Hotel California PAC issue. (No means of exporting tel number but keeping Smarty internet account?)
Good afternoon,
I have a Smarty smartphone based sim plan delivering me unlimited internet access and previously used PAC to import my vital biz phone number when I joined Smarty and, sure, I've been happy with the net and phone service, (for nearly a year), but recently decided to use the Smarty nano sim in a sim based router to get better coverage.
And, yes, I realised that the basic sim router I'd bought did not have telephony features and, therefore, the best way of addressing the issue was to export my important biz number back out of Smarty and into my other phone. (A phone and text based Asda account)
Trouble is ... nowhere on the Smarty site does it even comprehend, let alone display instructions on using a PAC method to export my important biz number, (currently residing at Smarty) without, seemingly, closing down my smarty broadband when the PAC request is processed.
I had assumed the Smarty broadband side would just go on working as long as I kept the contract and monthly payments going but I have no guarantee that such an option is available.
So ... what happens if I attempt to shift my number from Smarty via the PAC method? Will the rest of the service, (broadband), continue happily or does the PAC request cancel my Smarty broadband?
And no. Please don't suggest I just use a new number / new sim.
I need to know, catagorically, does Smarty internet still function, (presumably returning the original Smarty telephone number to the Smarty sim), if I export my number via the PAC routine or is it a case of "I can check out but I can never leave" as far as taking my originally imported biz number out of Smarty without the account shutting down?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
A definitive answer would be fab! 🙂
Beach Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.......Smarty is only intended for personal use (see very bottom of this page) and so that will not be a helpful thing to mention in any dealings.
https://help.smarty.co.uk/en/articles/952726-how-do-i-leave-smarty This explain that once you use your PAC with another network, then your account is closed (It only stays open for up to 220 days if you do not actually use the PAC with another network).
The original number allocated to your sim when you activated it will have been recycled after a while (I think 6 months) and so that will not be reassigned.
As you have already deduced, the only way to retain your mobile broadband would be to start a new account and activate a sim - this should only take a couple of hours maximum. You can then safely get a PAC for your main number if you wish.
Perhaps I'm being thick here, but wouldn't you still need two sims - one for the router and one for the phone? This is because you cannot have two sims on one account (currently) If that's the case, then activating a seconds for use in the router and transferring your original back to the phone would be a hack - also you can start the second one as a 'nickname' sim in a group with your original one and get a discount on your Smarty plans.
(Admittedly this all falls apart if you need to leave Smarty for some reason - but you said it was fine)
