Upgrading to a new handset or SIM card on Three? You won't need a PAC Code to keep your current phone number.
Step 1: Order your new phone or SIM card from Three's website
As you're staying on Three, it's not necessary to obtain a PAC Code. Instead, you can process your phone number transfer internally inside of Three.
Start by ordering your new phone or SIM card using the Three website. Please select the type of tariff you're intending to move to:
If you're looking for a SIM card from Three, the following deals from £7/month are currently most popular:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost (may rise during contract) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | £7.00 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £8.00 12 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 60GB | £10.00 12 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 120GB | £12.00 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £20.00 24 months |
For a full list of available tariffs and the latest Three deals, please refer to this page.
Alternatively, if you're upgrading your Three plan through a reseller, tap on their logo for more information:
Step 2: Contact Three To Transfer Your Phone Number
After receiving your new phone or SIM card, please contact Three to transfer your phone number to the new plan. You can do this by calling 333 from your Three handset. Alternatively, dial 0333 338 1001 from any other phone.
You can contact Three at any time during their opening hours:
| Monday - Friday | 8am - 8pm |
|---|---|
| Saturday | 9am - 6pm |
| Sunday | 9am - 6pm |
View Latest Deals from Three →
Any Other Questions?
In case of any problems during the transfer of your phone number, you should contact your new mobile network (Three) 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"
Stephanie said:
Hi,
I was using a number that was on my partner’s name but now I want to get a sim only deal from 3 for myself and I also want the old number which was on my partner’s name to be transferred to my new number
Ken replied:
Hi Stephanie,
The best thing to do would probably be to get in touch with Three Customer Services on 333. I think they can transfer the account so it’s in your own name and then they can switch it over the SIM Only deal you want. If, however, you don’t want to go down that route, it’s also possible to transfer your phone number to another network (order a free SIM card here for that purpose e.g. from giffgaff), before transferring it back to Three.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Jon said:
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the great website. I am on a sim-only plan with Three. I purchased another Three monthly plan with a third-party and requested to transfer the sim-only number to the new plan. They said they cannot do this until sim-only plan ends after 30 day notice – then it can be changed to PAYG then transferred. Can I request a PAC to transfer it to a temporary PAYG and then back to my new monthly plan to speed up the process? Is there any valid reason why they can refuse my requests? Thanks.
Ken replied:
Hi Jon,
Many thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, SIM only deals (of the Pay Monthly variety) have a 30-day notice period associated with them. What this means is you’re required to pay for another 30 days of usage after you ask them to cancel the SIM card (as an aside: I believe Ofcom is currently looking into this as many people, including myself, think it’s a bit unfair).
You could use a PAC Code to transfer the phone number to another network, but you would still need to pay for another 30 days of usage after giving notice to Three that you want to end the contract. So yes, in theory, this could be a little faster but you’ll still need to pay the same amount overall.
To save the hassle of having to do this, I’d probably serve out the 30 days and then transfer directly on Three. Alternatively, you could ask them to transfer you over early (but they may still want to charge you for the 30-day notice period).
Ken
Colin williams said:
Hi I’m with three and my old number was with three . My contract ran out but I didn’t want forward my number . But changed my mind after it ran out and want keep me old number …and rang them them they give me pack code said I had go with another network then ring them back for another pack code … y can’t they just change it .
Ken replied:
Hi Colin,
Thanks for your comment. The main networks are often reluctant to transfer your phone number from one account to another. The reasoning behind this is because you’ve actually signed up as a new customer on the second contract (new customers are often given a preferential deal to existing customers on the network). Three would rather you upgrade directly as an existing customer on their network – hence the reluctance to move your number over.
In reality, it shouldn’t be a problem moving your number from one contract to another. My suggestion would simply be to persist when asking Customer Services to process your request. As a last resort, you can use a PAC Code to move to another network and then use another PAC Code to move back to Three (understandably, you want to avoid this as it causes more hassle).
Ken
Pierre replied:
Hi Ken,
Just to advise that I had a similar problem while transferring from a Three to Three contract.
As suggested, I persisted and got the outcome I wanted.
Eventually, after 4 calls and much time wasted, I spoke with Ananb who was in the Three Customer Excellence Department and he literally bent over backwards to help me.
Aside from this issue, I told him about the trouble I had getting this sorted and he said that in future I should call the Customer Excellence Department directly on 0800 358 4916 and they would sort it out. As he explained, to be in that department, staff needed at least 4 years experience in company so you were more likely to get things sorted.
As their advert says, ‘when stuff sucks, make it right’. Certainly, Ananb had signed up to the company pledge but it’s a shame some of the others had not!
Best regards,
Pierre.
P.S. Great site by the way.
Ian Boydon said:
Hi Ken,
I am looking to take out a new mobile contract and get a new phone with a 3rd party provider on the 3 network.
I am already with 3, provided by the same 3rd party 2 years ago and my contract is now up.
I want to keep the same number, but I will have to cancel with 3 and then set up a new contract with them, as it is from a 3rd party and not direct with 3.
How do I go about keeping the number? Do I need to get a Pac code and transfer it to a PAYG SIm first?
Ken replied:
Hi Ian,
In the first instance, I’d call Three Customer Service on 333. Ask them to transfer your number from the old SIM card to the new one: they should hopefully be able to do this (it might require you to speak to a customer services manager if this isn’t immediately possible). As a last resort, you can always port your number out to a different mobile network (e.g. with a Pay As You Go SIM) before porting it back to the new contract on Three. This, however, involves a fair bit of extra hassle so I’d try to do it directly if possible. For more information, it might be worth having a look at the comments on this page.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Parker said:
Hi,
I’m currently with Three and at the end of my contract.
I’ve called Three to upgrade, but they can’t give me any special deals.
I’ve seen the same contract they offered, online with Three (through a separate company) which is cheaper.
Can I transfer my number if I cancel my existing contact and take out this other one if they are both from Three?
Thanks in advance.
Parker
Ken replied:
Hi Parker,
Thanks for your comment. Based on previous experience, most mobile networks are fairly reluctant to move your phone number from one account to another (the reason for this is it would allow you to bypass their normal upgrades process). Furthermore, they would need to pay commission to a third-party retailer for connecting your line (understandably, they hate to do this when you’re already a customer on their network!)
What this means for you as a consumer is that customer support will often tell you it isn’t possible to transfer your phone number over. In reality, there’s no actual reason why they aren’t able to do this (it’s only an internal transfer and is incredibly easy for them to do). If you’re willing to spend a bit of time negotiating with customer services, it could be worthwhile trying to move over directly. If not, you could always transfer to Pay As You Go on another network then you could move your number back after a few days.
For more information, do have a read of the first-hand experience of other readers trying to move a phone number within Three.
Ken
Tim said:
Hi Ken,
First of all, thanks for the great site, very useful and informative.
I’m in a situation quite similar to that outlined by Pat on August 4th. Both accounts in my case are with Three, my original contract is coming to an end soon but I was able to get a much better deal by opening a new account than by following Three’s upgrade process. The salesman with whom I bought the new account suggested I follow the same process that Pat was thinking of – pick up a PAYG SIM for any other network, get a PAC code for my original account and transfer to the PAYG, give it 24hrs or so to complete then request a PAC from the PAYG network and transfer that onto my new Three account.
I gave Three’s customer service a call to see if there was any possibility they could simply do an internal transfer between my two accounts, and they said this wasn’t possible – the only way they would accommodate my request would be if they were to change my original account over to a Three PAYG account, which would require I give 30 days notice and at the end of this 30 day period my account would convert to PAYG and they would then be able to do an internal transfer to my new account.
I thought the 30 day wait seemed a bit excessive for a simple number transfer on the same network, so I mentioned the idea of using a 3rd party network as described above; he initially said that “it would not be possible”, and when I asked for clarification – which required a few minutes on hold while he checked with a supervisor – he came back and told me that “he didn’t think it could work, and certainly couldn’t guarantee it would work.” He seemed to be suggesting that Three would refuse to process the incoming PAC at the end of the process if the number had been on their network at any time in the past.
In the end I didn’t make any changes to my account and now I’m really not sure what I should do.
So – phew – that’s my situation. Is there any chance you might be able to shed some light here?
Thanks very much,
Tim
Ken replied:
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your comment. There’s really no reason why Three isn’t able to process your number transfer internally (as you say, it’s pretty ridiculous for an internal transfer within the same network). It may be worth asking the Customer Services agent to talk to their manager (often, this will get them to agree to transferring your number over directly).
With regards to your question, Three certainly won’t refuse to process an incoming PAC if the number was previously used on their network. It’s very common for people to change their networks and then to subsequently change back to a network they were previously on (many other readers have done the same thing).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Dean said:
I have 3 phones on a Three Business contract and would like to transfer them to standard contracts via a local three store. Is this possible using PAC codes?
Or do I have to move to another provider as, the unhelpful Three Business Team informed me, it is Impossible to directly transfer to their retail business. Which seems ridiculous as they were very happy to do the reverse not four years ago!
I wish to do this to take advantage of the One Plan at £35 which is not available to Business users. I have also decided that I am fed up with doing all this on the phone and wish to speak to someone in person. I know that’s a bit old fashioned but hey that’s my choice.
The store have contradicted the advice and info given by the Business and say its simple just get the PAC codes! But who is right? Please help
Ken replied:
Hi Dean,
I’m not sure about Three’s internal processes and whether they have a system set up for moving from Business to Consumer. I think Three’s Customer Services are the most likely to know but this is probably a fairly rare request so you may need to talk to people’s managers, etc. You could also try @ThreeUKSupport on Twitter – they’re exceptionally helpful in my experience. Failing that, porting out to another provider and porting back in will do the job (albeit with a lot of extra hassle). You could grab a free Pay As You Go SIM from another network for this purpose.
Ken
Liuda said:
I have two accounts with three network. My one is due to end next month and another one is until the end of this year. I want to cancel the first account and transfer my existing number (which I had for 7 years) to another account however I have just been told that I can’t transfer numbers within the same network. Why is that? I have been loyal customer, brought more customers to three and still stayin with them. Why can I not keep the number with Theee however different account? Please advise
B SINGH said:
hello sir
im so happy as u help online. actully recently me and my fiance got 2 deffrent phone contracts for 24months. but we want swap our numbers with eachother.. i called to 3 but they said they can't do because both are on 3. must be one from another network provider. i thought i get another pay as u go sim card,then convert my number on that then on another sim card. plz u tell me SIR what will be nice idea,i got loadz experince..i really glad of yor help sir….
your thankfully
B SINGH
Dan said:
Hi there
I'm trying to change or swap my old 1month rolling contract number with 3 to my new iphone 5 contract on 3 but they are saying they don't do internal number changes,
is this the truth or are they using it as an excuse to keep paying them to keep my old number alive which they say i'll lose if i cancel my old contract
ive never had problems porting numbers before but you'd think an internal swap or transfer would be simple stuff to them
cheers
Ciaran replied:
If you were told this by the three store then no suprise there as the stores are a franchise and are only interested in contract sales try calling customer services. Ive recently left 3 (Long story, short version ive recieved poor customer service) and got my PAC code from them and transfered my number noproblems to Virgin.
Unfortunately because you already have a new account you cant use the threat of leaving to help get what you want.
James Crawford said:
i have Pay monthly sim with three, & Wife bought me a new phone for my birthday HTC One X on contract with 3, phone arrives but it doesnt open to insert old sim . I phone to tell them i want to keep my old number & im told. I cant …. then i can, if i take my old number to another network, then take it back to 3 (Ludicrous & yes 3 did tell me that)…. then they can do it after all, but it will take 30 days, as i will have to give 30 days notice to contract pay monthly sim. After much rage, i go for the 30 day notice version, even though that involves walking around like a drug dealer, with my 2 phones for a month…….Guess what happened after 30 days, yes correct F#@K all. Still have the 2 phones , 2 bills & 2 Fkn angry with 3, any one know how to sort this as apparently i cant cancel new phone. Just want to keep my old number for business, with the features of the latest android technology……shouldnt be that difficult you would think.
Ant said:
It seems the advice for Three to Three transfers is wrong.
I was told you CANT transfer a number between Three SIMs and I should put my old SIM in my new phone. When I told them I couldn't (new phone takes microSIMs only), I was told I'd have to pay £5 for them to send me a new SIM with the old number and would loose all the credit on my new phone …… lol
Guess I'll transfer the old number to another network and back again … or maybe just keep it there
john said:
Hi, i have been three customer for 8 years and have recently taken a separate offer online offer online via online. I wanted to cancel my existing 30 day rolling contract with three and transfer my old number to the new contract. However three have told me its not possible numbers via three-to-three ie cross network, only network-to-network and have instead tried to enticed me to keep my existing line. I am pretty sure its possible but i am rather confused now. Can someone please help me, thanks.
john replied:
* sorry i ment, its not possible to transfer numbers from contract to contract on the same network only from a different network.
Thom said:
Hey Ken,
I have just got a new contract with Three.
My previous contract is a Rolling month contract of which I plan to cancel, can I Change it to a PAYG (So I can keep the number) and then have it put onto my new contract?
I’ve been told that if I cancel the contract my number will be lost, as such I need to downgrade it to PAYG then swap it to my new one.
Last question; do you know if it’s free to call Three on a Three mobile?
Many thanks,
Thom.
Ken replied:
Hi Thom,
Sure – actually I think you could just ask Three to transfer your number from your rolling contract onto your new contract! This would skip the step of moving to PAYG. With regards to Three-to-Three calls, no these are not generally free. Some tariffs such as 'The One Plan' give you an allowance of Three-to-Three minutes however: with 'The One Plan' you get 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes per month.
Hope this helps!
Ken