Trying to get old number back

[ivanerror]

Hi -  had a number that i was using on a month to month prepaid bases. I had ported this number over from virgin mobile to public. i just got a bell sim card and they tell me that no one is using this number but only public can get it for me. will i be able to get my old number back if i buy a public sim ?

[zulu53]

I think the "original carrier" concept has gone the way of the dodo.  Once ported a number stays ported to the new registrar.  If a person does not keep up an active account with the current registrar then the number may or may not get recycled to others.  Either way if one wants the number back it has to be released by the registrar, and they will only do it (if its still available) to the original account holder.  The easiest way to find out is to ask the new registrar (Bell) to request this from the current registrar (PM) providing them with the original owners (PM) account number (even if expired) as verification of number ownership.   If they can get is ported then it will be: otherwise its been recycled.

[softech]

@ivanerror   Yes, it is a Bell Mobility number.  Look like your account is closed on PM.  The Number will certainly be back on  Bell Mobility.   

But the problem is, the number is back to the Bell's pool.  It is not available for porting in but available for everyone to pick.  You can see if the agent can help but honest, I doubt it.  Providers are no longer helping to pick exact number as requested.

[dust2dust]

That number belongs to the Bell family. But you still need to find out if your account is still at all alive. Or what Public did with the number after deactivation and how long that was.

Have you tried calling your number?

[computergeek541]

---

@ivanerror wrote:

647 327

---

@softech 

That's an original Bell Mobility number.

[ivanerror]

647 327

[softech]

---

@ivanerror wrote:

Bell said that since i'm prepaid then its still with public

---

@ivanerror   can you still login to My Account?

Did you try to call 1-855-4Public and see if they can locate your phone number.  That would determine where the number is

If PM is unable to locate the number when you call the 1-855 number, please provide us the area code and the first 3 digits of the phone number, can try to lookup where the number will be if the account was permanently closed

[ivanerror]

when i called public they couldnt find my number as suggested

[ivanerror]

aparently not

[ivanerror]

Thanks for all the advice guys, i called bell again and they said that since i was prepaid the Public would still have the number in their system 

[JL9]

I was thinking the same thing, I thought a number would always revert to the original carrier if not ported over 

[dust2dust]

The interesting thing I read here is that Bell says Public has the number even though you once ported it over to here from Virgin that belongs to Bell. Would you tell us the first 6 digits of your number so we can see where it originates.

But yes see if it's still here in an account whether active or suspended. When did you last pay Public for service?

[darlicious]

@ivanerror 

When was the last time you had active service with the phone number? If it was originally a bell/virgin/lucky number and it's not in service they could retrieve it. So either you still have a suspended account or it's originally a pm/koodo/telus phone #. That would mean you would have to activate a pm SIM card with a plan to port the number out.

But if you activate here you mind as well have a friend refer you for the $25 bonus referral credit (5×$5) and stick around for awhile then port out to bell when you are ready.

To contact customer support : Submit a support ticket via SIMon the chat bot Click here 

Or if you cannot submit a ticket via SIMon then Click here   ....for additional member supplied info.

[softech]

@ivanerror   Can you still login to your My Account?  If so, it is showing Suspended? Or Active?

If you cannot login to My Account and the account has been suspended for over 90 days, your PM Account would have closed permanently and the number would have returned back to Virgin Mobile, where the number originally from.

If you can login to My Account and just that the account showing Suspended, it is good news.  You can change your plan to $15 and reactivate for a month and then work with Bell to port your number out.  Yes, you need to reactivate the account as only number from Active account can be port out.

Another way to check if your account still with PM and not permanently closed yet, call 1-855-4PUBLIC and enter your phone number.  If it cannot locate your number, then your account was closed and the number was gone back to Virgin Mobile

[iliketotalk]

@ivanerror hi if it's been more than 90 days since you left it is highly unlikely you can retrieve that number you could call the number to see if someone else is already using it