Hi folks.

 

I have in my phone a UK issued EE sim card (PAYG).

I need to keep the number in order to receive OTPs from various financial institutions because I think that some of them may not send them to a non-UK number.

I have discovered that my sim card is now faulty and I need to replace it. 

Is anyone aware of a store in Jomtien/Pattaya where I could buy a new one?

Alternatively, can anyone suggest another way around my problem?

TIA.

David.

 

 

I would order a Giffgaff sim from UK then port your EE number to Giffgaff, it's easy just type in the number. I don't think you even need a port code, so first step order one using this link, takes a week to come. Top up £10, just need to use it once in 6 months, i send an sms

 

https://www.giffgaff.com/freesim-international

34 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I would order a Giffgaff sim from UK then port your EE number to Giffgaff, it's easy just type in the number. I don't think you even need a port code, so first step order one using this link, takes a week to come. Top up £10, just need to use it once in 6 months, i send an sms

 

https://www.giffgaff.com/freesim-international

Thank you, thank you heaps Scuba. I've just ordered one.

Plan B might be to change your EE SIM to an e-sim.  Can be done through the app.  I recently did this with my Giff Gaff SIM, very smooth process.

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

Plan B might be to change your EE SIM to an e-sim.  Can be done through the app.  I recently did this with my Giff Gaff SIM, very smooth process.

I've recently discovered via pm with scuba that I cannot activate the GiffGaff sim outside the UK. 

Which sim did you change?

Did you do this in Thailand? and,

Which app did you use?

TIA

 

I changed my Giffgaff SIM from a physical SIM to an esim.  In Thailand. I did it in the Giffgaff app.  I read EE can do the same on their app, also online I think.

3 hours ago, Upnotover said:

I changed my Giffgaff SIM from a physical SIM to an esim.  In Thailand. I did it in the Giffgaff app.  I read EE can do the same on their app, also online I think.

why did you change to a giffgaff esim? that might be a good plan B for me if my physical Giffgaff sim fails in the future

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

why did you change to a giffgaff esim? that might be a good plan B for me if my physical Giffgaff sim fails in the future

I wanted to enable esim in my phone as I often use them when travelling in nearby countries. In order to enable esim in my phone I had to stop using SIM2 and convert it to an esim. 

 

I am reasonably sure that I didn't actually have to cover it as physical SIM2 could be turned off and back on again, but nevertheless that's what I did and I'm covered against SIM failure in the future.

Even if the GiffGaff sim could be enabled here in Thailand, it has yet to arrive!

I ordered it more than two weeks ago.

9 minutes ago, 5davidhen1 said:

Even if the GiffGaff sim could be enabled here in Thailand, it has yet to arrive!

I ordered it more than two weeks ago.

Mine took a week, order another one if i doesn't come in a week or so, but esim sounds like a better option

On 12/1/2025 at 8:56 AM, 5davidhen1 said:

I've recently discovered via pm with scuba that I cannot activate the GiffGaff sim outside the UK. 

If that is so it seems starnge that they send sims abroad?

I also cannot find anything specific in their help articles which states that.

 

@scubascuba3 can you elaborate please?

46 minutes ago, topt said:

If that is so it seems starnge that they send sims abroad?

I also cannot find anything specific in their help articles which states that.

 

@scubascuba3 can you elaborate please?

Answer from Deepseek below, but when a sim arrives David can try and activate it, AI isn't always right, i usually get a second opinion, using an esim is a good alternative it seems

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

AI isn't always right,

Personally I wouldn't trust it further than I could throw it........

 

As you say hopefully the OP will report back when he receives the sim.

8 hours ago, topt said:

Personally I wouldn't trust it further than I could throw it........

 

As you say hopefully the OP will report back when he receives the sim.

You'll get a better answer from AI than a person that's for sure, but in this case could be wrong

On 12/2/2025 at 9:26 PM, scubascuba3 said:

You'll get a better answer from AI than a person that's for sure, but in this case could be wrong

 

Depends on the AI.  Here's one that says the opposite of Deepseek.

 

39 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Depends on the AI.  Here's one that says the opposite of Deepseek.

 

Good if true, we shall see

On 11/17/2025 at 5:16 PM, 5davidhen1 said:

Thank you, thank you heaps Scuba. I've just ordered one.

What did you do in the end?

14 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

What did you do in the end?

I ordered the first one on 18th November, then a second one 3 weeks later, neither of which have arrived!

I'm going to give it a couple of more weeks before checking with my local Jomtien postal sorting/undelivered mail office to see if either of them are stuck there. They once held onto a package of prescription drugs simply because I needed to pay THB35 tax or something --- if my daughter hadn't tracked it from the UK, I would never have been aware of where it had got to.

In the meantime, my daughter contacted EE who awakened my SIM. There was apparently nothing wrong with it, save for the fact that it still doesn't charge me for texting home. However, I have discovered a workaround. I was browsing EE's site and noticed that they charge 40p to send a picture message. This works and I have been duly charged the 40p. I will use this method at least every 180 days in order to prevent my SIM going into hibernation again.

If I do ever receive the GiffGaff SIMs, I'll let you know. 

In the meantime, I wish you a very Happy New Year.

David.

GiffGaff sim card --- my update + EE picture message - 40p.

Ok, so here's where I'm at.

This morning, I went to my local post/sorting office and retrieved one GiffGaff SIM card. I'm guessing that this is the original one which I ordered but, there's no evidence of a dispatch date so it could have been in my local office forever. The counter lady was unable to furnish a reason for its non-delivery to my Jomtien address, and the address was clearly entered on the envelope.

Now, let me put members in the picture as to the reason for my following Scuba's kind advice and ordering one in the first place:

My EE SIM card had gone into hibernation --- reason: in spite of my sending occasional texts to the UK, even Via SMS rather than via internet medium RCS, EE were not charging my a/c! Until my daughter (in the UK) contacted EE whereupon they awakened the SIM, I thought my SIM was faulty.

EE will still not charge my a/c 60p for each text so - my SIM would eventually hibernate again --- until I discovered a workaround. They charge 40p per picture message and I've discovered that this actually works.

Back to GiffGaff: Since my EE SIM is now working, and I need to return to the UK in the not-too-distant future, I'm afraid that if I try to activate the GiffGaff card, and "mess up", I may be in dire straits again. I don't want to request a migration code from EE, fail to activate --- and, perhaps by doing that, lose my EE a/c.

So, as long as my EE card continues to work, I think the prudent course of action will be to wait until I'm back in the UK before activating the GiffGaff SIM, prior to dispensing with the services of EE.

Regards, David.

1 hour ago, 5davidhen1 said:

GiffGaff sim card --- my update + EE picture message - 40p.

Ok, so here's where I'm at.

This morning, I went to my local post/sorting office and retrieved one GiffGaff SIM card. I'm guessing that this is the original one which I ordered but, there's no evidence of a dispatch date so it could have been in my local office forever. The counter lady was unable to furnish a reason for its non-delivery to my Jomtien address, and the address was clearly entered on the envelope.

Now, let me put members in the picture as to the reason for my following Scuba's kind advice and ordering one in the first place:

My EE SIM card had gone into hibernation --- reason: in spite of my sending occasional texts to the UK, even Via SMS rather than via internet medium RCS, EE were not charging my a/c! Until my daughter (in the UK) contacted EE whereupon they awakened the SIM, I thought my SIM was faulty.

EE will still not charge my a/c 60p for each text so - my SIM would eventually hibernate again --- until I discovered a workaround. They charge 40p per picture message and I've discovered that this actually works.

Back to GiffGaff: Since my EE SIM is now working, and I need to return to the UK in the not-too-distant future, I'm afraid that if I try to activate the GiffGaff card, and "mess up", I may be in dire straits again. I don't want to request a migration code from EE, fail to activate --- and, perhaps by doing that, lose my EE a/c.

So, as long as my EE card continues to work, I think the prudent course of action will be to wait until I'm back in the UK before activating the GiffGaff SIM, prior to dispensing with the services of EE.

Regards, David.

you can still activate the Giffgaff sim if you want, no need to migrate to your EE number, or just keep it as spare for the future, i have one in my drawer not activated yet