Option to port landline number

[booniitee]

I ordered a broadband package online two days ago, and it included landline, switching both from Sky. It had only just occured to me that I was not asked whether I want to keep my landline number, nor was there an option to do so.

Looking it up on the BT website, it merely says that:

> You can normally keep your phone number too. We’ll let you know when you order.

Is this done automatically? I very much would like to keep my landline number (and I am not changing address).

[Devon_Dave]

Unless you have the person your current number and requested the number port , it would not normally happen automatically

[Keith_Beddoe]

@booniitee

Who was your landline originally with before you moved to Sky?

Have you moved house since you were given that first number?

[booniitee]

Apparently, my dad, who is paying for the broadband and landline, had received an email about the number being unchanged, which I assume then had occured automatically. I was not aware of this when I made this thread, apologies for misinformation and the bother.

For future reference, say if I want to move back to Sky, how do I determine what I need to do?

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@Keith_Beddoewrote:

@booniitee

Who was your landline originally with before you moved to Sky?

Have you moved house since you were given that first number?

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I believe we took over the same number when we had moved in, well over 15 years ago. It was with BT back then. We switched to Sky at some point, and now going back to BT again. However, there seems to be a Telewest socket next to the Openreach one, so the number may well have came from them originally, but I have no way to confirm.

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@booniitee wrote:

Apparently, my dad, who is paying for the broadband and landline, had received an email about the number being unchanged, which I assume then had occured automatically. I was not aware of this when I made this thread, apologies for misinformation and the bother.

For future reference, say if I want to move back to Sky, how do I determine what I need to do?

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@Keith_Beddoewrote:

@booniitee

Who was your landline originally with before you moved to Sky?

Have you moved house since you were given that first number?

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I believe we took over the same number when we had moved in, well over 15 years ago. It was with BT back then. We switched to Sky at some point, and now going back to BT again. However, there seems to be a Telewest socket next to the Openreach one, so the number may well have came from them originally, but I have no way to confirm.

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If the number you have now, is the same as when you were with BT Retail, then that number will belong to BT Retail, and will exist on the equipment in the same local BT Retail exchange.

Provide you are now living at the same address, or at an address which is still within the area that that same physical exchange serves, then you should be able to keep your number.

Is that the case?

[Keith_Beddoe · Accepted solution]

If you wanted to move back to Sky sometime in the future, then it should be possible to keep your number.

The problem with number retention occurs if people try to port a number twice, and the number does not belong to either of the providers. It will revert to the number range holder.