Porting an old landline number to a budget prepaid SIM for an elderly parent?

Mar 22, 2026 - 4:08 PM

https://megagrass.com/community/question-and-answer/forums/4133/topics/3238357 COPY
  • Hi everyone. I’m trying to move my mother’s old copper landline number over to a cheap, prepaid cellular plan so she can keep the phone number she has had since 1985. I bought a basic flip phone for her to use at her assisted living facility. Has anyone successfully ported a traditional wireline number to a prepaid MVNO network? I've heard the transfer process can take weeks and sometimes fails completely if the account details don't match perfectly.

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  • Expect the transition to take at least five business days. When I moved my grandmother's copper line, she was completely without incoming calls for almost a week while the two telecom networks communicated. Definitely do not cancel the original landline service until the new cell phone starts ringing successfully.

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