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  1. #1
    Chickenrider
    Chickenrider is offline
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    I'm a few weeks away from being able to renew my Cingular contract and get a new phone. The problem is that I got the initial contract while living in El Paso, Texas, and am now in Northern Michigan. Cingular doesn't offer new service in the area where I'm living now, but I want to keep my Cingular service and keep my number.

    The last time I went through the renewal process it was a big hassle as the folks at Cingular said that my new phone could only be activated on a Cingular tower in the area code/"service area"/"zone" where I had originally purchased my service.

    So I ended up having to have the phone shipped to a former employer who did the phone activation and then shipped it to me ready to go. I don't have that option this year and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions? There was alot of conflicting information from the Cingular CS reps when I went through this before about whether or not I did actually have to activate the phone in the original "service area/zone", or if it just had to be on a Cingular tower. The thing that makes me wonder is that when I punched in the zip-code for the guy who did the activation for me (he actually lived near Odessa, TX which is aprox. 300 miles from El Paso) , it said they offered no service there either, and its actually in a different Area code (even though it could still be in the same Cingular "service area/zone"). So I'm not sure if they know what they're talking about. Would it be possible for me to drive down to an area where I know they have a Cingular tower, like Detroit, and do the activation there?

    Thanks.


    See More: Cingular Activation Issues




  2. #2
    Wirelessjuan
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Activation Issues

    Just order the new phone and pull the SIM card out of the old phone and
    place in the new phone. Your new phone will be activated since the
    service is tied to the SIM card and not the phone. I'm assuming that
    you are on GSM service. You can also buy a NEW unlocked phone from
    ebay and not extend your contract w/o the hassle of Cingular CS or
    Sales.

    Chickenrider wrote:
    > I'm a few weeks away from being able to renew my Cingular contract and
    > get a new phone. The problem is that I got the initial contract while
    > living in El Paso, Texas, and am now in Northern Michigan. Cingular
    > doesn't offer new service in the area where I'm living now, but I want
    > to keep my Cingular service and keep my number.
    >
    > The last time I went through the renewal process it was a big hassle as
    > the folks at Cingular said that my new phone could only be activated on
    > a Cingular tower in the area code/"service area"/"zone" where I had
    > originally purchased my service.
    >
    > So I ended up having to have the phone shipped to a former employer who
    > did the phone activation and then shipped it to me ready to go. I don't
    > have that option this year and am wondering if anyone has any
    > suggestions? There was alot of conflicting information from the
    > Cingular CS reps when I went through this before about whether or not I
    > did actually have to activate the phone in the original "service
    > area/zone", or if it just had to be on a Cingular tower. The thing
    > that makes me wonder is that when I punched in the zip-code for the guy
    > who did the activation for me (he actually lived near Odessa, TX which
    > is aprox. 300 miles from El Paso) , it said they offered no service
    > there either, and its actually in a different Area code (even though it
    > could still be in the same Cingular "service area/zone"). So I'm not
    > sure if they know what they're talking about. Would it be possible for
    > me to drive down to an area where I know they have a Cingular tower,
    > like Detroit, and do the activation there?
    >
    > Thanks.
    >
    >
    > --
    > Chickenrider
    > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Chickenrider's Profile: http://cellphoneforums.net/member.ph...&userid=152226
    > View this thread: http://cellphoneforums.net/t238601





  3. #3

    Re: Cingular Activation Issues

    Chickenrider <[email protected]> wrote:

    > I'm a few weeks away from being able to renew my Cingular contract and
    > get a new phone. The problem is that I got the initial contract while
    > living in El Paso, Texas, and am now in Northern Michigan. Cingular
    > doesn't offer new service in the area where I'm living now, but I want
    > to keep my Cingular service and keep my number.


    I have the same situation.

    > The last time I went through the renewal process it was a big hassle as
    > the folks at Cingular said that my new phone could only be activated on
    > a Cingular tower in the area code/"service area"/"zone" where I had
    > originally purchased my service.


    Maybe not the same situation. I can't order a phone via the web, and some
    popup appeared the other day when I was looking at something on
    Cingular.com that said my zip code was no good, but I had no problem
    getting a new phone at the closest Cingular store and adding it to my
    account. The activated phone number was not the same area code as the
    store, but parts of that area code might have been considered the same
    service area.

    Is there a Cingular store nearby? You can get a new phone, and then just
    swap in your old SIM, if you have GSM, or get a new phone, and then call to
    have the number changed to the old number, which is what I did in the
    pre-GSM days.

    If your old phone is GSM, you could buy an unlocked phone from some source
    and put your SIM in it. That would cost some money, but avoid the contract.

    Or, you could move to whatever carrier is appropriate for the area that you
    are now in. It sounds like you want to keep your El Paso number. I don't
    know if you can port a phone number to a new carrier if it is out of the
    area that the carrier normally serves.

    I have aimlessly wandered along as various cell companies have been bought
    out, which is how I wound up with Cingular, which never would have been my
    choice. I think on the next contract expiration, I will go with the local
    boys, now Verizon, because they have better local coverage. I'll probably
    keep the same number, though, as I've had it for years.

    --
    ---
    Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5



  4. #4
    Todd Allcock
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Activation Issues

    At 13 Dec 2006 17:47:41 +0000 [email protected] wrote:

    > Or, you could move to whatever carrier is appropriate for the area that

    you
    > are now in. It sounds like you want to keep your El Paso number. I

    don't
    > know if you can port a phone number to a new carrier if it is out of the
    > area that the carrier normally serves.


    It should be possible IF the new carrier also serves El Paso. I've lived
    in Denver for three years, but ported a business line of mine based in
    Kansas City to one of my T-Mobile phones back in April.

    --
    Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com




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