Moving overseas for a year or two, there is no information on the O2 website about this

[Matty-1989]

Hi all

I'm moving to Australia for a year or maybe 2 years. I won't come back to the UK during that time. However I really want to keep my current UK number for when I return (I've used it for most of my life, 100s of people know that is my number, and don't want to change all my details with bank accounts etc)

My plan is to cancel my O2 pay monthly contract and then move to an O2 PAYG. I will get a local Australian SIM card and use it as my every day phone. Is this a good idea? Will O2 cancel my old phone number if I don't use it at all while in Australia for 2 years?

I have been disappointed with the lack of information on the website about this, in the "Roaming Fair Usage" page it is all about EU roaming, absolutely nothing about permanent roaming outside the EU

Very grateful for any advice

[Bambino · Accepted solution]

@Matty-1989 To keep a Pay & Go sim active, you need to send a text, or make a call at least once every 6 months, and top up every 999 days.

[Matty-1989]

Thank you Bambino

So basically in total it's going to cost me a few quid (I'll send a text message to someone in the UK every 4 months just to play it safe)?

Thank you, that sounds like a perfect solution then

[pgn]

In addition to @Bambino's advice above, the info you need on moving your number from one type to another type here, @Matty-1989 - Guide: Migration & porting into O2  

Info on charges you may see when changing your contract early, if applicable, here: Guide: Cancelling Your Contract 

And finally, why move to O2 PAYG, which is a pain now they switched to 'monthly' big bundles from the legacy classic PAYG, and try, for example, 1p Mobile which would give you a year for £30. A lot cheaper than £10 per month (£120 pa).

Good luck, @Matty-1989.

[Matty-1989]

Oh, I asked this question before researching O2 PAYG plans. It's been about 20 years since I was last on PAYG, I guess my knowledge is outdated. How can PAYG be a monthly payment, doesn't that defeat the whole point of "pay as you go" (top up whenever your credit is low)? Haha

[pgn]

Indeed, @Matty-1989 - there is some uncertainty about the 999 day thing on O2 Big Bundle PAYG too - see if this helps you figure the cheapest and least hassled way of keeping your number alive for 1 or 2 years:

https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry

[Enlli]

Old style PAYG is becoming a thing of the past.

I have a PAYG that costs £30 per year to keep active but in that time credit does not run out and the balance carries over if you top up again.

I use it as a second SIM 

[Matty-1989]

Thanks very much everyone

That kenstechtips page is EXTREMELY useful!

So on 1p mobile you will basically pay £30/year to keep your phone number active, regardless of if you actually use it or not. Sounds good

However on e.g. ASDA mobile PAYG it says:

"You must make a chargeable call or text every 180 days to keep your number fully active."

So does this not mean that ASDA mobile would effectively be pennies per year to keep your mobile number active (for example sending a text to the UK is 40p, do it once every 5 months to be on the safe side)

That said, the 1pmobile classic PAYG is far cheaper than the ASDA PAYG. For example 1p/MB vs 10p/MB (ASDA). Or ASDA £7.50/MB when in Australia, compared to 1pmobile £0.02/MB when in Australia!! So maybe the 1pmobile is better just in case of an emergency situation where I actually need to use my UK number for some reason..

1p mobile also says this:

"What happens if I top-up early or by more than £10
When you log into your account, you will see the date when your next top-up is due.

Topping up early

If you top-up by £10 that date will be extended by 120 days, regardless of when you top-up. So if your next top-up date is showing as being in 40 days time and you top-up today by £10, your next top-up due date will change to be in 160 days time.

Topping up with larger amounts

You can also top-up by larger amounts and this will further extend the time to your next top-up due date.

When you top-up by £10 your next top-up due date is extended by 120 days, but if you top-up by £20, your next top-up due date is extended by 240 days, £30 will extend it by 360 days, etc"

So, I wonder if I can just get the £30 (1 year) 1mobile SIM now, then dump another £70 into it and then I'll have basically paid £80 to reserve my UK phone number for 1200 days (over 3 years) and I can lock it away and forget about it without even needing to use it once every few months. (which is a small price to pay to alleviate all of that stress, plus I might actually need to use the credit at some point). Not to mention that it's actually a pretty good deal anyway for the next few months that I'm still in the UK for. Very attractive

[Enlli]

With 1p you could put £30 on and then do auto top up through the likes of PayPal. One your balance gets to less than £2 or you are coming to the end of the year, they will top up by the amount you specify