Can you transfer your cell phone number to a new cell phone of a different plan of the same company?

Normally when you want a new phone and want to stay with the same carrier, the process is called upgrading. In order to upgrade, you must be upgrade elligable. That is to say you must meet specific requirements setforth by the carrier you are on. On Sprint, this means they will pay for $75 of the price of a new phone after you have been with the same phone for 1 year and $150 after you have had it for 2 years. That process is either in the form of an instant rebate or a main-in rebate depending on the dealer you are working with. Verizon will pay $200 toward the price of a new phone as long as you are within 2 months of having fullfilled your contract whether it is one years (10 months to qualify) or two years (22 months to qualify). In addition, if you have completely fulfilled your 2 year contract, the verizon company owned stores can offer you a NEW-Every-Two deal where you will get an additional $100 toward the price of new phone. (This is limited to the First Phone on the account, so you can ownly get ONE $100 per family plan). Cingular upgrades are performed in much the same way. Basicly you get to upgrade when you contract is up and buy the phone at the same price as a new customer as long as you have fulfilled your contract. In all of these instances, you keep your same number because all you are doing is changing phones, doing an ESN Swap (electronic serial number), and Adding another TWO Years to Your Contract... You may also be required to change to a current rate plan by some carriers. In the case of Cingular, upgrading is easier than anyone else because the information about your account is stored on the Sim card which is a small chip located under the battery of most GSM Phones. Instead of having to reprogram the phone, All you do is Move the Sim Card to the New Phone a Presto, the new phone is Your Old Number. BUT, you contract is tied to the SIM card, not the phone. If your Old phone does not have a Sim Card, you have a really old phone and things will not be so easy. Watch Out: Most deals the offer a FREE Phone that is Really Expensive that sounds almost too good to be true have some pretty long strings attatched. They require you to pay a lot up front for the phone, then you get rebated back in two or more stages. Half of your rebate may not arrive until after 6 to 8 weeks after your purchase, and the rest of your rebate may not arrive until after 6 months of continuous paid service. READ the SMALL Print ALWAYS. Best Idea is to have DAD call CINGULAR Up Directly and Negotiate the Price Down of the new phone if he promises to upgrade and rennew his contract. He could also Walk into a reputable dealer and negotiate on the spot. But, some dealer reps are not that interrested in helping because they make a LOT more Money on a new customer than with an upgrade customer. In fact some associates get paid almost NOTHING to perform an upgrade. (explains attitude). Starting a new phone contract and cancelling one of the Old phone is an option. This process is called Churning because the net number of new adds is Zero so it does nothing for the carrier except cost them money. SO, MOST carriers will put protections in place to avoid rewarding people and dealers that churn phone customer. This includes among other things, making it difficult to move your OLD number to a new phone on a different contract. A dangerous way is to Port your number to a new phone on a different carrier which has a long return and cancellation policy. You could then open a new account with the old carrier by porting the number to that new phone. You of course have cancelled your old contract, but kept your same number. Then you have cancelled your new contract and moved your number to the New Phone. You must of course return the New equipment to the New carrier that you ruthlessly and unethicly USED to save yourself a few bucks. Dangerous because if things are not done twice perfectly, you may lose your old number forever, you may get billed for two activation fees of $36 each, and you might get billed a cancellation fee of $150 to $200 if the port takes too long twice. BEST IDEA: Have DAD be honest and negotiate with Cingular and tell them Exactly what you want. YOU Will always pay a $36 activation fee if you start a new accout anyway, so judge your sucess on how much more than $36 you have to pay. Enjoy your new razor.

I did it when I switched from Cingular to Verizon. I had no problem keeping current number.

SImple answer, Yes, this is called Wireless Number Portability and is easily done, as long as your in one of the 150 largest US Cities it is mandatory to offer. Getting the phone from Cingular is tougher, but typically they get paid on extensions of your contract so they will work with you. Call or go into a store and tell them what you want to do. If you get a no at a store, I would call and say you are thinking about swapping unless you can get the new phone.

You can do it.

Yes. Some carriers make you pay for that privlege but you can do it. ( I pay for mine)

Yes, talk with your carrier about it, it is not impossible... infact it may be easier than your dad thinks.

SImple answer, Yes, this is called Wireless Number Portability and is easily done, as long as your in one of the 150 largest US Cities it is mandatory to offer. Getting the phone from Cingular is tougher, but typically they get paid on extensions of your contract so they will work with you. Call or go into a store and tell them what you want to do. If you get a no at a store, I would call and say you are thinking about swapping unless you can get the new phone.

I don't think there is a way to get out of the contract. Most cell phone companies are big on keeping contracts, and if you have had your phone longer then I believe the 48 hours they give you to change your mind then you are pretty much stuck with the termination fee. Good luck with your switch.

I did it when I switched from Cingular to Verizon. I had no problem keeping current number.