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Porting ATT landline number to GV for use with OBi110

Started by tome, August 29, 2011, 06:38:15 PM

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tome

Thought I would post my experience of porting my ATT landline number over to Google Voice for use with my OBi110.  The OBi has been very easy to set up with GV and the help received in this forum has been great for further tweaking and understanding the OBi110.

Read article on porting here:  http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/google-voice-a-step-by-step-primer-on-ditching-your-land-line-while-keeping-your-number/10455?pg=1

I basically followed the instructions above. I bought my GoPhone ($9.99) from RadioShack and added some minutes to it ($15.00).

I was fully prepared for a long and frustrating call.  Apparently AT&T have practiced this ritual as it wasn't difficult at all.

Day1: 
Called AT&T at 888-898-7685 at about 9:30am.

Call seemed to transfer to wireless department even though I entered my landline number.  Perhaps this is a [increasingly] common occurrence. 

Talked to a rep that seems completely familiar with the process.  Asked for my landline number to port, my cell number I wanted to port to.  She asked me for the 4 digit pin code on the cell phone account.  She asked for my landline account number.  I didn't have the landline account number handy as I don't get paper bills, but she held on while I logged in and got it from their web site.  She was telling me that I could call back in with it, but I didn't want to do anything that might delay or muddle the process.   After giving her my landline account number, I asked her for the cell phone account number as this is not displayed on the AT&T web site.  She gave it to me without question.  It turns out I had already gotten it the day before by calling 611 from the GoPhone and asking them for it "for my records".  They asked, in what seemed to me to be a somewhat confrontational voice, why I needed my account number.  But, she seemed ok with 'I like to have it for my records'.   Getting the account number from the porting representative was just a confirmation that I had the right number.

The rep told me that 888-898-7685 is the correct number to call to throw the final switch on the port and if I have any questions at all.  Before we hung up she had gotten a confirmation that the switch would be made at 9:30am the following day.  I also asked if I could wait a day or two before calling back and she said that would be fine, that the final cutover wouldn't happen until I called back.

After I hung up I checked on the web site att.com/port and sure enough:
Your port status is:Confirmed
Expected Date of Port Completion08/26/2011
Expected Time of Port Completion9:38 AM

Day2:
Decided to wait until Day 3 to do the cutover.

Day 3:
Checked the website att.com/port and it showed it had been processed and gave me the option of talking to an agent online.  Perhaps I could have, but I called the 888 phone number instead.  Gave my cell number, the landline number and the 4-digit pin for the GoPhone account.  After some verification stuff she had me turn off my cell phone and unplug the landline phone.  I turned on the cell phone and called another cell phone to verify that caller id showed the number was now ported.  Landline is now assigned to the GoPhone.

As I am writing this, nearly 12 hours later, my landline is still active and still gives the original number for caller id.  It seems that if you call my ported number from a landline it rings into the landline as if nothing has changed, if you call from a cell phone you get routed to the GoPhone.  Very odd.  I wonder how long before the landline phone gets disconnected.  The rep suggested that I call my "landline provider" after a day or two to cancel the landline account.  I told them it was with them (ATT) and she said that is still a different company essentially and that I should call them myself to cancel the account.   Big companies suck.  Judge Greene rolls in his grave....

So in spite of having two phones on two different systems with the same phone number I guess I am happy.  The real test will come when Google tries to move the number to GV...

Day 4:
Noticed first that my landline phone is dead.

Completed the forms for porting on Google Voice.   You go to Google Voice settings and next to the phone number you will see a link for porting.  From there it is simply filling in the information (including the account number that you needed for your GoPhone), pay your $20 and off you go.   Google says it will be 24 hours.  We'll see....(~11:25am)

Day 5:
At ~11:25, sure enough, the number ported and is active on GV.  I used the phone at about 11:15 so it did indeed happen at the 24 hour mark as some people suspected.  The GoPhone is dead, long live the GoPhone!  Got a confirmation email from Google that the port was complete.  All is well.

tiff

Do you need to call AT&T to cancel your landline after porting to make sure no bill is coming your way?

tome

Quote from: tiff on August 30, 2011, 09:08:20 AM
Do you need to call AT&T to cancel your landline after porting to make sure no bill is coming your way?

Well, I didn't think so, but I am calling now that you ask...And the answer is...

It was already cancelled.  I did not need to call.  Always good to verify though!

Tom

cooplash

I know this is an old thread, but I had to say thanks for the great info! I followed your instructions and had no problem porting my Comcast land line to GV using a GoPhone. The port is in progress and should be complete within 24 hours. Thanks again!

tome

Quote from: cooplash on September 10, 2013, 08:15:13 AM
I know this is an old thread, but I had to say thanks for the great info! I followed your instructions and had no problem porting my Comcast land line to GV using a GoPhone. The port is in progress and should be complete within 24 hours. Thanks again!

Glad it was useful to someone and good to know that it still works.  I am still happily using my Obi with GV, my ported numbers and using CallCentric for e911.

Tom