SIM card number no longer connected to my account - help!

[rosegrrl]

Hi folks,

So I've had a SIM card for years with ee. I live abroad and use it when I'm home for local service - it's also the number on all of my bank accounts etc in the UK. I've just realised that it's no longer connected to my account and when I try to 'add my number' on the website the system wants me to receive a text to verify, which I cannot do because I'm not on a UK system and my number is no longer connected to my account with the balance that used to be there.

What can I do? I can't get through to ee help from here and need my phone to work again when I land in London in a few weeks. Has anyone had this too and how did you solve it (short of going into an ee store, which I won't have time to do between my plane landing and getting to a train for a booked ticket)

[XRaySpeX]

@rosegrrl : Sounds like your PAYG SIM may have gone into hibernation due to non-use. 

When did you previously make a chargeable action? EE PAYG SIMs are deactivated after 6 months of non-chargeable use. You then have a further 3 months period of grace 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.

[rosegrrl]

This must be a newer policy then. As I said, I've had this SIM for years and am often gone for a year or more at a time. During COVID I was gone for two years and my number was still attached to my account and could just be reactivated from the app before I got home. And no, I did not make any chargeable calls or texts during that time.

Thanks for the info but it doesn't actually answer my question, which was, how can I reactivate my account from out of the country, when I am (obviously) unable to receive a confirmation text to the number that I am trying to reactivate?

[XRaySpeX]

It's been that way for yonks.

You can't when it's been over 9 months. Buy a new SIM.

[rosegrrl]

Since you are confidently incorrect about the length of time it's been the case (unless I am just today learning that 'yonks' means 'longer than one year ago') - since it was about that long ago that I last successfully reactivated my account with the same number - I will respectfully keep my fingers crossed until I can speak to someone better informed.

[Michael_D]

Hi @rosegrrl 

From what you have described, it does sound like the SIM has been cut off now and the number would be lost if it has been more than 9 months since there was any chargeable action. 

The hibernation policy that @XRaySpeX has mentioned has been in place for many years to make sure that unused mobile numbers can be reused, as there are only so many available. I do think that may have been paused during Covid times as people were not in a position to use their phones as much.

Michael