Unactivated SIMs expiry?

I posted an idea about ensuring that SIMs aren't needlessly expired but need some clarification from giffgaff as to how the current system works. Ther...

bertiebat · 2013-04-12T19:27:22+00:00

I posted an idea about ensuring that SIMs aren't needlessly expired but need some clarification from giffgaff as to how the current system works. Ther...

Unactivated SIMs expiry?

khairul

I've had a strong suspicion about number being preallocated to SIMs ever since I read a thread long ago about someone receiving spam texts on their SIM even before they activated it (no doubt as a result of being targeted by a random number generator for the purpose of sending spam). Now I can see that that it is indeed the case.

@jokeyboi77
That's for the mention but that's old news now. My latest record is about 30 months!

bertiebat

@jokeyboi77
That's for the mention but that's old news now. My latest record is about 30 months!

Thanks for your input khairul (and for supporting the idea :smileywink 🙂 . I saw your post about the really old SIM activation and I wonder whether ANYONE has actually found a SIM that has failed to activate at any time due to it expiring (I've not seen a confirmed case tbh).

The good news is that there should be a way of ensuring that the SIMs never expire (in real terms) from what guru posted but it does need to be planned for as they will need to recoup those numbers some time in the future.

I only keep a small stock of SIMs as I'm worried that at some point they will expire (numbers recouped) and recently lost out on a request for 4 SIMs because of that. :smileysad:

gurupandit

Thanks for your input khairul (and for supporting the idea :smileywink 🙂 . I saw your post about the really old SIM activation and I wonder whether ANYONE has actually found a SIM that has failed to activate at any time due to it expiring (I've not seen a confirmed case tbh).

The good news is that there should be a way of ensuring that the SIMs never expire (in real terms) from what guru posted but it does need to be planned for as they will need to recoup those numbers some time in the future.

I only keep a small stock of SIMs as I'm worried that at some point they will expire (numbers recouped) and recently lost out on a request for 4 SIMs because of that. :smileysad:

Boys and Girls, Let me kick the confusion out of this thread.

To confirm, the SIMs never expire, unless they have already been activated, or they are really old pre 2G era SIMs (which if you find one, please post it to me for my collection :catwink 🙂 .

What we are doing as part of MSISDN Reuse Project is to disassociate the MSISDN from preactivated SIMs older than a certain period. It wouldn't stop you to activate those SIMs, as a new MSISDN will get dynamically allotted to it. The only downside to this process is that it would take comparatively longer for a dynamic activation to go through. Our tests have shown that the dynamic activatiion takes on an average 2 hours.

So the moral of the story, we are trying to recycle the MSISDN to control the costs and to be Green. But please dont throw away older SIMs, as they won't expire. (4G may eventually expire them, just as 3G expired 2G SIMs)

solid247

Thanks guru , the cloudy water is clearing at last. All thats needed now is a small change to the terms & conditions 🙂

bertiebat

@gurupandit wrote:

Thanks for your input khairul (and for supporting the idea :smileywink 🙂 . I saw your post about the really old SIM activation and I wonder whether ANYONE has actually found a SIM that has failed to activate at any time due to it expiring (I've not seen a confirmed case tbh).

The good news is that there should be a way of ensuring that the SIMs never expire (in real terms) from what guru posted but it does need to be planned for as they will need to recoup those numbers some time in the future.

I only keep a small stock of SIMs as I'm worried that at some point they will expire (numbers recouped) and recently lost out on a request for 4 SIMs because of that. :smileysad:

Boys and Girls, Let me kick the confusion out of this thread.

To confirm, the SIMs never expire, unless they have already been activated, or they are really old pre 2G era SIMs (which if you find one, please post it to me for my collection :catwink 🙂 .

What we are doing as part of MSISDN Reuse Project is to disassociate the MSISDN from preactivated SIMs older than a certain period. It wouldn't stop you to activate those SIMs, as a new MSISDN will get dynamically allotted to it. The only downside to this process is that it would take comparatively longer for a dynamic activation to go through. Our tests have shown that the dynamic activatiion takes on an average 2 hours.

So the moral of the story, we are trying to recycle the MSISDN to control the costs and to be Green. But please dont throw away older SIMs, as they won't expire. (4G may eventually expire them, just as 3G expired 2G SIMs)

Thanks gurupandit and you have made my day 🙂

I'm off to spread the news and make sure that the appropriate articles are changed to reflect this.

pinkcalculator

That's been a very useful thread to read as I have my wee stock of sims and was beginning to think they may need to be replaced with fresh, I don't need to worry now.

figment_uk

@gurupandit wrote:
Boys and Girls, Let me kick the confusion out of this thread.

To confirm, the SIMs never expire, unless they have already been activated, or they are really old pre 2G era SIMs (which if you find one, please post it to me for my collection :catwink 🙂 .

What we are doing as part of MSISDN Reuse Project is to disassociate the MSISDN from preactivated SIMs older than a certain period. It wouldn't stop you to activate those SIMs, as a new MSISDN will get dynamically allotted to it. The only downside to this process is that it would take comparatively longer for a dynamic activation to go through. Our tests have shown that the dynamic activatiion takes on an average 2 hours.

So the moral of the story, we are trying to recycle the MSISDN to control the costs and to be Green. But please dont throw away older SIMs, as they won't expire. (4G may eventually expire them, just as 3G expired 2G SIMs)

Somebody please give the agents this information.

turqgriff

Sorry to wake up an old thread but I have a problem which seems to prove your theory wrong.

bertiebat wrote:

Boys and Girls, Let me kick the confusion out of this thread.

To confirm, the SIMs never expire, unless they have already been activated, or they are really old pre 2G era SIMs (which if you find one, please post it to me for my collection :catwink 🙂 .

What we are doing as part of MSISDN Reuse Project is to disassociate the MSISDN from preactivated SIMs older than a certain period. It wouldn't stop you to activate those SIMs, as a new MSISDN will get dynamically allotted to it. The only downside to this process is that it would take comparatively longer for a dynamic activation to go through. Our tests have shown that the dynamic activatiion takes on an average 2 hours.

So the moral of the story, we are trying to recycle the MSISDN to control the costs and to be Green. But please dont throw away older SIMs, as they won't expire. (4G may eventually expire them, just as 3G expired 2G SIMs)

I am trying to activate an old SIM which is less than 30 months old and is a 4G SIM.

I log in to my account for this particular sim and get taken to the Activate/Order New SIM page.

I select Activate and carefully enter the serial code on the SIM, hit Continue and the page refreshes and I see the following message:

"Sorry, that SIM has already been activated. You can either ask an agent for help or just order another SIM."

If anyone has a clue why my SIM would show correctly as not activated but then be blocked by GiffGaff claiming that it is already active that would be great. 🙂

If anyone can explain to me how to fix this that would be awesome. 😀

harrrrrry

@turqgriff

Did you try repeating the activation using the full code on the sim ?

navvy

@turqgriff

Have you tried the SIM in a phone?

Even if unactivated, it should connect to the giffgaff network and show signal bars. Try dialling *100# and it should show "not active" and not any other error message.

Sometimes I think people mis-type an activation code and accidentally get a code that refers to someone else's SIM. If they got your SIM, they may have activated it at some time in the past and then corrected their problem by doing a SIM Swap which permanently disables your SIM and connects their account to their correct SIM.

If this has happened, when you try to activate your SIM, the database will report that it has already been activated.

Are you getting the same message when you use the 6-character activation code as when you use the 13-digit serial number?

turqgriff

@harrrrrry

Yes have tried it 3 times, always double checking the numbers I enter. Get the same result every time

turqgriff

@navvy

Have tried it more than once but not in a phone. Always double checked the numbers I entered as I have a ridiculously long 19 digit serial number and have lost the 6 digit code a long time ago.

Guess it's time to move on and wait for a new one.

Thanks

navvy

@turqgriff

Are you sure this is a SIM that has never been activated? If you've already broken it out of the card that had the activation code printed on it, it is likely to have already been used.

This thread was about unactivated SIMs not expiring. If you activate a SIM and then leave it unused for over 6 months, it will expire and be permanently disabled.

You mentioned the account for this SIM, which made me wonder - SIMs don't have an account until they have been activated.

Expiry will permanently delete the phone number, which will then go into recycling. 6 months after expiry it may be issued to someone else. Credit is also deleted. For details of how to avoid expiry, look at section 13.3 of the T&C.

turqgriff

@navvy

Yes, has been used but not in a long time. Thought that if a SIM is unused for 6 months or more it became deactivated so basics an in/unactive SIM. My miss understanding, appreciate the clarification, thanks.

navvy

@turqgriff

You will need to order a new SIM. If you want to reuse the same account, the SIM must NOT be ordered through that expired account. Log out, and order as though you are not a member.

If you are happy to create a new account, order a SIM through the banner on another member's message. You may not get the activation bonus £5 if you are recognised as a returning member.

turqgriff

Yes, I should have that would have been a good plan... Oh well, no fiver for me. I'll kick myself when my life calms down a bit.

Thanks

pettsey

i thought they expiry after 6 months

navvy

@pettsey

You need to stay up to date.

Unactivated SIMs never expire for new activations.

Unactivated SIMs never expire for SIM swaps, since the 6-month bug was fixed a few days ago.

Activated SIMs do expire if unused for 6 months, though there are various ways to avoid this, as listed in section 13.3 of the T&C. https://giffgaff.com/terms#Cancellation