Are there many pitfalls when porting your number? These users can't even do it

In the week since the black hole photo was released, sellers of the photo were forced to make corrections, car sellers were investigated, and even telecom operators that have sold telecom packages for decades were complained by users that there were "many pitfalls" in number portability.

Millennium contract period? No chance of number portability in this life

According to the information that has been exposed so far, many users have encountered traps set by operators in advance during the number portability process. A user of China Telecom was told during the number portability process that he could not successfully transfer because the broadband service he signed with the operator had not yet reached the contract period. When he asked about the expiration date of the contract period, the staff said that the contract would not officially end until January 1, 3000.

Another user said that he had encountered a similar problem. When buying a premium number, the customer service told him that he only needed to use the network for 5 consecutive years to fulfill the premium number contract, but when he transferred his number to another network, he found that the contract would not expire until 2037.

Our colleague @不画画的凡高 encountered another pitfall during the number portability process - free service. According to his own description, before the number portability was launched, he received a text message notification from the operator, informing him that "a free data package has been opened for you" and that he could enjoy free data without any operation. When he handled the number portability at the service hall, the customer service told him that there was an unexpired contract project, which was the free data package mentioned above. In the end, the colleague also failed to successfully transfer.

Other pitfalls are caused by current technical reasons. After porting their numbers, some users said they had to endure problems such as not being able to receive verification codes, not being able to use 4G networks normally, and not being able to activate VoLTE services. After communicating with operators, we learned that these problems will be gradually upgraded and optimized in the coming time to provide users with faster and more painless porting services.

There are thousands of tricks to switch networks, and users should be careful about being scammed.

The above incidents tell us that when opening a service, we should ask clearly about the contract period, and it is best to keep the communication records at that time by recording or taking screenshots to prevent ourselves from suffering losses when porting our number. Another point is to be careful about those so-called free services. If it is not necessary, remember to contact the operator in time to cancel it.

Currently, number portability is in the trial stage, and I believe that many friends still don't know much about the information they need to pay attention to when porting their number. Therefore, IT Encyclopedia will answer the most concerned questions on the Internet in detail.

1. What are the conditions for number portability?

1. Out-of-town numbers are not currently accepted, and users need to go to the location where the number is located to apply;
2. Virtual operator numbers are not currently supported. Please consult your local operator for details.
3. If the number is not real-name registered, in arrears or suspended, you cannot apply for this service;
4. If the number has an unexpired contract package, such as installment payment or broadband binding, you need to wait until the activity or contract ends before you can continue to process it (you can ask customer service whether it supports cancellation or early termination);
5. This service is not available on the last two days of each month and during the Spring Festival statutory holidays.

2. How to confirm whether you are eligible for number portability?

Edit the text message CXXZ#user real name#ID number# and send it to the operator of the number to check whether you are currently eligible for "number portability" (China Mobile 10086, China Unicom 10010, China Telecom 10001).

3. How to transfer your number to another network?

After confirming that you are eligible for number portability, edit the text message SQXZ#User Real Name#ID Number again and send it to the operator to obtain the authorization code for "number portability". It should be noted that the SMS authorization code is valid for 60 minutes. It is recommended that you apply for the authorization code after arriving at the business hall to avoid the authorization code expiring. If the authorization code expires, you need to reapply.

4. What should I do with the remaining call charges after number portability?

After successfully porting your number, the remaining balance of your call charges will be refunded in cash (need to go to the business hall to handle this).

5. Can I transfer my number to another network multiple times?

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, users can apply for multiple number portability (secondary number portability), but there is a 120-day interval between the two number portability. In other words, within 120 days, users can only apply for number portability once.

In fact, the key to whether you can carry out number portability is still to look at the contract you signed with the operator. If it is based on a contract that has been confirmed by both parties, the early termination of either party has the right to be rejected by the other party, which is legal. However, in fact, many users encounter situations where the two parties have not reached a premise of mutual knowledge and recognition, and the operator unilaterally approves it, while the user is kept in the dark from beginning to end. Especially in some subscription services, customer service usually only informs the service execution status, but conceals and reserves the service terms.

According to our understanding, this phenomenon seems to have formed an "industry consensus", just like shopping malls never tell you when products are about to expire during discount promotions. We don't speculate whether this is "arranged by the higher-ups" or "customer service to meet KPIs", but this practice of knowing but not telling is a trap for users. In 2019, operators are still using this old routine that has been used for more than ten or twenty years, and consumers are no longer the same as before. They will eventually vote by porting their numbers and give it another JIO.

Anyway, I wish you all a successful number portability.