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My O2 phone will not call or receive

NoviceJohn
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Hi everyone,

                   I'm new to the Forum and need help to get my wife's mobile back on-line.

 My wife and I are pensioners and  only use our phones occasionally, to make essential and emergency calls. 

The other day my wife's phone stopped working, with the message, "No mobile network" displayed. She has over £9.00 credit on it.

This had happened to me before when I was with Vodafone. It had cut me off for not using my phone for over one month.

Easy, I thought, just go onto "Live Chat" on the O2 website and the operator would just switch it back on remotely. Just as Vodafone had done previously.

Well after an hour of explaining things two or three times and ending up where we started, I told the operator that I felt O2 had deliberately cut my wife's phone off for under use. Whereupon he informed me that O2 were having dificulties and that "a dedicated team of engineers" were working to solve the problem. Nothing more he could do. I wrote," thank you", through gritted teeth and had to restrain myself when he wrote, "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

I then used my O2 PAYG phone and it worked. So no O2 problems. I then took my wife's phone to Portsmouth, some 40 miles away and tried to use both phones. Mine worked, hers did not.

The phone is a 10 year old Sony Xperia, has one sim card and I have rebooted both it and the sim card, following the instructions given by the O2 operator.

Is there anyone who can advise me on the procedure that one should take with O2, to regain the use of this essential mobile?

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MI5
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@NoviceJohn 

You should call customr services from your phone to get your wife's back online. Guide: How to find help & contact O2 

In future, you need to make a chargeable call or send a text at least once every 6 months.

The other possible here is a fault with your wife's sim or phone, so try your sim in her phone. If her sim is faulty, any o2 shop will replace it free of charge.

I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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Marjo
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Hi there @NoviceJohn , welcome to our community! Sorry to hear you've been having trouble with your wife's phone. Did you manage to get this sorted in the end? It would be great to hear back from you and see if you need any additional advice.

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ChrisAO
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Well that is EXACTLY the same problem I had, which I only discovered 2 days ago when we went to use it on one of those rarer occasions. But the phone had been used to send a text message in December, and when I called Customer services they said it was cut off on Jan.5th (that was less than 1 month after the text). I had over £9 credit on it as well!! After passing security checks & explaining the problem and stating that I could prove a text was sent if necessary, as it is on the phone it was sent to, as well as the phone it was sent from, I was told the SIM would be re-activated and the credit restored, and it would take between 4 to 24hrs for this to happen. 26hrs later it hadn't, so I called customer services again. Went through the same rigmarole, they apologised there'd been a system glitch, same routine again 4-24hrs. Well, within 4hrs the service restored, but I'm still waiting for the credit, we'll see tomorrow.

 

Further more, when I called the first time, I asked to double check the Ts&Cs about usage etc every 6 months and was told yes it still is. Yesterday I was told it's 90 days and I said the on-line Ts&Cs say 6 months, so that needs to be sorted out, I'm not sure I can trust what anyone says, it's always been 6 months in the past.

 

What is even more annoying is that the MyO2 online account that I'd created was also defunct and apparently wouldn't be automatically restored with the service, I'd have to register and create it again. What a rubbish system O2, fgs get your fingers out. Even the MyO2 is pretty pathetic for PAYG, half of what they list is NOT available for PAYG, they need to sort it out.

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NoviceJohn
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Hi MI5,

           Used your link and connected to "Ask a Guru".  

Although she was very rapid and impatient, she begrudgingly reconnected my phone. I had to really jump through unnecessary hoops, with little time to do so, but my phone is back on.

It appears to me that O2 have changed their policy with regards to the 6 month period of grace and are making it difficult for us customers who want to use our phones for only essential and emergency calls.

I feel as though it is me who is giving O2 the service (and having the privilege of paying for it), rather than the other way around.

                      Thanks for your help,

                                                         John

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NoviceJohn
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Dear Marjo,

                      Thanks for taking the time to try and help me. Please see my reply to MI5 for an update.

As you are a Community Manager you must come across my problem many, many times and will do so much more in the future, as it seems O2 have changed their policy of allowing customers 6 month's grace, before cutting off their phones.

May I respectfully suggest that the Community forms a special section,where concise instructions for reconnecting customers' phones are placed.

May I also respectfully point out that there must be hundreds of thousands of us pensioners who only want our phones for essential and emergency calls, which is why we choose PAYG.

Surely these big phone networks can see that PAYG is a necessary social service for the aged and giving 6 month's grace would be good publicity for them. After all, it's not as if it's a free service. Our calls are more expensive that those on contract.

Best wishes,

                      John

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MI5
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@NoviceJohn 

Im just a customer same as yourself mate. 

I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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ChrisAO
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Well a short while ago, the credit still hasn't appeared on the account, so I'll have to phone again tomorrow. I recall the agent saying something about their system crashing just as we came to the end of yesterday's call, so may be that's the reason.

I'm surprised that there was no further comment here earlier from the community managers @Marjo @Martin-O2  since your recent posts @NoviceJohn , perhaps they don't work Saturdays!

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jonsie
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ChrisAO
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Well it seemed that the system crash at the end of the last call to Customer Services was the cause of the credit not appearing. The 3rd call solved that and the credit appeared instantly!

So now it just remains to sort out these Ts&Cs, is it 90 days or 180 days and where did this top-up every 999 days in another thread come from.

I'm going to start another topic I think, the situation for Clasic PAYG is just too confusing.

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