How to Make Your Home Phone a Cell Line

Keep your home phone number by porting it with a cellphone provider.

With the increase in cellphone popularity, many people are choosing to shut down their old home phone service. With a cellphone, you can make and receive calls from anyplace where you can get a signal. Home phone users must stay within a certain distance to make calls. You can transfer, or "port" your home phone number over to a cellphone line. Therefore, you will have the same phone number, but people will reach you on your cellphone.

Instructions

1. Make sure that your home phone bill is paid up. Do not cancel the home phone service, or the transfer process will not work.

2. Gather your current home phone and cellphone bills.

3. Bring the bills to your mobile provider's retail location. Locate the closest retail location by dialing "611" on your phone and pressing "Send" to reach customer service. Tell the customer-service agent that you would like to "port" your home phone number and make it your new cellphone number.

4. Request documents that confirm your port request. If there are any problems, you will need to be able to prove to your home or cellphone company that you did indeed request to port the number. For example, if the mobile provider requires you to open a new account in order to port your phone number, the provider will give you a receipt documenting this transaction.

5. Your mobile provider will tell you when to test the number. If your home phone still rings when the number is dialed. call your mobile provider's customer-service agent by dialing "611" and pressing "Send."

References

• UCan.org: Portability of Cell Phone and Landline Numbers
• FCC.gov: Keeping Your Telephone Number When You Change Your Service Provider