Using MSE link for O2

er86008

People might be interested to know that O2 makes it very tricky to keep your existing O2 number if you go for one of MSE's SIM-only deals. The deals O2 offers on its website are so expensive, so I used an MSE link to get a much cheaper deal. But when I came to transfer my number, I couldn't find out how to do it. After hours trying the website and the app, I spent more hours struggling to get through to a person on the phone.
Once I managed to speak to someone (I repeatedly pressed the hash key), she told me that keeping your number isn't possible if you go through an affiliate link. She eventually agreed to do it - "but it will take at least 24 hours".
It took less than 10 minutes. 
Just something to bear in mind. I wondered whether it might be an idea to put a warning on the website.

er86008

I should have said that I was paying £9.44 for 4GB data, plus unlimited calls and texts. I've now got 32 GB data plus unlimited calls and texts for £8.

Detail_Merchant

There is a trick to work round this issue, that I read on another website, and seems to work.

After clicking to the deal from MSE (or similar from USwitch etc.) and getting to the "Build your package" page, in your browser address bar, replace

/shop/sim-cards/sim-only-deals/configuration?

with

/shop/alreadywitho2?

But leave the stuff after ? such as plan-offering-id= etc. as it is.

Now the screen should start "Are you already with O2?" and offer 3 options:

• No, I'm not with O2
• Yes, I'm with O2 and want to add an additional number
• Yes, I'm with O2 and want to upgrade my plan
  

Choose the 3rd option, and you should hopefully be able to change your existing O2 number to a new plan as shown by MSE or other comparison site.

flaneurs_lobster

That's really useful, hope it still works when my renewal is due.

Daft of O2 to make it quite so hard, you are, after all, only trying to spend money with them.

er86008

flaneurs_lobster said:

That's really useful, hope it still works when my renewal is due.

Daft of O2 to make it quite so hard, you are, after all, only trying to spend money with them.

Absolutely! I wondered whether the MSE links should include a warning about this.

Detail_Merchant

Detail_Merchant said:

There is a trick to work round this issue, that I read on another website, and seems to work.

After clicking to the deal from MSE (or similar from USwitch etc.) and getting to the "Build your package" page, in your browser address bar, replace

/shop/sim-cards/sim-only-deals/configuration?

with

/shop/alreadywitho2?

But leave the stuff after ? such as plan-offering-id= etc. as it is.

Now the screen should start "Are you already with O2?" and offer 3 options:

• No, I'm not with O2
• Yes, I'm with O2 and want to add an additional number
• Yes, I'm with O2 and want to upgrade my plan
  

Choose the 3rd option, and you should hopefully be able to change your existing O2 number to a new plan as shown by MSE or other comparison site.

Unfortunately this doesn't seem work any more :-( 

flaneurs_lobster

Detail_Merchant said:

Detail_Merchant said:

There is a trick to work round this issue, that I read on another website, and seems to work.

After clicking to the deal from MSE (or similar from USwitch etc.) and getting to the "Build your package" page, in your browser address bar, replace

/shop/sim-cards/sim-only-deals/configuration?

with

/shop/alreadywitho2?

But leave the stuff after ? such as plan-offering-id= etc. as it is.

Now the screen should start "Are you already with O2?" and offer 3 options:

• No, I'm not with O2
• Yes, I'm with O2 and want to add an additional number
• Yes, I'm with O2 and want to upgrade my plan
  

Choose the 3rd option, and you should hopefully be able to change your existing O2 number to a new plan as shown by MSE or other comparison site.

Unfortunately this doesn't seem work any more :-( 

Unfortunately, confirmed.

Any chance you can get back to your source of useful hacks and see if anyone's found any more workarounds?

Detail_Merchant

flaneurs_lobster said:

Any chance you can get back to your source of useful hacks and see if anyone's found any more workarounds?

I've not tested it myself (the family O2 account is in my OH's name) but apparently if you find a deal from USwitch or similar, click through to O2, you can get the part of the URL after ?plan-offering-id= which starts something like 2025SOHA12P1.03%3A70GB%3A1&partnerId= then, maybe in a different window/tab/broweser log in to your O2 account, go to a one of the upgrade option, and replace the equivalent part in the URL with the previously saved part.

flaneurs_lobster

Detail_Merchant said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Any chance you can get back to your source of useful hacks and see if anyone's found any more workarounds?

I've not tested it myself (the family O2 account is in my OH's name) but apparently if you find a deal from USwitch or similar, click through to O2, you can get the part of the URL after ?plan-offering-id= which starts something like 2025SOHA12P1.03%3A70GB%3A1&partnerId= then, maybe in a different window/tab/broweser log in to your O2 account, go to a one of the upgrade option, and replace the equivalent part in the URL with the previously saved part.

Thanks for that, unfortunately can't get it to work even with a few tweaks to the link.

I'm not going to need an 'upgrade' until next year so I'm leaving this alone until then. 

strickersuk

Detail_Merchant said:

I've not tested it myself (the family O2 account is in my OH's name) but apparently if you find a deal from USwitch or similar, click through to O2, you can get the part of the URL after ?plan-offering-id= which starts something like 2025SOHA12P1.03%3A70GB%3A1&partnerId= then, maybe in a different window/tab/broweser log in to your O2 account, go to a one of the upgrade option, and replace the equivalent part in the URL with the previously saved part.

Thanks for that, it just worked for me.