Will you lose your landline number if you switch provider?
No. Keeping your landline number when you switch is a legal right in the UK, not a favour a provider grants you. Ofcom’s rules require your new provider to port the number across, usually within a single working day, and they can’t charge you for doing it.
That right matters more than usual this year. Openreach said around 1.5 million UK phone lines were still running on legacy copper as of 31 July 2026, down from 1.9 million in June, ahead of the full switch-off deadline of 31 January 2027. Roughly 350,000 of those are business premises. Every one of those lines needs to move onto a digital service eventually, whether the customer switches provider or not.
How does keeping your landline number actually work?
Your new provider handles the request, not you directly. Give them your existing number and account details, and the industry’s number portability system, backed by Ofcom’s General Conditions, moves it across in the background.
Even if you’ve already cancelled your old service, you generally have up to a month afterwards to request the port before the number is released back into the pool and could, in theory, be reassigned to someone else. Acting quickly matters more than most people realise.
Key takeaways
- Keeping your landline number when switching provider is a legal right, and it’s free.
- Porting typically completes within one working day once requested.
- You can still port a number for about a month after cancelling old service, but not indefinitely.
- Moving to a digital line (Digital Voice or similar) keeps your number the same, just the technology underneath changes.
- Around 1.5 million UK lines, including some 350,000 business premises, still needed migrating as of July 2026, ahead of the 31 January 2027 deadline.
Does moving to a digital landline change your number?
No, and this is the confusion that stops a lot of people engaging with the switch. Digital Voice and similar services carry your existing number over automatically. The visible difference is where the handset plugs in, usually into your router rather than a wall socket, not the number itself.
The bigger practical change is that a digital landline needs power to your router to work, unlike the old copper line. Anyone relying on a landline for a telecare alarm or in case of a power cut should check their provider’s backup plan before the analogue network in their area switches off.
What happens if your number has already lapsed?
Once the porting window closes, the number can be reassigned, and there’s no guaranteed way to get it back. This is the scenario worth avoiding, especially for households who’ve held the same number for decades and have it printed on old paperwork, saved in family members’ phones, or registered with a doctor’s surgery.
If you’re not sure whether your old number is still portable, ask your new provider before you sign up rather than after. It costs nothing to check, and it settles the question before you’ve committed to anything. A quick phone call, or a message through their online chat, is usually enough to get a straight answer.
Should you check anything before switching if you rely on your landline?
Yes, especially if a telecare alarm, a stairlift monitor or any medical alert device is plugged into your phone line. These devices were largely designed for the old analogue network, and while most now work over a digital line, some older models need an adapter or a battery backup to keep functioning during a power cut.
Tell your telecare provider before you switch broadband or move to a digital landline, not after. A quick call confirms whether your specific device is compatible, and most providers will supply a backup battery free of charge once they know you rely on the line for more than calls.
It’s also worth telling anyone who calls that number regularly, a GP surgery, a pension provider, family abroad, that the switch is happening. The number itself won’t change, but a short heads up avoids any confusion if there’s a brief gap while the porting request goes through.
Frequently asked questions about keeping your landline number
- Can I keep my landline number if I move house?
- Not always. Landline numbers are often tied to a geographic area, so moving to a different exchange region can mean a new number is unavoidable, even though switching provider at the same address doesn’t affect it.
- Does it cost anything to keep my landline number?
- No. Ofcom’s rules mean providers can’t charge for porting a number across, whether you’re switching provider or moving from an analogue line to a digital one.
- What happens to my landline number during the analogue switch-off?
- It carries over to your new digital line automatically as part of the migration. You don’t need to request anything specifically for this move, since it isn’t a provider switch.
- How long does porting a landline number actually take?
- Typically one working day once your new provider submits the request, though it can take a little longer if your account details don’t match exactly.
- Can a business landline number be ported the same way?
- Broadly yes, though business number ports sometimes take longer, so it’s worth planning ahead if the number is important to client contact. Businesses also face a harder deadline: unmigrated business lines risk disconnection at the January 2027 switch-off.
- Do I need to do anything myself to keep my landline number?
- Mostly no. Your new provider submits the porting request on your behalf once you sign up, so the main thing you need to do is give them the correct existing number and account details.
Roo’s take: a phone number you’ve had for twenty years is worth protecting, but it isn’t a reason to stay on an overpriced deal. Our landline switch off checklist and broadband contract change rights guide cover the rest of what to check before you move.
