How to find my own number when I have no credit?

[Chris Green]

I have a new idMobile SIM in my phone and they have either forgotten
to send me the Welcome E-Mail or I have lost it. Either way I don't
know my new mobile number and as I need it to buy credit I'm in a bit
of a catch 22 situation.

The SIM is working, I can successfully call 0800 numbers and the 7777
IdMobile customer service number.

Does anyone here know of a way to find my number, or know an 0800
number I can call that will record the caller ID?


--
Chris Green
·

[Tweed]

Does topping up via 7777 require you to know the number? I’d sort of assume
it would know.

[Woody]

Not familiar with idM, but why not look in the SMS setup for your
message box number - it may relate to your actual number.

Otherwise won't CS tell you if you do a manual top-up through them?

[Chris Green]

Yes, you would have thought so but it would appear not. There's no
actual top-up option via 7777, just pointers to lots of ways of doing
it, e.g.:-

Cash or card at Carphone Warehouse

Use the idMobile app (but you have to register, which need your
number)

At idmobile.co.uk, but you have to register which needs your number

I may end up visiting Carphone Warehouse but I'm not relishing having
to do that!

--
Chris Green
·

[Chris]

It will be printed on the card the multi SIM was attached to.

[Chris Green]

Yes, I suspect a visit to Carphone Warehouse may be the answer.

--
Chris Green
·

[Chris Green]

No it isn't, I still have that and there's no number on it.

--
Chris Green
·

[Mark]

On 06/09/2021 18:28, Chris Green wrote:

Some Android phones will record/cache the number in the Settings>About
section.

Mine does.

[Andy Burns]

Mark wrote:

> Some Android phones will record/cache the number in the Settings>About
> section.
> Mine does.

And depending on how the provider provisions the SIM, it may be
"unknown" or simply wrong.

Mine is wrong (probably due to number porting)

[Roger]

On Mon, 6 Sep 2021 18:28:31 +0100, Chris Green <c...@isbd.net>
wrote:

Have you tried *#100# ? It works on some networks.
--
Roger

[Chris Green]

It just says "USSD code running..." for ever.

--
Chris Green
·

[BrightsideS9]

On Mon, 6 Sep 2021 20:48:23 +0100, Andy Burns <use...@andyburns.uk>
wrote:

Dual Android SIM phone.
Number in settings:
1. 'Not known' - number ported to this SIM
2. SIM with original number - Real actual number shown in settings.

--
brightside S9

[Richmond]

If you phone your landline and hang up after two rings, then dial 1471
from your landline, you shouldn't need any credit. Vodafone used to
demand credit but if I waited it would let me dial a number.

[Martin Brown]

You can get that fixed by talking to customer services. It can cause
uneexpected problems from time to time if the phones idea of its number
is different to the networks routing table. It happens when the number
porting thing half completes and you end up with a dog with two tails.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[Chris]

Really? Every SIM card I've had has come with it. Even data SIMs.

[Abandoned_Trolley]

>
> If you phone your landline and hang up after two rings, then dial 1471
> from your landline, you shouldn't need any credit. Vodafone used to
> demand credit but if I waited it would let me dial a number.
>

or just call another mobile phone and check the missed calls log ?

--
random signature text inserted here

[Mark Carver]

On 06/09/2021 20:50, Roger wrote:
>
> Have you tried *#100# ? It works on some networks.

I've just tried it on my dual SIM phone, worked for Vodafone, but not
for EE.

I thought it was one of those 'GSM' essentials ?

[Chris Green]

It doesn't get as far as ringing, it just says I have no credit before
even starting to connect.

--
Chris Green
·

[Chris Green]

"talking to customer services" doesn't exist with idMobile. To get
into their app (which I have installed) I need, guess what, my phone
number.

--
Chris Green
·

[Chris Green]

OP here, I have *only* a 4G signal here, might that be an issue? The
'phone certainly works with 4G only as it had a Three SIM before and
that was fine (and also 4G only here).

--
Chris Green
·

[Chris Green]

Abandoned_Trolley <fr...@fred-smith.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >
> > If you phone your landline and hang up after two rings, then dial 1471
> > from your landline, you shouldn't need any credit. Vodafone used to
> > demand credit but if I waited it would let me dial a number.
> >
>
> or just call another mobile phone and check the missed calls log ?
>

As I said it doesn't get as far as doing anything, just says I have no
credit.

--
Chris Green
·

[Pete Forman]

Some comments on the iD forum say that the number is on the packet that
the SIM came in rather than the card.

--
Pete Forman
https://payg.pythonanywhere.com

[Chris Green]

I don't think it was.

Anyway there's something very broken about all this because I should
have some credit, and I haven't!

--
Chris Green
·

[Martin Brown]

It seems in this instance that you get what you paid for...

I'm confused now. If you successfully ported your old phone number to
the new SIM then surely you already know it (or could ask a friend)! And
if you didn't then it should be visible in the system status on Android.

Something like:

Settings
Status
Phone
SIM status

Ought to show it. Exact path may vary with OS version number.
Or are you saying that the SIM really doesn't know its own number?

I have seen that field contain the original SIM number rather than the
ported one but I have never seen it blank or just plain wrong. Then you
can at least try ringing up the number it displays from your landline.

If all else fails get a new SIM and then follow their number porting
instructions to the letter whilst crossing your fingers. Number porting
does get stuck from time to time and the network operators is needed to
resolve any ambiguities that arise from a half completed number port.

But either way your number will be either the original phone number
shown somewhere on the SIM packaging or SIM itself or the number you
asked to be ported onto it or sometimes a daft mixture of the two.

I had this happen to me once with a new EE micro SIM number porting.
Customer services were very helpful in resolving the problem.
(which surprised me as their reputation isn't exactly stellar)

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[Chris Green]

Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:
> On 07/09/2021 08:16, Chris Green wrote:
> > Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:
> >> On 06/09/2021 20:48, Andy Burns wrote:
> >>> Mark wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Some Android phones will record/cache the number in the Settings>About
> >>>> section.
> >>>> Mine does.
> >>>
> >>> And depending on how the provider provisions the SIM, it may be
> >>> "unknown" or simply wrong.
> >>>
> >>> Mine is wrong (probably due to number porting)
> >>
> >> You can get that fixed by talking to customer services. It can cause
> >> uneexpected problems from time to time if the phones idea of its number
> >> is different to the networks routing table. It happens when the number
> >> porting thing half completes and you end up with a dog with two tails.
> >>
> > "talking to customer services" doesn't exist with idMobile. To get
> > into their app (which I have installed) I need, guess what, my phone
> > number.
>
> It seems in this instance that you get what you paid for...
>
> I'm confused now. If you successfully ported your old phone number to
> the new SIM then surely you already know it (or could ask a friend)! And
> if you didn't then it should be visible in the system status on Android.
>

Ah, I haven't ported the number yet. It's a new SIM and I have to
give it the PAC code after installation (I didn't want to do it
straight away when I go the SIM as there was some credit to use up on
the old SIM).

All sorted now by a visit to Carphone Warehouse who tried all the
obvious ways (as suggested here) which failed and, in the end, they
scanned the bar-code from the cardboard SIM holder and *that* found my
account on their system with the phone number.

Searching for my name and address on their system didn't work,
apparently because it found my son instead (who lives with us and has
just bought an idMobile SIM). The correct (same) name and address
came up with my account though, silly search algorithm I suspect.

--
Chris Green
·

[Andy Burns]

Martin Brown wrote:

>> Mine is wrong (probably due to number porting)
>
> You can get that fixed by talking to customer services.

I think it did cause me problems with registering online banking once,
the app was upset that the phone's number differed from wht it whought
it should be, but I think the bank altered the way they check

> It can cause
> uneexpected problems from time to time if the phones idea of its number
> is different to the networks routing table. It happens when the number
> porting thing half completes and you end up with a dog with two tails.

I gather you can "edit" the number in the SIM register using a rooted
android or with an iPhone, but I don't want to sully my SIM card that way!

[Andy Burns]

Fails on Virgin SIMO "connection problem or invalid MMI code".

[Pete Forman]

Different operators use different magic numbers to report back your
phone number. Or not apparently for iD.

Anyhow the OP is sorted now.

[Richmond]

If that were the case I don't think you should use the SIM. If you do,
you activate the number and then you won't be able to transfer a
different number to it.

You have to contact the supplier and tell them to transfer your number.

[Chris Green]

Richmond <rich...@criptext.com> wrote:
> Chris Green <c...@isbd.net> writes:
>
> > Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:
> >>
> >> It seems in this instance that you get what you paid for...

Apart from this initial problem I'm quite impressed by the idMobile
set up. The app is straightforward and works OK, the web site is the
same. It's a thousand times better than Three.

> >>
> >> I'm confused now. If you successfully ported your old phone number to
> >> the new SIM then surely you already know it (or could ask a friend)! And
> >> if you didn't then it should be visible in the system status on Android.
> >>
> > Ah, I haven't ported the number yet. It's a new SIM and I have to
> > give it the PAC code after installation (I didn't want to do it
> > straight away when I go the SIM as there was some credit to use up on
> > the old SIM).
>
> If that were the case I don't think you should use the SIM. If you do,
> you activate the number and then you won't be able to transfer a
> different number to it.
>

It's all done now. As I expected I just fed the PAC code and the old
number into my account at idMobile.co.uk and the number change takes
place automatically.

> You have to contact the supplier and tell them to transfer your number.
>

It's automated.

--
Chris Green
·

[Pamela]

When I asked Three customer services to correct that problem, they made a
mess of it.

[Chris]

Richmond <rich...@criptext.com> wrote:
> Chris Green <c...@isbd.net> writes:
>
>> Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm confused now. If you successfully ported your old phone number to
>>> the new SIM then surely you already know it (or could ask a friend)! And
>>> if you didn't then it should be visible in the system status on Android.
>>>
>> Ah, I haven't ported the number yet. It's a new SIM and I have to
>> give it the PAC code after installation (I didn't want to do it
>> straight away when I go the SIM as there was some credit to use up on
>> the old SIM).
>
> If that were the case I don't think you should use the SIM. If you do,
> you activate the number and then you won't be able to transfer a
> different number to it.
>
> You have to contact the supplier and tell them to transfer your number.

Incorrect. I always do the port after I've checked the new SIM works.

You can port over a number any time as long as it's within the 30 day limit
of the PAC.

[Richmond]

It's what I was told by Now Mobile. Maybe it depends on the procedures
of the supplier.

[Chris in Makati]

Can you call 0800 numbers?

I rang the American Express Platinum Card customer services number on
0800 917 8054 this morning. They had a long wait list and offered to
call me back. I accepted that and they read back the number I was
calling from and asked me to confirm I wanted to be called on that
number.

Chris

[Chris Green]

Chris in Makati <ma...@nospam.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 7 Sep 2021 08:17:16 +0100, Chris Green <c...@isbd.net> wrote:
>
> >Richmond <rich...@criptext.com> wrote:
> >> Chris Green <c...@isbd.net> writes:
> >>
> >> > I have a new idMobile SIM in my phone and they have either forgotten
> >> > to send me the Welcome E-Mail or I have lost it. Either way I don't
> >> > know my new mobile number and as I need it to buy credit I'm in a bit
> >> > of a catch 22 situation.
> >> >
> >> > The SIM is working, I can successfully call 0800 numbers and the 7777
> >> > IdMobile customer service number.
> >> >
> >> > Does anyone here know of a way to find my number, or know an 0800
> >> > number I can call that will record the caller ID?
> >>
> >> If you phone your landline and hang up after two rings, then dial 1471
> >> from your landline, you shouldn't need any credit. Vodafone used to
> >> demand credit but if I waited it would let me dial a number.
> >
> >It doesn't get as far as ringing, it just says I have no credit before
> >even starting to connect.
>
> Can you call 0800 numbers?
>

Yes (well I can call anything now as the problem is fixed).

> I rang the American Express Platinum Card customer services number on
> 0800 917 8054 this morning. They had a long wait list and offered to
> call me back. I accepted that and they read back the number I was
> calling from and asked me to confirm I wanted to be called on that
> number.
>

If I had known that wheeze when I started I could have saved myself a
journey to Carphone Warehouse! :-)

--
Chris Green
·