Can't port a AT&T (Formerly Ameritech/MI Bell) number to

calcuttaman · Post by **calcuttaman** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:36 pm

I've been eying up MJ ever since I saw tv commercials for it a couple+ years ago. I've been patiently waiting for an option to be able to port my existing AT&T to MJ+.

Took the plunge yesterday and bought MJ+ from Walmart. During install it would not let me port over my number, gave this error...

"We're sorry, your telephone number cannot be transferred at this time. Please check back in the future."

Got into live chat and they convinced me that if I followed up on the registration completely I would be able to port within 24 hours.

Nope, didn't port. Another live chat and they told me to keep checking back.

Even though I'm an AT&T (Formerly Ameritech/MI Bell) customer I'm thinking that I won't be able to port my number until my area code becomes available here...

my.magicjack.com
phone numbers
available area codes

I'm 906 area code. That is the whole of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is why I bought from Walmart, easy to return.

greenman · Post by **greenman** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:52 pm

Maybe you really didn't want to do this anyway.

This might be a better solution:
1. Sign up for Google Voice. It's free.
http://www.google.com/voice

2. Transfer your AT&T landline number to a cheap AT&T mobile phone. I bought one for $15 including minutes. You'll lose all your AT&T services including internet during the transfer. Make sure you can contact AT&T later if you need to set up naked DSL later. You'll likely have to set up new service for this.

3. Transfer the AT&T mobile number to Google voice. (You'll lose all your new minutes in the transfer. If you want, you can get on a long phone call or two to explain to people that you're transferring your number and you may not be able to reach them for a day, yada yada... The Google voice phone number transfer will cost $20.

Check your email and spam box often and make sure you confirm the transfer from AT&T mobile to Google voice.

4. Make all calls forward from the (now) Google voice to your existing MagicJack number. In other words, leave your magicJack number as is.

You'll end up having spent a little more, but you won't be tied to a single magicJack with your preferred phone number. Google voice can forward incoming calls to any device with a telephone number that you own -- and even some devices without.

Regardless of whether you stick with magicJack, people will still be able to reach you at the number you've had for years. If your magicJack goes down because of a power outage or you forgot to renew magicJack etc., google voice takes a message that you can review online or from your android app via Wi-Fi.

There are so many more possibilities by using Google Voice for your main phone number and then forwarding to any other existing preferred lines. And this way you'll be less likely to lose the number to magicJack.

calcuttaman · Post by **calcuttaman** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:15 am

Maybe you really didn't want to do this anyway.

I definitely wanted to port my number and use MJ+. Over 5 years it would save me approximately $1800.

This might be a better solution:
1. Sign up for Google Voice. It's free.

I already have a Google Voice number. I didn't know you could port a number to it. Bummer that you can't port a landline. Why is that? Right now GV is a bit cumbersome to use for me as I still have a "Dumb" phone. But it saves a couple of dollars every once in a while when I have to call Canada.

If you do go the route that you told me about, when people call my GV will they still have to say there name or will it just get forwarded to my MJ+ number without there knowledge?

Did some playing around on trying to port different phone numbers. You can't port any number in the 906 area code. You can port any number in a area code that they have listed in there list of area codes.

greenman · Post by **greenman** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:34 am

calcuttaman wrote:I definitely wanted to port my number and use MJ+. Over 5 years it would save me approximately $1800.

No doubt. But if you have had the land line for a long time, why tie it to MJ+ when you can port it first to AT&T Mobile, then to Google? You'll still save quite a bit of money, eh?

calcuttaman wrote:I already have a Google Voice number. I didn't know you could port a number to it. Bummer that you can't port a landline. Why is that? Right now GV is a bit cumbersome to use for me as I still have a "Dumb" phone.

Great. Yes, you can port mobile numbers to GV. The POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) companies are concerned because they're losing all their landline numbers to digital telephone service providers. Hence, they've put up barriers to keep people from transferring their numbers to GV. Except there is a loop-hole for AT&T that allows you to transfer from AT&T POTS to AT&T Mobile.

calcuttaman wrote:If you do go the route that you told me about, when people call my GV will they still have to say there name or will it just get forwarded to my MJ+ number without there knowledge?

I've got mine set up to automatically forward to my skype-in number, MJ+ number, and my Google chat address. The Google chat address allows me to use Talkatone (free app) or Groove IP (1-time paid app) on my android Samsung Galaxy Player 5 to receive and make calls directly through Google Voice over Wi-Fi. So it's like a smart phone, but only on Wi-Fi. When we're on vacation or traveling, we also forward GV to our 'dumb' prepaid mobile phone.

Another option is to also use an Obi-110 device to connect my old-fashioned copper-line telephone directly to google voice through google chat via an ethernet connection to my router. In essence, this would move MJ+ out of the loop entirely at a one-time cost of $49 from Amazon for a device that connects your existing phone directly to GV.

In Google Voice Settings -- the little gear icon under your name -- click the 'Calls' tab and uncheck "Call Screening". Save changes. No more concierge. The call forward is completely transparent. What I like about this scheme is that I can answer with skype or mJ+ and transfer between either interface simply by pressing star. The phone rings on all connected forwards again. I can choose to remain on the line or hang up and use the new connection. So if the call turns out to be for my wife and I'm on skype, I can transfer it to the main phone number, let it ring on the mj+, she answers and I hang up. Or we can both talk with the caller together.

When I'm on skype, the main number still rings to mJ+, so we can both be talking with people who called the GV phone number at the same time because we're actually responding from different phone numbers. When a third caller tries to call, we can let that go to GV mail or answer it as we choose.

calcuttaman wrote:Did some playing around on trying to port different phone numbers. You can't port any number in the 906 area code. You can port any number in a area code that they have listed in there list of area codes.

The most likely reason is that the 906 area code is full. Every possible number is taken. The area code may be desirable, so when they do come up, they get snatched up immediately, most likely first by POTS users. (Although wikipedia inplies otherwise. It's unlikely that Michigan's upper peninsula hosts almost 9 million people let alone 9 million phone numbers.) It's also possible that the POTS provider in that area simply will not allow the transfer these numbers to GV, mJ or other digital providers directly.

If you already have an existing 906 area code number and you want to transfer it to mJ+ because you just don't want to lose the number, take the plunge and transfer it to the AT&T mobile number. You then have the option of transferring it to either mJ+ or GV. Personally, I'd do GV because it offers more options, as outlined above.

Good luck!

calcuttaman · Post by **calcuttaman** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:19 am

It's also possible that the POTS provider in that area simply will not allow the transfer these numbers to GV, mJ or other digital providers directly.

We are AT&T. You can port out as my buddy ported his landline to a Verizon cell phone.

I'm a little hesitant to do the double port. The wife is dead set on keeping the landline number. Will keep checking back to see when MJ offers the 906 area code.

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:46 pm

Please be aware of the fact that there are sometimes problems with number porting to GV for reasons nobody was able to explain. Happened to me. The number was portable, GV initiated the port but never finished it.
On the other hand , GV is free and much better than MJ. Get an Obi adapter and you are ready to go.

calcuttaman · Post by **calcuttaman** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:19 pm

I've got a plan. Going to switch all my accounts over to my GV number. Then I will tell the wife that she should tell everyone to call her cell #. Maybe, just maybe after this happened we can just dump the landline altogether.

Hmm, and then we won't even have to pay for MJ+!