Login Problems, zero internet... headache sim swap...

covertsystemx

I have just recovered my sim to a new smalled nano sim because I was unable to find a phone that takes the size sim I had which was at the time, the smallest, but seems that manufacturers have decided that nano is the new small but do not offer multiple sim slots to allow older cards to be used in the mobiles as a transition option.

So I have had 7 days nearly of no phone, internet or access to anything that would allow me to log in to my giffgaff account like the two tablets that kep[t on being refused login, I ended up carting my compute a mile up the road to use my friends wifi on my PC as its password saved on my PC, that is the extreme I had to go to to be able to do a sim swap with a sim card that I happend to have on hand, and then go back online just this minute.

This was not helpful given I needed to log in to my giffgaff and despite my attempts, got told to wait 30 minutes, which is not helpful, if the system can pick up on this and time me and others out, you should be offering up a support ticket and ask the phone number and a message field that would have allowed me to say from my tablet that I can't log in, my sim card is too big and can't be cud down any further and I need a new sim card of the nano variety. IT would have solved a number of problems as you would then know I need a sim swap, that I am lacking internet is als anther indicator, all too often it is assumed that people can easily access the internet.... HELLO...!!!! Try going through what I went through, the system you employ, whilst pretty rigid in security, lack much for people in need of assistance who can easily be verified as a customer from information that is given and that it should be a limited assist with things like sim card problems.

So when I resorted to traipsing a mile up the road with my PC to solve this, I was able to get the sim swap sorted, all attempts before had failed and despite providing a previously used login password, it in itself should be indicator that I am very likely the account owner could also have emails sent out to be confirmed as part of a course of assistance.

This is something that you should look in to and should only be an option if it is a sim problem and that the user has failed to login, could state their issue and get some assistance because of the type of help is needed.

m0dcm

covertsystemx You need to do a sin swap using your current username and password, don't create a new account and activate that SIM with a new account, there should be a link on your dashboard to start a SIM swap process.
This link provides all the info you need to get it done - https://www.giffgaff.com/help/articles/my-sim-is-broken

If you've activated it on a new account, get in touch with an agent via - https://support2.giffgaff.com/app/ask/SIM-and-number/Performing-a-SIM-Swap/

Hope this helps?

Dave

bill48er

covertsystemx Hi, not having a nano SIM myself, so only guessing - could you not do the SIM swap on your old phone first then pop out the nano SIM from the carrier and put it into your new phone?
If I'm talking rubbish then let me know 😁

richybhoy36

covertsystemx Hi you can get a SIM from the Pound shop,Tesco or other shops and then do a Sim swap .
https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Using-giffgaff/What-is-SIM-Swap/ta-p/7320084

iamkevinfromsingapore

covertsystemx

I have just recovered my sim to a new smalled nano sim because I was unable to find a phone that takes the size sim I had which was at the time, the smallest, but seems that manufacturers have decided that nano is the new small but do not offer multiple sim slots to allow older cards to be used in the mobiles as a transition option.

Try an adapter for sim cards. Most of it will work.

covertsystemx

m0dcm Phone died, no internet, no sim swap until internet, no way to access my account from a tablet on public wifi or from my friends... I was dead in the water and had to take my computer up the road to get this sim swap sorted, I am suggesting a method of help for people finding themselves in this LOOP HOLE that I had found myself in.

m0dcm

bill48er You're spot on! I've provided link for them to do that, bit of they have registered it using a new account I've provided the direct like to get them sorted with an agent on this to 😉

Dave

covertsystemx

bill48er if you read the comment fully, you should have got the idea about just how dead in the water I was in regards to achieving this goal of sim swapping. New phones have NANO slots and do not provide a way of an adaptor that takes micro sims or mini sims and an adaptor for nano sims or if in the case of the phone I got, has TWO sim slots, WTF put TWO nano slots in there....

My sim was already a cut down sim and could not be trimmed down as it would have cut in to the board and connectors and damaged the sim card..

What I went through highlights a loop hole in the client - service experience, one that can be improved for when a situation of login is an issue..

bill48er

covertsystemx Hi, I did read your full post, and have simpathy for your plight.
However, I did not refer to an adaptor, but the carrier the SIM arrives in.
My suggestion was for a simple step to follow before putting a new SIM in a new phone, first put a new SIM in the old phone to do a SIM swap.
However, this process does assume that you still had the old phone to hand.

harrrrrry

bill48er

Why not just put the new sim in the new phone, and do the sim swap there?

Sim swap ought to work perfectly from the new sim in the new phone. And unlike a new activation, no payment is required so you don't get the problem of having a payment refused when you can't reach the bank from in unactivated sim.

bill48er

harrrrrry Hi, the OP's issue was that he had no means to access the internet and his giffgaff account using his new phone with the new nano SIM to complete the process.

His old phone SIM would not fit in his new phone and I don't know if he still had acces to the old phone.
He is looking for giffgaff to privide a solution for members who find themselves in this predicament with an old style SIM that will not fit their new phone.
Hence the suggestion to do a SIM swap on the old phone first.
I don't have a nano SIM to test my theory - do you know of any alternative methods?

harrrrrry

bill48er His old phone SIM would not fit in his new phone

Not having internet would prevent him requesting a new sim direct from giffgaff -- that's understandable. So, the normal advice would be to get an unactivated giffgaffsim for about a pound from a supermarket or argos.

Once he has done that, the old sim is irrelevant to do a sim swap. All he has to do is

put the new sim in a phone (any phone, but it might as well be the phone that it's going to be used in, unless that phone is locked to another network)
the new sim will give sufficient internet access to reach giffgaff.com and perform the sim swap process as previously stated.

bill48er

harrrrrry

bill48er harrrrrry Hi, the OP's issue was that he had no means to access the internet and his giffgaff account using his new phone with the new nano SIM to complete the process.

His old phone SIM would not fit in his new phone and I don't know if he still had acces to the old phone.
He is looking for giffgaff to privide a solution for members who find themselves in this predicament with an old style SIM that will not fit their new phone.
Hence the suggestion to do a SIM swap on the old phone first.
I don't have a nano SIM to test my theory - do you know of any alternative methods?

Thanks for the extra information.
I've never needed to do a SIM swap in 7 years - hence the caviates in my replies.
Now, having read the follow up posts - I think my way is simpler 😄
Change the SIM then change the phone - then you are not attempting to double your problems with a two stage approach.
Oh! And make sure that you have a backup plan to access to your emails!

haridus

harrrrrry Not having internet would prevent him requesting a new sim direct from giffgaff -- that's understandable. So, the normal advice would be to get an unactivated giffgaffsim for about a pound from a supermarket or argos.

Once he has done that, the old sim is irrelevant to do a sim swap. All he has to do is

put the new sim in a phone (any phone, but it might as well be the phone that it's going to be used in, unless that phone is locked to another network)
the new sim will give sufficient internet access to reach giffgaff.com and perform the sim swap process as previously stated.

Would they be able to complete the multi factor authentication if they have no internet access or phone service to retrieve the verification code sent by email and text message?

harrrrrry

haridus

I raised that question in the thread that announced 2FA. giffgaff seemed to think that the agents would be able to resolve it.

haridus

harrrrrry

In the scenario you quoted how would they contact the agents if they can't access their account and the internet because they can't complete the sim swap?

harrrrrry

haridus

In addition to accessing giffgaff.com and the community, an unactivated sim is expected to be capable of submitting an agent report and retrieving the replies. So as far as I can see, none of the above should have prevented the new sim from being used to perform a sim swap.

Re-reading the opening post, the problem seems to be getting a password reset, to be able to log in to the giffgaff account, rather than performing the sim swap. A password reset does require access to either email or a text message and there's not currently an obvious answer to that other than for users to make sure they always have a second method of accessing their email -- which is actually something I posted in Tips and Guides a long time ago, but can't find with the current search limitations.

haridus

harrrrrry In addition to accessing giffgaff.com and the community, an unactivated sim is expected to be capable of submitting an agent report and retrieving the replies. So as far as I can see, none of the above should have prevented the new sim from being used to perform a sim swap.

But has anyone actually managed to resolve account issues like this via the agents with no wifi/mobile service, only an unactivated sim and whilst being unable to sign in to their account especially with the sometimes substantial wait for the agents to reply?

(If you try to contact the agents without being signed in you are redirected to the log-in page)

covertsystemx

haridus You got one of the issues BANG ON.

Had this been a system that would enable customers to access easily, then this post would not have appeared and people seem to have ignored the issues at the core of this, you've shown that you at least understand one of the main issues.

covertsystemx

bill48er Replace the Sim first, not helpful when you consider that the phones now have nano slots and no way of allowing a sim slot for micro sims.

The phone died unexpectedly and there is no way to order a sim card when you have no internet... It was lucky that I had a sim card that I got to put in my sons phone, he lost hos phone so I didn't get to use the sim.

What the issue is, the way in which people are shoehorned in to one size fits all, sadly, real life does not work that way or simply.

So your reply is not as helpful or as clever as you seem to think.

Main aim of my post was to point out issues that arise from inconsiderate design changes, service updates, so called upgrades and so on.

The world is full of idiots that think that updating something makes it better... wrong, about another 20 years under your belt will confirm that for you.

covertsystemx

You obviously didn't read my post, I did a sim swap, its the <censored> around that was the ball ache.