2degrees - Number not fully ported?

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Nition

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#312202 26-Mar-2024 07:42

Three days ago I switched from One (Vodafone) to 2degrees and ported my old number over. I got all the appropriate messages about it being ported and indeed I can now send and receive calls and messages with my old number on my new 2degrees SIM. But my phone - an iPhone 13 mini - insists on showing the original number the SIM came with in Settings -> Phone -> My Number, and if I try to activate iMessage or Facetime the old number is shown and I get "An error occurred during activation. Try again." on a loop. Any standard SMS I send also seems to send twice.

I've tried restarting the phone, going in and out of airplane mode, reinserting the SIM. If I put my old SIM back in it still shows my old (now ported) number (but no connection to the phone network). I also tried the new 2degrees SIM in another iPhone and weirdly it had no number at all there, so now I'm wondering if the original number for the SIM is kind of cached on my phone, and actually the SIM itself now has no assigned number at all.

I'll take it in to a 2degrees store if it stays stuck like this but I'm not sure if it's really their problem or my phone's problem. Or maybe I just need to wait longer. Anyone had something like this happen?

SaltyNZ

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#3210936 26-Mar-2024 09:10

Did you receive the SMS from 2degrees to say that the port was completed? What happens if someone rings the new number - does your phone ring?

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Handsomedan

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#3210939 26-Mar-2024 09:20

Have you looked at Settings>Mobile>SIMs>Primary?

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Nition

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#3210941 26-Mar-2024 09:25

SaltyNZ:

Did you receive the SMS from 2degrees to say that the port was completed? What happens if someone rings the new number - does your phone ring?

Yes and yes.

Handsomedan:

Have you looked at Settings>Mobile>SIMs>Primary?

I can go to Settings -> Mobile but there's no SIMs submenu beyond that. It just shows my 2degrees sim details.

Handsomedan

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#3210949 26-Mar-2024 09:37

Nition:

Handsomedan:

Have you looked at Settings>Mobile>SIMs>Primary?

I can go to Settings -> Mobile but there's no SIMs submenu beyond that. It just shows my 2degrees sim details.

Ah...that must only come up if you have an eSIM.

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Mrcutiepatootie

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#3211075 26-Mar-2024 11:58

Hi OP, I am very familiar with this issue and I can guarantee you it's not number porting but simply an Apple thing. My theory is it's something to do with the trusted number registered to your Apple account that is also your iMessage/FaceTime. But what causes the issue is when you are provided a SIM with a "temporary" or pre-assigned number, and you insert this to your iPhone before the porting fully completes it will trigger a verification and automatically register the new number to your account, replacing your "supposedly ported number" with the temporary number. This doesn't happen if you add the SIM as eSIM, so long as the number is active on an iPhone it won't be replaced.

Once the number port completes, your iPhone wouldn't have a clue the number even changed and will continue to use it across your Apple services until the next verification trigger.

If you go to Settings > Tap your name > Sign-In & Security, check if you see a number there and underneath says "Not verified".

Based on my experience, here are some things that helped me:
- Remove the number from the account
- Turn off iMessage/FaceTime
- Sign out of iCloud
- Perform Reset Network Settings
- Check if number is correct in Settings > Phone > My Number
- Sign in to iCloud

I have learned from experience that when porting numbers on account, 2degrees gives you a pre-allocated number that is ready to activate, whereas One/Spark gives you a blank SIM and remains inactive until the number port completes. I usually now just wait until the old SIM gets cut off before changing cards, or add the number as eSIM to have it handy with me in case it switches over at the most inconvenient time. Hope you find this useful!

EDIT: I forgot to mention once you've done the above steps and you're still unable to verify the number or add it to your iMessage/FaceTime, you do not need to do anything further and wait for 24-48h until Apple resolves this on their end.

Nition

12 posts

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#3211096 26-Mar-2024 12:39

Thanks! Doing all those steps does seem to have progressed things a little. The old number from the SIM no longer comes up in My Number (in Settings->Phone), it's now blank like it was when I tried the SIM in a different iPhone. Same old error if trying to enable iMessage and Facetime. I've tried a few additional things but it doesn't seem to want to add new new number yet. Still... progress, and thanks for the tips. I'll post back here if I get it all the way fixed.

Aaroona

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#3211228 26-Mar-2024 15:48

I had this exact issue when I ported from One to 2D.

Went through 2D, went through Apple. In the end, we turned off iMessage for at least 24 hours consecutively on the phone (including facetime). There is a service-call limit on Apple's end where if activation limit is reached, it times out for 24 hours. And from what i could tell, each retry after that, reset the activation block period. Apple cannot reset this over the phone and will advise you to wait.

What initially caused the problem was that as I switched to the new eSIM (same number), I wanted to immediately verify my iMessage number with Apple as I saw it needing it, but it failed, as I wasn't able to receive the special silent text message from them in the background- presumably some routing issue in the backround as I had only just switched. When in reality, Apple allow you to keep an unverified number (that was previously verified) on your account for up to 30 days. If left to sort itself out, it should have reactivated on its own within 24 hours or so.

Long story short: Disable iMessage and facetime for at least 24 full hours, then retry. my activation came back after that.

EDIT: Also make sure that you have added your mobile number to the Setting>Phone area - mine was blank on my eSIM. Recommended by Apple.

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Nition

12 posts

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#3211234 26-Mar-2024 15:54

I can't add/edit my number in Settings->Phone, it seems to pull it off the SIM - I suspect that'll be another real SIM vs. eSIM difference. But I'll let everything sit now with iMessage and Facetime off for 24hrs or so and see how it goes. I've signed out of iCloud too for good measure.

Aaroona

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#3211240 26-Mar-2024 15:58

Nition:

I can't add/edit my number in Settings->Phone, it seems to pull it off the SIM - I suspect that'll be another real SIM vs. eSIM difference. But I'll let everything sit now with iMessage and Facetime off for 24hrs or so and see how it goes. I've signed out of iCloud too for good measure.

Should be able to edit it if you go through Settings > Mobile Service > [Select your sim] > My Number

This should work with both physical SIM and eSIM in my experience.

***
EDit: Okay mine was disabled, but if I turned off my SIM and then turned it back on, the ability to edit "My Number" was restored.

Nition

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#3211243 26-Mar-2024 16:01

The SIM shows up under Settings->Mobile and there are some things that can be edited like mobile data settings, but there's nothing for phone number. Under Settings->Phone on the other hand there's "My Number" but it can't be edited (and it's currently blank).

Aaroona

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#3211711 27-Mar-2024 21:51

How did you get on? Everything up and running now?

Nition

12 posts

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#3211749 28-Mar-2024 07:43

No, but I noticed apparently I left the iMessage switch on so I'm waiting again with it all off this time. I will post back here once I've solved it.

Nition

12 posts

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#3212211 30-Mar-2024 09:04

I stayed signed out of iCloud, iMessage and Facetime for nearly two days just to be safe. Signed back into iCloud this morning which automatically re-enabled iMessage and Facetime as well. Everything activated successfully, new number finally appeared under My Number, all looks good. Thanks for the help!