# Prepare for porting cutover

> Set up numbers that are being ported so they work the moment the port completes, with no downtime.

- URL: https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/services/number-porting/prepare-for-porting-cutover/
- Section: Services › Number porting
- Type: guide
- Applies to: Australia
- Last reviewed: 2026-11-09

Set up your call flow for a number while it's being ported, so calls reach the right place as soon as the port completes. You can also use the number as caller ID before then.

## Before you start

- Your porting application must have the status **Submitted** in **Services** › **Number porting**. Until then, the number isn't on your account. See [Porting overview](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/services/number-porting/porting-overview/).
- Understand on-net routing (below). It affects how the number behaves before cutover.

### On-net routing during the port

Once the application is submitted, the number is added to your account, but your current provider still carries its calls until cutover. Calls from outside the network still go to your current provider. Calls from phones on this network (on-net calls) go to your call flow here.

If the number isn't in your call flow yet, on-net callers hear a message that the number is disconnected. To avoid that, either:

- set up the number in your call flow now (step 1), or
- ask the porting team to remove the number until cutover day, with a comment on your porting.

If you have it removed, ask the porting team to add it back as soon as you get your cutover date, and before cutover day.

## 1. Add the number to your call flow

1. On the **PBX** tab, open an existing [Inbound number](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/receive-calls/inbound-number/) or drag a new one onto the canvas.
2. Move the number being ported to **Included numbers** and click **Save**.
3. Connect the object to where calls should go and click **Apply configuration**.

## 2. Use the number as caller ID (optional)

From the **Submitted** status you can show the number on outgoing calls.

- **Users:** open the [User](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/accept-make-divert/user/) settings and choose the number in **Default caller ID**. Click **Save** and **Apply configuration**.
- **SIP trunks:** choose the number in **Caller ID** in the [SIP trunk](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/accept-make-divert/sip-trunk/) settings. The list is the same as the user's **Default caller ID**. Or keep the originator's caller ID and send the number from the PBX, gateway or dialling app connected to the trunk, in E.164 format (for example 61355501234).

## 3. Divert calls before the port completes (optional)

To start using the new phone system before cutover, have your current provider divert the number to a temporary number here.

1. Ask your current provider whether they can divert the number, and confirm in writing that the diversion won't affect the port.
2. Buy a temporary number in [Order phone numbers](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/services/phone-numbers/order-phone-numbers/).
3. Add the temporary number to your call flow, and set up the phones or apps your team will use.
4. Ask your current provider to divert your number to the temporary number.

Once your provider confirms the diversion is active, calls flow through your new call flow.

**Important:** - Any diversion fees from your current provider are yours to pay.
- Changing a number during a port can cause problems. Set up the diversion before you submit the port, or get your provider's written confirmation that it won't affect it.
- With Telstra, the usual diversion option is Call Diversion Number Only (CDNO), which keeps the port simple (CAT A).
- Numbers on a prepaid diversion usually can't be ported. Check with your current provider first.

## Check it works

- Before cutover: call the number from a phone on this network. It should follow your call flow.
- On cutover day, the porting team confirms in your porting's comments that the numbers have ported. Then call each number from a mobile.

CAT A and toll-free ports are booked for the earliest time available, usually 8 or 9 am AEST/AEDT. CAT C ports are usually booked between 10 am and 2 pm AEST/AEDT. See [Porting FAQs](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/services/number-porting/porting-faqs/#cutover-and-timing).

## After cutover

Porting doesn't end your contract, services or other agreements with your old provider. Contact them to stop billing once the port is complete, never before or during it.

If calls don't arrive after cutover, see [Numbers not working after porting](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/troubleshooting/numbers-not-working-after-porting/).

## Next steps

- [Porting FAQs](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/services/number-porting/porting-faqs/)
- [Phone menu](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/phone-menu/) and [Business hours](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/business-hours/) recipes