Unable to switch my cell service and keep my existing number to Google fi

GON

GON

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I have a cell phone and service through a provider that is classified as a rural service provider.

Decided to switch this phone a/number to Google fi. The response back from Google is I was not eligible to switch. My phone was purchased from Google, and has never been locked.

I did a little research, as I thought a person could keep their number when switching cell providers. Discovered some rural cell providers are exempt from having to allow the switch. And of note, this so called rural provided is a subsidiary of a mega corporation, that is the fourth largest provider of cell infrastructure in the USA
 
Nobody is required to port in a number. That is a service that companies typically offer to increase their appeal to new customers. Google has a history of saying they can't do it if it's going to be at all complicated for them.
 
Last edited:
PandaBear said:
Is it just Google? or anyone else too? Maybe you can switch to some other company then switch to Google right after?
Click to expand...
Without any relevant information such as the current carrier.. phone model etc.
I'd assume he just wanted to complain rather than solicit any advice or help.
(but sometimes you assume wrong :censored:)
 
mk378 said:
Nobody is required to port in a number. That is a service that companies typically offer to increase their appeal to new customers. Google has a history of saying they can't do it if it's going to be at all complicated for them.
Click to expand...

I've ported numbers to Fi and Google Voice, no issues either time.
 
It is an option that was invoked by his current carrier that allows "rural service providers" to hold on to certain numbers in lieu of porting the number to a different carrier. Here is a direct excerpt from the FCC website:

"Porting is not always possible​

If you are moving to a new geographic area, you may not be able to keep your current phone number when changing providers.

Also, some rural wireline service providers may obtain waivers for the porting requirement from state authorities. Their customers may be unable to port their number to a new provider. If you are unable to port your number for that reason, contact your state public utilities commission for further information."

I suspect GON's current cell service provider is a subsidiary of either Verizon or AT&T since they still offer landline/wireline phone service. Neither of which is willing to lose a customer to a competitor (Google Fi / T-Mobile).
 
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I was able to bring a textnow number to simple mobile “t-mo” network to boost mobile also “t-mo” network then onto google voice. From google voice to total by vz onto t-mo and now back onto google voice. Must be a landline to cell issue
 
Curious if porting to google voice is an option? Port to google voice and then report to google fi?
 
Yeah that would be a deal breaker for me. I would never change my number. Only the big three carriers pick up well in my area. My brother in law uses that google service and he switched his number too but I think he wanted a new one don’t think it was required. The service doesn’t pick up at all in his rural area. So make sure it will be compatible with your area if choosing to switch. When we switched from US Cellular to Verizon in 2006 my dad’s number kept getting thrown back in the computer so it wouldn’t transfer. They couldn’t figure it out but believed it to be an issue from transferring from GSM to CDMA so he had to switch. Had he known it was a law he would have forced them to transfer it. I’ve heard you don’t get to pick your number anymore either it’s randomly assigned based on what’s available at least that’s what they told us when we added a line for Verizon for my dads work phone. It randomly generated one from the computer. He had requested the same first three digits and they are like we can’t do that anymore. When I got my first phone in 2013 I got to pick the first three and last four. Just had to get my area code of course. They sat the iPad in front of me and let me look through and pick one. Hopefully you can get them to port it for you or decide not to do with them.
 
AutoMechanic said:
I’ve heard you don’t get to pick your number anymore either
Click to expand...
It's been a while but what some let you do is pick from a list of available numbers. If you don't like that set, not sure if you can "refresh" the list for another set to pick from or not.
 
Hall said:
It's been a while but what some let you do is pick from a list of available numbers. If you don't like that set, not sure if you can "refresh" the list for another set to pick from or not.
Click to expand...
Yeah that’s what I got to do with mine when I got it 10 years ago. I picked the whole thing. It listed pretty much every available number. A very long list.
 
Rogueman2016s said:
I was able to bring a textnow number to simple mobile “t-mo” network to boost mobile also “t-mo” network then onto google voice. From google voice to total by vz onto t-mo and now back onto google voice. Must be a landline to cell issue
Click to expand...
No landline ever with the Mobil provider, I only purchased cell phone service from them.
 
GCI isn't just rural, it's Alaska. Google probably doesn't want Alaska numbers in their system because it will cost a lot to route them back through their operations in conus, if that's possible at all.

Local Number Portability means that you can switch from one company to another that serves the same locality. Google Fi does not claim to serve Alaska.
 
Last edited:
mk378 said:
GCI isn't just rural, it's Alaska. Google probably doesn't want Alaska numbers in their system because it will cost a lot to route them back through their operations in conus.
Click to expand...
I tried Verizon and same results, can't use the number except with Liberty/gci.
 
community.t-mobile.com

Porting in 907 area code | T-Mobile Community

I called to try and port II n a 907 area code to my account. I was told of course I could and then was talked into upgrading to 2 new phones with the line.Subsequently I was told they didn't think they could port this number in. I see this had been a problem for at least 2 years. I have an...
community.t-mobile.com community.t-mobile.com

A respondent from Alaska stated:
I found that the only three providers that allow 907 numbers are ACS,GCI or AT&T.
Click to expand...
 
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