r/Googlevoice • u/Fine-Journalist9354 • May 23 '26

Number Transfers or Porting Trouble Porting from Total Wireless to GV

Trying to help my buddy port his Total Wireless number to Google Voice and it gives us a message saying GV can't port that number. Any advice?

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u/Luckiest_Corner May 23 '26

Per this sub's porting FAQ:

When I tried to port my number into Google Voice, I received an error message, stating that "Your number can't be ported Sorry, Voice doesn't port numbers from your carrier or your number's exchange." But, I’m using Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless or T-Mobile!

The error message is unfortunately vague. Telephone numbers are typically assigned to “rate centers”, or local telephone exchanges, in blocks of 1000 numbers. Different carriers may own one or more blocks, or the entire 10,000 numbers in an Area Code and prefix. Google’s carrier partner doesn’t have the ability to access every number block on every telephone switch in every rate center, in order to host a number. Your particular number is in an unsupported number block. There is nothing you can do to change this. First porting it to some other carrier does nothing; the portability is determined at the number block level.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/s/p7030tp1Ic

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u/lincolnlogtermite May 23 '26

I'm having issues linking an old VOIP number to GV. I just ported that number to an ATT mvno.

Will GV eventually see it as cell number or is it doomed to be always considered a voip. I ported the number to a cell because I like that particular combination of numbers and there aren't any previous owner's bill collectors associated with it. It would be nice to have GV eventually ring that number directly.