Canceling Service but Keep old Number

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 30, 2006 Posts: 1

i have Vonage for about 8 months now and during those 8 months i would have problems with my service at least 3 times a month. the quailty of the audio is not anything near what they advertise on their commercials but i tried to deal with that my best. my cable company is also giving me problems. my cable has been recently going out alot and it is just too risky not having access to the internet because if i dont have broadband i dont have a phone and this is the major reason why i want to cancel my Vonage service.

my questions are:
if i cancel my service can i still keep my phone number?
if so, what steps do i have to go through?

Posts: 476 · Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject:

You need to port your number out before you cancel your account. If you contact whoever you're going to use for phone service they should be able to initiate the LNP with Vonage on your behalf.

Posts: 17 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 21, 2006 Posts: 17

First find a suitable replacement provider, and then request and sign a Letter Of Authorization to port your existing over to them. Let the order processes take care of the cancelation from Vonage on the backside.

Do NOT cancel the service first with the intent of re-establishing with someone else. This could result in making it difficult, if not impossible to prevent the permanent loss of your number. If you have already done this, then your best chances for reclaiming it may lie in signing up with your Incumbent LEC (the traditional phone servicing your local exchange). Disconnected numbers usually fall into a 6-month dead pool, before becoming eligible for reassignment, though your mileage may vary.

~ An ex-phone guy

Posts: 185 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Dec 18, 2005 Posts: 185

Vonage does not close accounts whose numbers have been ported out, once your winback is complete you will need to call Vonage to close your account.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 4

And how can I tell when it's complete?

Posts: 476 · Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:19 pm Post subject: Re: What's a winback?

jayriddle wrote:

And how can I tell when it's complete?

Presumably when incoming calls from outside your new service network ring on your new service. Also, your new service provider should be able to keep you apprised of the LNP process from their end. If they can't, you've just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 4

Right now I've got my Vonage account instantly forwarding all calls to the temporary number given to me by my new provider. This lets me avoid any gaps in the usability of my original number -- I haven't even told anybody about the temporary number.

I guess the only way to know if the porting is complete is to disconnect Vonage completely and then use another phone to dial my number and see if it rings the phone through my new provider's adapter. I'll probably start doing that test in a couple weeks. They said it will take a minimum of 30 business days to port my number.

Jay R.

Posts: 476 · Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 5:03 pm Post subject: Re: What is a winback?

jayriddle wrote:

I guess the only way to know if the porting is complete is to disconnect Vonage completely and then use another phone to dial my number and see if it rings the phone through my new provider's adapter. I'll probably start doing that test in a couple weeks. They said it will take a minimum of 30 business days to port my number.

Again, your new service provider should be keeping you apprised of your number porting status. Give them a call and see if you can get any info on exactly when it's going to happen.