Select and set up your prepaid plan FAQs

Prepaid service lets you pay in advance for monthly voice, text and data services for your mobile device. There's no credit check, deposit or long-term contract required, like you'd have with a standard account (which gives you a bill for your usage at the end of each month).

As your plan renewal date approaches each month, you can make a payment to your account to keep your account active and avoid service disruptions.

Note: Monthly prepaid plans renew on the same date every month, regardless of how many days there are in the month.

Go to our Prepaid Plans page to shop for and purchase a plan that fits your needs.

All our prepaid phone plans include:

• Unlimited Talk & Text to the US
• Unlimited Text to over 200 international destinations including Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico
• A data allowance for a set monthly price (including unlimited options and an option with no high-speed data)
• Access to many optional features. Some are included for no additional cost, and others you can subscribe to for a monthly fee.

There are also prepaid data only plans available for tablets, mobile hotspots and routers.

Prepaid service is available throughout the US. If you use your prepaid phone on a call outside of the prepaid coverage area, roaming charges may apply. Domestic voice roaming is billed at $0.20/minute. Data is not available while roaming.

Depending on your device, you may see the word "Extended" or "Roaming" at the top of your device, when the device is roaming domestically. If your device doesn't support showing "Extended" or “Roaming,” please refer to our coverage maps.

To see a map of the prepaid coverage area:

1. Go to our Network page.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the map, and tap or click Expand interactive map.
3. Tap or click the Menu icon in the top left corner of the map.
4. Select Prepay Voice.

The prepaid coverage map will display.

You can also use your prepaid phone in many other countries. See the Prepaid International page for available countries and their roaming rate details.

You can save $5/month by using Auto Pay. The Auto Pay discount is available on all current prepaid phone plans and select older monthly prepaid plans. It's not available on current prepaid data only plans (e.g., for tablets, mobile hotspots, etc.).

You can also earn 2 levels of monthly Loyalty Discounts ($5 or $10) simply by keeping your prepaid line active. Loyalty Discounts are only available on current prepaid plans for phones.

Prepaid data only devices – Save $30/month when you add a current prepaid data only plan to your existing prepaid account with at least 1 line. The first line on your account can be either a phone or data only device. Each additional data only line receives a $30/month discount.

Yes, you can change your prepaid account to a postpaid account or vice versa by calling our Sales team at (800) 225-5499.

Loyalty Discounts are monthly savings you earn by keeping your prepaid phone plan active. When you make a payment each month to renew your plan, you get closer to earning your discount:

• Renew your plan 3 times – Receive a $5/month discount (starting the 4th month)
• Renew your plan 9 times – Receive an additional $5/month discount for a total discount of $10/month (starting the 10th month)

Note: Loyalty Discounts aren't available for prepaid data only plans.

No, as long as you've made 3 or 9 monthly payments on your account, you'll receive your $5 or $10 monthly Loyalty Discount when you make your next monthly payment. Missing a payment doesn't mean you have to earn your Loyalty Discount all over again.

You'll only lose your Loyalty Discount if your line's service is completely canceled, not just temporarily suspended.

If you switch to a new phone plan, you'll earn Loyalty Discounts based on how long your line has been active and how many months of payment have been received.

For example, if your line has been active for a total of 4 months, you'll start receiving a $5/month discount right away. If your line has been active for a total of 10 months, you'll automatically receive the $10/month discount when you switch plans.

Note: If you receive discounts or promotional data with your old plan that aren't offered on the new plan (e.g., double data, multi-line discount, etc.), you'll no longer receive those when you switch plans.

You can view your current plan in My Verizon and compare it with the new plans available.

Yes, you can get both the Auto Pay discount and a Loyalty Discount on your prepaid phone line. Go to our discount calculator on our prepaid shop page for more information.

Note: The Auto Pay discount and Loyalty Discount aren't available on current prepaid data only lines.

5G Nationwide access is included with all our currently offered prepaid plans.

5G Ultra Wideband is only included with the following current prepaid plans:

• $75 Prepaid Unlimited Plus phone plan
• 100 GB data only prepaid plan
• 150 GB data only prepaid plan

5G Ultra Wideband is available in parts of dozens of major cities including Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and more.

Learn about 5G networks and 5G devices.

Note: A capable device is required to connect to the 5G networks. Talk & Text plan is limited to 2G data speeds only.

With the prepaid $35 Talk and Text plan, even if you have a 5G-capable device and you’re in a 5G coverage area, your data will still be at the plan's 2G speeds.

If you want to buy a new phone, go to our Prepaid Shop page to see all the prepaid phones available. Otherwise, visit a Verizon store or your local retailer.

You can also check our Bring Your Own Device page to see if you can use a phone you already have (including Apple® iPhone®). Learn more on our Bring Your Own Device FAQs page.

Once you've signed up for prepaid services:

1. Turn on your new phone.
2. Select one of the following options:
   • New Customer – If you're creating a new Verizon prepaid account
   • Existing Customer – If you're adding a line to an existing Verizon prepaid account (e.g., setting up a Prepaid Family Account)
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to finish connecting your phone to your Verizon account.
4. Make a call from your phone to complete your activation.

Attention: If you don't make a call, send a text or use data on your prepaid phone within 60 days of adding funds to your account, any funds you added to your account will be forfeited and your service will be disconnected.

If you aren't able to activate your phone using the instructions above, you can activate your prepaid phone online or call (866) 893-7723.

Many things you do on a mobile device require data, like accessing the internet, streaming music and using GPS.

While your actual usage may be different, here's a general idea of how much data you may use each month per device based on certain usage habits:

These numbers are approximate and don't represent your personal data usage. Visit My Verizon to see your personal data usage, if you have any, to better know which data plan is right for you.

If you sign up for a plan and find you use more or less data than expected, you can change your plan in My Verizon to better fit your usage needs.

Note: Data usage for mobile hotspots can be much higher depending on how many devices are connected and how much those devices are streaming videos and music. For example, if you have 3 devices connected and streaming videos or music, the data usage for the mobile hotspot may be 30+ GBs.

If you use all of your high speed data, you still stay online and connected at 2G speeds (up to 128 kbps) for the rest of your monthly bill cycle. This prepaid benefit is called Always-On Data.

Always-On Data is always on and available at no additional charge with all monthly plans (not applicable on prepaid unlimited plans). There's no account or phone setting to turn on.

You can purchase more high speed data for your prepaid phone plan* through My Verizon or the My Verizon app on your prepaid smartphone.
*Not applicable on unlimited prepaid plans.

After you exceed your high speed data allowance on your data only plan, your data speed will be reduced to 3 Mbps on 5G Ultra Wideband and 600 Kbps on 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE for the rest of the month.*

Additional high speed data isn't available for purchase on prepaid data only plans. But you can change your plan as needed in My Verizon.
*Data experience will be impacted.

There will be no impact to calling and texting, but the impact on apps depends on how much data the app uses. Video streaming and audio streaming may be impacted while at reduced data speeds.

Note: You won't experience any reduction in speed while using Wi-Fi.

Your prepaid service includes:

• Voicemail*
• Caller ID and Caller ID Blocking
• Call Waiting
• Call Forwarding
• 3-Way Calling
• Free Visual Voicemail for iPhone®
• Wi-Fi Calling

*Voicemail may not be available in some areas. Voice mailboxes not set up within 60 days will be canceled. Airtime and other charges are incurred when using voicemail from your mobile phone. Mobile to Mobile Calling minutes don't apply to voicemail retrievals, and you'll be charged to maintain your connection to voicemail. Verizon is not responsible for missed messages or deletions of messages from your voice mailbox, even if you have saved them.

Mobile Hotspot is included on:

• Most monthly prepaid phone plans with set high speed data allowances
• The current $75 Prepaid Unlimited Plus plan*
• Current prepaid data only plans for tablets**
  

You can add the Mobile Hotspot feature to:

• The $65 Prepaid Unlimited plan for $5/month***

Mobile Hotspot isn't included on:

• The $35 Monthly plan with only 2G data
• Other prepaid unlimited plans

If you aren't sure if Mobile Hotspot is included with your prepaid plan, go to the Plan Details page in My Verizon. Mobile Hotspot will be mentioned there if it's included with your plan.

Note: You must have a capable device to use Mobile Hotspot. All data used by devices connected to your Mobile Hotspot counts toward the high-speed data allowance of your prepaid plan.

*Mobile Hotspot access includes Unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband Mobile Hotspot when in a 5G Ultra Wideband location, plus 10 GB of 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE data, then speeds up to 600 Kbps the remainder of the month. Your data experience and functionality of some data applications such as streaming video or audio may be impacted.

**Only after exceeding high speed allowance, data speed reduced to 3 Mbps when on 5G Ultra Wideband and 600 Kbps when on 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE for the rest of the month. Data experience will be impacted.

***Mobile Hotspot access includes 10 GB of 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE data, then speeds up to 600 Kbps the remainder of the month. Your data experience and functionality of some data applications such as streaming video or audio may be impacted.

You can sign up for Verizon Cloud for a monthly fee.

Learn about Verizon Cloud.

Yes, you can call 411 from your prepaid phone. A live operator will assist you when you request numbers, addresses and information for anything from restaurants and movies to the nearest florist.

Calls to 411 Search are $1.99/call. If you don't have unlimited minutes, you'll also be charged airtime. You must have a balance on your account to cover the cost of the call.

You can use HD Voice on your prepaid device if it's compatible with HD Voice. The HD Voice feature will automatically be turned on when you activate a compatible phone on your prepaid account.

For more information, refer to our HD Voice FAQs.

Yes, with prepaid service you can make calls to international locations at your per-minute rate plus the per-minute charges found on the Prepaid International Calling page.

If you frequently call other countries, we offer:

• Select prepaid smartphone plans that include calls to Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands
• Prepaid International Calling plans that you can add to your prepaid plan for a set monthly fee

International networks can change frequently, so certain locations may not be available at all times. Pricing is subject to change without notice. Unlimited night and/or weekend minutes don't apply to international calls.

Yes, you can use your prepaid phone for calling, texting and data in many international locations. For details, visit our Prepaid International Travel FAQs.

For a low daily rate, you can add TravelPass® to your prepaid phone plan. It lets you take your talk, text and data allowances with you while traveling to many countries. Learn more in our Prepaid TravelPass FAQs.

Note: TravelPass isn't available for prepaid data only plans.