By If having to choose a brand new phone number and notify your 10 billion Facebook friends about the switch has been keeping you from using Google Voice, it might be time to reconsider. While I haven’t spotted it in my own account, numerous sources are reporting that a Port Your Number option now exists in their Google Voice Account:
A few things to keep in mind:
- This isn’t yet appearing in all accounts (like mine)
- It costs you $20 to make the switch
- You may also incur Early Termination Fees from your carrier, so plan accordingly
If you’re planning on signing a brand new contract on a new carrier, you may want to get a new number on THAT service so you can switch your current number to Google Voice and forward it to your phone. Now run, don’t walk, to your nearest Google Voice website.
so basically your phone is only usable when you are covered in wifi, if im understanding this right. Ambitious but impractical as it stands, but I might be wrong.
you are ^
Unfortunately, no landline porting. And is it even possible to keep your current carrier, port your number to GV, and get a new number without breaking/renewing your contract? Probably tricky…
I can sort of see why you would want this. You have one number that EVERYONE knows already, and now this can ring your cell, home, and work phones. However, this seems like it would only be good for people who are currently switching carriers or starting a new line of service.
Remember, Google Voice does NOT require a data connection. It currently supports the service over POTS routing. Now….if (When) they add VOIP, that will be different.
Also, The lack of MMS support is still an issue. If they converted it to an Email at least so you knew when you received one. MMS on phones does require some sort of data connection (not a data plan).
I hope people who port are fully aware of this, or there could be some backlash….
I signed up for GV 9 months ago. I found a number that matches my cell but with a different area code. I was not sure how much, if at all, I would use this service. I can now say that the only number on my business cards and web site is my GV number. When I can, I plan to port my original cell number to GV along with my current GV number. I may have to wait until my contract expires in a year to do that. Even though most people call me on my GV number now, it is a NJ number rather than a MA number and I want my 617 code back for consistency with my location. I hope I will be able to have both number on the account so that when I port I can retrain people to the 617 number again.
Things I like about GV are texting from my computer, contact book integration with my email/android phone, ability to launch calls on my desktop with a mouse click, the ability to forward calls to home/office/cell, the ability to save vmails longer than 14/30days, and the ability to forward vmails by email. The vmail to text is so so but helpful at times too. My use of GV was an after thought to buying an android phone, but now it has driven me to abandon outlook completely and embrace google apps for email, calendar, vmail and company web site.
once these details get flushed out a little bit more, and I get the next vanilla android device with a dual processor, preferably from Motorola, I just like their designs, I’ll probably do it.
So let me get this strait. You port your current cell number over. Terminating your contract. And this benefits me how? I loose data with VZW. Yeah there’s always wifi but what about navigation? Thats probably one of the greatest features of my DX!
option is now gone. confirmed by me and endgadget lol
GV is not a VoIP solution. It just forwards uses your regular cell/landline plan that you pay for separately. Porting your number sort of makes sense, but it doesn’t save you any money.
@Motoxer – you would port your existing number to GVoice and have it forward to a NEW number on Verizon. But all your friends/family would call GVoice # which would forward to your actual number (so that Google can integrate their services).
@Kevin – Confirmed? you should have tipped Phandroid? ;)
are we sure they are not allowing porting of landlines?
I wonder if porting from a cool service like packet8 or vonage will be possible
@Rob Jackson
None of that is making since!! I think I need to change my name to Uber Newb for this post. What’s the point of using a Google Voice phone number? And wait, I have Google Voice and when I got a voice mail from my regular cell phone number, I also got an E-Mail of the Voice Mail, (huh? LoL!! o.O) and it even had the I-guess-they-said-this text and actually recording of the voice mail. So what benefits me for actually having a GV account? Or was this answered already? Somebody said something about some KETLS? Sorry it was POTS. What’s that? -_- Sorry I’m so dunce about this.
@No_Nickname90 I meant to say what’s the point of having me Port my number to Google Voice, but I did not try and say what’s the point of having GV. Sorry.
-Uber Newb -_-
Why do people (above) seem to think that porting your cell phone number to Google Voice will leave your device without service FOREVER? Yes, porting your number will cancel your service with your current carrier, but then you can start a new contract with a new number, and forward Google Voice to that new number. Isn’t that the point of Google Voice in the first place – being able to change your “real” phone number(s) without all the drama that goes along with it?
Canceling your service while under contract will/can result in an ETF, but that’s doesn’t seem to be what’s concerning people (above).
My main concern would be handing my published-for-years business number over to a service that I don’t pay for, provided by a company with extremely limited support options, and no local presence.
Just as the post stated. My wife and friend are both soon changing to Verizon with the new line-up. They can go to Verizon, get a number and when we cancel the T-Mobile lines port those to Google Voice. This makes for an easy transition to it without having to give out a new number for a phone ever again.
This, is why it’s good.
I understand the reason to do this, but wouldn’t you be able to accomplish the same by porting over your old cell number to your new provider?
Most times you can now keep your old number regardless of your new provider right? Voice still provides many benefits: one number several phones ring, etc.
Consider: You’re planning on changing providers. Instead of porting your old cell number to the new provider, you instead port it to GV. When you get your new phone, you get a new number and attach it to GV. You can also attach your work number, a landline number (if you still have one), set up time of day routing, quiet times, have the benefit of GV voicemail on all your numbers…
It’s not as much a benefit for those who already have a provider and are not planning to switch. But if you’re at the end of your contract, and want to use your cell number as your primary contact number with all the benefits of GV, it’s an option.
Really the main time you’d use this is the exact same times you’d be porting your number anyways, when you get a new line of service. Instead of porting your number to your new service you’ll port the old number to GV instead of the new phone (keeping your new number as well). You’d always keep a line of service on the phone (just as you would before), but you’ll get all the added advantages of web based phone/text/VM management and tying multiple lines of service to the same phone number.
I hope the option comes back again by the time I’m up for a renewal because I’d definitely take advantage of it. Having to hand out a new number is the main reason I haven’t made a switch to GV.
does anyone know how to get into this program? porting is not an option in my account yet.
I have been waiting for this. Going to port my vonage phone number over. :) free solution coming up!
Google Voice is great and it’s just about two features away from becoming the greatest service ever provided…EVER! My kids were texting from Google Voice like crazy on their iPod Touch(s) but then they found out you can make calls from an app called Text Free. Google needs to get on that (or Apple needs to get off Googles nuts).
Good lord people. You OBVIOUSLY would do this at the end of your contract or when moving providers. Get a clue.
I’d love to do this, but porting your number to gvoice leaves out a lot of the features you get with one of “their” numbers:
http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-voice-with-your-existing-number.html
I wish they’d fix that.
Its available under my google voice settings. Where it lists your number it says Change/Port next to it. It wont let me port my Packet8 number though.
@intangible That link is well over a year old and is not about porting your number, it is about using Google Voice for voicemail only. It has nothing to do with what this article is about.
If you port your number for $20, it becomes your primary Google Voice number and has all the features of a normal GV number, not just voicemail.
so i want to port my number but i don’t want to lose my data plan since it is no longer offered. i propose the following
1) switch my number to something else (so still keeping my old plan)
2) GV to port my old number
3) forward GV to my new number
i see few uncertainties with this approach.
– would ATT (who is my carrier) lock up my old number as soon as i switch to some other number?? thus making it not “port-able” to GV?
– can GV port numbers that are no longer in use??? i heard numbers that are recently dis-connected cannot be used as “new” numbers so it won’t be like just getting a new GV number
any thoughts?
I want to port over my Vonage phone number. Can I do it?
@leo Never cancel a number before porting it. ATT will not hold it for you unless you get a guarantee from somebody, I wouldn’t do it.