Prepaid smartphone plans(iPhones and Androids): mo' contracts, mo' problems

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Prepaid smartphone plans(iPhones and Androids): mo' contracts, mo' problems

trash person: Apr 5, 2006; Baby Executive is pleased with your performance!

Some information I figured I'd throw out there.

I have it on good authority that Straight Talk will be getting a Verizon Android and an AT&T Android phone come May 17th. Online only at first. The Verizon Android phone is supposed to be similar to (if not the exact same phone as) the Samsung Illusion. It's going to retail at or around $170. The AT&T Android is going to be a ZTE phone, and is (from what my guy told me) going to be pretty high-end, retailing for somewhere around $300.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2012 09:29

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 09:54

trash person: Apr 5, 2006; Baby Executive is pleased with your performance!

It's technically possible that your number could be lost by letting your service end, even for a day, but it's unlikely. It typically takes a few months before your number happens to have been reassigned to another customer.

Just last week I reactivated a prepaid phone someone hadn't had service on since last December and they still got the same number.

e: It's also somewhat important to note that while you can port your postpaid number to a prepaid plan, you typically can't port your prepaid number to a postpaid plan.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2012 03:45

trash person: Apr 5, 2006; Baby Executive is pleased with your performance!

SeaborneClink posted:

This is blatantly untrue, and simply FUD.

You need the phone number you want to port, and any pin or pass code on the account, could be alpha-numeric, or could be just numbers. You should know it, because you created one when you initially set up your account. You will also need your account number. Postpaid account numbers are normally 9 digits, prepaid is usually your phone number.

Your current provider, as of 2010 has one business day to respond to the request and release the number, except in rare circumstances, which you would know about because if those situations applied to you.

If you'd like to read before making nonsense up.

Hey rear end in a top hat, learn your poo poo before you try to throw down.

There are a lot of limitations on what companies let you do which poo poo with your number, regardless of how many FCC rules pages you throw down. For example, if you are on Verizon prepaid and you want to switch to Verizon postpaid, you have to use your number on a prepaid phone for six months before they'll let you. My job is selling cell phones, and a large part of my day to day is dealing with old people's prepaid cell phones, and it is not as simple as you'd like people to believe in your little call out post. Wireless companies suck, and going, "WELL LOOK AT THIS FCC PAGE." doesn't change the reality of the situation.

# ¿ May 9, 2012 06:52

trash person: Apr 5, 2006; Baby Executive is pleased with your performance!

By the way, the Verizon Android Straight Talk is up on their website and available to pre-order, shipping in 1-2 weeks, if anyone was curious.

Uses the same $45 plan.

# ¿ May 10, 2012 04:19

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