How to Find Old Phone Numbers Easily | Number Finder by Name

When you switch to a new phone number, your old one is often forgotten, until all of a sudden, it becomes more important than ever, especially for account verification and recovery. I know how frustrating that can be. But don’t worry! In this article, we’ll share some practical tips to help you find those old phone numbers and, hopefully, reclaim them for use.

Quick Guide

• Leverage what’s at your fingertips
• Use a quick phone number finder

• Identify the current carrier
• Contact the carrier
• What to do about a reassigned number

I can’t remember my old phone numbers and need to find them

If you don’t remember your old numbers at all, the first thing you’ll likely want to do is try to find them – and that’s definitely possible. Here are some effective methods to help you track them down:

Method 1. Leverage what’s at your fingertips

Check old phone bills  

Old phone call bills from your service providers can include information on your past phone number. If you don’t keep paper copies, perhaps your email has them in a digital form.

Check official records

Credit reports and tax records are common types of official documents that typically include your phone number. If you haven’t kept copies of the old records and want to know how to access them, check out our previous guide for tips:

Take advantage of your email inbox

Your frequently used email (from the time when your old number was active) might be a treasure trove of information. Search your inbox for messages related to account creation, password recovery, or service subscriptions. Keywords like “contact information”, “two-factor authentication”, “security code”, “verification”, “registration”, “subscription”, and “profile settings” might help you find emails that include your old number.

Ask around

Sometimes, you might not remember, but your family or friends could have your old number saved in their phone contacts. It never hurts to ask!

Method 2. Use a phone number finder

If you don’t usually keep records or can’t find them, don’t worry—there are other options. Your contact information is often listed in public records, and some websites are specifically designed to collect and organize this data, making it easy for people to look up when needed.

That’s where dedicated people search services come in. These sites aggregate a massive amount of data from various sources, such as federal, state, and local government records. One of their key features is name search where you can obtain an individual report, including all the phone numbers and email addresses potentially associated with that person. 

Related: Where do people search sites get their data

We’ve tested several of these services and found that Intelius works best for finding old phone numbers. It’s a well-established people search site that’s been around for over 20 years and is particularly good at finding phone numbers or performing reverse number lookups. While it’s a paid service, it can save you a significant amount of time and effort.

How to find old phone numbers with Intelius

To save time and streamline your search, it’s a good idea to sign up for an Intelius membership before you start. If you search while not logged in, you’ll be redirected to a page where you’ll need to choose a membership plan before continuing. Signing up in advance lets you access your search results right away, without any extra wait.

1. Go to the Intelius Name Lookup page, type your first and last name in the search field, then click SEARCH. Remember to fill in your city and state to narrow down your search and pinpoint your report quickly.

2. If there’s more than one match on the search results page, review the overview of each match and filter them based on information like age, location, etc., to find the right match. Then, click OPEN REPORT.

If you didn’t sign up before searching, you’ll need to purchase a membership plan to access your report.

3. Click Contact in the left-hand navigation menu to view all the phone numbers linked to the person. You’ll also find additional details, such as the carrier name, line type, and carrier location. 

Is the information provided by these tools 100% accurate?

It’s important to acknowledge that while these tools can uncover a wealth of records, they can’t guarantee 100% accuracy. This may result from incomplete public information or imperfect data matching algorithms. For example, sometimes the contact section of a report may include phone numbers that Intelius has flagged as possibly related to the person, such as a family member’s number.

Despite these limitations, the real value of these tools lies in their ability to quickly provide you with as much relevant information as possible, which you can then review and verify yourself.

Are there free services for finding phone numbers?

You might be wondering if there’re any free tools to search for your old numbers. Indeed, there’re a number of free people search sites out there, but finding a good one can be overwhelming: Some free sites offer very limited or outdated information, while others may appear “free” but redirect you to paid services when you try to access the full report^[1]. Intrusive ads are another common issue. So honestly, the most efficient approach is to use high-quality paid people search engines directly. But if you prefer to stick with free options, there are still some choices.

We’ve tried several free services that provide basic information, including possible phone numbers, and found that TruePeopleSearch is among the best for free searches. However, it still has its limitations. For instance, in one case, all the numbers it provided were landline numbers, whereas some high-quality paid sites, like Intelius, included 3 mobile numbers as well.

I have or have found the number and now want to use it again

Finding out what your old number was is just the first step. You’ll still need to reactivate it to receive texts for account recovery or anything else you might need it for.

The tricky part is that deactivated phone numbers are often reassigned, and there’s no set rule for how soon this happens^[2]. What’s more, your number might not stay within the same carrier’s database or number pool. For example, a number you originally registered with Verizon could now be in AT&T’s system.  

1. Identify the current carrier

To get your old number back, the first step is to find out which carrier currently holds it.

If you’ve just used a phone number finder like Intelius to look up your old phone numbers, you’ve probably noticed that the report already includes the carrier’s name and location.

Or perhaps you still remember your old number but aren’t sure if it’s with the same carrier, then you can perform a reverse phone number lookup to find it out. The report will show all the available details about the number, including its current carrier information.

If you prefer not to use a paid service, there are alternative number lookup sites that can help you find this information for a specific number. For example, CallerID Test is one of the sites that allow you to perform free carrier lookups. You’ll need to create a free account to continue searching, with a limit of up to 5 free searches per day.

Sometimes, different phone number lookup websites might show conflicting carrier information due to differences in their data sources and update frequency.

Generally speaking, paid lookup services like Intelius tend to have access to more accurate and frequently updated data compared to free platforms. For example, during our testing, we searched a phone number that originally belonged to Verizon but was later ported to T-Mobile. The free tool, however, still showed the outdated carrier information. This is why it’s a good idea to start by contacting the carrier listed in the paid report. If it turns out to be incorrect, you can then explore other options.

2. Contact the carrier

At this point, you can’t be sure whether or not the number has been taken and used by another person. If it hasn’t been reassigned, you’ll likely hear a recording saying that it’s no longer in service when you dial the number. If you’d rather not call right away, you can simply contact the carrier to confirm the number’s availability.

You can typically find the carrier’s customer service hotline on their official website, usually in the “Contact Us” section. Call the hotline to inquire if your old number is still within their system and available for reactivation.

To reclaim your number, you may need to provide your old account details (like personal identification and billing address) and relevant documents to verify your identity.

The exact process for reactivating your number, like whether you need to start a new service plan or line of service, will depend on the options the carrier offers^[3].

What to do if your old number has been reassigned 

If your old phone number has already been reassigned to someone else, things can get a bit tricky. It’s generally not possible to reclaim the number. However, there are some potential workarounds you can try.

One option that many people would think of is to simply contact the current owner by calling or texting them. You could explain your situation and politely ask if they’d be willing to share the verification code with you. 

That’s indeed a clever and straightforward approach. However, you should also consider the potential risks. If your phone number is all that’s needed to verify your identity and access your account^[4], or if the account in question is particularly important or sensitive, reaching out to the new owner could put your account security at risk.

So, if you decide to reach out, make sure to carefully consider the pros and cons before proceeding.

Don’t just focus on that number

Also, consider whether your old number is really your only option. Even if the old number is still available, reactivating it could be complicated and expensive. So, it’s worth exploring other options instead. For example, do you have any backup recovery methods, like a backup email address or an emergency backup code? Besides, if you are really stuck, you can try contacting the platform’s customer service directly, explain your situation and what you need, and see if they can offer a solution. Many platforms can verify your identity through alternative methods.

Life tip: what you should do after changing your phone number

Nowadays, your phone number has become some sort of personal identifier, linked to various services and accounts. So, next time you change your phone number, be sure to follow the necessary steps to avoid the frustration of trying to retrieve your old number down the line, especially if you’ve had the same number for many years.

• When you get a new phone number, you are supposed to update everything that was linked to the old one. Go through your important accounts (email, social media, banking, etc.), subscriptions, and so on, and update your contact information with your new number. This ensures that you won’t be locked out or miss any critical verification messages in the future.
• It’s always helpful to note down your previous numbers in a secure location. You never know when you might need to reference them for account recovery or identification purposes.

Footnotes

1. This is the case with AnyWho (redirecting to Intelius) and 411.com (redirecting to Whitepages), for instance.↩
2. In practice, some numbers might be reassigned almost immediately, while others can remain unused for months or even years. In certain area codes with high demand for recycled numbers, the reassignment might occur much more quickly.↩
3. For example, some carriers may offer a convenient and cost-effective option to reserve an old phone number for a small fee (typically $5-$10). After paying the fee, you can request the number to be ported to your new line or service.↩
4. For example, some forum users have shared that after getting a new phone number and using it to register on Amazon Prime, they were unexpectedly logged into the previous owner’s account.↩

There’s no guarantee you’ll find the information you’re looking for with the tools discussed in this article. They all source their information from publicly available data sources, such as county, state and federal courts, government departments, and police records, and those sources may contain incorrect or incomplete data. It’s illegal to use these tools to make decisions about employment, admission, consumer credit, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance. Read the Fair Credit Reporting Act to learn more....

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