Can't Port/Move my phone number to my Android Phone - Sprint Service Issue

[abourne]

Can't Port Number within the same carrier

Situation:

I've been with Sprint since 1997. Long story short, I have a plan I don't want to give up:

PCS Free & Clear Plan

$27.00 per month
700 Anytime Minutes
1000 SMS Text Messages
Unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes* (Starting at 7 p.m.)
Free Roaming
Free Mobile-to-Mobile

See blog post here:
Bourne to Blog: Negotiating with your Mobile Phone Carrier

I wanted to upgrade to an Android phone, but this would require a "data plan". Some time ago, I was told that since I wanted to keep my plan, I could add unlimited data for an additional $30/month and keep the plan.

However, about a month ago, I emailed customer service wanting to do this with the Android phone. They told me can't do this with the Android phone, you'll have to switch to data plan (essentially losing my plan).
So, here's what I did:

My dad got me an Android on his "Family Plan" along with my step-mom and step-sister. To add me onto his plan is just an additional $20 per month. So, this made the most economical sense (since I wasn't about to give up my old phone and plan).

So, here I am, two phones, two phone numbers:

1) Flip phone - Unlimited talk and text - No Data

2) Android phone - Unlimited Data

So, I decide I want to use the Android phone as as my primary phone with the same phone number I've had since 1992.

I found out I can't do this. There's no number portability within the same carrier.

Problem is, if I wish to port my phone number to another phone, carrier, service, I have to CANCEL that plan. That plan is gone and gone forever.

I can't simply swap the two phone numbers.

I'm told this makes sense because carriers do not want people "grandfathering" in their old plans by moving new numbers into it.

Likewise, I'd have to CANCEL the current plan I'm on with my dad, since that number can't move away and put a new number onto the Android phone without having to choose a new plan to be on.

It seems that here are my options:

1) Tell everyone I have a new phone number, use the Android phone as my primary phone with the new number.

Simple and requires no work.

2) Perhaps I can just CANCEL my $27 plan.

Next, get an Android phone on my dad's Family Plan, port the old number to the new account.

Or,

3) Perhaps Sprint may let me move the old number over to the current Android phone, if I'm willing to CANCEL the $27 plan which they're probably losing money on.

Thoughts and/or Advice?

Some feedback from another forum on this matter and my responses:

One:

How about get a google number and choose one number to ring the two phones?

My response:

Google Voice:

I actually have a Google Voice number and it's great, I use it all the time. In fact, the Google Voice App for Android is wonderful.

For the time being, I'm making all outgoing calls using my GV number so that the GV number is what other people see on their caller-ID screen, not the number of my Android phone.

However, I'm not sure I'm ready to use GV as my primary and only number. While it is a wonderful service with remarkable capabilities, I think I'd like to use my mobile direct number as the number I give out, for now.

GV is certainly an option, but for purposes of this thread, my intent is to focus on moving my number on the flip phone to the number on my Android phone.

Two:

Call corporate and talk to the CEOs admin assist

Maybe he or she can help you, Be very nice, He or she can do it with higher authority.

I don't think you're asking for much. So I think what you were asking for is doable.

Good luck

My response:

Will do. I may also consider writing a letter in addition to trying via email and the web site.

It's possible that typing a letter and mailing a hard copy may get a more professional view and response from customer relations.

The fact that I'm a "Premier Customer" and been with them for 12 years should may help.

.

 

[abourne]

It appears that Sprint is going to let me do this.

They see I've been with them since October-1997 and I'm a Premier customer.

They even gave me the option to either cancel my service (no penalty) or even keep it with a brand new number.

Anyway, I have to wait. Doing it now will forgo the $100 rebate so my dad told me to wait.

 

[Dreamliner]

If you ask, they will give you a discount.

I was on a plan similar to yours. When I went to my hero, i got:

Simply Everything 450

600 bonus minutes (every month)
$20 discount (every month)

$50 for 1050 mobile to land-line minutes and everything else unlimited is pretty good!

 

[TambourineMan]

Try Google Voice in combination with "forward if no answer" (which should be free (unconditional may cost)). the GV accoutn will forward to whatever numbers you set up.

 

[Little Darwin]

If you do switch to the Hero as your primary number, then don't keep paying $27 per month to try and stay grandfathered in with a plan that has no data... You're very unlikely to ever want to give up data, so you are paying $27 per month as insurance on something you will probably never use again.

The next advance in phones will require you to change plans too, so get used to it. Sprint has never had the same plan available 2 years later, and I always had to upgrade to get a phone I liked at a reasonable cost.

I would start telling people the new number, and plan on shutting down the old account in a month or two.

 

[Palmguy]

I went through something very similar recently...I've been with Sprint since 2007 on a SERO plan (as has my wife); we decided to go on to a Family Plan with my parents so that we could upgrade to Android phones and only be paying marginally more than we were with SERO. Phones arrived, called up Sprint to cancel our old plans and bring the numbers over to the Hero; no dice. They wanted us to ship the Heros back to them, said we couldn't have *any* number ported to those phones even if it wasn't already a Sprint number. Utterly ridiculous as they all came with temporary numbers, my dad had already brought in Verizon numbers to his phones. After about three hours on the phone (a three way call no less) with about a half a dozen Sprint employees, the best we could get them to do was to transfer our numbers over to the new Family Plan but still assigned to our WinMo phones.

Once that was done I just went online and processed the phone swap without having to deal with a CSR.

 

[abourne]

$50 for 1050 mobile to land-line minutes and everything else unlimited is pretty good!

That's pretty good.

I ported my number sucessfully months ago and everything is working fine.

My dad pays an additional $20 per month to have me on his family plan.