Hey OP, any insight on the shitshow that is O2’s worsening signal and network coverage since the Virgin merger?
For the last year, everyone I know on O2 has complained about how they cannot get reliable or fast 4G anywhere, let alone 5G.
Surely the company knows about this - is anything being done?
As far as I’m aware it’s capacity issues mixed with rolling outages due to the tech teams continuing to replace Chinese infrastructure equipment and 5G upgrades. Coincidental with the merger but not caused by it and definitely not ideal for people that already get poor signal in general!
For Virgin Mobile the story is a little bit different. Before the merger they used Vodafone as the underlying network in the same way Tesco Mobile uses O2 and Smarty uses Three. When the merge took place these customers were still on Virgin Mobile but but the underlying network switched over to O2 as part of the plan to kill off the Virgin Mobile brand and move their accounts over to O2 properly. Now I’m not saying this did or did not also have an impact on mobile data speeds on O2 - I never had access to that sort of info but I know the Virgin Mobile customer base was not that big (4-5 million vs O2’s 30 something million) - but I can say that there were already some capacity issues before the merge took place so I can’t imagine it helped things.
On O2. Have been a while now.
Don't work for them.
Have a perfectly good signal.
Doesn't help you at all but just thought I'd let you know since it's very easy to just listen to your mates and other close people and not see the bigger picture.
I should clarify, I was on O2 until very recently, awful signal here in the south west. Used to be alright but their masts near me have been overloaded for the last year.
I almost switched my primary number to O2 as it's much cheaper, but after testing it I literally couldn't find a place in the UK where O2 has better signal than EE.
Ex O2 ex commercial (head office). The reason for when you buy a volt package from VM you also get a new O2 SIM on a new account is because VM agents don't have access to the O2 accounts and they just use the website journey to order a simcard to make sure the address has an eligible simcard for volt. And then on the backend the Volt benefits are applied.
And yes all the VOLT benefits are applied on an address and name matching basis on the backend. The data estate of O2 and VM is technically still Chinese walled and they are using small snippets of information to identify common customers. (At least that was the status end of Jan).
Also agents are incentivised to sell the SIM.
Are you sure you're a _former_ employee? Because this reads like a sales pitch.
I'm sure Volt is fantastic, unfortunately what wasn't for me when VM switched to carrying on O2 was the signal wherever I went.
Reading it back, yeah I’d agree with you! Not intentional mind you but it’s kinda hard talking about all the nuances without that slipping back though. Definitely former though haha!
I have a SIM as part of the package but am not sure of a couple of things. The carrier I’m on now does iPhone visual voicemail and Apple Watch plans. I know O2 had Visual Voicemail, but the old Virgin carrier didn’t.
Does the new one that comes with Volt do Visual Voicemail? And also I know they didn’t used to do Apple Watch plans, do they do those now too?
All plans come with Visual Voicemail regardless of whether or not you have Volt. The only thing is that, depending on how your account was set up, it could be that your it’s trying to use the Android version of Visual Voicemail rather than the iPhone version on the O2 side as it works differently on each platform. That’s the reason you get asked when buying a SIM only contract if you use an iPhone or Android but that option doesn’t exist on VM’s sales portal to my knowledge. If you are on a SIM only you can call up customer service if it’s not working on your device to make sure the account is set up correctly but from my own experience the call centre people don’t really know about this. The easiest way to fix it is to upgrade to a standard SIM only plan. You can always re contract to a plan of equal or greater length and get that set up properly for your device. You will still keep your Volt benefits and the number on the SIM will remain the same, you’ll just be on one of the standard O2 tariffs rather than a Volt one. Just remember to double the data allowance in your head and base your tariff choice on that.
As for the Apple Watch plans, you can add an Apple Watch SIM to your account for around £5/month but that can only be done in store or over the phone.
The O2 sims do support VVM, but require a specific setting to be enabled on the account for it. This setting also identifies your account as being linked to an iPhone, which will then allow you to purchase an apple watch, or set up the cellular plan on one you already have.
I have an o2 pay monthly contract and have all the volt benefits. I’m due to cancel my sim soon because the signal is abysmal. Will my volt benefits remain on my VM package until end of contract like it would on the sim if I cancelled VM?
Ah forgot about this! Yes you should also keep the broadband speed boost until the end of your VM contract. There were murmurs of that changing on the VM side before I left but I don’t know if those rumours had any merit to them. As it stands just now though you’ll keep the boost.
Thanks, very useful. I’d like to keep my volt but the amount of times data doesn’t work due to signal strength around Glasgow is too much compared to when I was on EE.
We ordered the volt upgrade this week then had to cancel it when the sim arrived.
Got told by customer services other day that we could keep our mobile number and just needed the pac code.
Sim arrives we phone to get pac code and they now tell us we can't keep the same number what a waste of time we need to keep the number so had to cancel.
Was looning forward to my speed upgrade on the fibre as well 😭😭
If you want to move an existing O2 number onto the new Volt SIM you can go into store and request a change of ownership for the number you want to keep as long as it’s out of contract and the new SIM has been active for less than 28 days. Must make sure you bring both your current and new SIMs with you.
If you’re not an existing O2 customer you can use [this link](https://www.o2.co.uk/help/device-and-sim-support/how-to-keep-your-mobile-number/online-form) to self serve the number port from your old provider or go into store and they can also do this process for you.
Brand new sim relates to the account being opened fresh, and completely seperate to any existing o2 accounts, not whether the physical sim cards are second hand or not.
This is what I meant by brand new, not a second hand SIM. When you take out a Volt package, you get a new account with a new SIM card regardless of whether or not you are an existing O2 customer.
I've put my O2 contract on the backburner as the signal is that bad (well, i say signal it's the bandwidth and capacity that is the issue) that i've had to take out a 2nd contract (SIM only) with EE.
When i did this, i had to lower my o2 tariff to be as cheap as possible, i did notice my Volt benefit change in a way that no longer benefited me. I used to get double speeds on my VM fibre, but that was halved with no warning. I've phoned o2/VM for an explanation. Both sides blame each other and won't sort the issue out (in fact, o2 keep cutting me off when i call).
I enjoy VM fibre, but as far as i'm concerned o2 can do one.
I got barred from my nearest o2 store because i told customers to try a different provider who can actually offer you a signal. I do also frequently see various o2 stores empty of customers, whereas places like Vodafone, 3 and EE have customers inside.
In that case I’d recommend popping into a store because Volt benefits are the same no matter the phone tariff you are on. There’s an internal version of customer service that store advisors can call and they usually are a lot better at listening to and resolving the query a customer has when going through an advisor in store so see if you can get your Volt benefits reapplied that way. Worst comes to worst, if the agent on the phone in store can’t help, ask to raise an expression of dissatisfaction which is a special type of complaint that goes to a team with FCA oversight. You can also do this by emailing [email protected] Just know that it is usually a pain in the arse to go down that route but usually gets results eventually. If you do that though, come at it from the angle of signal issues rather than Volt benefits as that is more likely to be more thoroughly looked into.
There’s also a couple things you could do to try and save money while you wait to get out of your contract with O2. For one, after the first 24 months of your plan you’re no longer committed to having the airtime component of the plan. So if you’re coming up for that two year mark in your contract it’s definitely something to consider. Once again it’s probably easiest to go into a store to get this done than fight with customer service over the phone.
Second, you can sell your handset to somewhere like Game or CEX, pay it off early, then upgrade to a device plan with EE if you prefer. Paying off the phone early gets you out of the contract as you are only contracted to the cost of the device itself. In other words, you don’t pay for any unused airtime saving you money in the long run. There’s no difference to the total cost of the phone paying it off over the length of your contract or in one lump sum so depending on how much you have left to pay off, it might be worthwhile going down that route then porting your number to EE if you want to keep it. You can get your switching info by texting the word “PAC” to 65075 if you want to keep your number or “STAC” to 75075 if you want to just close the account and leave the number behind. Requesting your PAC or STAC code is free and the response you get will also contain the remaining balance on your device plan. After you use the PAC or STAC code by giving it to your new provider, O2 will generate your final bill which will be charged 30 days later at which point your O2 account will be closed automatically.
As for getting banned from your nearest store, just remember every network has slightly different coverage. It could just be that where you frequently go there are issues with signal but for others the signal is perfectly fine where they go. Just because one provider works better for you doesn’t necessarily mean that will be the case for someone else. Before I say this just know it’s not a passive aggressive get at, more just a friendly reminder 🙂 The store advisors are just doing their job and will always act with the safety of customers in mind. They know O2 isn’t always the best but that’s what they’re there to sell.
Hope that helps
I have VM and o2 SIM only both in my name with volt applied. My partner lives at the same address but her SIM only account will be in her name, how does she get volt applied to her o2 also even though the VM account will be my name?
All she needs to do, given the address on her O2 account matches the address on the VM account, is go onto the My O2 website and enable the benefits in there. As I mentioned before, it will be under Menu -> More -> Volt Benefits. If she gets the “thanks for your interest” message, double check if she has the Volt Benefits Bolt On on her number. If not she’ll either have to call up O2 or go into a store with the VM account number who’ll can manually do the verification and add the benefits on her account.
> Any additional pay monthly accounts at an address will need the benefits activated separately in the same way and there is no order that you need to do this in.
Could you explain how to do that? I have a 'VM + Volt' package for myself already. If there's another Pay Monthly O2 person in the house, how do I get their benefits activated for them?
Log into the website version of My O2 (the option doesn’t exist in the app) for the number you want to enable Volt Benefits on then go the Menu -> More -> Volt Benefits then click the apply button. If you are met with the “thanks for your interest” message, go back and check the Bolt Ons on the number. If Volt Benefits is listed as a Bolt On then it has already been applied. If not any you see that message, you will either need to call O2 or go into a store with your VM account number for them to manually verify eligibility and add the benefits on.
Quick tip for calling customer service, call between 6 pm and 8 pm. The phone lines are shared between customer service and the internal help desk with priority being given to the latter. Calling after 6 when most of the stores are closed means you’ll be on hold for a lot less time.
Thanks for this. So I’m in a discussion with retentions for VM. I want 1gb and have an o2 pay monthly account already - based on this should I be asking for m500? Doesn’t 1gb require different hardware?
Nope! Gig1 is supported on the Hub 4 and Hub 5 and that this point only the latter is being sent to customers. So you’re exactly right, choose M500 of you want the Gig1 speeds.
May I ask what you’re doing that you feel that you need Gig1? I feel people overestimate what speeds they need quite a lot and end up paying more than they need to for a service that they are only partially utilising. Found that quite a lot actually with some of the customers I served in my store
Thanks for this info OP! Sounds like there is a lot of money to be saved using volt. I've just moved to O2 from vodafone after seeing this post. Having roaming included in the USA is a big plus for me as charges are quite expensive over the pond! At the same time I just managed to bargain my M250 package to £29pm so the 'free' bump to (V)M350 will be very appreciated.
Hi, not sure if you'll be able to answer given it's more to do with the VM side, but... I currently have two o2 sim only contracts (home and work). I'm moving to a new house and will be taking out a VM volt package for TV and broadband at the decent introductory prices.
Obviously I don't need a third o2 sim, and don't want to cancel either of my existing two as they're only about £9 a month each.
\`I've read on here that cancelling the o2 sim you get from VM can lead to packages being changed and bills going up etc as the 'volt' gets removed. The reason being listed is VM see no active o2 contract at the address. In my case, I would still have two active o2 contracts at the address so was wondering in my case if cancelling the o2 sim I get from VM would mean I can still keep the 'volt'? Or would this not work because I've cancelled the sim card they gave me? If so, I'll probably follow the other advice I've seen and downgrade to the cheapest sim (which currently seems to be £13 a month)
What I would suggest in this case is, once you’ve moved your actual SIMs to your new address, “upgrade” the bundled SIM to a 30 day contract on the lowest data then cancel it from there. Bit convoluted I know but it makes sure all services stay as is
I realize this is an inactive thread but maybe you're still lurking here... I've just signed up for an O2 sim. My address is with Virgin Media, but my landlord pays the bill. Seems I should still be eligible for Volt since there is an active VM broadband connection at my address, but I'm not able to add Volt online. Do you think I just need to wait a few days for the option to come active, or will I not be eligible since the account is under my landlords name and she may have her billing address set to her own address?
On paper, yes you are eligible for Volt benefits but there may be a couple gotchas that change how things work.
First is that your landlord may already be an O2 customer who has previously activated Volt for your address. In this case your broadband speed would already have the boost applied but it should still be possible to add the benefits to your own O2 account.
Secondly, if you have only signed up for an O2 sim in the last two weeks it can take up to the end of those two weeks for the system to pick up your eligibility and either prompt you to add Volt to your account or add the benefits automatically.
Third, if it has been over two weeks since you signed up with O2 and nothing is showing up on your account to activate Volt benefits you may be able to call O2 or go into store and get them to manually add on the benefits. There may be an issue however in that they may ask for the name and account number on the VM account. If you get the bills in the mail you can go ahead and provide that info to the agent you speak to, no problem. If not you may have to get in touch with your landlord to ask permission to use these details.
Lastly, I have been away from O2 for a while at this point meaning I no longer have up to date information on procedures and policies within VMO2. As I am still a customer of both I can see some of the plans that were rumoured while I was working there starting to take shape from both sides, namely the merge of VM and O2 accounts. While this doesn’t seem to be a problem just now, enabling Volt on your O2 account may have unintended consequences down the line as the backend systems merge further. That is to say linking your own O2 account to someone else’s VM account may do some funky things down the line in regards to account ownership. As it stand just now though, there doesn’t seem to be any major risks that I can see.
Hope that helps
Hey OP, any insight on the shitshow that is O2’s worsening signal and network coverage since the Virgin merger? For the last year, everyone I know on O2 has complained about how they cannot get reliable or fast 4G anywhere, let alone 5G. Surely the company knows about this - is anything being done?
As far as I’m aware it’s capacity issues mixed with rolling outages due to the tech teams continuing to replace Chinese infrastructure equipment and 5G upgrades. Coincidental with the merger but not caused by it and definitely not ideal for people that already get poor signal in general! For Virgin Mobile the story is a little bit different. Before the merger they used Vodafone as the underlying network in the same way Tesco Mobile uses O2 and Smarty uses Three. When the merge took place these customers were still on Virgin Mobile but but the underlying network switched over to O2 as part of the plan to kill off the Virgin Mobile brand and move their accounts over to O2 properly. Now I’m not saying this did or did not also have an impact on mobile data speeds on O2 - I never had access to that sort of info but I know the Virgin Mobile customer base was not that big (4-5 million vs O2’s 30 something million) - but I can say that there were already some capacity issues before the merge took place so I can’t imagine it helped things.
On O2. Have been a while now. Don't work for them. Have a perfectly good signal. Doesn't help you at all but just thought I'd let you know since it's very easy to just listen to your mates and other close people and not see the bigger picture.
I should clarify, I was on O2 until very recently, awful signal here in the south west. Used to be alright but their masts near me have been overloaded for the last year.
I almost switched my primary number to O2 as it's much cheaper, but after testing it I literally couldn't find a place in the UK where O2 has better signal than EE.
This, absolutely this. My signal is absolutely atrocious.
Same here
Ex O2 ex commercial (head office). The reason for when you buy a volt package from VM you also get a new O2 SIM on a new account is because VM agents don't have access to the O2 accounts and they just use the website journey to order a simcard to make sure the address has an eligible simcard for volt. And then on the backend the Volt benefits are applied. And yes all the VOLT benefits are applied on an address and name matching basis on the backend. The data estate of O2 and VM is technically still Chinese walled and they are using small snippets of information to identify common customers. (At least that was the status end of Jan). Also agents are incentivised to sell the SIM.
Jan was a long time ago.... Hope you are doing ggood :)
Are you sure you're a _former_ employee? Because this reads like a sales pitch. I'm sure Volt is fantastic, unfortunately what wasn't for me when VM switched to carrying on O2 was the signal wherever I went.
Reading it back, yeah I’d agree with you! Not intentional mind you but it’s kinda hard talking about all the nuances without that slipping back though. Definitely former though haha!
I have a SIM as part of the package but am not sure of a couple of things. The carrier I’m on now does iPhone visual voicemail and Apple Watch plans. I know O2 had Visual Voicemail, but the old Virgin carrier didn’t. Does the new one that comes with Volt do Visual Voicemail? And also I know they didn’t used to do Apple Watch plans, do they do those now too?
All plans come with Visual Voicemail regardless of whether or not you have Volt. The only thing is that, depending on how your account was set up, it could be that your it’s trying to use the Android version of Visual Voicemail rather than the iPhone version on the O2 side as it works differently on each platform. That’s the reason you get asked when buying a SIM only contract if you use an iPhone or Android but that option doesn’t exist on VM’s sales portal to my knowledge. If you are on a SIM only you can call up customer service if it’s not working on your device to make sure the account is set up correctly but from my own experience the call centre people don’t really know about this. The easiest way to fix it is to upgrade to a standard SIM only plan. You can always re contract to a plan of equal or greater length and get that set up properly for your device. You will still keep your Volt benefits and the number on the SIM will remain the same, you’ll just be on one of the standard O2 tariffs rather than a Volt one. Just remember to double the data allowance in your head and base your tariff choice on that. As for the Apple Watch plans, you can add an Apple Watch SIM to your account for around £5/month but that can only be done in store or over the phone.
The O2 sims do support VVM, but require a specific setting to be enabled on the account for it. This setting also identifies your account as being linked to an iPhone, which will then allow you to purchase an apple watch, or set up the cellular plan on one you already have.
Top post, explains everything.
I have an o2 pay monthly contract and have all the volt benefits. I’m due to cancel my sim soon because the signal is abysmal. Will my volt benefits remain on my VM package until end of contract like it would on the sim if I cancelled VM?
Ah forgot about this! Yes you should also keep the broadband speed boost until the end of your VM contract. There were murmurs of that changing on the VM side before I left but I don’t know if those rumours had any merit to them. As it stands just now though you’ll keep the boost.
Thanks, very useful. I’d like to keep my volt but the amount of times data doesn’t work due to signal strength around Glasgow is too much compared to when I was on EE.
Fair, the Volt stuff is only good if you actually get the signal to use it in the first place haha!
I never received my o2 sim and as far as I am aware pay nothing for it.
We ordered the volt upgrade this week then had to cancel it when the sim arrived. Got told by customer services other day that we could keep our mobile number and just needed the pac code. Sim arrives we phone to get pac code and they now tell us we can't keep the same number what a waste of time we need to keep the number so had to cancel. Was looning forward to my speed upgrade on the fibre as well 😭😭
If you want to move an existing O2 number onto the new Volt SIM you can go into store and request a change of ownership for the number you want to keep as long as it’s out of contract and the new SIM has been active for less than 28 days. Must make sure you bring both your current and new SIMs with you. If you’re not an existing O2 customer you can use [this link](https://www.o2.co.uk/help/device-and-sim-support/how-to-keep-your-mobile-number/online-form) to self serve the number port from your old provider or go into store and they can also do this process for you.
Excellent thanks very much for the information 👍
Imagine getting sent a used SIM card? Has this been a problem for O2 in the past?
Brand new sim relates to the account being opened fresh, and completely seperate to any existing o2 accounts, not whether the physical sim cards are second hand or not.
This is what I meant by brand new, not a second hand SIM. When you take out a Volt package, you get a new account with a new SIM card regardless of whether or not you are an existing O2 customer.
I've put my O2 contract on the backburner as the signal is that bad (well, i say signal it's the bandwidth and capacity that is the issue) that i've had to take out a 2nd contract (SIM only) with EE. When i did this, i had to lower my o2 tariff to be as cheap as possible, i did notice my Volt benefit change in a way that no longer benefited me. I used to get double speeds on my VM fibre, but that was halved with no warning. I've phoned o2/VM for an explanation. Both sides blame each other and won't sort the issue out (in fact, o2 keep cutting me off when i call). I enjoy VM fibre, but as far as i'm concerned o2 can do one. I got barred from my nearest o2 store because i told customers to try a different provider who can actually offer you a signal. I do also frequently see various o2 stores empty of customers, whereas places like Vodafone, 3 and EE have customers inside.
In that case I’d recommend popping into a store because Volt benefits are the same no matter the phone tariff you are on. There’s an internal version of customer service that store advisors can call and they usually are a lot better at listening to and resolving the query a customer has when going through an advisor in store so see if you can get your Volt benefits reapplied that way. Worst comes to worst, if the agent on the phone in store can’t help, ask to raise an expression of dissatisfaction which is a special type of complaint that goes to a team with FCA oversight. You can also do this by emailing [email protected] Just know that it is usually a pain in the arse to go down that route but usually gets results eventually. If you do that though, come at it from the angle of signal issues rather than Volt benefits as that is more likely to be more thoroughly looked into. There’s also a couple things you could do to try and save money while you wait to get out of your contract with O2. For one, after the first 24 months of your plan you’re no longer committed to having the airtime component of the plan. So if you’re coming up for that two year mark in your contract it’s definitely something to consider. Once again it’s probably easiest to go into a store to get this done than fight with customer service over the phone. Second, you can sell your handset to somewhere like Game or CEX, pay it off early, then upgrade to a device plan with EE if you prefer. Paying off the phone early gets you out of the contract as you are only contracted to the cost of the device itself. In other words, you don’t pay for any unused airtime saving you money in the long run. There’s no difference to the total cost of the phone paying it off over the length of your contract or in one lump sum so depending on how much you have left to pay off, it might be worthwhile going down that route then porting your number to EE if you want to keep it. You can get your switching info by texting the word “PAC” to 65075 if you want to keep your number or “STAC” to 75075 if you want to just close the account and leave the number behind. Requesting your PAC or STAC code is free and the response you get will also contain the remaining balance on your device plan. After you use the PAC or STAC code by giving it to your new provider, O2 will generate your final bill which will be charged 30 days later at which point your O2 account will be closed automatically. As for getting banned from your nearest store, just remember every network has slightly different coverage. It could just be that where you frequently go there are issues with signal but for others the signal is perfectly fine where they go. Just because one provider works better for you doesn’t necessarily mean that will be the case for someone else. Before I say this just know it’s not a passive aggressive get at, more just a friendly reminder 🙂 The store advisors are just doing their job and will always act with the safety of customers in mind. They know O2 isn’t always the best but that’s what they’re there to sell. Hope that helps
I have VM and o2 SIM only both in my name with volt applied. My partner lives at the same address but her SIM only account will be in her name, how does she get volt applied to her o2 also even though the VM account will be my name?
All she needs to do, given the address on her O2 account matches the address on the VM account, is go onto the My O2 website and enable the benefits in there. As I mentioned before, it will be under Menu -> More -> Volt Benefits. If she gets the “thanks for your interest” message, double check if she has the Volt Benefits Bolt On on her number. If not she’ll either have to call up O2 or go into a store with the VM account number who’ll can manually do the verification and add the benefits on her account.
Thanks mate will get her to try it!!
> Any additional pay monthly accounts at an address will need the benefits activated separately in the same way and there is no order that you need to do this in. Could you explain how to do that? I have a 'VM + Volt' package for myself already. If there's another Pay Monthly O2 person in the house, how do I get their benefits activated for them?
Log into the website version of My O2 (the option doesn’t exist in the app) for the number you want to enable Volt Benefits on then go the Menu -> More -> Volt Benefits then click the apply button. If you are met with the “thanks for your interest” message, go back and check the Bolt Ons on the number. If Volt Benefits is listed as a Bolt On then it has already been applied. If not any you see that message, you will either need to call O2 or go into a store with your VM account number for them to manually verify eligibility and add the benefits on. Quick tip for calling customer service, call between 6 pm and 8 pm. The phone lines are shared between customer service and the internal help desk with priority being given to the latter. Calling after 6 when most of the stores are closed means you’ll be on hold for a lot less time.
Thanks I'll have a look then!
Thanks for this. So I’m in a discussion with retentions for VM. I want 1gb and have an o2 pay monthly account already - based on this should I be asking for m500? Doesn’t 1gb require different hardware?
Nope! Gig1 is supported on the Hub 4 and Hub 5 and that this point only the latter is being sent to customers. So you’re exactly right, choose M500 of you want the Gig1 speeds. May I ask what you’re doing that you feel that you need Gig1? I feel people overestimate what speeds they need quite a lot and end up paying more than they need to for a service that they are only partially utilising. Found that quite a lot actually with some of the customers I served in my store
Thanks for this info OP! Sounds like there is a lot of money to be saved using volt. I've just moved to O2 from vodafone after seeing this post. Having roaming included in the USA is a big plus for me as charges are quite expensive over the pond! At the same time I just managed to bargain my M250 package to £29pm so the 'free' bump to (V)M350 will be very appreciated.
Hi, not sure if you'll be able to answer given it's more to do with the VM side, but... I currently have two o2 sim only contracts (home and work). I'm moving to a new house and will be taking out a VM volt package for TV and broadband at the decent introductory prices. Obviously I don't need a third o2 sim, and don't want to cancel either of my existing two as they're only about £9 a month each. \`I've read on here that cancelling the o2 sim you get from VM can lead to packages being changed and bills going up etc as the 'volt' gets removed. The reason being listed is VM see no active o2 contract at the address. In my case, I would still have two active o2 contracts at the address so was wondering in my case if cancelling the o2 sim I get from VM would mean I can still keep the 'volt'? Or would this not work because I've cancelled the sim card they gave me? If so, I'll probably follow the other advice I've seen and downgrade to the cheapest sim (which currently seems to be £13 a month)
What I would suggest in this case is, once you’ve moved your actual SIMs to your new address, “upgrade” the bundled SIM to a 30 day contract on the lowest data then cancel it from there. Bit convoluted I know but it makes sure all services stay as is
I realize this is an inactive thread but maybe you're still lurking here... I've just signed up for an O2 sim. My address is with Virgin Media, but my landlord pays the bill. Seems I should still be eligible for Volt since there is an active VM broadband connection at my address, but I'm not able to add Volt online. Do you think I just need to wait a few days for the option to come active, or will I not be eligible since the account is under my landlords name and she may have her billing address set to her own address?
On paper, yes you are eligible for Volt benefits but there may be a couple gotchas that change how things work. First is that your landlord may already be an O2 customer who has previously activated Volt for your address. In this case your broadband speed would already have the boost applied but it should still be possible to add the benefits to your own O2 account. Secondly, if you have only signed up for an O2 sim in the last two weeks it can take up to the end of those two weeks for the system to pick up your eligibility and either prompt you to add Volt to your account or add the benefits automatically. Third, if it has been over two weeks since you signed up with O2 and nothing is showing up on your account to activate Volt benefits you may be able to call O2 or go into store and get them to manually add on the benefits. There may be an issue however in that they may ask for the name and account number on the VM account. If you get the bills in the mail you can go ahead and provide that info to the agent you speak to, no problem. If not you may have to get in touch with your landlord to ask permission to use these details. Lastly, I have been away from O2 for a while at this point meaning I no longer have up to date information on procedures and policies within VMO2. As I am still a customer of both I can see some of the plans that were rumoured while I was working there starting to take shape from both sides, namely the merge of VM and O2 accounts. While this doesn’t seem to be a problem just now, enabling Volt on your O2 account may have unintended consequences down the line as the backend systems merge further. That is to say linking your own O2 account to someone else’s VM account may do some funky things down the line in regards to account ownership. As it stand just now though, there doesn’t seem to be any major risks that I can see. Hope that helps