Guides to switching, porting and unlocking
Step by step help for the jobs that come with changing or fixing phone service in the United States.
Guide, 4 stepsHow to switch carriers and keep your phone and numberHow to switch carriers without losing your number: check the phone is unlocked, pick the network, get a transfer PIN, and let the new carrier do the move.
- 1Check your phone is unlocked
- 2Choose by network first
- 3Get your account number and transfer PIN
- 4Sign up and port
- How to find your account number to switch carriersFind your account number at Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Google Fi and US Mobile: where each carrier puts it, and what to do when the carrier does not say.
- MMS not sending? Why picture messages fail and the fixMMS not sending on iPhone or Android usually means mobile data is off or the MMS settings are missing. The checks Apple and Google give, and the APN's part.
- Mobile data not working: what to check, in orderMobile data not working on your iPhone or Android phone? The checks Apple and Google give, in order, and when the APN is and is not the cause.
- Phone insurance compared: AppleCare+ vs carrier plansPhone insurance compared: AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, Samsung Care+, Verizon Mobile Protect, T-Mobile Protection 360 and AT&T. Prices, fees, limits.
- How to port your number to a new carrierHow to port your number: start with the new carrier, never cancel the old line first, and get a Number Transfer PIN. The FCC's rules and each carrier's steps.
- How to unlock your phone, carrier by carrierHow to unlock a phone from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket, Metro or Boost: how long each carrier makes you wait, what must be paid off, and how to ask.
- What does TFW mean on a phone?TFW at the top of your phone is the carrier label for Tracfone's family of brands, such as Straight Talk and Total Wireless. What it means and when it matters.