How to Keep Your Old Phone Number

Last Updated: March 29, 2022

There are several reasons why you may need to get a new telephone or mobile number. Relocation, stolen or lost phones, damaged service (modules), and change of carriers are just among the top reasons why. Changing your phone number to a new one can be quite a bother since you have to inform people you know and update your contact information on various services or legal documents that you have. Luckily, there are several ways you can do to keep your old phone number.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Keeping Your Old Landline Number

1
Contact your service provider. Telephone companies allow transfer of telephone lines from one place to another. What's going to happen is that they'll just transfer your existing line to the area where you're moving to instead of creating a new telephone line. On the other hand, not all landlines can be transferred for these reasons:
- The area you want your landline to be transferred is not covered by your telephone company. The telephone company may not have any existing service for the area where you want your phone to be transferred to.
- The place you're moving to is simply far away. Having your service transferred to a different state is just not that ideal.
2
Request for a transfer of line. The customer service will inform you if your telephone can be transferred. If it's possible, you can start to request for a transfer of line. Just state the place where you want to move your existing service to and fill up some documents that may be required by your telephone company.

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3
Wait for your telephone line to be transferred. This may take a few days or weeks depending where you want your line to be moved to and if there are any available slots in the systems where your service can be squeezed in.
- Also, standard fees such as installation and relocation fees may apply depending on your service provider.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Keeping Your Old Mobile Number on the Same Carrier

1
Contact the carrier's customer support. Call or drop by to any available service centers of your carrier and ask about their procedures on how you can keep your number. Mobile network carriers each have their own policies on the matter, so make sure to contact your customer's support.
2
Request for a new SIM card with the same number. Your carrier should be able to give you a new SIM card with your old number. If you're not going to switch to a different carrier, your airtime balance and other important account details can also be transferred.
- Requesting a new SIM card with the same number can either be free or may come with a little fee, depending on the service you're using.
3
Use your new SIM card with the same number. Insert the SIM card into your phone and use it like the old one you have. You'll be able to call and send text messages to people, and they should be able to recognize you—that is, of course, if they saved your mobile number in their contact list.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Keeping Your Old Mobile Number When Changing Carriers

1
Contact your carrier's customer support and ask for your PAC. A PAC, or Porting Authorization Code, is a unique alphanumeric code that is used to transfer an existing cellphone number between mobile network carriers. This way, a user can still retain his or her mobile number even after switching to a different service provider.
- Different countries have different guidelines regarding the issuing of PAC to subscribers. Basically, all you need to do is to contact your service provider and ask for your Portability Authorization Code. If you meet your respective country's guidelines on PAC, the service provider should readily issue one for you.
- You can get your Porting Authorization Code either for free or with a fee, depending on your network carrier's policies.
2
Contact the customer support of the new carrier you want to use. Call the customer service department of the carrier you want to switch to after you get your PAC. Once you give your new carrier your mobile number and its PAC, they should be able to process your request right away.
- Depending on the region, Porting Authorization Codes can only be used after a specific amount of time from the date of issuance (ranging from 2 days up to a maximum of 30 days).
3
Wait for your request to be completed. Your new carrier will issue you a new SIM card that uses your old number from your previous carrier. You should be able to use it normally like you did before, but you'll now be using the products and services of your new carrier.