“Some iPhone customers trying to port their mobile numbers from carriers such as Verizon are being told by the iTunes software and AT&T customer service reps that their current mobile number ‘cannot be transfered,’ is ‘ineligible’ for a port, or ‘isn’t being released’ from its existing carrier. Fortunately, we’ve figured out a workaround to this issue,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
“Attempting to port my Verizon phone number to AT&T on Friday, I was given all three of these excuses and then some. At one point, I sincerely believed that I would be unable to keep the same mobile number I’ve had for 8 years if I wanted to move to AT&T. But after three hours, a massive headache, and several calls to both Verizon and AT&T customer support, I was able to both activate my iPhone and port my number in under 20 minutes.” Jade reports.
Jade explains how to port ‘ineligible’ mobile numbers to AT&T and iPhone here.
I am sure Verizon has an iPlan to make the phone number transition as iSlow as possible.
I’m so glad I decided to wait out this early adopter round.
The next version will surly have more memory, features and software to die for.
http://web.mac.com/traveler19/iWeb/Site/About Me.html
If MDN isn’t going to say anything, I will.
This type of messing with the customer is inexcusable! Maybe not for a cellular telephone company, but certainly for an Apple customer.
Apple needs better oversight here, it’s their reputation on the line.
quit getting your panties in a bunch.
the world’s not coming to an end.
Apple makes the phone. They’re not a cellular provider. Unless you think they should buy AT&T. (which I wouldn’t doubt from the same people who think Apple should buy Adobe) You whiners need to shut your collective asses. You’re stinking up the place.
I can confirm this exercise in futility, and Jade’s fix.
7 hours of stalled activations, multiple phone calls to AT&T and T-Mobile (all clueless), and trying several ways to port the number, I took the backdoor approach as listed in J’s article. I used the original zip and address (Pensacola, FL) with current billing (Tulsa, OK) and the activation flew to completion in under 5 minutes.
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Wish I could get back those 7 hours, though. 🙁
Hey, me,
So you think we’ll have to start paying “iT&T” soon?
You, sir, do not see the big picture. Apple is intrinsically linked with ATT. Both corporations shook hands, signed papers, and agreed to work together. Any screw up, any customer service disaster, any despicable act by ATT has the potential to tarnish Apple’s image. If you or Apple are so naive to think that just because Apple makes the hardware and ATT sells the service that Apple will not be affected by ATT’s blunder then you are not living in reality.
In other words, if someone in your family or in your business violates some social taboo or breaks the law you also suffer the shame of their disgrace. Is this fair? No. Is this how the world works? Yes. You and Apple had better realize this real soon.
To the @ me person.
Drink Some Camel’s Milk, the tears inducing fart you expel will help clear your sight & mind to help you realize the error of your ways.
AT&T is the company carrying the iphones signal.
What is ATT? Your ignorant attempt to appear clever?
It’s not an AT$T issue or an Apple issue. It’s just a case of AT$T relying on a misty credit verification database provider (misty because you don’t know who they are and will play hell finding out} that gets off their rails if the area code doesn’t align with the zip code on a credit app.
As soon as I read the article I recognized the problem. I ran across it the first time when I accepted one of those instant 20%-off-your-purchase-if-you apply-for-our-credit-card in a store one day (I was buying about $300 worth of stuff, so I figured I’d take their plastic, use it once and save $60). The shop girl kept coming back asking for an address that matched my phone number, or the other way around ( just for background the store was in Seattle, my address is Texas and the area code was Kansas). I was turned down, even though my credit score at the time was over 800. The cell companies absolutely want to be sure you can afford them before the add you to their customer base (that’s a message in itself).
Thanks to Kasper Jade for providing this hack (I mean that in a good way). What I’d like to know is how he had a clue to try this out?
You can count on the fact that Verizon will make things extremely difficult. They fought with me when I changed over to Cingular three months ago in anticipation of buying an iPhone. They insisted that I had renewed my contract which I didn’t. And, then they sent me new phones hoping I would accept the Fed Ex package which would have automatically enrolled me in another two year contract.
They are now getting their just rewards. They are truly a bunch of Nazi’s!
Guy’s it’s the cellular provider that you’re leaving that’s causing the problem. They are the ones that initiate porting the number. Do you really think that they will make the porting process easy. They are not happy and want to make life miserable to make Apple and AT&T look like the bad guys.
There’s no rule that says that they have to port immediately.
This is all AT&T’s fault, not Apple. People know how the cell phone industry works…this is not the first (or the last) time someone will have trouble porting their phone numbers and it doesn’t make a difference what phone you have. You wouldn’t blame Nokia because Verizon was dragging their feet porting your number, why blame Apple?
Road Warrior. >The next version will surly have more memory, features and software to die for.>
You don’t have to be surly about it, surely?
Truly no bitterness here, but at 35 hours and counting this is getting a bit tiresome. I don’t care to blame either AT&T or Apple, I just wish they would get the kink worked out and activate my phone. The best part is yet to come.
does anyone know how to restart the activation process?
@The Other Steve
“Apple needs better oversight here, it’s their reputation on the line.”
Oversight over whom, the entire rest of the wireless industry? Who have zero incentive to streamline the mass exodus of their customers to iPhone?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
a year ago, and kept my old number and it took 2 plus day for porting
a year ago, and kept my old number and it took 2 plus day for porting
a year ago, and kept my old number and it took 2 plus day for porting
a year ago, and kept my old number and it took 2 plus day for porting
@ me
Your right, in as much the handshake does reflect on Apple. That being the case it, would be fun to be a fly on the wall at the next joint meeting. Jobs and the Apple crew place a high value on the consumer experience. In the longer run it will be the best thing that could have happened to ATT.
It’s illegal to falsify a credit application and that’s what you’re doing when you enter the wrong usage address. It’s also against the FCC guidelines to falsify your usage area. So you’d be breaking 2 laws to get your phone number activated. I would certainly do it though. You can always switch the usage area right after you activate on ATT’s website, so that you’re billed correctly(since your taxes are based on your usage area).
THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO! I WAS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM!
Right, like Apple is now responsible for all the arcanum of the cell phone industry. Good grief, people. You’re the same people who blamed Ford for the unsuitability of roads when he began to mass produce cars.
What AT&T is doing is NOT unique to them and it hits apparently a minority of people. Did you expect perfection? That’s your problem, not Apple’s, and not AT&T’s.
Too many whiny babies have assumed that excellence = perfection and then throw a hissy when it isn’t. Welcome to the 1.0 release, children.