Similar to transferring a landline phone number, fax numbers can also be ported from one provider to another. However, even if there are very few cases where a number porting request is declined, taking your existing number over to a new provider is a lengthy process with many steps that must be carried out carefully in order to ensure that you can start enjoying the benefits of online faxing with your old number.
Step 1: Creating the New Account
Since the porting of old fax numbers can take a significant amount of time, online faxing services require users to keep their existing fax subscriptions until the porting process is over. This means that regardless of whether number porting can be requested during the initial signup or only once the new account is created, newcomers will always receive a new fax number to be able to used temporarily while the service transfers the number over.
Step 2: Checking Eligibility
Unless it’s forbidden by contractual obligation, a fax number should always be eligible for porting from one provider to another without any major restrictions. However, certain providers may still claim ownership of fax numbers, only allowing them to be ported out if the client pays a porting fee.
Simply put, always check that your fax number can be ported out to begin with and, if so, whether an extra fee is required.
Step 3: Filing a Number Porting Request
Once all existing debts have been paid to the previous service provider and the fax number is made available for transferring, it’s time to file the number porting request. The process of filling out the number transferring request form can be quite a challenge as you have to provide all of the following:
- Personal or business data, including name, address, and a valid phone number.
- The address at which your old service was registered.
- The name of your previous faxing service provider and the account number that identifies you in company’s system (typically found on your bills).
- A copy of a fax bill no older than 30 days.
Admittedly, providing such an amount of data may seem excessive, but this is the only way to ensure that the new faxing service provider can perform the number transferring process without issue.
Step 4: Using the New Service
As already mentioned, the number porting process can be quite lengthy, lasting between 15 and 30 business days. However, if the number transferring request is filled out correctly with all the necessary information required by the new service provider then the process can be sped up significantly.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t use your brand new online faxing account, though. In fact, all that it takes is to forward the faxes from the old number to the new, temporary one while your number porting request is processed and continue to do so until the confirmation of a successful number transferring arrives. And once that’s out of the way you can cancel the old service and start enjoying all the benefits of the new online faxing service.
Best Online Fax Services of 2024
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