If I sell my OnStar equipped C6 does the phone number stay with the vehicle or does the new owner get a new phone number ? If I get another C6 can I request my old number ?

 

 

ahhh... memories... I just went through this 6 months ago.

The short answer is "no, you can NOT transfer your current OnStar phone number from your old car to your new one".

I made call after call... talked to a dozen different people at OnStar... no go. The new owner can request a new number, as can you, but you cannot request your old number for your new car. The people I talked to in the Technical Support dept kept saying it was tied to the hardware, and could not be reassigned.

It doesn't make sense to me -- if a new number can be assigned, then theoretically, a _specific_ number should also be able to be assigned. The closest I can figure is that its not a hardware problem but rather a problem with their management software -- it just doesn't have that ability as an option.

 

Hmmm.. thats going to be fun when I move out of this State possibly sometime next year...

 

I agree, however I think OnStar may be in violation with the FCC by not allowing you to take your number with you. The Privacy Act of 2000 established no-call lists, privacy guidelines for businesses and internet services, and the ability to take your existing phone number to a new carrier since it was deemed that your phone number is "personal identifying information" and therefore sensitive. One OnStar vehicle to another OnStar vehicle may not actually be a new carrier, but OnStar should be set-up to do this to comply with FCC regulations.

 

I linked my vette to Verizon.They changed the original #.And they said if I sell car I can keep this #.

 

Kent1999 is right -- the problem is with On*Star's systems not a limitation of either the On*Star hardware or the cellular provider (Verizon). The hardware in the car looks like just another cell phone to Verizon and phone numbers can be assigned/moved just like they are with any other cell phone. However, On*Star has to "know" the link between the phone number and the car in order for their door-unlock, air-bag deployment, systems-check and other services to work. Moving phone numbers around is just one more complication for them so they make it hard for you to do that.

Verizon offers a special program for On*Star customers that you might want to consider. It allows you to share minutes between your On*Star phone and your regular cell (assuming it's also Verizon) plus allows free call-forwarding from your regular phone to On*Star. Using this plan, you wouldn't have to give out your On*Star number to anyone but you could still answer all calls with the car's hands-free features. People calling you would just use your regular cell number thereby avoiding the problem of your On*Star number changing when you buy/sell cars. You do have to remember to turn forwarding on/off when you get in and out of the car and that can be a struggle for some people.

Personally, I don't use any of On*Star's "premium" features so I'd rather have a bluetooth link between my regular cell and the car's hands-free features.