Port BT copper landline to sipgate after cancelling BT FTTP?

Hi all, I registered here after posting on the BT community forum but realising anybody who could help had probably migrated!
I face the usual problem of porting my old BT landline number to Sipgate Basic without losing internet access for several days (If you port a BT landline they cease the associated broadband service). Scheduling porting the number to be the same day as switching broadband is a problem.
My proposed solution takes advantage of the fact that BT still haven't switched me to Digitial Voice. If I sign up with a different broadband provider and get them to take over my FTTP, that should leave the copper landline in place to be ported a few days later.
Has anyone tried this in practice? I'm concerned that BT might end all services despite me only cancelling the broadband. TIA!

My proposed solution takes advantage of the fact that BT still haven't switched me to Digitial Voice. If I sign up with a different broadband provider and get them to take over my FTTP, that should leave the copper landline in place to be ported a few days later.

Order the FTTP service as a completely separate order (NOT as a migration).

Only once FTTP is successfully installed and operational, only then submit a porting request (via your VoIP provider i.e. Sipgate) to port the landline number to them, thereby ceasing the copper landline and the associated broadband service that run on it.

There will be a short period of dual-running / overlap, but this means there is no risk of losing your number in a migration process.

Thanks for the reply, it sounds like what I want to do but I need to clarify what you mean about a separate order rather than a migration. FTTP is already in operation with BT, though they have left voice services running on copper for the time being (despite threatening to switch to DV).
As such wouldn't sigining up to say TalkTalk for FTTP fibre (without a landline service which they don't offer) still be a migration?

Sorry misunderstood you. If the service is bundled already with BT, just the voice comes via the copper pair, then you will unfortinetly face a potential gap in service if porting the number out.

If keeping the number is the priority, you are better off initiating the porting request to retain the number.

Then look into options as a stop gap measures for the broadband. trying to time it to coincide port request with Sipgate and a broadband migration has no guarantee of success and a decent probability that you will lose the number.

Place a new FTTP order as a new service and get a second ONT installed, assuming you are happy to have two ONTs on your wall. Then port the BT number.

If you can cope with a couple of days disruption then you could port to BT and place an FTTP order with another ISP, and in theory they can turn it on within a matter of hours.

AAISP can port the number to their VOIP service without losing the existing broadband connection if you are using them as your ISP. See https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/number-portin.... The text at the link shows:

"Many people see using a copper pair (AKA phone line) for actual telephony as somewhat antiquated and would like to move the copper pair to us for broadband but move their number to Voice over IP. Normally moving a number to VoIP kills the phone line and broadband, but we can do this without a break in service. This is called renumber and export.

"We can port in numbers without the loss of the broadband and the copper pair service only if the broadband and copper pair are provided by us."

That could incur a cost if you leave BT before the end of the contract to move to AAISP and AAISP are probably more expensive than BT on an ongoing basis but it is another option you might consider. Once your are with AA's VOIP you can then migrate the phone to other VOIP suppliers and broadband to other ISPs subject to contractual terms.

Edited by GonePostal (Wed 25-May-22 17:15:04)

Thank you for all the answers here. I had already applied to TalkTalk (god help me) as their 500Mb fibre only (no landline) deal was unbeatable providing cashback goes through OK.
BT have now emailed me with the "sorry you're leaving" mail which contains this:
"You won't have to pay any charges for ending your contract. What to expect on your bill
We won't send you a final bill when you move your broadband because you're keeping these services with us:
phone line
We'll bill you as normal until you ask us to cancel them. If you'd like to cancel these services or find out more about them, please call us."

So it seems things may well work out. FTTP broadband appears to be separable from my copper network landline! This should allow me to port the number away after I'm happy the broadband is up and running OK. I'll report back if this in fact works out.

FTTP broadband appears to be separable from my copper network landline! This should allow me to port the number away after I'm happy the broadband is up and running OK. I'll report back if this in fact works out.

Be sure to double check this asap with BT - that your landline IS billed separately and totally separate, standalone service, not contractually bundled with your FTTP broadband service.

You don't want to inadvertently lose your number.

In reply to a post by spamface101:

"You won't have to pay any charges for ending your contract. What to expect on your bill
We won't send you a final bill when you move your broadband because you're keeping these services with us:
phone line
We'll bill you as normal until you ask us to cancel them. If you'd like to cancel these services or find out more about them, please call us."

So it seems things may well work out. FTTP broadband appears to be separable from my copper network landline! This should allow me to port the number away after I'm happy the broadband is up and running OK. I'll report back if this in fact works out.

I received the exact same email from BT when changing to Talktalks data only FTTP package.
The landline also ceased the exact same day as the broadband was migrated to Talktalk, with the final bill showing both as ending on the same date.

The only difference was that my voice service from BT was already Digital Voice. This meant that the landline basically had to cease the same day as it wouldn't be able to work without BT broadband.

It appears to me that you have received that (generic) email because you are only migrating the broadband, as Talktalk don't currently offer voice with FTTP.
However I think it's a certainty that your landline will cease on migration day. If that's the case then you may lose your landline number completely.

In short, if your broadband and landline are bundled by BT then migrating 1 will cease the other automatically. It's been that way for nearly 2 decades.
Since the launch of Digital Voice there have literally been dozens of threads here and the BT forums speculating on ways to migrate the landline number away without ceasing the broadband, and vice-versa. Every possible avenue has been tried and failed.

I would advise against waiting for the migration to happen in the hope that the BT lounge will remain active for you to port after the fact. It is likely to end up with you having no landline and then having to jump through many hoops to try and revive the ceased landline number.

This isn't unique to BT. Sky works the exact same way.

Edited by j0hn83 (Thu 26-May-22 03:00:07)

OK once again thanks for the replies which lead me to think I'm probably just going to go down the route of accepting that my original landline number will be lost and I'll end up using the number allocated by Sipgate Basic which will be a bit of hassle but nothing too awful. Most companies contact me by mobile these days and 60% of my incoming landline calls are cold-call scammers. I'd just rather have kept the old number because it's burned into my neurons and is easily recited when demanded.
Losing broadband for a couple of days in my house isn't really an option (unless I go to a hotel for a couple of days/fake my own death to avoid the complaints from family). That means porting the number in advance is out. It's a lousy area for mobile signal or I'd buy a 5G router on eBay and then sell it on when I'm done.
j0hn83 - I'd like to say I'm shocked that they are sending out false information like that but I've had a fair amount of it over the last six months re: Digital Voice and have given up on them. They kept sending me hardware: I've got two identical routers (I really want to use my own) and three DV phones waiting for the service to be activated since last year. I'll send back whatever they ask for of course so I don't get billed.
OK I'm going to sit tight now. If BT by chance actually don't cancel my landline I'll let you know because it might help some other poor soul. Cheers all!

In reply to a post by spamface101:

fake my own death to avoid the complaints from family)

You haven't got a canoe and thinking of moving to Panama out of interest 😎🤣

When the line is ceased it may well be 'stopped'. You maybe able to restart the line as a voice only line (although maybe with a minimum term) and then port the number. It maybe no different than moving into a new (to you) property and getting the phone switched back on, I think if number isn't moved by last recipient you will get that number

That's another possibility. Thanks.
As for Panama, well it depends how fast their broadband is of course.....

In reply to a post by mwarby:

When the line is ceased it may well be 'stopped'. You maybe able to restart the line as a voice only line (although maybe with a minimum term) and then port the number. It maybe no different than moving into a new (to you) property and getting the phone switched back on, I think if number isn't moved by last recipient you will get that number

No, that's not correct - it has been routine for many years now for a new number to be allocated when restarting a line (such as when new people move into a property).

In reply to a post by binary:

it has been routine for many years now for a new number to be allocated when restarting a line (such as when new people move into a property).

I wasn't aware of this although it does make sense as there are so many providers of telephone lines these days when their was once only BT and its predecessors.

In reply to a post by binary:

In reply to a post by mwarby:

When the line is ceased it may well be 'stopped'. You maybe able to restart the line as a voice only line (although maybe with a minimum term) and then port the number. It maybe no different than moving into a new (to you) property and getting the phone switched back on, I think if number isn't moved by last recipient you will get that number

No, that's not correct - it has been routine for many years now for a new number to be allocated when restarting a line (such as when new people move into a property).

Yes. However, presumably the outgoing number is quarantined for a year or two ? Is there a procedure to take 'ownership' of it, so you can port it to a VOIP supplier. Might take a month or two of course, but it may not be lost forever ?

An update:
Last week my BT FTTP broadband transferred to Talktalk Future Fibre. As detailed earlier in this thread, BT knew I was transferring broadband but stated I was keeping my landline with them.
On the day, BT didn't send me an acknowledgement that broadband had transferred and my copper landline stayed connected. I immediately commenced porting my BT landline number to Sipgate Basic, which completed today. BT now state that all services with them have ended and they want their old router back which is fine.
I rather suspect that BT didn't notice the broadband transfer and maybe that's why I got away with it.So, perhaps with a little luck it can be done!

In reply to a post by spamface101:

An update:
Last week my BT FTTP broadband transferred to Talktalk Future Fibre. As detailed earlier in this thread, BT knew I was transferring broadband but stated I was keeping my landline with them.
On the day, BT didn't send me an acknowledgement that broadband had transferred and my copper landline stayed connected. I immediately commenced porting my BT landline number to Sipgate Basic, which completed today. BT now state that all services with them have ended and they want their old router back which is fine.
I rather suspect that BT didn't notice the broadband transfer and maybe that's why I got away with it.So, perhaps with a little luck it can be done!

Same sort of story. My son migrated from BT FTTP to Sky FTTP about 18 months ago.
On the appointed day the broadband connection transferred. The BT connection died at 1am, my lad plugged in the Sky router at 8am and it burst into life.

The BT phone service carried on working that morning (his was the original system with the phone port on the ONT) That died around lunchtime, and the Sky router phone port started working about the same time. His BT number had transferred too (he didn't care either way).

However, when the final BT bill arrived (weeks later) he had been billed for three or four extra days of phone rental beyond the migration date. It amounted to a couple of quid, so he didn't bother challenging it, but it does imply that both sides of the BT account doesn't necessarily die on migration day (like it should !)