Coming from Sprint, should I port my number to T-mobile or Google Voice?

[anon(285475)]

I've pretty much decided that my next phone will be a Nexus 4 once my Sprint contract is up in June. My dilemma is that I want to keep my current phone number and don't know whether I should port it to T-mobile or Google Voice. I only want to use my current phone number and whatever the other one I get will just be a throwaway number.

Right now I have the Sprint/Google Voice integration which works great for voicemail, texting, and MMS. At first I figured I could port my current number to Google Voice but I guess MMS won't work on that number then? I don't want to lose that ability with my current number. However if I port it to T-mobile I'm not sure I'll still be able to text via Google Voice on my PC with my current number. Can anyone help with this dilemma?

 

[p08757]

I've pretty much decided that my next phone will be a Nexus 4 once my Sprint contract is up in June. My dilemma is that I want to keep my current phone number and don't know whether I should port it to T-mobile or Google Voice. I only want to use my current phone number and whatever the other one I get will just be a throwaway number.

Right now I have the Sprint/Google Voice integration which works great for voicemail, texting, and MMS. At first I figured I could port my current number to Google Voice but I guess MMS won't work on that number then? I don't want to lose that ability with my current number. However if I port it to T-mobile I'm not sure I'll still be able to text via Google Voice on my PC with my current number. Can anyone help with this dilemma?

If you are sure you will stay with T-mobile I would port your number there and I doubt they will be going away any time soon. If your move to T-mobile is just an experiment, go with Google Voice. You will loose the ability to do MMS with your actual number, but you can always use your assigned T-mobile number for MMS.

I have not ported my numbers over to Google Voice. I use this service for things like buying things from craigs list. When I text or call sellers, I use my Google Voice number. In the event things go bad or they want to bug me I can easily filter out their calls/texts. (This has never happened, but I feel better about giving out my Google Voice number to anonymous people).

Thats my 2 cents.

 

[anon(285475)]

That's actually a really good idea. I'm not sure that I'm going to stay with T-mobile but I'll probably port my number there just because I can't lose the ability to MMS with my current number...my friends & parents (especially) don't deal well with special instructions and will likely just keep on MMSing even after I tell them I wouldn't receive them, haha. I have to be the one to accommodate their habits and not vice-versa.

 

[runtmms]

I ported my number to Google Voice from Sprint when I went to Solavei (T-Mobile MVNO.) You are right about it initially being tough to get others to follow instructions regarding MMS. It took a little while, but now I think everyone who texts me has my old (now GV) number, and my new sim number listed for me in contacts. It was easier to just tell them not to use the old number anymore.

When I ported to GV I thought I would use that number exclusively. I end up using that number about half the time and my sim number about half the time. Honestly, giving out the new number for MMS wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Sent from my Nexus 4 on Solavei

 

[Jaysus]

That's actually a really good idea. I'm not sure that I'm going to stay with T-mobile but I'll probably port my number there just because I can't lose the ability to MMS with my current number...my friends & parents (especially) don't deal well with special instructions and will likely just keep on MMSing even after I tell them I wouldn't receive them, haha. I have to be the one to accommodate their habits and not vice-versa.

My wife and I just went through something similar. We ported both numbers from sprint to Google voice once we activated our T-Mobile plans. I have not had an issue with the loss off MMS (which I was not fond of anyway), my wife had a fairly steep learning curve. We use G+ messenger or Gmail for sharing pictures now... and she uses her T-Mobile number to send MMS to her parents and sister. They just had to add a new number to their contacts for them

 

[luckydwg]

Port your number to T-mobile you won't lose MMS then if you want to send texts from your computer use mighty text from the play store. It works great!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[yfan]

What carrier are the people who MMS you on? If they are on Sprint, remember that Google Voice can receive MMS from Sprint (and some of its MVNOs).

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[anon(847090)]

I am thinking about doing the same but from ATT. I dont care about the MMS. what are the other cons?

 

[minnemike]

You can always just try porting to Tmo first and then port to Google later if needed.

Personally, I love google voice and would never go back now. I have 2 business lines forwarding to it, I love the way my contacts are managed cross platform over my desktop, tablet and cellphone. Love being able to use the desktop as a phone and love the voice to text translation for free!

IF you are starting fresh, go with google voice and pick out the best number you can. You can get some really slick numbers. Don't bother porting. Just forward google to any phone you want, even landlines.

 

[runtmms]

Another pro for Google Voice... I got an Obi100 VoIP bridge for my home. It's plugged into my network and a regular multi-handset Panasonic phone. It's turned my GV number into a home phone.

Sent from my Nexus 4 on Solavei

 

[mcshaggin]

I tried the sprint integration with Google voice but I noticed my calls sounds like crap every once in a while and it got frustrating. I thought it was sprint and then I remembered the integration and stopped it to see if that would fix my problem and it did. I like google voice but wasn't happy with it. I'm going from sprint to Straight talk (Tmo) this month on a N4. Hope the coverage is good at my house.

 

[kpainc]

What about outbound calls? Can you make outbound call from your cell phone via the GV # without having to use the GV app to make the call?

 

[gone down south]

What about outbound calls? Can you make outbound call from your cell phone via the GV # without having to use the GV app to make the call?

Yes.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[JeffDenver]

There is really no reason to port your number to Google voice...it is not necessary for any of it's functions to work. And my brother found out the hard way that getting google voice to release it is a massive hassle.

I would just get a separate google voice number and use both of them. Even better is that you can pick your own number with GV...so you could (for example) get 303-456-JOHN or whatever. I was able to get a 303 number in Denver, which is almost impossible to do nowadays since they expanded to the 720 area code. All the 303 numbers are normally taken, but I got one with Google Voice.

 

[cpaight]

I also made the move from Sprint to TMobile. My Sprint phone had Voice integration so I never had 2 numbers, just one that worked for both, and I just assumed that porting the number over to TMobile would keep everything the same. It did not. While GV still recognizes my number for calling purposes I lost the ability to text...both from the phone and web....it's just gone. This is a huge deal for me because I mainly text and at home my carrier service is utter crap...but with GV I could seamlessly transition from carrier coverage to wifi and still text and have it come from MY phone number. Now when I get home I have to switch over to a messenger service. Anyone have this issue or more importanly know a fix?

 

[p.Johanna]

I'm on TMO prepaid $30 plan. I assumed I wouldn't receive or send MMS from my GV # because of what I read. I automatically downloaded Whatsapp. Today I found that I can actually receive and send from the native messaging app. Once i received the mms i used the same thread to send an mms. Nexus 4. I tested this with my sister on Verizon.

 

[Kane Urban]

Did you figure out how to make this work?