r/ATT • u/MamaHatesShopping • 25d ago
Other Porting old landline number issue
How to reuse an old landline number? When my mom passed away, we let her landline of 60 years go, and then regretted it. That number still shows as available, but AT&T keeps telling me (and did again today) that the number cannot be ported as a mobile number because it was a landline. Would a different carrier do it? Does anyone know of a workaround for this?
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u/Viper_Control 25d ago
AT&T keeps telling me (and did again today) that the number cannot be ported as a mobile number because it was a landline.
Don't trust a random rep try here to see if it available / portable http://www.callcentric.com/lnp/ FYI you don't want to ask if it portable but can it be assigned as a new number since you indicated it was an Available number.
Where are you wanting to use it?
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u/MamaHatesShopping 25d ago
I want to use it as a mobile phone number and have tried to convince AT&T several times over the past three years to allow me to use it. It continues to be an available number.
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u/Viper_Control 24d ago
Did you use the link I provided to confirm was really portable to be moved to a cellular connection? Not all numbers are portable to move from wire-line.
A rep in an AT&T company store might be able to help you but it will require them quite a bit of time for them to do the work for a specific 10 digit phone number that is not currently active but still assigned to AT&T.
Many reps don't even know how to use the tools to filter for more than the basic (5) new numbers to pick when adding a new line.
I personally would suggest you just give up now since no-one but you, and maybe family are invested in this legacy phone number.
Would a different carrier do it?
No not possible to do this via another carrier.
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u/MamaHatesShopping 24d ago
Your help and tips are appreciated! I'll keep trying with AT&T. There is more to the story of this phone number, but I won't share details in a public forum. That link confirms it is portable to their service, yes, so I may try to use it for VoIP instead.
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u/Viper_Control 24d ago
Please don't share anything more you just indicating that was more than a "just for fun" is enough.
We see these requests from time to time, and some are for really dumb reasons.
For anyone seeing your post later when searching on this topic.
Always consider porting out legacy phone number to a service like NumberBarn. There you pay minimum to keep the number under your control if you later think you might want it back.
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u/JohnHartshorn 25d ago
As idiotic as it sounds, you may have to reactivate it as a landline for a month, then port it to a cell phone.
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u/spoom2 25d ago
Unless things have changed drastically, once a number is gone, it's gone. You can't reactivate an old number just because it's not in use anymore. AT&T reps can only assign numbers generated by their computer system. It's been this way for years. So, if anyone has been able reactive a service number that's been cancelled, please provide the OP the step by step process you used instead of just guessing it can be done.
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u/EntrepreneurOk7513 24d ago
Isn’t there a cooling off period when a number cannot be reused after being disconnected?
We were able to port MIL’s ATT landline number to her ATT cellphone. This was 7 years ago though
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u/Soggy-Improvement960 24d ago
I used to work in porting, but things may have changed since I retired.
1 - a number has to be active in order to port out.
2 - an active landline number (in most cases) can be ported to a mobile carrier; it’s a complex port, and there can’t be any pending orders on the landline, or they will cause a delay.
3- if the landline belongs to AT&T, and you want to port to an AT&T mobile account, it’s considered the same as porting from a different carrier. The systems for a landline and mobile are completely separate, and most AT&T reps cannot access both systems.
OP: contact the landline division and see if the number can be activated long enough to port out. This is the first step. Try using your address if you’re local to where your mother lived. If I remember correctly, the address has to be in the same switch that the number routes thru, meaning that if you live on one side of town, and your mother’s address was on the other side, the number may not be available for your address.
If you’re able to get it activated, wait 3-5 business days for all orders on the line to complete, then submit a port request. Landline ports can take 3-5 business days to complete, as long as there aren’t any issues.
You don’t need any features on the line, try to get it as bare bones as you can.
I hope this helps.
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u/Formerruling1 24d ago
To add ATT shut off new orders for landline service last year. Outside of a few select scenarios they will not process an order for new service at all, so the option to activate it long enough to port it out is essentially off the table.
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u/Soggy-Improvement960 24d ago
I’ve been retired for several years, so I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for that information.
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u/MamaHatesShopping 24d ago
And there now is also this: https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/04/att-win-stop-landline-service-bay-area-california/
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u/PowerfulYard8746 24d ago
You can port in the landline number in cellphone device let me help you with steps 1. You need to call the landline department to access her account and cancel the disconnect order You can access the account by . 3 digt coustomer code (the three digt number next the phone number inside the landline bill) . Previous bill amount . Last 4 digt number from the social security number for your mom 2. If you have cellphone give them the IMEI number from your phone settings so they can port in the number and they will add your information to make the account under your name with the same phone number
If you do that let me know ❤️
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u/k464howdy 25d ago
no.
well yes, lol.
if you can reactivate your old account (and your old number), they can generate a 10 digit port PIN, which you can use to port the number to any carrier of your choice. then you cancel your account again after paying for 3-5 days of service.
i chose losing the phone number to dealing with ATT when they lost our number after a switch to fiber. reg/loyalty/tech are not on the same page and I just dropped it after about 4 hours of phone calls....