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What hapens to (landline) phone numbers after they are canceled?
My family who I live apart from has had home phone # since a few years before I was born in the the early 90's. We all have cell phones now and most of the calls we got on that # were spam so we have been thinking about cancelling it for a few years. I suggested that before they cancel it they talk to me so that I can pay for it to be put on numberbarn or google voice or another similar service (I'm nostalgic and may want to use the # in the future). However a week or two ago they *cancelled it and while it was still getting calls as of two weeks ago when I visited it shortly after they cancelled it, I called it today and my cell said the number was incorrect. Is there any chance I could still get it transferred if I act soon (the last provider was Comcast) or is it lost to me indefinately?
*IDK if they didn't understand what I wanted to do with it or they didn't want to see me spend my money on something they thought was unnecessary.
What kind of timeframe are looking at? It's probably best if I'm in the room with my family while I talk to their provider, but I usually only visit once a week and I don't want them to think I'm obsessed (which I probably am). Can I afford to wait a week or should I contact Comcast ASAP?
9 Answers
- ron hLv 72 weeks ago
A cxl'd number usually goes into "storage" for a few months before it's given to someone else. They do that to keep the new owner from getting calls for the old owner. You can call the ph co ASAP and there's a very slim chance it can be recovered UNLESS it was shut off due to the ph co's mistake. But they taped the CXL call from your parents. Yes, when you call your parents should be with you. "I HATE it when people try to "protect me"
- Anonymous3 months ago
Someone else will be given that number in a different planet.
- Anonymous5 months ago
some landline phone numbers stay around for years after being cancelled. play it safe and contact the phone company.
- Uncle PennybagsLv 76 months ago
Call Comcast.
One time, somehow, Comcast took away my home phone number I had for 20 years and gave me a new one. Once I figured out what happened, they were able to reverse the process and get my old phone number back to me.
It was only a couple of days, but that number may still be available in their pool for you to request. Call right away.
- spacemissingLv 76 months ago
Don't ask here --- you are wasting your time.
Contact the phone company directly.
- Anonymous7 months ago
What you were wanting to do was "port" the number from one service to another. Now that the line is inactive, it cannot be ported. The number goes to a recycle bin and will be reassigned when needed. You can contact the telco and ask about re-acquiring the number. Most telcos have a process that, for a fee, will allow you to recover the number.
