What porting is
Your phone number does not belong to your phone company. It belongs to you, and the law says you may take it with you. What your provider holds is the routing: the record in the national system saying calls to that number should be sent to them.
Porting changes that record. Everything slow about it is the industry verifying that the person asking is entitled to ask, because the alternative is a world where anybody can redirect anybody's phone number.
What the process involves
- You request the port with your new provider and authorize it.
- You supply proof of ownership. Usually a recent bill from the current provider showing the number, the account number and the service address, exactly as the current provider holds them.
- The losing carrier validates it. They check the details match. If anything differs, the request is rejected and the clock restarts.
- A port date is set, and on that date the number moves, usually within a working day.
The one mistake that causes most delays
Do not cancel your old service before the port completes. If the account is closed, the number is released, and a released number may be unrecoverable. Keep paying the old provider until the number has moved and you have made a test call to it. It costs one more month and it prevents the only genuinely bad outcome.
What else delays a port
- Details that do not match. A suite number present on one record and absent on the other is enough.
- A freeze on the account. Some providers apply a port-out freeze you must lift first.
- An outstanding balance does not justify refusing the port, whatever you may be told. The FCC's own guidance states that your old company cannot refuse to port your number even if you owe money for an outstanding balance or a termination fee. You still owe the money; they still have to release the number. Keep the account active until the port completes.
- Toll-free numbers follow a different process and can take longer.
- Partial ports. Moving some numbers from an account and not others is slower than moving all of them.
What to do before you start
Have these ready and the port usually goes through on the first attempt: a bill from the last 30 days, the account number as the current provider writes it, the service address as they hold it, the authorized contact name, and a complete list of the numbers moving.
How this works with a SoundLine trial
Porting is not available during a free trial, deliberately. Start the trial on a new local number, satisfy yourself the service is right, and begin the port after you convert. Your existing number keeps working the whole time, because you have not touched it.
Questions
Will I lose calls during the port?
A correctly scheduled port moves the number with minimal interruption, typically minutes rather than hours. Calls in flight at the moment of transfer may not complete.
Can I port a number I only use for texting?
Yes, though texting on a ported number needs the same carrier registration as any business number.
Can I port out of SoundLine later?
Yes. It is your number. We will give you the details you need.
Start on a new number, port when you are sure
Seven days free. No commitment to your existing number either way.