Activate Surface 3 on Verizon Wireless?

Anonymous
2016-03-01T20:01:53+00:00

I bought a Surface 3 4G/LTE with Windows 10 in early February.  I am trying to connect it, without success, to the Vz Wireless mobile 4G/LTE network  using a Verizon-supplied Nano SIM card.  I have tried many things that I can describe if people have specific questions.  Has anyone been successful activating a Surface 3 with Windows 10 on Verizon's network?

Thanks

Surface | Surface Duo | Mobile connectivity

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Anonymous
2016-03-02T01:53:53+00:00

Hi Barb, I did find your article earlier through a Google search and it was my inspiration for working with Verizon to get this set up.  Thanks for writing it.

I did try to follow the instructions in the article but they didn't work for me.  I wasn't able to get the iPad SIM to work in the Surface using those instructions.

This afternoon, after I posted, I did some more work with Verizon.  I was finally able to get the tablet activated in a store.

First, and most important, is that the SIM card that was needed for my Surface 3 is an Android-compatible nano SIM (part number DFILL4FF-NFC-A) rather than the iPad/iPhone-compatible nano SIM.  So the short process that worked for me was: get a DFILL4FF-NFC-A nano SIM card, have Verizon put the SIM card into a floor model nano-SIM-compatible Android device (the new Samsung Tab S2 uses a nano SIM) and add that device to your account, boot up the Samsung and confirm it accesses the internet over 4G/LTE, take the SIM card, put it into the Surface and boot up the Surface.  It will take a few minutes for the Surface to activate.  Wi-Fi needs to be off while the devices are activating.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-03-02T11:53:01+00:00

    The NANO SIMs are interchangeable as they are a standard. Sounds like the first one was bad. I've seen that happen as well. I personally know several people who went to different Verizon stores and used the iPad NANO SIM process.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-03-01T22:09:00+00:00

    YES! It is tricky with the unlocked Surface 3 LTE and I've written it up at http://digitalmediaphile.com/index.php/2016/01/20/how-to-get-online-with-verizon-with-an-unlocked-surface-3-lte/

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