Cell phones, changing carriers, number portability and other considerations
February 9, 2006 6:49 PM   Subscribe

Cell phones, changing carriers, number portability and other considerations.

I am a T-Mobile customer who wants a new cellphone, and it's very important that I keep my existing number. T-Mobile wants $200 and a 2-year commitment for the phone I want, but Wirefly is offering the same phone for a one-year contract and $100. Just close my old account and open a new one-- no problem, right? Unfortunately, T-Mobile is the only carrier for the new phone. Hence, I can't port my number over because it's staying at the same carrier. And the deal at Wirefly is for new lines of service only. Is there any top-secret way to get the phone from Wirefly and keep my number? Or is there any place where I can park the number and only use it to check voicemail? Or is there any carrier where there's a dirt-cheap monthly plan where I can park the number? Are there any other suggestions?
posted by Kwantsar to Technology (9 answers total)
 
T-Mobile uses a GSM network for cell phones, and if Wirefly offers the same phone then they probably are too. With GSM networks, you can use any GSM phone with them. GSM phones have "SIM cards" in them that contain your phone number. These cards are easily removable from one phone and put into another. I've done this many times over the years, moving between phones on the same provider or the same phone on different GSM providers.

The only gotcha is that most GSM phones you get from your provider are 'locked' to a provider and must be unlocked before they can be used. You can usually find an "unlocked" or "sim free" version of the phone you want on ebay or online retailer.

Once you have your new phone, just remove the SIM card from your existing phone and plug it into your new (unlocked) phone. Everything should just work and T-Mobile will be none the wiser.

Which phone are you considering?
posted by todbot at 7:31 PM on February 9, 2006


todbot, I think Wirefly is a third-party reseller for T-Mobile, and not a mobile network itself, so the OP is trying to find a way to sign up with T-Mobile through Wirefly after his current contract with T-Mobile is up. AFAIK, carriers often have restrictions on just this situation to prevent current customers from taking advantage of such deals.
posted by gyc at 7:52 PM on February 9, 2006


Response by poster: gyc is right, but my current contract is up. The phone I covet is the PEBL.
posted by Kwantsar at 7:57 PM on February 9, 2006


Try calling your current provider and telling them that you are looking for a deal on the PEBL. Don't tell them you care about keeping your number, make them think that you are shopping other providers for phone deals as well. Since your contract is up, they will be interested in getting you to re-sign soon.
posted by MrZero at 8:16 PM on February 9, 2006


talk to t-mobile retentions when your contract is up, but honestly, the path of least resistance is to just buy an unlocked phone from somewhere - try phonescoop for vendor listings. yes, you'll pay a premium, but you covet the phone and your number, right? plus you can take it to another carrier since you won't want to extend your contract.
posted by kcm at 8:55 PM on February 9, 2006


here, $300.
posted by kcm at 8:56 PM on February 9, 2006


If your current contract is expired, all you have to do is sign up for a new line of service with wirefly (use or omit your middle initial; they are so eager to sign people up, they'll never know.) Once you have the new number, call them under the "new account" and have the number ported over.

Sounds ridculous, I've never done it, but I'd bet dollars to donuts no one would be the wiser.

Or, get a prepaid phone, port that number to it, then sign a new contract with wirefly (after canceling the other account.)

This will work, but requires some finessing, basically you need a reliable phone number "escrow." You might even consider the cost of a month of land line services (for a month / get a second line as long as there aren't wiring expenses, then call forward to your new cingular account) After a month, port the number from your land line to your new cell phone.

Problem solved.
posted by AllesKlar at 9:15 PM on February 9, 2006


reads ridiculous too eh?
posted by AllesKlar at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2006


I would just buy the unlocked phone. The cheap price + contract is the provider's way of ammortizing the real cost of the phone ($300 apparently). It's a guaranteed 1 or 2 year's worth of charges from you. The Wirefly thing is probably a loss leader deal the provider is willing to make to get new customers, betting that once they have you, you'll stay with them.
posted by todbot at 10:13 PM on February 9, 2006


« Older Where to watch the Olympics online?   |   Password Retreival Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.