Applies to: anyone wishing to move mobile networks.

giffgaff SIM card

Last week I changed mobile network. Some of you may know that there are four main mobile companies in the UK (O2, Vodafone, EE and Three). There are also lots of so-called ‘piggy-back‘ networks which run on top of one of the main 4.

I have been with O2 on pay as you go (PAYG) for 10 years, always with the same number but different phones.

I finally bought myself a new phone (more on that in a future journal post) and felt now was the right time to change networks.
I have moved to giffgaff which runs on the O2 network but is loads cheaper (for what I use my phone for), oddly it is also owned by the company who own O2, so things are not always as different as they seem.
But I wanted to keep my number

Moving my Phone Number

The first step is to order a new SIM card from your chosen new provider (for me this was giffgaff) and activate it according to their instructions.
You also need to know if your phone is unlocked (can be used on any network) often your current network will unlock it for you if you ask. This allows your phone to be used on any network.

Step two. Once you have an Activated SIM card from your new provider you need to phone your current provider (in my case this was O2) and ask for a PAC code or say you want to transfer your number to another network. They should give you this within 2 hours.
Make sure you write it down and keep it safe. O2 also sent it to me as a text message. Mine looked something like “TEL 746 353”. It took about 5 minutes on the phone, they offered me a fairly good deal to stay with them too but not quite as good as giffgaff. I was actually on the phone for 15 minutes but most of the time was us chatting about him renting an apartment and all the costs that went along with it (it was a freephone number so I was happy to chat)

The PAC code only lasts 30 days (or 14 days in some cases) so you need to be fairly quick at doing step three…

Step three. Contact your new network provider with the PAC code. Pick a date to transfer your number across (usually 2 days later and not at a weekend).

Final step. On the day your number transfers over, turn off your phone, put the new SIM card in, then turn it back on. They suggest you turn it off and on a few times throughout the day just to make sure it registers on the new network OK.  There will be a few hours where your phone won’t work on either network, but for me it was done inside of 2 hours. Your new provider will tell you how long this time will be. You can usually make emergency 999 calls during this time, but not always.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you take a backup of anything saved on your SIM card before you do step two, things that might be on the SIM card are text messages and saved phone numbers.

I would also suggest you take a backup of anything important on your phone (contacts, text messages, photos) – while none should be lost, it’s good practice to do backups before making any big change.

Which network is right for me?

It’s worth checking a few different networks including the main 4 listed above, some offer more data, some more minutes, some have better signal strength where you live / work / visit most. It just totally depends on how you use your phone.

If you have any questions about choosing a network let me know and I will do my best to help.
Mike 🙂