Help me give (anonymous wireless carrier) my money.

April 28, 2020 6:43 PM

I want to order the new phone that's being released tonight, but my carrier game is weak.

I've been with carrier for many years. It's releasing a new smartphone at midnight (Apr 28) tonight, but it's requiring the opening of a new line that I will never use. The new line must be a voice line. I'm also in the middle of a payment plan for my current phone, which is the previous model of the new phone. I'm willing to pay that off if it will help this along.

I might be able to swallow the extra $20 a month for the (what would be dormant) new line, but it's my understanding that I would not be able to port my current phone number to the new phone.

So frustrating - and I know that I'll be dealing with an overseas call center when it's ordering time tonight.
Any advice?

posted by DandyRandy to Technology (2 answers total)

I am not sure which carrier or phone to which you refer (T-Mobile, OnePlus? Verizon, iPhone SE?)) but as for the phone number/line on each phone, if they have sim cards, the same size, just switch the sim. I have 3 lines and 4 phones and switch the numbers to each phone regularly. If it is a software sim, it is my experience with AT&T and T-Mobile that a phone call to customer service will switch them if you have the imei numbers handy.

While you cannot port your line out to another carrier while you still owe money on the phone you got for that line, as long as the lines stay with the carrier, no worries. I actually have gotten a "free" phone in the form of monthly credits and gave that brand new phone to a relative at the same carrier but a different account. Once the phone has been activated, it should work.

Paying off the older phone will, as far as I understand it, fix any concerns you might have. Once you own the phone, the line is certainly not attached to it. Pay it off, get the new deal and use it with any sim from that carrier.

This is of course if you are in the US. I know nothing about non-US carrier policies and practices.

Paying an extra $20 per month for two years for an extra line just to get a phone from the carrier is adding $480 to the cost of the phone. Can you buy the phone direct from the manufacturer? Most of them will set up a payment plan similar to the carriers. IF you are going to use the new line, then it may be worth it, but...
posted by AugustWest at 7:03 PM on April 28, 2020 [3 favorites]

It's hard to say without knowing your carrier and the model of phone, but if it's one of several major US carriers and you're getting the iPhone SE (I'm just guessing based on the timing) you should be able to buy the phone from Apple directly (they have payment plans too, you would want to buy the version without a carrier), remove your old SIM card, put it in the new phone, and it should keep going just fine. I did that yesterday and the only thing that's changed is the size of the screen.

But I could be way off here. If you provide more details we might be able to help more. Feel free to memail if you want!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 4:43 PM on April 29, 2020