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Porting Number to ATT into a Family Talk Plan

Ok..what does the NBI stand for, and which number do I call? I tried calling yesterday to switch my family plan over the national business plan (the NB in NBI??), however the rep claimed I had to have at least 5 lines (we have 4). Is she incorrect?

My problem is pretty much the same as the OP. My parents live in Sacramento, and I live in San Luis Obispo. I need to change my number to the 805 area code which is in a different market than Sacramento, and I need to retain the same family plan.
 
Ok, one customer rep informed me that I can't move from a personal account (family plan) to the NBI account. She stated that the NBI account is for people coming off a corporate account into a personal account so they can retain their phone numbers.

WTH? Is this possible? I want to change my area code to my new area with my parents retaining the original area code; we're on a family plan. FRUSTRATED.
 
I got this to work!!!

Reviving an older thread, but I wanted to share how I got this to work.

My situation
I purchased an iphone and added a line to a family plan but couldn't port my # because it was in a different market.

Solution - transfer your family plan to an NBI which is a business account. I did this after I'd already added a new line, but this should be able to work if you set up the NBI first.

1. Set up an NBI account by calling NBO at 1.888.444.4410. Calling any other AT&T # will be a waste of time because they're going to tell you it's not possible to combine multiple markets into a family plan.

2. Tell them you were given wrong information when you added a new line. You were told you could port in your number but now you're running into issues. You spoke to a store manager who gave you this 888 number so you could set up an NBI. Note: technically, this is to businesse only, but I was able set his up without any business info. If you do have a business, then this will be an easy change for you.

3. If they give you trouble, then you simply need to be persistent. Tell them you were given wrong info when you signed up, that if you can't do this, then you'll cancel the new one and stay with your existing carrier, etc. Worst case, hang up and try to a different rep.

4. They will tranfer all your lines into a new account, so will ask for a lot personal info and run a credit check. You now have an NBI account and your bills should remain the same.

5. If you're like me and activated the new line on your iPhone, they won't be able to port your number over it. I think this is because of the sim card but o have no idea. They told me I had to cancel the new line and then order another new one, specifying that I was porting a number. This is silly because id have to pay a restocking fee for the iphone and then order another. A different rep had told me that all I had to do was get a new sim card. If this happens to, ask for the porting activation department (888.898.7685). They told me I didnt need to make a return and sent me to a corporate store to pick up a new sim card and complete the port. They should make a note in your accout so that yu canget a sim cad without charge. Once that's done, go to the store to complete the port.

6. You win!!!!
 
Yes, it works.

Thanks for the update, bugger! Very very useful information. I followed bugger's instructions and also got this to work. Here are a few tips/clarifications/differences.

1. I did not set up a line before trying to port the number, as bugger did. I called the NBO number and told them I wanted to port my wife's Dallas number into our California family plan. The only way to do this is with an NBI account, so I would like them to change our account into an NBI account.

2. They will tell you need a business, including tax ID. If you don't have a real business, don't even try to fake it. They want documentation. It's a waste of time. Instead, tell them you don't have a business, but that you would like them to do it anyway. Ask to speak to a manger.

3. The manager will tell you it is impossible, you need a business to have an NBI account. They will suggest you switch your phone numbers or something. Insist that you know they can set up a business account for you, and cite this thread and others on the internet. Tell them you will only be satisfied (and they will only get the new business) if they do this for you, so you can port the number between areas. This worked for me, and the manager agreed to make an exception (reluctantly.. not sure why. Why would she care?).

4. The representative will them move your old account information into a new NBI account. All of your service plans, features, fees, etc will be transferred. The different account does not mean you have to use business services. She mentioned that the contracts from the old account would now be "no commitment," which I guess is a bonus. I haven't checked this out, but I guess this means you can leave ATT without violating your existing 2-year commitments, so if your brother wants out of the family plan but is only a year into a 2-year contract, he can go. Maybe that's why they don't like people to switch to NBI? New contracts signed after the new account is created are of course still valid. I'm not sure why the commitments wouldn't transfer, so perhaps I misunderstood.

5. Once you have the NBI account, you can port a number from any area into your family plan, assuming you otherwise qualify to port the number (i.e. it's your wife's number with her Sprint account and she has the account password).

6. I chose to port the number while on the phone with the representative who setup the NBI account, because she seemed competent and I didn't want any more hiccups. They sent me a new SIM card to use with the new line, and when it arrived I activated the line on an old handset. Success. The next day, we replaced that handset with a new iPhone 3GS. No problems.
 
It's about talking to the right person

I've just been through this experience, trying to set up a new family plan with two numbers from very different markets that aren't even the market I'm currently in. I spent a lot of time on the phone, was told several times that it was impossible, that I would need a business tax ID, that it would take 60 days, that it would cost $18, that the manager would tell me the exact same thing, etc.

None of those are true. Eventually I wandered in to my local AT&T store (Stevens Creek Blvd in Santa Clara, CA for those local in Silicon Valley) and asked if it was at all possible. The manager there assured me that it was, that it would be no problem, and immediately pulled up my account. He looked over the record of all the calls I had been through that day, furrowed his brow, and muttered, "well I guess they just don't got skillz." He then proceeded to type things into his computer for awhile and everything was taken care of in a few minutes.

Basically, what people are saying on this post are pretty accurate: the only way to have a family plan with multiple-market numbers is to set up an "NBI" account (I think it stands for "National Business" something). This account is intended for businesses only, not individuals, and most of the customer service people are instructed to ask for proof that you are a business owner and to generally discourage you from this. When I asked Bob, the store manager in Santa Clara, how he was doing it without a Tax ID, he said simply, "there's a workaround" without explaining further.

The moral of the story is to keep trying different people/begging/threatening until you find someone who is willing/able to help you. More than one AT&T store employee (I talked to another guy who had just transferred from a different store that week) expressed dismissive confidence that it could be done, while everyone on the phone told me it was impossible, so maybe people will have better luck if they go into the stores.
 
Small Business Personal Liability account

This worked for me too. It was difficult, but the way they finally made it work was like this:

I told them I had a small business, but I didn't have a tax ID. Long story short, they were able to put me into a NBI account by putting me under something called a Small Business Personal Liability account.

This means they ran credit using my social security number instead of a tax ID, but the account is still listed under my small business name.

If you call up knowing ahead of time about this option, you may have an easier time being put over to a NBI account. They didn't ask me questions about my small business, except for the name.

I was then able to add a line of service to my account and port a number over from a different market.
 
I figure I would add to make this trick easy is find someone's who number is already in there NBI databases and merge them in with a family plan. Numbers can move into the NBI system but not out so all the other numbers get ported over to it.

They told us that they could not do that when I tried to join my parents family plan but then we told them that the numbers I was joining were already NBI numbers so they had no problem moving my loan number into that account. it was orginally made because the company my dad worked for decided to no longer pay for employee cells and all numbers/accounts went to them employees personal accounts and well they were all NBI number.

My dad joins the family plan and all the other numbers had to move over. It takes a little work but knowing the system makes it pretty easy.
 
NBI works

Thank you guys for discovering how this process works and posting it here. I have no idea why at&t has to make it so hard to port numbers from different markets. They really need to revise their billing system.

I was able to follow the same process as previously described and put two numbers from different markets on the same family plan.

At first they said they had to run a business credit check on me and when I told them I had a personal individual business they said a $1000 per line deposit would be required to establish an account. At that point I asked to talk to a manager, who then authorized them to create an NBI account for me without the business credit check and $1000 deposits.

After that it was a breeze. I told the rep that I wanted the Family Talk 700 plan and the other number I wanted to bring over and she did it with no problems.

I just wanted to post this so other people know they can do this if they find this thread. I can't believe at&t makes people jump though all these hoops to accomplish something as simple as this, but this seems to be the only way to combine numbers on an at&t account from seperate markets.

Cheers!
 
what if you had a FAN discount? Does this transfer over with the NBI account?

I'm trying to port my Sprint number over, but they're in different markets. At first they wanted to relocate my current iPhone account back to the same market as Sprint (NYC). They said that I would lose my FAN discount, 200 free mins, 200 free texts.

obviously I said no.
 
Assuming you are using paperless billing. Can't you just guys change your account address to that of the old area code. The number should port over then. After which you can change the address back to the current address.
 
Ryeno said:
Assuming you are using paperless billing. Can't you just guys change your account address to that of the old area code. The number should port over then. After which you can change the address back to the current address.
Click to expand...

No. AT&T divides the country into regions. Each region is then subdivided into markets. There's no way for you to change the market of your account. In fact, there's no way for AT&T to change the market of your account. They actually create a new account in the target market, move your lines, and close the old account.
 
Did you have a FAN discount??

If so were you able to add that in again?

lazera said:
Thank you guys for discovering how this process works and posting it here. I have no idea why at&t has to make it so hard to port numbers from different markets. They really need to revise their billing system.

I was able to follow the same process as previously described and put two numbers from different markets on the same family plan.

At first they said they had to run a business credit check on me and when I told them I had a personal individual business they said a $1000 per line deposit would be required to establish an account. At that point I asked to talk to a manager, who then authorized them to create an NBI account for me without the business credit check and $1000 deposits.

After that it was a breeze. I told the rep that I wanted the Family Talk 700 plan and the other number I wanted to bring over and she did it with no problems.

I just wanted to post this so other people know they can do this if they find this thread. I can't believe at&t makes people jump though all these hoops to accomplish something as simple as this, but this seems to be the only way to combine numbers on an at&t account from seperate markets.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
 
Yes, both me and my girlfriend had FAN discounts on our individual accounts. When they combined them I asked them to transfer the FAN that I was using on my account over to the new Family plan. They did it without any issues.
 
I haven't had any luck getting this done - ran into this problem yesterday, and stumbled upon this thread. We had some issues porting the #s over from Verizon (it was taking forever), so we ended up just going with two single plans, and planned to merge them later. I had asked if there were going to be any problems, and was assured there wouldn't be.

At first, I called the number, told them what happened (that I had called AT&T to make sure we could do the family plan, and they said we could), and that I was told that they would be able to help. They transferred me to relocations shortly after telling me they couldn't do anything.

They worked with me a bit more, moving me up towards a supervisor, who then went back and talked to the Business people, who said they couldn't do anything. Has anyone had any luck with this recently, or has AT&T started to crack down on this? I'm as big a fan of my new iPhone as any, but I seriously wouldn't have done this had I not been able to keep my family plan, as our monthly bill is now going to be 30+ dollars more per month.

Thanks
 
I was able to get it done about 3 days back. Called the number listed and then option 1>option 4. Told the rep that I went to the store to cancel my service (I am out of contract) as I could not have all my numbers on the same plan and the store manager advised me to call this dept, open a NBI account and then I would be able to port all numbers on 1 family plan. Took about 1 hr to get the whole thing done, but the rep was very helpful. Opened a temp NBI account under a biz name, credit check using ssn, ported all numbers into 1 account and then changed responsibility from the biz to individual.

You have to call the NBO dept. They are open 8:00 - 8:00 pm EST. Try calling again and see if you can talk to the supervisor. If they transfer you to relocations, hang up and call again.
hope this helps
mwpeters8182 said:
I haven't had any luck getting this done - ran into this problem yesterday, and stumbled upon this thread. We had some issues porting the #s over from Verizon (it was taking forever), so we ended up just going with two single plans, and planned to merge them later. I had asked if there were going to be any problems, and was assured there wouldn't be.

At first, I called the number, told them what happened (that I had called AT&T to make sure we could do the family plan, and they said we could), and that I was told that they would be able to help. They transferred me to relocations shortly after telling me they couldn't do anything.

They worked with me a bit more, moving me up towards a supervisor, who then went back and talked to the Business people, who said they couldn't do anything. Has anyone had any luck with this recently, or has AT&T started to crack down on this? I'm as big a fan of my new iPhone as any, but I seriously wouldn't have done this had I not been able to keep my family plan, as our monthly bill is now going to be 30+ dollars more per month.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
This worked for me.

Took two tries, first CSR said there was no way, talked to two managed, both said no.

Called back the next day and this CSR got it approved in 5 minutes. Was on the phone the second time for about half an hour getting it all taken care of. Went to a higher rate plan to add the ported over line, that may have helped, not sure.
 
Got it no problem on the first try today. No questions asked (well, okay, they asked questions like what my cell number what, last 4 of my social, etc :) ). I didn't even need to lie about the reason - just said that got married and want to merge accounts. I did play a little dumb saying that I was told I "needed an NBI account or something like that". Just went ahead and set it up.
 
Worked for me.

I just made an account to thank all of you for posting this handy information. I called the NBO number. Spoke to a very nice woman who initially said I should stick with a consumer account because she would have to charge me their business rate plans.

I explained that I need a familytalk plan with different area codes. She put me on hold for a minute, then came back and said she could set that up for me. She changed my account into a "national market" account. The whole process took about 20 mins for her to confirm all my details and wait for the system to process it.

I then went online, bought a new phone and ported the new number in without difficulty.

The only thing is that I'm self-employed but I didn't have a business tax id, but she said that was fine.

Hope that helps.
 
I went through this process today. I believe the options have changed. The number is still 888-444-4410 but choosing option 2, then 5. I changed my account from IRU (individual responsibility) to NBI (National Billing Instance). I explained that I wanted to port another line in another market area code to my Family plan. She was able to do so by creating a new NBI account and pulled all my current information over to the new account. She was also able to pull over the FAN discount code I have from work.
 
Thank you all for sharing your information.
I, too, have been wanting to put my bro & sis on my acct. Sis is widowed,retired,on fixed income.Bro is a musician - jazz - need I say more ;).
I believe I can pull this off now.
Thanks again.
J.
P.S. I signed on here to say thanks but it looks like it might be worth sticking around.

5-23-11 Update; I talked to a sales rep. today to initiate my plan change and order new i4's.She had absolutely no trouble upgrading me to a Family plan,adding two lines,and selling me 3 i4's.
She explained that my sister across country only needed to port her current phone # (ATT) to the new phone after she received it from me.
I'm beginning to wonder if this will actually be that simple.Apparently the rep failed to note that I was not eligible for an i4 upgrade til July before we completed the account change & phone sales transaction (A Major PIA since my 3G is cracked/acting weird).
Any thoughts?
Thanks
AB1
 
Last edited:
daisyco said:
I just made an account to thank all of you for posting this handy information. I called the NBO number. Spoke to a very nice woman who initially said I should stick with a consumer account because she would have to charge me their business rate plans.

I explained that I need a familytalk plan with different area codes. She put me on hold for a minute, then came back and said she could set that up for me. She changed my account into a "national market" account. The whole process took about 20 mins for her to confirm all my details and wait for the system to process it.

I then went online, bought a new phone and ported the new number in without difficulty.

The only thing is that I'm self-employed but I didn't have a business tax id, but she said that was fine.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

So those of you who were able to convert your account to an NBI are you paying the same rate or a different "business" plan rate?

I'm trying to merge some numbers from different areas into a single plan but don't want to pay more to do it. I have a valid federal tax ID and an actual business associated with it so getting the account isn't the problem.

EDIT: Also, are you still able to order from the Apple online store or do you have to go through ATT for your orders now?

EDIT2: Are you still able to access your online account management page?
 
Last edited:
mrgreen4242 said:
So those of you who were able to convert your account to an NBI are you paying the same rate or a different "business" plan rate?
-Same Rate.

I'm trying to merge some numbers from different areas into a single plan but don't want to pay more to do it. I have a valid federal tax ID and an actual business associated with it so getting the account isn't the problem.

-Will be easier for you. I was able to do it using a personal account...but I had to be very persistent!

EDIT: Also, are you still able to order from the Apple online store or do you have to go through ATT for your orders now?
-No Idea; doesn't really matter to me. Not as if I'm buying ***** everyday. I did lose my A-List; and they had to open a case for me to retain my rollover...just a heads up!

EDIT2: Are you still able to access your online account management page?
Click to expand...
-Yup, no issues with online account management. It will be a new account; so will take some time for things to populate (1-2 billing cycles).
 
Got a couple of questions:

1. AT&T really needs to do another credit check to add a line?
2. Since the iPhone is sold out and I want to port a number from Sprint will that number remain with Sprint until I receive the phone?
3. Is it really that simple to convert two separate lines to familytalk like they make it seem?
4. Can I just get the new line with any number and port in the Sprint number? Kinda want it to be a surprise, but if need be doesn't really matter.
 
It worked for me! Kinda......

Hey guys, I thought I would update this thread with my experience trying to get two AT&T numbers from two different regions on the same family plan.

I was successful at doing this. However, I tried for several hours doing it the way it was mentioned above (calling that 1-888 number that bugger mentioned) and got nowhere. I talked to 3 or 4 different CSRs and finally asked for a manager to set up the account and all I kept getting was that it was impossible to do without a verified Small Business and Tax ID#. I was so frustrated I finally decided to give up and go another route (**which will be explained at the bottom of this post). After calling my girlfriend (the other number I wanted to add to the account) she calmed me down and we decided to just go to an AT&T store to set up the family plan.
Later that day we went to the AT&T store and I told them EXACTLY what I wanted, no lying about fake small business or back stories. I mentioned that I KNOW FOR A FACT that I can merge two different numbers from two different regions into one family account and that it can be done by setting up an NBI (National Billing Instance) account and adding the numbers to it. The rep in the store said that yes, it is possible to merge the numbers on an NBI account without a Tax ID# but he would have to get a manager or someone who know the older system to do it. I was in luck and 30 minutes later walked out with a much cheaper phone bill and my same number!
I did not have to pay any fees or provide any tax info. However, whoever is claiming the "billing responsibility" on the account will have a credit check ran with their social security number for each number on the new account. This is also free for you. If you have a FAN (discount from your job) only one can be applied to your NBI account. So, if you both have a FAN discount, make sure whomever has the biggest discount is the account holder...(I had 10%, she had 18%!!)
At the end of the day, our bills were combined under a family play, both still had the same numbers, and the total was $20 cheaper than we were paying (making room for the $30 data plan for our new iPad).
To sum up, GO TO THE AT&T STORE. It's absolutely much easier and less aggravating. It most definitely will work.


**Alternative**
My alternative to this would be to find another number you would like (mine had TOOTS in the number...) then use a service such as Google Voice to forward your old number to your new number. This can be a little tricky so make sure you know exactly how to do it before starting the process. My suggestion would be to go to the AT&T store and get their opinion on how to port your old number to Google Voice without loosing it. Once you get everything done, anyone that calls your old number will go through Google Voice and forwarded to your new number seamlessly without anyone ever knowing you had a new number.

Hope this helps!!
 
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