Porting a Number
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How To Successfully Port Your Number to VoIP.ms and Avoid Common Pitfalls?
Port a number
Porting a number is the process of transfer a number from one provider to another. If you are a VoIP.ms customer and have an existing number with a different provider you can optionally bring it (port it in) to VoIP.ms network. Toll free numbers, local USA/Canada and even International numbers can be ported to VoIP.ms. As of January 15th, 2020, all portings are free of charge across Canada and US48.
Our LNP (Local Number Portability) Department handles the porting process and guides the customer through it. They are also in charge of updating the customer via email with any relevant information about the port every time there is a change of the port request status. (Such as when the information has been submitted to the carrier, when a porting date -known as FOC- has been received, when the port has completed, etc)
To port your number over, please verify with your existing service provider that the address listed in your Customer Service Record (CSR)/Account information/Customer portal is a physical address. PO BOX addresses are not valid for portability.
Note: For Wireless Ports in Canada, some Carriers may send either an SMS or email to the owner regarding the approval for the current port request. Once you receive this notice, you have 90 minutes to reply and approve the port, otherwise, the losing carrier may reject the port request and cancel the process.
Numbers portable
We can port numbers from most countries all over the world, even if we do not offer DID numbers from those countries. If you wish to verify the portability of an International number please contact our LNP staff and provide the Country code, Area code and phone number, it is important to also mention if the number is a National, Geographical or Toll-Free number. You may email us at [email protected] For Faxes, we can port from Canada, United States local numbers as well as toll free numbers. The porting fee per number is $15 USD.
For more information about prices you can contact VoIP.ms staff, since the rate can vary depending on the country your number belongs to.
International Port IN Fees
Please contact VoIP.ms LNP Department at [email protected] to confirm availability and final price for your International numbers. Remember to provide the full number along with the city name and city code. The upstream carrier name is also needed.
Prices are subject to change without notice at any time.
Check Availability
Not all numbers from a specific country can be ported in. The most important factor to find out if a number is portable or not is the number´s city (also called ratecenter). In your customer portal, refer to DID Numbers section, you will find a link for DID Portability. In this link you can verify if your number is portable to our network, just click on the link that says "Check availability".
Important: For Canadian, US and Toll-free Numbers the porting fee is free per number in order to port to our network, the process can takes around 5 working days before everything is completed.
Start Procedure
Once you have verified your number can be ported, on the same link (DID Portability) click on "Start procedure" you will be presented with a process of 5 steps to initiate the port of your number.
- Important: Make sure you have a scan of your latest invoice/statement in PDF, MS Word or as an Image file, SIGNED on a blank part.
- Do not sign it over any lines or graphics.
After following all the steps in the process and confirmed your order, you will receive an email notification from our LNP Department, that will guide you during the entire process and provide all the necessary updates. If any additional information is required they will contact you, so you can be informed all the time.
Here you can find a detailed explanation of each step you have to follow in order to start a port request:
Notification on Portal
Once you have placed a porting order, you will notice a notification next to DID Numbers Menu and DID Portability. This is to help you remember an ongoing port is happening and to pay attention for any updates coming from VoIP.ms LNP team.
Port Rejection
If there is a problem with your porting process, the LNP department will notify you via email on the following steps to take to address this problem. You can read more about port rejections and the most common reasons here, Port Rejection.
Internal Port (VoIP.ms to VoIP.ms)
Do you currently have a phone number (DID) in your account that you want to move to a different account? You can request this transfer through our portal's ticket system. If you need further help, please get in touch with our support team.
Important Notes to Remember
Some important requirements you need to know before starting a port request:
- We are not responsible for any Port Out Fee your carrier may charge when leaving them, as it is beyond our control. Prior to starting a porting order with us, please contact the losing carrier and ask them about any port out fee they may charge you.
- Make sure to provide the exact information as it is on the losing carrier's Customer Service Record. This is usually your Service Address. Please note that the service address CAN be different from your billing address. Billing addresses will usually get rejected if it's not the same as your Service Address. If you are not sure of what is the correct service information, please contact your current service provider to obtain the Customer Service Record before proceeding.
- During a regular porting process your number must be working with the losing provider, which means you need to also make sure your number is active and not scheduled for cancellation, until the port gets completed. Disconnected numbers are not portable.
- If you decide to port in your number, you will need to make sure that you have a balance above $0. Otherwise, our system will not allow you to start the process until the balance is in positive standing.
- It is the customer's responsibility to contact the losing provider after the number has been completely ported to VoIP.ms in order to have the number and/or other services disconnected from them.
- It is important to remember that, if the initial request comes back rejected due to needing additional information or some error, the process time starts again after it has been resubmitted.
- Once you receive a FOC, for a number being ported, that number is now treated as if it´s already on our network. The Number will show in your available DID list and you can configure it. You must configure the DID to be able to reach it via the VOIP.ms network.
Canadian and USA numbers are activated on per minute plan once ported. If you would rather have it activated on flat rate, please mention it in the Notes/Comments field, on the step 5 of the port request.
What about Porting Out?
If you wish to port out a number from our service you can do so at any time by starting a port request with the new provider you will use. As for the information you will need, you can request it via email at [email protected] from the email address associated with your account, just let us know the number you will port.
Canadian local and Toll-Free port out numbers are authorized as long as the information matches with what is in your Contact Information section and you have a positive balance. Please avoid deleting the number since in most cases the number is not ported yet and if you delete it, you may lose it. Once the number is ported out, the LNP staff will remove it from your account. We are only notified once the number has ported away so we can remove it. We have no insight into an order prior to that. Please let us know if there is a specific rejection that you have received and we may be able to help further.
This is the same for US port outs since we are not a CLEC, we are not advised when a number is either rejected or ported out. Please open up a ticket to our LNP Department if there is a specific rejection that you have received. Also, make sure you delete the number after the new carrier confirms it has been properly ported and tested with them.
Please open up a ticket to our LNP Department if you get a rejection when porting out your number.
