Moving abroad, keeping UK mobile number active on Pay As You Go

[paz7]

Am moving abroad (to the UAE) - in terms of keeping my current UK Pay As You Go (O2) phone number active, I am considering porting to Three.

1. Will my Pay As You Go SIM be on 5G service while I am in the UK?

2. I appreciate I will have to make atleast 1 call / text event every 180 days it seems - but to confirm, I do not need to be in the UK every 2/3/4 months to keep the line active?

3. I can top up via Three App, online, etc when I am abroad?

4. In the meantime (before I move abroad), if I visit the USA my data allowance during the trip will be used via the Pay As You Go plan I select.

5. I can deselect all monthly Pay As You Go plans before I move abroad (to not be charged monthly for an allowance).

6. I have a Three Pay As You Go SIM pack (which I can insert and port my existing number into). If I wanted to switch this to an e-Sim on my phone is that possible?

[paz7]

Is anyone able to help pls 🙂

[JonathanB · Accepted solution]

Hi @paz7,

Sorry for the delay in picking up your post. I'll do my best to help.

1. 5G is available at no extra cost, regardless of plan. As long as you're phone/device you use the SIM with is compatible, and you're in a 5G coverage area. Our coverage checker may help you check this out further if you know any locations you'll be using the SIM

2. That's correct in terms of the 180 days, so as long as you set a reminder to periodically send a text at the very least this should keep the line active. Here's a link to the fair usage policies for Go Roam. Please read this carefully, if the line is being used exclusively as an incoming line abroad then your roaming may be restricted.

3. I'd recommend to activate your SIM and set your My3 up before leaving but you should be able to access this from abroad. You do require a UK credit/debit card with a UK billing address to make a payment though.

4. Yes you can use Go Roam from the USA. Here's the rates in the USA. Again fair usage does apply so you can use no more than 12GB per month in terms of data, and allowances for calling and texts are for contacting UK numbers, so you may need to apply an additional top up credit, or look into a local SIM if you plan to also contact US numbers.

5. Yes, there's no requirement to auto-renew, so you could just do a one off top up, then wait a few months before topping up again.

6. eSIM is not currently available for PAYG lines, we may add this support in the future though.

Hope this helps you decide on what to do next. I think this will depend on how you intend to use the service. If this is to keep the number active for later trips back to the UK, by occasionally popping the SIM in your phone and sending a text, and for short term use whilst you're getting set up abroad, this ought to work. If you plan to keep the SIM switched on for incoming calls all the time, then you may be better to look into other options as our fair usage does prohibit long term roaming, and maintaining a line purely for incoming calls.

Thanks,
JonathanB

[JonathanB]

Hi @paz7,

Just one other consideration, sorry I missed the part about your long term move being to the UAE. Here's the UAE rates. As it's not a Go Roam destination, you would need to top up some cash credit. The rates are quite high, and answering incoming calls is a chargeable there, just in case this affects your decisions.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[paz7]

Thank you very much Jonathan, this is hugely helpful!

I plan on setting this up ASAP (ahead of a move next month).

I also plan on maintaining a cash balance on the line (c. £10-£50) at all times; seems this will help with the occassional text + v.occassional incoming phone call. Primarily want to keep this line active for 1-2 years for rare contacts who do not have my other / new / local line upon my move. Seems this will fit the bill.

[JonathanB]

Great glad to hear this!

[Sanni]

Hi I'm currently in abroad how can I use my service 

[JonathanB]

Hi @Sanni, 

Can you help us understand in a bit more detail what issues you're running into? What country are you in right now, are you seeing any error messages?

Generally you should be able to use your services as normal, but you will need to check if roaming/data roaming is switched on in your settings to connect to the Internet and use data.

If you've never used your number abroad since joining Three or since your last upgrade, it's best to check your My3 or with customer services that roaming is active too.

Finally your spend limit can stop you using the services if this is set to £0 or the limit has been reached, so you may need to increase this.

We always recommend checking roaming rates on our website before using the services too. The page I've linked will let you search per country whether you're in a Go Roam destination or somewhere that is charged per minute/text/MB used.

Hope this helps, let me know if you're still having trouble getting connected.

JonathanB