3 ms·

Having helped a few people sign up for the Project Fi service (and deciding not to myself) I can tell you that Google is very clear about the implications of se

Having helped a few people sign up for the Project Fi service (and deciding not to myself) I can tell you that Google is very clear about the implications of setting up Fi when you currently have a Google Voice number. Google has decided you can only have one number. So you can either port (yes it is an actual port) your number from GV to Fi when you sign up, or you can get a new Fi number and give up your GV number. The author has nobody to blame but himself if he's confused about what happened here.

rch 9y ago
It sounds like his signup went as expected but he wasn't given a chance to move his number back to GV when he cancelled Fi. The warnings are clear about porting from GV, but I don't remember anything about what would happen at cancellation (e.g. being subject to GV number availability).
- RKearney 9y ago
  You never cancel a phone line with a number you wish to keep. When you port the number away, the losing carrier will cancel the line of service since the number is gone from their network. You can’t port a number after you’ve canceled the line of service.
- deong 9y ago
  That's just the way phone companies work. If I go to AT&T this morning and cancel my account, that number is gone. I get that Google owning two things that look like phone companies could confuse people, but under no circumstances would I ever cancel the service on a number I still needed. And like OP said, I know from my experience that Google almost crossed over into belligerence in trying to tell me the implications of porting my voice number. Even if I didn't understand the technical terms, the sheer urgency of the messaging should give you pause about taking any action lightly.
- stanleydrew 9y ago
  Yeah, the post is a bit ambiguous but seems like you may be right. If OP had GV, then ported to Fi, and then cancelled Fi service without porting his number that would fit with the complaint in the post. I'm actually somewhat less sympathetic in that case. When you cancel phone service without porting, you lose your number. That's how the phone system has operated for decades. Why someone would assume that cancelling phone service would somehow automatically sign you up for a different service is beyond me. But I suppose the confusion is related to people thinking GV and Fi are "the same" or "built on each other" (e.g. see comment from a Googler elsewhere in this thread) since both services give you a phone number and both services are run by Google. In fact they are essentially entirely separate services from the perspective of the phone network. GV is based on Bandwidth.com's landline VoIP numbers, while Fi numbers are actually registered by T-Mobile.

rch 9y ago

It sounds like his signup went as expected but he wasn't given a chance to move his number back to GV when he cancelled Fi. The warnings are clear about porting from GV, but I don't remember anything about what would happen at cancellation (e.g. being subject to GV number availability).

RKearney 9y ago
You never cancel a phone line with a number you wish to keep. When you port the number away, the losing carrier will cancel the line of service since the number is gone from their network. You can’t port a number after you’ve canceled the line of service.
deong 9y ago
That's just the way phone companies work. If I go to AT&T this morning and cancel my account, that number is gone. I get that Google owning two things that look like phone companies could confuse people, but under no circumstances would I ever cancel the service on a number I still needed. And like OP said, I know from my experience that Google almost crossed over into belligerence in trying to tell me the implications of porting my voice number. Even if I didn't understand the technical terms, the sheer urgency of the messaging should give you pause about taking any action lightly.
stanleydrew 9y ago
Yeah, the post is a bit ambiguous but seems like you may be right. If OP had GV, then ported to Fi, and then cancelled Fi service without porting his number that would fit with the complaint in the post. I'm actually somewhat less sympathetic in that case. When you cancel phone service without porting, you lose your number. That's how the phone system has operated for decades. Why someone would assume that cancelling phone service would somehow automatically sign you up for a different service is beyond me. But I suppose the confusion is related to people thinking GV and Fi are "the same" or "built on each other" (e.g. see comment from a Googler elsewhere in this thread) since both services give you a phone number and both services are run by Google. In fact they are essentially entirely separate services from the perspective of the phone network. GV is based on Bandwidth.com's landline VoIP numbers, while Fi numbers are actually registered by T-Mobile.