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Keep your US mobile number when you move overseas

ExpatTel ports your +1 number to a service designed for people abroad. Voicemail and SMS delivered to the ExpatTel app, portal and email — from $6/month.

$6.00 USD/month · or $60.00 USD/year

Start your United States port

When Americans move abroad, the standard advice — "just cancel your line" — is terrible advice. That number is on file with your bank, the IRS, healthcare, family, and every service you've set up in the last decade. Cancelling means chasing every one of them down.

ExpatTel is the alternative. We port your +1 mobile number under the FCC's Wireless Local Number Portability rules and hold it live from anywhere in the world. Calls go to voicemail; SMS and voicemail transcripts are pushed to our app, web portal and email. You can't make outbound calls from the number — but you never lose it, and everything that reaches it reaches you.

How the United States port works

Regulated by the US Federal Communications Commission. Typical time: a few hours to 24 hours.

  1. Sign up on ExpatTel

    Create an account, pick a monthly or yearly plan, and enter your +1 mobile number.

  2. Get your account info from your current carrier

    You'll need three things from the carrier you're leaving: your account number, your account PIN or transfer PIN, and the billing name on the account. Every major US carrier makes these available online or via a short call.

  3. Give us those details

    Enter them in the ExpatTel portal. This is the standard information any US port-in requires — it exists to prevent number theft.

  4. We submit the port

    Most US wireless-to-wireless ports complete within a few hours; the FCC standard is 24 hours. You'll get a real-time ETA in the app.

  5. Number goes live on ExpatTel

    Your existing SIM stops working around the same time — before that, update anything tied to your number (bank 2FA, iMessage, WhatsApp). Nothing else needed; incoming calls go to voicemail, SMS and voicemail transcripts to the app, portal and email.

Which United States carriers can we port from?

ExpatTel can port from every US mobile carrier and MVNO, including:

  • Verizon
  • T-Mobile
  • AT&T
  • Sprint (T-Mobile)
  • Cricket Wireless
  • Metro by T-Mobile
  • Boost Mobile
  • Mint Mobile
  • US Mobile
  • Visible
  • Google Fi
  • Xfinity Mobile
  • Consumer Cellular
  • Straight Talk
  • H2O Wireless
  • TracFone

Before you port: the rules

A few conditions apply. None of them are surprising, but check they don't affect you.

  • The account must be active — not cancelled. Once the losing carrier closes the line, the number goes back into the pool and cannot be ported.
  • The billing name and account details you give us must exactly match the losing carrier's records.
  • You must have the account PIN or transfer PIN. If you don't, get it from your carrier first — most publish it in the account section of their app.
  • Business (BAN) accounts can be ported but need a letter of agency. Contact us before signing up.

United States-specific questions

Everything asked most often by United States customers before they port.

Most US wireless-to-wireless ports complete within a few hours. The FCC-set standard is 24 hours. Ports submitted late Friday afternoon can slip to Monday if the losing carrier's port-out desk is business-hours only.

Every major US carrier makes both available in their app or website: Verizon (My Verizon → Account → Number Transfer PIN), T-Mobile (T-Mobile app → Account → dial ##72786# for the account number), AT&T (myAT&T → Wireless → Transfer PIN). Many will also send them via text on request. Do not cancel your service before we complete the port — cancelling ends portability.

Standard SMS to your +1 number is delivered to the ExpatTel app, portal and email within seconds. This includes most banking OTP codes. Some US banks send SMS 2FA via a special short-code path that requires a US carrier SIM — check with your bank before porting. We recommend an app-based authenticator (Authy, Google Authenticator, 1Password) as a backup, which we'd recommend anyway.

When your number ports off your US carrier, Apple's iMessage will need a few minutes to re-associate it. Sign out of iMessage on your existing iPhone before the port completes, or you may see delayed messages. Apple has a deregistration tool if you forget: apple.com/support/imessage-deregister. RCS follows the same pattern — expect a short delay when the port lands.

Unfortunately no. Once a US number is released back to the local number pool, it can't be recovered by any port process. Always sign up with us and initiate the port before cancelling your existing line.

Yes. ExpatTel operates under standard US Wireless Local Number Portability rules established by the FCC. We're a legitimate destination carrier, no different in mechanics from moving between AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile.

Keep your United States number. Move anywhere.

Sign-up takes 5–10 minutes, and nothing is billed until your number has ported in.

Start your port
Not United States? See every country we port from