Porting a number from Bell

[melanssd]

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

[imm1304]

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@Spunky wrote:

The Bell account for the specific phone number you are porting is cancelled automatically but other phones on the same account are not. There may be complications with numbers on shared plans but I didn't have that and don't know.  My 5s is working well on its new PM account with ported number as of today.

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I can confirm from firsthand experience that there are no complications when porting out a number from an account that has multiple lines.  If you were on a share everything plan, you simply have more data left on the old account for the remaining lines to share.  If porting resulted in only one number being left on the account, the share everything plan may not be the best option anymore and you will most likely get to select a new plan by giving your service provider a call.  

[Spunky]

The Bell account for the specific phone number you are porting is cancelled automatically but other phones on the same account are not. There may be complications with numbers on shared plans but I didn't have that and don't know.  My 5s is working well on its new PM account with ported number as of today.

[melanssd]

My number ported over Monday, no issues, less then a half hour and it was done, thanks guys!

[Willaug56]

Well Virgin has sent me my final bill for usuage, but not what I owe on the phone still waiting

[popping]

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@Willaug56 wrote:

Okay if I read this right since I am switching from Virgin (Bell) it is better to get a number from PM then port my number over, will Virgin then send me a bill for the duration of the month used or will they not port my number over till paid

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Yes, it is better to get a new number from PM and test the signal first.  Port your Virgin number to PM after everything are working.

Your Virgin number must be active in order to port out your number.  Your Virgin number will be cancelled after porting.  Keep your Virgin online account to check your final bill.  Virgin should only charge for the days until the date you ported out your number.

[Willaug56]

Okay if I read this right since I am switching from Virgin (Bell) it is better to get a number from PM then port my number over, will Virgin then send me a bill for the duration of the month used or will they not port my number over till paid

[computergeek541]

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@melanssd wrote:

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

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I hate to say it, but if you  absolutely cannot have any downtime for this phone number, you should not be porting your phone number to a different carrier (any carrier).

Downtime is not supposed to happen when transfering a phone number, but it does sometimes happen.  Usually it's just strange stuff such as people getting busy signals or erroneous not in service messages when people call you, and it usually does fix itself.  But, if you cannot afford to be without your phone number for even a short time, the safest thing is never to try to do a number port.  This is not to say anything bad about Public Mobile, but just that errors and delays and stranges hiccups can and do occur during the process.

Saying all that, you'll probably be fine if you do try, but no one can ever guarantee there won't be issues.

[melanssd]

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@wetcoaster wrote:

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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+1 to all the replies above.

Just wanted to point out that Public Mobile might not be the best choice if you need to be reachable 24/7 for business purposes. While for most people things go flawlessly, there can be hick-ups with the system, and you can't just pick up the phone to have customer service sort your problem immediately. Moderator response time has been in the 48hour range recently, a few weeks ago we saw reports of a week.

Recommended reading on the topic: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Getting-Started/100-SERVICE/m-p/183753#M33693

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You brought up an interesing point, I am not sure how familiar you are with the level of support that Bell provides but it isn't good. I have been with them for 17 years, minus a few months run that I was with Telus and in recently years Bell support has been on a downward spiral and honestly I worry about calling them. Since Telus owns Public and Bell and Telus, at least in my area, share towers I do not expect any major service changes. Might as well try Public as my wife's account has been going well, save a few bucks in the process.

Although this was just a few small questions it is safe to say that this is the best support I have had in recent years, you all gave multiple solutions and responses were quick.

This post was not meant to bash Bell in any way, I tried to keep the horror stories down to a minimum, lol.

[ckw888]

Like many said you should try with a number from Public first. This allows you have some time to check out all competibilities. If you have single SIM support, this is very important because two switch SIMs take time. Once you figure out all good, you can do port. My took about 30 minutes. If you have a phone that can support two SIM cards, it is like a breeze. You will not miss any call during the switching.

[wetcoaster]

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

---

+1 to all the replies above.

Just wanted to point out that Public Mobile might not be the best choice if you need to be reachable 24/7 for business purposes. While for most people things go flawlessly, there can be hick-ups with the system, and you can't just pick up the phone to have customer service sort your problem immediately. Moderator response time has been in the 48hour range recently, a few weeks ago we saw reports of a week.

Recommended reading on the topic: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Getting-Started/100-SERVICE/m-p/183753#M33693

[krazykiwi]

@melanssd There is always the Autopay option, both of you save $2 each 30 day period and the system only debits the funds it needs. Plan price minus any rewards (like autopay) and credits.

[melanssd]

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@will13am wrote:

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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@melanssd, I am a total minimalist when it comes to porting.  I only supply the account number and account holder name, check multiple times before proceeding.  Remember the account number is just the digits, no dashes, spaces or any separators that might be found on a bill.  For added protection against failure, get a temporary number activation and then submit the port after the account is properly set up.  The reason for this is the fragile self serve system can serve up a curve ball from time to time.  You want to submit a port into a fully functional account.  Finally, your desire to have a first of month date for renewal is not going to work well here.  This service works on 30 day cycles.  The renewal date is going to move around on you.  Anyway, welcome to the service. 

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Thanks, I ewas unaware it was 30 days, I thought it was monthly. Still good though may just have to set a reminder.

[will13am]

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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@melanssd, I am a total minimalist when it comes to porting.  I only supply the account number and account holder name, check multiple times before proceeding.  Remember the account number is just the digits, no dashes, spaces or any separators that might be found on a bill.  For added protection against failure, get a temporary number activation and then submit the port after the account is properly set up.  The reason for this is the fragile self serve system can serve up a curve ball from time to time.  You want to submit a port into a fully functional account.  Finally, your desire to have a first of month date for renewal is not going to work well here.  This service works on 30 day cycles.  The renewal date is going to move around on you.  Anyway, welcome to the service. 

[imm1304]

Hi @melanssd,

Just echoing the message from above.  I have also ported in over a dozen phone numbers from various carriers to PM and all have completed successfully within 30 minutes.

@Anonymous makes a good suggestion of starting a new line with a random phone number you choose during activation.  Once everything is up and running, sign into selfserve.publicmobile.ca and click on Plan and add-ons and then on Change Phone Number.  Its a very straight forward process to just enter the basic info about the Bell account number and phone number and your name and submit the port request.  This way if something goes wrong, the Bell line will continue to work until your number port to PM is complete.  

[austinhuang]

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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1. It took 3 hours for me to port from Chatr. Make sure all the information you provided is correct, and all your bills paid - If it's not, then you have to ask a mod which can take you up to 48 hours!
2. No. Just remind yourself using calendar softwares.

Fair warning here... PM is a DIY service and you may have a hard time resolving problems that can't be fixed yourself or by other users. Expect long response time from moderators.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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@melanssd, In your case, I would recommend creating your account with a new phone number.  Once everything is working with that phone number, THEN you do your number port from Bell.  The port should take less than a couple of hours if all goes well.  If the port does not go through, you should be able to continue using your BELL SIM.  Remember NOT to cancel you BELL account until the port is completed (in fact the port itself should cause the Bell account to close - if there are no other lines in the account).

[ShawnC13]

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@melanssd wrote:

I recently started an account with Public Mobile for my wife and am quite happy with it, she did not have service with another provider so it was straight forward.

I plan to port my number from Bell Mobility and have a few questions, I use my phone for work purposes and can not have it down for a few hours.

1) How long does it take to activate a phone when number portability is involved?

2) Is it possible to future date it for October 1st? For simplicity purposes and because I always tend to forget stuff I would like my billing cycle to start on the first of the month.

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All of the ports I have done have completed in 30 minutes or less and that is about 8 numbers from many different providers.  It is really all dependent on the accuracy of the information that is given at the time of the port.  I use the account number and PIN and have had success everytime, I know @will13am just uses account number and has managed many numbers as well this way without issue.

As for future dating a port no I have never seen that done with PM.  I would put a reminder in your calendar so you don't forget.  Also remember if you are on Post paid and port out before the end of your billing cycle they will pro-rate your plan for that month.