Big issue is text message transfer. All group texts are gone (history with parents who have passed is lost if I keep this new phone) and no links or pictures in any texts transferred.
Verizon has no idea how to fix it. Why they sell a phone they don't know how to troubleshoot is anyone's guess.
I used the Verizon Content transfer. Unfortunately, that didn't work either. I'll contact 611 Verizon again tonight to see if there is anything else I can try
Samsung cloud is an option, but I hear that Verizon blocks access to it for some reason. You can make a backup of your old phone to an external device using smart switch, and then restore it to your new phone - if another direct transfer through Smart Switch doesn't work.
You can try restoring your Google backup, but that can only be done by resetting the phone and choosing the option during setup.
In the future, I would suggest purchasing factory unlocked phones or choosing another carrier.
See if you can download Swift backup and make a backup using that software, it's on the playstore.
Also for future reference if you can get the device unlocked you can flash U1 firmware and this eliminates all the Carrier bloat might be beneficial in your case.
