topic Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?) in Mobile Services

Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:51:42 GMT

I just started EE recently.
And number was recently changed over.

But I cannot use calls.
Calls cut off less then a second after I've started the dial up process on my phone.
Texts are fine, but calls won't go through.

Not only that, but EE doesn't proper Live Chat option (just a bot, that will consistent give you a phone number; EVEN AFTER YOU TELL IT THAT YOU CAN'T MAKE CALLS), but no actual live agents (legit Live Chat), and apparently no actual contact email or alternative for Costumer Service and Support.

I tried the social media option, and it's just another bot doing the same questionable nonsense and sending phone number information THAT I CANNOT USE.

EE Claims my area isn't have issues.
And I can still text.

This is making me incredibly suspicious of EE, and because of that fact that they've gone out of the way to remove Live Chat options, stopping me from talking to an actual person (which I need to do to get this started).

I feel like prey tricked into a trap now.

This is my last option for contact now.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:34:29 GMT

Except people can't call.
That's literally a major issue.
You need to have a live chat option (else it's a legal situation waiting to happen).

You generally have issues where calls don't go through or don't dial, and close a second after starting.

It's really suspicious.
Why would you block customers from access live chat (which you do, you have an infuriating AI that blocks you from being able to use live chat, and instead just throws a call number at you, which you can't even use because calls are being blocked by the system).

It's a really dumb thing to go around with an attitude like; ''just use number, we don't need live chat'' .

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

bristolian — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:18:37 GMT

You only need post once for a problem, live chat is available via the myEE app for pay-monthly customers. You can also contact EE-CS from any working phone on 07953 966150 - it need not be an EE one, or a mobile.

When exactly was "recently" that you ported-in, were you able to make or receive calls prior? And have you been able to, since? If you can send & receive texts, then coverage itself is fine thus the status checker is accurate.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 11:58:16 GMT

That response sounds like it came from a bot not a real person.
Especially because this heavily implies the post was not read and this was an automated response.

If you're a real person then I like you to respond.
What did I say in my post that you're replying to.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Peter_W — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:02:11 GMT

Welcome to the Community, @Galreth.

We definitely offer live chat with an agent via the 'Message us' option in the Help section of the EE app.

They currently only support with mobile account / billing queries though, and aren't 24 hours, so the automated system is designed to route queries to the most appropriate place depending on the circumstances.

What day did your number port take place on?

It's normal to experience split service between your old and new provider on the day of transfer, but this shouldn't persist past midnight.

It'd definitely be helpful to know if these issues have been there since the SIM was activated, or only after porting, as this would point towards the above if it were the latter.

If possible it's worth checking to see if these issues occur in other locations too, as it can help us identify if the issue is network based, or due to the device / SIM.

Peter

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Schockwave — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:10:52 GMT

@bristolian , we are all real people here, most are customers like you, some are EE community support team like @Peter_W , which it will say under their names, so @bristolian is, like me and many others, a customer here to try and help.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:01:40 GMT

Thank you.
I'm finally talking to an actual person.

Significant Details;

I set up the EE contract on the 27th Feb.
I got my SIM on the 28th.

Number Transfer was completed on Tuesday (3rd March)
Texts took around midday of Tuesday to start working.

Call issues have been occurring up to now.
As originally stated they cut off immediately less than a second after the phone tries to attempt the dial process.

EE says my area is fine.
And signal bar shows it's half full.

As I said before;
I've tried to do Live Chat, but it never goes through to an actual person.
It starts with a bot and when I ask for an agent each time, it refuses to and instead gives me a number.
So live chat never happens.

Examples below.
Including the Alternative Social Media option.

Note;
Prior service were O2.
Left because of abuse on their part.
They had constant technical issues with the account to the point where it became unsafe.
They didn't bother to reset the account when it was having issues, and spent half a years worth failing to acknowledge the free cancellation option required underlaw.

I heard nothing but praise about EE, so I was hopeful when jumping on.
But now this has happened, and it feels like it's going down the same train.

With not option to get out of an unsafe situation due to being block by EE's ''absence'' of general live chat, with just the Phone Call option, which I am currently blocked from being able to use.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Peter_W — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:25:28 GMT

Thanks for sharing these details, @Galreth.

Based on the timescales it does sound like this could be an incomplete port, but testing the phone outside your local area is often the best way of ruling out a network issue.

If you know any other users on EE it's worth asking if they're experiencing similar issues in the area, and it's worth checking to see if your previous network SIM has fully deactivated, too.

As I mentioned earlier, we can offer account and billing support via messaging, but more complex technical queries would usually need you to call directly if basic troubleshooting can't resolve the issue

As @bristolian mentioned, you're able to call us on 07953 966150 from any handset, including landlines, so if you're able to borrow a phone from a friend or family member you should be able to get through for support.

Alternatively, it's also possible to visit one of our retail stores to query these issues, and if it can't be resolved then and there they can help you phone our team to discuss things further.

Peter

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

bristolian — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:18:52 GMT

@Galreth wrote:
That response sounds like it came from a bot not a real person.

Thanks for the compliment. I'll now leave you to get help from others, and wish you well resolving your issues.

Regards, Bot.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:29:48 GMT

Fair enough.
Usually when a person responds in that manner they are being challenging and usually have skimmed through things.
But Bots give automated response like that under set conditions all the time.

So I assumed it was a bot.
For Example; The other post was a posted comment on another thread from when I was searching the issue (so unless I accidently made a post the merger shouldn't have happened).

And questions about other details were already in the original post explanation/description.

So the whole thing gave off strong bot behaviour.
But if that's not the case, that's fine.

Maybe it was just confusion.
My bad if that's the case.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:30:25 GMT

I'll try that to see if it helps for the time being.
Thank you.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

ee_user14 — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:41:41 GMT

@Galreth wrote:
So I assumed it was a bot.
For Example; The other post was a posted comment on another thread from when I was searching the issue (so unless I accidently made a post the merger shouldn't have happened).

And questions about other details were already in the original post explanation/description.

Several of the regular users on here have copy & paste responses for common questions, that doesn't mean they're not real people.

The respondent in question asked when exactly you ported in, you say those were in your original post but they weren't!!!

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Peter_W — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:45:51 GMT

Thanks @Galreth.

Please keep us posted on how you get on!

Peter

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:46:11 GMT

The original comment where I gave prior answers was;
''You only need post once for a problem, live chat is available via the myEE app for pay-monthly customers. You can also contact EE-CS from any working phone on 07953 966150 - it need not be an EE one, or a mobile.''

Why did you ignore that part that was relevent?
And focus on the unrelated part?

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:51:14 GMT

Except:
''You only need post once for a problem, live chat is available via the myEE app for pay-monthly customers. You can also contact EE-CS from any working phone on 07953 966150 - it need not be an EE one, or a mobile.''

Was the part I was referring to.
Chill.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:53:24 GMT

I managed to try it outside, and it was the same result.
Is there no possibility of advancing the issue to EE on your side?

or some other form of contact.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Peter_W — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:57:35 GMT

Just a quick reminder to please keep things on-topic and civil here, guys.

I think some confusion may have arisen from the fact your original reply from another thread was merged into this main thread, @Galreth.

This can often happen when a user posts on multiple threads with the same details so we can be sure everything is in one place and remains relevant, rather than posting on older threads.

Apologies again if this has caused some crossed wires.

Putting all that aside though, I'm confident we can get to the bottom of your call issues, but in some instances more specialist support would be required, and that's when it's best to call in.

We are predominantly a peer to peer forum here, so we aren't able to offer account-level support.

Your feedback around the availability of chat is definitely something we'll take on board, though.

Peter

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Galreth — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:10:09 GMT

It's fine, thank you.
I just wanted to figure this out.

My apologies for any confusion, I'm currently very anxious and destressed by this, and these things can cause panic.
I don't want to be stuck in the situation I was with O2, I felt very preyed upon back then and as someone with a vulnerable/SN background being stuck in those situations is very normal.

So I am obviously quite freaked out over the idea of being stuck in such a situation where I am unable to get things sorted or gain a sense of control, especially if the contract has already started and is about to take full effect.

And as you said, the only option is to call, as I can't talk to a Live Agent via Chat.
Which me being unable to use call to the do the significant stuff makes things a lot more overwhelming.

But either way, apologies again.
I was just unsure in my original reply and wanted to make sure what was going on.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

ee_user14 — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:18:13 GMT

@Galreth wrote:
Was the part I was referring to.

I don't see anything wrong with that - many people think that CS can only be contacted from their mobile, so the respondent was pointing out that another phone can be used. That can reassure many anxious users.

Re: Can't Call, Can Only Text. (Why no email/legit live chat option?)

Peter_W — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:18:25 GMT

That's totally understandable, @Galreth.

It's the last way we would want you to be left feeling.

Just to double check, have you tried any other basic troubleshooting with this handset, such as restarting, enabling and disabling flight mode, or manually reconnecting to the EE network?

Often if there's been changes to your network profile at our end, which is the case with a port, something simple like this can help force any changes through.

Peter