How to top up with no handset?? This is driving me crazy O2...

[thealbs]

I have had an extremely frustrating time trying to *give* money to 02.

Situation is as follows:

• PAYG SIM installed in new electric gate mechanism (i.e. I don't have physical access to it)
• The SIM is a large size SIM and my mobiles all take Micro SIMs (so, even if I could get the Sim out, I have no handset that accepts it)
• The Sim came preloaded with £10 and is reducing rapidly
• I have tried to register the Sim in 'My O2' so I can organise auto top-up but it involves me responding to a text message on the Sim - not possible for the reasons stated above
• I have tried twice to explain this via Online Chat but it is clearly not included in any of the scripts and I have lost patience on both occasions. I am trying to PAY MONEY for heaven's sake!
• I have tried to pay via https://myo2payg.o2.co.uk/webtopup/details?journey=guest#/ but the page errors saying that there is a problem with my bank. This is despite me trying three different cards from two different banks ... all of which work find everywhere else. O2 appear to be blaming the banks for their own system issues? Surely not..
• I have tried the automated telephone system and, after spending several minutes entering all of the personal details... it just says "there has been an error" and hangs up on me

So, question ... how do you top up a PAYG SIM when it is not physically accessible to you?? 

I have never had so many issues tyring to give money away before!

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help here. 

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

@thealbs 

You will have to find an old phone to put the sim in to get the text to register for your MyO2, there's no way around this, and also required as your first top up needs to be done with a voucher. After that, you can register your card. 

You can also push out the smller sim to use in your phone then put the small sim back into the sim holder for the gate.

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/How-to-Top-Up-PAYG/ba-p/1156408

[thealbs]

Thanks for the very quick response.

Is that correct though and the only way I can pay money to O2? Do I really have to:

1) open up an electro-mechanical mechanism I have no knowledge of to extract the SIM

2) buy / find an ancient phone to inser tthe SIM in

3) register, top-up, etc

4) reinsert the SIM into the industrial gates?

Surely in this day and age there is a way O2 can register this SIM against My O2 account centrally and avoid this risky approach??

[MI5]

I wouldn't say it if it wasn't correct.

[gmarkj]

1). Yes. First voucher on a PAYG sim has to be done via a voucher.
2). Depending on the sim, it might be a multi sim meaning the chip part can be "pushed out" into a smaller size so you can put it into a phone.
3). Yes. You need to register the sim against your account, meaning you need to receive a/some texts - so it has to go into a phone. Once registered (and first top up done) you can top up on-line.
4). If you want the gates to work as designed...

Alternatively get a different sim, register and top that up and then install that into the gate?

[thealbs]

And I wouldn't question if it clearly wasn't such a breathtakingly archaic way of achieving such a simple objective.

As I said in the first point above... I dont have physical access to the SIM so that's not possible.

[MI5]

All I can suggest is that you go back to the gate manufacturer / installer for help then.

[thealbs]

Thanks gmarj. Your final option is my preferred one. Get a new Sim on a more flexible network, register it then my gate installer back to change it over. Thanks.

[gmarkj]

I wasn't thinking about a different supplier/network, but suppose that would work!
What does the instruction manual/installation say?
Presumably the installer would know how to do it?

[MI5]

I'm fairly certain that any network would want to text the sim to register it anyway.