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Grace and Restore

When a renewal doesn't go through — because Auto-Renew was off, every saved payment method failed, or your prepaid balance was short — your service doesn't vanish on the spot. It enters a grace period during which you can restore it without losing anything: same number, same configuration, same renewal schedule.

This page covers what happens during grace, how to restore, and what's gone forever if you don't. For the bigger picture of how Auto-Renew, Charge saved card on renewal, and Auto-Refill keep services from hitting grace in the first place, start at the Overview.

Grace at a glance​

FlyNumber (a regular DID)Phone system
Grace length31 days5 days
What triggers itThe number's period ended without successful renewalThe phone system's period ended without successful renewal, or every connected FlyNumber was removed
What survives during graceThe number is reserved for you, but parked — incoming calls don't route during graceAll phone-system settings (call flows, ring groups, users, SIP accounts) stay intact; every connected FlyNumber is parked
RemindersEmail + in-panel on day 7 and day 25Email + in-panel on day 3
Cost to restoreFull month(s) missed since the original expiry dateSame — full period(s) since the original expiry
Payment for restorePrepaid balance only (no cards or PayPal at restore time)Prepaid balance only
After restore returns toMonthly billing — change separately if you want a longer periodThe same period it had before grace
If grace expiresNumber is released and the configuration is wipedThe phone system and all its configuration are deleted

Restoring a FlyNumber​

Open the number's detail page from My FlyNumbers. Numbers in grace show an amber Restore card with a countdown, the cost breakdown, and a single Restore Number button.

What you pay​

Restore cost is expiration-anchored — you pay for every started billing period since the original expiry date, not from today forward. A few examples for a $2.95/month number:

Days since original expiryPeriods owedAmount charged
3 days late1 (the missed month)$2.95
28 days late1 (still inside the first missed month)$2.95
33 days late2 (the second missed month started)$5.90

The anchoring is intentional: it stops the original expiry date from drifting forward every time you let a number lapse and restore it.

33 days late, but isn't grace only 31 days?

For DIDs, the grace window itself runs for 31 days from expiry — but the cost calculation uses the original billing-period boundary. If you missed your March 1 renewal and try to restore on April 3, you owe for both March and April (33 days = two billing periods started). The 31-day grace ends April 1, so April 3 would actually be past grace — the table row is illustrative of the math, not implying you can still restore at 33 days.

Once you click Restore Number:

  1. The cost is deducted from your prepaid balance
  2. The number flips back to Active
  3. The number's call-handling settings (forward-to-phone, VoIP, FlyNumber SIP, or phone system) are re-applied exactly the way you left them

If your balance is short, the Restore Number button is disabled and an Add Funds link appears in its place. Top up enough to cover the cost, then come back.

Why you might end up on monthly after restore​

Restoration unconditionally returns the number to a monthly billing period regardless of what it was on before. If you had it on quarterly or annual, switch back from the Billing card on the number's detail page after restore — the new period takes effect at the next renewal.

Restoring the phone system​

If a phone-system renewal fails, the Phone System page shows an amber warning with a 5-day countdown, the cost breakdown, and a Restore Phone System button. Every FlyNumber that was routed through the phone system is parked while grace is in progress.

What you pay​

Same expiration anchoring as numbers. If you restore mid-grace four days after expiry on a Monthly plan, you pay $14.95 for the missed month — not a prorated amount, not a fresh period from today. On longer billing periods (quarterly, annual), the cost is for the full period(s) missed since the original expiry.

What happens after restore​

  1. The cost is deducted from your prepaid balance
  2. The phone system flips back to Active — every call flow, ring group, user, and SIP account is exactly where you left it
  3. FlyNumbers that were parked during grace are routed back through the phone system — but only the ones still set to Parked. If you manually re-routed a parked number to a phone or SIP destination during grace, that choice is respected and the number is left alone.

What gets deleted if grace runs out​

If you don't restore in time, the service is permanently released and is no longer recoverable:

  • A regular FlyNumber — the number is released back to the carrier pool. The call-handling configuration is wiped on our side. You can purchase the same number again in a new order only if it's still available (often it isn't).
  • The phone system — every piece of phone-system configuration is deleted: call flows, ring groups, users, SIP accounts, voicemail greetings, the lot. Connected FlyNumbers stay parked individually — they're not deleted, but each one needs to be re-routed from its detail page.

Both expirations also reset Auto-renew to off on related orders, so even if you re-purchase, you'll need to re-enable any automation.

Notifications​

You don't have to be watching the panel to know a renewal failed. Alerts arrive in two channels: an email to the address on your profile, and an in-panel notification via the bell in the header. Configure which categories you want at Notification Settings.

For grace specifically, the relevant alerts are:

  • We couldn't charge your saved payment method — a saved card or PayPal payment didn't go through (escalates "Attempt 1 of 3", "Attempt 2 of 3" before pausing)
  • Charging your saved payment method has been paused — three consecutive failures paused card charging on renewal account-wide; renewals now come from prepaid only
  • Number entered grace — sent the moment a service flips to grace state
  • Restore window closing — day-7 and day-25 reminders for numbers; day-3 reminder for the phone system
  • Number expired — final notice when grace runs out and the service is gone

Edge cases worth knowing​

  • Mid-grace top-ups. As soon as your prepaid balance covers the restore cost, the panel switches from Add Funds to Restore — no further action needed beyond clicking restore.
  • Auto-refill during grace. If auto-refill is on and your balance dips below the threshold, it tops up as normal. That can be enough on its own to make the restore button affordable.
  • Card charging on renewal paused by failures. If you hit the 3-failure cap and Charge saved card on renewal got paused, restoring doesn't re-enable it. Update the failing payment method and flip the toggle back on in Billing Settings after restoring.
  • Bundled FlyNumber + Phone System. If a FlyNumber and the phone system were purchased together in the same checkout, they share a single renewal date — and a single restore. Clicking Restore Number on the bundled FlyNumber's detail page restores both items in one transaction (the cost preview reflects the full bundle). You don't need to restore them separately.
  • Phone system with no numbers. If you remove every FlyNumber from the phone system, it enters grace right then. Restore is the same flow.
  • Numbers parked during phone-system grace. A FlyNumber whose phone-system entered grace is parked, but the FlyNumber itself isn't in grace. Its own period continues normally — you can re-route it to a phone, VoIP, or FlyNumber SIP destination from its detail page without restoring the phone system first.
  • Considering moving your number to another provider instead? Porting out is a separate flow, unaffected by grace — see Porting Phone Numbers. A number in grace can still be ported out (with the original carrier's cooperation), but doing so during grace is more complex than waiting out an active number.

Where to manage​

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