Porting a family plan

[bcwilson]

Ok, so heres the situation I'm in: My family lives in MA, and I went to school in IN. When I went to school, I had an IN number from t-mobile, and eventually my family all switched to t-mobile, and we're on a family plan with 3 MA numbers and one IN number.

Obviously I'm posting on this thread since my goal is to eventually get an iPhone.

We were all ready to switch to AT&T, had the phones picked out, but when they went to port our numbers at the local store, they couldnt port mine. Not only that, but AT&Ts computer system will not allow phone numbers from 2 different markets on the same family plan, supposedly it gets flagged for fraud.

I wont get into my whole story of talking to AT&T, but suffice it to say, all but one of the people I talked to were @$$holes and didnt seem to care in the least bit that I've had my number for 7 years and dont want to give it up. Their solution was: change your voicemail recording to direct people to your new number. Or they were more than happy to sell me my own separate plan to keep my number.

So I've read that theres a glitch in registering iphones via itunes where you can port your non-local number by putting in a zip code associated with your phone number's market, but still using your regular billing address and saying the phone will be used at a different address.

What I'm trying to figure out, is there any way to exploit this loophole to get my line on the same family plan as the 3 MA numbers?

Heres what I'm thinking, lemme know if anyone knows if this'll work or not:

I go out to IN and set up an AT&T family plan using a local billing address, port my t-mobile number and generate 3 new local numbers. Change the billing address to MA, and then request AT&T to change the 3 new IN numbers to random MA numbers. Once theyre MA numbers, have them port the 3 MA numbers from t-mobile.

Or: Have my family set up a family plan with 3 lines and port their numbers. Heres where the question mark is in my mind, since im not totally familiar with how the itunes registration works. Can i select the option to add a line to my family plan, and still exploit the loophole to port my number?

I'm determined to find a way to do this. Is the end result of phone numbers from two markets on one family plan as totally impossible as AT&T would like me to think? Or does anyone know how this can be accomplished? I'll sell my first-born to anyone who can help.

 

[lindsayanng]

I'm not sure about the idea you have, because i Have never done it. BUT could you possible set the iphone up on its own plan and then after 60 days have it transfered over to the family plan? I would THINK that might work if you get a good Customer Service agent who realizes you are really a family member. The idea of not have different markets on the same plan is a guideline, as far as i know it is NOT set in stone and eventually you can talk to the right person and get it done. The basic first string line of customer service agents that you get when you call and for the most part useless when it comes time to doing something like this. You have to continually ask for a supervisor which they HAVE to send you to.

However, where calling customer service CAN work, going directly into the store with the main account holder, be it your mom or dad, ect. is the BEST and most legitimate way to get this done. If you walked in there with your family and said HEY, LOOK, WE REALLY ARE FAMILY, they will probably do it for you.

 

[bcwilson]

I'm not sure about the idea you have, because i Have never done it. BUT could you possible set the iphone up on its own plan and then after 60 days have it transfered over to the family plan? I would THINK that might work if you get a good Customer Service agent who realizes you are really a family member. The idea of not have different markets on the same plan is a guideline, as far as i know it is NOT set in stone and eventually you can talk to the right person and get it done. The basic first string line of customer service agents that you get when you call and for the most part useless when it comes time to doing something like this. You have to continually ask for a supervisor which they HAVE to send you to.

However, where calling customer service CAN work, going directly into the store with the main account holder, be it your mom or dad, ect. is the BEST and most legitimate way to get this done. If you walked in there with your family and said HEY, LOOK, WE REALLY ARE FAMILY, they will probably do it for you.

From they way the AT&T people on the phone were talking, their computer flags for fraud plans with numbers from 2 different markets, so with that being the case, I'm not sure your first recommendation of starting my own plan and transferring to the family plan would work.

It appeared that the computer at the local AT&T store would not allow them to port my out of market number, so going to the store wouldn't help.


One more question: does anyone know if the itunes loophole still exists?? The last reports of it I saw were from several months ago, and didnt know if AT&T and/or apple had gotten wise to it.