Verizon 'Provisioning error' message, 480p video streaming on 5G Start & 'Important plan information': Here's what you need to know

Verizon is one of the largest and most important phone carriers in the US market. It faces other big names in the segment like T-Mobile and AT&T.

For some time now, phone carriers have been working on establishing their 5G networks. Today, 5G is still in the process of expansion, but it already has a remarkable range.

Each carrier offers its own plans with certain capacity, limits and more things to consider. Verizon in particular has 4 plans for 5G networks.

However, users of the Verizon base plan (5G Start) have been receiving a ‘Provisioning error’ message indicating that streaming video will operate at 480p (not HD). Throughout this story you have everything you need to know about the matter.

First, the currently available Verizon 5G plans are as follows:

The last 3 plans offer different 5G/4G LTE data capabilities and other benefits (which you can check at this link). However, the base plan (5G Start) does not offer any amount of data included.

There is another big difference between the base plan and the more expensive ones. Verizon 5G Start plan doesn’t offer access to 5G Ultra Wideband (just ‘common’ 5G networks) or mobile hotspot access.

That said, the lack of 5G Ultra Wideband access directly impacts video streaming capabilities.

Verizon 5G Start plan users are receiving a ‘Provisioning error’ message. The full notification specifies that the device will receive an update after which streaming video (while using 5G) will be limited to SD resolution (480p).

If you received the above message and don’t know why, it’s basically due to the Verizon 5G Start plan terms of use. A ‘Verizon important plan information’ page specifies the following:

720p HD Video Streaming available on smartphones for 5G Play More, 5G Do More and 5G Get More unlimited plans (must be turned on by customer in My Verizon online, the My Verizon App or by calling customer service); otherwise user will receive SD Video Streaming. SD (480p) Video Streaming on 5G Start.
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In other words, Verizon’s terms and conditions of use indicate that users whose plan does not offer access to 5G Ultra Wideband networks will not be able to enjoy video streaming in resolutions above 480p.

And, as mentioned, the Verizon 5G Start plan does not offer access to 5G Ultra Wideband. So, if you got the Verizon ‘Provisioning error’ message and you set the 5G Start plan, that’s why.

It’s worth pointing out that some Verizon 5G Start plan users were able to enjoy video streaming in HD resolution (720p or more) for a while before receiving the ‘Provisioning error’ message.

However, this could be due to a ‘confusion’ in the system where Verizon had not yet correctly identified that you were a 5G Start plan user.

So, when the system checks that you use the 5G base plan (without access to 5G Ultra Wideband), it will send the ‘Provisioning error’ message to your device before sending an update that limits video streaming to 480p.

It means your plan doesn’t support the HD video option, but you likely had a feature code provisioned on your account that was allowing it to work.

When the system sees the plan and feature code don’t match/play well together, it flags an error and sounds to be trying to course correct.

Odds are your previous plan allowed for HD streaming, and your new one does not.
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The issue in question could happen if you previously had a plan with access to 5G Ultra Wideband, and then changed it to the 5G Start plan.

Some users suggest a workaround that could help you bypass the video streaming resolution limitation. Basically, it seems that using a VPN or switching to a free DNS (such as Cloudflare) could be enough.

Get 1.1.1.1 it’s a free dns from CloudFlare and bypasses video throttling. Works like a charm. After installing do a before/after on fast.com to validate that it’s working.
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In case you want to know in detail the benefits and disadvantages of different carrier plans, you can check this complete comparison (by The Verge).

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