Will my PAYG SIM be deactivated if I'm not in the UK but top up regularly?

[Alex_St57]

Hi,

I have EE Pay As You Go SIM cards that I'm not able to use in the UK for an extended period (around 4 months) — I won't be making calls, sending texts, or using data on them.

However, I will be topping them up remotely (online) with around £8 every 2 months.

My question: does topping up count as a "chargeable action" that resets the 179-day inactivity/hibernation timer, even if I'm not otherwise using the SIM at all (no calls, texts, or data)?

I want to make sure the SIMs won't go into hibernation or be deactivated as long as I keep topping them up on this schedule.

Thanks in advance for any clarification.

[XRaySpeX]

@Alex_St57 : PAYG SIMs don't go into hibernation until after 179 days (~6 months) of non-chargeable activity.

Topping-up during this period does count as a "chargeable action" & resets the period of inactivity back to 0, even if you do nowt else.

[Peter_W]

Welcome to the Community, @Alex_St57 

As @XRaySpeX has mentioned here, it's only after 179 days of inactivity that your SIM will be placed into hibernation.

Even from then, you have a 3 month grace period to request the suspension be lifted, and it's only if you don't respond by the end of this window will the account be permanently cancelled.

We have a full breakdown of how this works here:

Understanding Pay As You Go Hibernation

Peter

[Alex_St57]

Hi Peter,

Thank you so much for the clear explanation — really helpful!

I actually called EE Customer Support beforehand and was told that topping up does NOT count as a chargeable action, which left me quite confused. Your post clarifies things a lot, since it explicitly lists topping up as a chargeable activity (as long as it's done before the 179-day mark).

Thanks again!