Moving abroad, new SIM , any issues?
Discussion
Quick question
Son has just had confirmation of move to Western Australia for a year as part of his uni course in the autumn
He is of the generation who have mobile phones instead of phone numbers
He is born and bread in Leeds and hence has decided that 12 months of £8/month of his UK provider is dead money and so will ditch his UK contract and buy an Aussie SIM only deal as he lands
I have suggested he keeps his UK SIM going as the expense is negligible however hes having none of it
Im not sure if this is economic genius or stupidity and so opinions welcome
Young people these days dont actually use phone and texts so having a dedicated number isnt necessarily that useful when they have Whatsapp and all of the other apps they use for social media which I believe are transferable whenever you switch your SIM no matter where you live
In short if he tarts around different SIMs for a year or so is he looking at a world of pain or will his phone just quietly sort it al out?
Cheers
That’s what dual sim phones are for 
The issue with dropping his current sim will be that when he comes back, there will be a third number for people to have to remember - maybe not so important in this day of WhatsApp and the like but still a hassle.
I’d be using a dual sim phone and keeping the uk number personally whilst adding an Australian one for the year abroad.
The issue with dropping his current sim will be that when he comes back, there will be a third number for people to have to remember - maybe not so important in this day of WhatsApp and the like but still a hassle.
I’d be using a dual sim phone and keeping the uk number personally whilst adding an Australian one for the year abroad.
Get an Aussie eSIM now/when he lands in Australia, but I’d keep the UK SIM for as long as I could.
If he ever needs a UK number for anything it will be invaluable, plus I assume he will have it registered with banks etc. for MFA during website logins. You won’t know what you need it for until you do, but if you don’t have access to the number they have on file then it can be tricky to assert who you are, especially when on the opposite side of the planet.
Realistically, the need for this fades over time, but I kept my UK number for about a year and there were still times after that when I could have down with it. Your son is unlikely to have as many services linked to it as I, a crusty old bloke, had though!
The UK provider will inevitably get shorty with the SIM on a permanent holiday, so I’d only enable it when I needed it, but it should last a few months at least. Depends on the roaming agreements and how on top of these things all parties are.
Edit: just realised the bit about this being a temporary move. He’d be 100% insane to drop the UK number then. Honestly, it’ll be so much hassle.
If he ever needs a UK number for anything it will be invaluable, plus I assume he will have it registered with banks etc. for MFA during website logins. You won’t know what you need it for until you do, but if you don’t have access to the number they have on file then it can be tricky to assert who you are, especially when on the opposite side of the planet.
Realistically, the need for this fades over time, but I kept my UK number for about a year and there were still times after that when I could have down with it. Your son is unlikely to have as many services linked to it as I, a crusty old bloke, had though!
The UK provider will inevitably get shorty with the SIM on a permanent holiday, so I’d only enable it when I needed it, but it should last a few months at least. Depends on the roaming agreements and how on top of these things all parties are.
Edit: just realised the bit about this being a temporary move. He’d be 100% insane to drop the UK number then. Honestly, it’ll be so much hassle.
Edited by loudlashadjuster on Wednesday 3rd July 07:52
loudlashadjuster said:
Get an Aussie eSIM now/when he lands in Australia, but I’d keep the UK SIM for as long as I could.
If he ever needs a UK number for anything it will be invaluable, plus I assume he will have it registered with banks etc. for MFA during website logins. You won’t know what you need it for until you do, but if you don’t have access to the number they have on file then it can be tricky to assert who you are, especially when on the opposite side of the planet.
Realistically, the need for this fades over time, but I kept my UK number for about a year and there were still times after that when I could have down with it. Your son is unlikely to have as many services linked to it as I, a crusty old bloke, had though!
The UK provider will inevitably get shorty with the SIM on a permanent holiday, so I’d only enable it when I needed it, but it should last a few months at least. Depends on the roaming agreements and how on top of these things all parties are.
Edit: just realised the bit about this being a temporary move. He’d be 100% insane to drop the UK number then. Honestly, it’ll be so much hassle.
All of this. A good friend's daughter has just returned from Aus having canned her UK mobile number and all the MFA stuff is properly causing issues.If he ever needs a UK number for anything it will be invaluable, plus I assume he will have it registered with banks etc. for MFA during website logins. You won’t know what you need it for until you do, but if you don’t have access to the number they have on file then it can be tricky to assert who you are, especially when on the opposite side of the planet.
Realistically, the need for this fades over time, but I kept my UK number for about a year and there were still times after that when I could have down with it. Your son is unlikely to have as many services linked to it as I, a crusty old bloke, had though!
The UK provider will inevitably get shorty with the SIM on a permanent holiday, so I’d only enable it when I needed it, but it should last a few months at least. Depends on the roaming agreements and how on top of these things all parties are.
Edit: just realised the bit about this being a temporary move. He’d be 100% insane to drop the UK number then. Honestly, it’ll be so much hassle.
Edited by loudlashadjuster on Wednesday 3rd July 07:52
If necessary, buy a burner phone to put the sim in and leave with you. You can then turn it on every month to keep it rolling along.
I kept my UK number going for 4 years when I lived in Japan before I came back and I am so pleased I did.
Buy an O2 PAYG SIM from eBay (99p) and port his existing number to it. It will need an initial £10 top up but as has already been said, as long as a charagable event is made (max every 6 months?) then he won't lose his number and it will only cost £10 for the year. Port the number back across to whatever contract he goes onto when he comes back to the UK.
numtumfutunch said:
In short if he tarts around different SIMs for a year or so is he looking at a world of pain or will his phone just quietly sort it al out?
Cheers
The phone will sort it all out.Cheers
The only issue he may have is anything that requires a phone number to authenticate which isn't that much these days. Most things have an online alternative or operate by post when that isn't safe
Changing numbers is pretty trivial these days. Only an issue for those so stuck on the past they need to update their rolodex.
There isn't much point to having a UK SIM in Australia with roaming costs averaging £5 a day and as a side note he's going to love the pricing on Australian phone services
If you want to keep the number, nothing stopping you from porting it across to a cheap PAYG SIM and keeping it for him whilst he's away.
Also please pass my deepest sympathies to your son for having to go to Western Australia. I can't say it's hell because in hell there isn't least something to do.
I'm in the same situation; moved to the Netherlands on August 1 last year, had just renewed my UK contract the month beforehand as I was expecting to be returning to the UK, not go on another assignment for my work. When I renewed my UK contact I took the 'worldwide roaming' option as I figured I could continue using my UK number + data whilst overseas (up to 25gb) thereby saving me the hassle of getting a Dutch sim.
About 3 months into my time here I got a message from vodafone UK to the effect of "we can tell you've spent more time outside of the UK than in it since you renewed your contract with us, therefore we deem you to be in violation of our data roaming policy and will start charging you £3.99 for every GB of data you consume whilst not in the UK". Turns out data roaming is supposed to be for temporary trips overseas, not permanent - makes sense in hindsight.
That pushed me to get a Dutch sim; I still have my UK sim (as an e-sim) so my number is active and people can call me on it, but data roaming is switched off on it and my primary data line is set to the dutch sim. I've been on holiday to other overseas locations since then and my UK/worldwide thing seems to work fine with no additional charge - they were obviously just unhappy with me using it for so long in the Netherlands.
About 3 months into my time here I got a message from vodafone UK to the effect of "we can tell you've spent more time outside of the UK than in it since you renewed your contract with us, therefore we deem you to be in violation of our data roaming policy and will start charging you £3.99 for every GB of data you consume whilst not in the UK". Turns out data roaming is supposed to be for temporary trips overseas, not permanent - makes sense in hindsight.
That pushed me to get a Dutch sim; I still have my UK sim (as an e-sim) so my number is active and people can call me on it, but data roaming is switched off on it and my primary data line is set to the dutch sim. I've been on holiday to other overseas locations since then and my UK/worldwide thing seems to work fine with no additional charge - they were obviously just unhappy with me using it for so long in the Netherlands.
As above, I'd find a cheap way to keep the number, for the sake of £10 or so for a year.
Despite the "get with it grandad" comments, you don't know you need it, right up until you do, and that's usually when you REALLY need it. Stupid things like "oh, my UK bank won't let me change to a non-UK number for 2FA because security" (made up but not unrealistic example).
Despite the "get with it grandad" comments, you don't know you need it, right up until you do, and that's usually when you REALLY need it. Stupid things like "oh, my UK bank won't let me change to a non-UK number for 2FA because security" (made up but not unrealistic example).
Yeah, another one I has was trying to sort out something for a sick relative. The online form would not accept non-UK numbers so I couldn't complete it, and when I called and left a message (the only other way to reach the service) they didn't call back. It was later I discovered they were not able to call me back because they could not dial international numbers.
Trying to prove you are who you say you are when the contact details they have on file are no longer valid and you're dialling in from a foreign number (very few people know the country codes, +61 for Australia could be Nigeria or Uzbekistan for all they know) can be almost impossible, especially if they suspect fraud and the account is placed in a 'risk' category, meaning the barriers to accessing/recovering the account get even higher.
"Yeah, it's me bro, just ignore the fact I'm dialling in on this weird number with lots of background noise and lag. Trust me."
Would you?
Trying to prove you are who you say you are when the contact details they have on file are no longer valid and you're dialling in from a foreign number (very few people know the country codes, +61 for Australia could be Nigeria or Uzbekistan for all they know) can be almost impossible, especially if they suspect fraud and the account is placed in a 'risk' category, meaning the barriers to accessing/recovering the account get even higher.
"Yeah, it's me bro, just ignore the fact I'm dialling in on this weird number with lots of background noise and lag. Trust me."
Would you?
Is the number used for one time codes / banking? (plus Amazon, ebay, NHS etc)
If so then defo keep it.
If its literally never used for that then there is no need to keep it, IMO.
Be aware that most opcos will monitor sims anyway these days and if outside the UK for a long time (my provider is 90 days) they might terminate the sim card. I got a strike off warning after 3 months in Thailand. They didnt cut me off though.
Defo read the small print, well just google it.
If so then defo keep it.
If its literally never used for that then there is no need to keep it, IMO.
Be aware that most opcos will monitor sims anyway these days and if outside the UK for a long time (my provider is 90 days) they might terminate the sim card. I got a strike off warning after 3 months in Thailand. They didnt cut me off though.
Defo read the small print, well just google it.
superpp said:
unless things have recently changed...
3 PAYG roaming includes Oz, have a look if this is still the case.
Roaming, by definition, is temporary (and not for a year 3 PAYG roaming includes Oz, have a look if this is still the case.
), all operators have small print to limit this to holidays, business travel etc.Quite how on top of this they are is a different matter. I only enabled my GiffGaff SIM when I needed it and brought i back to the UK with me so it was on its home network from time to time.
They seemed fine with that, but eventually there was a period where i wasn't back for about six months and they sent me a (very nice) email saying that it was obvious I was not in the UK and that future use would be chargeable, not included in my bundle
I was OK with that as I only enabled it when I needed it, and the modest cost was fair. I thought this was after a year, but it was actually two years after I emigrated. I think I kept it for another six months, but which time I'd ensured I'd closed or migrated all accounts etc. for which it might have been useful for. Until the health issue I mentioned above! Now I keep a Lycamobile eSIM on a very cheap topup, just in case.
Some networks are militant about this, others more laissez-faire. At the end of the day they have to pay the foreign networks for your consumption so it's not a surprise they might want to limit abuse.
Loosing a phone number is zero impact to staying in contact with friends, at least for the younger generation. The connections in facebook, whatsapp, etc mean you're number can change and it will auto sync to your friends devices. The ability to contact each other will be maintained seamlessly and no-one will need to lift a finger or even have the faintest awareness that it might have been otherwise (such the the expectation from the younger generations).
For business admin, ie the phone number your bank has, is a bit of a pain as these will need to be updated, and it's not always straightforward to do so. However as a spoddy kid he's likely got very, very few such connections.
I am (relatively) old, so have maintained my UK number when I've lived overseas, although this did require turning it on to the mobile network, not just wifi, at least every 90 days (which at the time triggered roaming costs). I've had my same mobile number since 1996 and therefore have a completely unjustifiable emotional connection to it - it is not a memorable number and I've not had a mobile network audio call from a non-company (ie friend) in over 20 years. So all us oldies can whine on about retaining numbers, etc, but we are the irrational ones in this case.
For business admin, ie the phone number your bank has, is a bit of a pain as these will need to be updated, and it's not always straightforward to do so. However as a spoddy kid he's likely got very, very few such connections.
I am (relatively) old, so have maintained my UK number when I've lived overseas, although this did require turning it on to the mobile network, not just wifi, at least every 90 days (which at the time triggered roaming costs). I've had my same mobile number since 1996 and therefore have a completely unjustifiable emotional connection to it - it is not a memorable number and I've not had a mobile network audio call from a non-company (ie friend) in over 20 years. So all us oldies can whine on about retaining numbers, etc, but we are the irrational ones in this case.
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