O2
Welcome to the most comprehensive guide of O2 secrets, hints, cheats, scams, tips, guides, freebies, and hacks.
The answers to your questions are right here!
1. O2 Promotions
Note: This section is mostly about how to get free sim cards.
STOP!!! Don’t buy a sim card off ebay for £5 or one from O2 online shop for £10, get one for free, find out how by reading…
These sim cards are known as the O2 PayAsYouGo (PAYG) Blue Sim Cards or Genie Sim Cards (deriving from a company named Genie and their services, which is now owned by O2)
Below I have listed a few methods I have gathered regarding O2 sim cards and how to get them for free.
Almost all the promotional sims are as follows:
A brand new O2 sim card Pay As You Go, with 300 text messages and 300 wap minutes per month.
Common features:
- 300 free SMS messages per month
- 300 free WAP minutes per month
- Free MMS messages per month
- 1mb of free GPRS per month
- Packaged and sealed
- Never used
- Still attached to plastic card
- Unregistered
- Will work in any unlocked or O2/BT Cellnet mobile phones
- Manual/Welcome booklet included.
- Usually sold for £9.99 in shops.
Simply topup £10 credit once a month, and you’ll get the 300 texts and 300 wap minutes, its a great deal, i’m on the same plan.
Please do not abuse the promotions.
1.1: How to get free sim cards via SMS.
Note: It turns out this was an offer with the phone booth dvd, and is no longer active.
To do this you will need a mobile phone already, with a working sim card.
Create a ‘new sms’, and type ‘DVDSIM’ (in caps, without the quotations), then leave a space. Input your First name, space, and then Last name. Another space then put your house number, yet another space, and finally your postcode (in caps, no spaces).
like this: DVDSIM firstname lastname housenumber postcode
eg: DVDSIM John Smith 20 M12QWAnd send it to: 80202 (It costs the same amount as a normal text message)
You should then recieve a confermation text claiming that the SIM card will arrive within 28 days.
After you topup £10 credit, you will recieve 300 free text messages and 300 WAP minutes per month.
Note: I recieved mine 28 days later. Apparently you can send this around 10 times per day, though others say, its one per household, and you can’t send off the same phone twice (I’ve got 2 sims now). The sim should work on any BT Cellnet/O2 or SIM free phone.
This is not a scam, it’s apparently a service for students to get a cheep deal with O2.
From 80202: “Sorry, but the Phone Booth DVD Free Sim offer is now finished. To check out more great deals from O2, go to www.o2.co.uk/shop”
O2 are also advertising free O2 Sim, same procedure but FREESIM instead of DVDSIM, but I believe this offer has also ended.
1.2: How to get O2 sim cards for 99p each.
And I found this: http://shop.o2.co.uk/student or http://shop.o2.co.uk/o2offers at one point it WAS free, but I presume due to abuse they put the price up to 99p, so don’t go buying any for £5 off ebay, just use that!
I have used this plenty of times, but it seems you can only order up to 6 per house-hold, unless you use a different O2 account, different credit card, different address and have cleared your cookies or use a different browser, or better still use a different computer.
Also when you order all 6 at once, you usually receive 6 consecutive numbers, so enjoy!
1.3: How to get free O2 sim cards using promotional links
Here I have listed some O2 free sim card promotion websites I have managed to locate. Most of these websites seem to be run by dare digital, who appear to do contract work for O2, so maybe they get free O2 sim cards from them as part of the payment…
Visit the pages, fill in the forms, they usually work, i’ve received quite a few from doing this. If they stop working, click the google link and search for a site with a working link to their latest promotion. (Newest are at the top)
- Offers from o2.co.uk
- http://freesim.o2.co.uk/messages.php
- http://freesim.o2.co.uk/calls.php
- http://ucaspromo.o2.co.uk/form.php - Max of 2 free sims
- http://www.o2.co.uk/mates/ or http://freesim.o2.co.uk/mates/mates.php - Max of 6 free sims
- http://freesim.o2.co.uk/resend.php
- Offers from o2promotions.com - Whois - Google
- http://www.o2promotions.com/freesim2709/
- http://www.o2promotions.com/fsdec2812/
- http://www.o2promotions.com/freesimcompetition/
- http://www.o2promotions.com/freesimsms/
- http://www.o2promotions.com/freesimsms/index.aspx?PromoID=FreeSmsNov or http://www.o2.co.uk/mates
- http://www.o2promotions.com/msn/
- http://www.o2promotions.com/freesim0811/
- http://www.o2promotions.com/pilot/sim/
- Offers from o2summer.com - Whois - Google - The code for this WAS “B9r1o”, apparently you can get them from UCAS events, the codes only work once.
- http://www.o2summer.com/index.aspx?Cookies=Checker or http://www.o2.co.uk/simoffer
- Offers from o2freesim.com - Whois - Google
- http://www.o2freesim.com/fsjan0517/
- http://www.o2freesim.com/febfs1402/
- Offer from chooseaprize.com
1.4: How to check if your O2 sim card has expired
It turns out that a small number of the SIMs we sent out were faulty. And yours may have been one of them. If you did get a SIM that didn’t work, we’re really sorry. That’s why we’re offering you this opportunity to replace them - and send you more for free.
To check if any of your SIMs are faulty, click on the SIM Checker.
You can get replacements here.
Alternative Method
It appears that some O2 sim cards expire if you do not top up within 30 days.
This may be of use to you all, if there is doubt about the O2 sims being out of date!
After contacting O2 many times, for a couple of my sims that are out of date. I have found a way of checking to see if the sim is still active! This is especially useful if the sim is STILL sealed in it’s wrapper. This way you don’t have to break the seal, or check in a phone.
Go to the O2 site and look up the PUK code!
http://www.o2.co.uk/puk/landing/0,,555,00.html
1.5: How to scam O2 sim cards
This is also known as the sim card fooler or free text unlocker.
Basically, in ten easy steps, it is a simple method of “fooling the sim card” into thinking that a month has not gone by..thus enabling you another months free texts….and another…and another…
- Firstly you must have an O2 sim card installed into your mobile phone.(must be the 300 text per month sim!)
- Please note that there are different O2 sim cards,the 300 a month means you have to put £10 in every month to recieve your 300 texts.
- Once you have topped your sim card up with some credit you will find you have the following; £10 worth of talktime, 300 wap minutes, 300 texts.
- Take notice of what date it is on your mobile phone when you top up.
- Use your phone as normal for that month or until you run out of texts.
- Once you have run out of texts,reset the date on your mobile phone to the date when you first topped up and DONT USE YOUR PHONE THAT DAY!! (meaning dont make a connection with anyone with your mobile but leave turned on!!)
- The next day you can change your date settings back to normal.
- Now all you have to do is wait for the new month and you will recieve a message from O2 saying “THANKYOU FOR TOPPING UP, YOU NOW HAVE YOUR FREE 300 TEXT MESSAGES”
- IMPORTANT: No matter when you run out of texts during the month, you only (ONLY!) get a max of 300 texts per month so make sure you don’t run out halfway through the month as you will have to wait till the start of the new month to get your free 300 texts.
- ENJOY!
Note: I never tested this, so I do not know if it works, but apparently it does.
1.6: Free O2 Tags
O2 are offering free “O2 Tags” - A card with your phone number, name, e-mail address and other details printed on it.
You get 20 in a set and can order up to 3 different sets. You don’t have to be on O2 to order them.
To get yours, visit http://www.o2tags.com/ - you can pick from some of their designs or upload your own image to fully customise your tags.
There are special offers if you join O2 with a tag that someone gave you, or if a friend joins O2 with a tag that you gave them:
If you give a friend an O2 tag and they join O2 on Pay & Go then your friend will recieve £20 credit and you will recieve £2.50 credit!
If you give a friend an O2 tag and they join O2 on Pay Monthly then your friend will recieve a £20 bill credit and you will also recieve a £20 bill credit!
Seems like a good deal, some free contact cards, and the ability to earn some free credit in the meantime!
From looking at the whois details of o2tags.com, this promotion appears to be run by icecards.
2. Free sim card features
In this section we will discuss the free features that come with O2’s Free PAYG sim card, and how to get the most out of them.
Most of the features can be setup using the O2 website. But incase you have trouble, all the details are included below.
The features are SMS, MMS GPRS and WAP.
2.1: Free SMS details
Text messaging has become immensely popular, especially where you bear in mind that the Network Operators never expected it to be a hit - in fact is was ‘launched’ by accident. Mobile Phone Network Operators used a spare data channel to send each other messages, and it caught on. Improvements to the service, such as T9 predictive text (to help type faster), have helped to improve the service, and newer enhancements such as enhanced messaging (EMS) led to multimedia messaging (MMS, with video, photos and sound).
As well as sending text messages to friends, SMS messages can be used by your operator to send you phone settings over-the-air, for companies to send dedicated content (and spam), to your mobile. Some of the newer Nokia phones, such as the 6100, even include an SMS chat application, to make messaging between friends look like instant messaging.
If you text a lot, take a look at the free text tariffs and bolt-ons from O2 online .Useful services and links
- If you’re looking for a bank that provides banking mini-statements by SMS text message, take a look at what first direct has to offer.
- Free text messages from your mobile, plus cheap phone bills with tariffs from O2 online
- News, sport and weather updates by SMS from: Vizzavi and Myalert
- CardBoardFish - Send free text messages from your PC
- TopUp.ie - Free Global SMS Text Message Coverage, plus SMS from your PC
- TFL - London tube status information sent to you by SMS
- Textmefree.com, for links to free web-based SMS services in the UK, and world-wide.
- Find information and news relating to SMS services at Horniblow’s site
- Flirt by SMS and send SMS via your PC with SMS.ac
- SMS Preference Service - Register to get rid of SMS junk / spam text messages
- SMS Today - Moremobile’s useful guide to SMS text messaging
- Wireless Marketing and 07text0spam - Complain about SMS junk / spam
There are a range of home phones that can now do SMS text, including some digital cordless handsets.
The handset pictured also supports CLI to show who’s calling, and is available for under £30 from www.shop.bt.com
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Orange - Free, but only the subject is mailed
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Locust - £3 a month for messages to be forwarded to your mobile. You can also send email from your phone. Lots of extra features
- Vizzavi - Text alerts when email is delivered to your account (which has an address like [email protected])
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Uboot - With a uboot email account, you can receive SMS alerts. Only works with web-based email, not Outlook / POP3
SMS service centre numbers
Check your mobile phone’s “Message Settings” or “Message Options” entries, and look for “Message Centre” or “SMS Centre number”. If you’re having problems, try the phone’s instruction book, or look for information online (such as the Nokia and Ericsson websites). If in doubt, contact your mobile phone network provider for help.
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Contract: +447802000332
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Pay as you go:+447802092035
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Alt: +447802000334
2.2: Free MMS details
MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service, and more commonly referred to as ‘Picture Messaging’ - It’s an enhancement over the standard SMS text message as it adds animation, images, sound and video.
This page contains some general information on MMS Messaging.
With an MMS phone such as the Nokia 6600, you can:
- Take digital photographs and store photographs on the Internet
- Send and receive full colour pictures
- Send and receive voice clips
- Add a text message to your picture
- Purchase pictures and sounds from the Internet
- Have enhanced polyphonic ringtones
MMS runs over GPRS. You normally need to subscribe to a GPRS tariff, and have ‘Media Messaging’ enabled by your network operator. You will need a phone handset that supports the MMS service - If you receive an MMS message and don’t have a suitable handset or GPRS service, you’ll receive a standard SMS text message, and will be able to view the message at the web address included with the text message.
If you’re looking for more information on MMS, check out the excellent FAQ at www.mobilemms.com/mmsfaq.asp
Costs (O2 Online): Typically, sending an MMS over the O2 network costs 25p. Most of the O2 pay-monthly contracts come with a 500 text message or 125 MMS message bundle.
Settings: These can be sent direct to your mobile. Go to ota.o2.co.uk/O2UK/index.jsp. Alternatively, the settings are:
Access point name: wap.o2.co.uk (contract customers) or payandgo.o2.co.uk (pay-as-you-go customers)
Username: O2wap (contract customers) or payandgo (pay-as-you-go customers)
Password: password
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP address: 193.113.200.195
Session mode: Permanent
URL address: http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002
If you have received an MMS message that you can’t view from your O2 mobile, you can view this via O2’s website. Go to http://mediamessaging.o2.co.uk. You’ll need to log on to O2’s website using your standard O2 web logon. Once you’ve logged on, you’ll be able to access the message in the Media Messaging folders. If you don’t have an account with O2, you can register via www.o2.co.uk
Siemens CX65 MMS settings pre-pay
Messaging / Message Setup / MMS setup / Push Change / Highlight a profile and push Edit
• CSD/GPRS Profile: O2 WAP
• Relay Server URL: http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002
• Secure Relay Server URL: Leave blank
• MMS WAP/HTTP: WAP (select by scrolling left/right)
• Gateway IP: 193.113.200.195
• Gateway Port: 9201
• Secure Gateway IP: Leave as Zero’s
• Secure Gateway Port: Leave Blank (or leave what’s in)
Push OK / Push Red Button / Highlight user settings and Push Edit
• Delivery report: No
• Default Profile: Normal
• Expiry Time: Maximum
• Page Duration: 005.0 seconds Automatic
• Retrieval: Automatic
• Creation Mode: Free
• Size Indication
1. 099 KB: Warn
2. 000 KB: OFF
3. 000 KB: OFF
Then Push OK and OK again
2.3: Free GPRS and WAP details
O2 Online offers WAP access via dialup or GPRS. In mid-2003, O2 launched “O2 Active”, a WAP service that offers messaging, chat, news, sport, games, a search engine and an entertainment service. O2 online customers qualify for an inclusive GPRS WAP allowance on most tariffs. This page provides some basic information, plus the settings needed to connect to O2 WAP.
To get WAP access, you need the following:
An O2 online SIM card (which gives you free text messages and an inclusive GPRS WAP allowance)
A mobile phone with a built-in modem (such as a Nokia 6100, Nokia 8310, Nokia 5210, Ericsson T68, Siemens S45, Siemens S25i or Ericsson R320)
You can also connect with a PDA or communicator. See below for setup instructions.
Homepage: http://wap.o2.co.uk/
Dialup number: +447712 927927
Gateway (IP) address: 193.113.200.195
Username: O2wap
Password: password
Session type: Continuous / permanent
Port number: 9201
Authentication: Normal
Old O2/Genie shortcode WAP number was: 915000
O2 WAP settings (GPRS):
Note: Different settings for contract and PAYG (Pay as you go)
Homepage: http://wap.o2.co.uk/
APN address (contract): wap.o2.co.uk
APN address (PAYG): payandgo.o2.co.uk
Gateway (IP) address : 193.113.200.195
Username : O2wap (contract) / payandgo (PAYG)
Password: password
Session type: Continuous / permanent
Port number: 9201
Authentication: Normal
To have O2 set up Wap access for you automatically, click here.
Problems?
The most common reason for failure to connect to a Wap service, is that your SIM card may not be “data enabled”. Check with your network operator to ensure that your SIM allows data calls as well as voice calls. There’s normally no charge for data-enabling a SIM. Some other things to consider:
- If connecting from a PDA over infrared to a mobile phone, ensure that the phone’s Infrared is switched on, and check the distance (ideally between 5 - 15cm… too close may swamp the IR eye), and that there’s a clear line of sight.
- Under some cases, we’ve seen “Page not found” messages when trying to connect to the http://wap.o2.co.uk/ address. We’ve been able to resolve this by using a slightly different address, wsp://wap.o2.co.uk of you’re having problems this could be worth a try.
- There are two dialup access numbers for O2. The shortcode number of 915000 and the full number 07712927927. If you can’t connect, try the alternative number. If you’re connecting in from outside the UK, don’t forget the international prefix, i.e. +447712927927
Siemens CX65 GPRS WAP settings pre-pay
Menu /Go to Setup / Connectivity (make sure GPRS has a tick net to it) Go to Data Services and highlight a profile then push Options and Edit.
• Highlight GPRS settings and push Edit
• APN: payandgo.o2.co.uk
• Login: payandgo
• Password: password
• DNS 1: Leave as Zero’s
• DNS 2: Leave as Zero’s
Select Save: Then
Menu / Surf and Fun / Internet / Options / Setup / Profiles,
Highlight a Profile / Push Options then Edit
• Profile Name: O2 WAP GPRS
• Homepage: http://wap.o2.co.uk
• Protocol: WAP/WSP
• Gateway/Proxy Server ID: D
• IP Address: 193.113.200.195
• Port: 9201
• Username Proxy: Leave Blank
• Password proxy: Leave Blank
• GPRS Lingertime: 5 mins
• CSD Lingertime: not relevant
• Connection Profile: O2 WAP
3. Useful Information
- SMS Service Centre number: +447802 000332 (contract), or +447802 092035 (pay as you go). This number is used to configure your phone for sending text messages.
- Handset’s serial number: Enter ‘*#06#’ as a phone number, to get your handset’s serial number (known as IMEI) - useful if your phone is stolen
- Software version: Enter ‘*#0000#” as a phone number, to get your handset’s software version number. Doesn’t work with all makes of handset
- Pay as you go credit: Enter *#10# as a phone number, to check how much remaining credit you have
- WAP and GPRS settings: The GPRS APN (Access Point Node) is mobile.o2.co.uk
- Stolen handset: If your O2 handset is stolen, call O2 immediately on 08705 214000
- SMS delivery receipt: To get a receipt when a text message is delivered, prefix the text message with *0# to get a receipt when the message is delivered (e.g. send the string ‘*0#Hello World’). This works on a per-message basis
- How do I upgrade my O2 handset? When you take out a contract with O2 that includes a handset, the handset is either free or low-priced, as the cost of the handset is built-in to the first year’s worth of contract. If you’ve been on contract for at least 12 months, you probably qualify for a handset upgrade. If you want to upgrade, you can do so via the O2 online website, or by calling the O2 upgrade line on 08702 259933
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O2 email details: As well as being able to access your O2 email from the O2 website, you can also access your mail from common email applications like Outlook, or from your PDA email application (e.g. Pocket PC, Palm or Psion). The details needed are as follows:
- Incoming (POP3) server: mail.o2.co.uk
- Outgoing (SMTP) server: smtp.o2.co.uk
- Username: @O2.co.uk (e.g. [email protected])
- Password: The password used to log on to the O2 website
3.1 Useful handset numbers
These are useful O2 and mobile numbers, use them wisly and do not abuse.
| Number | Cost | Name | Details |
| 313 | Free | topup promotion | Ring this number to see if your edgible to get free credit for topping up so much. |
| 1471 | Free* | ring back | Find out who last called |
| 192 | Directories | Now taken over by 118 numbers | |
| 4445 | Free* | PAYG Customer Care | Pay as you go customer care number. |
| *#10# | Free | Show Balance | |
| 888 | Talking Pages | ||
| 4444 | Free | Top up credit | |
| 901 | 10p/call | Voicemail | Use this number to retrieve your voicemail |
| 1760 | Voicemail Off | Dial this code to disable voicemail | |
| 1750 | Voicemail On | Dial this code to enable voicemail | |
| *#06# | Free | Handset Serial Number | Get your handset’s serial number (known as IMEI) - useful if your phone is stolen |
| 2425 | Free | Bolt-on Line | Information about O2’s Products and Services |
| 100 | Operator | ||
| 1702 | Customer Services | 0906 302 0220 from a landline |
3.2 Useful links
- http://www.o2.co.uk/ - O2s website
- http://www.sourceO2.com/ - O2 developer website.
- http://www.mmo2.com/ - mmO2 website.
- http://www.o2testyourfriends.co.uk/ - O2 test site, now closed
- http://www.o2.ie/ - O2 Ireland
- http://www.myxda.com/ - XDA website
- http://www.airwaveservice.co.uk/ - O2 Airwave is a secure digital radio network
Other sites:
- 3G Forums o2 forum - Very active forums.
- Howard Forums o2 forums - Active O2 mobile phone resources
- O2 web site security flaw - An article regarding O2’s website
- o2.co.uk mail problems - An article about o2’s email service.
- The Register O2 Search - A news website that seems to cover O2 very often.
- e-tones o2 forum (archive) - Has a good forum for discussing O2.
- consumerdeals - o2 Online information - Has some O2 related pages.
- filesaveas - o2 online information- Again has some O2 related pages.
- GSM Forums - A good forum for O2 details.
- Google O2 Search - Impressive search tool for O2 details.
- eBay - O2 sim cards on ebay
3.3 O2 contact details
If you want to get in touch with O2 they prefer you to contact them via the O2 website as opposed to by phone, letter or in person.
Websites O2 online website: www.o2.co.uk/shop/
Email addresses:
Customer services: Online form available from the O2 site. Select “Help” and enter “Contact us”
Customer services:
Complaints:
Abuse:
Nuisance Call dept:
Phone numbers:
Sales (24 hour): 0870 225 7879 (National rate)
Customer Services (Contract): 0906 302 5151 (50p per minute)
Customer Services (Contract): 5151 from your O2 handset (50p per a minute)
Customer Services (Contract): 01349 885040 (National rate)
Customer Services (Pre-pay): 0906 302 4445 (50p per a minute)
Customer Services (Pre-pay): 4445 from your O2 handset (50p per a minute)
Customer Services (Old numbers): 0906 302 0220 , 1702 from mobile
O2 Customer Services is available from 8am - 9pm Mon to Fri, and 8am - 8pm weekends.
O2 Complaint Resolution Service: 0113 388 6159 (8:30pm-4pm Mon-Fri)
Member Services: 0870 444 6496 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri)
Finance/Payments Dept: 0870 220 3299
O2 Network Services, for network faults/issues: 08705 214000 (National rate)
Complaints escalation: 0113-388 6159
O2 Customer Services (Prepay): 08705 678678 (National rate)
Mobile Web Specialist team: 0870 6076161
Mobile Web Specialist team: 08705 860 860. Don’t enter your number, but press * twice and select menu option 2.
Pay-as-you-go credit card top-ups: 0845 606 2277 (Local rate)
Handset/Contract upgrades: 0870-2256869 or 08702 259933 (National rate, 8am-6pm Mon-Sat)
Internet (PC) helpdesk: 0906 302 0220 (50p per minute)
International helpline: +44 8705 214000 - for international travellers using their O2 mobile abroad
Lost or stolen barring: 08705 214000 (National rate)
O2 Online fax (Customer Services): 0113 202 5875 or 0170 931 6910
O2 Head Office Switchboard: 0113 2722000 (was 01753-565000)
Postal Addresses:
Customer Services: 0219 HQ/Bury, O2 online, Dummers Lane, BL9 9QL
Parent Company: BT Cellnet Limited (No.1743099) of Bath Road, Slough SL1 4DX
Registered Office: O2 Limited, Wellington Street, Slough, Berkshire SL1 1YP
Phone return: The Returns Department, FREEPOST, NEA12343, Warrington, WA1 2AA
3.4 Voicemail details
- Voicemail retrieval number: 901
- Accessing voicemail from a landline or from abroad: To access your voicemail account from a standard landline phone, you’ll need to use your personal O2 voicemail retrieval phone number. If you don’t already have this number, dial 07802 090100 and when prompted, enter your number. To access your voicemail, dial your personal voicemail retrieval number and when connected, enter your mobile phone number followed by a *. During the greeting, key *, then key 2 and 2. If outside the UK, remember to prefix with +44 and lose the first ‘0′, e.g. +447802 090100
- Enable / Disable voicemail: Dial the following codes from your mobile to turn on and off O2 voicemail: Turn on: 1750 Turn off: 1760
- Voicemail notification: O2 gives you the option of being called when there’s a waiting voicemail, or receiving a text message alert. You can change your voicemail notification method by dialling your mailbox (see above). From the main menu, key 5, then key 2.
- What is my PIN? O2’s default voicemail PIN is 8705. If you haven’t set a PIN, this is likely to be your PIN number. If in doubt, dial 100 from your O2 mobile for the O2 Operator.
- Can I leave a message without ringing a mobile? Until March 04, it was possible to do this by calling 07802 090100, but this has now changed. Now, each customer has their own dedicated voicemail number. Provided you know this number, you can call it and follow the prompt to leave a message. See “Accessing voicemail from a landline or from abroad” for details on getting this number
- How do I change my greeting / voicemail message? From the main menu, select ‘Greetings’, which is option 3. You can change your name and your voicemail answerphone greeting from here
3.5 Frequently Asked Questions
What does ‘free minutes’ mean?
Free minutes listed in the O2 online tariffs can be used for off peak calling to other networks. Calls during peak times will be billed at the published rates. Depending on the tariff, your inclusive 500 or 750 minutes is for use at off peak times only. Off Peak free minutes on Online Online OffPeak 500 and Online OffPeak 750 tariffs apply to calls to standard rate fixed lines, other O2 mobiles and voicemail 901 calls.
“Any network” free minutes apply to standard rate UK fixed lines, calls to any UK network mobiles and voicemail 901 calls.
Contract duration
Contract cancellation depends on whether you have a handset, and how long you’ve been with O2. For full details, see the small print on the O2 site. As a guideline:
- You can cancel your contract within the first 14 days without charge.
- If you’ve entered into a deal with a handset, you’ll have agreed to a minimum 12 month O2 airtime contract. Charges paid by direct debit.
- If you’ve been in your contract for more than 12 months, you can terminate your account giving the required notice.
- Viewing bills: Known problem as of 14/01/03. Text of message on O2 site states: “Currently some of our customers are receiving the error message “login error 2″ when trying to view their bill. Please be assured that we are investigating this matter at the highest priority in order that it is resolved in as short a timescale as possible.
- Problems with email to SMS service: The quality of this service ranges from adequate to awful. From our experience, this service has been ‘broken’ since at least October 2002. If you know different, please let us know.
- There was another problem that is well documented on http://www.jibble.org/O2/
You can check the status of O2 at their Service News page.
Upgrading your handset
When you take out a contract with O2 that includes a handset, the handset is either free or low-priced, as the cost of the handset is built-in to the first year’s worth of contract. If you’ve been on contract for at least 12 months, you probably qualify for a handset upgrade. If you want to upgrade, you can do so via the O2 online website, or by calling the O2 upgrade line on 08702 259933
How do I get the O2 logo on my mobile?
O2 logo on a NokiaGet the O2 logo sent to your mobile for free via this link: Free Logos. From here, select Logos, and enter “O2″ in the search box.
How do I stop getting O2 text alerts and messages?
Log on to your O2 account at www.o2.co.uk, then go to http://alerts.genie.co.uk/editmyalerts.ttk and set all alerts to ‘off’
What is my SIM card PIN?
The number is printed on the delivery slip that comes with your SIM card. If in doubt, try O2’s default PIN code for SIM cards, which is 5555. Note that you get three tries to enter the PIN, and your phone will be locked if you fail after these tries. You’ll then need to contact O2 to get a PUK code (see below).
What is my PUK code?
You will be asked for your PUK code if you’ve had more goes at guessing your SIM card PIN code than you’re allowed. You’ll need to phone your network provider Customer Services for your PUK code. Customer Services numbers. For O2, dial 1702 from your mobile, or call 0906 302 0220. You can also get your PUK online by clicking here.
Sending email via text
It’s possible to send email from your O2 mobile via SMS text messaging, using a service called O2 MMail. Signup is free at the O2 website, and it costs 12p to send a message. The Mmail shortcode number is 212. For details, see www.o2.co.uk/mmail
Using services abroad
* WAP and GPRS access whilst you are abroad is not free
* Text messaging and data access from abroad (including Channel Islands and Isle of Man) will be charged at the foreign network operators prevailing rates for a text back to the UK.
* Text messages sent from the UK to non UK mobiles on foreign networks will not be included in your free allowances and will cost 20p per message, at all times to 110 countries worldwide
For details of using O2 overseas, see the O2 Travelling Abroad page on O2’s site.
Can I keep my existing mobile number?
Yes, you will be able to keep your existing number when you join O2. Any mobile number, both Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go, can be used.
To bring your number with you, all you need to do is call your current service provider and request a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC). This should arrive within 2 to 10 working days, depending on how many numbers you are changing. We will need your PAC number before we can begin the transfer so you’ll save time if you contact your service provider first.
When you’re ready, log on to our 24-hour, 7 days a week online help facility at www.o2.co.uk/help and, using our search facility, type in ‘I want to keep my number’. We will then offer you’re the option to contact us by email. Remember to include your PAC and current mobile number (if possible).
They will then contact you by email to let you know the date when the transfer can take place.
Will I be able to receive media messages if I don’t have a Media Message enabled mobile?
Customers that do not have a Media Messaging handset can still be sent Media Messages. Instead of being able to view the picture on their handset, they will receive a text message giving them an O2 web address where they can go to view the Media Message.
What is GPRS?
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), or Mobile Web is an ‘always on’, high-speed data service that operates alongside O2’s existing GSM network. Sometimes known as 2.5G, unlike standard Mobile Internet handsets, GPRS handsets are always connected to the network. Customers connected to GPRS will only pay for data downloaded and sent, not for the time spent online. Plus it’s 5 times faster than standard GSM mobile services, saving you time.
When will there be more O2 promotions?
They are hard to predict really, however you can usually find out from the O2 website, at a Student event or on here.
4. Other notes and comments
I hope you all enjoyed this edition of O2 Secrets, watch out for updates!
Thanks for everyone’s support, you know who you are.
http://www.hm2k.org/news/1135767946.html
3 Comments »
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Steve M Nash said,
September 17, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
Wow, that is one authoratative article on O2. I particularly like the bits on free sms though
and thought you might want to add another free sms site to your list - http://www.sheriffratings.com . UK-based, fast and more reliable than cbfsms.com in my humble opinion
Steve from http://www.textmefree.co.uk
SEO Ranter said,
April 10, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
Re: 1.1 “FREESIM”
thx 4 ur request, due to demand the FREESIM textback offer has finished. Go to ww.o2.co.uk/shop to buy one.
Buy one! My arse!
SEO Ranter said,
April 10, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
Free o2 SIMs at http://freesim.o2.co.uk now