Can I do initial setup without inserting SIM card until I'm ready to activate?

[srothkin]

I've been using a Motorola Droid and I just received my new Thunderbolt. My plan was to initially skip activating the thunderbolt and just use the WiFi while I go through the process of getting all my data transferred to and apps properly setup on the Thunderbolt. This way if I need to spread this out over a few days (due to limited time to work on it), I can still take my Droid with me to have access to the apps I need away from home. I was going to activate the thunderbolt on VZW as the last step of my transition process.

However, I noticed that the Thunderbolt comes with a SIM card and that the instructions say to call the special number to activate the SIM card before putting it into the Thunderbolt and that the Thunderbolt would then activate automatically when I turn the Droid off and turn the Thunderbolt on. Originally I had figure that the activation to transfer service from my Droid to the Thunderbolt wouldn't happen until I explicitly asked for it by dialing *228 and following the activation process (like I did originally for the Droid).

So I'm wondering if I can get away with using the Thunderbolt without the SIM card until I'm ready to activate it, or if I have to insert the SIM card for the Thunderbolt to even work (and if that's the case, do I have to activate the SIM card first, or can I just insert it and activate it a few days later when I'm ready)?

 

[Laur3nNewm4n]

Yes, you can. I'm doing the same thing, and I have mine all set up, synced with Google and everything over WiFi.

 

[Laur3nNewm4n]

Just wanted to reassure you that it can be done. I just got back from Verizon - all they did was activate a SIM card, pop it in, activate, and I rebooted. I'm all set up on their network, and had already set up everything on the WiFi.