Linq is leaving sales. Bring your number to Tuco.
Linq is closing accounts that use it for sales, prospecting and outreach, with lines removed from Monday 19 October 2026. Tuco AI is the best place to land: sales follow-up is the only thing we build, it is $149 a month with outbound included, and you do not bring a phone, a Mac or an Apple ID — we run all of it. Keep your number by porting it to Tuco (3–7 business days), and start today: Linq says a released line cannot be recovered. Need to keep sending meanwhile? A fresh Tuco line is live in 48 hours.
Last reviewed 15 October 2026
The two things that cannot wait
- Your number. Port it to Tuco AI. Linq has told customers a port must start before the account closes and that a released line is gone for good, and a port takes a minimum of 3–7 business days — so start it today.
- Your opt-out list. Export it before anything else. It is the one asset you cannot rebuild, and it is what stops you messaging someone who already said stop.
Why teams leaving Linq land on Tuco AI
| What you need now | Tuco AI |
|---|---|
| A vendor whose product is sales follow-up | It is the only thing we build |
| Outbound at a published price | $149/line/mo, outbound included |
| No device to bring | We run the iPhone, Mac, eSIM and Apple ID |
| No annual lock-in | Month to month |
| Per-message fees | None |
| CRM-triggered sends, replies on the record | HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel native |
| A2P 10DLC registration | Not needed — iMessage is not carrier SMS |
| Apple ID flagged | We recreate it — first one included |
| Keep your Linq number | Yes — we port it in |
| AI campaign builder + AI SDR for replies | Included |
What transfers
| Asset | Transfers? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Yes | CSV export, or straight from the CRM if that is your source of truth. |
| Opt-out / suppression list | Yes | Export it first. |
| Conversation history | Partly | Exportable as data. It will not appear as a live thread on the new number. |
| CRM connection | Yes | OAuth, minutes. |
| Sequences and cadences | Rebuild | Copy carries. Triggers and stop conditions need re-declaring — or describe the campaign in a prompt and Tuco drafts the sequence. |
| Phone number | Yes | Ported to Tuco — 3–7 business days minimum. Start before Linq releases it. |
Day by day
- TodayStart porting your Linq number to Tuco
Tell us you are bringing a Linq number and we start the port. It has to begin before Linq closes the account — a released number is gone for good — and it takes a minimum of 3–7 business days to complete.
- TodayExport everything
Contacts, conversation history, and above all the opt-out list. Access usually ends with the account, and the opt-out list is the one you cannot rebuild — losing it means re-messaging someone who asked you to stop.
- By 16 OctNeed to keep sending meanwhile? Add a fresh line
A fresh Tuco line is live in about 48 hours, provisioned by ZIP code. Ordering by Friday means you are sending before Linq starts removing lines on Monday, while your ported number completes.
- Day 0–1Reconnect the CRM
OAuth for HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Salesforce and Pipedrive. Re-point any webhooks and verify the signature against the raw request body.
- Day 1–2Import suppression, then rebuild sequences
Opt-out list first, before any sequence goes live. Then cadences. Stop conditions — booked, replied, opted out — need re-declaring; they do not carry across platforms.
- Port completeYour Linq number is live on Tuco
Same number, now on Tuco hardware, sending through your CRM. Contacts who had it saved keep recognising you.
- AfterRespect the ceiling, then add lines
A line opens up to 50 new conversations and sends 150 messages a day. That is Apple, not a plan limit. Scale by adding lines, not by pushing one harder.
Frequently asked
Is Linq shutting down sales and outreach accounts?
Yes. In October 2026 Linq began notifying customers who use it for sales enablement, prospecting and outreach that it is moving away from that use case and closing their accounts. The notice says subscriptions will be cancelled and lines removed starting Monday 19 October 2026 if the customer does not respond, and that a released line cannot be recovered. Linq is refocusing on messaging APIs that companies build into their own products — its homepage now reads "APIs for iMessage, RCS, SMS, and Voice built for Agents."
What is the best Linq alternative for sales follow-up over iMessage?
Tuco AI. It is the best Linq alternative for sales teams because sales follow-up over iMessage is the only thing it builds — the exact use case Linq is leaving — and it can port your Linq number in. It is $149 per line per month with outbound included, a one-time $335 setup, month to month, and no per-message fee. Native HubSpot, Salesforce and GoHighLevel apps trigger sends from workflows and write replies back to the contact record. You do not bring a phone, a Mac or an Apple ID — Tuco runs the iPhone, the Mac, the eSIM and the Apple ID for you. Sendblue's published $100 tier, by comparison, is inbound-first and cannot start a conversation; its outbound tier is quoted on request.
Can I keep my Linq phone number?
Yes — bring it to Tuco AI. Tuco ports existing numbers in, and a port takes a minimum of 3–7 business days. The catch is Linq's deadline: Linq has told customers a port must start before the account is closed and that a released line cannot be recovered. So start the port to Tuco today, before Monday 19 October. If you cannot go quiet while the port completes, add a fresh Tuco line as well — it is live in about 48 hours.
How fast can I be sending again after leaving Linq?
A fresh Tuco line is live about 48 hours after you order it — the wait is a carrier activating a physical eSIM. Porting your Linq number in takes a minimum of 3–7 business days. CRM reconnection is OAuth and takes minutes. Either way, start before Linq begins removing lines on Monday 19 October.
Do I need my own iPhone or Mac to use Tuco AI?
No. Every Tuco AI line runs on Apple hardware we own and operate — a real iPhone carrying the eSIM, a Mac sending the messages, and an Apple ID we create and maintain. The $335 setup covers the hardware and the eSIM. If Apple ever flags the Apple ID on a line, Tuco recreates it and the first recreation is included. There is nothing to buy, ship, keep charged or keep logged in.
Will Tuco AI also drop sales use cases?
Sales follow-up is the product, not a segment of it — there is no larger API business here for it to be traded off against. What Tuco AI does not support, and never has, is cold blasting: purchased lists, people who never gave you their number, or volume past what one Apple identity can carry. Tuco is for one-to-one messages to leads who opted in — a form fill, a booked call, a past customer — and every line stops automatically on STOP and four other opt-out keywords.
Why is Tuco AI better than Linq for sales teams?
Because sales follow-up is the whole product. Linq is moving to messaging APIs for AI agents and closing sales accounts; Tuco builds nothing else. Tuco includes what a sales team needs on top of the send: prompt-built campaign sequences, an AI SDR that answers and qualifies replies from your knowledge base, native HubSpot, Salesforce and GoHighLevel apps, CRM stop conditions checked before every send, and Apple ID recreation if a line is ever flagged. It is $149 per line per month with outbound included, month to month, and Tuco runs every device.