My number needs a home

[Corpun]

Ok, I signed up for a new line with sprint using the current SERO offer but my existing phone (out of contract) is with Sprint. The problem now is that Sprint won't port numbers from other Sprint accounts to SERO accounts (not w/out insane persistance and getting just the right cust svc rep anyway).

The workaround that's been suggested is to port the number to a pre-paid phone temporarily then port it to the new SERO account. I've never dealt with pre-paid cell phones before, hell my current phone is my 1st cell phone (resisted the lure for years but finally caved).

What would you all suggest as an easy/cheap phone/provider to do the temporary port with?

Should I buy a prepaid off ebay or go into a store and get temporary service there? I feel kinda bad about using a brand-new phone I have no intention of keeping then giving it back so I'm looking for a low negative karmic solution if possible.

Thoughts?

 

[Black88GTA]

Aren't cellular providers required by law to port numbers if asked? I thought this was a big thing a couple years ago...

 

[Corpun]

From one wireless provider to another yes but this is within the company so I guess it isn't covered.

From the TOS:

Unfortunately, new Sprint customers are able to port their number from their existing carrier to Sprint when they sign into the plan but existing customers cannot port numbers from an existing Sprint account. Therefore, existing customers still in a subscriber agreement are required to activate a new line of service with a Two-year Agreement and are issued a brand new phone number. Furthermore, an existing customer may cancel the account early but a termination fee is required if the existing account is within the contract period.