We've been warning you about this day, and now it's almost here: 415 area codes for San Francisco are almost all gone, and the new new 628 area code is about to go into full effect. But just because you're happily 415ed doesn't mean that you're immune to the change, for as of February 21, every 415 user will have to dial "1" and the area code, even for local calls.
Who dials these days? you might be wondering. True, but what about your contact list? Are all your local numbers entered with a "415" right now? If so, good for you! If not, well then you'd better get to fixing that, because in a couple weeks, if you just dial a local seven-digit number, you'll get a recording telling you you screwed up, not the dulcet tones of your contact.
Per California's Public Utilities Commission:
Beginning February 21, 2015, callers must use the new 1 + 10-digit dialing procedure for all calls. After that date, if customers do not use the new dialing procedure, their calls will not be completed and a recording will instruct them to hang up and dial again. Between August 16, 2014 and February 21, 2015, customers should practice using the new procedure whenever they place calls from the 415 Area Code.
Until the 21st, "customers should practice using the new procedure whenever they place calls from the 415 Area Code," the PUC urges.
As you can imagine, some folks are upset by the change, like a woman who spoke to KRON 4, saying that it might take her as long at two hours to edit her contacts.
The additional dialing requirement "kind of sucks," she told the news station.
The PUC first announced that 415 numbers were dwindling in December 2012, and OKed an "overlay" of a new area code, 628, in December 2013.
Carriers reportedly continue to dole out 415 numbers, but not for long: "Beginning March 21, 2015," the PUC says, "new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the 628 area code."
Previously: 415 Area Codes Running Out: Let's All Freak Out Now
3,2,1 Freakout: 415 Numbers Running Low As 628 Area Code Arrives
