AT&T network

How to Port a Vanity Phone Number to Cricket Wireless (2026)

19 min read

Cricket Wireless is AT&T’s prepaid brand, and porting a US vanity phone number to it is one of the easier ports you can run — especially if you’re coming from another prepaid carrier like Boost, Visible, Metro by T-Mobile, or Straight Talk. Buy the number outright once from Digit Exclusive, sign up for any active Cricket plan, and the port-in happens at activation either at cricketwireless.com or in any Cricket store. We are not Cricket. We are not a wireless carrier. We sell the vanity number; Cricket provides the plan and rides on AT&T’s LTE and 5G network. The two purchases stack into one phone line that’s yours.

  1. Pick a vanity number from the US vanity catalog — browse the premium or exclusive tiers if you want something memorable.
  2. Buy it outright. Pricing starts From $200–$250. One payment, no monthly number rental.
  3. Get a Cricket plan at cricketwireless.com or any Cricket store ($30–$60/month). Cricket needs an active plan to receive the port; activation and port run together.
  4. Pull four fields from your old carrier: 10-digit phone number, full account number, account-holder name, billing zip — and request a Number Transfer PIN (sometimes called a port-out PIN) from that carrier. You ask the old carrier for the PIN, not Cricket.
  5. Activate the Cricket SIM. Choose “bring my number” in the activation flow at cricketwireless.com/activate or hand the four fields and the PIN to the in-store rep. Most ports finish in 1–24 hours.

That’s the whole port at speed. The rest of this guide explains what each piece actually means, where Cricket is different from the postpaid carriers, and exactly what to do if something stalls. If this is your first time porting number, you’re in the right place — we’ll go slow on the parts that matter and fast on the parts that don’t.

What Cricket Wireless actually is (and why this matters for your port)

Cricket Wireless is a prepaid wireless brand owned by AT&T. It runs on AT&T’s 5G and LTE network — the same physical towers, the same coverage map — sold under a simpler price structure with no contract and no credit check. Plans run roughly $30 to $60 per month depending on data and how many lines you stack. There is no postpaid bill, no overage shock, and no two-year commitment. You pay for the month, you use the month.

If you’re coming from another prepaid carrier, the model will feel familiar. If you’re coming from postpaid AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile, the simplicity is the sell: prepay, use, repeat.

Three Cricket-specific things matter for porting:

  • The network is AT&T’s. Wherever AT&T’s LTE and 5G work, Cricket works. Check AT&T’s coverage map for your home and commute before you commit.
  • You need an active Cricket plan to port in. The port doesn’t run as a separate flow — it runs at activation. Buy the plan, then trigger the port.
  • Port-in is free. Cricket charges $0 to bring number in. The only money changing hands is the Cricket plan itself plus any final-bill remainder from your old carrier.

Federal rules guarantee the right to keep your number when you switch. The text is in FCC 47 CFR Part 52 Wireless Local Number Portability, and the plain-language version is in the FCC consumer guide on keeping your number. Cricket has to honor a clean port-in just like any other US carrier.

The four fields Cricket needs from your old carrier (in plain English)

Most Cricket ports that stall do not stall because of the network. They stall because one of four fields didn’t match what the old carrier had on file. Pull these from the losing carrier’s app and type them exactly as shown.

1. Your 10-digit phone number

The number you’re bringing over — just ten digits, no country code, no dashes, no parentheses. If you bought a vanity number from Digit Exclusive that’s currently parked on a transitional carrier, the 10-digit number printed on your order confirmation is what Cricket needs.

2. Your full account number from the old carrier

Cricket wants the entire account number, not the last four digits. Where to look:

  • Boost Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Visible, Straight Talk: open the carrier’s app, go to account or transfer-out settings, and the full account number is listed there.
  • AT&T postpaid: myAT&T app, Profile > Account Info.
  • Verizon: My Verizon app, Account > Account Information.
  • T-Mobile postpaid: My T-Mobile app, Account > Profile.
  • Spectrum Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, US Cellular: in the carrier’s app or by calling support.

If the app only shows the last four digits, the account number is in the carrier’s online portal under account settings. Don’t guess. A wrong account number is the single most common reason a port stalls.

3. The account-holder name and billing zip, character-for-character

The name on the Cricket port-in request must match what the old carrier has on file. If the old carrier shows “MARIA L GOMEZ” in caps, don’t enter “Maria Gomez.” Middle initials, hyphens, and apostrophes count. Billing zip is whichever zip the old carrier has on file — that may be different from where you live now if you moved.

4. Number Transfer PIN from the old carrier (you ask them, not Cricket)

Since 2022, the FCC has required every major US wireless carrier to give you a one-time Number Transfer PIN whenever you ask for one. You request this PIN from your current carrier, not from Cricket. This is the part most first-time porters get confused about, so it’s worth saying twice: the PIN comes from whoever you’re leaving.

  • Boost Mobile: in the Boost app under Account > Transfer Out, or by calling Boost support.
  • Visible: in the Visible app, request a transfer PIN under account settings.
  • Metro by T-Mobile: text NTP to 7678 from the line being ported, or in the Metro app.
  • Straight Talk, Tracfone, Total by Verizon: call support and request a port-out PIN; some brands also expose it in their app.
  • AT&T postpaid: myAT&T app or att.com/wireless/transfer-pin. Valid 7 days.
  • Verizon postpaid: My Verizon, Account > Number Transfer PIN. Valid 7 days.
  • T-Mobile postpaid: text NTP to 7678, or in the My T-Mobile app under Account > Profile > Number Transfer PIN.
  • Google Voice, Spectrum Mobile, US Cellular: request through the respective app or support.

Generate the PIN close to when you’ll submit the Cricket port. PINs expire (often 7 days), and an expired PIN is the second most common cause of a stalled port.

How to run the port-in on Cricket, step by step

Step 1: pick a Cricket plan and choose how to activate

Visit cricketwireless.com or walk into any Cricket store. Plans run $30–$60 per month for a single line, with multi-line discounts that bring the per-line price down. Cricket sells SIM kits online and in stores, and most modern phones support eSIM activation as well. There’s no port-in fee, no activation fee on most plans, and no contract.

You can run the entire port flow online if you’re comfortable, or have a Cricket store rep handle the typing if you’d rather hand over the four fields and watch them enter it. Both paths produce the same outcome. The store path is genuinely useful if you’ve never ported before — the rep can confirm each field on screen before submitting.

Step 2: confirm your phone is Cricket-compatible

If you’re bringing your own phone, it has to be unlocked and AT&T-compatible. Phones bought from AT&T, Cricket, prepaid AT&T, or sold unlocked at retail (Apple Store, Best Buy, Amazon unlocked) almost always work. Phones bought from Verizon, T-Mobile, or those carriers’ prepaid brands need to be carrier-unlocked first — the old carrier handles unlock. Cricket’s site has a free IMEI checker; type your phone’s IMEI in and it tells you yes or no in a few seconds.

Step 3: start activation and choose “keep my current number”

Online: go to cricketwireless.com/activate, log into the Cricket account you created, and start the activation flow. When it asks if you want a new number or to transfer one, choose transfer my existing number. Enter the four fields and the Number Transfer PIN. Cricket runs an eligibility check and assigns the request to the porting queue.

In-store: hand the rep the four fields and the PIN. They run the same flow on their terminal. Watch the screen as they type — this is where catching a typo before submission saves you a 24-hour delay.

Step 4: install the SIM (or eSIM) and wait for cutover

Pop in the physical Cricket SIM, or scan the eSIM QR code Cricket provided. Cricket activates the line and the port runs in the background. You’ll get SMS and email status updates. Most wireless-to-wireless ports complete in 1 to 24 hours; ports from a VoIP source (Google Voice, some softphones) take 2–5 business days because the underlying database is different.

Step 5: do not cancel the old carrier yet, and test before you do

Leave the old line active until Cricket has confirmed the port is complete and you have placed a successful test call from a different network. Cancelling the old carrier first can pull the number out of porting eligibility entirely, where it may get released back to the available-inventory pool. Recovery from that is sometimes possible and sometimes not.

Once the port confirms, place a test call from another phone on a different carrier. Send a test text. Test voicemail (Cricket resets voicemail at activation; old voicemails do not transfer). On Apple devices, re-toggle iMessage and FaceTime so the Apple-ID-to-number handshake reruns — that can take 15–60 minutes to settle. Once your tests pass, then update Google Business Profile, signage, vehicle wraps, ad creative, your CRM, and your website footer.

If something feels off — coming from another prepaid carrier

Most Cricket ports come from another prepaid brand, and there are a few patterns worth flagging because they catch first-timers off-guard.

Coming from Boost Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile

Boost runs on T-Mobile’s network; Metro is owned by T-Mobile. Both carriers occasionally show an account number that’s actually a SIM number or a sub-account ID rather than the porting account number. If your first attempt fails with an “account number mismatch,” call the old carrier and specifically ask for “the porting account number.” That phrasing pulls up the right field on their side.

Coming from Visible

Visible is owned by Verizon and runs on Verizon’s network. Visible exposes both an “account number” and a separate “transfer PIN” in the app under Account > Transfer Out. Pull both. The account number is the longer of the two strings.

Coming from Straight Talk, Tracfone, or Total by Verizon

These Tracfone-family brands have, historically, been the slowest to issue port-out PINs. Call support, ask for the port-out PIN clearly, and write it down with the request time — the PIN typically expires in 24–72 hours. Generate the PIN, then submit the Cricket port within that window.

Coming from postpaid (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile)

The mechanics are the same, but if you’re still mid-contract, your old carrier may bill an early termination fee or a remaining device payment after the port. That fee is between you and the old carrier — Cricket has nothing to do with it. Settle the final bill so the line closes cleanly.

If the port stalls: a 3-cause checklist before you call support

If 24 hours pass and the port hasn’t completed, run this checklist before calling Cricket support. The fix is almost always one of three things.

  1. Number Transfer PIN expired. Most PINs are valid 7 days, some shorter. Generate a fresh one at the old carrier and resubmit.
  2. Account number off by a digit. Re-pull from the old carrier’s online portal — do not work from memory or a printed bill that may show only the last four digits.
  3. Name or zip doesn’t match. Check the old carrier’s account profile screen for the exact name format and billing zip; type it character-for-character.

If all three look correct and the port is still stuck, call Cricket port-in support at 1-800-274-2538 with your port reference number. Ask the rep to read back the rejection reason, then fix the field at the old carrier and resubmit. Most ports clear on the second attempt. Cricket stores can also troubleshoot in person if you brought your phone in to start with.

Why buy a vanity number outright instead of renting one monthly

Most well-known vanity-number sellers package memorable numbers as monthly subscriptions running $9.99 to $50 per month. Stack that on top of a Cricket plan at $30–$60 and the line costs more than two of those things should. Over five years, the rented-number portion alone runs $600–$3,000, and at the end of those five years you do not own the number — if you stop paying, the number stops being yours. The math is laid out in vanity phone number vs monthly subscription, and the procurement walkthrough is in how to purchase a vanity phone number.

Digit Exclusive uses the opposite model. You pay once for the number. The number is yours. You can port it to Cricket today, port it to AT&T postpaid in two years if your needs change, and back to a different prepaid brand the year after that — the number itself doesn’t cost you anything to carry, because there’s no recurring fee on our side. The reasoning is in buy a vanity phone number outright and buy a vanity phone number without subscription. If the use case is personal rather than business, see personal vanity phone numbers.

Area-code-specific catalogs if you want number tied to a particular city or state: California, Texas, New York. Sibling guides for other carriers if you change your mind: T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Mint Mobile, Google Voice, and Google Fi.

Related vanity-number resources

Related vanity-number resources

Frequently asked questions about porting to Cricket Wireless

How long does it take to port a vanity number to Cricket Wireless?

Most wireless-to-wireless ports complete in 1 to 24 hours when every field matches on the first attempt. Ports from a VoIP source (such as Google Voice or some softphones) run 2–5 business days. Each field correction adds another 24–72 hours. Cricket sends SMS and email status updates throughout the cutover.

Will my service drop while the port is running?

The old carrier’s line stays active until the moment of cutover, and Cricket activates immediately at cutover. You may see a short interruption (usually minutes, occasionally up to an hour) at the moment the port commits. SMS provisioning sometimes lags voice by a few hours, so missing texts in the first 1–3 hours after cutover is normal and self-resolves.

What does it cost to port number to Cricket Wireless?

Cricket charges $0 for port-in. The only cost is the Cricket plan itself ($30–$60 per month for a single line, less per line on multi-line plans). The old carrier may bill a final-month remainder, an early termination fee, or remaining device payments — that money is between you and the old carrier, not Cricket.

Can I start a Cricket port without buying a plan first?

No. Cricket needs an active plan to receive a port. The port runs at activation. Buy the plan online or in any Cricket store, get the SIM (physical or eSIM), then run the activation-and-port flow at cricketwireless.com/activate or with the in-store rep.

What is Cricket Wireless’s port-in support phone number?

Cricket port-in and customer support is 1-800-274-2538. You can also call from any Cricket store and the in-store rep can escalate while you’re standing there. Have your port reference number ready when you call.

Can Cricket Wireless reject a port-in request?

Yes, but rejection almost always points to one field that needs to be corrected at the old carrier — not a structural impossibility. The most common causes are an expired Number Transfer PIN, a wrong account number, a name mismatch, or a billing zip mismatch. Fix the field and resubmit. Most rejected ports clear on the second attempt.

Do I ask Cricket for the Number Transfer PIN?

No. The Number Transfer PIN comes from the carrier you’re leaving, not from Cricket. Cricket needs the PIN to validate that you actually own the line you’re trying to port. Request it from the old carrier’s app or by calling their support line, then enter it during the Cricket activation flow.

Does my phone need to be unlocked to use it on Cricket?

Yes. If you’re bringing your own phone, it has to be carrier-unlocked and AT&T-compatible. Phones bought from AT&T, Cricket, or sold unlocked at retail almost always work. Phones from Verizon or T-Mobile need to be unlocked by the old carrier first. Cricket’s IMEI checker on cricketwireless.com tells you yes or no in seconds.

Can I port my Boost, Metro, Visible, or Straight Talk number to Cricket?

Yes. All US wireless carriers, prepaid and postpaid, are required by federal rule to release number you’re porting out. Pull the four fields and the transfer PIN from the old carrier and run the Cricket activation. Prepaid-to-prepaid ports tend to be the smoothest because there’s no contract or device-payment overhang to settle.

After the port to Cricket finishes, do I need to do anything else?

Yes, three things in order: place a test call from a phone on a different network, send a test text, and on Apple devices toggle iMessage and FaceTime off and back on so the Apple-ID-to-number handshake reruns. Once those tests pass, update Google Business Profile, signage, ad creative, CRM records, and the website footer. Don’t update public records until the tests pass.

Is the vanity number actually mine after I port it to Cricket?

The number is yours from the moment you purchase it from Digit Exclusive, not from the moment Cricket activates it. Porting is a routing change, not an ownership change. If you ever leave Cricket, you port the number out the same way you ported it in. The number does not belong to Cricket and is not tied to a Cricket plan.

Does Digit Exclusive sell Cricket Wireless service?

No. We are not Cricket Wireless and we are not a wireless carrier. Digit Exclusive sells one-time-purchase US vanity phone numbers. Cricket provides the wireless plan, the billing relationship, and access to AT&T’s network. The two purchases stack: you buy the number from us, you buy the Cricket plan from Cricket, and the port-in connects them.

Ready to start? Here’s the simplest sequence

Pick the number first — that’s the part that’s yours forever, so it’s worth choosing carefully. Browse all numbers, the premium tier, or the exclusive tier. Buy a Cricket plan at cricketwireless.com or any Cricket store. Run the port at cricketwireless.com/activate (or hand the four fields to the in-store rep) along with the Number Transfer PIN from your old carrier. Most ports finish the same day. The number is yours regardless of which carrier you put it on next year, the year after, or ten years from now. Buy once. Own permanently. Carry the number wherever you want it to ring.

Related number browsing: repeating digits

If you have not yet picked number, the cornerstone buy a phone number outright is the buyer reference — catalog entry points, five-step purchase flow, and carrier-transfer authorization timeline before the Cricket port procedure below.

For the general FCC Local Number Portability reference covering this and every other major US carrier — the 5-step LNP process, FCC-mandated timelines, fees, and common porting issues — see the port-in guide how to port a phone number.

Subscription vs outright purchase: If you are weighing recurring subscriptions against a one-time purchase, our Google Voice alternatives for business comparison covers real 2026 pricing, A2P 10DLC failures, and Workspace-bundle traps for owned-number alternatives.

Or skip the search: If you have already decided to buy a number first, then port it to your carrier, our dedicated buy a phone number to port page covers the full decision tree (Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile, port-out PIN requirements, NPAC processing timelines).

Ready to buy? Start here

Every guide ends at the same place: real one-of-one US numbers, sold outright, ported to your carrier under FCC §52. Pick your starting point below.