My EE sim card doesn't work in my home country

[Haukmin]

I started using an EE SIM card with the 'Pay as you go' plan 6 months ago in the UK. Now, I am in my home country, Taiwan.

Despite showing the bars with R sign, I cannot use phone calls and SMS (which showed Failed to send).  There are still a few pounds left in my EE account.

Before I went back to my country, I went to the EE store and asked the staff about the SIM condition, and he told me that I could use it; actually, it is not.

Can someone please help me how to deal with this? I am afraid of losing my phone number if I can't use it once a month.

[XRaySpeX]

@Haukmin : Your PAYG pack is only valid in the EU. Taiwan is not in EU. You will need to top-up to make calls & texts.

[Haukmin]

I have 5 pounds left in my account. With this, could I be able to make calls and texts? Do I have to top-up again to activate this calls and texts? 
Regards

[XRaySpeX]

Yes, you should be able to. Calls are £1.80/min & texts are 60p each.

[Haukmin]

But I tried a few seconds ago with my remaining balance. It didn't work. Could you pls enlighten me?

With regards

[XRaySpeX]

Maybe your PAYG SIM has gone into hibernation.

When did you last use it for a chargeable action? EE PAYG SIMs are deactivated after 6 months of non-chargeable use. You then have a further 3 months to call EE to reactivate it before it is lost completely.

You needed to make a chargeable action like making a chargeable call or text, topping up or buying a Pack or Add-on, not just using your mins, texts or data from your pack.

[Haukmin]

I started using PAYG since I bought it from a vending machine. I started with a 20 GBP package and changed to a 10 GBP package 3 months later. My current package is still alive and will be expired on Jan 26, 2024.

[James_B]

Have you tried selecting a different network manually, @Haukmin?

James

[Haukmin]

Yep, I have two SIM cards (Local sim + EE sim), and I selected one manually and tried another. But still, it didn't work. 

With regards

Haukmin

[James_B]

Have you tried all available networks, @Haukmin?

James