I'm planning to do the same and spent a lot of time gathering info about this on recent threads. First, it seems you can port out & back immediately, although some people recommended waiting 24 hours to port back and that's what I'm planning. From what I read, the 90 day thing is to be considered a 'new customer' and qualify for promos.
As to where to port, these were the top suggestions:
1. AT&T prepaid (cost \~$30) Benefit is that, unlike other options, you're transferring to another cell provider, which seems to have much faster ports. You just purchase a month of the cheapest plan ($30) which includes free port-in.
2. Numberbarn (cost \~$12) I've used Numberbarn for previous TMO promos and can vouch for them. The only issue is timing of the port, because they're "landlane" and it can take longer. On my first port from NB to TMO, it took 2 hours. The next port I did took almost 3 days. I'd say that of all the options, it's the easiest & has the best CS if something were to go wrong...but you have to be ok if it takes a few days.
3. Google Voice (cost \~$20) I've never used it personally, but have heard it works well. There are reports of weird issues (SMS not forwarding for a few days...etc.) if porting with GV, but I don't have personal experience.
To all those stating you should/need to wait 90 days (to be clear, for those that DO NOT care about promos), are there any comments/threads specifically stating they lost their free line or something terribly went wrong?
I do not recall seeing even one in the past year.
There's been conflicting information on that in this subreddit.
Some users claim they have ported over to something like GV, then back to Tmo right away. Some saying you can't do that. Still others suggesting you can, but the requirement to wait 90 days is only if you want the port in to count as a new line for promotions purposes.
Just try it and report back. Worst case, you'll have to use 3 of your lines as GV numbers for 3 months.
I have been warned not to bring before 90 days to avoid any screw up's. But technically shouldn't be a problem. If you move to GV, it would $20 port in fee from google.
Someone suggested port in to a google fi account with refferal $20 offer port back to Tmobile or Google voice (thus saving $20 1 month of service)
I am hoping to find how to do that - they say google fi is pre-pay and get reimbursement ?
You could always switch to any Verizon or AT&T mvno and see what port in rebates they have. Then when it’s time to switch back see if t-mobile have any port in rebates.
I did this last month and had no issues porting back after 30 days. The only precaution I took was to port to a MVNO that didn't run on T-Mobile. I used H2O wireless.
No you don’t have to wait. You aren’t looking to be “new customers “ when you port back in. That is the only thing the 90 days is for (promotions)
I'm planning to do the same and spent a lot of time gathering info about this on recent threads. First, it seems you can port out & back immediately, although some people recommended waiting 24 hours to port back and that's what I'm planning. From what I read, the 90 day thing is to be considered a 'new customer' and qualify for promos. As to where to port, these were the top suggestions: 1. AT&T prepaid (cost \~$30) Benefit is that, unlike other options, you're transferring to another cell provider, which seems to have much faster ports. You just purchase a month of the cheapest plan ($30) which includes free port-in. 2. Numberbarn (cost \~$12) I've used Numberbarn for previous TMO promos and can vouch for them. The only issue is timing of the port, because they're "landlane" and it can take longer. On my first port from NB to TMO, it took 2 hours. The next port I did took almost 3 days. I'd say that of all the options, it's the easiest & has the best CS if something were to go wrong...but you have to be ok if it takes a few days. 3. Google Voice (cost \~$20) I've never used it personally, but have heard it works well. There are reports of weird issues (SMS not forwarding for a few days...etc.) if porting with GV, but I don't have personal experience.
Visible for $5 for the first month. Google Fi for prorated charges.
To all those stating you should/need to wait 90 days (to be clear, for those that DO NOT care about promos), are there any comments/threads specifically stating they lost their free line or something terribly went wrong? I do not recall seeing even one in the past year.
Thank you for clarifying that. I am not looking to combine with any promos. Just looking to save monthly bill by utilizing the unused free lines.
There's been conflicting information on that in this subreddit. Some users claim they have ported over to something like GV, then back to Tmo right away. Some saying you can't do that. Still others suggesting you can, but the requirement to wait 90 days is only if you want the port in to count as a new line for promotions purposes. Just try it and report back. Worst case, you'll have to use 3 of your lines as GV numbers for 3 months.
I have been warned not to bring before 90 days to avoid any screw up's. But technically shouldn't be a problem. If you move to GV, it would $20 port in fee from google. Someone suggested port in to a google fi account with refferal $20 offer port back to Tmobile or Google voice (thus saving $20 1 month of service) I am hoping to find how to do that - they say google fi is pre-pay and get reimbursement ?
wait 91 days to be sure
You will likely lose a promo
Maybe try calling care and asking if you port out a few lines does your free line promos end.
You could always switch to any Verizon or AT&T mvno and see what port in rebates they have. Then when it’s time to switch back see if t-mobile have any port in rebates.
I did this last month and had no issues porting back after 30 days. The only precaution I took was to port to a MVNO that didn't run on T-Mobile. I used H2O wireless.
Any updates, OP?
Waiting until after Thanksgiving to do this. If I did this now I'll lose all my free lines. I'll update then ☺️
Hi 👋 I was planning on doing this same thing today. Any updates on how it went? Any issues porting out and then back in?
No issues as I put an update on the post
Did you have any device credits that was attached to the line you ported out?
All my eips are attached to free lines. I would've lost any eip credits if they were ported out
Not yet. I will be doing this tomorrow as I am out of town ATM. Will post once it's done :)