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To keep your number when leaving T-Mobile, start a transfer request with the carrier you’re joining—not with T-Mobile. Before submitting it, get the T-Mobile account number and the correct transfer PIN, and turn off Port Out Protection on the line if it is enabled. The steps depend on whether your T-Mobile service is personal, prepaid, business, or government.

Before you start: check the destination carrier’s requirements

Contact the carrier you want to join and ask how it accepts a number transfer, what account details and PINs it requires, and whether your number is eligible. Requirements can vary by carrier; T-Mobile’s instructions do not establish that every number can move to every provider.

Do not cancel your T-Mobile service before the number transfer is complete. T-Mobile’s guidance for customers switching to T-Mobile says to keep the old account active until the number activates, but that guidance is for inbound transfers, not a specific outbound timing guarantee. Confirm any account-closure instructions with your destination carrier.

Get your T-Mobile account details

Find your account number

T-Mobile says you can find the account number in your T-Mobile account or on a bill. Have it available when you submit the port request.

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Generate the right transfer PIN for a personal account

For a personal T-Mobile account, the primary account holder must generate a Temporary Port Out PIN. T-Mobile lists T-Life and T-Mobile.com as ways to request one. Its instructions say you may need to use your T-Mobile device on the T-Mobile network with Wi-Fi turned off. Use T-Mobile’s current transfer instructions for the live app or website steps, since labels and account procedures can change.

T-Mobile also lists the account PIN or passcode among the information the receiving provider may request. Ask that provider which credentials it needs; do not assume the Temporary Port Out PIN replaces every other requested account detail.

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Turn off Port Out Protection if it is enabled

Port Out Protection is designed to block unauthorized number transfers. If it is active on the line, T-Mobile says it must be turned off before the Temporary Port Out PIN can be used. For postpaid service, the primary account holder has authority to remove it. If you cannot change the setting, contact T-Mobile for help rather than submitting repeated requests with the protection still active.

Follow the route for your account type

  • Personal/postpaid: The primary account holder generates the Temporary Port Out PIN and, if needed, removes Port Out Protection.
  • Prepaid: T-Mobile provides a separate “Request Transfer PIN” flow in the prepaid account profile. Turn off Port Out Protection first if it is active; contact T-Mobile if you need help with the prepaid account route.
  • Business: Use T-Mobile’s separate business-transfer guidance. Do not assume personal-account permissions or PIN steps apply.
  • Government: T-Mobile says government account holders must contact it to get started.

Account access and authorization can differ by account type. If you are not the primary account holder or account administrator, ask the authorized person to handle the transfer credentials and protection settings.

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Submit the transfer request with the new carrier

  1. Tell the receiving carrier you want to bring your existing number from T-Mobile.
  2. Provide the T-Mobile account number, Temporary Port Out PIN or prepaid transfer PIN as applicable, and any account PIN/passcode the new carrier requests.
  3. Check the submitted information carefully. T-Mobile notes in its general transfer guidance that inaccurate details can require validation or correction.
  4. Follow the receiving carrier’s instructions for activating its service or SIM/eSIM. The port request is started with that carrier, which can tell you what it needs for its activation process.

If the number transfer stalls

  • Ask the receiving carrier whether the request was submitted and whether it reports a specific error or needs corrected information.
  • Verify the T-Mobile account number and the PIN type with the authorized account holder; a personal Temporary Port Out PIN and a prepaid transfer PIN are not interchangeable instructions.
  • Check whether Port Out Protection is still enabled on the line.
  • Contact T-Mobile support for transfer-PIN or account-setting issues, then ask the new carrier to continue or resubmit the request as appropriate.

T-Mobile’s published estimates of 10 minutes to 3 hours for wireless transfers and 3–10 days for landline transfers describe transfers into T-Mobile. They are not verified estimates for moving a number from T-Mobile to another carrier. Ask the receiving carrier for status and timing for your specific request.

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Protect your number during the switch

Transfer PINs and account credentials authorize access to your number, so share them only through the receiving carrier’s official process and only with someone authorized on the T-Mobile account. Port Out Protection exists to help block unauthorized transfers; remove it only when you are ready to submit a legitimate port request. The FCC has discussed authentication approaches and accessibility considerations in its 2023 port-out fraud proceeding.

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