Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best Sim deals !

smiley — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:39:03 GMT

Although this is not a subject unique to Samsung, this is a subject that is very relevant to the mobile phones that we use every day, so i wanted to do a post on this subject.

So who checks their Sim deal regularly ? Who gets anxious when it comes to considering looking at switching to a better deal ? Who has completed their contract term and have just let the previous deal continue to roll on ?

I AM HOPING BY POSTING MY GUIDANCE HERE, THAT IT HELPS TO INSPIRE YOU, TO CHECK YOUR OWN SIM DEALS, AND SEE IF YOU CAN GET A BETTER PRICE.

I have fairly recently spent some time looking myself at various sim deals, and shopping around to get the best deal. In recent years I have seen the benefit of buying my phones 'outright' from Samsung directly, and then separately looking for a sim card with one of the carriers available. By finance calculations this usually ends up a lot cheaper... but not always... especially when some promotional deals are available from time to time.

Right now I am looking for sim cards for both of my elderly parents. They are both still paying the same costs as their previous contract, and have been paying 'over the odds' for some months, compared to current deals available. One of the parents is paying some £16 a month which increases yearly, and the other is £14.50 + extras.

Switching

Although this process can cause some worry and anxiety, it really is made very easy nowadays. Below is a brief list of how this works.

1) Send a text 'PAC' to the code 65075. This is the same for ALL operators. Within a few minutes an automated response will be received by text, and quoting your Porting Authorisation Code. This message should also provide you with your current financial obligations and if you wish to leave. If you are out of the contract term, then this will usually be £0.

2) Select a new sim card deal. Order and buy a sim card of your choice to be delivered to your home. You can transfer your old number later by using the PAC code quoted above, after you receive the new sim. When it turns up, it will have a NEW number, but often this is just for a few temporary days, until the number transfer has been carried out.

NB: if you wish to stay with the same network there can be a restriction about porting numbers.... i.e. you cannot get a new Vodafone card in a special SIM deal, if you are already a vodafone customer, and then hope to transfer your number... there is a way this issue that i will discuss later.

3) Once the sim card arrives then insert into the phone and register the sim card with their app and create all your login details. This is very simple process and will trigger the new Sim contract deal.

4) In the members area of the sim card app... there will be an option to 'transfer your number to this new sim card'. Follow the instructions and within a few days, your number will be ported across. In addition to this, your old contract will be cancelled and a final bill will be sent to you. This all happens AUTOMATICALLY.

5) Enjoy your new sim deal on your new carrier network.

SOME Current Sim Deals

This is a small subset of deals listed below... in a world of a massive number of carriers that typically operate on one of the four main networks, Three, EE, Vodafone and O2.

Of course these deals will change cosntantly, but it is worth looking at comparison sites such as uswitch.com and moneysupermarket...amongst other favourites you might have. I personally use uswitch for my comparisons, but feel free to try others.

One thing i would say in this competitive industry is that you can get some extremely good deals on Sim only... pretty much for nothing. Also you should not need to sign long term agreements for your sim only deals... many are available on a 30 day rolling contract, and meaning that you do not have to lock away for 12 or 24 months. However you may find some slightly better prices on the sim contracts that are for 12 months or more.

So here are a few standout deals that I would consider myself.

IDmobile. Operate on the three network. My personal favourite at the moment, and what I am currently with. You dont need to sign lengthy deals here, and there are some fantastic prices. Furthermore they also offer still Free EU roaming, and even a data rollover between months. Finally they do not increase costs in April like most others.

For info, I personally have a 30 day rolling contract with 50GB of data for £8 a month !

I have also signed my parents up to a 30 day rolling with 20GB for £6 a month. I mean what is not to like ? 😀

Vodafone. Many peoples favourite. There are some great prices also available...these require a 12 month signed contract, but the prices are also very attractive... so 12 months is not a long time if you are sure you want Vodafone.

Note that VOXI are Vodafones short term / pay and go service, so this is still Vodafone direct. These offer the 30 day / no contract prices.

EE Network. Where EE Sim only deals are available, often they come out at a higher price than other networks. Shopping around can help, and dont let me put you off doing your own research. However if you like the EE network and want a cheap SIM cost then you could look towards Spusu as a company that piggy backs on the EE network.

So to wrap up... hopefully this helps with 'SIM TRANSFER AWARENESS' and reduces any anxiety you might have about switching. It really is that easy. If you are out of a long contract term and want a change then what is stopping you ! 😃

p.s. It has took me more work and longer to type this message out, than for the overall process of switching between sim cards and carriers. Please find yourself a better deal !

Have a good weekend

Smiley

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best deal from Sim deals !

smiley — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:49:42 GMT

I mentioned about transferring from one sim card to another on the same network. This is a little bit tricky, but can be done by doing two switches.

As an example, switch from an expensive Vodafone sim card, to a very cheap 'donor' card on another network. You can pick the cheapest sim only deal... perform a PAC transfer... and then a short time later to perform a second PAC transfer back to your favourite network.

This is actually more common a method than you might think. So it is a little bit more work... requires two network switches to get back to where you want to be. Effectively though all the effort is done by the sim carriers and you just wait in the background.

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best deal from Sim deals !

ChrisB_ — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:38 GMT

This is superb stuff, @smiley. I've moved the thread to the Samsung Lounge board, as it's more likely to get the readership it deserves here. 🙂

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide t..

lminvti — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:23 GMT

Great stuff, @smiley
EE prices always are highest, but they do have some discounts if you are existing BT Broadband customer:

"Existing BT Broadband customers joining EE on a Pay Monthly SIM plan are entitled to a 30% discount on the monthly plan price and double data"

Re: Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free gui..

SevN — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:16:20 GMT

I would like just to confirm and support what you've said about the double switch.
I've done it couple years ago, Vodafone on that moment had a very good offer on Sim only but for new customers only. I've get the offer with a new sim and then I just carried my old Vodafone number through another supplier back to Vodafone over the new sim only number. It's worth to keep my old number and working perfectly exactly as you said. 👌👏👍

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide t..

MLG_Charizard — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:29:41 GMT

If you go through USwitch you can often find some really great prices on Sim only contracts.

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best Sim deals !

Sonora — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:17:36 GMT

I have flat (really flat) for 30€/ month 😄

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Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best Sim deals !

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best deal from Sim deals !

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best deal from Sim deals !

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide t..

Re: Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free gui..

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide t..

Re: Changing Carrier providers... Sim Only transfers ... A worry free guide to getting the best Sim deals !