How to keep your phone number

When you’re used to a phone number — all your friends and family know it, or your business relies on it — you want to hang on to those familiar digits. 

Here’s how to transfer your number in any of these situations:  

• How to keep your phone number when switching phones  
• How to keep your number when switching carriers 
• How to keep your number when it's inactive 
• How to keep your landline number 

How to keep your phone number when switching phones  

When you’re simply getting a new phone, not changing to a new carrier, transferring your number is a given. Here’s how the process works:  

1. Find the phone you want to buy 

Your carrier may offer phone deals or financing, but read the upgrade offer closely — it may mean extending your service contract or agreeing to a lengthy series of payments.  

It could be cheaper to find a phone deal from a retailer or a phone manufacturer. Be sure to get a phone that’s either unlocked or locked to your existing carrier, so you can use it with your current service. (Your carrier will have a compatibility checker on its website.)  

2. Back up your data and move it to the new phone 

When you have your new phone, you need to move over data, contacts, apps, etc. from the old one. Start by making sure: 

• Both phones are fully charged. 
• Both are on the latest operating system. 
• You have a Wi-Fi connection.  
• Your current phone has been backed up for safety, either to cloud storage or a computer.  
• You’ve turned off screen timeout or set it to the maximum time, so the screen lock doesn’t interrupt the process.  

For iPhones:

Apple Quick Start makes transferring data easy. On your current phone, turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and set it next to the new phone. Follow the instructions on the screen. You may be asked to activate your cell service on the new phone using eSIM Quick Transfer. Instructions will appear on the screen.  

You can also use a wired connection for data transfer if you prefer: Follow Apple’s instructions for the specific phone models. 

For Androids:

Turn on the new phone and tap Start, then connect to a Wi-Fi network. Follow directions on the new phone to connect wirelessly to the old device, whether it’s another Android or an iPhone. You’ll be directed to activate your SIM and add your Google account on the new phone. The new phone will show a menu of data on the old phone. Select Express to copy everything or Customize if you want to pick and choose what transfers.  

You can also use a cable connection to speed data transfer, or you can transfer the latest backup of your old phone on Google One. Follow the Android Help instructions online. 

Note: Steps may vary, depending on phone model. If you’re unsure, search on the web for “data transfer” followed by the specific old and new phone models. Or contact your carrier for help.  

3. Activate a SIM or eSIM on the new device if you haven’t already  

If you’ve already set up your new phone without activating the SIM, here’s how to transfer your number. When you transfer the SIM, your number and phone plan move to the new device and are deactivated on the old one. 

For iPhones:

On the new phone, open Settings, tap Cellular, then tap Set Up Cellular or Add eSIM. Choose your phone plan from the list that appears, or tap Transfer From Nearby Phone. Follow the steps on the screens of the two phones to transfer and verify. Your plan and number will now be removed from the old phone. If you run into problems, contact your carrier for help.  

For Androids:

If your phone uses a physical SIM, simply eject it from the old phone and place it in the new one. If it uses an eSIM, open Settings on the new phone, tap Network and Internet (or Connections), then SIMS. Tap Add  SIM or Add eSIM and Transfer SIM from another device. Contact your carrier if the transfer fails.  

How to keep your number and switch carriers

You have the right to keep your phone number even if you switch to another service provider. It's called porting or transferring a number, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort.  

Follow this step-by-step guide to porting your number to a new carrier. The process involves getting a number transfer PIN from your current carrier, then asking the new carrier to request porting.  

Important: Don’t cancel your old phone service until the porting has taken effect, or you could lose your established number. And don't fail to pay off any amount owed to the old carrier, or that phone bill could affect your credit.   

How to keep your number during a period of inactivity 

Sometimes you want to hang on to your cell phone number even if you won’t be using it for a while — for example, you’re going on an extended trip, moving abroad for a year or two, or being deployed for military service. Many carriers will revoke and reassign a number that has no calls, texts, or data usage for 90 days, viewing it as abandoned. Here are some options to explore if you want to keep your number:  

• See if your carrier offers a minimal service level that keeps the number active for a few dollars a month — and find out how long you can use that service before the number is forfeited.  
• Consider “parking” your number with a service like Park My Phone or NumberBarn. You can port your number from your current carrier over to one of these services, which will then hold it for a small monthly fee. Some will forward calls, voicemails, and/or texts to your phone service abroad for an additional fee. When you're ready to resume regular service, you simply port your number from the parking service to whatever carrier you choose. 
• Service members and their families, and some non-military federal employees, can keep their cell phone number or home phone number for as long as 39 months while deployed. Contact your carrier to find out details about suspending and later restoring your service. (The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act also lets you terminate a phone contract early without penalty under specific circumstances.) 

Note: Many travel forums recommend transferring your number to Google Voice in order to hang on to it. But you'll need to make a call or send a text from the number at least once every three months in order to keep it. Incoming calls and texts are not enough to avoid having your Google Voice number reassigned due to inactivity.  

How to keep your landline number and switch to mobile  

Similarly, you might want to hang on to a landline number even when moving out of the service area — for example, if your established business uses that number. You have a few options:  

• Port your landline number to a mobile phone plan. In the same way that you have the ability to port a mobile number to a new carrier, you can also port a landline number to a cell carrier. The landline-to-cell porting may take a few days; for example, T-Mobile notes it can take 3 to 10 days.

• You can port the landline number to a low-cost Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) app or your internet provider. VoIP apps send calls and texts over the internet instead of a cell tower network. Check whether the service you want accepts landline port-ins (Google Voice notably does not). If it doesn’t, you may need to port the number to a cell carrier for one month, which converts it to a mobile number that you can then roll over to Google Voice or another VoIP app.  

FAQs about keeping your phone number