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Tech Tip

Moving Your Number and Going Mobile

Q. Can I transfer my landline telephone number — one I’ve had for years — to a new wireless smartphone?

A. Moving your landline telephone number to a mobile phone is possible if you are staying in the same geographic area, but you should check with the wireless carrier you want to use to make sure the company can handle it. (However, if you have a separate long-distance calling plan for your old home- telephone service, expect it to get left behind as your new carrier takes over.)

In addition to moving landlines, the Federal Communications Commission says you can also keep the same wireless number if you are switching service providers. The agency’s website has a consumer guide to taking your phone number with you.

Most of the major national wireless carriers have their own online guides to lead you through the process of transferring (or “porting”) your existing telephone number to their networks. And AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless all have pages on their sites where you can type in your number to check its transfer eligibility.

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Most major wireless carriers have an online tool you can use to see if your current phone number can be transferred to the company’s service.Credit...The New York Times

You should also be able to make the move by visiting a retail store run by your prospective carrier. Have a copy of your current phone bill or other account information available to prove the number legitimately belongs to you. Once the transfer is in the works, it may take a few days to fully transition over and both the landline and the smartphone may ring when a call comes in during this period.

Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to techtip@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Switching Your Landline To a Cellphone. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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