Who do I ask to port my number?

Your new SIP trunk provider — the one that will supply the number in future. It sends the request to your current provider. You don't need to cancel anything yourself first.

Will we lose calls during the port?

There may be a short gap on the day itself. EU rules say the loss of service must not exceed one working day. Plan the port for a quiet day and have your PBX ready beforehand.

Can PBXfactory port my number?

No — we don't sell numbers or SIP trunks. Porting is done with your SIP trunk provider; once the number arrives on your trunk, you point it at the right place in your PBX.

How to port your business phone number

Q: How long does porting take?

It depends on the country, the number type and the providers. Under EU rules the number must be activated within one working day of the agreed porting date, but preparing and agreeing that date can take days or weeks. Ask your new provider for a realistic timeline.

Your phone number is on your website, your invoices, your vans and in your customers' phones. Changing it is expensive; keeping it is usually straightforward. When you move to a cloud PBX, you port the number: you move it from your current phone provider to a new one, and it keeps working as before — just through a different route.

What porting a number means

A phone number belongs to a provider's network. With a cloud PBX, that provider is your SIP trunk provider — the company that connects your PBX to the public phone network (see what is a SIP trunk?). Porting moves the number from your current provider's network to your new provider's. The PBX itself doesn't hold numbers; it decides what happens when a call to one arrives.

That gives you two options:

Keep your current provider, if it offers SIP trunks that work with your new PBX. Then nothing is ported — you connect the trunk to the new PBX instead.
Port to a new SIP trunk provider, if your current one can't deliver your numbers over a SIP trunk (common with old analogue or ISDN lines), or if you want better rates.

Your right to keep your number in the EU

In the EU, keeping your number when you change provider is a right. The European Electronic Communications Code (Directive (EU) 2018/1972, Article 106) says, in short:

the receiving provider — your new one — leads the process, and both providers must cooperate;
the number must be activated within one working day of the date agreed with you;
the loss of service during the switch must not exceed one working day.

Each country turns the directive into national rules, so the details — forms, which number types can be ported, how geographic numbers are handled — vary. Your new provider knows the local process. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to prepare before you request a port

Most delays come from details that don't match. Before you contact your new provider, collect:

The account holder's name and address exactly as your current provider has them. A different spelling or old address is the most common reason for a rejected request.
Your customer or account number with the current provider.
A complete list of numbers, including number blocks (direct-dial ranges), fax numbers and any rarely used numbers you want to keep.
Any port-out code or PIN your current provider requires (in some countries and for some number types).
Proof of address in the number's area, if your country requires it for geographic numbers.

And one rule: don't cancel your current contract yourself. The port usually ends the service for the ported numbers; cancelling early can mean losing the number for good.

Step by step

Set up your cloud PBX and its users, so calls have somewhere to go.
Open an account with the new SIP trunk provider and connect a trunk to the PBX. Many providers give you a temporary number straight away.
Test with the temporary number: inbound calls, outbound calls, voice menus, voicemail.
Request the port with the new provider. You'll usually sign an authorisation (often called a letter of authority) that allows it to take the numbers over.
Agree the porting date — ideally a quiet day, and early in the week so there's time to fix anything.
Prepare inbound routes for the ported numbers in your PBX before the date, so each number rings in the right place the moment it arrives.
On porting day, call each number from a mobile and check where it lands.
Afterwards, check your old provider's final bill and cancel any services that didn't port, such as an old internet bundle you no longer need.

How long does porting take?

The switch itself is quick; the preparation is what takes time. Simple ports of a few numbers can be ready within days. Large number blocks, several numbers across countries, or a request with mismatched details can take weeks. Ask your new provider for a realistic timeline and plan your go-live date around it, not the other way round.

While you wait, you don't have to keep everyone on the old system. Many teams forward the old number to the temporary one and work on the new PBX from day one.

On PBXfactory

We don't sell SIP trunks or phone numbers, so porting is always done with your SIP trunk provider. Yeastar keeps a list of tested providers by country. Once the number arrives on your trunk, you set up the inbound route on your Yeastar P-Series Cloud PBX. Number porting and configuring the PBX aren't part of our included support; Yeastar's documentation, your IT partner or our paid support packages can help with the PBX side. Your company's first PBX starts with a 3-day free trial for up to 10 seats — enough to set it up and test it with a temporary number before you commit. See pricing.