Hey there! I've done some searches on the board before posting and encountered tidbits of information I found useful, but I couldn't get all of my lingering questions answered from older posts so here's my situation:
My number is the primary number on a family plan (3 lines, mine included) with Verizon, and I'm considering porting it along with the two other lines elsewhere. All three lines are no longer in a contract and are month-to-month (the 2-year agreements ended many months ago and none of the lines have been upgraded or anything since then). I'm planning to move them all to separate prepaid services through another carrier.
I'm doing my best to gather enough information about how to go about moving all three of these family plan lines with the least amount of hassle 
, so I've got some questions I hope I can get answered. Thanks for any assistance!
This is my understanding:
-I'll need to contact my new carrier to have a given number ported, correct? And that line will be subsequently cancelled on Verizon's end, with no ETFs since none of the lines are tied to a contract?
-Should I port the second and third lines first and not port the primary number (mine) first, so asto not cancel all the lines of service before they're ported? I'm okay porting one number at a time AKA separately instead of all at once if that simplifies the transfer process.
-When the porting process takes place and my Verizon service is cancelled, does Verizon prorate the remaining days on my billing period from the date it's cancelled, or do they still bill up to the end of the cycle? I hear it's better to wait until the end of my billing cycle (which for me is the 9th of every month) to initiate the transfer(s) so that I don't have any billing issues, but moving all three numbers on one day (even separately) sounds kinda daunting. 
-Do the phones I currently have under Verizon simply "disconnect" or deactivate once service is cancelled? Will they no longer be associated with my family plan lines and therefore be free to be resold or handed off to other family members who are using Verizon? I notice many phones on eBay/Craigslist list a "cleared ESN" as a requirement for someone to activate a used phone on Verizon and wanted to know what that was about.
Thanks for any help on these concerns!
michae2414 wrote:Hey there! I've done some searches on the board before posting and encountered tidbits of information I found useful, but I couldn't get all of my lingering questions answered from older posts so here's my situation:
My number is the primary number on a family plan (3 lines, mine included) with Verizon, and I'm considering porting it along with the two other lines elsewhere. All three lines are no longer in a contract and are month-to-month (the 2-year agreements ended many months ago and none of the lines have been upgraded or anything since then). I'm planning to move them all to separate prepaid services through another carrier.
I'm doing my best to gather enough information about how to go about moving all three of these family plan lines with the least amount of hassle
This is my understanding:
-I'll need to contact my new carrier to have a given number ported, correct? And that line will be subsequently cancelled on Verizon's end, with no ETFs since none of the lines are tied to a contract? All correct - the port happens via the NEW carrier.
-Should I port the second and third lines first and not port the primary number (mine) first, so asto not cancel all the lines of service before they're ported? I'm okay porting one number at a time AKA separately instead of all at once if that simplifies the transfer process. You can do it this way - but based on your next question, you wouldn't want to do it this way. You can't do both!!
-When the porting process takes place and my Verizon service is cancelled, does Verizon prorate the remaining days on my billing period from the date it's cancelled, or do they still bill up to the end of the cycle? You have already paid for the current month's service - you are billed in advance for the coming month. What WILL be billed is any texting, roaming calls, data charges, etc, that have occurred during the month that were NOT billed in advance. I hear it's better to wait until the end of my billing cycle (which for me is the 9th of every month) to initiate the transfer(s) so that I don't have any billing issues, but moving all three numbers on one day (even separately) sounds kinda daunting.
-Do the phones I currently have under Verizon simply "disconnect" or deactivate once service is cancelled?Yes - once the number is ported to the new carrier, the phones will no longer work until they are activated with another number. Will they no longer be associated with my family plan lines and therefore be free to be resold or handed off to other family members who are using Verizon? This is correct, and another reason for doing the port at the end of a billing cycle. Issues have come up with transfers done mid cycle - and because the account had been billed and paid for the full month's service, the phone's ESN was not released until the end of the billing cycle. I notice many phones on eBay/Craigslist list a "cleared ESN" as a requirement for someone to activate a used phone on Verizon and wanted to know what that was about.
Thanks for any help on these concerns!
It may take several days for the numbers to fully port over and have all services working correctly, and for the old phones to be fully "released" from your account to be used on another Verizon account. I would wait a week or so after the port, then call CS and check the ESN status of the old phones to see if they are "clear".
Hope this answers most of your questions. Post back if you need further clarification.
Thanks for your replies, the both of you! And yes, I do plan on getting new phones since my Verizon CDMA phones won't work (my new carrier will be either AT&T or T-Mobile).
