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Switching back phone numbers

R

Rgarner

Android Expert
Right now, as all of my followers probably know, I'm using the Cricket icon that was intended for my LG X Charge friend. He'll probably never use it. However, there's a good chance that he will buy a new phone when he can afford it. Since this one was meant for him, it has his old phone number. If he gets another one I suppose it will be well and good, but if he wants to keep the old number and have a different (presumably better) phone, can he change it? Can I get another number for this disappointing icon, assuming I decide to keep it? It's still doing that same crappy (and creepy) googoo microphone thing.
 
He just has to get a PAC code for his kept number from the carrier (online /store/call) , and when he installs a new sim with a new unwanted number using the Port Authority Code will change the new sim to his old number in a short time. That number belongs to him / her.

If the account for that number is closed I don't know, but you should try.

What I found is the newly ported old number doesn't often show in the system About Phone settings, just Unknown, but it will appear as the number to others.
 
It's still active. I should know. I'm using it. Why the heck is it called port authority code? Is that some sort of seafaring term? How much does it cost to get one? Would it automatically change the number on the Cricket icon then, assuming this thing doesn't get returned?
 
Maybe I misread / misunderstood

- as one of your loyal followers :) -

You have a phone intended for your friend, with his phone number on it?

How that happen. Can you take the sim card out and give it to him? Was it a new plan on a different carrier.
When you call or text someone do they see your friends number?

Do you have any Aspirin for me? :p

Does Cricket use an E Sim.

If you changed your long time personal number from one provider / carrier to say T-Mobile, the new T-Mobile sim card given to you would have a new phone number until your original number is Ported to the T-Mobile sim card by getting an Authority Code from your old carrier, a PAC code, which you're entitled to (except when someone doesn't complete any sim or phone contract maybe - as far as I know)
 
I think I'm all out of aspirin. That's too bad because I might want one too. The thing is my friend had the LG X Charge which was great until it stopped charging (who knows though because it wouldn't come on at all). He was without a phone for about a month and still is because he refuses to accept the icon, and who could blame him? It's drowning in "goo" and the resolution is terrible. Now it's even worse because of the inescapable microphone that makes it impossible to type anything. I don't know why it can't be forced to disappear. Maybe it's screwgle's revenge for being shut down, but they deserve it. It is a new phone, which makes me appreciate the old phones all the more, and the same carrier, cricket. I don't really want his number, and he'll probably prefer to keep it. Apparently it does show up as his number, and under about phone that's the number it has. As for sim cards, I have his old one from the X Charge, and I told the guy at the store that I wanted to use that. He asked if I had the phone with me, which I did not. If I had then maybe he wouldn't have plowed ahead and seemingly inserted the punchout cardboard one. There's the cardboard with the gaping hole left by its absence. I don't know what an e sim is. If I keep this piece of junk and he gets his old number back, will a new number be automatically assigned to the Cricket icon? When/if he finally gets a phone, it'll probably be on cricket. He complains about them sometimes and mentions changing companies, but in reality it's pretty unlikely. He's been with them for years. P. S. Just recently he insisted on having his bill paid even though he is using no phone, I guess to make sure he does keep his number. Guess who did that? I was warmly greeted by the three behind the counter, who then proceeded to ignore me until one of them thought to ask if I was "just there to pay a bill". Indeed I was. They have been accepting nothing larger than Jacksons since April 1. It seems to me that's foolish because a. smaller denominations mean more pieces of potentially contaminated paper, and b. larger denoms have probably been touched by fewer people. Then again, imagine the outcry if they turned down singles. Also, they might not have enough change to take the big guys. Anyway, I was charged a "convenience fee" of $4 by daring to disturb their day by showing up in the hot summer sunshine with cash. I guess WE pay for THEIR convenience. I miss the old preat&t cricket, with people who really knew their techie stuff and could actually fix things, at least sometimes. Sorry for writing the not exactly great American novel here, but I really wanted to get that off my chest.
 
If you mean the store put a new sim in.... no, I'm not totally with you
but if you don't want your old number that people you call know you by, then if you have a spare new sim then that will come with a random default number and if an owner's personal number is not ported to that the new number remains.
If you port his number off a sim I think it reverts to a default number or if it was that number from new you might need a new (free) sim card.

That's as much as I can follow. I have only three brain cells, and two of them don't like each other. :mad:
 
I tried calling that cricket store but of course no one answered. I wonder if I should call another of their stores or go over there to be ignored and wait and wait and wait. They probably won't be able to help anyway. More than the number thing I need to GET RID OF THIS CRAPPY ALLEGED MICROPHONE RIGHT IN THE WAY TO THE POINT THAT I CAN'T EVEN TYPE ANYTHING WHICH MAKES THIS "PHONE" ALMOST USELESS.
 
Open the settings, and turn the assistant off.

Settings
Apps
(settings pinwheel)
Assist & voice input
Assist app

After you make your choice, go back to Apps.

If you can disable Google, great.
(Some things may not work anymore- still worth it.)

If not, uninstall all updates, then go through and reset all the Google settings. Be sure that auto-update is off in the PlayStore. This will keep that app from updating and growing.

Find Text to Speech, and any other annoying Goolag junk like that, and disable or bring it to its lowest level.

Finally, use a firewall to block internet use by apps you don't like.

https://noroot-firewall.en.uptodown.com/android

Now go get a better keyboard so that you can disable Gboard/AOSP.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/rkr.simplekeyboard.inputmethod/

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.vlath.keyboard/

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard/

These are small enough to download all three at the same time.

That makes it easy to compare them.

You may like using different ones for different things.

All of them together are smaller than many keyboard apps.
 
Thanks for all the great advice, but it's probably moot now. He's finally trying to use the phone, though he's less than happy about the (relative) lack of goo. It turns out that buying a phone for him has somehow screwed up his ability to get a discount of maybe $55 on another LG. Apparently he didn't know that his own, old number was on the phone and that probably influenced his decision on whether to accept it. I guess he's stuck now.
 
There are different VoIP numbers, for such cases when you need to change, or just get a new number. Or, if you really like your phone number, then you can create yourself a number, for example on www.usechalkboard.com, make it the same as your old number, which is very convenient. Another obvious advantage of this phone number, is the ability to call from anywhere in the world, which in my opinion is very cool, since you do not have to constantly buy new cellular cards of the region where you arrived.
 
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