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You’ve made the decision to switch phone service providers. Whether you’re moving to a VoIP platform, adopting a hosted system like Clearly Cloud, or consolidating services, you want one thing to stay the same: your phone number.
That’s where number porting comes in. On paper, it’s the process of transferring your number from one carrier to another. In practice, it’s a mix of paperwork, coordination, and timing. It’s easy to underestimate how much can go wrong until you’re stuck with a rejected request or, worse, an unreachable number.
For a smooth transition, there are a few key points to consider upfront. Here’s what number porting involves, why it’s essential to get it right, and what steps to take before and during the process.
Why Number Porting Matters
Your phone number isn’t just a contact point; it’s tied to your brand identity. Customers call it, save it, and recognize it. Staff have it printed on business cards, websites, and signage. Losing that number or experiencing downtime during a port can cause confusion, missed calls, and even lost revenue.
While upgrading to a better phone system is smart, ensuring that the number port is handled properly is just as important. A mishandled port can delay service, break call routing, or cause customer frustration.
How the Process Works
When you port a number, you’re instructing your new provider to assume control of it from your old one. That change is submitted to national databases and must be approved by your current carrier. The entire process typically takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the quality of the paperwork and the level of cooperation from the carrier that is losing.
If you’re working with ClearlyIP, you’ll be assigned a porting specialist who will help you work through this part. However, regardless of who manages the port, your job is to be accurate, prepared, and ready to test when the time comes.
Pre-Porting Checklist
Before your port request is submitted, check off the following:
Get your Customer Service Record (CSR) from your current carrier. This shows the exact account details that must match for the port to be approved.
Have a fully scanned copy of your most recent invoice ready.
Confirm your business name, address, authorized contact, and account number on file with your losing carrier. Even a slight mismatch or spelling error can cause delays.
Confirm any other port-out information with your current carrier. Some carriers check for more details than just business name, address, authorized contact, and account number. Be sure to ask if they parse for any other values when porting out, and they will be able to tell you.
List all numbers you want to port. Include voice, fax, alarms, or any lines used for auto-attendants or SMS. DO NOT list any numbers you do not want ported.
Check for contract obligations or early termination fees with your current provider.
Don’t cancel anything yet. Numbers must be active to port successfully. Wait until after the port completes to request an account cancellation with your previous provider.
A comprehensive checklist like this can prevent up to 90% of the rejections we see.
What to Expect on Port Day
Once your paperwork is approved, you’ll get a scheduled port date and time. On that day, your number is handed off between providers. You may notice a brief window, typically lasting a few minutes, during which incoming calls are not routed correctly. It’s normal, but only if your system is ready.
That means your new phone system should already be configured to receive the ported number. That includes setting up call routing, voicemail, extensions, and e911 details. You want this in place before the switch happens. It is always best to ask your new provider for a test number and to confirm the system is routing calls with that test number before issuing the port. This will ensure the system is ready for the port to happen.
Post-Porting Checklist
After the number ports, here’s what to double-check:
Test inbound and outbound calls from landlines and mobile phones.
Confirm call routing and voicemail. Make sure calls go where they should.
Check e911 data. If your new system doesn’t send the correct location, update it immediately.
Watch for reachability issues. Some callers might still hit the old carrier’s route for a few hours. If it lasts longer, escalate it with both your new provider and your old one.
Once you’ve verified everything works, then (and only then) should you cancel your old account.
How ClearlyIP Handles Porting
ClearlyIP makes number porting easier with a dedicated team and transparent processes. You don’t have to chase down rejections or guess at what’s missing. We’ll walk you through the steps, validate documents, and confirm when your number is active. Systems like Clearly Cloud and SIP Trunking are designed to receive ported numbers with minimal disruption. Our porting team coordinates the timing to minimize downtime.
Whether you’re moving one line or migrating a block of DIDs, we’ve done this before. You’ll receive status updates along the way and testing support once the port is complete.
What to Avoid
Some common mistakes that lead to failed or delayed ports:
- Submitting an LOA with incorrect information
- Not gathering the information from your current provider before submitting the LOA to the new provider
- Not confirming with your current provider that there are no outstanding account issues that may impede the porting process.
- Forgetting to list fax or alarm lines
- Canceling service before the port is done
- Not testing calls after the port
- Assuming your new provider will set everything up without input
Avoiding these issues primarily involves slowing down, double-checking, and maintaining open communication.
Final Takeaway
Porting your business number is worth doing right. It maintains your brand consistency and prevents disruptions. With just a little preparation and a provider who handles the technical side, you can switch services without losing customer trust or internal functionality.
Talk to ClearlyIP early in the process. We’ll help you keep your number and ensure your phone service continues to work as it should. No stress, no guesswork – just a clean transition.
Most Common Port Rejections
Any rejections on your port request will cause delays in completing the port, as each time it is rejected, you must make the necessary corrections and resubmit the order. Here are a few of the most common ones and how to avoid them from the start.
- Informational Rejection (Address, Company Name, Authorized Contact Name, Account Number): Correcting this information before submitting the LOA is imperative, as these types of rejections can delay the port order by several days.
- PIN Missing or Invalid: You may not even know if your current provider has a port-out PIN for your numbers or not. It is always advisable to ask your current provider is there are any port out PINs you need to know about before submitting the LOA to your new provider. If they did give you a port-out PIN and you still receive this rejection, you will need to contact the losing provider and inform them that the PIN they provided did not work, and you require the current PIN on file.
- New BTN Required: Some Carriers use Billing Telephone Numbers as a data point to verify when approving port-outs. If you are porting the BTN from your account but leaving other numbers behind, the losing provider may require you to make one of the remaining numbers the new BTN before allowing the current BTN to be ported out. Be sure to inform your new provider if that is the case, and have one of the remaining numbers on hand to provide for the new BTN, even if you are abandoning those remaining numbers.
- Pending Order Rejection: If you have another port order with another carrier, or if you have any account updates or change requests with the current provider, this will delay the port order. Most carriers only allow one processing order to occur on a single account at any given time, so ensure that no other orders are being processed with the current provider.
- Disconnected or No Longer Part of the Account: Numbers that are showing as Disconnected or not Portable with the current provider will cause this type of rejection. Confirm with your current provider before submitting the LOA to the new provider that all the numbers you want to port are active and show as portable in their systems to avoid this rejection. (Note: Sometimes actively ringing numbers can still show as Disconnected or Not Portable with the current provider, so always confirm beforehand).
