Most ports complete within 1 to 2 working days. Here's the detail, plus what to do if something doesn't look right.
Timing
Submit before 5pm on a weekday: completes the next working day.
Submit after 5pm or at a weekend: completes within 2 working days.
Bank holidays add a day, and some smaller carriers take 2 to 3 days.
For example, submit Tuesday at 2pm and it completes Wednesday afternoon. Submit Friday after 5pm and it starts Monday, completing Tuesday. Your transfer date is the date you chose at checkout.
On porting day
Expect some service interruption. Your number transfers in the morning and routing is corrected in the afternoon, so you may be without service for parts of the day. Try to plan around it. Emergency calls to 999 keep working throughout. When the port completes you'll get a confirmation text, so restart your phone and you're good to go.
For the smoothest port
Make sure your name and address match exactly what your current carrier has on file.
Use your PAC within 30 days of getting it.
Check there's no port protection on your line.
Don't cancel your old service. It cancels automatically when the port completes.
If it isn't going through
The cause is usually one of these:
Incorrect or expired details. Confirm them with your current carrier's porting team.
Port protection on your line. Ask your current carrier to remove it.
Your old carrier hasn't responded to the request yet. Ask their porting team to approve it.
When to contact us
No need to get in touch if it's been less than 2 working days, the status shows "Waiting for Carrier", or it's the weekend and your port is queued for Monday. Contact us using the email you signed up with if:
It's been 3 or more working days with no progress
The status shows "Rejected"
Your old service has stopped but Zable isn't working
You need to change your port date urgently