How to Switch SIM Only Plans Without Losing Your Number

To keep your number when you switch network, text PAC to 65075 from your current phone. Your network replies, usually within a minute, with a PAC code that lasts 30 days. Give that code to your new network when you join, and your number moves across within one working day.

The steps

1. Check whether you are still in a minimum term. The reply to your PAC text tells you about any early termination charge.
2. Choose your new plan and order the SIM, or an eSIM if your phone supports it.
3. Text PAC to 65075 to get your code. Text STAC to 75075 instead if you want a new number.
4. Give the PAC to your new network when you order or activate. You choose the switch date, within the 30 days.
5. On the switch day, put in the new SIM. Your number moves across and the old plan ends; you do not need to cancel it separately.

Before you switch

• Your phone is unlocked. Phones sold in the UK since December 2021 cannot be locked to one network. An older phone may be; your current network can unlock it.
• Pay-as-you-go credit. Any credit left on a pay-as-you-go SIM usually does not move with your number.
• Notice charges. You do not pay for a notice period after the day your number moves.
• Bundled phones. If your contract included the handset, check what is left to pay on the phone itself.
• Contacts and messages. They live on the phone or its cloud backup, not the SIM, so they stay with you.

Choosing the new plan

Look at how much data you used in each of the last three months, in your phone’s settings, and choose an allowance just above that. A 30-day plan lets you change again with 30 days’ notice; a 12 or 24-month plan is often cheaper each month but ties you in. Any price rise during the term must be stated in pounds and pence when you buy.

After the switch

Add the new plan to Wisemium with its price and, if it has one, its end date. The date is shown before it arrives, so you know when you are free to move again.