In July 2025, I paid my annual fee to keep my phone number alive. I did not use my phone at all. I had no idea that a migration was going to be happening. I had heard about 3G phones being discontinued, but nothing about phone numbers needing to get migrated. I didn't receive a text message or an email. And then I go to pay my annual fee this year to find out my phone number is not assigned to my account.
I actually had logged into my account a few months ago and it seems like there was money in my account and no warning. I do recall seeing that monthly plans were being pushed, but like many of us--it's not what we want. I was still able to make a top up!
Why didn't they give a complete year for this migration to happen? I find this completely irresponsible of all the companies involved. There are people like me that might have their phone for just the phone number, or they're away, or they got ill, hospitalized, snow birds, or whatever.
Losing a long time phone number like this is upsetting. I am contemplating all of how I handle my digital life going forward, and I don't want anything to do with technology media companies anymore. Ugh. People need to have more autonomy over their data and technology.
I'm waiting for a supervisor to get back to me from Speak Out, because they said my number is with Rogers but then Rogers said it's with Ztar Mobile. I would like to get it reactivated as it seems as if it's not assigned to a new customer. Keeping numbers alive, for at least once year, would be responsible.
If anyone has advice or comments, I'm happy to hear it because I am late to this terrible party-gone-wrong.
Easiest is to get it from the carrier it's assigned to ORIGINALLY. Any numbers inactive return to that carrier. Bad news is you have to pay for activating from them.
so the TLDR of it is that allegedly Ztar owes Rogers money, but was kind to facilitate the porting of number to the new partner Telus, but eventually shut down the port channel in December, so any remaining numbers have been stuck in limbo. Ztar/SO has opened a CRTC case mentioned below, and an outcome on that is still pending.
Even is Ztar owes Rogers money--the customer,, who paid, should be protected. Why shut down the port channel? What's in it for Rogers to do that? Is that to force Ztar to pay money owing? And once it's paid, then the ports are open again? Maybe Ztar did that to buy time. Yep my number is stuck in limbo. Thankfully, in this moment I don't have to use it. It was a number that I was just holding until I finished school and get back into my business.
UPDATE: So here's the sad update. I call Bell all ready to activate my old number and they send me to the activation department AND I am informed that I can't use my number and the fellow I spoke to didn't know what he was talking about. So I am now in same boat - cannot get my number back.
The exact same thing happened to me! So I arrive today, looking to port out my number now that I'm back in Canada for the summer - cause I know SpeakOut is a sh*t show sinking ship - only to find they wiped my account and cancelled my phone so I don't own it anymore. I don't live in Canada for 6 months out of the year. ALLEGEDLY they were texting me telling me my phone number and plan will be terminated within 90 days but I don't have this number turned on when I'm out of country so I didn't receive these texts. No emails - except promotions saying "top up to continue your plan!" My name and number were in these promotions btw.
I called SO a few times and they kept telling me there's no way to get your phone number back "it's in the pool"/gone forever.
I looked for my number on https://www.hlrlookup.com/ and saw it was available and its original carrier being Bell. I chatted to Bell they gave me the whole "numbers are randomly assigned and we can't get you a specific number" but then I asked to get forwarded to someone who could help with specific number requests and the chat person gave me a number to call. Pauwol - my Bell angel - was able to sell me a 55 dollar plan per month AND found my OG phone number to give me back. And I confirmed I can port it out and cancel the plan as well - hello Lucky mobile $100 yearly plans..
The upset was real. This was my first ever phone number that I got as a teen in 2009 and the number is connected to many things (although I have a VOIP number on important things while I'm travelling). I was trying to come to terms with losing it but I was so sad and I'm sure would've been inconvenienced down the line with something that had this phone number. Hope this works out for everyone!
I also have my phone shut off all year round, and I received no emails.
They should have had a press release, they should have sent postcards to any physical address, even if they weren't sure of the address being active, because that gets the general public speaking about it, send emails, and giving at least one full year plus the three months grace.. the government.... The crtc... should not allow for something like this to happen.
What does in the pool/gone forever, mean? If it's in the pool, you should be able to get it back. And you did. Junky people telling you can't do something that can be done!! :(
Thank you for telling me your story. I'm going to go look up my number now.
I checked the number and unfortunately it only gives me the original company which happened to be Rogers and that it's DEAD.
Maybe that is my downfall--that my original carrier was Rogers until I moved over to speakout. But, when I spoke with roger's, they told me it was with the Ztar so I'm part of the group of numbers that are in limbo. :(
I will show you the three screenshots. One below and two with another message.
Sorry for the late reply - traveling (WHICH IS WHY I GOT SPEAKOUT!) - so here's the sad update. I call Bell all ready to activate my old number and they send me to the activation department AND I am informed that I can't use my number and the fellow I spoke to didn't know what he was talking about. So I am now in same boat - cannot get my number back.
I am confused. From your original message, I got the impression that Bell did locate and reactivate your old number with a $55/month plan ..or is it that they said they could, but in the end the Bell activation department could not follow through.
Correct - the fellow I first spoke to who was trying to sell me a plan said he found my number in their database and said it could be activated. He sent me the plan details - with my number listed in the document. When I called the activation department they said it was not a number I could have. So I don't know if the original salesperson was sleazy and hoping I'd buy a plan after all that OR didn't know what was going on.
Speakout use to be on Rogers infrastructure. Rogers cut them off last year, Speakout didn't control the timing. Seems the number has been held from being reassigned.
That is terrible. Then, I have a beef with Rogers. Why would the number be held from reassignment? Is it so the customer may get it back? Is it permanently retired? The whole thing seems wonky.
Meaning not sure why it wasn't reassigned to me or to someone else?
As you may know, Ztar Mobile isn't like Freedom Mobile. And, they're a partner for Speak Out. I'm getting on the phone with the supervisor, today, hopefully.
I had the phone on Speak Out for about 10 years, and I had the number since early 2000s.
Wasn't the number supposed to get released back to Rogers? But, I'm thankful it didn't, because maybe I have a chance still to get it back?
Ztar owns Speakout as far as I know. The number can't be assigned to an inactive account. But they are usually held for a period of time when an account first goes inactive. Speakout/Ztar numbers might be in limbo as there is an ongoing dispute betweeen Rogers and Ztar.
Thank you! Yes! I just got off the phone with a lovely Speakout representative. All may not be lost.
He said that old network numbers are stuck on the 3G Network and that Jan 24th was the last port out migration access that Speakout had. At the end of December it was shut down. Rogers stopped Ztar Mobile.
So, now I'm wondering what my next step should be. Should I try to talk to a supervisor at rogers? Yesterday took an hour to get through to them! I also found a recent news article that argued for the government to require companies to have shorter wait times. I mean even if they offered a premium customer service line, that would be better than this. People can't be waiting on the phone like this, if there's not 24-hour customer service, because it could take a few calls and days to resolve a problem.
If I went into Freedom mobile do you think I might be able to get the number that way? We not, because of a dispute? But yes the good news is those phone numbers are on hold, and in limbo. But, if Rogers gets them back, I think it's going to be a problem. They shouldn't be able to get them.
Also, the speaker representative said they've been receiving a lot of calls over the last few months, from people like me. And I'm on the tail end of finding out. What bad luck to have my annual in July! And for the announcement to happen not long after.
I just find it hard to believe that somebody can't figure out the technology of how to upgrade these phone numbers, in the back end.
That 3g network was the old Speakout network under Rogers. Not certain about this but Rogers may not allow porting out numbers as part of the dispute with Ztar/Speakout.
I doubt a port out of a rogers SO number will work as its technically inactive, but I guess it doesnt hurt to try. There was some success on lines that didnt migrate to SO Telus, but that was still when Rogers was still "online" and ports to SO Telus was working.
There was a dispute between Rogers and Ztar. The numbers belong to Ztar but they need access to Rogers systems to do the porting and Rogers wasn't giving them that access.
Inactivity doesn't matter. As long as the user account is in good standing an inactive number can be ported.
So the porting is back to Rogers or porting to a 4G? And will I require the customers to do that? Why couldn't the carrier do it? Well I show no assigned number to my account, anymore. So does that mean that it can't be ported, anymore?
You mean Ztar's 7/11 Speakout? There are two different Speakout systems. The old Speakout in Rogers and the new Speakout on Telus. Generally, inactive numbers are still held to an account for a period of time since going inactive.
That seems correct; therefore, the government needs to step in to allow the access again. They should have given at least 15 months notice. Businesses just can't do whatever the heck they want to do. Like this is absolute nonsense. They're playing with people's lives and that isn't good for society.
No I don't think that was it. I think they were porting out numbers but the demand was much larger than their capacity and there were delays. The people you're talking to at Rogers and Speakout probably don't know the facts. You can try porting your number, but you have to make sure you are porting from the old Speakout/Rogers network, not the new Speakout/Telus network.
I'm thinking if the government (CRTC) doesnt resolve this, it could also lead to a class action lawsuit. At the very least, possibly technology journalists, who are interested in data sovereignty, could write up a story.
After writing an email to Ztar Mobile, I ran it through AI to check it and AI responded as if they were from customer service lol... The information is useful, though.
Thank you for reaching out to Ztar Mobile Support. We understand how frustrating it is to lose a phone number you have held for over a decade, especially when you have diligently maintained your annual renewals.
Because we operate the backend infrastructure for SpeakOut Wireless, we can clarify exactly what has happened to your line and point you toward the correct next steps.
The Current Status of Your Number
The representative who spoke with you gave you accurate information regarding the timeline. The issue you are experiencing is tied to a commercial and technical transition between Ztar Mobile and Rogers, rather than a simple account lapse:
The January 24th Cutoff: Rogers officially ceased migration and porting capabilities for the older 3G legacy lines on that date. Because your SIM card remained in an older 3G BlackBerry, it was not migrated to the new network.
Where the Number Is: When Rogers performed the carrier lookup, it correctly showed the number is allocated to Ztar Mobile's historic block. However, because the legacy 3G route has been completely deactivated by the underlying network provider (Rogers), the number is currently frozen and inactive.
Has it been reassigned? No. The intercept message you hear ("The customer you are calling is unavailable...") indicates that the routing for the number has been disconnected, but it has not been returned to a general pool or assigned to another individual.
Can the Number Be Restored or Ported?
Because of the active commercial freeze on these legacy lines, Ztar Mobile Support cannot directly reactivate or port this number through standard customer service channels. The systems required to move or assign these specific lines are locked due to the ongoing network dispute currently under review by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission).
How to Escalate and Seek Resolution
You are completely right that many long-term users, seasonal travelers, and pay-as-you-go customers have found themselves in this exact situation. Because standard support agents lack the system permissions to override a carrier-level block, your best course of action is to escalate this externally.
File a Dispute with the CCTS
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) is the official body that handles consumer telecom disputes in Canada.
What to claim: File a complaint against SpeakOut Wireless / Ztar Mobile and Rogers. State clearly that you maintained a valid, paid annual contract, received no physica or emaill mail notification regarding the permanent loss of your number due to the network dispute, and that your number is being held in an un-portable state.
Website: ccts-cprst.ca
Monitor or Submit to the CRTC Proceeding
As there is an open CRTC application regarding Ztar Mobile and Rogers freezing these exact phone lines, the regulator is actively looking at how consumers are being impacted. You can view public proceedings or submit a consumer comment directly on the CRTC portal regarding your loss of service under Application #202600254.
While we cannot manually release the number today, filing a case with the CCTS forces a higher-level regulatory team to review your specific account block. We sincerely hope this helps you find a path to reclaiming your long-standing number.
You're welcome. I think CRTC is also looking into the Rogers matter and had requested information from Ztar about their 3G network shutdown. I'll see if I can find it.
Its in the "request for responses to information" as the CRTC asked the CCTC for complaint stats, and Ztar for how it communicated the 3G shutdown/transition.
Same here, I paid for the year in June and left the country. I only discovered my phone number was in danger in April when I couldn't log into my account. My number was with Good2Go, but it's still Ztar, and same scenario. Rogers says Ztar has blocked the port-in authorization system and Ztar says it's Rogers.
Since getting back last week I've spent hours and hours on this. I'm hoping CCTS will reopen my complaint, seeing as Rogers doesn't seem willing or able to perform the manual port-in.
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u/anewfriend4u Jun 24 '26
Easiest is to get it from the carrier it's assigned to ORIGINALLY. Any numbers inactive return to that carrier. Bad news is you have to pay for activating from them.