Tutor
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5 Messages
Cancel line with unpaid iPhone X instead of the month to month paid off iPhone lines
This is the current setup:
Sister: iPhone X - she's still paying for it (phone # doesn't matter)
Brother: iPhone 8 - paid off, month to month now (wants to keep phone #)
Mother: iPhone 7 - paid off, month to month now (wants to keep phone #)
This is the situation, my sister got in financial trouble, so she won't be able to keep paying her iPhone X. My brother will take over that iPhone X bill; however, he wants to cancel one of the lines. AT&T tells him he will have to cancel either his line or my mother's line. The issue is that neither one of them wants to lose their "Phone Number" as they've had the same number for a long time. The phone number seems to be the issue here, not the payment of the iPhone X.
My mother wants to sell her paid off iPhone 7 and use my brother's paid off iPhone 8, while my brother wants to start paying and using my sister's iPhone X, and cancel one of the lines as well; preferably my sister's line as to not lose any of the phone numbers they really want to keep.
I understand that the line with the iPhone X would be the least likely to be cancelled since the phone is still being paid for; however, is there anything they can do to get this done since the phone is still going to get paid by my brother.
If there are no issues in canceling either one of the lines from the paid off month to month iPhones... what is the issue in canceling the "Line" with the unwanted phone number for customers that have been with AT&T for a decade now since the iPhone 4? They will most definitely keep using AT&T for a long time either way. I keep thinking there's something that can be done here.
Please let me know of any known solutions. Thank you.
Accepted Solution
Official Solution
sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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64.7K Messages
5 years ago
No, there is nothing that can be done. Bottom line, the installment plan for the iPhone X is tied to that line. The installment plan can not be moved to another line. If you cancel that line, you also cancel the installment plan and you will be billed the remainder owed on the phone.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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116.4K Messages
5 years ago
@sandblaster is correct. You can ease the pay off by paying off the X with a credit card.
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Merazomo
Tutor
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5 Messages
5 years ago
What about this: We transfer/port out my mom's/brother's phone number to Google Voice, cancel my mom's/brother's month to month line, transfer the phone number from Google Voice to replace my sister's phone number with AT&T.
Doesn't AT&T allow the "Replace your current AT&T number with one you're transferring from another carrier" thing?
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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116.4K Messages
5 years ago
A line is an entity unto itself, you cannot replace it as you wrote. You can leave the number with google voice. Your brother will get all his calls as well as any for your sister. 2 numbers on phone phone, one real the GV virtual.
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Merazomo
Tutor
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5 Messages
5 years ago
The way I was able to replace the phone number of the iPhone X (phone with the installment plan) with my mother's phone number, was to port-out my mother's AT&T phone number to Google Voice for $20 and canceling one of the month to month phone lines afterwards. After 60 days you're allowed to port-in the Google Voice number to AT&T and replace an existing phone number. If you port-in the phone number before the 60 days, they will reinstate the phone number to a separate line which defeats the purpose of canceling one of the lines in the first place, so wait 60 days to replace a line. Hopefully this helps someone in the same situation.
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d0rian
Contributor
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2 Messages
5 years ago
I was going to suggest porting out either brothers or mothers line then changing the number of sisters line down the road with the number you ported out but you figured that out perfectly fine. When I read the comments above that said it couldn't be done I was literally LOL bc I knew it could be done this way. Anyway glad you got it all worked out!
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d0rian
Contributor
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2 Messages
5 years ago
Your info could not be more wrong. There is absolutely a way around this as the op has already updated.
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