How it works
Number porting lets you keep your current number. Would you rather have a new number, or are you taking an extra plan? There is no code to request. If you are leaving your current operator, only the section “If you don’t want to keep your number” applies to you.
Your number belongs to you. Moving it from one operator to another is called number porting: it is your right, and it is free. You have nothing to cancel: the transfer ends your old contract.
1. Get your RIO code
Dial 3179 from the number you want to keep. It is a free voice service, shared by all French operators. It reads out your operator identity statement (relevé d’identité opérateur), the RIO code or RIO number, and sends it to you by text message. This code identifies your number with operators.
Call from the number concerned, not from another phone: the service identifies the calling number. If the number no longer works, the RIO code is also in your current operator’s customer area.
Can’t call from that number? From another phone, Orange and Sosh answer on 0800 00 3179, SFR on 0805 77 3179 and Bouygues Telecom on 0 800 943 943. With Orange and Sosh, the code is sent by text message to the number concerned. From Switzerland, 3179 does not answer: call it from France, or go through your operator’s customer area.
Check that the code matches your number
Enter the number and the code, or paste the whole text message: the answer appears straight away.
The check runs on your device: neither the number nor the code is sent to us.
2. Enter it when you order
In the Votre numéro
section of the order form (in French), choose Je garde mon numéro
(I’m keeping my number), then enter the number to keep and your RIO code. Copy the code exactly as the 3179 text message gives it: the form checks that it matches the number, and warns you if it doesn’t.
Already ordered without entering it? Send us both through the contact page and we start the transfer: nothing is lost as long as your old plan is active.
3. Wait for the transfer
Flytel sends your transfer request as soon as you order, then confirms by email the date agreed with your current operator. Your eSIM arrives by email the day before the transfer; a physical SIM card arrives by post.
Until the transfer, your current plan works as usual. If you can, choose a transfer day when you will be in France: your plan works there straight away, whereas in Switzerland the network can take a few hours to activate.
Once the transfer is done, your old subscription ends by itself. No letter to send, no call to make.
Keeping your number with an eSIM, before you start work in Switzerland
Yes, number porting works with an eSIM too: the transfer takes place three working days after your order at the earliest, and your Flytel eSIM arrives by email the day before. Order a few days before your first day in Switzerland: your number moves to Flytel on the date you choose, and your plan covers Switzerland from that day, including your calls from and to Switzerland. For what each plan includes, see the Flytel plans.
Transfer day, step by step
- The day before, your Flytel eSIM arrives by email (a physical SIM card arrives earlier, by post). Install it, and keep your current SIM card or eSIM in the phone: it still carries your number. Until the transfer, the new eSIM shows “No Service”: that is normal, do not delete it.
- On transfer day, your current SIM card or eSIM works until the switchover. At that moment, it loses signal, and your Flytel plan takes over your number. The interruption usually lasts a few minutes; Arcep, the French telecoms regulator, caps it at four hours.
- Afterwards, the old SIM card or eSIM no longer has signal. Remove it or turn it off, then check in your settings that your calls, texts and mobile data go through the Flytel SIM card or eSIM. On an iPhone, an eSIM often has another name, such as “Secondary”.
How long does number porting take?
With Flytel, the transfer takes place three working days after your order at the earliest with an eSIM, six with a SIM card sent by post, on the date you choose. The two official sources each describe it in their own way:
- Arcep speaks of a “minimum period of 3 business days” (jours ouvrables), with no porting on Sundays or public holidays (Arcep fact sheet (in French)).
- Service-Public, the French government information site, states that porting takes 3 business days at most from the request (Service-Public fact sheet (in French)).
- Flytel requests the transfer as soon as you order, for a date you choose, three working days later at the earliest with an eSIM.
What moves with you, what doesn’t
- Your number moves with you: you receive your calls and texts as before.
- Your voicemail does not: listen to your waiting messages before the transfer.
- Any options with your old operator do not. If you are paying for a phone in instalments, the remaining payments are still due.
- An unpaid balance is not wiped out by the transfer: your old operator will bill it as usual.
If you are still under contract
You can keep your number even during a minimum commitment period. Your old operator may then charge you the remaining monthly payments, depending on your contract: check this before ordering.
If you don’t want to keep your number
No code to request, nothing to send. Your Flytel number is assigned when your plan opens. Remember to cancel your old subscription yourself with your operator: without number porting, it does not end by itself.
Sources
- Arcep, « Comment conserver mon numéro lors d’un changement d’opérateur » (in French), read on 1 October 2026.
- Service-Public, « Changer d’opérateur en gardant son numéro » (in French), read on 1 October 2026.
Any questions?
A special case? Write to us from the contact page. The most common answers are in the frequently asked questions and, sorted by need, in the help centre (in French). The whole switch, from order to activation, is described on the page how it works (in French).
