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Number porting to GV - my experience

Started by chaiwan2000, June 16, 2011, 11:20:56 PM

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Pedro675

Thought I'd update my GV/Obi installation and extend thanks for the help. I'm looking to save $55 per month on my home phone bill.

I finally set up the Obi200 with GV voice. Works great, just like a regular phone. Right now we have two phone numbers, the GV and the original number with the telcom. One phone is still receiving calls on the old number. I arranged the old number phone on a separate circuit so there is no power to the Obi device. Once the number porting is complete I'll disconnect at the NID and run a splitter from the OBi device phone port - one wire to the portable phone and one wire to the house wiring. That will give me all phones on GV.

I now have to port my home phone number to GV. I borrowed a friend's old cell phone and will get a 30 day plan with AT&T to test reception at the house, then have them port my home phone number to the cell phone. After that port that home number from AT&T to GV.

Is it advisable to wait some time after porting my home number to AT&T before porting it to GV. Like once it's ported and working on the cell phone can I immediately port to GV?

Pedro675

I have just activated my mobile phone with AT&T. Unfortunately, as I feared, the reception at my house is terrible. Virtually none in the house but some outside - go figure on a 4g phone. This area has always been a dead spot, but I thought with 4g it would be better.

I have paid for a 30 day plan and will need to port my home phone to this cell phone then port it to GV. I can go to a friend's house where hopefully the signal is better. What I want to know is how long I have to wait for a return phone call on this cell from GV to complete the port.

Can someone chime in here to help. If it's only a few minutes then I can do it at my friends.

Thanks 

SteveInWA

Porting land lines takes longer and has more steps than porting from one mobile carrier to another mobile carrier.

It's best to wait several days, preferably a week, after porting a land line number to a mobile carrier, before subsequently porting to Google Voice.  Make sure that both inbound and outbound calling and text messaging work on the mobile phone, before starting the port to Google Voice.  In theory, you should only need to wait until these things start working, but many of the porting problems we see on the Google Voice forum are caused by "churning" ports too rapidly, before the new routing information propagates out to all the carriers.

Instructions:  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667#xferin

Pedro675

OK I have at last ported my home number from my mobile phone to GV.

Process was trickier than expected. As I posted before I borrowed a friend's unlocked backup cell phone and set up a 1 month plan with AT&T. I chose AT&T because they are the only carrier with an office located close just up the street where I could get SIM cards and account setup.

At my house though I could not get reliable AT&T signal, from low to nil (mostly nil). Fortunately there is a Starbucks next door to the AT&T office with great cell reception. I used Starbucks wifi and went about doing the port. However it took me three tries to get the two digit confirmation code sent to GV. As well, the next screen asked for my AT&T account number, which was nowhere to be found on any paperwork I had or on my web account page. I had to scoot next door to the AT&T office to get them to find my account number while a Starbucks customer guarded my computer and cell phone. Once that was done everything went smoothly. Today I got the notice that the port was successful and a phone test confirmed.

Looking forward to saving $55 per month.

Great thanks to everyone who helped me through the process!!


suidbillyms

Getting ready to buy "T-Mobile Prepaid Complete SIM Starter Kit". Does it make a difference if bought from Amazon or T-Mobile directly? I read in the Amazon comments for the item that if bought from Amazon you have to add a minimum of $10 when activating but only $3 when purchased from T-Mobile. Is this accurate? Thanks.


colby352

I will try my best to keep this short and sweet! My mom lives next door. She is on fixed income and tired of bills increasing in price. So I wirelessly bridged my house with hers using 2 ubiquiti nanostation m5. She has her own ASUS router in Access Point mode. So far it's all working out great with speeds from 60-70 mbps! But she wants to keep her landline spectrum number.

I ported her Spectrum line to T-Mobile Prepaid $3/month. The line has been ported and active for couple days now BUT Google Voice still says, "Ooops! This number appears to be from an area we don't currently support."


From my understanding it's not possible so whatever it is what it is. I thought about getting a MagicJack or a Ooma Telo but the reviews seem AWFUL! Since we already have the OBi200 I have been thinking about porting her number to callcentric and have them be the VOIP provider and its only like $6/month unlimited.

Has anyone gone this route and have any feedback they'd like to provide? I just want to make sure that callcentric  is decent and won't be awful call quality or wont crap out. Hope the port doesn't take long.

SteveInWA

Callcentric is just fine, but they may not be able to port the number, either; you'll just have to try it and find out.

Of course, you can simply get her a new phone number.

sostpm

Good question.. I thought what you did with T-mobile was correct. I got my GV phone port to work because my cell phone actually answers on inbound calls but.. I got the "OOPS message from GV indicating that the port did NOT work. So I'm not sure it will work for you. I got the very same messages you did. What I wanted was to ring my home portable phones as well on inbound calls. They do NOT ring but my cell phone does get inbound calls and it rings.

dlarson54

I learned that my xxx-xxx number could not be ported to GV after porting to T-Moblie. I used parkmyphone.com and my number ported there and that service forwards my calls to my GV number. It is the best work around I have found yet. I hope I find something to eliminate the middle man someday but for now this works good for a small fee.

jd123

Hello guys I have a few questions.

I am trying to follow the guide at https://www.obitalk.com/info/tutorials/porttutorial but the links for the T-mobile pre-paid sim cards are not working for me. Will this one work? https://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-Prepaid-Complete-SIM-Kit/dp/B00LPPHHFK

Once I get the sim card and call T-mobile to activate it, do I have to pick between a plan like PayGo, or can I just add x amount of minutes into the card?
Thank you

SteveInWA

#430
Quote from: jd123 on August 05, 2018, 04:56:06 PM
Hello guys I have a few questions.

I am trying to follow the guide at https://www.obitalk.com/info/tutorials/porttutorial but the links for the T-mobile pre-paid sim cards are not working for me. Will this one work? https://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-Prepaid-Complete-SIM-Kit/dp/B00LPPHHFK

Once I get the sim card and call T-mobile to activate it, do I have to pick between a plan like PayGo, or can I just add x amount of minutes into the card?
Thank you

Yes, that linked SIM pack on Amazon is perfect IF you have either an existing T-Mobile phone, or an unlocked AT&T Wireless or other GSM phone designed for the US market.  If you only have a locked AT&T Wireless phone, then buy a prepaid SIM kit for AT&T Prepaid and follow the same procedure.  Do NOT buy a SIM from one of the third-party re-sellers like H20, Lycamobile, Straight Talk, etc.  Those companies have little to no expertise at porting land line numbers in and out.

Before you begin, enter your land line phone number into the Google Voice porting dashboard, to see if it is eligible.  If it only gives you an error about the number being on a land line carrier, then you're good to go.  If it also gives you an error that porting is not supported in your area, then you can't port it in, and don't bother trying.

https://www.google.com/voice/porting

Here is what you'll be doing:  the point of this exercise is to establish working mobile phone service and port your land line number to that service on a working mobile phone handset.  You will buy the SIM, stick it in the phone, then contact T-Mobile to port in your land line number.  You must buy the minimum number of prepaid minutes they sell (typically $10), so that you can make and receive telephone calls on that phone.

Wait a full week after porting the land line number into the mobile carrier, before attempting to then port it to Google Voice.  Before attempting to port to GV, you must contact T-Mobile and ask them for the account number and PIN you need to submit so that they will approve your port-out request.  Don't get impatient and try to port to Google Voice without waiting.

If you encounter any problems while doing the port from the mobile carrier to Google Voice, please post over on the Google Voice help forum.  Do not cancel the port unless instructed to do so over on that forum.

jd123

Quote from: SteveInWA on August 05, 2018, 05:58:11 PM
Quote from: jd123 on August 05, 2018, 04:56:06 PM
Hello guys I have a few questions.

I am trying to follow the guide at https://www.obitalk.com/info/tutorials/porttutorial but the links for the T-mobile pre-paid sim cards are not working for me. Will this one work? https://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-Prepaid-Complete-SIM-Kit/dp/B00LPPHHFK

Once I get the sim card and call T-mobile to activate it, do I have to pick between a plan like PayGo, or can I just add x amount of minutes into the card?
Thank you

Yes, that linked SIM pack on Amazon is perfect IF you have either an existing T-Mobile phone, or an unlocked AT&T Wireless or other GSM phone designed for the US market.  If you only have a locked AT&T Wireless phone, then buy a prepaid SIM kit for AT&T Prepaid and follow the same procedure.  Do NOT buy a SIM from one of the third-party re-sellers like H20, Lycamobile, Straight Talk, etc.  Those companies have little to no expertise at porting land line numbers in and out.

Before you begin, enter your land line phone number into the Google Voice porting dashboard, to see if it is eligible.  If it only gives you an error about the number being on a land line carrier, then you're good to go.  If it also gives you an error that porting is not supported in your area, then you can't port it in, and don't bother trying.

https://www.google.com/voice/porting

Here is what you'll be doing:  the point of this exercise is to establish working mobile phone service and port your land line number to that service on a working mobile phone handset.  You will buy the SIM, stick it in the phone, then contact T-Mobile to port in your land line number.  You must buy the minimum number of prepaid minutes they sell (typically $10), so that you can make and receive telephone calls on that phone.

Wait a full week after porting the land line number into the mobile carrier, before attempting to then port it to Google Voice.  Before attempting to port to GV, you must contact T-Mobile and ask them for the account number and PIN you need to submit so that they will approve your port-out request.  Don't get impatient and try to port to Google Voice without waiting.

If you encounter any problems while doing the port from the mobile carrier to Google Voice, please post over on the Google Voice help forum.  Do not cancel the port unless instructed to do so over on that forum.
Thank you for the quick and informative reply.
Yes, I did check if google voice supports my area with that site and it does.  :D

I was going to use the SIM for a spare Verizon iPhone 5 that I had lying around thinking it was unlocked. I put in the IMEI on https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid/bring-your-own-device however and it says it is not compatible with T-mobile's network although it does say "Success! You can use your device on our network" below the textarea with a green checkmark. Confusing. I'm going to assume it is locked.

I do have my iPhone 6s that I currently use that is compatible according to that site. Can I swap the SIM card for certain time periods or do I need it in the phone constantly during the whole procedure? I wouldn't mind popping it in whenever I need to talk to the carriers or check if phonecalls/texts work then take it out again. Otherwise I guess I should buy a prepaid T-mobile/ATT phone?

SteveInWA

Remember, you are simply moving a telephone number from one carrier to another.  The carrier associates the SIM ICCID with your number.  It doesn't matter at all what sort of phone you use with that SIM, as long as it's compatible enough to make a couple of ordinary phone calls. 

As for the older previously-Verizon phone, VZW and T-Mobile don't share LTE bands, and so the phones weren't built to support all of them.  The OEMs are getting better now at reducing the chaos and simply supporting most bands on every phone.

GPz1100

^^Not true.  It really depends on the phone and bands it supports.

Example, verizon galaxy s4 - sch-i545 fully supports 2g/3g on tmobile (edge/hspa data), LTE is also supported in areas where band 4 (1700/2100) is deployed.

For att, there's full 3g support, and again, band 4 LTE in areas where it's available.

So while this phone from 2013 won't have service in all areas served by these providers, it should have service in major cities.

All verizon LTE phones (other than prepaid) come unlocked for gsm use.  Newer models support more bands.  I believe the s8 or the s9 (verizon variant) fully supports all att/tmo bands.

In fact, as of right now, older verizon lte phones with HD voice capability cannot be activated on verizon itself, but can on MVNO's.  After 2019 when vzw shuts down 1x/3g entirely, these older phones will still be usable on att/tmo. 

Just like the obi100, even though the manufacturer/provider has abandoned support, the device is still usable to an extent.

linksfiend

Is there a recommended cheap plan on T-Mobile? Do you need to setup an account if you have a prepaid sim?

Pedro675

If T-Mobile is like AT&T you can buy a 30 day pay-as-you-go plan. You'll need a SIM card, about $5. If you have a T-Mobile store close then I would recommend going there. Just say you want to assess the service and reception, no reason to offer your end plan.

art_vandelay

I purchased the T-Mobile 3 in 1 sim starter kit from amazon for $10.  I installed the sim in an unlocked iPhone 5.  I contacted T-Mobile's automated system to activate the card and requested a new number.  During the process of activation the call dropped but I did received three text messages from them, one of them contained my new cell number.  Don't know if everything completed like it should've.  Do I need to purchase something in addition to the starter sim kit?  Step 3 of the Obitalk number porting guide says to make and receive a call.  I get a message that I am unable to do so, so I assume I need to buy minutes or something??  I thought I saw a message I could buy a few minutes for $3 somewhere.

I also hope I didn't mess up by requesting a new number.  It is my understanding that I get a new (temp) number from T-Mobile and once I can make and receive a call I go to step 4 of the guide and call T-Mobile's activation department to request of port of my old number (the one I want to move to Google Voice).  The new T-Mobile number just goes away then, correct?

SteveInWA

#437
You must put the SIM into a working phone, pay for calling credits, and be able to make and receive calls on that phone.  How you do that is between you and T-Mobile.  The SIM kit should have covered their instructions for porting.

Once you get your desired land line ported over to T-Mobile, make sure it can then make AND answer phone calls and it can send and receive text messages.  Wait a full week after that point, before then submitting a port request via Google Voice.

While you wait, make absolutely sure you obtain the correct account number and account PIN from T-Mobile, so that they will approve the port-out request.  Create an online account for your T-Mobile service.

"My T-Mobile Account" shows your account number. It is the number on the top right of the screen (9 Digits).  It also shows it under the Account Activity Log.

PIN - 4-digit PIN....To set a PIN, dial 611, say "no" to refill, choose "manage my account", choose "change my account pin", then set your 4-digit PIN

The rest of the procedure is here:  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667#xferin

art_vandelay

Sorry for this but I am more confused than ever.  I bought the $10 sim kit, all I see are instructions on how to activate it not port.  I am assuming I need to buy minutes with the number T-Mobile assigned me.  I have tried so many things now and met blocks with all of them I don't know what to do.  I think since my call was disconnected while on the activation process it might be hung some where even though I received a text with my t-mobile number.  Can I go into a T-Mobile store and tell them what I want to do and they help?  Also, why do I need to setup a temp t-mobile number first then port my land line to them?  Cant I just go in the store and have them port my land line straight to a pay go account?

SteveInWA

Quote from: art_vandelay on September 10, 2018, 05:34:54 PM
Sorry for this but I am more confused than ever.  I bought the $10 sim kit, all I see are instructions on how to activate it not port.  I am assuming I need to buy minutes with the number T-Mobile assigned me.  I have tried so many things now and met blocks with all of them I don't know what to do.  I think since my call was disconnected while on the activation process it might be hung some where even though I received a text with my t-mobile number.  Can I go into a T-Mobile store and tell them what I want to do and they help?  Also, why do I need to setup a temp t-mobile number first then port my land line to them?  Cant I just go in the store and have them port my land line straight to a pay go account?

If you have that many questions, then, by all means, go to a retail T-Mobile store and they can explain it to you.