If you are a business that relies on consumer phone numbers, it is important to check whether or not the number you have in your database is still active. This will prevent you from spending money on marketing and communication strategies that are aimed at inactive or disconnected consumers. There are many ways that inactive phone numbers can enter your database, and it is important to have a system in place to catch these mistakes in order to save money and time.

How to Check if a Number Is Still in Service

The best way to check if a number is still in service is to use a validation tool that will perform a live ping on the phone carrier to determine if it is in active service. There are free and paid tools that can do this, and most will also verify the format of a number. Some examples of these tools are Dexatel, Textmagic, and the free phone validation app offered by Cloud telephony service providers like KrispCall.

Another way to check if a phone number is still in service is to simply call it. If the number is active, it will ring and either be answered or go to voicemail. Inactive numbers are usually met with dial tones or an automated message indicating that the number is no longer in service. Text messages sent to these numbers will often fail, and the sender will receive an error notification that the message did not delivered.