Switching from Orange to EE? It's a straightforward process to keep your existing phone number.

Step 1: Order your new phone or SIM card from EE's website

As a special case, customers of Orange won't need a PAC code when switching to EE. Instead, it's possible to upgrade directly to EE. As part of this upgrade, you'll gain access to EE's 4G network

Start by ordering your new phone or SIM card using the EE website. Please select the type of tariff you're intending to move to:

For a full list of available tariffs and the latest EE deals, please refer to this page.

View Latest Deals from EE →

Any Other Questions?

In case of any problems during the transfer of your phone number, you should contact your new mobile network (EE) 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"

Your Comments 1,963 so far

We'd love to hear your comments on transferring a phone number from Orange to EE. The comments below are from people who've made the same transfer. You can add your own comments here.

To view all 1963 comments about transferring a phone number, please visit the main PAC Code article.

  • Helen A. said:

    I just tried to move from Orange to EE and it eventually turned out that the transfer of my phone number was going to take take 6 days during which time I could not use my number for incoming calls. First it did not go through automatically, then a day later I phoned and was told it would be re-requested and would go through in a further 24 hours or so. The next day I contacted EE by chat to confirm and was definitely told it would go through at midnight that night. It didn’t. The next day, a Saturday, I was told it would not go through until midnight before Tuesday morning. I have cancelled my contract, under cooling off rules and am looking for another deal.

  • John said:

    On 31 March I took my wife’s new unlocked iPhone to an EE shop to arrange a move from Sim Only Orange to a similar EE deal with a same number transfer.

    The paperwork, ID check were completed and the new Sim installed in around twenty minutes.

    By 1600 on 1 April the number transfer to the new phone was complete.

    Excellent service.

  • Samuel said:

    Hi, I just transferred my old number from orange to my new ee sim, both pay as you go, the swap hasnt happened yet as it apparently takes a few days. My question is: as the new sim had 10 pounds prepaid credit and a particular deal on it already, will I lose the credit and the deal when my old number replaces the temporary one? Thanks.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Samuel,
      Thanks for your comment. Normally, with a cross-network transfer, you lose your credit only on the network you’re leaving (the PAYG credit on your new SIM card will still be there after your transfer). With an internal transfer (e.g. going from Orange to EE), there isn’t a set rule for what would happen. For this reason, I would probably clarify directly with EE customer services (dial 150 from your EE handset). My guess is they should probably combine the PAYG credit from both accounts (in my experience, this is what other networks will typically do).
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

      • James replied:

        I’ve just done this transferring a virgin mobile number to a sainsburys mobile sim. I had credit and a bundle on the sainsburys sim but lost them when the number transferred. I’m dealing with their customer service at the moment trying to get it resolved since I’m pretty sure I should keep that credit.

  • Sue said:

    Hi, I had to move from Orange PAYG to EE PAYG to be able to swap my micro sim to a nano sim. Was assured my old number and credit would be transferred across. 48 hours later my old number has been ported but not my credit! Have been in touch with the local EE shop and was told to give it time. How long should it take?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Sue,
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, the transfer of credit from Orange to EE is an internal process within the EE network. For this reason, I wouldn’t know how long the process is expected to take. The best way of checking will be to call EE Customer Services on 150.
      Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
      Ken

  • jason said:

    im having difficulty in the supposed easy migration to ee from orange ,firstly i got e-mail saying a new sim would arrive in 2days ,NO sim arrived in 8 days , rang customer service told then ,and that i already had a new unused paygo EE sim ,they said no problem ignore the one that has gone astray and give them the new EE sim phone number and theyll transfer my orange number to it and it could take 24hr, 38 hours later my number is still on my orange sim but they’ve transfer my credit to the EE sims temporary number,so now i carnt even call customer service to speak to them ,im under impression they’ve messed it up ,and just transferring my credit ? Why on earth would i want such when ive had the orange number over 10 years! 🙁

  • Craig said:

    Hi Ken

    I’m really struggling with this so hope you can help. I was an orange customer and my contract expired a couple of weeks ago and I changed to a sim only contract and kept the same phone (iPhone 4). However my phone number is still the temporary phone number and has not changed to my old original number that I want to keep. I’ve been in contact with EE technical support a lot to no avail, have tried resetting all the settings, changing the number to my original number within settings, turning off iMessage, FaceTime etc. however the phone number still reverts to the temporary number. Any tips you can provide would be great.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Craig,
      Thanks for your comment. Are phone calls and text messages still showing the temporary phone number or is the problem restricted to only iMessage and FaceTime?
      If phone calls and text messages are showing the temporary phone number, it means EE are still yet to transfer your number to the new SIM card. You’ll need to contact EE Customer Services on 150 to get your phone number transferred to the new SIM card.
      If the temporary phone number only shows on iMessage and FaceTime, see the info here on how to update it.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

      • Craig replied:

        Thanks Ken, turns out EE hadn’t linked my number to the SIM card. All resolved now after a helpful call to their customer service.

  • sheila Brack said:

    Hi I chose to up grade my phone 1month before my early up grade was due.This was due to the hand set failing.I was informed by Orange I could not upgrade.I there for requested a PAC code as needed to sort new handset.I was also wanting to move to EE . After some considerable and distressing wrangling passed from pillar to poseventuality got a Pac code that was 4 days ago. MY number still has not been transferred and my Orange acct on line is still live showing no change. Please can you help as I have a new phone I can’t use.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Sheila,
      Has your new plan started at EE and have you given them the PAC Code from Orange? If so, you should be able to contact EE Customer Services to enquire about the progress of your phone number transfer. If not, you’ll need to make sure the PAC Code has been submitted to EE directly. The schedule for phone number transfers can be found in this table.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Vicky said:

    Hi Ken,
    I have been to an EE store early this afternoon and transferred over from and Orange contract to EE. They rung and got my PAC code for me and input that to the new contract to swap my number over. But I’m still waiting for the number to transfer.
    Are there any tips/tricks to make the process quicker?

    Many thanks,
    Vicky

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Vicky,
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, there’s no way to speed up the process of transferring your phone number – it can only happen as per the schedule listed here. As the PAC Code transfer request was actioned on a Sunday, you should expect the phone number to be transferred some time on Tuesday.
      Ken

      • Vicky replied:

        Hi Ken,
        Thank you for your reply. Also, I keep getting different answers- which phone should I be using until the number transfers?
        The old phone which has the number I’m transferring or the new phone which has a temporary number until it’s replaced with my number?

        Thanks for your help.

        • Ken replied:

          Hi Vicky,
          You’re welcome to use either of the handsets: both of them will continue to work. Personally, I would try to use the new contract as much as possible (it’s worth doing this so if there are any problems with the handset or network, you’ll be able to spot them early). If you decide to make an outgoing phone call, consider using your old handset on Orange (so as not to confuse people when they get a call from your temporary number on EE!).
          Ken

  • Russ and Jill said:

    Hello – thanks for all the grreat info on your site.

    I am an Orange customer just out of contrcat. I have been offered an upgrade by Orange to EE – but I have found a better price for the exat same deal through a third party supplier.

    I have told Orange this, but they have said they cannot match it. (can you believe that !)

    Orange have issued me with my PAC code, and I am going for this deal with third party supplier. But I will technically be a ‘new’ customer to EE. So will I still be able to use my PAC code somehow to leave Orange, but Join EE as a new customer (theough a third party supplier) and still use my PAC code to carry my number over.

    Thanks for any insight you may have

  • Bernard said:

    I’ve just ordered a new phone contract for my wife on EE, she is an existing orange customer so I was under the impression she should be able to port her number. I have been told that EE took over t-mobiles billing wing/infrastructure (or something like that) so transferring an old t-mobile number to a new (not upgraded) EE contract would not work but it is possible between Orange and EE, they have since told her that she cannot transfer her number as Orange are part of EE. Could you confirm this, am trying to get all my info together before I phone them up!

      • Bernard replied:

        Hi Ken, thanks for your reply, everything has gone surprisingly smoothly, transferring an old Orange number to a new EE account is just the same as transferring numbers between other companies, i believe it is when you transfer between an old T-Mobile number and a new EE account you have trouble as EE took on the T-Mobile accounting devision.

  • paul said:

    I ordered my sim only contract over a week ago, I had the sim the next day with the “temp number ” but my old number has still not transferred from my orange to ee sim, its been over a week

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Paul,
      Thanks for your comment. Have you had any luck getting the number moved over? If not, it’s probably worth giving EE a prod (you can contact them for free by dialling 150 on your EE handset).
      Ken

  • Laura said:

    Hi.

    I upgraded my phone 3 days ago from Orange to EE (from a Samsung Galaxy S3 to an Apple iPhone 6). I was told that by simply turning the phone on, it would only take my number 20 minutes to transfer over and yet it still hasn’t. I’ve tried turning it on and off several times as well.
    Any suggestions?

    Thanks, Laura

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Laura,
      Thanks for your comment. As you’ve progressed the number transfer as an internal upgrade from Orange to EE, the information relating to PAC Codes won’t be applicable in your current circumstances. Nevertheless, I’d expect your number transfer to happen on a working day (there could also be delays due to Christmas office closures, etc). If your number is still yet to move from Orange to EE, I’d recommend calling customer services on 150. They’ll be able to give you an update on the transfer.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Caroline,
      Thanks for your comment. Did you proceed the number transfer using a PAC Code or did you upgrade directly through an EE upgrade? In general, it’s not possible to transfer Pay As You Go credit between two networks (see this section of the article above). This would be the case if you did a PAC Code transfer. However, if you upgraded directly through EE, they should have transferred the Pay As You Go credit to your new account for you. If they didn’t, you can call EE Customer Services on 150 and ask them what happened to the credit on your account.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Ez said:

    I have just upgraded from Orange to ee. I am able to make calls n send messages etc but some of the messages I send don’t show my number, they show the number that was initially in the phone!! I have changed the number to my number in settings n when I make a call it shows as my number, it’s just these odd few texts that show as a different number (the number originally in this phone. I’m totally confused!!

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Ez,
      The best thing to do would be to give EE a call on 150 – let them know your caller ID is still displaying a old number from before your number transfer. They should be able to resolve this problem for you!
      Ken

  • Laura said:

    Hi,

    I was an Orange customer and upgraded on Thursday to EE with the same number. I was told as Orange is part of the EE Group that I wouldn’t need a pac code.

    The upgrade went through fine. My services started on Thursday with EE and then on Friday at 7.30pm all services were lost.

    When I called EE they advised me that my number had been ported to someone else.

    A pac code was provided to someone else for my number. Consequently, they now have my mobile number and I have no mobile number at all!

    Orange and EE keep saying they have never seen this before. I have been told I have to go back to Orange and then try to go back to EE again as per my upgrade which could take a further week!

    In the meantime, I have no number and someone else is getting all my calls and messages etc.!

    Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Many thanks,
    Laura

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Laura,
      It sounds as if this is a massive mess-up on the part of EE: there are implications both in terms of disruption to your service and also in terms of your data security and privacy. My immediate thoughts are to lodge a formal complaint with EE – ideally you should do this in writing using the online form. This should help to escalate your issue to a higher level. There should also be someone assigned to dealing with this issue.
      I hope the issue will get resolved as quickly as possible. Please do keep me updated on any progress from EE (or if you have any further questions about the same issue).
      Many thanks,
      Ken

  • Sunita said:

    Hi
    I am orange network customer.on the 1st of September I called customer services and told the lady there that I was due for an upgrade she put me through to the loyalty team who offered a 4GEE sim only deal and was told it would be a like for like deal as I was on orange. BUT not the case. Since the 1st of September ive been without the use of my phone. I received my 4GEE sim on the 5th of September but the number was different and not as promised the deal was also different from the one I was quoted. So again no use of the phone as phone was saying no service. I called back ee and explained this to them on Monday the 8th of September I got so annoyed and asked to reverse migrate to orange as before. On Wednesday the 10th of September I recieve a text message on my temporary number saying that my “upgrade and price plan has been reversed back to orange and that my number will be moving back on the 11th of September”.
    This has not been the case at all I’m still without the use of my phone to date. I have been on the phone to orange daily twice a day. It’s costing me a lot of money as I’m using the landline. And all I am told is that it takes a bit of time for this process! HOW MUCH LONGER!!!
    One extremely frustrated customer.
    Please advise.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Sunita,
      I’m very sorry to hear about the problematic migration from your old Orange plan to a new tariff from EE. Quite frankly, it’s totally unacceptable that EE have left you without the use of your phone for a period of 17 days. In this case, I would strongly recommend you make an official complaint via EE’s website. This will escalate the issue to a higher level and should help you in getting your phone service back. They might also be able to compensate you for the loss of service during the botched migration.
      Good luck,
      Ken

  • Peter said:

    Hi Ken,

    I’m currently at the end of a pay monthly contract with Orange (EE) and I’ve requested my PAC code (my contract end date has passed but I’m still in the 30 day’s notice period) and I’ve requested my PAC code as I couldn’t find any good upgrade deals. I found a brilliant deal on a website for a pay monthly contract with EE, I would like to keep my current number but I’ve read from various sources that it’s not possible to port a number from a monthly contract to another pay monthly contract on the same network. Is this the case? And is there nothing else I can do to keep my number while taking out a new contract with a new account?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Peter,
      Thanks for your comment. As an Orange customer, you can upgrade to EE without using a PAC code (EE will simply process this as an internal upgrade within their network). If the same deal isn’t available to customers who are upgrading, it could then be worth asking Customer Services if they can match the deal you’ve seen for new customers.
      If it’s not possible for them to match the deal for new customers, you can of course sign up as a new customer via the EE website. Using the details of your new account, you can then provide your Orange PAC Code to EE via this online form. I haven’t got other examples exactly for your situation, but there are a couple for people moving from T-Mobile to EE.
      Hope this helps!
      Ken

  • Mike Bullock said:

    This has been horrendous and still isn’t sorted.
    I was with Orange pay as you go and had £9.97 credit. This was transferred from my account within 12 hours of subscribing to a new pay monthly contract so I couldn’t use my phone. The SIM card arrived 4 days later with a pac code from orange. I followed the instructions and entered my details online to move my old number over. The following day I could only make outgoing calls, after 3 calls to the technical team and another 4 days the issue still isn’t resolved. A new sim is on the way which could take another 3-5 days.
    Great 10 days without a phone isn’t funny and there is still no guarantee of it working.

    EE’s phone transfer sucks and I wouldn’t recommend EE. Perhaps I should cancel the contract.

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