Because I cannot go to a store, customer service says I will lose my number and I have to take a new plan that is 30% more expensive.

I'm with Att prepaid. I lost my phone. I bought a new one on Ebay. I need an ATT prepaid sim card for my current plan.

Also, I cannot go to a store as I'm quarantining, mandatory by law. Also the next shop would be a 2 1/2 hours drive through the jungle. However I can receive mail.

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Jungle? The United States doesn't have a jungle. I suppose Puerto Rico does, sort of. All states are reopening services and allowing essential travel.
It does make the loss of a phone puzzling when you are staying at home. No? 🤨
You can have a replacement SIM mailed if you are in the USA or it's territories. AT&T does not mail outside of the USA.

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youssou

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I'm on Maui, Hawaii. There is a 14 day mandatory quarantine for all travelers, even inter island, until June 30th. I flew into Maui from a neighboring island a couple of days ago and probably lost my phone at the airport from which I departed.

See here https://www.google.com/search?q=interisland+travel+restrictions&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS885US885&oq=interisland+travel+restrictions&aqs=chrome..69i57.13611j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I'm currently doing my mandatory quarantine. And I'm surrounded by jungle. It takes 2 1/2 hours to go to the next ATT store and this driving a road that is famously something else.

The sales department said, they can only send me a SIM card with a new number. If I want to keep my number I would have to go to the shop. Same applies to my plan. If they mailed me the SIM card I would have to take a far more expensive plan, as the plan I have is not on offer any more.

(edited)

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4 years ago

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formerlyknownas

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

🤦🏼‍♀️. I'm a dope. I forgot about Hawaii.
Yes, Hawaii is being very strict about its 14-day quarantine.
( you can skip this paragraph and go straight to the"however")
AT&T makes it very difficult to get a replacement SIM card. Your options are call AT&T and have the mail you a replacement. Order one online from Amazon, eBay, or Best Buy, any of those will ship you a replacement SIM card for a $5 charge and no hassle.

However: The problem is AT&T cannot authenticate Who You Are, or put you on your existing phone number and plan without you personally showing up with your identification and they will need your original method of payment. Unfortunately they have given you the correct options. You could choose a cheap plan temporarily just so that you have a functional phone and at the end of 14 days then go in and authenticate who you are and get a Sim with your phone number. Your account and phone number will not expire for at least 30 days from when your balance is $0. So don't worry about your account being cancelled. Unfortunately it is going to wreck a day getting a replacement.
It would be terribly irresponsible of them to let you swap your phone number to a new SIM card without proving that you are who you say you are.

🐾 I don’t work for AT&T or any carrier. Former AT&T, Current Verizon customer. My replies are based on experience and reading content available on the website. If you posted personal information, please edit and remove.

Award for Community Excellence Achiever*
*I am not an AT&T employee, and the views and opinions expressed on this forum are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party.

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4 years ago

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youssou

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Thanks, for bearing with me.

It might be a very clumsy sales strategy. That's unfortunate, because they say the "safety of our employees and customers remain our top priority" and "keep customers connected".

If it were about security and identification their system left a lot to be desired. I mean, banks are able to identify you online. I've just done that recently.

The cheapest plan they offer is 30% over my current plan. Lucky me, I guess.

I don't know what's happening to the plan. I'm still on auto payment. It doesn't really look like it's cancelled. I did, however report my device as lost. What do you think?

It will probably be weeks before I get an opportunity to travel to the next shop.

And after all this, my gut feeling is entering into an additional arrangement with them is probably double trouble. There might be problems to get out of it, there might be problems to get my old plan back.

My trust levels are pretty much zero, at the moment.

I appreciate your help! Honestly, that's awesome that you spend your time helping out confused customers.

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4 years ago

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formerlyknownas

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

I totally understand your frustration with this process. Just keep in mind that when your bank needs to identify you they do so online with your phone number or your email if you cannot login with your username and passcode.
AT&T identifies you as the owner of your account by sending a text to your phone. Without your phone and the SIM card with your phone number on it the only identifying information is your picture ID and the method of payment that you have been using on your account for refills.

Your(old) account and number will not be canceled.
Even if you stop paying your account does not cancel for 30 days (maybe more) from the time your balance is 0.

Suspending service was the correct thing to do so that no one else can access your account and make changes that might draw money out of your debit/checking/credit card. If the phone itself did not have a screen lock on it, the data can be viewed by anyone who can open up the phone. Hopefully it is off and in a lost-and-found bin somewhere.

You said the cheapest plan they offer is 30% more than what you are paying.
?? Must be an old plan.
AT&T has pay-per-use plans which charge you either $2 per day (unlimited talk and text) or $0.25 per minute and 20 cents per text. There is also a $30 plan with two gigs of data.
You are only looking for a new phone, and a 30 day plan to tide you over until you can get to a store and replace your sim card. The phone of course you can keep and use once you recover your original phone number and plan.
Prepaid service is not a long-term arrangement. You can purchase a plan for just the 30 days, turn auto-pay off immediately, and never refill the account. It will self-terminate with no penalty. Don't forget to write down your passcode, and pin number for your new account so that you will be able to log back in to turn off auto-pay.

Glad I can help.

🐾 I don’t work for AT&T or any carrier. Former AT&T, Current Verizon customer. My replies are based on experience and reading content available on the website. If you posted personal information, please edit and remove.

Award for Community Excellence Achiever*
*I am not an AT&T employee, and the views and opinions expressed on this forum are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party.

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4 years ago

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youssou

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22 Messages

Thanks, for your for the tip, getting a temporary contract.

I think my current contract is about 2 years old. It came with a phone I bought in an ATT store. It's $25/m on autopay. The cheapest I have seen is a plan for $35 dollars on autopay. $30 if you pay for a year in advance.

Mind you, my current plan is so cheap because it has no data. But I'm happy with it.

I started off with the $0.25 per text of a certain length. But it was incredibly expensive after a while as they charged outgoing as well as incoming texts. And you will get a lot of SMS by people with unlimited plans.

Two dollars a day would amount to $60 a month. Which is a far cry from my $25.

In any case, what's really important to me is not making calls or sending text messages. I can do that on Skype from my laptop. There are some financial apps that contain money I need to access and some communication apps, where people try to reach me, which are tied to my cell phone number.

It is what it is, I guess. It's a mess. And I can't get out of that easily or quickly.

I do hope the phone switched itself off. I spoke to all the places I were in these two hours between using it and finding out it's missing. It can only be at the place I lived at. The car that took me to the airport and the airport. But everybody looked and nobody has found it.

Anyway, thanks so much for your help. At least I do now know my options.

Have a great day!

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Because I cannot go to a store, customer service says I will lose my number and I have to take a new plan that is 30% more expensive.

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