Troubleshooting

Why was my port rejected?

Short answer

Your current provider rejects a port when something in the request doesn't match its records. Most often, it's the account number, the account holder's name or address, or the type of service. We pass on the reason in the request's thread, and most are fixed with one corrected detail before we resubmit.

Applies to
Phone Numbers
Who can do this
The account holder, or whoever requested the port

Check for a known incident first. If there is one, we're already working on it, and there's nothing to change on your side.

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Status page
On this page
  1. What are you seeing?
  2. The account number was rejected
  3. The provider says the details don't match, or the numbers belong to someone else
  4. The provider says other numbers or addresses have to port too
  5. The provider says it's a complex service
  6. The service was canceled or disconnected
  7. A number can't be ported
  8. A New Zealand number has dependent services
  9. What happens after a rejection?
  10. What to send us
  11. Related

What are you seeing?

The account number was rejected

MSN not associated with Account/Reference Number

Your current provider couldn't match the account number to the numbers you're porting. For a mobile, the reason usually reads like the message above, where MSN is the mobile number. It can also read Account/Reference Number or Date of Birth not held. For other numbers, the provider says that the account number is invalid.

These are the usual causes.

A prepaid mobile was submitted as postpaid, or the other way around

A postpaid mobile is checked against the account number on its bill. A prepaid mobile is checked against the account holder's date of birth. So the wrong type always fails.

Check

Find out whether the mobile service is prepaid or postpaid. A prepaid service has no monthly bill. If you're not sure which it is, this is a likely cause.

Fix

Reply in the request's Thread with the service type. For prepaid, include the account holder's date of birth, in the format DD/MM/YYYY. For postpaid, include the account number from the latest bill. Then we'll resubmit the port.

The account number is from a different account or an older bill

Businesses often have more than one account with a provider. Account numbers can also change when a plan or provider changes.

Fix

Find the account number on the latest bill for the service that the numbers are on, and send it to us in the thread. If you're not sure which account it is, ask your provider for the account number to use when porting the numbers away.

Your provider buys the service from another provider

Some providers resell numbers that they get from another provider. The account number on your bill isn't the one that the rest of the chain recognizes.

Check

Look at your bill. This is a likely cause if your bill has no account number, or if the one your provider gave you has been rejected.

Fix

  1. Ask your provider for the porting account number for each number. Tell them that the port was rejected with the account number they gave you.
  2. If they can't get it, raise a complaint with them, and ask them to confirm it with their own provider. Only your provider can get this number.
  3. When you have the new account number, send it to us. We'll resubmit the port.

The provider says the details don't match, or the numbers belong to someone else

Different end customer

Your provider checks the account holder's name and address against the account that the numbers are on. When they don't match, it either rejects the port or says that the numbers belong to a different customer.

The name or address isn't exactly as the bill shows it

Check

Compare the entity name, ABN or ACN, and address in the request with your latest bill, letter by letter. A different form of the name is enough to fail, such as a trading name where the bill shows the registered name. So is an old address.

Fix

Reply in the thread with the details exactly as the bill shows them. If the business has been sold or renamed, or the account is in a personal name, use the name on the bill.

The details are right, and the provider is mistaken

Fix

We dispute the rejection with your provider, using your bill as proof. If the bill doesn't list the numbers, a screenshot of your provider's online account that shows them, or a letter from your provider, usually works instead. The request's thread can't take attachments, so contact support with the proof, and quote the request's display name.

If your provider keeps rejecting the port even with proof, contact them directly, and ask them to release it. That often unblocks the port. If you're porting for a client, your client is the one who needs to ask.

The provider says other numbers or addresses have to port too

Missing Associated Numbers

Some providers release numbers only if every number on the same account, range, or line hunt group moves with them, or every site on the account. The reason can also read Incomplete Number Block/Missing Numbers. This is common when you port some of a business's numbers but not all of them.

The account has numbers that aren't in the request

Fix

The quickest way is to port them all. We'll add the extra numbers to the request and tell you which they are. After the port is complete, you can delete any that you don't need. To learn how, see Delete a phone number, or get one back.

To keep a number with your current provider, ask them to split it onto a separate account first. After they do, let us know in the thread. We'll resubmit the port without it.

The provider says it's a complex service

Complex Service - eg ISDN, Line Hunt etc.

A number that's part of a service such as ISDN, a line hunt group, a fax line, or a number range can't move as a simple port. It needs a complex port instead.

The numbers were submitted as a simple port

Check

Look at the request's Port type. If it shows AU Local Cat A, the simple port for local numbers, this is the cause.

Fix

You don't need to change anything. We'll resubmit it on the same request as a complex port, and the port type changes to AU Local Cat C. We'll let you know when we do, because a complex port goes through an extra validation step and takes longer.

The service was canceled or disconnected

Disconnected Service

A port moves an active service. Your provider can't release numbers from a service that's been canceled, or is about to be. In that case, the reason can read Pending Disconnection instead.

The old service was canceled before the port completed

Fix

Ask your provider to reconnect the service, or to stop a pending disconnection. Then let us know in the thread, and we'll resubmit. Keep the service active until we confirm that the port is complete.

A number can't be ported

Unable to port

Before we lodge a port, we check that each number can be ported at all. A number that fails this check usually has one of these causes.

The number isn't active

Fix

Check with your provider that the number is connected and in your name. A number that's no longer active can't be ported.

The number is already with Enfonica

Check

Look under Phone Numbers > My numbers in each of your projects. If the number appears there, this is the cause.

Fix

Let us know in the thread. There's nothing to port, so we'll take the number out of the request.

A number in the request has a typo

Fix

Tell us in the thread right away. Depending on how far the port has gone, we'll correct the request, or ask you to submit the right number in a new request. Either way, the corrected number goes back through your provider's checks.

A New Zealand number has dependent services

In New Zealand, a number that's the main billing number on an account can have other numbers that depend on it. The provider rejects a port that doesn't say what happens to them.

The request doesn't include the dependent numbers

We'll send you the list of dependent numbers.

Fix

Tell us which ones to port, and mark the rest as not required. Numbers marked not required are disconnected when the port completes. Before you decide, check with your current provider what that means for your other services.

What happens after a rejection?

We tell you the reason in the request's Thread, along with what we need from you. Each message is also emailed to whoever created the request.

When the reason can be fixed, the request stays open while we resubmit it. Every resubmission goes back through your provider's checks, so it adds time to the port.

If a port can't go ahead, the request shows Rejected, with the reason in the thread. Your numbers stay with your current provider while the port is sorted out, so calls keep reaching you there.

What to send us

Include these so we can check the port.

  • The numbers you're porting.
  • Your current provider.
  • The account holder's name exactly as it appears on that provider's bill.
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