Contributor
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2 Messages
Changing phone number on a contract not possible?
Just got off the phone with AT & T wireless and they said it can’t be done. Wondering if any of you might have a solution.
I need to drop one line from the 4 on my AT&T contract in July of 2014. Two lines have their contract expire July 2014 – the other 2 in July 2015. The phone number of one that expires in 2015 is the one I want to drop. I want to transfer my son’s 10+ year old phone number to the July 2015 phone (already changed the number a couple of months ago– now just trying to get paperwork worked out).
After speaking with a supervisor, AT&T support says I have 2 options. Pay the contract out on the 2015 phone number ($240) or get a new random number for my son. They say I can’t move the number he has had since high school, serving the US Army in Iraq, and now in college.
Any ideas will be appreciated?
Accepted Solution
Official Solution
loganic
Former Employee
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636 Messages
10 years ago
There's some small grey area, to that, but if you're talking about what I think you are, then I don't see a reason per se, why it wouldn't work.
So, if I'm understanding you right,
You'd port out your son's line, after his contract expires to some no contract service,
After the 2 months, where he can return his phone # to his old line expires, you would port his number back to AT&T.
You can often use a ported in phone number to replace an existing one, so you may be able to have it replace one of the contract lines?
Important things to keep in mind.
Port in/port outs usually cancel the lines automatically.
To avoid fees, it just has to be your first day out of contract, no minimum outsde of that.
Usually most services, including AT&T still hold you responsible the the full final month of service, even if the line stops prior to that. So you choose to wait instead till the last few days of your billing cycle.
Lines need to be active at the time of porting to be ported out.
Returning within 2 months, automatically returns you to your original services, instead of being usable for a different line.
-Alex
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Pinspotter
Scholar
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51 Messages
10 years ago
just take the sim card out of the 2014 phone and put it in the 2015 phone that is all you need to do , that is you want your son to have the newer phone.
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loganic
Former Employee
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636 Messages
10 years ago
I think his concern is that he wants to cancel the line with the 2014 contract, but somehow wants to keep the phone number. Since neither phone numbers nor contracts can be direct ported like that, he is stuck.
That's probably why the supervisor reccomended having his son use one of the 2015 numbers and getting a new phone number.
Phone number changes are usually a pain, for a few weeks. Many people end up having to change their phone numbers every few years. Because of data mining online, people's numbers are sold to telemarketers with some regularity. People relent to the onslaught of unwanted calls and inevitablly change their numbers.
It won't make it easier the first time, but he won't be alone in having to do it, for whatever reason.
-Alex
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jpclarks
Contributor
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2 Messages
10 years ago
You stated my issue much better than I did. Not sure if this would work but here is a thought I had. Keep paying for the 4 lines with AT&T. Get a month to month contract with a different carrier and have my son's phone number moved there. Get a new random number for my son's contract and mine (getting his phone number and mine off of all contracts). After some period - cancel the month to month service and get his number moved back to the 2015 contract. Do you know how long it would have to be off of all AT&T contracts before I could do that - or if it would even work?
Thanks for your help.
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