How to Activate Your giffgaff SIM Card

Make sure you have the following three things to hand before you begin. Having everything ready will make the whole thing much quicker and smoother.

• Your giffgaff SIM card — either the physical SIM inside its plastic holder (which contains your 6-digit activation code), or a giffgaff eSIM QR code.
• An unlocked phone — any unlocked handset or a phone that was originally on the O2 network. If your phone is locked to another provider, contact them to request an unlock first.
• A payment method — a Visa or Mastercard (credit or debit), a PayPal account, or a giffgaff/O2 top-up voucher. American Express and Diners Club are not accepted.

If you ordered your giffgaff SIM through a referral link, you will be eligible for a £5 free credit bonus once you activate it with a £10 top-up or higher.

Pop your giffgaff SIM into your unlocked phone and switch it on. Within a minute or two, you should see a signal appear in the top bar of your screen. This means your phone is connecting to the O2 network.

If your phone shows 'No service' or 'Searching', check the following:

• Is your phone unlocked? If locked to a previous provider, it will not accept a giffgaff SIM.
• Are you in a coverage area? Use the O2 coverage checker at giffgaff.com/coverage-and-service.
• Is the SIM seated correctly? Remove it, give it a gentle wipe, and reinsert it. Make sure you have pushed out the correct size (standard, micro or nano).
• Could the SIM be faulty? Try the SIM in a different phone. If it still doesn't work, request a replacement from giffgaff.

Open your web browser on any device (phone, tablet or computer) and head to giffgaff.com/activate. You will see a yellow box where you can enter your activation code.

Your 6-digit activation code is printed on the plastic card that holds your giffgaff SIM — the bit you punched the SIM out of. It's a mix of letters and numbers, for example '5PKJ46'. Type it into the box and click 'Activate your SIM'.

Lost your activation code? Click on 'Can't find your activation code?' on the activation page and enter your SIM serial number instead. This is a long number (between 11 and 19 digits) printed on the back of the SIM itself.

If this is your first time with giffgaff, you will be asked to create an account. Enter your email address, choose a password and a username, and confirm your date of birth.

If you are already a giffgaff member (for example, if you are swapping a broken or wrong-sized SIM), simply log in with your existing member name or phone number and password.

If you prepaid a plan when you ordered, make sure you log in to the same giffgaff account you used when you purchased the plan. Plans cannot be transferred between accounts.

You have two main options:

Option A — Buy a plan: Pick a monthly plan that suits your usage. All giffgaff plans include unlimited UK calls and texts, plus a generous data allowance and EU roaming. Plans start from as little as £6 per month.

Option B — Add Airtime Credit (pay as you go): Scroll down and select 'Activate your SIM by topping up'. This adds credit to your account, which you can use on a pay-as-you-go basis or later exchange for a plan.

Minimum payment to activate: £6 with a monthly plan by card, or £10 with a voucher or Airtime Credit top-up.

Activation normally takes between 5 and 30 minutes, though it can occasionally take up to 24 hours. Three easy ways to check:

• Check your giffgaff dashboard at giffgaff.com/dashboard — your new mobile number will appear under your username once activation is complete.
• Text NUMBER to 43430 from your giffgaff SIM — you will receive a free text showing your giffgaff mobile number.
• Use the giffgaff app — download it from the App Store or Google Play, log in, and your number and plan information will be displayed.

Want to bring your existing phone number from another network to giffgaff? It's easy — and completely free.

• Double-check that you have typed the activation code correctly — it's easy to misread a zero as an 'O' or a one as a lowercase 'l'.
• Make sure you are not trying to activate a second SIM under a giffgaff account that already has one (each SIM needs its own account).
• If you are using a voucher, confirm that it has enough credit to cover the plan you have selected.
• Activation taking longer than 24 hours? Ask a giffgaff agent for help at giffgaff.com/support/ask.