# how to get rid of my phone but keep the phone number? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578 "2017-10-11T15:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/1 "2017-10-11T15:45:59Z")
I’ve got a personal phone…I pay for I’ve got a work phone, that doesn’t have an issue if I use it for personal use. I’m tired of carrying both phones and want to make the migration to using my work phone only. I’ve forwarded my personal calls to my work phone (doesn’t work with text messages though). I’d like to dump having to pay a monthly fee for my personal phone, but I’d like to keep my personal number just in case I go back to a personal phone. How can I do this? Can I go get one of those “burner phones” from walmart, put $20 on it; assign my personal phone number to it, then continue to forward my calls from it to my work phone? I’m not really phone tech savvy,…help me keep my personal number, forward what few calls I get on it; and dump the monthly fee to ATT. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/2 "2017-10-11T15:47:36Z")
Port the number to Google Voice. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/3 "2017-10-11T15:57:21Z")
Depending on how you do this you may be charged for forwarding call. If it’s cellular with limited minutes anyone calling your home number and forwarded to your work number may count against your minutes. I did this with Verizon Wireless years ago, had my home cell number fwded to my work cell phone # and it did register calls to my home number against that account’s minutes IIRC. It really didn’t matter as they shared the same pool of minutes. I kept it for a while because it was $10/month extra and sometimes it was handy to be able to give a guest the other phone for things (was the time where not everyone had a cell phone and I had some friends on the lower economic scale). Eventually I just discontinued that number and have not looked back. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/4 "2017-10-11T16:36:59Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > Port the number to Google Voice. What’s this “google voice” of which you speak? I looked it up some…can I just register with my current personal number; have all the calls forwarded to my work number, then call up ATT and tell them to stop billing me? Kanicbird, I’m not so worried about getting charged minutes on my personal phone even if forwarded, because I get so few calls to in nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/5 "2017-10-11T16:56:39Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > Port the number to Google Voice. I have a Google Voice number but can you port a number to Google Voice as though it were a wireless carrier? My Google Voice number is one that Google let me pick from a list of available numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/6 "2017-10-11T17:28:18Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > What’s this “google voice” of which you speak? I looked it up some…can I just register with my current personal number; have all the calls forwarded to my work number, then call up ATT and tell them to stop billing me? That’s pretty much it. Or you can send all the calls to voicemail, and get messages as email attachments; there’s a variety of ways to set it up. Or if you don’t use it at all, it’s an easy/free way to park a number until you decide to re-transfer it to a new cell. It appears that they’ll charge you $20 to transfer a number. I use it for a voicemail-only “home” phone; only people I actually want to talk to have my cell. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/7 "2017-10-11T17:42:07Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > What’s this “google voice” of which you speak? I looked it up some…can I just register with my current personal number; have all the calls forwarded to my work number, then call up ATT and tell them to stop billing me? Here’s how to port a number to Google Voice: > **[How (and Why) to Port Your Old Phone Number to Google Voice](https://www.howtogeek.com/92075/how-to-port-your-phone-number-to-google-voice/)** > > If you want to keep your old phone number after you got a new one, or you just want a second phone number to play around with, you can port that number to the awesome Google Voice service. Make sure your number is active. Don’t cancel your AT&T account. Google will take care of that for you when you port your number to them. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/8 "2017-10-11T17:48:24Z")
Too late for edit window: Also, make sure you’re not in the middle of your contract, as AT&T. may charge you an early termination fee. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-my-phone-but-keep-the-phone-number/798578/9 "2017-10-13T08:30:44Z")
My brother has a dual-sim phone, something like that might do the job… though you’d still have two accounts.