Swapping over to giffgaff

[Polar Bear]

I have a sim sent by mllePB.   I can see goodybags which are appropriate for my use and will save me money each month.   I have an unlocked phone.   I want to take my existing number with me...

OK, so I know that I need to request my PAC from O₂ but what I do not find clear is how the transfer process happens.

Can somebody enlighten me please?   I have looked through the giffgaff knowledge base but it seems lacking in information on how to transfer your number form one provider to giffgaff.   I cannot afford to be days without a phone.   

[mcshroom]

I've not switched to Giffgaff, but this looks like a decent guide on how to do it

https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Getting-started/How-do-I-keep-my-current-mobile-number/ta-p/3521127

[Polar Bear]

Yes, that does look helpful.  thanks.

Dunno how I managed to not find that.   All I could find was how to transfer out of giffgaff.   

[Diver300]

When you get your giffgaff SIM working, check that the data is fast enough for your needs. It can be slow.

Apart from that, giffgaff have a very good value service.

[jsabine]

I transferred from O2 to giffgaff about 9 months ago - it was pretty much seamless, and I think I was without a phone for something like 90 mins.

AFAICR, the guide mcshroom has linked to is what I followed, and how the procedure worked: it really was as simple as i) get PAC, ii) enter PAC and choose transfer date, iii) wait for it to happen.

[Polar Bear]

How long before entering the PAC should I activate the giffgaff sim?   I assume that I have to credit it as part of activation.

[Mr Larrington]

I switched recently; IIRC I activated the SIM as soon as I had it in my grubby little paw, then did the number switch thing immediately afterwards as Talk Talk had already provided a PAC.  Giffgaff were a little tardy in switching to the new number but it got there in the end.

[jsabine]

How long before entering the PAC should I activate the giffgaff sim?   I assume that I have to credit it as part of activation.

30 secs?

Like Mr L, I did it as part of the same process.

[Gattopardo]

Hello

You need to contact giffgaff, usually online and contact an agent, give them the PAC (port autharisation code) and it will take 2-5 days to complete the change over. 

Might be worth while to look at lifemobile (on EE) the deal through Uswitch is £5.95 with 1000 minutes, 5,000texts and 1gb of 3g data

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

[hbunnet]

mcshrooms link looks good. I did this 3 years ago and it all went easily, an hour or so while it happened.

[Polar Bear]

Hello

You need to contact giffgaff, usually online and contact an agent, give them the PAC (port autharisation code) and it will take 2-5 days to complete the change over. 

Might be worth while to look at lifemobile (on EE) the deal through Uswitch is £5.95 with 1000 minutes, 5,000texts and 1gb of 3g data

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

Thanks but I am 4g man.   

[citoyen]

Being in a similar position to PB, I've just switched to giffgaff from 3. Very easy and mostly painless.

Ordered a SIM from giffgaff a couple of days ago.

Today, I phoned 3 to tell them I wanted to cancel my contract, listened to their customer retention spiel for ages, told them firmly that I didn't want to give them my reasons for moving or who I was moving to, eventually got passed on to cancellation who within a few minutes had sent my PAC code by text.

Went to giffgaff website, logged in, activated the SIM card, then filled in the PAC form to start the number transfer process - it should be done by Tuesday.

It feels good to be finally freed from the tyranny of phone contracts. Next time I want to upgrade my phone, I shall buy one outright rather than get tied in again. But my current phone is perfectly adequate for my needs for now.

[hubner]

3's payg prices are much lower than Giffgaff's payg:


3:
calls 3p/min
text 2p
data 1p/MB
https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order


Giffgaff:
Calls, texts and call forwarding to giffgaff numbers: Free
Calls to other UK mobiles, landlines and calls forwarding   15p per minute
Texts to other UK mobiles and landlines   5p per text
Mobile data    5p per MB
https://www.giffgaff.com/pricing


I'm on 3 payg and I'm a low user, I probably spend about £10-£15 on top ups per year. I know the monthly bundles work out cheaper if you use them all up, but I wouldn't.

[Kim]

Indeed.  Giffgaff used to have a rather good sliding scale for PAYG data, which has been replaced with a flat rate 5p/min.  I've stuck with them for now mainly for the free SMS to other Giffgaff users.  I have a Three PAYG SIM in my tablet, where I use more data (and it's handy to have them on different networks when you're camping in the sticks).

I don't do calls.

[citoyen]

I know the monthly bundles work out cheaper if you use them all up, but I wouldn't.

When I joined 3, it was mainly for the unlimited data, and they've let me keep that over the years but the price has gone up massively. Switching to a giffgaff bundle that gives me what I need is saving me £31 a month. I'm mainly a data user and rarely use up call and text allowances whatever plan I'm on.

The nice customer retention man at 3 tried to persuade me to stay with some special offers, but I'd already lost interest in what he was saying by then.

[Quisling]

When you get your giffgaff SIM working, check that the data is fast enough for your needs. It can be slow.

Apart from that, giffgaff have a very good value service.

^this^
I had an unlimited data sim from Giffgaff but the data was so slow it was debatable whether it was worse than our rural broadband (circa 1 meg download).  I know they throttle speeds after you've used 6 gig of data but the speed was poor before I'd used any at all.  After several months of this I switched to Vodafone and now get 20+ Mbps download speeds.  Summary: Cheap, not particularly cheerful.

[citoyen]

I note that the advice about speed was in response to PB, who was switching from O2. Since giffgaff uses the O2 network, you'd expect the download speed to be the same.

You also need to consider coverage - 3 may have faster download speeds than O2/giffgaff when you can get it, but its 4G coverage is terrible.

[Quisling]

I note that the advice about speed was in response to PB, who was switching from O2. Since giffgaff uses the O2 network, you'd expect the download speed to be the same.

You also need to consider coverage - 3 may have faster download speeds than O2/giffgaff when you can get it, but its 4G coverage is terrible.

I also switched originally from O2 to Giffgaff. I was getting 14 Mbps on O2 and only 1 - 1.7 on Giffgaff in spite of apparently using the same carrier.  Others here are chataeu Q are also on O2 and get far better speeds than I ever got on Giffgaff.

[citoyen]

I also switched originally from O2 to Giffgaff. I was getting 14 Mbps on O2 and only 1 - 1.7 on Giffgaff in spite of apparently using the same carrier.  Others here are chataeu Q are also on O2 and get far better speeds than I ever got on Giffgaff.

So much for expectations!

The good news is that if I'm disappointed with giffgaff, at least I'm not tied into a long contract.

EE is reckoned to be the fastest and best coverage. I notice that EE is offering 10GB with unlimited calls and texts for £19.99 a month at the moment, which would suit me nicely, but is still £5 a month more than the plan I've signed up to with giffgaff. It's also a 12 month contract. Question is whether that connection speed/coverage is worth the extra cost and being tied in. We'll see.