Porting cell phone numbers

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Somewhere I read that there's a new law going into effect in August that will make it easier to port your cell phone number from one phone to another. Has anyone heard this?

I have a cheapie Tracfone, and I would like to get a nice new Tracfone, but the last time I did this kind of upgrade I spent literally six hours on the phone with Tracfone's horrible, horrible, horrible customer service reps. I would like to avoid ever spending another minute of my life with them.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

I thought the porting of cell phone numbers had been available for awhile now. Dh was going to do this when he was moving his cell phone number from work to our home account. He ran into a problem because his work account was a business account and our home account wasn't. Otherwise it seemed as if there would have been no problems. I'd call the carrier you want to switch to and see what they say. Being really dumb about how these things work, wouldn't your number be retained if you use the same card that is in your current phone?

I found this by googling:

Porting a cell phone number is the process of switching cellular phone service providers while maintaining your current number. All that is needed is for a cell phone user to contact their current service provider and ask it if he or she is eligible for a cell number transfer to a new carrier. Once that has been confirmed, all the customer needs to do is contact a new cell phone service provider and they will take care of the entire process of porting the number in a matter of hours.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it is easy, but there are several things a consumer must take into account when changing service providers by porting a number. First, you must make sure that you are eligible to port your number. Many providers require a termination fee regardless of whether or not you are porting your number. This should be taken into account when seeing if porting fits inside your budget. There are several other potential costs as well. For example, even though you can keep your old number you may be required to get a new phone that is compatible with the new service provider's network. You must also be prepared to give up your information before the porting process can be set in motion. Finally, it is always important to determine if the new cell phone provider fits well with your budget. There will certainly be a lot of initial fees on top of the new provider's standard billing rates, so it is important to do research before porting your number.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Yes, it's been available for several years. But there are technological stumbling blocks that make it, sometimes, not so easy. It's not just a financial thing or a network thing, it seems to have something to do with service areas and satellites and where you are and whatever the Tracfone reps are smoking that day.

[Kay H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kay H]

I have an ATT pay as you go phone. I prepay for a card because I don't use my cell phone much. I want a phone with a cover so I asked ATT if I'm eligible for a free upgrade. Was told pay as you go doesn't qualify for a free upgrade but can purchase an inexpensive ATT phone from wherever I want and not to have it activated when I purchase it. Call them and they will activate it with my present number. Haven't looked for new phone yet.