How to reconcile an incomplete port that has two different carriers' sims servicing the same phone number?
I'm desperate to merge a cross-carrier schism in order to regain normal function of my phone number, the ownership of which is important that I don't lose.
(Bear with me. There's a third intermediary carrier involved, and I think this will make the most sense Memento-style.)
Present
* Mint
- This is the carrier I'd like to use going forward.
- What services work: all incoming and outgoing calls, SMS, and MMS/data—except for incoming calls and SMS from AT&T-serviced phone numbers.
- Mint says that Mint's SPID owns the phone number. (Public third-party carrier lookups confirm.)
- Mint says that no further transfer requests to port in this phone number can be made, as it is already active on account and showing as fully operational with Mint.
* Republic Wireless
- This is the carrier I've been trying to transfer my phone number away from.
- What services work: data, all outgoing calls, but only AT&T-serviced incoming calls and SMS.
- Republic Wireless's lookup confirms T-Mobile (Mint's telecom servicer) owns the phone number.
- However, the Republic Wireless service/account with this phone remains active, which Republic Wireless claims should not be possible without having the number's ownership.
Republic Wireless says the number can't be ported in (because an account is active with it) and can't be ported out or even transferred internally (because Republic Wireless is not the owner).
- Republic Wireless is adamant that the service/account should not be canceled or suspended, if I want the phone number retained. Otherwise, it would be released to the pool of available numbers in 90 days with no way to retain it, which would be likely to cause problems whenever it gets picked up by someone else.
Two weeks ago
* Mint
- Mint made unsuccessful attempts to port in of the phone number using Republic Wireless's credentials.
- Mint claimed a successful port in of the phone number using Red Pocket's credentials (see: "Red Pocket" sections below).
* Republic Wireless
- In efforts to fix porting hang-ups to other carriers, Republic Wireless offered to first make an internal transfer of the number from the old "Legacy" service (e.g., version 4.0 and earlier, a "Broadband Inc." VOIP/landline system) to their latest offering, "5.0", backed by DISH/AT&T.
- Republic Wireless shipped a new sim and claimed the internal port and new service activations were successful; the old Republic Wireless sim then ceased working.
Four weeks ago
* Mint
- A Mint account was opened.
- Many attempts were made to port in to Mint using both Red Pocket's and Republic Wireless's credentials; none worked.
* Red Pocket
- The Red Pocket account was suspended in an attempt to mitigate potential interference.
* Republic Wireless
- The Republic Wireless account and service remained fully functional, and Republic Wireless claimed there had been no successful port-out attempts for this number.
- Republic Wireless claimed "Broadband" (the legacy telecom servicer) retained ownership of the phone number.
Six weeks ago
* Red Pocket
- Red Pocket claimed that upon review the earlier port in was not fully "completed" but now was.
- What services worked: data and outgoing calls only.
- Red Pocket said that no further transfer requests to port in this phone number can be made, as it was already active on account and showing as fully operational with Red Pocket.
* Republic Wireless
- The Republic Wireless account and service remained fully functional, and Republic Wireless claimed there had been no successful port-out attempts for this number.
Eight weeks ago
* Red Pocket
- A Red Pocket account was opened.
- Many attempts were made to port in to Red Pocket using Republic Wireless's credentials. Red Pocket eventually claimed the port in was successful, but no services yet worked using the Red Pocket sim.
* Republic Wireless
- Toward the many port-out attempts, Republic Wireless offered various credentials.
At this point, the number of times I've sought support from these carriers must be in the three-figures. There was a whole lot of "have you tried turning it off and on again" of course, but the huge hurdle throughout has been reaching anyone at Republic Wireless who can understand and see and affect anything to do with legacy service (which is clearly being starved of resources). In the end, Republic Wireless's position is:
- the only tool left available, which might get the Mint service/sim fully working, would be to cancel the Republic Wireless account;
- but, if I want to keep the number, I should not cancel the Republic Wireless account.
I did file an FCC complaint a month ago, but is there anything else I can do? |
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