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Contract musical chairs

moj
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I'm sure this has been asked before, but couldn't find a previous answer...

 

My adult daughter is 9-10 months into an iPhone SE contract with O2, but is now consumed with iPhone envy when seeing her friends' 11s and 12s.

 

I'm using an iPhone 6s (on GiffGaff), but am now (mildly) consumed with iPhone envy when seeing my wife's iPhone 11.

 

Presumably she can open another contract with O2 and simply move her SIM to her new iPhone, but how would I go about 'inheriting' her iPhone SE and the various O2 benefits while retaining my number?

 

It's obviously to O2's benefit that I (re)join - they get a shiny new 24 month contract - but the only solution I can think of involves her a) PACing her existing number to her new temporary number, and b) once that's done, requesting a new SIM for her iPhone 11 then PACing my number to that one? 

 

Is there an easier way? And can/should her existing contract with 14-15 months left to run be transferred to my name rather than me just bunging her £25 a month, or is that just another layer of complication?

 

How difficult is it to satisfy our wants and desires?

 

Any advice gratefully received!

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MI5
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@moj 

There's no way around it unless you either pay off the SE contract or have 2 contracts running at the same time.

If you go the 2 contract route, just get the 12 on the lowest, cheapest plan there is and put her SE sim in it to continue using her current tariff.

The new tariff that comes with the 12 will be effectively wasted but the only other option is to buy a 12 outright.

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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MI5
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@moj 

I'm a little confused but I'll try to answer:

Sims can be used in any phone.

Upgrades retain the same number automatically.

Device plans must be paid off before you can upgrade.

You can get your PAC from giffgaff Guide: How to get your PAC [June 2021 Update] 

and give it to O2 Guide: Migration & porting into O2  once you have your O2 contract or just put your giffgaff sim in the SE.

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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moj
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Thanks for the response.

 

If she were to upgrade then presumably she'd have to pay the pro rata cost of the iPhone SE (~£280 based on 15 months remaining at current outright purchase price) which would be fine but O2's upgrade tariffs, last time I looked, are astonishingly uncompetitive: typically more expensive each month over a default 36 months than a reseller's price over 24 months.

 

On several occasions I've had multiple O2 contracts on the go simultaneously, so I guess there's no issue with my daughter holding two contracts at one time. The problem is the numbers. Can someone tell me if number transfers target the SIM or the phone itself?

 

Presumably I could enter into a contract for an iPhone 12 (or whatever it is she wants), I could port my number to the new phone, and once that's done we could simply swap the two phones themselves while keeping our own SIMs. Would that cause 'administrative issues' with the two accounts?

 

It seems as though this should be a relatively easy process, and perhaps I'm over-thinking it. Is there an O2 mechanism that allows my daughter to transfer ownership/billing of her existing phone to me?

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gmarkj
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You could take out a contract for the 12 and then just swap handsets with your daughter @moj.

She would continue to pay her SE contract until that ends, and you would pay for your 12.

So you use the new o2 sim in the SE (with your number that is on GiffGaff if you port in), and your daughter would use her sim in your 12 (with her existing number).

To be brutally honest, o2 don't care who uses what phone so long as the bills are all paid!

Please note, this is not customer services and we cannot access your account. Do not publish personal details (email, phone number, bank account).


Link to our guide on how to contact them can be found here

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moj
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Thanks, a straight phone swap while retaining our own SIMs (once I've ported from GiffGaff) does look like an easy solution.

 

The only downside when compared to a more 'formal' transfer of her existing contract is that, at the end of the SE contract (Nov '22), she'll have to move to whatever SIM-only provider she fancies until the iPhone 12 contract expires (August '23 earliest). That and trying to work out who owes who what!

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MI5
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@moj 

There's no way around it unless you either pay off the SE contract or have 2 contracts running at the same time.

If you go the 2 contract route, just get the 12 on the lowest, cheapest plan there is and put her SE sim in it to continue using her current tariff.

The new tariff that comes with the 12 will be effectively wasted but the only other option is to buy a 12 outright.

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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