Transfer phone numbers to Skype for Business Online

It's easy to transfer your phone numbers from your current service provider to Skype for Business. After you port your phone numbers to Skype for Business, Microsoft will become your service provider and will bill you for those phone numbers.

Everything you need to know before porting numbers

Caution: Before you get started, we process port orders for transferring phone numbers only on U.S. business days and not on public holidays or weekends.

What countries/regions support number porting?

You can port or transfer phone numbers in all of the supported countries or regions but how you submit a port order request depend on the country or region where the phone numbers come from. You can see a listing of the countries/regions that are supported by going here. When you are doing phone number management tasks such as transferring (porting) numbers or getting phone numbers that are aren't available in the Skype for Business admin center, go here.

What numbers can be transferred?

YOU CAN TRANSFER:

In general, you can transfer any phone number that is from a supported provider, including:

• Land line phone numbers.

• Mobile device phone numbers such as those used for cell phone and tablets, etc.

  Caution: Transferring mobile numbers is only available in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

• Toll phone numbers.

• Toll-free phone numbers.

  Note: Universal International Freephone Number (UIFN) can't be transferred to us.

• Service phone numbers such as those used for conference bridges, auto attendants, etc.

• Fax phone numbers, but they can't be used for faxing. They will have to be assigned to a user.

• VoIP phone numbers from a phone provider such as Vonage or RingCentral.

YOU CANNOT TRANSFER:

Important: At this time, you can't transfer any phone number or numbers that aren't from a supported country/region including phone numbers from a VoIP phone provider. To see a list of supported countries/regions, see Countries and regions that are supported for Skype for Business Online PSTN Services

• Phone numbers used for data connections like for DSL lines or broadband Internet connections.

• Phone numbers dedicated to faxing.

  If you have existing dedicated phone numbers that are being used for faxing, you can transfer these numbers over to Skype for Business but your fax services won't continue to work as expected. Faxing services aren't available to Skype for Business customers, even if you have licenses for Skype for Business Cloud PBX, Skype for Business PSTN Domestic Calling or Skype for Business PSTN Domestic and International Calling.

  If you port the phone number to Skype for Business, you can assign this phone number to a user in your organization instead of using it for faxing.

Caution: At this time in the United Kingdom (U.K.), we currently don't support transferring UK non-geographic numbers including shared cost numbers for area codes 0843, 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871, 0872.

What information will I need to provide?

You'll need to have all of the account information for your current carrier. The information you will need to put in the port order is mostly found on the most recent bill or invoice from your current service provider. You'll also need to know whose name is on the account and of course what numbers you want to port.

What are full-port and partial-port transfers?

When you are porting phone numbers to Office 365, you have the option to transfer all of your numbers, or some of them.

• Full-port This is when you transfer all of your numbers from your current service provider to Skype for Business Online. When you are asked for the phone numbers you want to transfer, you must include the billing telephone number along with all of the other phone numbers on your account.

  For example, let's say your billing telephone number is +1 425-555-1234 and you want to port all of your 25 phone numbers (+1 425-555-1235 through 1259). When you follow the instructions below to transfer your numbers, you would enter: +14255551234 - +14255551259.

• Partial-port This is when you are only transferring some of your phone numbers from your current service provider to Skype for Business Online. When you are want to port some of the phone numbers tied to the same billing telephone number, you must not include the billing telephone number along with all of the other phone numbers on your account.

  For example, let's say your billing phone number (BTN) is +1 425-555-1234 and you want to port only 5 of your 25 phone numbers (+1 425-555-1235 through 1259). When you follow the instructions below to transfer your numbers, you would enter: +1 425 555 1235 - +1 425 555 1239.

Can I submit a single number porting request for all of my numbers at one time?

A unique request is needed for each carrier and type of number being ported.

For example, you need to submit a unique number porting request for each of the following types of numbers:

• Local Toll numbers, also known as subscriber numbers or geographic numbers

• Toll Free numbers with area codes such as: 800, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888

• Mobile numbers

• Service numbers that can be used for PSTN conferencing

Here's more information about submitting number porting requests for each of these types of numbers:

• Telephone numbers provided by different carriers require a unique porting request for numbers with each carrier.

• Toll Free numbers with area codes such as: 800, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888 cannot be included in a number porting request with other types of numbers. To port these Toll Free numbers, you must submit a request manually using a Letter of Authorization (LOA); they cannot be submitted in the Skype for Business admin center.

  It's important to use the correct LOA for the country, and type of phone numbers, you want to port. You can download the LOAs here.

• Mobile numbers require a PIN code to authorize the transfer. Therefore, they need separate number porting request.

• Service number porting requests need to be submitted by themselves. They cannot be submitted with other types of numbers.

How long does it take to port numbers?

After you've completed the port order request, it will take between 7-14 days to be processed. However, depending on your service provider it may take up to 30 days. After the phone numbers are ported over, you will get an email from us telling you that you are good to go.

You can check the status of your port order by going to the Skype for Business admin center > Voice > Port orders. The status will be listed in the window under the Status column.

Can user (subscriber) phone numbers be converted to service numbers?

Yes they can. All you need to do is submit a service request that includes your organization's tenant GUID and the phone numbers you want converted. To do this go here.

Common mistakes to watch out for

Number porting is easy to do. Your order can get messed up, however, when there is a problem with the phone service provider, the order is incomplete and missing information, or there are typos.

Here are the most common mistakes we see customers make when they port numbers. Save yourself a call to customer support and double-check for these errors.

• Make sure the account information you give matches exactly what your phone carrier has on record. Mismatched information is the most common cause of errors and delay your port order. Verify the following is true:

  • Authorized name is correct.

  • Address is correct.

  • Account number is correct.

  • Billing Telephone Number (BTN) is correct.

• Make sure there are no advanced call control features, for example, Call Hunt, Distinctive Ring, that are enabled on these telephone numbers.

• Make sure you haven't placed any new service orders or disconnects with your current service provider.

• Make sure all numbers are from the same carrier and the same account.

• Make sure your service is active. Freezing the account prevents the change of carriers on the account. The authorized user will need to submit an order to the current carrier to remove the freeze. This process can take 1-3 weeks depending on the carrier.

Can you transfer or port out numbers?

To transfer or port out phone numbers from Skype for Business Online to another telephone service provider or carrier, you will need to set a PIN. After you set the PIN, you need to include it when you request to port a phone number out. To see how to set up your PIN, see Set your PIN for transferring phone numbers to a new service provider.

How to create a port order and transfer your phone numbers to Skype for Business

If you have service numbers for dial-in conferencing bridges, auto attendants or other service numbers, toll-free phone numbers or have more than 999 user (subscriber) phone numbers that you need to transfer to Skype for Business, see Manually submit a port order request.

Use the steps below if you have fewer than 999 phone numbers to transfer.

Tip: Sometimes it takes a long time to transfer your phone numbers in groups (referred to as bulk, project, or a complex port) but this depends on your current service provider. If you have multiple orders with a bunch of phone numbers, open a support ticket and let us help you. See Manually submit a port order request.

1. Sign in to Office 365 with your work or school account.

2. Go to the Office 365 admin center > Skype for Business.

3. In the left navigation go to Voice > Port orders > click Add.

4. On the New Local Number Port Order page, read the information and then click Let's get started.

5. On the Account info page, enter the following and then click Next:

   • Account number Account number for the service provider or carrier.

   • Billing telephone number must be in the E.164 format (requires a + sign to prepend the number). For example, for a North America number, use the format +1XXXYYYZZZZ.

   • PIN to unblock number PIN - if needed by your current service provider or carrier.

   • Company name This is the name of your company or organization.

     Note: The Company name box will only accept 25 characters that includes spaces. If the company's name is longer than 25 characters, the first 25 characters of the name will be submitted and the port order will still be processed.

   • Authorizing person Authorized user's name.

     Note: The Authorizing person box will only accept 15 characters that includes spaces. If the authorized person's name is longer than 15 characters, the first 15 characters of the name will be submitted and the port order will still be processed.

   • Service address Service address for the account. This will be listed on the bill from your service provider or carrier.

   • City, State, Zip of the service address.

6. On the Numbers page, enter the phone numbers that you want to transfer in E.164 format. For example, for a North America number, use the format +1XXXYYYZZZZ. Separate multiple phone numbers by using a comma.

   Tip: If you are doing a full-port, you need to include the service Billing Telephone Number (BTN) in the list. If you are doing a partial-port, leave the service Billing Telephone Number (BTN) out of this list.

   If you are doing a full-port, select I am transferring all my numbers from my current carrier. If you are doing a partial-port, select I'm only transferring some of my numbers. After you choose the right one, click Check number portability.

7. Click Proceed.

8. On the Transfer date page, on the Day drop down, select the date and under the Start time drop down, select the time (EST) and then click Next.

9. On the Letter of authorization page, check each of the following boxes. Then under the Signature box, type the person that is authorized to make changes to the account. This is the same name that is used on the Account Information page > Authorizing person. Then click Next.

10. On the Submit page under Other people to notify enter any other email address of the people you want to and click Submit port order. The port order will now be listed on the Port orders page. You can view the status of the order under Status column. You can view details of the port order such as the Order ID, Submitted, Transfer date and Status. You can see more details for the port order in the Action pane, including the name of the carrier.

What happens next?

Once your port order has been submitted and received, you will be sent an email that verifies your port order. 

Your port order request will be checked and updated daily and you will be notified of its progress and status in email. If your request is rejected, you will be asked to open a support ticket and in that support ticket we ask that you provide Port Order ID.   The port order ID can be found in the Skype for Business admin center under Voice > Port orders > Order ID column.

What if I have problems?

The service address isn't the same as the billing address. The address information I submitted on the order matches my customer's bill copy, why is it still rejecting?  Most carriers will identify the porting information based on the service address information, not the billing address. Since a bill copy is a billing record, it may not provide the same information as the service address for the telephone number(s) being ported.

What should I do if my order is taking too long to process?  We want number porting to be very simple and quick process. If your order is taking longer than you think it should and the status still doesn't show as complete in the Skype for Business admin center, please open support ticket and include the port order ID.

Related Topics

Set up PSTN calling for Skype for Business