How Long Can You Keep A Phone

If you are moving abroad shortly, only desire to keep your United states of america cell phone number for receiving calls, making calls, and sending and receiving text messages, I can show you how to go on your US phone number while away and really utilize it!

Every bit globalization advances, more and more Americans are moving abroad and looking for ways to go on their American phone number during their time overseas. You might want to continue it in example you lot decide to return to the US one day, in case you need to make and receive calls from friends and family, in case you need to verify your identity when accessing your bank accounts, and for many other reasons.

Holding on to your Us number while abroad is a smart idea for everyone. Our phone number is a part of our identity nowadays, as many financial services crave us to "verify" our identities using an automated phone call or text message in order to log in.

I'chiliad going to share a nifty way to employ your American number abroad without overpaying on international calling fees. You tin even employ it on the same telephone where you take a foreign cell phone service.

I moved to France in 2019 and this was the exact procedure I followed!

Keep Your American Number While Away

You can continue your American telephone number in a variety of ways. The outset way is to check with your current prison cell telephone provider if they offer a way to "suspend" your phone number temporarily. T-Mobile offers to temporarily suspend its customers lines twice a year for a maximum of ninety days during each period. Y'all notwithstanding pay a fee each month for them to concur on to your number.

That's not really useful in our example, as about people motion abroad for longer than 6 months. Yous're also not able to receive texts and calls while the line is suspended.

In order to keep a United states of america number while away, I find that Google Phonation has been a better choice than most national American prison cell telephone service providers' solutions.

What is Google Voice?

Google Voice is a VoIP service from Google that launched nearly a decade ago. It allows users to sign upward for a gratuitous additional phone number linked to their current one. Calls made to the secondary number are forwarded to the primary one, and users can send and receive texts through the Google Voice app.

You can also port your existing telephone number Google Voice in guild to supersede the secondary number they give you. This is the platonic solution for Americans moving away.

Porting your number to Google Voice allows you to make calls, receive calls, send texts, and receive texts just as you would normally through the Google Vocalism app, available for iPhone and Android.

Google Voice is a VoIP service, which stands for Vox over IP. That ways that all calls are made on the app using data (unless y'all elect in the settings to make them through your carrier) from your new foreign cell telephone service provider, or through wifi.

Most international cell phone networks offering generous amounts of data with basic plans, and then this means that equally long every bit you lot only use Google Vocalism with data, y'all'll get totally free calling and texting with the US.

The Price to Port Your Number

At that place is a one-fourth dimension $xx fee to port your number to Google Voice and use information technology but every bit you would usually. I think this fee is off-white, peculiarly if you program to stay overseas for longer than 1 year.

In that location are no ongoing fees or monthly fees at all. You do non need to continue paying your old cell phone provider once your number has been ported away from them.

Does Google Voice Work With All Companies Who Require 2FA?

2-Cistron Hallmark (2FA) is a relatively new security feature employed by many American companies that requires a user to verify their identity in more ane way before gaining access to the account. Banks and financial services companies are especially stringent with requiring 2FA peculiarly from new devices and locations.

I have used my number as normal for 2FA and general business organization text messaging after porting it to Google Vox.

It has helped me receive verification texts and calls from Capital I, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Robinhood, Uber, Doordash, Yahoo, Microsoft, AWS, Air French republic and many more companies. I would say it works very well with the vast bulk of companies who require 2FA to log in.

The only company I've encountered so far which is not uniform with 2FA using a Google Voice number is Chase Banking company. Luckily, I can however log into my account from abroad and verify my identity using my email address but I cannot verify nor receive business relationship alerts by text the way an American could with an American cell phone plan. It's not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

Important: Before Yous Begin

Please read these important tips to know before you begin porting your number to Google Voice!

Yous must port your number to Google Phonation before moving abroad.
You'll need your United states prison cell phone plan's account number and PIN for porting so call your electric current cell phone provider to go this information earlier initiating the port.
Handle whatsoever important financial transactions before beginning this process if your bank requires ii-gene authentication login using your cell telephone. Your number could be stuck in limbo for up to 3 days during the porting process.

Porting Your Number to Google Voice

Now that you've got everything ready, here is how to initiate the port. These are the basic steps to porting your number to Google Voice. It's a relatively painless procedure so don't stress too much! Once over again, be sure to initiate this process before you get overseas!

The beginning step is to sign upwards for a gratuitous Google Voice account if you do not accept 1 already. You will demand a Gmail business relationship to sign up, so exist sure to log in. Choose "for personal use" every bit you lot sign up.

You will need to select a new Google Vocalization number to use. Don't worry about this, just pick whatsoever number and verify your current phone number when information technology prompts y'all. This new number will be replaced by your current number later you port it over.

Verify

In order to port your cell telephone number to Google, you lot then need to verify that it is eligible to exist ported. Go to https://google.com/vocalisation/porting and type in your number to see.

Landlines and corporate mobile numbers are not allowed. I didn't have any problem porting my T-Mobile number and others have ported Verizon and AT&T numbers without effect.

Once you decide it'south eligible, Google will call you and ask y'all to verify a code. This should be straightforward.

Enter Your Electric current Prison cell Phone Billing Data

Yous'll then take to enter the information associated with your current prison cell phone provider's bill each calendar month exactly as information technology appears. You may accept to call your jail cell phone service provider to go that information if you don't have it already. You'll need things similar your account number and Pivot for number porting.

Brand the Payment

You'll and so exist prompted to make the $20 payment through the Google Payments portal.

Wait for the Transfer

Now you just accept to wait for the transfer to complete! The porting procedure takes up to 24 hours to finish, and you lot might not be able to send or receive texts for three days.

Install the App on Your Phone

While waiting for the port to complete, y'all tin can install the Google Vocalisation app on your iPhone or Android cell phone.

iPhone app
Android app

Recall, Google Voice is accessible via both web and mobile!

Once the port has been completed, you will notice in your Settings that your real number appears, not the temporary ane you signed up with!

Adjust Your Google Vocalization Settings

Be sure to take a look at all the settings of the Vox app as presently every bit you can.

As I mentioned earlier, the Google Vocalisation app typically uses information in order to facilitate calls, but you tin can choose for these calls to pass through your normal cell phone network if you adopt. That would make sense for an American using the app in America equally they would pay the same price to take a better quality call.

For us Americans abroad, it doesn't make sense as nosotros would be paying extra for an incoming international call by using the network instead of a "complimentary" call using the VoIP in combination with our prison cell phone data or wifi.

Immediately, you want to go into your Settings of the app, whorl down to "Make and receive calls" and select "Prefer Wi-Fi and mobile data."

Google Voice Carrier Settings - Make and receive calls - Prefer Wi-Fi and mobile data

Check the Settings Regularly

Yous have to be really careful almost this detail setting in the app in order to avoid any excess charges to your foreign prison cell phone service bill. Cheque it regularly earlier making any phone calls using the app and especially later the app updates.

Unfortunately, a couple years ago after an update of the app, my setting was switched from "Adopt Wi-Fi" to "Use carrier" automatically by Google. When my Dad called twice, I ended up with a $50 charge on my side by side beak from T-Mobile because the call passed through their network while I was away in France. I didn't fifty-fifty think to cheque information technology because I had been using Google Voice previously without any issue.

Now, I e'er check the settings before making a call using the Google Vocalism app. Sometimes I even plough off the jail cell network while leaving the wifi on and then brand my call.

What if Yous Move Back?

If you lot decide to move back to the United States in the future, you lot can easily port your number to back to an American carrier. According to Mint Mobile, the porting process from Google Voice takes up to vii days.

That'due south information technology! I hope this post helped you learn how to keep your mobile number later on moving abroad. Let me know if you lot have any questions in the comments!