Cancel the old plan too early and the number can go with it. That one mistake is the reason this checklist exists. Porting, the process of moving an existing number from one provider to another, is a right most US customers have when they change provider in the same area, and the rest of the process is mostly clerical. Work through the items in order, and read the reason beside each one, because the reasons are what let you adapt the list to your own provider.
Before you ask for the move
- Sign up with the new provider first. The new provider is the one that asks the old one to release your number, so it has to exist before the request can be made.
- Leave the old account open. Cancelling can release the number before the transfer, and a released number may be hard to get back. Keep paying until the port is complete.
- Collect the account number and any transfer PIN. The new provider will ask for them, and a mismatch is one of the common reasons a port stalls. Where the PIN comes from varies by carrier, so check the old provider's help pages.
- Make sure the name and address match the old account. A request that does not match the records on file can be turned down, and fixing it later costs more time than checking now.
- Note what the number does today. If it carries texts, a caller name or a voicemail setup, write it down. Those features can change with the service, and you will want to compare afterward.
- Add a PIN or number lock where the carrier offers one. Names and settings differ, but many carriers let you require a code before your number can be moved. This is your guard against a port-out scam, covered below.
While the number moves
- Expect a short gap, not a long one. The line usually switches over within a short period, though the time varies by provider and by the kind of service involved. A brief loss of calls or texts is normal.
- Keep a second way to be reached. A second phone, a messaging app or an email address covers the gap, and it covers you if a verification code is due during the switch.
- Read the new provider's instructions, not mine. Details differ between carriers, and this is general information, not a promise about any specific one.
- Do not cancel anything yet. Wait for the new service to confirm. The old account is your fallback until then.
After it lands
- Test a call and a text in both directions. Texting features can change when the type of service changes, and a landline may not support texting at all. Better to learn that on day one.
- Expect the digits to look the same. The area code, the ten digits and the time zone the code follows do not change, so the region the number reader shows stays put. What can change is the carrier handling calls and the kind of service, which is why the number's first assignment no longer tells anyone how it is delivered. I make that point in the briefing on mobile, landline and VoIP numbers.
- Check for spam labels on your outgoing calls. A tag such as "Scam Likely" or "Spam Risk" is attached by a carrier or an app from its own signals. When a number changes provider, a label may follow it or may not, and an old complaint can stick to a number that now belongs to someone innocent. If your calls are getting flagged, ask the carrier or app that applied the label whether there is a way to dispute it. The process varies.
- Move your logins off text messages where you can. Use an authenticator app for important accounts if the service offers one. A number that can be moved is a number that can be targeted.
What stays and what moves, in one pass
- Stays: the ten digits, the area code and its listed region, the time zone the code follows, and the fact that anyone can display your number as caller ID. The last one is why a matching code never proves a caller is you.
- Can move: the carrier handling your calls, the kind of service (mobile, home line, internet phone), texting features and caller name display, and whether the number works on a given device or app. If you rely on one of those, test it before you cancel anything.
If something looks wrong
- Treat sudden loss of service as an alarm. Criminals who persuade a carrier to move your number to their account can receive your calls and texts, including login codes. People call it a port-out scam or SIM swap. I do not have a source I trust for how common it is, so I will not put a number on it. Contact your carrier from another device at once, and consider a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or consumer.ftc.gov if identity theft is involved.
- Do not trust "who owns this number" from a call you received. Ports and reassignments mean the last record of a number's provider can lag behind reality. If a call matters, find the organization's own number and call that, as I describe in the call history walkthrough.
If the number reached you second-hand
- Tell callers it is the wrong number. Numbers are recycled, so after a person gives up a line it can be assigned to someone new. If you keep getting calls for a stranger by name, this is the likely cause, annoying but generally harmless.
- Ask to be removed, and say nothing else. Do not confirm any detail about the previous owner, and do not offer to pass messages along. Confirming turns a wrong number into a live contact.
- Block repeat senders. If the calls come from a debt collector, you can ask them to stop calling the number, and the FTC's consumer pages describe how to handle that. This is general information, not legal advice.