is it possible to reactivate one month unlimited sim?

[Tigurr]

Greetings, I purchased a one month unlimited SIM for 3 from Amazon.co.uk for a trip to London and Torquay, back in May and it worked okay. I'm heading back through France on the 8th and wonder if it's possible to activate it again? I tried signing up on the 3 Community support page and it said my ten digit number should start with 08XXXXXXXX but it does not, so I have not been able to chat directly with 3 yet. Do you figure these one month SIMs are just that, use once and that's it? If possible I would like to have it active and use it in France before I get to Birmingham.

[JonathanB]

Hi Tigurr,

It sounds like you may have stumbled on a support page for our sister company Three Ireland, as they use 08 mobile numbers. UK numbers begin 07 and are 11 digits long. If you still have the link for the page can you share it so I can check it out?

If you bought through Amazon, I expect this would be a PAYG, do you still have the SIM packaging to confirm this?

If you've got a PAYG SIM it should just be a case of buying another one month bundle. They stay active as long as there has been some usage in the last 6 months. And if you need to test the SIM from France, then it should be able to receive a call or text without being topped up.

Hope this helps

JonathanB

[MBishop]

Hi Jonathan,

My case is similar.  I bought a sim card (with the "Three Bundle 25") at Heathrow on August 28, 2022 and last used it on September 12.  I figure this means my sim will not be active after March 12, 2023, at the latest.

My question is simple : can I just re-activate it or do I need a new sim card ?  I'll be back in UK in mid-April and close by (France) in July.

Thanks,

Martin

[JonathanB]

Hey Martin,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. Yes you'll need to make a chargeable usage within a rolling 6 months to keep a PAYG SIM active. If you have a UK credit/debit card, with a UK billing address, you could top up a minimum £5. Or if you have a contact in the UK that can get you a voucher from a retailer and pass on the code, that's another way to add credit.

I'm assuming from reading this, that you're not in the UK long term, and don't need a consistent number though, so you may find it easier to just get a new SIM and number in April, rather than incur an additional cost on a SIM you won't be using in the meantime.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[MBishop]

Thanks.  That answers my question perfectly.  Your assumption is correct. 🙂