Upgrading from iPad 9.7 Verizon

rickself

rickself

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I want to upgrade my wife's iPad from a 2018 iPad 9.7 to a new iPad. She has a nerve damage disability and uses her iPad for Happy Color painting app. It takes her mind off the pain.
Not an air or a Pro, just a newer, better, faster model. I'd like to buy from anywhere but Verizon. What is the process of buying from a retailer like Best Buy and keeping the Verizon service? I see if I want to buy a unit that is specific to Verizon, I can't. Not through Best Buy anyway. But Amazon and other retailers sell iPads that are non specific.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
 
Hey Cheryl - thanks for the reply.
I'm just curious how easy it it to port a new iPad to an existing Verizon account. I guess my next step is to contact the support team at Verizon.
 
I would think it isn't hard. My old iPad just uses WiFi to connect and I didn't need a sim card installed.
 
Cheryl said:
I would think it isn't hard. My old iPad just uses WiFi to connect and I didn't need a sim card installed.
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Cheryl - I think I like what you’re saying. As long as I already have WiFi in the house, there is no need for me to go through Verizon with an actual phone number. The iPad is never used for calls, messaging, etc. Am I on the same page?
 
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FWIW, my wife had to have a cellular iWatch when she 1st wanted one. In the 2-3 years she owned that, never did she actually use the cell, as her iPhone was always within 20-30 feet of her. Her current watch is the 'standard' version, and all works exactly as the original one did. Saved $10/mo.
 
If you now have an iPad that is a cellular model, and move to a wifi-only iPad, your wife will have to be connected to wifi, otherwise - no internet. It's not about making phone calls on the iPad, it's more about connecting to the internet. The cellular model that your wife (apparently) has, can browse internet virtually anywhere within a few miles of a cell tower. Wifi-only means probably max 100 feet from a wifi router. That might be an issue if your wife likes to use her iPad wherever she might go.
 
The one she has now is WiFi but it’s got a Verizon SIM card. So you’re saying if we buy an unlocked WiFi model, it won’t get cell? Getting away from Verizon I guess isn’t that big an issue but it is $25 a month. We can buy an unlocked version and still go to a Verizon store to have it ported. It’s like Verizon makes it mandatory to get a new line for each device. I wasn’t quite understanding why if we buy a WiFi model from Best Buy as an example, we can pay for it outright but if we buy a Verizon model at Best Buy it’s in monthly payments.
 
Let me ask a ‘for instance’. We both always have our iPhones. Could we not use the iPhone as a hotspot that the iPad could use with its WiFi?
 
Yes, you have a cellular model (Wi-Fi + Cellular).
The Wifi-only iPad does not have a sim slot.
Wifi model is not tied to a wireless (cellular) provider, just to wifi.

You continue to pay monthly for your Verizon iPad, because you are paying for that additional cellular connection in your iPad.
The Wi-Fi iPad does not have a charge for a cellular connection, simply because it is incapable of connecting to the cellular system.
It does not have the cell hardware.
And, yes, you can connect to a hotspot through your iPhone (assuming your wireless plan allows that -- not all do.)

A wifi-model iPad is neither locked nor unlocked. It doesn't care where the wifi comes from, just needs access to a router. It is simply not capable of connecting to a cellular connection. The wifi connection provided by a hotspot will work fine.
 
And your monthly payments (above the cell connection charge) is you making installment payments for the iPad. Companies like to make it easy for customers. Instead of making a very large payment to pay for just the iPad, they break it down into monthly payments and there are a lot of people out there that shop by just how much their monthly payment is. The large upfront charge scares them away.

That's why car sales shows monthly payments rather than the full price or the full price is in tiny tiny print so you miss it.
 
Cheryl said:
And your monthly payments (above the cell connection charge) is you making installment payments for the iPad. Companies like to make it easy for customers. Instead of making a very large payment to pay for just the iPad, they break it down into monthly payments and there are a lot of people out there that shop by just how much their monthly payment is. The large upfront charge scares them away.

That's why car sales shows monthly payments rather than the full price or the full price is in tiny tiny print so you miss it.
Click to expand...
Except, in the case of cars, it includes finance charge; most iPads & iPhones are interest free.
 
Well, we just picked up a 2021 iPad 10.2 256 with 4gb at, of all places, Target. Just WiFi. With cellular was another $150. The Apple store had the same one for $5 more and we had to drive an hour to get it. So I think we got a good deal. I’ll set up our iPhones for hotspot if the iPad ever leaves the house. Thanks all for the input. That’s what I like about this forum. Not the biggest but the best information indeed.
 
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