Here's what you should know prior to porting your number to OpenPhone:
- Porting means transferring your phone number from one carrier to another carrier. Only the number's call and SMS functions will be transferred. Any other capabilities of the number with your current carrier will cease once the number is ported to us.
- Don't cancel your account with your current provider until the port is done. Once the port is complete, you'll be able to close that account. Otherwise, you're running the risk of service interruption.
- You need internet access to use OpenPhone. If you're porting your personal phone number to OpenPhone, you'll need to use it on wifi and / or with a local data plan. If your phone number has internet services with your current carrier, the internet service will be removed once it is ported to us.
- OpenPhone numbers aren't able to receive SMS verification codes from some services. Uber, Airbnb, WhatsApp, and banks, for example, don't allow virtual phone numbers to be used for authentication. If you're porting your personal number to OpenPhone, keep this in mind. We recommend using your personal phone number for 2-factor authentication and using your OpenPhone number for everything else. We have more information about it here.
- OpenPhone doesn't offer emergency call services (e.g. 911). You'll need to use your personal phone number in those cases.
- There are no fees associated with the porting process, either to or away from OpenPhone. However, your previous carrier may charge you to port your number to us. This varies from carrier to carrier.
- If you have more than numbers than users in your OpenPhone workspace, additional numbers are billed at $5/month, beginning 14 days after your number is ported. Learn more here.
- Your existing phone and text conversations won't carry over to OpenPhone. However, you can upload your existing contacts as a CSV to OpenPhone.
Want to learn more about how the porting process works? Check out our blog post!
