Bring your own device activation
How do we activate a customer's own device by checking its eligibility by IMEI, issuing the SIM or eSIM and activating the line, without a store visit or a call?
Make the device check the first step and the activation the last, all on the customer's screen. Callvu prefills the account and the plan, takes the device's identifier on a secure screen (typed or scanned from the device's settings), checks it against the eligibility sources (the device database for network compatibility and the bands, the blocklist for lost or stolen status, the financing and unlock status with the previous carrier where the carrier's policy requires), chases a different identifier or an unlock where the check fails, issues the eSIM profile or ships a physical SIM, guides the customer through the installation, confirms the network attach, and writes the device and the activated line to the BSS, the system of record. Live at AT&T.
Live at AT&TSimpleCallvu moves: prefill, chase and verify, write back
Last updated November 7, 2026.
The problem today
The customer's phone was compatible, unlocked and paid off, and still took two store visits and a call to activate because nobody could tell which step had failed.
Bringing your own device should be the carrier's cheapest sale: no device subsidy, no shipping, a customer who already chose the network. In practice it fails silently: the identifier is typed wrong, the device is locked to another carrier, it is on a blocklist from a prior theft, it lacks a band the network needs, the SIM in the mail is the wrong form factor. Each failure sends the customer to a store or a call where the agent starts from the beginning.
The eligibility is a set of lookups on the device's identifier: the device database for the model and the supported bands and features, the industry blocklist for lost or stolen reports, the unlock status against the previous carrier's commitments, and the carrier's own policy on which devices it supports. The SIM is a profile or a card; the activation is a network step. Every one of them can be done on the customer's own screen with the result shown at once.
A device check with a clear answer is the whole difference between a ten-minute activation and a lost customer.
How it runs
From the requestto the system of record.
A customer with their own device starts an activation on the web, in the app or on a call, on a new line or an existing one. Callvu prefills the account and opens the activation.
- Customer
- Enters or scans the device identifier, follows the SIM installation, and sees each check's result.
- Agent
- Sees the same record on a call and sends the link rather than typing the identifier.
- Activation desk
- Decides eligibility exceptions in the Decision Desk.
- Callvu
- Prefills, checks the device, chases, issues the SIM, guides the installation, confirms the attach and writes.
Prefill and capture the device
The account, the plan and the line (new or existing) are prefilled from the BSS; the customer enters the device identifier on a secure screen or scans it from the device's settings, and the model is resolved from the device database.
Chase and verify eligibility
The identifier is checked against the device database for network compatibility (the bands, the voice over LTE and the emergency calling support the carrier requires), the industry blocklist for a lost or stolen report, the unlock status (a device locked to another carrier cannot activate until unlocked under that carrier's commitment), and the carrier's supported device policy; a failed check is explained to the customer in plain terms with the fix (an unlock request to the previous carrier, a different device), and a mistyped identifier is chased with a re-entry.
Issue the SIM and decide exceptions
An eligible device receives an eSIM profile pushed or an activation code shown, or a physical SIM is shipped where the device needs one (with the form factor from the device data); an exception (a device the database does not know, a blocklist hit the customer disputes, a model the policy supports with conditions) goes to the activation desk in the Decision Desk with the checks and only the allowed outcomes: activate, activate with the condition stated, or refuse with the reason.
Activate and write back
The customer installs the SIM or the profile with the guided steps, the network attach is confirmed and the emergency calling capability is verified, the device identifier is associated with the line, and the device, the SIM and the activated line are written to the BSS, the system of record, with the customer told the line is live.
Where it ends: The device was checked on the customer's screen with each result explained, the SIM was issued in the right form, the installation was guided to a confirmed attach, and the BSS holds the device on the line. The Decision Trace shows each eligibility check and any decision; the Audit Trace shows the identifier capture, the SIM issue, the attach and the write with time.
Runtime enforcement
What is enforcedwhile the work runs.
The regulations preloaded in Callvu Studio and the bank's own policies, applied as steps that run, not lines in a binder. A step that breaks a rule does not run, so a completed run was compliant.
The handoff
Between the front doorand the back office.
The front door
The web, the app or a call with a link; the customer enters the identifier and installs the SIM on their own screen.
The back office
The activation desk sees only exceptions; the BSS receives the device and the line from the process.
The Decision Desk
- An unknown device, a disputed blocklist hit or a conditionally supported model goes to the activation desk in the Decision Desk with the checks and only activate, activate with the condition, or refuse with the reason.
Proof
Live at AT&T.Published results only.
Each result is a published claim, with its code on agents.callvu.com, where its status, source and last verified date are kept.
AT&T Business deployed 84+ processes in 5 weeks, with 34% higher order value.
ATT-05 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05
AT&T runs close to 100 processes on Callvu, including transfers of billing responsibility, port-outs, line separations, SIM changes, activations, payment arrangements, billing, prepaid and top-ups, collections, account takeover reports, authorized user changes, device financing agreements and business account onboarding.
TEL-02 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05
At AT&T, Callvu cut payment abandonment from 40% to 8% and handle time by 23%, and put 12 workflows live in 6 weeks.
ATT-06 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05
Questions
What buyers ask next,answered plainly.
What is checked on the device?
Network compatibility including the bands and the voice and emergency calling support, the lost or stolen blocklist, the unlock status with the previous carrier, and the carrier's supported device policy, by identifier, with each result shown at once.
What if the device is locked to another carrier?
It cannot activate until that carrier unlocks it; the customer is told how to request the unlock and the activation waits with a reminder.
Does the customer need a physical SIM?
Only if the device needs one; an eSIM-capable device receives the profile on its screen, and a physical SIM is shipped in the form factor the device data specifies.
Related processes
Bring this process, or the one that costs you most.
We build it against your policies and your systems, train your team and stay with you through launch. You are live in weeks.