Leaving Orange and then rejoining - will they let me keep number

paulfoel

With Orange at the moment, paying £30 a month for a contract.

Notice, that with E2save I could get a new phone (albeit a Nokia 1661) and, with cashback, pay 99p a month over 24 months (£25 a month).

I know cashback can be a PITA but this sounds good to me.

Trouble is if I phone Orange and tell them I'm leaving, will they let me transfer my number to a new Orange contract (done via e2save)?

Oscartheposcar

I was considering a similar move with O2 and I've heard conflicting stories. The usual advice seems to be that you need to do a bit of a long-winded process in getting a PAC and transferring your number to a different network (on a PAYG sim) and then signing up for your new Orange contract through the cashback site and porting your number back from the PAYG sim back to Orange.

Other people are saying you don't need to do that any more and that (some? all?) networks can use a PAC for a same-network transfer. I'm not sure if Orange can.

Jon_01

You have to move to another networks payg first. What you're trying to do it called a 'back door upgrade' (getting a new customer deal while being an existing customer). The networks don't like it, so you have do a side step to manage it. . .

paulfoel

Guess it might be easier to get a new number then?

steevie_b

Instead of calling Orange to tell them that you're leaving, try asking if they could convert you to Pay As You Go, then when you get your new contract, transfer your PAYG number to your new contract. I did this with O2 a few years ago. Didn't have to give 30 days notice either.

paulfoel

Ah. I see. So they'll convert my current contract to PAYG?

Then I get a new contract with a new number. Are you saying I can then transfer my PAYG no to this one then?

paulfoel

Bit confused. If I get a PAC code, can I port this number to an existing PAYG sim card then?

If I then take out a new Orange contract (and get a new number), can I then port the number from the PAYG to this?

I thought the ony way to transfer you're number was to get it in there before the new contract/sim/phome had been allocated a number. i.e. Once it was up and running it was too late.

Jon_01

Only Voda work like that. All the other networks allow you port a number in at any time in the contract.

baldude

your best bet would be.....first request a pac code from orange...then get a free payg sim of either three or o2 or any other network (order it through online or you an pick one from 99p stores) then give your orange pac code to your new sim's network provider. once the no is ported to your new sim network, again request a pac code from them and give it to orange.....
This is the simple and hasslefree way rather than sticking to orange and listen to different versions of their crap IMHO.
hope this helps.

paulfoel

baldude wrote: »

your best bet would be.....first request a pac code from orange...then get a free payg sim of either three or o2 or any other network (order it through online or you an pick one from 99p stores) then give your orange pac code to your new sim's network provider. once the no is ported to your new sim network, again request a pac code from them and give it to orange.....
This is the simple and hasslefree way rather than sticking to orange and listen to different versions of their crap IMHO.
hope this helps.

Excellent. Sounds much better.

How long does a pac code transfer take these days?

I'm guessing with both the payg sim and new orange contract I'll have a new number which will get wiped out when I pac my number to it?

baldude

paulfoel wrote: »

Excellent. Sounds much better.

How long does a pac code transfer take these days?

I'm guessing with both the payg sim and new orange contract I'll have a new number which will get wiped out when I pac my number to it?

at maximum it takes around 72 hours ie 3 working days. That is what i had experienced when i ported nos from Tmobile,3,voda and o2 to 3 network...