Porting from AT&T, need help...

[superhua]

Update: Called Ooma support today and they said AT&T could disassociate phone from DSL, but they are increasingly reluctant to do so. Ooma suggested to ask for a manager.

I then called AT&T and talked with a customer service rep and manager and both said that "disassociating" DSL from phone service is not even possible--much like only having caller ID without phone service.

Perhaps my phone number is already ready to be ported to Ooma and does not need to disassociated?

[Yankee]

When I called AT&T to disassociate my service it took a while, but they finally offered to reduce my 6 MB DSL bill by $20/month for six months. In effect making my land line free.

I'll call them back in July.

Like many others, I am not especially fond of AT&T, but I am less fond of Comcast.

[DrPawz]

Maybe I just got lucky, but I didn't have much of a problem losing my landline. I called AT&T and requested that my phone service be disconnected. they informed me that I would need to change my DSL to DSL direct and that they would take care of everything in 5 days, no charge. I changed my phone number, but to bridge the gap and port your number, AT&T offers a recorded message that will direct the caller to another phone (cell phone if you have one) FREE for 60 days.

Since nothing is ever perfect, I was informed that all other services would get unbundled and I would receive separate bills for internet/wireless/TV - but the money saved is well worth the extra mail and loss of the $4.00 discount for bundled services.

I would recommend calling again and again until you get a friendly rep to take care of the situation for you.

[rod91680]

I was able to get AT&T to disassociate my phone line and DSL by sending an AT&T dry-loop DSL to my second line coming to the house. I was surprised that they did not put up a fight. It took one week for them to drop the DSL from my first line and they were supposed to get the new dry-loop up the next day. However, the next day I could not connect to the internet. When I called they could not find the new DSL account, so we had to reestablish one. 3 days later I had dry-loop on my second line and was able to connect to the internet. Since then I was able to get the Letter of Authority to port from ooma. So, the porting is in process. I'll update this when it is completed.

My advice is to keep calling customer service at AT&T requesting that they disassociate the telephone from the DSL. They should be able to do this at no cost to you. However, you will need to do some simple wiring changes in the "demarc" box outside your home where the phone service enters your house. Otherwise you will need to pay to have this part done.

I've been trying to figure out how to port from AT&T without a service interruption. I called them to dissociate my phone from DSL, but they could not. The reason they told me they couldn't do it is that they can only assign 1 phone number per phone line. Can anyone knowledgeable about DSL/telephones confirm this?

Therefore, to have a separate phone number to be associated with your DSL than your phone, you'd have to have 2 phone lines. Since brwilliams already had a second line, switching the DSL service to it was a trivial matter. BUT, if you don't have a second line, then you'll have to pay for their techs to come out and set you up with one, which is around $130.

Maybe I just got lucky, but I didn't have much of a problem losing my landline. I called AT&T and requested that my phone service be disconnected. they informed me that I would need to change my DSL to DSL direct and that they would take care of everything in 5 days, no charge. I changed my phone number, but to bridge the gap and port your number, AT&T offers a recorded message that will direct the

In the end, I think that this is what I'm going to have to do. Here's my method:

1) Change phone number on both DSL and home lines. Cost: $29.95, but will be waived.

2) The old phone number will have a recorded message letting people know what number to call until the old number has been ported.

3) Get the LOA from OOMA and get the old number ported over.

Hopefully this will all work without any problems. I don't know if it truly is a technical limitation or just them being stubborn. Maybe I'm just not correctly using some jargon or other technical mumbo-jumbo that will magically convince them to just dissociate the lines.

[DrPawz]

I then called AT&T and talked with a customer service rep and manager and both said that "disassociating" DSL from phone service is not even possible--much like only having caller ID without phone service.

Perhaps my phone number is already ready to be ported to Ooma and does not need to disassociated?

Actually AT&T is right. If the DSL was originally set up linked to a phone line, the number can not be independently disassociated. What they can do is convert your phone line to DSL direct, which sets up a new DSL account number, unaffiliated with any phone line. This can be done at no charge, without a break in DSL service. if you can still use your phone number, it is likely not ready to be ported. I don't think you can initiate a port until existing service has ended.

[brwilliams]

I was able to get AT&T to disassociate my phone line and DSL by sending an AT&T dry-loop DSL to my second line coming to the house. I was surprised that they did not put up a fight. It took one week for them to drop the DSL from my first line and they were supposed to get the new dry-loop up the next day. However, the next day I could not connect to the internet. When I called they could not find the new DSL account, so we had to reestablish one. 3 days later I had dry-loop on my second line and was able to connect to the internet. Since then I was able to get the Letter of Authority to port from ooma. So, the porting is in process. I'll update this when it is completed.

My advice is to keep calling customer service at AT&T requesting that they disassociate the telephone from the DSL. They should be able to do this at no cost to you. However, you will need to do some simple wiring changes in the "demarc" box outside your home where the phone service enters your house. Otherwise you will need to pay to have this part done.

I've been trying to figure out how to port from AT&T without a service interruption. I called them to dissociate my phone from DSL, but they could not. The reason they told me they couldn't do it is that they can only assign 1 phone number per phone line. Can anyone knowledgeable about DSL/telephones confirm this?

Therefore, to have a separate phone number to be associated with your DSL than your phone, you'd have to have 2 phone lines. Since brwilliams already had a second line, switching the DSL service to it was a trivial matter. BUT, if you don't have a second line, then you'll have to pay for their techs to come out and set you up with one, which is around $130.

Maybe I just got lucky, but I didn't have much of a problem losing my landline. I called AT&T and requested that my phone service be disconnected. they informed me that I would need to change my DSL to DSL direct and that they would take care of everything in 5 days, no charge. I changed my phone number, but to bridge the gap and port your number, AT&T offers a recorded message that will direct the

In the end, I think that this is what I'm going to have to do. Here's my method:

1) Change phone number on both DSL and home lines. Cost: $29.95, but will be waived.

2) The old phone number will have a recorded message letting people know what number to call until the old number has been ported.

3) Get the LOA from OOMA and get the old number ported over.

Hopefully this will all work without any problems. I don't know if it truly is a technical limitation or just them being stubborn. Maybe I'm just not correctly using some jargon or other technical mumbo-jumbo that will magically convince them to just dissociate the lines.

I am certainly not an expert on this, but from what I understand every home built in America has two lines going up to it. However, you may not have a room with a jack that has this second dedicated line going to it. In order to make that happen, you'd have to do some re-wiring at the "demarc" box outside your home. That would require a technician (paid), or you can do some research and do it yourself. Once you do that, you will have a second line IN your home that could receive the dsl. Again, your home may be an exception, but all homes from what I have been told have two lines going up to the demarc box. In any event, I think you should locate the demarc box, open it up and look inside to see if there are two lines.

[DrPawz]

I've been trying to figure out how to port from AT&T without a service interruption. I called them to dissociate my phone from DSL, but they could not. The reason they told me they couldn't do it is that they can only assign 1 phone number per phone line. Can anyone knowledgeable about DSL/telephones confirm this?

The problem is that your dsl account IS your phone number. in order to have dsl only through your line, you have to change over to 'DSL Direct' and establish a different account number for your dsl. I think your easiest fix is to obtain a temporary phone number from Ooma, transition your phone/dsl to "dsl direct", (this can be done without a break in service from AT&T), initate your port, then change your Ooma number when porting is complete. I've already set up my Ooma system, but I'm pretty sure they offered a temporary number while you ported your phone number. Hope this helps.

Of note - when you change to dsl direct, all your bundled services become unbundled. if you have Dish and/or wireless phone, these bills will come separate on your next cycle. I was informed that I can bundle my dsl with my wireless service (saving me $10.00/month on dsl), but that Dish would always remain a separate bill. I would also check with Dish, if you have it, to see if you eed to change your account number with them.

[DrPawz]

In the end, I think that this is what I'm going to have to do. Here's my method:

1) Change phone number on both DSL and home lines. Cost: $29.95, but will be waived.

2) The old phone number will have a recorded message letting people know what number to call until the old number has been ported.

3) Get the LOA from OOMA and get the old number ported over.

Hopefully this will all work without any problems. I don't know if it truly is a technical limitation or just them being stubborn. Maybe I'm just not correctly using some jargon or other technical mumbo-jumbo that will magically convince them to just dissociate the lines.

To save yourself some money, you could just use a temporary number from Ooma, then change to your old phone number once ported, should be free. both numbers will actually work in your home (I currently have both numbers active and working in my house - voicemail and all) until AT&T transitions your line to 'dsl direct'. Hope this helps

[brwilliams]

Update: Called Ooma support today and they said AT&T could disassociate phone from DSL, but they are increasingly reluctant to do so. Ooma suggested to ask for a manager.

I then called AT&T and talked with a customer service rep and manager and both said that "disassociating" DSL from phone service is not even possible--much like only having caller ID without phone service.

Perhaps my phone number is already ready to be ported to Ooma and does not need to disassociated?

I am going to add one more piece to this confusing dialog. Have you checked to see if dry-loop dsl is available at your address? If not, go to At&Ts website and enter your address in the DSL without phone service section. Here is the link, https://swot.sbc.com/swot/canIOrderOnli ... processDSL

If it says its available, then the AT&T reps you are talking to are not telling you the full truth. If it says it is not available, then I am afraid you are stuck with a land line for awhile until that changes, or you find another company that can provide dry-loop. Hope this helps.