Porting phone number from CenturyLink

[henkejs]

I've read everything I could find on the topic on these forums, but I'm still not clear on what to expect from this process. I'd be grateful if someone could describe how they did this successfully. Here is my situation so far:

1) Existing phone service and DSL internet though CenturyLink
2) Called CenturyLink and asked them if I could switch over to DSL internet service only because I wanted to set up VOIP with another provider and I wanted to be able to port my phone number to the new service.
3) "No problem," they said, just keep your phone service active until the number is ported.
4) Bought an Ooma Telo and activated it with a temporary number. So far, it's working fine.
5) My goal is to attach a cordless phone base unit to the Telo -- no changes to house wiring required.

I know I have to tell Ooma when I'm ready to port the existing phone number. Do I have to talk to CenturyLink again before the porting actually takes place? I've read about people having their DSL service interrupted and their phone unavailable while things get sorted out. What should I do to make this process go as smoothly as possible and minimize the down time? Thanks in advance.

[henkejs]

Replying to my own post in case anyone else is interested in how this process goes. . .

When I talked to Ooma customer service this morning, they insisted that I had to arrange for the dry-loop connection on my DSL account before going ahead with the number porting.

I called CenturyLink and, after being routed to three different places, I was told not to worry: when they get the porting request, they will automatically terminate my phone service while my DSL service will continue without interruption. I asked again whether there was anything else I or they needed to do in the meantime and was told no.

With these assurances I went ahead and completed the request for Ooma to port my number. It will be a minor miracle if this all goes off without a hitch. . . .

[dxb]

Hi Henkejs.

Thank you for your input. Please keep us informed as the process evolves.

dxb

[henkejs]

Here's a progress report on my porting request. Ooma support emailed me last Friday that my porting request had been rejected by CenturyLink. When I talked to CenturyLink on Saturday, I was told the people who could help me wouldn't be available until Monday. On Monday I spent a LONG time on the phone with CenturyLink being passed from one department to another before finding the one who could actually do what I wanted. To their credit, everyone I spoke to was friendly and tried to be helpful, though my patience was wearing thin by the end.

This morning Ooma left me a voicemail saying that my number would be ported tomorrow (Friday). That's sooner than I was expecting. Now I'm hoping CenturyLink can complete the port without dropping my internet connection.

[henkejs]

Here's another follow-up about my experience with CenturyLink. My phone number was ported to Ooma last Friday morning, though there was still a dial-tone on my regular land line after the Ooma connection was in place. My DSL continued to work uninterrupted.

On Monday morning I called CenturyLink to be sure the phone service had been removed from my account. They said the change was "in process" and that it should be completed in a couple of days. Some time between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, my DSL went down. When I rebooted my modem/router Tuesday morning, it came back up and has been up ever since. I rebooted the Telo at the same time just to be safe.

As far as I can tell, everything is working as it should. Since CenturyLink bills a month ahead for phone service, I will have some credits coming on a future bill. Hopefully, the billing adjustment will work out as smoothly as the service transition.

All in all, the technical aspects of this process went reasonably well. The administrative aspects took more time on the phone with CenturyLink than I would have liked, but ultimately they got the job done. Hopefully, reading about my experiences will help someone else who is considering making the move to Ooma.

[dxb]

Hi Henkejs.

Thank you for your updates.

To conclude those very informative posts, would you mind answering the following questions?

Your porting request had been rejected by CenturyLink. What was the reason?

On Monday July 16th, when you spent a long time on the phone with CenturyLink, what do you mean by “what I wanted”? Porting? This, they knew already. A dry-loop connection, as Ooma insisted that you had to arrange for that before going ahead with the number porting? Did you specifically have to ask for that?

Although your posts are quite clear, I just don’t want to misinterpret their meaning. Based on your experiences and clarifications, I will feel safe entering my porting process.

Regards,

dxb

[henkejs]

Your porting request had been rejected by CenturyLink. What was the reason?

On Monday July 16th, when you spent a long time on the phone with CenturyLink, what do you mean by “what I wanted”? Porting? This, they knew already. A dry-loop connection, as Ooma insisted that you had to arrange for that before going ahead with the number porting? Did you specifically have to ask for that?
dxb

Ooma told me the initial porting request was rejected because CenturyLink said I had a freeze on my account. I may have done this several years ago because of an incident where my long-distance provider was switched without my consent. In any case, the first three or four people I talked with at CenturyLink had no idea what I was talking about when I asked to unfreeze the account. I was finally referred to their customer loyalty department. The person there knew exactly what I wanted them to do and took care of it in a matter of minutes.

During one of my calls to CenturyLink before making the porting request, I asked specifically about the dry-loop arrangement. I was told not to worry about it and that no other steps needed to be taken ahead of time. For anyone else considering porting from CenturyLink, it would probably be a good idea to confirm this with them in case the procedures vary in different parts of the country.

[dxb]

Hello Henkejs.

Thank you for the additional details and valuable help.

dxb

[henkejs]

Here's a new development in my ongoing saga with CenturyLink. For the last three days, my internet connection has been down when I got up in the morning. I had to power the modem off and back on again to recover. The odd thing is all the status lights on the modem were green, including the one labeled internet.

The first time this happened, I figured it had something to do with the changeover in my account. But three days in a row can't be a coincidence. Looks like I'll be back on the phone with CenturyLink this morning. . . .

[dbsb3233]

I'm doing the same thing for my mom. She had CenturyLink DSL + phone. Got the Ooma, set it up, and submitted the port request. Took less than a week for the number to be ported over. It all seemed to be OK.

Then a week later, her DSL went down. She didn't realize that was the problem for a couple of days before calling CenturyLink. They said there was an "open work order" (???) that should be completed by 5pm that day. Still didn't work, so she called again. They said 8pm. Nope. It's almost noon the next day now and still not working.

Not sure what the "open work order" was even for, since it HAD all been working for a week after the porting.

One thing that gets really messy with CenturyLink is the account numbers. I went through this 6 years ago when I got my Ooma. CL uses your phone number as their billing account number. So when you port it out, they have to change your account number. Perhaps that's what this "open work order" is doing - associating a new phone number with the account billing and the DSL service.

I also had DirecTV billed through CL to get the TriplePlay package discounts. Changing the account number screwed up that billing for 8 months. The DirecTV charges went into a black hole for 8 months before they finally sent me a bill directly for $1200 of back months' service.