From cultural landmarks like the Walker Art Center to the beauty of the adjacent Mississippi River, there’s absolutely nothing mini about Minneapolis, Minnesota. Neighboring the state capital of St. Paul, this half of the “twin cities” is rightfully home to a population of almost 430,000 residents.
Because of its unique location and up-and-coming cultural scene, you might find that this is a great place to set up shop and start promoting your brand new business. For that reason, among many others, you’ll want to get a 612 area code to show people that you’re local, respected, and trusted.
Getting a 612 area code doesn’t require a brand new phone or SIM card. It’s as easy as downloading an app. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
Where Does a 612 Area Code Include?
If you’re getting a call from a 612 area code, it means you’re getting a call from a small area of central Minnesota. This area encompasses Minneapolis, as well as the small town of Richfield.
Minnesota is home to three other area codes. The 651 code includes St. Paul, Englewood, and Maplewood, whereas the 952 code includes many small towns like Apple Valley, Minnetonka, Lakeville, and Bloomington. Finally, the 763 code is home to Brooklyn Park, Plymouth, and Maple Grove.
How to Get a 612 Area Code
There are a few different ways to get a 612 area code, but one of the easiest ways is with Burner. Burner gives you a second phone number that you can use to keep your personal number private.
When creating your burner number, just enter the area code you want to use, and we’ll supply you with a fully functional phone number that reroutes all of your incoming calls. So whenever you get a call on your smartphone, you have full control as to whether or not you want to send it through to your primary number.
Plus, it works both ways. If you make an outgoing call to a stranger, they’ll only see your burner. This helps to shield you from fraud or loss of privacy by giving out your personal number.
You can create as many simultaneous local numbers as you need in any US or Canadian area code. So while a 612 area code will work great while you’re in Minnesota, you can have the freedom to change it if you decide to move further south, east, or west.
You can also keep your numbers for as long as you want and then burn them whenever you want to get rid of them. This is one of the easier ways to obtain an 858 area code that doesn’t require you to purchase a brand new phone.
Getting a New Area Code on Your Number
If you want to change the area code on your number rather than getting a second burner number, most mobile carriers allow you to do this free of charge.
This might not be an ideal situation, however. There are a few caveats:
You can typically only choose an area code – not an entire number. So you can pick an area code preference, but the remaining seven digits are up to chance. With that said, some carriers will let you pick your first three digits.
You can’t switch back to your old number after it’s changed.
Voicemails are attached to phone numbers, not phones. You’ll need to set up a new voicemail account with your new number. The same goes for blocked numbers. They aren’t saved on your new number, so you’ll need to re-enter blocked digits one more time.
Your old contacts won’t be able to reach you on your old number, so you’ll need to update everyone on the best form of contact.
After resetting your number, the change won’t take effect until you restart your device. Give it a good reset, and then make a test call to ensure that everything is working properly.
Burner lets you get a second number without making you lose access to your primary cell. Plus, you can swap out your number for a new one whenever you want.
Benefits of a Second Phone Number
Getting a second phone number can have a ton of benefits for your privacy as well as your productivity. Here are a few of the major benefits.
Safety and Privacy
Having a second phone number is essential for maintaining your own privacy. This is because all incoming calls will go to your burner number first. You should only use your personal number for people you trust. For everything else, there’s Burner.
If hackers get a hold of your personal number, they’ll learn more information about you than you might think. A dual number provides an extra layer of defense against scammers and hackers who might be trying to solicit your personal information. Not to mention, it helps improve your productivity by cutting down interruptions from unknown callers.
Cyber threats are a growing problem in America. Getting a second number is a simple way to protect yourself.
Build Your Client List
A lot of people commute into Minneapolis from neighboring towns, so having an area code for a town in this area can help enhance your client roster. Since over 80% of Americans won’t answer a phone call from an unrecognizable number, having an out of state area code can make you less likely to reach a new client base,
Making cold calls to clients is just one of many ways to try to achieve new business. And if you want to try to minimize the risk of being ignored, using a 612 area code can show everyone that you’re a local, trusted small business that is just trying to enhance customer outreach.
Anonymous Shopping Online
Many businesses will ask you to input your phone number to sign up for their loyalty programs and get exclusive rewards. But this can get overwhelming and frustrating when they just keep reaching out to you with new promotions, over and over again. But there’s an easy solution: your Burner number! This lets you still get loyalty rewards without a constant flood of promotions and updates.
Not to mention, it makes it safer for you to text sellers when purchasing items through eBay or Craigslist. This way, if you happen to be dealing with a scam, your personal information stays secured. That can also come in handy when you’re online dating, as you can keep your number secure until you fully trust this potential match.
What To Do Next
Get Burner now to create your 612 area code. Getting a 612 area code to blend in with the area codes in Minneapolis is great if you recently moved or are trying to make your business number fit in with the crowd in your area. The good news is there are two methods for doing so.
With that said, the easiest one is by getting a second Burner number that works alongside your primary one to re-route calls directly. You choose the area code, and you can throw it away to get a new number whenever you want.
However, you can also change your primary number through most mobile carriers if you don’t feel like getting a second number.
Sources:
QuickFacts: Minneapolis city, Minnesota | United States Census Bureau
Most Americans don't answer cellphone calls from unknown numbers | Pew Research Center