Porting Phone Numbers to Conquer Voice (Details)

Moving your phone numbers to Conquer Voice is called porting. This article is the full reference: what we need from you, how long it takes, what can go wrong, and what to expect along the way.

If you are just getting oriented, start with Porting Phone Numbers to Conquer Voice (Overview). This article expands on everything there and covers the contingencies and edge cases that the Overview only mentions in passing.

Table of contents

• Overview
• Before You Start: Confirm Where Your Numbers Live
• Information We Need
• Authorization Forms
• During the Port
• Timeline and Expectations
• Porting International Numbers
• Common Reasons for Delays
• After Your Numbers Port
• Porting Numbers Away from Conquer

Overview

Porting lets you keep your existing phone numbers when you move to Conquer Voice, so your callers and contacts do not need to learn a new number. Your current carrier releases the number, and we activate it on our platform on an agreed date.

Two things are worth understanding up front.

Your current carrier controls the timeline. We submit the request and we chase it, but they decide when to accept it and when to release the numbers.

Most of what makes a port go smoothly happens before we submit, in the accuracy of the information you provide. A port that is set up correctly usually completes without incident. A port built on one wrong detail can stall for weeks, because carrier rejections are often generic and do not tell us which detail was wrong.

Before You Start: Confirm Where Your Numbers Live

Before gathering anything else, confirm with your carrier which account your numbers are on today. This is the single most valuable thing you can do, and it is the step most often skipped.

Why numbers drift from the account you expect

Phone numbers move between accounts and platforms over time. A system upgrade, a move to a hosted phone platform, a departmental reorganization, or a carrier's own internal migration can all relocate numbers to a different account record. These moves are usually invisible to the people using the phones, because the handsets keep working and the numbers keep ringing.

A phone that rings today is not proof of which account it sits on. It is entirely possible for a line to be in daily use while your carrier's records show it closed on the account you are billed for, because the service has been moved somewhere else in their systems. When that happens, a port request against the original account cannot be matched and will be rejected.

Hosted platforms sold under a carrier's brand

This deserves particular attention. Many carriers resell a hosted phone platform under their own brand. Common examples include AT&T Office@Hand, Verizon One Talk, and Webex or RingCentral services sold through a carrier or a partner.

When your numbers are on one of these platforms, the carrier usually remains the carrier of record for the numbers, but the service, billing, and account records live on the hosted platform rather than on your traditional phone account. That platform has its own account number, frequently its own porting PIN, its own authorized contacts, and its own record of which numbers it holds.

If your team uses an app on their computers or phones rather than lines terminating on a traditional phone system, ask your carrier which platform account your numbers are on and get the details from that account. Giving us the details of a traditional account that no longer holds the numbers will produce a rejection that is difficult to interpret.

What to check on your CSR

Ask your carrier for a Customer Service Record (CSR), which is their authoritative copy of the account. Send it to us, and before you do, check the following:

• Every number you intend to port appears on it. A number that does not appear on the CSR will not port from that account.
• The Billing Telephone Number appears on it and is active.
• The service address and account name on the CSR match what you were about to tell us. Where they differ, the CSR wins.
• All the numbers are on one account. If they are split, note which numbers are on which account.
• All the numbers share one service location. Some carriers record a separate site or location identifier per line, and numbers at different locations may require separate requests even within a single account.

If your carrier cannot produce a CSR, an itemized recent invoice covering all the numbers is the next best thing.

Information We Need

Please gather the following from your current carrier before we start. Having this ready and accurate is the single best way to avoid delays.

One rule governs all of it: every detail has to match your current carrier's records exactly. Your carrier validates our request against their own account record, and any mismatch causes a rejection.

Required

• Billing Telephone Number (BTN): the number your provider uses to identify your account. See the dedicated section below, since this is the most common single point of failure.
• End user or business name: exactly as registered with your current carrier, not a trading or parent company name unless that is what is on file.
• Account holder name: the person authorized to release the numbers, often different from the project coordinator. This name goes on the authorization form.
• Service address: the full address your carrier holds for the service (street, suite, city, state, ZIP). This may differ from your billing address, and it may differ from where the phones physically sit. What matters is what your carrier has on file.
• Account number: your current carrier's account number for the account that actually holds the numbers.
• PIN or passcode: if required by your carrier. Some issue one PIN for the account, others issue separate and often expiring PINs per number. Note that a PIN answer for one account does not carry across to another account with the same carrier, so if the account changes, ask again.
• Complete list of all numbers on the account: include both porting and non-porting numbers. Get this from your carrier rather than internal records, since internal lists can be inaccurate or out of date. Flag toll-free numbers, which require a different process.
• Copy of your most recent invoice: used to complete the authorization form accurately.
• Requested port date: see the timeline section for how much notice we need. Tell us if you have a go-live date, a contract end date, or an event you are working around.

More on the BTN

The Billing Telephone Number is how your carrier finds the account. If it is wrong, validation fails before anything else is checked, and the rejection that comes back tells us almost nothing about why. Three rules:

• The BTN must be currently active on the account you are porting from. A number that has been disconnected, or that has been moved to a different account or platform, will not resolve.
• Provide it even if it appears identical to your account number. Some carriers use the same value for both, and some use an account number that is not a telephone number at all. Tell us which situation applies.
• If the BTN is itself one of the numbers you are porting, your carrier needs to designate a replacement BTN for the account before we submit, or explicitly confirm the account is closing entirely. Submitting a BTN that is scheduled to leave the account causes problems on both sides of the port.

If your numbers span multiple accounts

If your numbers are split across more than one account with your carrier, each account needs its own separate port request, its own BTN, its own authorization form, and its own set of details. Each request also receives its own FOC date, so the numbers may not all move at the same moment.

Tell us early if this is the case. We can sequence the requests so the most critical numbers move first, and we can plan the cutover communications around a staggered move rather than a single date.

If your numbers span multiple service locations

Some carriers, particularly traditional wireline carriers, record a separate site or location identifier for each line even within a single account. When the numbers on one request belong to different locations, the carrier may reject the request and ask for them to be divided, with each location submitted separately.

This is easy to miss, because the account number and billing address are identical across all of them. If your numbers serve more than one building or campus, ask your carrier whether they are recorded at more than one service location, and if they are, ask for the numbers grouped by location.

If you are only porting some of the numbers on an account

This is called a partial port, and it requires more from your carrier than a full account port. On top of the current BTN, we will need either a new BTN for the lines that stay behind or an instruction to disconnect them. If the BTN itself is one of the numbers you are porting, your carrier needs to tell us what the account's new BTN will be.

Partial ports typically take longer than full ports, because your carrier has to rework the remaining service rather than simply closing the account. Build extra time into your plan for one.

If you are sending a spreadsheet

For larger ports it is easier to send this as a sheet, and the authorization form allows you to attach additional pages rather than writing every number onto the form itself. Please include one row per number with these columns: current BTN, end user name, authorized person name, account number, PIN, phone number, whether the number is geographic or toll-free, whether that number is porting or staying, the service address, and the service location or site identifier if your carrier uses one. For international numbers, also include the country and the specific city or region.

Authorization Forms

A signed Letter of Authorization (LOA) is what allows your current carrier to release the numbers. It is required in most cases. The forms are attached to this article, and we will send you the right one.

Which form applies to you

• Standard numbers (regular geographic numbers in the US and Canada) use the LNP Porting LOA.
• Toll-free numbers (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888) use the Toll-Free Porting LOA. This is technically a RespOrg transfer rather than a standard port, and it asks for different information, including a requested completion date and a contact phone number. Toll-free numbers also frequently sit on a different account with your carrier, which means they may need their own port request and their own timeline.
• International numbers use country-specific forms. We will send the template for each country involved upon request.

Note: if your port includes both standard and toll-free numbers, you will need to sign both forms. Tell us up front which numbers are toll-free so we can send everything together rather than coming back to you for a second signature later.

Key points before signing

The form is valid for 30 days from signing. If your port date changes, or gathering information takes longer than expected, an early-signed form expires and has to be signed again. We usually ask for your signature closer to submission for this reason.

The form must name the account that actually holds the numbers. If the account changes during the process, the form has to be re-signed against the correct one. A form naming the wrong account is not usable even if every other detail on it is right.

Use your invoice to fill in the details. Enter the customer name, address, account number, and other information exactly as they appear on your latest invoice for that account.

Signing does not cancel your current service. Authorizing a port is not a disconnect order. You are responsible for closing your old account and any associated fees after the port completes. Do not close it before the port finishes.

During the Port

These are the things that most often go wrong on the customer side. All of them are avoidable.

• Keep your lines active with your current carrier until the port completes. A number that has been disconnected cannot be ported. If your carrier deactivates a line before the port date, that number will be rejected and may not be recoverable.
• Do not close your account with your current carrier until we confirm every number has ported. An account in a closing or closed state will block the port request entirely, even for numbers that are still active. If your contract is ending on a specific date, tell us that date early so we can schedule with room to spare rather than porting the day before.
• Do not migrate the numbers to another platform mid-port. If an upgrade or platform move is planned with your current carrier, tell us before it happens. A migration during an open port can relocate the numbers to a different account record and invalidate the request.
• Close your old account once the port is done. The port itself will not cancel your old service, and we cannot cancel it on your behalf.
• Respond quickly if your carrier issues time-limited PINs. If your PINs expire before we submit, you will need to request them again and the schedule slips.
• Tell us as soon as a date moves. A schedule change can invalidate an already-signed authorization form, and we would rather get a fresh signature in advance than have the port rejected.

Timeline and Expectations

How much notice we need

• Three business days is our minimum. That clock starts once we have every required item and a signed authorization form in hand, not when the conversation begins.
• Multi-account ports take longer. Each account is a separate request with its own validation and its own FOC date.
• Partial ports take longer. Your carrier has to rework the service that stays behind, which is a slower workflow on their side than closing an account outright.
• Allow two to three weeks if you do not already have all the information listed above. Gathering account details, CSRs, and PINs from a carrier is usually the slowest part of any port, and it runs entirely on their schedule. If you are starting from "we think these are our numbers," plan for the longer end of that range.
• International ports take considerably longer. See the international section below.

What happens, step by step

1. You confirm which account holds the numbers and provide the account and number information above, along with a copy of your current invoice.
2. We agree a target date with you and send the authorization form for signature, timed so it does not expire before submission.
3. We check each number for portability and submit the port request to your current carrier.
4. Your carrier confirms a Firm Order Commitment (FOC) date, which is the date and time your numbers will actually move. Until there is an FOC, there is no confirmed date. We will not quote you one, because your carrier has not committed to one yet.
5. We configure the numbers on your Conquer account ahead of the FOC date so they are ready to use the moment the port completes.
6. You, or your implementation specialist, configure your Extensions, Queues and Phone Numbers ahead of time.
7. On the FOC date, your numbers go live on Conquer Voice.

Typical lead times once submitted

A straightforward port between VoIP providers can complete in one to three business days after submission. Ports from traditional wireline carriers generally run longer, and larger ports may be handled as a project on the carrier's side with a correspondingly longer interval. Ports involving mobile or wireless carriers usually take longer again. International ports often take a month or more.

These are intervals after a clean submission. They do not include the time it takes to gather information, which is why the notice guidance above is framed around when your information is complete rather than when you first contact us.

A note on adding numbers

Once a port request has been submitted, we cannot add numbers to it. If you think of more numbers afterwards, we will start a new request for them, and that request gets its own FOC date. It is worth taking the extra day up front to make sure the list is complete.

Porting International Numbers

International ports work differently from domestic ones. They use different suppliers, require additional documents, and take substantially longer. If your request includes both domestic and international numbers, we will usually split them into two efforts so your domestic numbers are not held up.

• Additional documents required. A signed Letter of Authority on the correct template for the country, and your most recent invoice from the losing carrier. We will send you the right template for each country involved.
• Specific location required. For international numbers we need the specific city or region each number belongs to, not just the country and area code. Many country area codes cover multiple cities, and a mismatch will cause a rejection.
• The underlying carrier, not the reseller. If your numbers are managed through a platform or reseller, we need to know the actual carrier holding the numbers. Reseller names are not accepted on international port requests. The same principle is worth applying domestically, as covered in the section on hosted platforms above.
• Expected timeline. Plan for at least a month. Australian ports in particular have run to roughly 35 days from submission. International numbers also tend to complete individually over several weeks rather than all landing on one date, so expect a staggered cutover and plan your communications to your teams accordingly.

Common Reasons for Delays

Knowing these ahead of time helps you avoid the most common holdups.

• The numbers are not on the account you gave us. Covered in full at the top of this article. If your carrier's records place the numbers elsewhere, no amount of correcting other details will make the request validate. Ask for a CSR and confirm the numbers appear on it.
• An incorrect or inactive BTN. If the Billing Telephone Number does not resolve to a live account at your carrier, they cannot find the account and the request stops there. This rejection comes back with very little detail, so it is worth double checking the BTN before we submit rather than after.
• An expired authorization form. Signed more than 30 days before the port request, the form is no longer valid. This usually catches people out on a port that was already delayed for some other reason, which is why we ask you to tell us when a date moves.
• Address or ZIP code mismatch. This is one of the most common reasons a port is rejected. If you are not certain the address you have matches what your carrier holds, ask for a CSR and we will use their exact wording. A copy of your invoice usually resolves it quickly too.
• The wrong form, or the wrong signature. A standard form used for toll-free numbers or the reverse, an unsigned form, or a form signed by someone who is not the authorized account holder will all cause a rejection.
• Numbers split across multiple accounts. If your carrier holds your numbers on more than one account, each account requires its own port request. Confirm this with them before we submit.
• Numbers split across multiple service locations. Some carriers require numbers at different service locations to be submitted separately even when they share one account. If the rejection mentions site identifiers or separate orders, this is usually the cause.
• Expired or per-line PINs. Wireless carriers commonly issue one PIN per number with a short validity window. This turns a single port into several separate requests and creates a deadline on your side.
• Numbers that will not validate. Occasionally a carrier cannot confirm a number belongs to your account even when you are certain it does. This has to be resolved directly with your current carrier. We cannot resolve it from our side, and resubmitting the same request will produce the same rejection.
• Inactive, disconnected, or already released numbers. A number that has been deactivated, or that sits on a closed account, will be rejected. Note that a number can show as closed on one account while still working, because the service has moved elsewhere. In some cases your carrier can push the release through manually. In others the number is genuinely gone.
• Your carrier says everything is correct but keeps rejecting. This does happen. It usually means the request is being validated against a different record than the one your carrier contact is looking at. Ask your carrier for a current CSR for the account and confirm that the BTN and every porting number appear on it. If they do and the rejection persists, tell your Customer Success Manager so we can escalate from our side.
• When a number may not be recoverable. If your carrier rejects the same numbers repeatedly for a reason outside our control, we will tell you plainly and give you the option to proceed with the numbers that did port and take new numbers for the rest, rather than letting the go-live slip indefinitely.

After Your Numbers Port

• Confirm your configuration. Make sure your Phone Numbers are configured for inbound Queues and Extensions in Denali Workspace. Set up Extensions first, then Queues, then Phone Numbers.
• Test your inbound calls. We will confirm the port on our side, but it is worth having your team place a few test calls to the ported numbers on the first day.
• Close your old account. The port does not do this for you, and leaving it open means paying two providers.
• Text messaging is a separate step. Enabling SMS on a ported number is not part of the voice port, and it uses its own authorization form rather than the porting LOA. If you want texting on these numbers, tell us and we will handle it as a separate request.
• Call flows, caller ID and CNAM are configured separately from the port itself. Your Customer Success Manager can help scope those.

Porting Numbers Away from Conquer

If you ever move a number from Conquer to another provider, please tell us before the port date rather than after.

We need to remove the number from our platform and routing at a specific moment, close to but not before your new provider takes it over. If we remove it too early your users lose service; if we do not remove it at all, calls can misroute after the port. To get this right we need the confirmed FOC date and time from your new provider, not just the date you have requested.

Your new provider will need these details for Conquer:

DIALSOURCE (5009719)
200 S VIRGINIA ST, 8TH FL
RENO, NV 89501
United States

We will provide the port-out PIN on request through a support ticket.

If you have any questions during the process, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or our Support team.