3-2=42

A bit of a technological milestone today! – even though the Maths in the title looks a bit dodgy, all will be revealed!

I moved my mobile phone from the always reliable ‘O2’ to 3.

I’ve been with O2 for as long as I can remember (1985 actually) when it was called Cellnet, and they have kept me connected all over the world during my travels for work and play through the years. So, why the move?

In recent years, their range of phones became less exciting, and they certainly weren’t able to offer me a contract that suited my needs. After a bit of experimentation, I decided to go with 3, who offered a super-duper package in terms of calls, texts, and data – for only a little bit more than I was paying with O2. Add to that, the deal also means I get all of these benefits FREE in 42 countries as well – see below – and it was a no-brainer!

So, all I needed to do was find myself a suitable phone – SIM free – and then port my number over from O2.

Currently, the most whizziest phone out there, bar none, is the Huawei Mate 9 and luckily for me, this new phone was available from a limited number of suppliers (it had only been launched in the UK a few days before). Clove Technology was one of the few that had the colour I wanted – champagne gold – and I placed my order online.

 

Clove did their magic and the phone turned up within 24 hours, and I spent yesterday transferring over all my stuff from my old Samsung Note 3. The transfer process was all pretty straightforward, but as always, the ‘devil-is-in-the-detail’ and a few apps aren’t working, whilst some apps aren’t available any longer from the App Store. Apart from that, it all went perfectly well.

Last job was the dreaded ‘number-porting’. I don’t know why I expected this to be a bit stressful – maybe it’s because I’ve not done it before!? I had read stories (albeit a while ago) of numbers getting ‘lost’ during the transfer process, resulting in calls not getting through and owners having to have a NEW number.

As things turned out, it was all pretty simple. I called O2 to get the required PAC (Port Authorisation Code), and although they did their hardest to keep my account, even they conceded that they couldn’t match 3’s offer. I filled in the online form where 3 promised number changeover within 24 hours. And they kept their promises! I had a text in the morning confirming that ‘switch-over would be by the end of the day’ – and by 1pm I was fully operational with my new phone.

Job done!