Keeping US phone numbers in Canada

[harirajmohan]

it is not about billing address. all US providers mandate that majority of the US number's usage should be from US.

They may not be too strict about the exact split of the time, but may definitely clamp it down if it is used forever without coming in contact with US towers. in your case since you commute and come in frequent contact with US towers, there may not have been any issues.

Correct, one should be within 50% usage to avoid issues. But for normal usage of data(without watching videos) one can easily maintain US number per my experience. My wife who doesnt commute has US number and no issues for 3 years. Its manageable.

Not seen any issues till now with Sprint/T-Mobile.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Correct, one should be within 50% usage to avoid issues. But for normal usage of data(without watching videos) one can easily maintain US number per my experience. My wife has US number and no issues for 3 years. Its manageable.

Not seen any issues till now with Sprint/T-Mobile.

So the usage means data or any kind of usage such as calls/text? I presume it means every possible usage. So, your spouse's number has never been in US since last 3 years?

 

[harirajmohan]

So the usage means data or any kind of usage such as calls/text? I presume it means every possible usage. So, your spouse's number has never been in US since last 3 years?

6-12 day trips in a year

 

[Alex54321]

6-12 day trips in a year

Each one situation is unique. I have my simple 3 lines T-Mobile plan for more than 15 years. My son and his line is in US, my line is back and forth from Canada to US ( since COVID19 I stay at home in Canada and not use much actual plan, just WiFi), my spouse's line is in Canada. Since summer 2018 we do not have any issue with T-Mobile ( 2 lines in Canada are with $10 North America option)

 

[cicuser]

Posting what we intend to do in case someone is looking at available options and chances upon this thread.

Firstly, thank you all for the helpful responses and suggesting possible ways in which to keep a US number. FWIW, after looking up the available methods, talking to AT&T and T-mobile, and considering our situation, we have decided to do the following:

We will keep out AT&T phones for the first month and upgrade the plan to include roaming for Canada (AT&T has a plan for USD $130/mo + taxes for 2 lines that supports this). We will keep this for a month by which time we will get Canada SIM cards and numbers. If by that time we still think we need the US numbers, we will use Google Voice to port our US numbers and close out the AT&T plan. AFAIK, porting over a US number to Google Voice should be fine even after we have moved to Canada.

 

[ustocanada49]

@cicuser , I suggest dont bother about tmobile etc. You may have given your number in banks, immigration etc imp places. There have been times I wasn't able to login from Canada because i couldn't get 2 factor auth codes. Just port to google voice first so that you dont lose that number. Your office people wont even notice any difference. They will be able to call your US number and you can receive on your phone in Canada on wifi or data on Google Hangouts. You will get texts also also, voicemails are transcribed for free. And most of all, it is FREE. Need not spend 70 US bucks a month

 

[ustocanada49]

While i was typing, you had already decided what I was going to suggest

 

[cicuser]

@cicuser , I suggest dont bother about tmobile etc. You may have given your number in banks, immigration etc imp places. There have been times I wasn't able to login from Canada because i couldn't get 2 factor auth codes. Just port to google voice first so that you dont lose that number. Your office people wont even notice any difference. They will be able to call your US number and you can receive on your phone in Canada on wifi or data on Google Hangouts. You will get texts also also, voicemails are transcribed for free. And most of all, it is FREE. Need not spend 70 US bucks a month

@ustocanada49 I am planning to keep my number for the first month on AT&T itself since I have given it to a lot of places (movers, auto transport, etc.) and I think if I port the number to Google Voice, I may lose it for 1-2 days during the port. I am too close to my move to take that risk. Do you know if it would be a problem to port once I am settled in Canada. I am assuming that it should be okay since the number I would be porting is still my US number. Also, I think porting to Google Voice is not free. Google charges $20 to port the number (still peanuts compared to other options).

 

[harirajmohan]

@ustocanada49 I am planning to keep my number for the first month on AT&T itself since I have given it to a lot of places (movers, auto transport, etc.) and I think if I port the number to Google Voice, I may lose it for 1-2 days during the port. I am too close to my move to take that risk. Do you know if it would be a problem to port once I am settled in Canada. I am assuming that it should be okay since the number I would be porting is still my US number. Also, I think porting to Google Voice is not free. Google charges $20 to port the number (still peanuts compared to other options).

The number should be active till porting is completed - This is the only requirement. I did it once i was in Australia. So you should be good as long as number is in service with US provider. And after porting, your provider will automatically disconnect the service hence billing will also stop at that point and you dont need to request to terminate separately(but confirm with the provider after porting to make sure they dont bill continuously).

 

[mpsqra]

Hi,

Has anyone preserved their US phone numbers after moving to Canada?
We are planning on getting new cell phone plans in Canada but would still want to keep our US numbers.
We have seen suggestions of using VoIP services to port US phone number - any recommendations? Has anyone used Google Voice for this? Also, do we need to do this porting while we are still in the US or can I do it once we are already in Canada and ready to close our US phone plan.

Thanks

apply https://www.magicjack.com/

 

[AjeyaGupta]

I kept my US number when I moved to Canada and it has been over 2 years now. I switched to Tmobile and got the One plan for $70 that includes Canada and Mexico. I got the 50% warning, but I connect my phone to wifi calling when at home and haven't had any issues since. Make sure you are connected to wifi whenever you can.

Hi @VOBuckeye Are you still using US telecom provider's services? Meaning, is availing call over wifi and/or text over wifi enough not to be flagged by T-mobile and terminate our cell phone line? I moved here 4 weeks back, and have been using this idea. Since, I recently moved here, I don't have enough data points to conclude one way or the other.

Thanks.

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi @VOBuckeye Are you still using US telecom provider's services? Meaning, is availing call over wifi and/or text over wifi enough not to be flagged by T-mobile and terminate our cell phone line? I moved here 4 weeks back, and have been using this idea. Since, I recently moved here, I don't have enough data points to conclude one way or the other.

Thanks.

Should not be a problem. They are not really checking if you are spending enough time in US.

Just your wifi to use less mobile network data(within the roaming data limits). 2GB is enough to cover maps if you dont use video while outside of home. I dont think that this data usage triggers rather than they will slow the speed or stop the internet if you reach the limit. So dont worry much about it.

Call will go through roaming, not needed to use wifi for it.

My wife is in Canada for 11 months without going out of the country and no issues for the t-mobile phone service.

 

[Alex54321]

Should not be a problem. They are not really checking if you are spending enough time in US.

Just your wifi to use less mobile network data(within the roaming data limits). 2GB is enough to cover maps if you dont use video while outside of home. I dont think that this data usage triggers rather than they will slow the speed or stop the internet if you reach the limit. So dont worry much about it.

Call will go through roaming, not needed to use wifi for it.

My wife is in Canada for 11 months without going out of the country and no issues for the t-mobile phone service.

I have 3 lines with TMobile for like 15 years. Since August 2018 we are in Canada with the same TMobile account. No issues so far. We are on WiFi and most of our calls are WhatsApp. We have that North America option covering Canada and Mexico.

 

[AjeyaGupta]

Thanks @harirajmohan & @Alex54321 for your inputs. I think I'l; just hang on with my current T-mobile plan and continue to use call/text over WiFi. One question I have is do you have to pay extra for N.A option covering Canada and Mexico? After talking with T-mob rep, I got an impression that I need to enroll in this.

Thanks

 

[harirajmohan]

Thanks @harirajmohan & @Alex54321 for your inputs. I think I'l; just hang on with my current T-mobile plan and continue to use call/text over WiFi. One question I have is do you have to pay extra for N.A option covering Canada and Mexico? After talking with T-mob rep, I got an impression that I need to enroll in this.

Thanks

Yes, just enroll to that 5$ north america roaming. It should be enough. If you are on postpaid, it will be more cost while roaming without this roaming plan. Also make sure after 2 days of activating the plan, call them back and verify if you have roaming plan enabled. Sometimes at the store they dont do it correctly and end up paying for roaming.
Call: As its unlimited, you can use your phone network.
Data: As its limited, try to use less while outside of home.

Rest should be fine to use it for years. No issues for the last 4 years.