You can keep the phone number your school already uses. In Pamio you go to Settings → Connectors → Bring your own number, add a couple of documents and your number, and Pamio moves your number across for you. Your number keeps working the whole way through.
Here's exactly what you'll do and what to have ready.
Before you start — if you're with Eir
If your phone line is with Eir (or a provider that runs on the Eir network), call them before you begin and ask one thing:
"Does this number have any special services on it?" Moving the number to a new provider can switch those extras off. If your line has any, sort them out with Eir first — then come back and carry on below.
If you're not with Eir, you can go straight to the steps below.
Step 1 — Download and sign the form
You need to sign one short form that gives us permission to move your number. Download it here, fill it in, and sign it:
Download the number form (PDF)
- Who signs it: the person whose name is on the account with your current phone provider — the same name that's on your phone bill.
- It needs a real signature: sign it on screen (a drawn or e-signed signature is fine), or print it, sign it by hand, and scan or photograph it. A typed name on its own won't be accepted.
Fill in the details it asks for exactly as they appear on your latest bill — your business name, your current provider, and the number you want to keep.
Step 2 — Open Bring your own number in Pamio
In Pamio, go to Settings → Connectors and tap Bring your own number, just under your current number. You'll see two fields to upload your documents, and a couple more to fill in.
Your Pamio number keeps working the whole way through — and for 7 days afterwards, so anyone who still has the old one gets through while your students and contacts catch up.
- Upload your signed form.
- Upload your latest phone bill — a PDF or a clear photo is fine. This proves the number is really yours, so make sure your business name and the number are both clearly visible on it. It has to be dated within the last 90 days — an older bill will be turned down, so grab your most recent one.
- Type in your phone number (the landline you want to keep) and your account number — see the next step for where to find it.
Step 3 — Your account number (the one to get right)
Your current provider has an account number for your line — sometimes called a UAN. It's an 8-digit number, and it's usually printed on your phone bill.
This is the one thing most likely to hold you up. It isn't always printed on the bill. If you can't find an 8-digit account number, ring your current phone provider and ask for your UAN — they'll have it. Getting it now saves days later.
What happens next
Once you've uploaded the form and bill and entered your number and account number, that's everything — there's nothing else for you to do.
- Pamio checks whether your number can be moved and, if it can, starts the switch for you — you don't need to contact your old provider or anyone else.
- On the day itself, the changeover happens in a window between 10am and 3.30pm Irish time — that's set by the phone network, not by us, so it's worth having someone about during the day rather than only in the evening. Your number keeps working right up to the moment it moves to Pamio, so there's no day where you're without a line.
- We'll let you know once your number is live on Pamio. Most numbers move within a few business days — about two working days at the fastest — but the exact day depends on how quickly your current provider releases the number, so we can't promise a date up front.
Once your number is live — WhatsApp, and the week after
Calls move to Pam the day your number lands. WhatsApp takes one more step, because your number goes on your own WhatsApp Business account — it's your number, so it lives under your business, not ours.
- In Pamio, open Settings → Connectors → Your number and tap Connect with Facebook. You'll sign in to Facebook and pick or create your business. It takes a few minutes.
- During that, WhatsApp rings your number with a code. We put that call straight through to the phone you set under Call handover, so make sure that's set first and have the phone to hand. Type the code into the Facebook window.
- Then WhatsApp finishes setting up on its side — usually minutes, sometimes a few hours. Nothing to do; we'll move your bookings across the moment it's ready.
- Students see the business name you enter at signup on every WhatsApp message — choose it as you'd like it read. Verifying your business with Meta later lifts the messaging limits; Pam answers either way.
For 7 days after that, both numbers answer. Your Pamio number keeps taking calls and WhatsApp messages alongside your own, so nobody who still has the old number in their phone hits a dead line. Reminders and confirmations go out from your number; a student who messages the old one is answered there and told, once, which number to save. When the 7 days are up the old number is retired — for the next 90 days anyone who still messages it gets a short reply pointing them to your number, and then it's gone. You'll see the countdown on the Your number card, and a line in Activity when it's done.
If something comes back
Sometimes the network pushes back on a port — a detail that doesn't match their records, or a hold on the line at the losing provider. We're told the moment it happens, and we work it out with our provider. Often there's nothing for you to do at all. If we do need something from you, we'll let you know.
What happens to your documents
The signed form and your bill are sent on to our phone partner (Telnyx) to process the move, and Pamio doesn't keep them. We only pass on what's needed to switch your number across.