topic Re: SIM Card Activation in SIM cards & Porting

SIM Card Activation

JC0011 — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:28:06 GMT

'm getting a bit desperate to say the least! I have just put a replacement PAYG SIM card into my iphone 16 and nothing works. I have no mobile connection to the network at all. I can connect though to my wifi at home. We have no landline since it was taken away and there is no mobile signal.

I realised that I needed to activate the new SIM card and maybe that's why it wasn't working. However part of the process is to have a one time PIN texted to you, which despite multiple attempts never happened. There's nobody to speak to to sort it out, and I can't ring anybody because I don't have any other phone. There's not even a bot to talk to. I live in a place where a mobile phone that works through the wifi is important, but at the moment the tech doesn't work. Help Me Please!!

Re: SIM Card Activation

bristolian — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:25:11 GMT

Put simply, you will need to either find a way of connecting your phone to EE's network, or a way of calling EE-CS.

What was the reason for replacing the SIM? Was it a lost/stolen replacement, a new line, or something else? Ordinarily you could use WiFi-calling to receive text messages, but if the SIM isn't yet active then that will be caught by catch-22.

Ultimately your solution may be to travel to another location that has coverage, or borrow a phone from a friend/relative.

Re: SIM Card Activation

Peter_W — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:27:45 GMT

Good afternoon @JC0011.

Welcome to the EE Community!

I can totally understand you'll want to get reconnected as soon as possible, but there are a few things we'll need to double check in order to best advise you here.

First of all, did you request a blank replacement SIM specifically from us, or did you just buy a new EE pay as you go SIM from a third party retailer like a supermarket or newsagent?

Also have you totally lost service on your old SIM, or is this still working?

Peter