Drop an "out of contract" line from family plan, but keep the number

[jimtykal]

I have a family plan with 4 numbers. One of the numbers (let's call it line#1) is out of contract, so I can drop it without penalty. However, this is my daughter's number and I really don't want it to change. Another of the numbers (line#2) is still under contract, but it is a phone number I don't need any more. Verizon will not let me "swap" these numbers and keep line#1 while dropping line#2 -- unless I pay the termination fee on line#2. So, I'm wondering if this will work:

1. Port line#1 TO Google Voice (paying $20 to do so). This will cancel the Verizon contract for line#1.

2. Activate my daughter's phone with line#2, and configure GV to forward calls/texts from line#1 to line#2.

3. Wait a few days for things to stabilize.

4. Port line#1 FROM Google Voice back TO Verizon, replacing the line#2 phone number.

At the end of this process, I will have effectively dropped the Verizon contract for line #1, have line#1 take over the contract formerly owned by line#2, and removed line#2 from my Verizon account. This is exactly what I explained to 3 different Verizon people, both over the phone and in a store -- and they claim that they can't do it because "the phone number is tied to the contract". They won't let me "swap" or "port" a number within my account, but they will let me replace the phone number on a currently active contract with an external number that gets ported in to Verizon. So, I need to port line#1 OUT of Verizon (paying Google $20 to do this) and then turn around and port it back IN to Verizon, replacing the line#2 phone number I no longer need. I don't see a reason why this will not work, unless Verizon has some self-serving rule about not porting in a number that was recently ported out. (Is there a "waiting period" involved here?) It's idiotic to me that Verizon would rather have me give $20 to Google to port a number out and back in rather than allow me to swap phone numbers on my Verizon account.

Any thoughts?

[rcschnoor]

Sometimes people will add a line in order to receive an early upgrade. It is then up to that person to find a way to get the number they want over to the line which still has a contract when the line with the number they want to keep is no longer under contract.

You want to do the extra work, that is up to you, but if Verizon would be willing to do it for you, why wouldn't they just go ahead and offer shorter contracts. Because they have determined the length of contract needed in order to provide the subsidy they currently provide on phones.

Verizon is not going to make it easy for someone to circumvent the policies they have in place. There are ways, however I don't see a reason Verizon should make it easier for someone to disregard these policies.

Those are MY thoughts, at least.

[jimtykal]

Thanks for the response, rcschnoor. I guess I should have been more explicit in my request. What I'm wondering is if there is a policy at Verizon that would prevent me from porting IN a number that was recently ported OUT. Thanks...

[rcschnoor]

Not that I am aware of.

Even if there was, you can install the Google Voice app and have all calls from your phone appear as if they are coming from the # which is on Google Voice.

[21stNow]

It sounds like step #4 is the problem here.  You would be able to do steps #1-3 with no problems.  If you try to port the GV number back into VZW on line #2, I don't think that this is possible.  Even if it were, it would probably still terminate the service on line #2 and trigger an ETF since the contract isn't completed on that line.

As rcschnoor said, you signed a contract to keep the service as contracted on line #2 for two years.  What you are trying to do now would circumvent that policy.  You are effectively trying to change the service that is received on that line and cause VZW to incur the costs of porting in a number.  While your end result is that you would maintain service on that line, VZW didn't enter into the contract with you in order to make those kinds of changes before the two years are finished.

[#6]

You can't port the number back to Verizon but what you can do is just have her Google Voice number( which was her old Verizon number ) forwarded to line #2. Whenever she calls for texts it will read as her Google voice number which was her old Verizon number anyway which is what you wanted in the first place.

[jimtykal]

Thanks, 21stNow and Brian68.

Understood. I use Google Voice as my primary number now, but my daughter would prefer not to mess with it. She wants HER number (line#1) to show up on outgoing calls/texts using the native dialer/messaging apps. She has an iPhone, and I'm an Android guy, so I don't know how well GV integrates with the iPhone's native dialer/messaging apps. (On my Android, my GV number shows up on outgoing calls from the native dialer by choosing to "Use Google Voice to make all calls" in the GV app. I suspect this would be the same on the iPhone. However, texts sent using the native messaging app (not GV) come from my actual cell number -- even if I change the "Callback" number to my GV number.) I suppose I could train her to use GV for messaging, but GV does not handle MMS or group texts -- it just ignores them! I don't care about this, but my 20 year old daughter does!

Regarding being unable to port the number back into Verizon, is this a restriction because it is a former Verizon number? As I understand it, I can log into MyVerizon and choose to "Change Mobile Number" on one of my active contracted lines. There is an option to port in a number to replace the number currently on that line. Other threads suggest that porting from Google Voice works the same as a landline port. Has anyone tried this and had success/failure?

[21stNow]

I could be wrong on that inability to port a number in to an existing line.  All of the ported numbers that I can recall doing have all been at the beginning of service with other providers and almost all of them were on either non-contracted postpaid or prepaid lines.  I've never changed the number on an existing line under contract, so this is something that I'm unfamiliar with.

[Ann154]

I don't know if it will work with Google Voice, but I have actually ported one number from ATT (during the formerly 30 day trial) over a number (it was a temp number in my mind) under contract with Verizon Wireless on the 14th day of Verizon Wireless's return policy period. This happened because I was in the trust market with Verizon and my account was sold to ATT as part of the Alltel/Verizon merger.

[Baslbro1]

Can you quote or direct me to the policy that says a customer cannot switch the numbers to the the multitude of lines that he, or she, owns by name and contract?