What is an Orange PAC code? An Orange porting authorisation code, or Orange PAC code, allows you to transfer your existing mobile phone number from Orange to another mobile phone provider so that if you change mobile phone networks you do not have to give everyone a new number. You can keep your existing Orange mobile phone number. The process is termed mobile number portability, or number porting. It's quick, FREE and very easy to do - follow the instructions for full details on how to port your Orange mobile phone number to a new network provider. NOTE: You can purchase your new phone contract and then obtain your PAC code. It is not essential to have your PAC code prior to purchasing your new phone. However, you will need your PAC code if you want to keep your existing phone number (i.e. Transfer your current number to your new provider). Use our handy tool above to obtain your PAC code. Orange PAC codes are FREE. To keep your Orange mobile phone number when switching to another mobile phone network, use our to obtain your Orange PAC code. Just select your current and new phone provider click OK and you'll receive full instructions for obtaining your Orange PAC code. • • • • • • • • • • In the UK, it’s a straightforward process to transfer your phone number from one mobile network to another. This means you can change mobile networks whilst keeping your current phone number, ensuring you won’t miss any incoming messages or phone calls. To move your phone number from one network to another, you’ll use something called a PAC Code (or Porting Authorisation Code). It’s always free to transfer your phone number between mobile networks and the process should only take one working day. Step-By-Step Instructions: Transferring Your Phone Number For a step-by-step guide on how to transfer your phone number, please select your current mobile network followed by the mobile network you’re planning to join. Your current network provider: Your new network provider: Through the rest of this article, we’ll discuss the procedure behind transferring your mobile phone number in a bit more detail. We’ll show you how to obtain and how to use a PAC Code. Bringing your number to Three is easy. Insert your new Three SIM into your phone and turn it on. This will automatically activate your account on our network. Contact your old network provider and ask them for your PAC (Port Authorisation Code). Fill in our online form. You'll need: Your PAC. Your current mobile number. A guide on how to keep your existing Orange phone number when switching to O2, by using PAC codes (Porting Authorisation Code). We’ll also discuss the time limits on using a PAC Code and your legal entitlements to it as per Ofcom regulations. Finally, we’ll look at some special cases (e.g. Transferring a phone number within the same mobile network or transferring a phone number that’s on Pay As You Go). Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • What is a PAC Code? In the UK, PAC Codes (or Porting Authorisation Codes) are used to transfer your phone number from one mobile network to another. There are three simple steps to moving your phone number: • Start by getting a PAC Code from your current network. See below for information on how to request your PAC Code. It’s always free to obtain a PAC Code and this is your legal entitlement as per Ofcom regulations. • Order your new phone or SIM card. You should order your new phone or SIM card from your new mobile network. You’ll initially be given a temporary phone number so you can make sure it’s working correctly (e.g. Make sure you’re happy with your handset and are ). • Give the PAC Code to your new mobile network. Once you’ve made sure you’re happy with your new mobile network, give the PAC Code to them and they’ll use it to transfer your phone number over. You can submit your PAC Code either through an online form or over the phone. For step-by-step instructions on how to use a PAC Code, please select your current mobile network followed by the mobile network you’re planning to join. Your current network provider: Your new network provider: Note: PAC Codes are sometimes confused with PUK Codes (Personal Unblocking Key Codes). The two codes serve a very different purpose. A PUK code is required if your handset becomes blocked (e.g. If you accidentally enter your PIN number incorrectly three times). When moving mobile networks, be sure to ask for a PAC Code rather than a PUK Code. Getting a PAC Code The first step in transferring your mobile number is to obtain a PAC Code from your current mobile network. A PAC Code is nine-digits long and allows you to transfer your phone number to another mobile network. A PAC Code contains three letters followed by six numbers (e.g. ABC 123 456). You can obtain a PAC Code by contacting your current mobile network: Current Network Phone Number for Obtaining a PAC Code Call 150 from your EE handset or 07953 966 250 from another phone. Call 202 for O2 Pay Monthly, 4445 for O2 Pay As You Go or from another phone: 03 (Pay Monthly), 03 (PAYG). Call 150 for Orange Pay Monthly, 450 for Orange Pay As You Go or from another phone: 07973 100 150 (Pay Monthly), 07973 100 450 (PAYG). Call 333 from your Three handset or 0333 338 1001 from another phone. Call 150 from your T-Mobile handset or 020 7362 0200 from another phone. Call 191 from your Vodafone handset or 03333 040 191 from another phone. BT Mobile, giffgaff, iD, Plusnet, Tesco & Virgin) Call 78 from your 1pMobile handset or 78 from another phone. Call 2732 from your ASDA handset or 0800 079 2732 from another phone. Call 150 from your BT handset or 0800 800 150 from another phone. Call 0113 887 0823 from your FreedomPop handset or 0113 887 0823 from another phone. Via giffgaff.com (online) Alternatively, call or text 43431 to get your PAC Code. Call 7777 from your iD handset or 0333 003 7777 from another phone. Call 5588 from your Lebara handset or 020 3059 0304 from another phone. Call 322 from your Lycamobile handset or 020 7132 0322 from another phone. Call 500 from your Plusnet handset or 0800 079 1133 from another phone. Call 0330 041 4136 from your Sky handset or 0330 041 4136 from another phone. Via smarty.co.uk (online) Call 5888 from your Talkmobile handset or 0333 304 8064 from another phone. Call 2883 from your TalkTalk handset or 0345 172 0044 from another phone. Call 32100 from your Tello handset or 020 3514 7110 from another phone. Call 4455 from your Tesco handset or 0345 301 4455 from another phone. Call 500 from your TPO handset or 0333 313 7760 from another phone. Call 322 from your Vectone handset or 020 7179 0134 from another phone. Call 789 from your Virgin handset or 0345 6000 789 from another phone. Call 191 from your VOXI handset or 03333 040 191 from another phone. When calling your current mobile network to ask for a PAC Code, you’ll sometimes be passed to the “customer retentions” team. They’ll sometimes try to convince you to stay on their network, but remember: it’s your legal right to be able to get a PAC Code. If they make it difficult, you can remind them of which is to give you a PAC Code within 2 hours of your request. Once issued, your PAC Code is valid for 30 days. You should write it down, keeping it somewhere safe and secure (treat it like a password, as anyone with the PAC Code can initiate a phone number transfer). There’s no need to cancel the plan on your current mobile network. This will be done automatically for you once the PAC Code has been used. Using your PAC Code After getting a PAC Code from your current network, the next step is ordering your new phone or SIM card from your new mobile network. Please select the mobile network you’re planning to join: Please select the network you're moving to: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Other Popular Networks:,,,,, When your new phone or SIM card arrives, spend a little bit of time to make sure everything works correctly (e.g. Make sure you’re happy with the handset, and make sure you’re getting ). Once you’re happy to move your phone number over, you should contact your new mobile network to give them your PAC Code. After the PAC Code has been given to your new mobile network, it will not be possible to reverse the phone number transfer. How To Submit Your PAC Code You can provide a PAC Code to your new mobile network as follows: New Network Contact Details for Providing a PAC Code or call 150 from your EE handset / 07953 966 250 from another phone. Or call 202 from your O2 Pay Monthly handset, 4445 from your O2 Pay As You Go handset from another phone: 03 (Pay Monthly), 03 PAYG). Or call 150 from your Orange Pay Monthly handset, 450 from your Orange Pay As You Go handset from another phone: 07973 100 150 (Pay Monthly), 07973 100 450 PAYG). Or call 333 from your Three handset / 0333 338 1001 from another phone. Or call 150 from your T-Mobile handset / 020 7362 0200 from another phone. Or call 191 from your Vodafone handset / 03333 040 191 from another phone. BT Mobile, giffgaff, iD, Plusnet, Tesco & Virgin) or call 78 from your 1pMobile handset / 78 from another phone. Call 2732 from your ASDA handset or 0800 079 2732 from another phone. Or call 150 from your BT handset / 0800 800 150 from another phone. FreedomPop will charge you £4.99 when you transfer a phone number in using a PAC Code. Or call 0113 887 0823 from your FreedomPop handset / 0113 887 0823 from another phone. The PAC Code must be submitted to giffgaff online. Or call 7777 from your iD handset / 0333 003 7777 from another phone. Call 5588 from your Lebara handset or 020 3059 0304 from another phone. Or call 322 from your Lycamobile handset / 020 7132 0322 from another phone. Call 500 from your Plusnet handset or 0800 079 1133 from another phone. Call 0330 041 4136 from your Sky handset or 0330 041 4136 from another phone. The PAC Code must be submitted to Smarty online. Call 5888 from your Talkmobile handset or 0333 304 8064 from another phone. Call 2883 from your TalkTalk handset or 0345 172 0044 from another phone. Call 32100 from your Tello handset or 020 3514 7110 from another phone. Or call 4455 from your Tesco handset / 0345 301 4455 from another phone. Call 500 from your TPO handset or 0333 313 7760 from another phone. Call 322 from your Vectone handset or 020 7179 0134 from another phone. Call 789 from your Virgin handset or 0345 6000 789 from another phone. Or call 191 from your VOXI handset / 03333 040 191 from another phone. We wouldn’t recommend using your PAC Code if you plan to cancel your new contract or if you want to return your new handset. This is because there will be added complications if your phone number has already been transferred to the new mobile network. How Long Does It Take? Once you’ve given your PAC Code to your new mobile network, your phone number transfer will normally be scheduled for the next working day. If you submit your PAC Code fairly late in the day, it’s possible you’ll need to wait one additional working day. The daily cut-off time for submitting a PAC Code and getting a next-day transfer is between 3pm and 5.30pm depending on your mobile network. Phone number transfers can only take place on a UK working day. They don’t take place over the weekend or on. Assuming no bank holidays, the following table shows when you can expect your phone number transfer to take place: Day of Submitting PAC Code* Day of Number Transfer Saturday Tuesday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Thursday Friday Friday Monday * Day of Submitting PAC Code: You’ll need to submit the PAC Code before the daily cut-off time (3pm to 5.30pm depending on your network). If the PAC Code is submitted after the daily cut-off time, you’ll need to wait an additional working day for the transfer to take place. You’ll need to be in the UK on the day of the phone number transfer. What Happens On Transfer Day? Until the transfer takes place, you’ll continue receiving coverage from your old network. Whilst you’re waiting for the phone number transfer to take place, your incoming phone calls and text messages will continue to be received on your old mobile network. On the day of your phone number transfer, your new mobile network will take control of your phone number. Simultaneously, your old mobile network will release the phone number and your account on that mobile network will also be closed. When the transfer happens, you’ll momentarily lose coverage on both of the networks. You’ll need to restart your handset for the coverage to come back and for the phone number transfer to be completed. After a restart, incoming phone calls and messages should then be routed to your new mobile network. Throughout the whole process, there should be little or no loss of service. This is because you’ll continue receiving coverage on your old network until the transfer takes place and until the new mobile network takes over. Expiry of PAC Codes Your PAC Code will expire 30 days after issue. If you don’t use your PAC Code inside that 30-day window, nothing will happen and the account on your old mobile network will stay open as before. Normally, we’d recommend using your PAC Code within 26 days of it being issued (this is to allow for the expected number transfer timeframe). If your PAC Code has already expired, you can request a new one. Other Considerations Instant Messaging Apps If you’re using an instant messaging app (e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Snapchat), your temporary phone number may continue to show even after you’ve used your PAC Code. To fix this, you should use the ‘number change’ feature that’s built in to your messaging application: • • • • • iMessage & FaceTime on iPhone If you’re using an iPhone, you may experience problems with iMessage and FaceTime after transferring your phone number with a PAC Code. If you’re moving your phone number to a new iPhone, you might see your temporary phone number continuing to show in iMessage and FaceTime. To resolve this, you’ll first need to disable iMessage and FaceTime on your iPhone (you can do this by going to Settings > Messages > iMessage and Settings > FaceTime). After doing this, go to Settings > Phone > My Number and enter your correct phone number there (this should be set to the phone number you wish to keep). You should then restart your iPhone, after which you can re-enable iMessage and FaceTime. If you’re moving your phone number from an iPhone to a non-Apple device (e.g. Android), you may find you stop receiving messages from people with an iPhone. To fix this, you’ll need to de-register your old iPhone from iMessage and FaceTime. If you still have access to your old iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > iMessage and switch it off. You should also go to Settings > FaceTime to turn FaceTime off. If you no longer have access to your iPhone, you can. Your Legal Entitlement to a PAC Code As per Ofcom regulations, you’re legally entitled to transfer your mobile number to another network. The right is enshrined within clause 18 of (Ofcom is the UK’s regulator for telecommunication services). According to the General Conditions, you must be given a PAC Code within 2 hours of your request. In most cases, the PAC Code will be provided immediately over the phone. However, it could also be sent to you as a SMS text message. If the PAC Code is being sent via SMS, the network must still provide it within the two-hour time limit. There are only a couple of reasons why your network can refuse a request for a PAC Code: • Failed security check. You’ll need to prove your identity when contacting customer services to get a PAC Code. If you aren’t able to adequately prove your identity, the mobile network reserves a right not to issue you with a PAC Code. The stringent security checks are in place to make sure no-one is able to “steal” your phone number. If you have a non-registered Pay As You Go account, you may be asked for information about previous top-ups and usage. • A PAC Code has already been issued. Once a PAC Code has been issued, it’s valid for 30 days. Until the previous PAC Code expires, your mobile network will be unable to issue you with a new one. • Your account has already been closed. A PAC Code can only be issued if the account is still open and if the phone number still belongs to you. If you’ve already closed your account on the network, the phone number may have already been returned to the network. As it’s not possible to recover a phone number once it’s been returned to the network, you should keep your account open until the PAC Code has been used. If you’re a Pay As You Go customer, you should also be aware of your mobile network’s. If your network refuses to provide you with a PAC Code, they must inform you of the reasons why. Unpaid debt cannot be used as a reason not to issue you with a PAC Code. If you’re still within the minimum term of your contract, this also can’t be used as a reason not to provide you with a PAC Code. However, you might be charged an on your final bill if you choose to end your contract early. Special Cases Transferring Within The Same Network A PAC Code is only used for transferring your phone number between two different mobile networks. If you’re staying on the same mobile network but simply changing to a different tariff, it isn’t necessary to go through the PAC Code process. Instead, simply call the customer services department of your current network and request a phone number transfer inside of the network. You’ll need to provide details of both of your accounts. Please select your network and tariff type: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Other Popular Networks:,,,,, If you simply need to change the size of your SIM card, see our guide to. The process for changing the size of your SIM card is even easier and won’t normally require a call to customer services. Transferring a Pay As You Go Number You can’t transfer Pay As You Go credit. You should follow the normal PAC Code process when transferring a phone number that’s on Pay As You Go. One extra thing that’s important to be aware of is Pay As You Go credit from one network to another. Therefore, any credit remaining on your old account will automatically be forfeited on the day of the phone number transfer. For this reason, it’s normally a good idea to use up your credit before the date of the phone number transfer. If you have a large amount of money remaining on your account, consider rather than spending it frivolously. You can donate money via text message to, the and. The minimum donation is typically around £3. You can also check directly with your favourite charity to see whether they’re able to accept donations by text message. There are on how to best use up your Pay As You Go credit. Transferring to a SIM Only Deal Switching to a SIM-only deal can save you in the region of £200 per year. A is an airtime-only contract where you get a new SIM card for your existing, unlocked smartphone. Compared to traditional mobile contracts, a SIM-only deal will offer you much lower rates. You can normally expect to save in the region of £200/year with a SIM-only deal. For more information, see. Select your SIM Only mobile network: For SIM-only deals, the process of transferring your phone number is exactly the same. As an extra step, you should take care to make sure your handset is. If your handset is currently locked to a network, you’ll need to unlock it before using it on another network. For more information, see our in-depth guides to and. If you’re changing to a SIM-only deal, you should also make sure you order a SIM card of the right size. Will help you to find out which size of SIM card is required by your smartphone. Cancelling & Ending Your Contract If you’re using a PAC Code to transfer your number to another network, the account on your old mobile network will be closed automatically once your phone number has been transferred over. If you simply want to end your old contract without keeping the phone number, there’s no need to request a PAC Code. Instead, just call your mobile network and tell them you want to end your current contract. This is much easier than requesting a PAC Code (with the latter, your account stays open until the PAC Code is actually used). In general, rather than cancelling your contract entirely, we recommend you instead move the number over to. This allows you to hold on to the phone number at minimal cost in case you want to use it again in the future. Other Things To Know There are several other things worth knowing about a PAC Code: • It’s impossible to swap the phone number on two accounts. When porting a phone number into a mobile network, the original number on that network will be lost. It isn’t possible to swap the phone number between two accounts or mobile networks. • You can’t transfer a phone number that has already been lost. For instance, if you’ve already cancelled your contract or if your phone number has expired due to, the phone number will have already been lost and can no longer be transferred elsewhere. • You can transfer ownership of a phone number with a PAC Code. When using a PAC Code, there is no check with regards to the account holder name on your old and new accounts. You can therefore transfer a phone number to someone else’s account (e.g. Giving it to friends or family). Please be aware of the possible privacy implications when choosing to do this, as someone else will now have access to your incoming phone calls and text messages. • Businesses can transfer up to 25 numbers using a PAC Code. Small businesses can use a PAC Code to transfer up to 25 phone numbers from one mobile network to another. Larger businesses wanting to transfer more than 25 phone numbers should contact their network for full details on the process to follow. • A different system exists for transferring landline phone numbers. PAC Codes can only be used to transfer mobile phone numbers in the UK (these are beginning with 07). If you wish to transfer a landline phone number (beginning with 01 or 02), you should contact your landline phone provider to find out how to do this (e.g.,, or ). More Information For a step-by-step guide that takes you through the process of transferring a mobile number, please use our. My mobile no transferred from t mobile to lebara yrs ago- pay as you go – the credit expired and as I only make few calls I could see the phone still allowed this; however on 3-9-17 Lebara retrieved my no and after 2.5 mths communication I have it back working on Lebara however they have now suspended service to my phone no and I require a PAC no to shift to another network where there is a cheap unexpired Pay as you go tarriff – Three springs to mind as I intend using internet but I don’t think they allow tethering – any ideas please?
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March 2018
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