Port a Number to Google Voice: Why You Shouldn't - OpenPhone Blog (2024)

Thinking about porting a number to Google Voice? Maybe you’re frustrated with your current service provider or you’re trying to cut costs and still deciding which VoIP provider to choose.

Either way, you should know porting a number to Google Voice is an expensive and tedious process. There are also several number porting issues you need to consider, including platform-specific limitations such as no toll-free numbers or texting if you’re outside the US.

This guide explains everything you should know about how to port a number to Google Voice, including how to port from different providers, the pros and cons of porting over to their platform, and more.

Getting started: Choosing Google Voice personal or business

Google Voice has two different plans: personal and business. The personal plan is free, while the business plan requires a monthly subscription.

Google Voice’s free personal plan wasn’t built for business use — and it shows. For example, the personal plan:

• Isn’t available outside the US
• Won’t let you have multiple numbers
• Doesn’t offer unlimited calls in the US and Canada
• Only supports one user per account
• Costs extra for ported numbers (more on this later)

In contrast, Google Voice for business (also known as Google Voice for Google Workspace) is specifically designed for companies. It comes with more features — like free porting and multiple phone numbers — but also many limitations compared to other modern VoIP systems.

Keep reading to see why that is.

7 key reasons you shouldn’t port your number to Google Voice

Weighing the pros and cons of Google Voice? Before porting your number to Google Voice, keep these seven drawbacks in mind:

1. Google Voice for personal use has many limitations

Considering the free version of Google Voice? Be prepared for limitations.

For one thing, you need to have an existing US number to verify your account.

Google Voice also charges an upfront $20 fee to port any mobile number over. Shared access to that number — where you can easily see who on your team has been in touch with your contacts — isn’t available on Google’s free plan.

Perhaps most frustratingly, Google Voice’s free plan syncs your personal contacts next to your business contacts in the Google Contacts app. This means you won’t get notifications distinguishing work calls from personal calls, making your work-life balance more difficult to maintain.

2. No desktop app

Google Voice is only available on web and mobile devices, regardless of whether you use Google Workspace or the free plan. You also can’t use click-to-call from your computer, making it harder to streamline inbound sales or speed up outbound conversations.

3. No toll-free numbers

It’s more difficult to manage international calls with Google Voice. Toll-free numbers in Google Voice aren’t supported at all. It won’t be easy (or cheap) for international customers to reach you, especially as your business expands into new markets.

4. More time-consuming to use

With Google Voice, calls, texts, and voice messages live in separate folders. There’s no unified inbox where you can view your entire conversation history — you’ll have to sift through each folder separately to piece together the bigger picture.

These disparate inboxes make reviewing and following up on conversations much more time-consuming. You can’t even collaborate with team members inside Google Voice because it lacks an internal messaging feature like OpenPhone’s internal threads.

5. Texting limits

Google Voice’s texting limits can also be a problem for both their paid and free plans.

For example:

• Texts longer than 160 characters are sent as separate messages to any non-Google Voice number.
• You can’t forward text messages to other email addresses except for the one associated with your Google Voice account, which makes it difficult to involve different reps in conversations with customers.
• You can only have eight members in a texting group at one time.
• You can’t send Word documents, PDFs, music, or video files through Google Voice.
• There’s no support for international text messaging.
• You can’t set up texting automations to speed up your workflow.

6. No automations

Want to save time by automating repetitive tasks? Google Voice won’t make this easy.

For example, none of the Google Voice plans come with third-party integrations. Other than G-Suite tools like Calendar and Gmail, you can’t connect with the tools you already use (like Slack, Zapier, and Salesforce).

You also won’t have tools like auto-replies and snippets to help you save time texting with your contacts. And since you can’t schedule text messages at certain dates or times, you risk interrupting customers outside normal business hours.

7. Porting your number to Google Voice gets complicated quickly

With Google Voice, porting is a complicated process that involves multiple steps and lots of documentation. Some customers report Google Voice not working when submitting their porting forms. Others have lost their numbers entirely — with no way to get them back or recover lost contacts.

Let’s take a closer look at these porting complications.

Why it’s more difficult to port your number to Google Voice than other VoIP providers

As mentioned, Google Voice for personal use wasn’t built for business, which is why it’s so much harder to port a number compared to Google Voice alternatives. If you’re porting an old number into the Google Voice ecosystem, be prepared to babysit this process so nothing falls through the cracks.

Here are some ways to avoid common porting issues:

• Remove special features. Since Google Voice doesn’t offer features like hunt groups, you’ll have to disable them on your number before creating a porting request.
• Ensure the numbers in a request belong to the same carrier: You can port multiple numbers to your Google Voice account if you’re on a paid plan, but you should only include numbers from the same carrier in a single request. Create separate port requests if you have numbers from multiple carriers.
• Check eligibility: Google Voice doesn’t support all area codes and carriers. Before you begin the porting process,check your number’s eligibility.

Keep in mind Google Voice doesn’t support all types of numbers or numbers from specific countries or locations.

You won’t be able to port any of the following to a Google Workspace account:

• Toll-free numbers
• Non-geographical (nomadic) numbers in the EU
• Mobile numbers in the EU
• Numbers associated with Gmail.com consumer accounts
• Numbers from unmanaged accounts to managed Voice for Google Workspace accounts
• Numbers in different Google Workspace domains

How to port your number to Google Voice

If you still want to port your number to Google Voice, you can use the following steps to get started.

Porting your number to the personal version of Google Voice

There are a few things to remember when number porting on Google Voice’s personal plan.

First, you can only port a US number to Google Voice. Second, you must be based in the US to use Google Voice’s free version. Finally, porting to a personal Google Voice account costs $20 if you have a Verizon, Google Fi, or AT&T number, so have a credit card handy before you begin.

1. Open or set up Google Voice. You’ll get a free number when you sign up, but the ported number will replace the free number once your port request is complete.
2. Navigate to Settings > Account.
3. Click Port a number.
4. Select Get Started.
5. Enter the phone number you wish to port.
6. Request to receive a 6-digit verification code by call or SMS.
7. Enter the code.
8. If your number is eligible for porting, Google Voice will ask for carrier account information.
9. Make your payment through Google Pay.
10. You’ll receive an email receipt as confirmation.

How long it takes to port your number largely depends on your carrier. Your number should port within 48 hours, but text messages might take up to three business days to migrate to your Google Voice account.

Porting your number to Google Voice for business

Here are the steps you need to follow to port numbers to a Google for business account:

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
2. Under Number porting, click Create port order.
3. Enter a Port name (anything you want) and the Country of service, and then click Continue.
4. Under Identify your primary contact, enter the person who should answer questions about your porting request.
5. Use a recent billing statement from your current service provider to Enter port details.

Note: The fields in the port details section will differ depending on your region. If you’re in the EU and using a reseller-provided number, select the underlying service provider (and contact the reseller for information). However, you can’t port to Google Voice if you don’t see your current service provider on the list.

6. Check I authorize Google Voice, then click Continue.

7. List the phone numbers you wish to port. You can port a maximum of 1,000 numbers (50 in Canada) at a time.
8. Select the date you wish to activate the Google Voice phone number. It can’t be on a weekend, a local holiday, or more than 60 days after the port order.
9. Review the information and click Continue.
10. Click Create Port Request.

Your region or country may require a letter of authorization form. You have seven days after creating a port order to upload this required documentation.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Under Number porting, select your port request.
2. Under Required documentation, select Download template.
3. Print, fill in, and sign the letter.
4. Click Upload Signed Document to upload the letter.
5. Select Submit for Review.

At this point, your ported numbers should appear as pending in your account. You can now assign Google Voice numbers to users, add auto attendants, or set up ring groups before the porting process is complete.

Porting numbers from specific providers to Google Voice

Porting your mobile number to the Google Voice VoIP phone system comes with a few additional caveats. The process differs slightly depending on your current service provider, and each carrier may have a slightly different porting-out process:

• When porting a Verizon number to Google Voice, you may be asked to provide a four-digit account PIN, a six-digit transfer PIN, and your Verizon account number (usually a 10 or 14-digit number).

• T-Mobile has a different porting process for prepaid and postpaid users. Postpaid users have a separate account number, and prepaid users have the same account number and phone number.
• When porting out of AT&T, you may need a Number Transfer PIN, which will expire 4 days after you request it. You’ll also need to check if your device is eligible to unlock to port your number. According to Google Voice, you’ll also need to provide your AT&T wireless account number along with account PIN.

A word of caution: if your number is located in a rate center or local telephone exchange that Google’s carrier can’t access, Google Voice can’t port your number. Unfortunately, porting to another carrier first doesn’t work either.

How much does it cost to port to Google Voice?

Here are the costs to consider when you port a number to Google Voice:

• Setup fee for Google Voice’s free version: Google Voice charges a one-time setup fee of $20 if you port a US number to a personal Google Voice account. With modern business phone systems like OpenPhone, you don’t need to pay any porting fees — port in as many phone numbers as your team needs.
• Early termination fee (ETF): You might have to pay your current cell phone service provider a termination fee if you’re in the middle of a contract. Service providers like AT&T share some basic ETF information on their websites. If you have questions about the possibility of incurring an ETF, contact your VoIP provider or mobile carrier’s customer support.
• Google Workspace: Google Voice for business is only available to Google Workspace users. If you don’t have an existing subscription, you’ll need to pay a minimum of $6 per user per month for Google Workspace in addition to a Google Voice plan (starting at $10 per user per month). If you want call forwarding in Google Voice along with voicemail transcriptions, be prepared to pay at least $16 per user per month.

Features like multi-level auto-attendant and ring groups require an upgrade to a higher-tier plan that costs $20 per user per month. To access automatic call recordings and advanced reporting, you’ll need to pay $30 per user per month.

How do you port your number to Google Voice?

If you’re currently on Google Voice’s free plan and looking to port your number out of Google Voice, here’s how:

1. Under Settings, tap Unlock under the number you wish to port.

2. You’ll see a pop-up message asking you to confirm.

3. Pay the $3 port-out fee.

When you’re done, you can port the unlocked number to another provider.

The process is slightly longer if you have Google Voice for business:

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
2. Go to Apps > Google Workspace > Google Voice > Number porting.
3. Click Port-out info and Copy the code to give to your new provider.

Your new provider may request additional information based on your location.

Here are examples of information required for a few countries:

Once you have your port-out code, you should check the port-in process on the new carrier’s website. We covered some of the most common ones (including Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T) in the sections above.

If your head is spinning with all this complexity, don’t worry — OpenPhone’s port-in process is far simpler compared to Google Voice.

Port your number to OpenPhone: The modern business phone system

Porting a number to OpenPhone is as easy as filling out a form. It only takes a few steps to get started, and we’ll take care of the rest.

In addition to easy porting, you get a range of VoIP features for seamless business communication. Unlike Google Voice, you can:

• Get as many toll-free and local (US and Canadian) numbers as your team needs
• Port in your existing numbers for free
• Work with your team from shared numbers and use internal threads to collaborate
• Save time building relationships with your clients using texting
• Send automatic texts so customers can get a response at any time of day
• Schedule texts in advance to reach customers at appropriate hours
• Save go-to messages as snippets (message templates)
• Access customer support (which Google Voice doesn’t offer)

How to easily port your number to OpenPhone

It only takes four steps to port your existing number to OpenPhone:

1. Sign up for an OpenPhone account.
2. Get a local US or Canadian number or a North American toll-free phone number and try the service.
3. Once you’ve confirmed OpenPhone is a good fit during a free seven-day trial, you can submit your port request straight from the web or desktop OpenPhone app. This includes entering your existing number with your current carrier.
4. We’ll let you know as soon as it’s complete.

Make the switch to OpenPhone from your current provider today

Porting your number to Google Voice? Confusing. Porting your number to OpenPhone? Anything but. It only takes minutes to submit your request — no extra fees or hand-holding required.

Once you’ve ported your number to OpenPhone, you can take advantage of our intuitive interface to build better relationships with your customers. It’s easy to create self-service phone menus, build automations with 7,000+ third-party tools, and set up shared numbers to keep everyone on the same page.Sign up for your free trial of OpenPhone to get a temporary phone number and port in your number once you’re ready to make the switch.

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