A port is a formal paperwork exchange between two carriers. When it slips, the cause is almost never technical. It is almost always a mismatch between what we submitted and what the losing carrier has on file.
Five causes produce nearly every delay. Check all five before assuming something larger is wrong.
CSR mismatch
The CSR is the Customer Service Record from your current carrier. It lists the exact account name, service address, and numbers on file.
If the port request shows "ABC Inc" and the CSR shows "ABC Incorporated," the losing carrier rejects the port. Commas count. Periods count. The words have to match exactly.
Fix: get a fresh CSR from the losing carrier and send it to us. We will resubmit with the exact wording.
Pending orders
If your old carrier has an open order on your account (a line being added, a feature being changed, a billing dispute in progress), they will block the port until that order closes.
Call the old carrier and ask if there are any pending orders on the account. Ask them to close anything open. Once the account is clean, we can resubmit the port.
Billing address mismatch
Businesses move. Phone accounts often do not follow. If the losing carrier shows your old address and we submit your current one, rejected.
Fix: update the address with the losing carrier first. Confirm the change took effect. Then resubmit. The address on the port form has to match what the carrier has right now, not what is true in the real world.
Wrong account holder name
If the phone account is in a personal name but the business is a corporation, or the account is in a previous owner's name and never got transferred when the business changed hands, the port gets rejected for an authorization mismatch.
Fix: call the losing carrier and update the account name to match your current legal entity. This sometimes requires paperwork. It is worth the effort. A port cannot be authorized by someone whose name is not on the account.
Mobile transfer PIN
If you are porting a mobile number (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless), the carrier requires a transfer PIN that you generate in their app. Without it, the port rejects immediately.
Each carrier has its own PIN process. Log into your mobile account, look for "transfer PIN" or "number transfer," and generate one. Send it to us. PINs typically expire within 7 to 14 days, so do not generate it weeks in advance.
What rejection means
When a port is rejected, we get a notice from the losing carrier with a specific rejection code and reason. We forward that to you with a plain-English translation.
Rejections are not the end. They are a correction. Fix what the rejection pointed at, we resubmit, and the clock starts over. Most rejected ports complete on the second or third submission.
Calling the old carrier
There is one scenario where you have to call the old carrier directly: anything that requires authentication to their account. Getting a CSR, getting a transfer PIN, closing a pending order, or updating the account holder name all require their customer of record (you) to authenticate with them.
We cannot do this on your behalf. The losing carrier will only talk to the person whose name is on the account.
Getting help
If a port has been sitting for more than a week with no clear status, call 718.395.1550. We will pull the submission, read you the exact rejection reason if there is one, and figure out what is next.