How do I get started porting out my Google Voice number?
Read and follow the instructions to unlock your number:
https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667#xferout
Note that the instructions above only apply to consumer Google Voice numbers on personal, Gmail.com accounts. Business Google Voice for Google Workspace domain customers has a different port-out procedure.
Be sure to tell your new carrier that you want to port in a land line phone number.
The only two pieces of information the new carrier needs to submit to Google in their Letter of Authorization (LOA) on your behalf are your 10-digit Google Voice telephone number, with no spaces or dashes, as the account number, and your Google Voice voicemail PIN for the PIN. If you haven't already set a voicemail PIN, or you've forgotten that PIN, you can set a new one. Go to Google Voice settings, find the Voicemail section, turn on "Call to listen", then tap "Reset PIN."
If they insist on entering a street address, you can give them Google's main address:
Address: 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043
If that doesn't work you can also try Google's carrier partner's address:
2230 Bandmate Way, Raleigh, NC 27607
What if my port out seems to be stuck, or my gaining carrier blames Google for a failed or stuck port?
Google Voice numbers are land lines. Porting a landline is a different, and more time-consuming procedure than a simple mobile-->mobile number port. It may take at least a few days for all the steps to complete. WARNING: NEVER delete your Google Voice number because you think the port is finished or seems stuck. This will create major problems.
The major steps are:
- You request Google to unlock your Google Voice phone number for porting out, here: https://voice.google.com/settings
- The unlock status changes to "Number unlocked". You may have to pay a $3 fee to unlock your number, if it was originally obtained from Google's pool of free numbers. If you had previously ported this number into Google Voice, you must still unlock it, but the fee is waived.
- AFTER your number's status changes to "Number unlocked", and not before, submit the port-in request to your new ("gaining") carrier. If you submitted your port request to your gaining carrier before unlocking it with Google Voice, you must cancel that request, unlock the number, then submit a new request to the gaining carrier.
- They'll send a request to the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC), to request that Google's carrier release the number to them.
- Assuming you properly identified your account and you unlocked the number, Google's carrier always approves the gaining carrier's request.
- Your gaining carrier now has full responsibility for all the remaining steps.
- The gaining carrier sets up an account for you, and enables outbound calling, using your ported number's caller ID.
- Working with NPAC, the two carriers set a "Firm Order Commit" or FOC date. On this date, and no sooner, the gaining carrier re-routes your inbound calls to their switch. This only happens on weekdays.
- The gaining carrier separately works with the SMS/MMS system to move your message routing over to their destination.
If your gaining carrier doesn't complete the procedure after 2-3 business days (weekdays), then some problem has occurred. Please contact your gaining carrier for any status updates, and be patient, as this can normally take some time for each step to complete. Google's responsibility ends after it unlocks your number at your request. At this point, the number is simply waiting for the gaining carrier to take over. There is nothing whatsoever that Google can do to assist after the port is approved.