Switching from EE to O2? It's a straightforward process to keep your existing phone number.
Step 1: Get a PAC Code from EE
If you’d like to move your phone number from EE to O2, the first step is getting your Porting Authorisation Code (or PAC Code) from EE.
There are three ways to get a PAC Code from EE:
- Online: You can get a PAC Code from EE by logging in to the My EE website. Once you've logged in, go to Menu > Account settings > Leave EE.
- By Text Message: You can get an EE PAC Code sent to you via SMS text message. Text PAC to 65075 to receive a PAC Code from EE.
- By Phone: You can get a PAC Code by calling EE. To do this, call them on 150 using your EE handset. Alternatively, dial 07953 966 250 from any other phone. You'll need to call during EE's opening hours (Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 8am-6pm, Sunday 8am-6pm).
Here are some key things to know:
- A PAC Code is 9 digits long and follows the format ABC 123 456.
- Your PAC Code is valid for 30 days. If you don't use it during this time, the PAC Code will expire and you'll need to request a new one.
- You shouldn't close your account at EE: it'll be closed automatically when your phone number is transferred to O2.
Still in contract with EE? If so, you may need to pay an early exit fee on your bill from EE. To find out how much this would be, text INFO to 85075.
Don’t want to keep your EE phone number? You can switch to O2 without taking your phone number with you. If you'd like to do this, get a STAC Code from EE instead.
EE STAC Code (Leave EE Without Keeping Your Number)
If you’d like to leave EE without keeping your phone number, you’ll need to request a STAC Code rather than a PAC Code. There are three ways to get a STAC Code from EE:
- Online: You can get a STAC Code from EE by logging in to the My EE website. After logging in, go to Menu > Account settings > Leave EE.
- By Text Message: You can get an EE STAC Code sent to you via SMS text message. Text STAC to 75075 to receive a STAC Code from EE.
- By Phone: You can get a STAC Code by calling EE. Call them on 150 using your EE handset. Alternatively, dial 07953 966 250 from any other phone. You'll need to call during EE's opening hours (Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 8am-6pm, Sunday 8am-6pm).
Once you’ve gotten your STAC Code from EE, the rest of the process for joining O2 remains the same.
Step 2: Order your new phone or SIM card from O2's website
You should now order your new phone or SIM card using the O2 website. Please select the type of tariff you're intending to move to:
If you're looking for a SIM card from O2, the following deals are currently most popular:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost (may rise during contract) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | £15.00 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 6GB | £17.00 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB | £17.99 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 150GB | £19.99 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £31.00 24 months |
For a full list of available tariffs and the latest O2 deals, please refer to this page on O2's website.
Alternatively, if you're getting your O2 plan from a reseller, tap on their logo for more information:
O2 will assign you with a temporary phone number during the transition process. This will allow you to test out the service before you finally transfer your phone number to O2.
Step 3: Give the PAC Code to O2
Once your new phone or SIM card arrives from O2, switch it on and make sure everything's working properly. If, for whatever reason, you need to return or change the handset or SIM card, it's best to do this before transferring your phone number.
Once you're happy to continue with the phone number transfer, contact O2 and provide them with your PAC Code from EE.
Your PAC Code should be entered on O2's online form. You can also provide your PAC Code to O2 over the phone:
If you're joining O2 Pay Monthly, you can submit your PAC Code by calling 202 on your O2 handset. Alternatively, call 0344 8090202 from any other phone.
Alternatively, if you're joining O2 Pay As You Go, submit your PAC Code by calling 4445 (0344 8090222 if you're calling from another network).
If you have a STAC Code from EE rather than a PAC Code, this can be provided to O2 in the exact same way.
Remember:
- You must provide the PAC Code to O2 within 30 days of it being issued by EE. If the PAC Code has already expired, you'll need to return to step 1 and request a new PAC Code from EE.
- EE Pay As You Go customers: Try to use up your remaining credit as it can't be transferred to O2.
Step 4: Phone Number Transferred (Next Working Day)
Once you've provided a PAC code to O2, your phone number transfer will normally be scheduled for the next working day (Monday to Friday only, excluding English bank holidays).
On the day of the transfer, you'll momentarily lose coverage on both mobile networks. When this happens, restart your handset on O2. You should find that the O2 phone or SIM card will now associated with your original phone number.
- If you see an error message (e.g. "SIM card registration failed"), this means it's time to restart your phone.
- Once the phone number has been transferred to O2, your account on EE will automatically be closed. You'll receive a final bill from EE for any outstanding charges.
Get the Latest Deals from O2 →
Any Other Questions?
In case of any problems during the transfer of your phone number, you should contact your new mobile network (O2) with details of the problem.
If you have any other questions on using a PAC Code, please see my in-depth guide to transferring your phone number between networks. You can also read the comments below from other visitors to this website.
← Full Article: "PAC Codes - How to transfer your mobile number when switching networks"
graham said:
Hello – I started on Orange pay as you go back in 2001 with an old nokia 3310 – that phone became a nokia 1800 still on orange pay as you go and has now ended up on EE – same number all that time and a replacement SIM when the old one stopped working… always ‘pay as you go’. It’s an expensive year if it needs a top-up of £30!
The phone is used very infrequently and today I received a message from EE/BT amounting to ‘use it or lose it’. Fair enough.
That did prompt me to look at what EE charge and at 35p per min and 15p text, even though very low usage, your comparison chart on:
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/compare-pay-as-you-go-networks
is making a switch to O2 look like better value.
I want to continue with the old phone as is but just change provider from EE to O2, but on your article about using PAC codes it says:
“After getting a PAC Code from your old network, the next step is ordering your new phone or SIM card from your new mobile network.”
Am I going to need a new SIM from O2 (is that even possible for such an old style phone!?) or should it be possible just to switch networks with existing phone and SIM?
Thank you.
Ken replied:
Hi Graham,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, you’ll need to order a new SIM card from O2, which can slot inside your existing Nokia 1800 providing it isn’t locked to Orange/EE. You’ll be glad to know that it’s still possible to use standard-sized SIM cards (also known as Mini-SIM/2FF) – just make sure you pop it out at the outermost groove when your O2 SIM card arrives in the post. Once you’ve activated your O2 SIM card, you can use the PAC Code to move your phone number from EE to O2.
One thing that’s worth noting is you won’t be able to move your credit from EE to O2. For this reason, it might be worth waiting if you have a large balance on your EE SIM card – it’s best to try and use this up before moving to O2.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Beth said:
Hi Ken,
My phone contract with EE has ended and I have got a PAC code as I would like to take out a contract with O2 and keep my old number. I have found a very good deal on mobiles.co.uk for a pay monthly contract with O2 however I am unsure how I can use my PAC code and keep my number if I am not buying from O2 directly?
Thanks for your help 🙂
Beth
Ken replied:
Hi Beth,
Thanks for your comment. You can follow the exact same instructions, except from that you’ll be ordering your mobile phone here from Mobiles.co.uk. Once your new O2 mobile phone arrives, you can submit your PAC Code here on the O2 website.
Alternatively, some retailers also allow you to submit a PAC Code during the order process. Typically, however, I’d advise waiting until after the new phone arrives so you can know you’ll definitely have access to it, you can make sure it works correctly, that you’re getting satisfactory coverage from O2, etc.
Hope this helps!
Ken
Roge said:
Hi I am transferring from EE to O2 gave my pac code to O2 I am now using my number on O2 and EE some texts text are going to EE & Some to O2.
It’s driving me mad what can I do?
Ken replied:
Hi Roge,
Are you still having problems with this? You’ll sometimes encounter this issue on the day of the phone number transfer but it should normally resolve itself fairly quickly after that. Alternatively, if the problem is on iMessage and FaceTime, follow the instructions here to fix it.
Ken
Misba said:
I have recently moved from EE to O2 and provided O2 with PAC code however O2 are refusing to transfer number as claiming contract been running for a couple of months and should have been completed within 30 days.
Just checked all O2 terms and conditions and nowhere does it state this. Also EE researched and said that should not be the case. So still waiting for O2 to sort issue?? Poor service from O2, should have never left EE
Ken replied:
Hi Misba,
Thanks for your comment, and sorry to hear about the issues using your PAC Code at O2. There shouldn’t be anything to stop you from using a PAC Code regardless of how many months you’ve already had your contract with O2 (i.e. it should be possible to use the PAC Code at any time). Were to able to get any further, getting O2 to accept your PAC Code?
Ken
Aimee said:
I requested my PAC code from EE and then filled out the necessary form for o2 to find out that EE had in fact, given me the WRONG PAC code, it wasn’t even a qualifying code which I was not aware of.
Ken replied:
Hi Aimee,
That sounds like poor form from EE. Did they give you a nine-digit code (three letters followed by six numbers), or was the code in a totally different format? Sometimes, they mistake it for a PUK code (Personal Unblocking Code) which serves a very different process from PAC Codes.
Ken
KATHRYN NORMAN said:
I have moved from ee to 02.applied to port my number on 9.3.19, I completed the required paperwork but so far my number has not been transferred to my 02 account. Very disappointed indeed.
Ken replied:
Hi Kathryn,
Sorry to hear about the issues you’ve encountered moving a phone number from EE to O2. As per the timescales listed here, I would have expected the phone number transfer to have taken place on Tuesday as you submitted your PAC to O2 on a Saturday. If your phone number still hasn’t transferred over, you should get in touch with your new network (O2) to enquire about it. It is their responsibility to process the phone number transfer for you.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Anon said:
I’ve just got a pac code from EE as I’ve now joined O2. I currently work offshore where there is no signal and use WiFi for everything. I have an iPhone 6s on EE and have just received an iPhone 8 on O2, so when I give O2 the pac code, will all my iMessages stop coming to my current phone as my number will transfer or will they still come through as it’s through iTunes ?
Thanks
Anon
Ken replied:
Hi Anon,
Your iMessages will continue working as before, until you set up iMessage again on your new phone. If you’d like to get the messages on your new iPhone from O2, you should transfer your number using a PAC Code and then set up iMessage again.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Stephen said:
Hi Ken.
My wife & I live in Australia and we both have pay as you go SIMs with EE for when we’re in the UK.
What we do is leave an amount in each phone’s account and before we arrive in the UK we top-up (if necessary) and purchase a 20 pound “Everything Pack” for the period that we’re in the UK. Every few months we turn the phones in here in Australia and send an SMS just to keep the accounts alive.
What we’ve found is that the area we tend to spend the most time in has some serious dead-spots for the EE network and would like to change to the O2 network which has very good coverage for the area we’re in.
Is there a way we can move our pay as you go services to O2 (keeping the same numbers) and what would you suggest as a substitute for the EE “Everything Pack” that we usually purchase?
Cheers,
Steve
Ken replied:
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, of course, you can easily move your Pay As You Go service over to another mobile network whilst keeping the same number you already as. The only limitation is you won’t be able to transfer Pay As You Go credit, so you’ll need to use this up before moving to another network.
To move your phone number from EE to O2, you can following the instructions on this page the next time you’re in the UK. On O2 Pay As You Go, you can buy a Big Bundle which is their equivalent to EE’s Everything Packs (e.g. you can get 750 minutes, 2000 texts and 2GB data for £15/month). If you’d like coverage from O2, it may also be worth investigating giffgaff (they’ll give you the exact same coverage as O2 but with slightly lower prices).
Hope this helps!
Ken
Stephen replied:
Ken,
appreciate the response, thank you.
One further question, does the credit on your O2 pay-as-you-go account have an expiry date after which time the phone number ceases to operate? As mentioned in my initial inquiry, we turn our phones on here in Australia and send an SMS just to show EE we’re still active.
Cheers,
Steve
Ken replied:
Hi Stephen,
No worries at all – glad to be able to help out!
There’s more information here on the topic of credit expiry. If you have a Big Bundle, the allowances will obviously expire after one month. However, if it’s just Pay As You Go credit, there’s no expiry providing you use your SIM card at least once every six months (this is the same as the policy on EE).
Hope this helps!
Ken
Stephen replied:
Hi Ken.
just a follow question on porting from EE to O2.
If after getting a PAC code, would it be easier to go into an O2 store and do the porting over the counter?
Cheers,
Steve
Ken replied:
Hi Stephen,
It shouldn’t make any difference whether you submit the PAC Code to O2 via their online form, by calling customer services or in-person at their store. It all goes into the same system, and the transfer still happens on the next working day. Personally, I’d probably do it online for convenience (it’s possible if you go in to the store, they’ll just submit your PAC Code through the same online form!).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Hayley said:
Hi, I informed EE that I was leaving and requested by pac code which they sent in the post. Before I had even used the code EE charged my account £36 for requesting the code and giving them my 30 days notice.
When I had originally contacted EE they never informed me of this charge and then went on to say that it was because I had requested the pac code I had to pay for it.
After discussions with them they finally agreed to refund me the money as at no point was I informed of this charge.
I wasn’t in a contract with them and on the bill it said penalty charge??????
I am now worried that although i am receiving texts and phonecalls on my new O2 phone, my old phone is still able to call out as I have tested it and I don’t want them to charge me for it.
EE is a nightmare!!!!!
I’m still waiting for the refund so watch this space as to whether I will have to call them again!!
Thanks for the info though it has helped.