1. 867-5309 could be one of the most iconic phone numbers of all time, but it’s not the only number that a lot of us remember by heart. Many of us have a phone number that we've shared with family, friends, and contacts over the years and are reluctant to let go.

    One of the most frequent requests we hear from people who use (or want to use) Google Voice is that they’d like to get all of Google Voice’s features without having to give up their long-time phone numbers.

    Today, we’re excited to announce that Number Porting is available for all existing Google Voice users. This means you can make the mobile number you’ve always used your Google Voice number, so it can ring any phone you want—or even your computer.



    To get started with Number Porting, log in to your Google Voice account, visit the Settings page and click on “Change / Port” next to your Google Voice number.



    Porting your number to Google Voice costs $20 and is usually completed within 24 hours. You may incur additional charges, including early termination fees, from your wireless carrier. Contact your carrier to get more details about the charges applicable to you.

    After porting your number to Google Voice your mobile service plan will be cancelled, and there are a couple of steps that you’ll have to take to continue making and receiving calls on your mobile device. For more detailed instructions on how Number Porting works and to find tips for making the process as smooth as possible, visit the Google Voice Help Center.

    Number Porting is currently available for existing Google Voice users and will become available to new users within the next few weeks, and at this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only.

    Posted by Robert Dong, Software Engineer

    Update (1:15PM): Included more details about the porting process.
  2. My boyfriend and I traveled from San Francisco to NYC to visit my family for Christmas and meet my newborn niece for the first time. About an hour after takeoff, he started frantically checking his pockets, jacket and bags, only to discover that he had left his driver’s license at the airport.

    This presented us with what could have been a major headache when trying to get through security on our way home.

    Thankfully, his sister was staying at his apartment and had access to his passport. But she was leaving to drive to their mother’s house that morning, so contacting her couldn’t wait until we landed five hours later.

    That’s where Google Voice came in.

    We fired up his laptop, connected to in-flight wi-fi (which happened to be free), logged into his Google Voice account, and sent her a text message. Thankfully she hadn’t left his place yet, so we texted her my parents’ address and she headed to the UPS store to have it shipped overnight—and it arrived on our NY doorstep in no time.

    Crisis averted thanks to a text from 35,000 feet in the sky.

    If you would like to send free text messages from the sky (or comfortably on the ground), log in to your Google Voice account and click the Text button. You can enter a phone number or start typing a name from your Contacts to auto-populate the name and number of the person you are trying to text.



    Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager
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