Can I bring an out of province phone number?

Alex B. 1467

I would like to keep my existing phone number, but it is a Toronto area code. The solutions hub says "we can only transfer mobile numbers and numbers that are from North America", which suggests that any number at all can be transferred, but I've never heard of a mobile carrier doing this so I want to be extra certain. I have had this number for over 10 years and I do not want to lose it.
Part 2: if I *am* able to transfer the number, would it be recognized as a local Montreal (current city) number? Would other people calling this number be treated as local calls, or long distance (for those who still use carriers/landlines that make the distinction)?
Huge thanks to anyone who can help!

J. S.

Part2: It wouldn't be recognized as a local number. If people with a Fizz - Quebec only account were to call you with a Toronto number they would face long distance charges.
If they have Canada-wide then they'd be fine.

Code_KRUEW

The short answer is no. If you look at the coverage area: https://fizz.ca/en/coverage, they have the darker green for "Subscription area" which is in Quebec and the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
It definitely will not be recognized as a Montreal number as it is based on the area code, not where you are situated.

Ihor L.

Let me disagree - "Subscription area" has nothing to do with the option of porting in. It just shows where you can get the service

Alex B. 1467

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm still very confused though, as everyone seems to have a different idea of how this works. I was thinking along the lines of what Ihor has said, at least from the help documents I was reading.
Does anyone know how to get an answer from Fizz directly? The chat box seems to be gone, and they are not responding to me on Facebook.

Gabriel G. #6

You absolutely need to have a Quebec or Ottawa number in order to port-in with Fizz.
For Ottawa region, Here's the detail :
https://localcallingguide.com/lca_exch.php?exch=156480

J. S.

Besides https://fizz.ca/en/contact-us , there are:
1) Email
contactform@support.fizz.ca
2) Chat (7 am to 10 pm | Week-end 10 am to 6 pm)
Login your account.
Click on “Help”.
In “Popular topics” click on any subject.
Scroll down to the bottom.
In the right corner the chat bubble will appear after 15 seconds.
Click on the bubble and type your question.
You will see what position you are in the queue.
Sometimes, it can be very long before you can chat with someone: one hour, 90 minutes…
3) Facebook Messenger
https://www.messenger.com/t/fizzca
https://www.facebook.com/fizzca/
4) Contact form
Login your account;
My profile--->Contact forms--->Submit a complaint

Alex B. 1467

FYI, I got an answer from Fizz via Facebook. They told me that they can only transfer Quebec or Ottawa area phone numbers over. Hopefully this can clarify it for anyone else wondering the same thing.

Jonathan C. 2531

I can confirm that when I tried to port in my 519 area code number back in October it said my number was invalid. I tried the beta out with a new number on a second phone and was happy enough to switch to Fizz permanently. So I ported my 519 number to Fongo ($25) and set it up to forward all calls to my new Fizz number (all free). Texting is available for a small fee per month if you need to keep using your number for that, but only outgoing texts is an issue because incoming is free too. I'm just replying to people from the new number and asking them to add my new number to their contact information for me so nothing seems to change (i.e., the thread in their texting app still contains all previous messages from the old number). Of course even if they don't do that it still looks the same as always on my end.

Ann H.

Here is the solution. Get a 819 (gatineau) or 613 (ottawa) or 343 (ottawa) Fizz card. After everything all set. Download a Fongo app and get a 204 number, then forward it to this Fizz number.
Fongo don't forward sms, so you may need get a voip.ms account if you need sms be forwarded too, it's not free. It's $1/month for phone number and 1 cent for forwarding (half cent incoming + half cent outgoing).