Solved! Red Pocket Moto G Power registration problem

Jack Aubrey

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Jan 19, 2021
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I am having trouble getting a Moto G Power 2021 version connected with Red Pocket (Verizon). My old service was a Moto G4, no SIM card, with Total Wireless (don't get me started about them). I wonder if part of the problem is because I switched devices as well as carriers. I entered SIM card ID and device ID on website and inserted the SIM card. Put in old carrier and acct number. Red Pocket says it is active so I call my number from Google Voice and neither phone answers. When I try to call from my new phone I get a message (I think it is from Verizon, though not identified) that says my PIN has defaulted to the last 4 digits of my phone number. Then it says 1 for English and 2 for Spanish. I enter 1 and it says that is an invalid entry.

Red Pocket tells me I must turn off VOLTE on my phone. I said there was no such option and that it is not mentioned in the manual either. Then they say it might be under advanced calling. That is not in the manual either. The "advanced" rep said I needed to contact Motorola and get my phone updated so I can turn off that option. No reps available after 10 PM so I enabled WiFi and checked for updates. Of course it said I had Android 10 and there was nothing to do.

Does any of this sound familiar? Is Red Pocket right? Inquiring minds want to know....

Thanks,
John

Update:
I contacted Motorola and they said this model phone has VOLTE but it cannot be turned off at the phone. Red Pocket finally relented and said they could turn it off. I have made 11 phone calls, some got disconnected after a minute, some after 30 minutes, one after 56 minutes for a total time of over 3.5 hours and the phone still does not work. Each time I called I would get a new "know nothing" that would not read the notes even though I told them to and try to walk me through the setup menus to turn off VOLTE again; as well as verifying account again, and asking for IMEI again though it is all in the account. Also these people all seem to speak English as a second language and many mumble and talk too fast. But at least they are easier to understand than the offshore people Total Wireless uses.

After all of their programming and multiple factory resets the phone would start the Verizon setup routine, telling my pass code was defaulted to the last 4 digits of my phone number, then instruct to enter 1 for English, etc. When I enter 1 it says it is an invalid entry so it sounds like they are not communicating or speaking the same language. Finally they asked me to put the SIM card in another phone and try it. Same results so I said sounds like a bad SIM, send another but they refused. It has now finally been "escalated" and they say they will get back to me in 72 hours, Monday I suppose. In the meantime, they have ripped my number away from a working service so now I have no phone service but am being billed for it since it is activated.

I thought the price was too good to be true and it seems I may be right. Besides the setup problems I had not thought about the fact that there would be no VOLTE. Money for nothing.
 
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Jack Aubrey

Great
Jan 19, 2021
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60
Update 2-9-21 10:15
It appears Red Pocket's idea of 72 hours does not include weekends, though they did not specify business days. We finally got in touch with a sharp guy named Joe yesterday and he agreed since the SIM card did not work in another phone either it is likely the card is the problem. They were going to send a card in 3-5 days. I told them I had paid $23+ to get it in 1-2 days. So now they are sending both a CDMA and a GSMA card for me to try 1-2 day priority mail.

Joe was the 2nd person I spoke to yesterday. He was sharp got straight to the problem and did not try to get me to turn off VOLTE like everyone else. He also spoke perfect English which is important to people like me with hearing damage. Some of the agents were hard to hear because of the roosters crowing in the background. (That is not a city boy gripe, we have owned chickens in the past too.) Unfortunately the first person was like most of their reps and would not believe me or read the notes and tried to walk me through turning off VOLTE again. Actually twice. I explained there was no option on the phone to turn off VOLTE and he starts right in again with "go to settings, networks... .


If it ever works it will be interesting to compare voice quality with my wife's phone vs mine, IE VOLTE vs not.

Note to Red Pocket: Saying "I apologize" or "I am sorry" for the inconvenience over and over does not fix anything and only annoys the customer after hearing it too many times over a period of 4.5 hours of phone time.
 
One of the hallmarks or those cheap carriers is that support and device activation is not as easy as with the larger ones. That is why they are cheap.

Have never even heard of that Red Pocket company, but looks like they were founded in 2006.

If you want to use the Verizon network, the Visible company is an MVNO that is actually owned by Verizon, that is probably the one I would go to for that.
 

Jack Aubrey

Great
Jan 19, 2021
12
0
60
Thanks for the note. I will keep them in mind. However, their cost is $25/month, RP is $10.

I looked at Mint at $15/mo but unfortunately they are T-Mobile, which has no signal at my house. Seems they are good in big cities and maybe the Interstate, out in the country, not so hot.

So I will look again for Verizon based MVNOs.
 

CParsons

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Staff member
Dec 4, 2019
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4,665
Thanks for the note. I will keep them in mind. However, their cost is $25/month, RP is $10.

I looked at Mint at $15/mo but unfortunately they are T-Mobile, which has no signal at my house. Seems they are good in big cities and maybe the Interstate, out in the country, not so hot.

So I will look again for Verizon based MVNOs.

Ting is also another good Verizon MVNO.
 

CParsons

Estimable
Staff member
Dec 4, 2019
93
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4,665
Visible says my IMEI is imcompatible but Verizon says it is OK. Ting is OK with it too.

Visible only allows certain devices even if they are compatible. However, there is also the chance the IMEI checker is just plain wrong. You can contact them and have them double-check because their own compatibility list notes the G Power - https://www.visible.com/help/compatible
 
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