How to port an existing phone number to N4 on ST

[robert221usa]

hey all - new to the forums and new to android. decided to get my first nexus device with the 4 and while i wait for it arrive i have a question for all of you smarter than me - which is all of you on this topic!

I am going to try Straight Talk so I can jump between ATT and TMO to try out both and see which is best in my area - I have an exsisting phone with Verizon and I would like to keep my number and xfer it to the N4 - after I get the SIM cards and get those running with ST how do I get my phone number on the N4? And how do i get it to work on both ATT and TMO month to month when I put in the different sims or is it that I need a new number for each ?

Thanks all

 

[gargoyle_48770]

as for getting your old number your probably going to have to talk to the carrier, but as for getting it to ring on either the tmo and att sim car the only way i can think if is using a third party app like google voice and have it ring both numbers tmo and att at the same time so no matter what one is called it will go to both phones. but then you would not be using verizons number sense i don't think you can transfer verizons number to google voice there may be other apps out there you can transfer it to for a fee not sure myself. as for haveing the same number on your phone going back and fourth you would have to deal with the carrier each and every time you wanted to swithch

 

[YesPlease]

Pretty sure you can port that number to Google voice for a one time fee of like $20. Once ported set it to forward to both tmo and att like mentioned above. You will probably have to port before you cancel your Verizon service.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[limdoug]

https://www.google.com/voice/porting

Enter your number into that box to see if you are eligible to port. After that follow the instructions on this thread...

[GUIDE] Smartphone Service for just $30/month - xda-developers

The instructions aren't exactly what you are looking to do, but at least it'll show you how to set up your google voice account and how to use it while switching between carriers and keeping the same number.

Good luck.

FYI...I just ported out of Sprint into Google Voice and it was a pretty painless process.

 

[robert221usa]

Interesting - and thank you.

So if I understand what everyone is saying I will have 2 new phone numbers - 1 for ATT SIM and 1 for TMO SIM. I happen to use GV already and have my Verizon number forwarded to GV and frankly only use my Verizon # for MMS since GV is not able to do that for me.

But bottom line my existing Verizon number will either go away or I port it to GV. And I will get new numbers to go with ATT and TMO - no way to make one of those numbers my existing Verizon.

Do I have that straight? (talk)

 

[rclifton]

The easiest way to do it is to call the number listed in the packet the sim card comes in as soon as you get it and have them activate your service and port your number all at the same time. When you port your number out it will automatically terminate your service with Verizon. Doing it this way without activating the sim before porting is the best way to avoid any unneccesary hassles.

 

[robert221usa]

Thanks RC - My goal is to try ATT and TMO to see which one works better in my area and my regular travels - so I am not 100% sure which one I am going to stick with - meaning ATT or TMO - are you suggesting I can keep my verizon number with Straight Talk no matter if i use ATT or TMo?

 

[rclifton]

Thanks RC - My goal is to try ATT and TMO to see which one works better in my area and my regular travels - so I am not 100% sure which one I am going to stick with - meaning ATT or TMO - are you suggesting I can keep my verizon number with Straight Talk no matter if i use ATT or TMo?

Yep, sure can. I have a 2 sims for straight talk, a Tmobile one and an AT&T one, I just call customer service when I want to switch to the other sim and it's done. Usually takes less than 10 minutes for the switch to happen but texts can sometimes take an hour or two to catch up.

 

[robert221usa]

Excellent -

So when my new N4 arrives this week (i got the email) I can call up straight talk and have them port my existing number to say ATT - put that SIM in and be all set to try them out. Then I can call ST and ask them to port my number to the TMO sim and try that - and freely switch back and forth - that is if I understood it all correctly.

At first - I think I want to just try the service and leave my Verizon phone out of it - is it possible to try the ATT / TMO SIM with whatever phone number they give me - just to try out the service - if I like it and keep everything then port the number over - is that advisable or just port over the Verizon phone number as it would be a simple call to Verizon to switch back (I assume not but dont want to assume)



thank you for making this a nice first experience with this site.

 

[rclifton]

Excellent -

So when my new N4 arrives this week (i got the email) I can call up straight talk and have them port my existing number to say ATT - put that SIM in and be all set to try them out. Then I can call ST and ask them to port my number to the TMO sim and try that - and freely switch back and forth - that is if I understood it all correctly.

Yes, exactly how you would do it.


At first - I think I want to just try the service and leave my Verizon phone out of it - is it possible to try the ATT / TMO SIM with whatever phone number they give me - just to try out the service - if I like it and keep everything then port the number over - is that advisable or just port over the Verizon phone number as it would be a simple call to Verizon to switch back (I assume not but dont want to assume)

You could always activate one of the sims and check things out before porting your number, I just reccomended porting to an unactivated sim as some carriers (H2O as an example) will not port a number to an activated sim. I don't know about straight talk, but you could probably call their customer service # and ask, or better yet order extra sims, with the simsaver code they are free.


thank you for making this a nice first experience with this site.

Glad to help.