What's the process to move from existing eSIM provider to a new eSIM provider (O2 > Sky, iPhone)?

[Scam]

This seems to be a difficult one to Google... Maybe it's obvious?

I have a work phone on which they provide me with a corporate Vodafone physical SIM (thanks, free roaming and unlimited data!), and my own personal eSIM from O2.

My O2 SIM only deal has expired/gone up and I need a deal that is as cheap as possible due to not needing any data. I'm looking at Sky Mobile because we get staff discount and they now do eSIMs (NB: I don't work for Sky).

But what exactly is the process for switching my existing O2 eSIM to a new Sky eSIM? I've had this phone number for my entire adult life so absolutely need to port it over. TIA.

 

[wonko]

AFAIK it's the same for an eSIM as a physical SIM. Request the PAC for the number you want to port, and as you setup the new contract tell them you want to transfer your number and provide the PAC.

Having a bit of data available on a second network can be useful if you find yourself without any coverage on your main one.

 

[Karl]

AFAIK it's the same for an eSIM as a physical SIM. Request the PAC for the number you want to port, and as you setup the new contract tell them you want to transfer your number and provide the PAC.

Having a bit of data available on a second network can be useful if you find yourself without any coverage on your main one.

I do this all the time - Got a Mozillion e-sim for day to day because EE is strong at home, but when Vodafone is stronger I've got a Lebara physical SIM that I switch on and off accordingly.

 

[Scam]

Thanks @wonko and @Karl .

So I should request my PAC from O2 > Sign up to Sky and provide the PAC > then what exactly? Wait for the O2 eSIM to stop working, delete the eSIM and then scan the new Sky code etc? (Trying to remember exactly how I set-up the eSIM in the first place)

 

[Mujja]

You should be able to add more than one eSIM to your phone.

Send a text message from your current O2 SIM, easier than speaking to customer support. To request an O2 PAC code, text PAC to 65075 from your O2 mobile.
PAC code should be received in a few mins.
Sign-up to a new provider, make sure to select you want an eSIM, when placing the order enter your PAC code.
You should be given an eSIM with a new\temporary number. Scan this in to your phone.
Enable and activate your new eSIM, then leave active if your phone supports dual SIMs, or disable
Then wait 24/48 hours for the number to transfer.

I've left both the old and new eSIMs active. After a day or so the old one will stop working. When this happens, disable and re-enable the new eSIM and it'll now have the transferred number.

 

[Scam]

Thanks @Mujja very helpful. I am dual-simming my iPhone 15 with a corp SIM (physical) and my personal O2 SIM (which I want to move away from). I had no idea the phone can store more than 1-2 eSIMS (as in, for dual SIM). A quick Google tells me it can store up to 8 but only have 2 active. That's pretty cool.

Now I just need to get on the blower with Sky to sort my staff deal

 

[Mujja]

Check SIM deals on Uswitch. Better than you get directly from the providers, may even beat your work deal.

 

[wonko]

Can't think of anything significant to add to what Mujja has said.

If you request your PAC from O2 you may well find that you'll get a call from their retentions team within a few days and be offered a better deal (or at least match Sky and avoid the hassle of new contracts etc.). So unless you're in a hurry it might be worth doing this step now, and then waiting a few days before signing up with Sky.

 

[Mujja]

Thanks @Mujja very helpful. I am dual-simming my iPhone 15 with a corp SIM (physical) and my personal O2 SIM (which I want to move away from). I had no idea the phone can store more than 1-2 eSIMS (as in, for dual SIM). A quick Google tells me it can store up to 8 but only have 2 active. That's pretty cool.

Now I just need to get on the blower with Sky to sort my staff deal

In your situation, activate the new eSIM then disable. When you see your current O2 SIM go dead the number transfer is complete. Then remove the O2 SIM and activate the new eSIM.

Or you can remove your work SIM and put in another spare phone, then keep the O2 and new eSIM active.

 

[Mujja]

Can't think of anything significant to add to what Mujja has said.

If you request your PAC from O2 you may well find that you'll get a call from their retentions team within a few days and be offered a better deal (or at least match Sky and avoid the hassle of new contracts etc.). So unless you're in a hurry it might be worth doing this step now, and then waiting a few days before signing up with Sky.

In my experience the PAC is received shortly after you send a text to request.

If you've used the PAC code before customer support call, they can't reverse it and it'll just be a survey asking why you left.

You have 30 days to use to PAC code, after which it's cancelled. You may want to use up some of your last 30 days before you request a transfer. You can order your new eSIM without providing a PAC code, and request a transfer later.

 

[Scam]

Check SIM deals on Uswitch. Better than you get directly from the providers, may even beat your work deal.

It's quite hard to find super-cheap deals because (1) I don't care about data and (2) a lot of the VMNOs still don't provide eSIMS. The cheapest Sky deal I can get is £5/month (unfortunately they don't give the discount on their cheapest SIM only deal!). On uSwitch, Spusu can beat that but nobody else...

 

[Mujja]

I had an eSIM from Voxi when I did an O2 to O2 transfer a few months back. You can do a direct transfer on the same provider, moved to Voxi for a day then straight back to O2.

I found a better O2 price on Uswitch than O2 could offer.

 

[Scam]

Pulled the trigger on the Sky plan. Just waiting for info to roll through.

Any tips on what to do with Whatsapp? I seem to recall it being a bit of a ball ache when switching phones. I also use WA Business on my work line -- but I'm guessing that won't affect anything with Whatsapp (personal).

 

[Mujja]

I usually start fresh with WhatsApp, I'm not a heavy user.

You can backup to Google Drive and restore. I don't remember it working smoothly the last time I changed phones. IIRC chats were restored but not all media, i.e. photos were restored but not videos.

I remember some confusion around transferring the account between old to new device, when to enter which SMS code on which device.

But you aren't changing device and you'll be on a temporary number for just a day if you time the PAC transfer. Put in your new SIM, activate, remove and replace with current SIM. When current SIM goes offline insert the new SIM. WhatsApp shouldn't be affected

 

[Scam]

Well everything seems to have ported today, thanks for the advice. Only problem I have at the moment is that I can’t update my number on my iPhone. The Sky email said just keep trying (in Settings > Apps > Phone)