When you change your phone system, customers will still call and text your old business phone number — and expect you to be there. Missing these calls can lead to frustrated customers, lost sales, and extra work for your team.
The good news is VoIP number porting is a seamless process that lets you keep your business line running with zero disruptions. Here’s what you need to know about porting your phone number to a new VoIP provider.
What is VoIP number porting?
Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP for short, is a technology that allows you to make phone calls using an internet connection instead of a traditional landline or mobile network.
VoIP number porting lets you retain your existing phone number by moving from your current phone provider, whether that’s a traditional carrier or a VoIP service provider, to a new VoIP service provider.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), you have the right to keep your phone number when switching providers. This applies to traditional and VoIP services, ensuring a smooth transition without losing your established business number.
Why port your number to VoIP
The porting process involves a few steps, but the benefits make it worth the effort. Here’s why many businesses choose to go through with VoIP number porting:
- Avoid losing customers: Keep your existing number so customers can reach you without confusion or missed calls.
- Faster setup: Porting your current number allows you to quickly transition to your new VoIP phone system without the hassle of informing everyone about a new number.
- Better customer service: By keeping the same number, customers don’t need to hunt down contact details to reach you.
- Better customer experience: VoIP services often come with features like call routing, call forwarding, texting automations, and auto-attendants. These create a better experience.
- Lower costs: VoIP costs much less than traditional phone services. When you port your number, you don’t have to maintain legacy lines, advertise a new number, or pay long-distance calling fees.
- Brand and online presence consistency: Your phone number is part of your brand identity — it’s on your business cards, website, ads, and more. Porting it ensures consistency across channels.
- Remote work flexibility: VoIP solutions let you work from anywhere with an internet connection. You can use your computer, mobile phone, or tablet to take calls and send messages.
How does VoIP number porting work?
The phone number porting process only takes a few steps, no matter what provider you’re switching from or which VoIP service you’re moving to.
Here’s what it takes to port out your number to a new provider:
1. Let your current provider know you want to port out
Giving your current provider a heads-up that you’re porting out can help you avoid delays on either end of the porting process. Your current provider won’t have to do anything right away, but it’s important to inform them in advance.
2. Send the required information to your new provider
To comply with FCC regulations, your new provider will need your phone bill, latest invoice, and account number. Make sure your documentation includes your name, billing address, phone number, and a port-out/transfer PIN if you have one associated with your account.
You’ll also need to sign a Letter of Authorization, LOA for short. This document verifies you’re the rightful owner of the phone number being ported and you authorize the transfer. This protects you against unauthorized transfers.
Your new VoIP provider may ask for some additional information:
- The name of your old provider
- If your number is toll-free, local US, or local Canada
- If your account is registered under a business name or a personal name
- If the number you’re porting is mobile, landline, or VoIP
- If you plan to port multiple numbers to your new provider — make sure to communicate this clearly in writing to your provider
3. Maintain your current phone service until porting is complete
To avoid service disruptions, wait until your port is complete before closing your current account. This way, you can continue making and receiving calls while your new provider works their magic.
Your new carrier will let you know your port date, after which you can cancel your old service. If you cancel your service before the porting process is finished, you risk losing your phone number and experiencing delays.
4. Keep in mind typical timelines for VoIP number porting
When you change your phone number to a VoIP provider, porting timelines can vary depending on how responsive your new and current providers are. So if both providers are quick to respond to the porting request, the process can go faster.
However, the process generally takes 5-7 business days for US numbers. With Canadian numbers, it takes a bit longer, about 10-12 business days.
Remember to ensure you provide accurate account information, as any mistakes in the details you give can cause delays.
5. Complete your A2P 10DLC registration for texting US customers
To text customers with US phone numbers, you’ll need to complete A2P 10DLC registration. This newer registration requirement applies if you use any cloud phone service to prevent spam and fraud.
Depending on your provider, you might be able to register to meet this new requirement before starting the porting process. That way, once you’ve ported your number over, you can text right away without any issues. For example, Quo lets you complete registration directly from its web or desktop app before you port over a local US or Canadian number.
6. Cancel your old service
Once the porting process is complete and you can successfully make calls and send texts from your new VoIP number, it’s safe to cancel service with your current carrier.
How to choose a new VoIP provider
The VoIP provider you choose directly impacts your call quality, available features, and customer support experience.
Here’s a guide to finding one you can trust:
- Evaluate essential features: Look for providers that offer shared numbers, SMS/MMS support, texting automations, call handling features, call recording, and integrations with your existing business tools. Advanced features like AI voice agents and international calling can help set your business apart.
- Assess scalability: Choose a provider that grows with your business. Make sure you can easily add or remove users, assign new numbers, support multiple locations, and upgrade plans without interrupting your service. The system should integrate with your existing tools so you won’t need to switch platforms as you expand.
- Calculate long-term value: Look beyond plan prices to understand the true costs. Prioritize providers without minimum user requirements or long-term contracts. Watch out for hidden fees like messaging limits, setup fees, or number porting charges. Basics like unlimited calling and texting should be included, not expensive add-ons.
- Check security standards: Protect your business and customer information with providers offering end-to-end encryption, user permissions, automatic updates, and SOC 2 compliance.
- Verify service consistency: Select providers with published uptime guarantees of 99.99% or higher. Look for real-time status pages and reviews on reliability.
Following these steps will help you pick a VoIP provider that meets your current needs and can grow with your business.
How to port your current number to Quo (formerly OpenPhone)
Want your switch to a new VoIP provider to be the last one you ever make? Quo is a modern business phone service that can scale with you as your company grows.
On top of being able to port in unlimited numbers (US, Canadian, or North American toll-free numbers) with zero porting fees, Quo comes with features like:
- Integrations with email, Slack, Zapier, HubSpot, and more
- SMS and MMS messaging
- Call recording
- Call forwarding
- Call routing
- Three-way calling
- Call tags to label calls by topic and sentiment
- Call transcripts and summaries
Our porting process takes just a few simple steps:
- Sign up for a Quo account and try a free seven-day trial.
- Log into the Quo web or desktop app and submit your porting request. You can do this once you’ve confirmed Quo is a great fit and you’ve completed carrier registration for local numbers or toll-free verification if you’re porting in a toll-free number.
You’ll need a copy of a billing statement or a screenshot of your account with the phone number and email address visible, your current account number, and your port-out/transfer PIN. You can get these details directly from your current provider.
- We’ll confirm your port date and time so you’ll know when your number is available.
- Customize your phone number settings in your Quo account while waiting for your number to move over. This includes setting up after-hours voicemail and auto-replies.
- Cancel the service with your original provider once Quo’s porting team lets you know your number is ready to use.
VoIP number porting requirements
Several factors can affect how long it takes to port your phone number. To make your porting process as quick as possible, send your provider all the paperwork they need right away.
For legal reasons, your provider will request the following documents and information:
- Letter of Authorization signed by the owner of the phone number
- A phone bill or latest invoice, which should have the number you’re porting over, your billing address, and name
- Your current provider and account number
- A list of the phone lines you want to port
- Your porting-out personal identification number or PIN. A porting out/transfer PIN generally is associated with US numbers. If you’re unsure whether you specifically have a porting-out PIN, ask your current carrier.
The name and phone number listed on your phone bill should match the contact information on your LOA.
Challenges that can delay VoIP number porting
While the VoIP number porting process is usually straightforward, some factors can cause delays. If you’ve triple-checked the documentation you provided and are confident it’s correct, here are a few common reasons porting may take longer than expected:
- Your existing service provider is slow to respond to your new provider
- You’re moving a landline number to a new provider
- You have account issues with your current provider, like outstanding balances
- You’re porting in a phone number from outside the US
- Your phone number requires complex porting — this may be the case if it’s on multiple lines or has features like call forwarding or specialized call groups
Non-portable numbers
Here are a few reasons your number may be non-portable:
- Your number is no longer in service, inactive, or disconnected
- The new VoIP provider doesn’t have coverage in your geographic area and can’t port your phone number
- Your number is an international number — some international numbers aren’t portable
Other common errors
You’ll also experience delays with VoIP number porting if:
- You’re porting a Canadian phone number and haven’t responded to the confirmation text sent by your current carrier within 90 minutes
- Your porting request is rejected due to spelling errors, incorrect information like the address or account number not matching what your current carrier has on file, or signatures from unauthorized sources
- You’re not listed as an authorized account holder or manager with porting privileges — common with business plans where a manager has administrative control
- You want to send texts to your customers but haven’t completed the A2P 10DLC registration form before starting the porting process. The registration, in some cases, can take weeks to process.
Port your number to Quo today, the ultimate VoIP service
VoIP number porting is a straightforward process that can help you access all the benefits of an internet-based phone. At Quo, you can port your existing number for free. You’ll also have a dedicated porting team that has helped thousands of businesses successfully make the switch.
When you switch to Quo, you can do more with your US, Canadian, or toll-free number, including:
- Call and message your clients and team members with free calling and texting to anyone in the US or Canada
- Share phone numbers with team members to help each other field calls and texts
- Get additional VoIP numbers; sign up for as many numbers as your team needs
- Streamline business processes by integrating with email, Slack, Zapier, HubSpot, and more
- Set up an automated phone menu so clients can route their own calls
- Record calls for training, quality assurance, or documentation purposes
- Save time sending texts by using snippets, scheduled texts, and auto-replies
- Connect tools and automate workflows using the Make integration
- Never miss a call with Sona, Quo’s AI voice agent
Sign up for your free trial of Quo with a temporary new number to try it out — and when you’re ready, start the VoIP number porting process.
FAQs
Yes, as long as the VoIP provider supports the area code or region of the phone number you wish to transfer over, you should be able to port your cell phone number.
Porting a VoIP number to a cell phone is sometimes possible. However, if your VoIP phone number uses an area code that doesn’t match your geographic area, your cell phone service provider will ask you to select a new local number — for instance, if you have a Canadian phone number but live in the United States and try to port that number to a US cell provider. This usually occurs if your new provider doesn’t have local infrastructure in those areas.
You can typically check your number portability on your new carrier’s website so you’ll know if you can make the switch.
Yes, you can port your phone number to a VoIP provider in most cases. VoIP solutions provide service over the internet instead of through local cell towers. This means they can support the porting of more telephone numbers than the average cell phone or landline carrier, regardless of your location. For example, you can port US, Canadian, and toll-free numbers to Quo.
Most personal and business phone numbers are portable. However, some landlines and international numbers may encounter porting issues due to information mismatches.
Yes, but the porting process can take longer to complete. It requires more resources to overcome the logistical challenges a VoIP provider faces to make sure you can use your number on various devices with an Internet connection.
The average time it takes to port an existing number to a VoIP provider is 5-7 business days for US numbers and 10-12 business days for Canadian numbers.
This timeline can vary depending on factors like the responsiveness of your current provider and the accuracy of the information provided.
Some providers may charge a porting fee or a termination fee, depending on the terms of your contract. For example, AT&T and Google Fi each charge a $20 fee to port a mobile number to Google Voice.
If you’re using Google Voice’s free plan, you’ll need to pay a $3 fee to unlock your number before VoIP number porting it to another provider. Alternatively, some providers like Quo don’t charge any fees to port in a number.
The right phone system depends on your business needs — but in general, you should look for:
– Transparent pricing
– Call routing to automatically send customers to the right place
– Collaboration features like call transfers and internal communication notes
– Business SMS/MMS with automation features like auto-replies and scheduled messages
– Call recording, transcripts, and summaries
– Responsive customer support
Once you’ve created a shortlist of providers, it’s a good idea to trial them or get a demo to see the platform in action.
