. Do you know which os your dinc2 currently has(jellybean, kitkat)? Depending on your is, it may be safer to leave apps as they are.

Hope this helps some. Others may chime in with more info.

sent from my Note3 (soon to be??) using tapatalk

 

[cr6]

Welcome to the forum! TisMyDroid pretty much covered everything. You will only have limited features on your device via WiFi only. You will need to temporarily activate your device, take a sim card from an existing device, or manually flash any updates...(the last would require your device to be rooted). If everyone could do everything via WiFi only, nobody would ever pay a carrier for service. (Especially with "WiFi calling" right around the corner)

S5 tap'n

 

[mountainbikermark]

App updates should work fine as long as you're not on an open Wi-Fi network. Google locks out app updates on non secure Wi-Fi networks.

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[cr6]

Good to know MBM, I wasnt aware of that.

S5 tap'n

 

[mountainbikermark]

Good to know MBM, I wasnt aware of that.

S5 tap'n

I still use my Verizon Note2 and T-Mobile G2 as Wi-Fi only devices.

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[TisMyDroid]

Thanks mbm! I didn't realize that. I wondered about those ones that might be "incompatible with your device." I get that for some apps on my tablet that runs on kikat.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Thanks mbm! I didn't realize that. I wondered about those ones that might be "incompatible with your device." I get that for some apps on my tablet that runs on kikat.

Not compatible is another animal. Those are ones Google has decided won't work on your tablet and if you side load them they often have little annoyances like they don't render on screen correctly but work other than whatever little glitch might cause you to review it as a 1 star. In a case like that look for the app on their website (play store) and it'll give a list of your compatible devices. Some of my older apps won't load on my Notes , tablets or G2 due to screen size. The developers are at fault there.

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[leeshor]

They make great iPods.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Just to echo what's already been said, I've used more than one vzw phone on wifi and have been able to update apps (as long as they were still compatible with the device). I didn't know about updates on an open network though, because I've always used those devices on my secure home network. Everybody is also right about OS updates as far as I'm aware too.

Not sure if there was ever root for the dinc, but if there is, you might find you'll get more out of it if you root it and load a custom rom. Not a project for a true beginner, but something to think about if it's possible.

 

[mountainbikermark]

They make great iPods.

They work great for surfing this forum as well.

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[mountainbikermark]

My daughter wants an iPod. She's 7. Not gonna happen for $ reasons but she is very proficient with phones, tablets, Bluetooth, etc . Instead of an iPod I took my music off my G2 that she already uses Text+ on (texting over Wi-Fi) to her sister in Kentucky and also let her start using my old RocketFish Bluetooth open air headphones. She was already familiar with the phone, its camera and and Swype keyboard so now she's using Power Amp and I put her music on it for her . For texting she's limited to being on Wi-Fi but as a music player and camera she can take it with her when we go out and about. She's even got an old leather holster of mine she keeps it in .

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