Do Public Mobile SIM cards expire?

[allagelman]

Unused SIM card. I assume it has no expiry but just thought I'd ask the community to confirm this is correct?

[AE_Collector]

You can’t technically activate a SIM card without making a payment as the first 30 days is billed as part of the activation. But then after 30 days the service suspends if you don’t pay a renewal and you have 90 days in suspension before the account is closed, number is lost and SIM card becomes garbage.

AE_Collector

[Korth]

Unused SIM cards do not expire. You can use a SIM card from ten or twenty years ago if you like, assuming it has never been activated, assuming the form factor fits in a modern smartphone, assuming the company which issued the SIM is still in business.

Once a SIM card has been activated it is linked to a subscriber account (and phone number). The common practice is for unpaid accounts to get suspended (no service/etc) after a month, the suspended account to get terminated (closed forever) after no payment for three more months - and the SIM card to get permanently deactivated once the account is terminated.

Previously-used (activated then deactivated) SIM cards can not be reactivated. The unique SIMID can never be used again - it's placed on a deactivation list - this is nominally a "security" feature designed into the system to prevent various forms of identity spoofing/fraud across the networks.

[t_p]

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@Zyl wrote:

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What I am thinking is, what if I activated a SIM card but not use it?  How long can I keep it activated without giving a payment information?  I guess one month until Public Mobile suspends the account?  

Thanks 

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@Zyl 

Short answer : your activated SIM will "expire" after 120 days (if nothing is done after activation).

Long answer: Once your SIM is successfully activated, your PM account is created and paid for one "month". Whether you use it or not, the plan will need to be renewed after 30 days. If not renewed, the account will be suspended for another 90 days and closed for good after that. So you can say that the SIM/account has "expired" at that time because you. can't use it anymore. You'll need to buy and activate a new one if you want to have service again.

Of course, if you make a payment during the 90 days grace period, your SIM/account will be usable again for 30 days, and so on...

[softech]

@Zyl   Depends on what exactly you meant by "used".  Activated SIMs are "used" , this is how carriers see it.   You activated the SIM by setting up a PM account.   So, the first month, account is setup, sim is activated.  You don't need to put the SIM in a phone to actually use it , there is no expiry in that sense.  You can keep paying and not put the SIM in a phone.

If you stop paying PM for 90 days, account cancelled and the SIM also deprovisioned and the SIM is not useful anymore

[Zyl]

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@softech wrote:

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@Zyl wrote:

If you have activated a SIM card, when do you have to use it by?  In other words, when do they expire? 

Thanks 

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@Zyl   When you activate a SIM, you are in fact activating an account and tie that account with your SIM.   Once the sim is activated, your account is active, there is no expiry.   Usually SIM won't break for no reason.  So, as long your account is active, the sim will still work.   Once you cancel an account, the SIM will be deprovisioned and can not be used any more

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What I am thinking is, what if I activated a SIM card but not use it?  How long can I keep it activated without giving a payment information?  I guess one month until Public Mobile suspends the account?  

Thanks 

[softech]

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@Zyl wrote:

If you have activated a SIM card, when do you have to use it by?  In other words, when do they expire? 

Thanks 

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@Zyl   When you activate a SIM, you are in fact activating an account and tie that account with your SIM.   Once the sim is activated, your account is active, there is no expiry.   Usually SIM won't break for no reason.  So, as long your account is active, the sim will still work.   Once you cancel an account, the SIM will be deprovisioned and can not be used any more

[Zyl]

If you have activated a SIM card, when do you have to use it by?  In other words, when do they expire? 

Thanks 

[BKNS27]

@allagelman 

That is correct but only if you don’t activate the SIM.

[computergeek541 · Accepted solution]

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@allagelman wrote:

Unused SIM card. I assume it has no expiry but just thought I'd ask the community to confirm this is correct?

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SIM card that have never been used don't expire.