Pac code and stac code: what is a pac code, what is a stac code, what is stac code, how to get pac code, how to get a pac code and how do i get my pac code

What sellers publish, and what could not be read

How to switch without losing your number or paying twice

1. Find your current monthly charge and your end date. Both are on the bill and on the account page. Without them you cannot tell whether a quote is a saving or a sideways move, and you cannot tell whether leaving costs anything.
2. Write down what you actually used last month. Not what you think you use. Most people pay for an allowance they never reach, and on every published ladder here the gap between tiers is real money.
3. Decide term or rolling, before you look at numbers. A 24 month price and a rolling monthly price are different products at similar figures, and the cheaper headline is usually the longer tie.
4. Ask what happens in April. Most UK sellers raise prices during the term. Ask for the increase in writing, as a figure, before you sign anything.

PAC or STAC, and which one you want

A PAC moves your number. A STAC closes the account and gives the number up. If you want to keep the number you have had for fifteen years, you want a PAC and you should not accept anything else. If you are moving to a work phone or starting again, a STAC is cleaner because it leaves nothing behind.

Both are obtained the same way and both are free. You text a short code to your current provider and the code comes back by text, along with any early termination charge you would owe. That charge is the number to read before you do anything else: leaving inside a term is not free, and the code text is where the amount is stated plainly.

How to get one

Text PAC to 65075 to get a PAC code, or STAC to 75075 to get a STAC. Both work on every UK network and both should reply within a minute. The reply carries the code, the date it expires and what leaving would cost you, which is the whole switch in one message.

The code lasts 30 days. Give it to the new seller when you sign up and the switch completes on the next working day, or on a date you choose. You keep service on the old network until it does, so there is no gap and no window where nobody can reach you.

What happens to the old contract

It ends when the switch completes, not when you ask for the code. That is why the code text quotes an early termination charge if you are still in a term: the charge is what it would cost to end early, and asking for the code does not commit you to paying it.

If you are out of contract, there is nothing to pay and nothing to negotiate. If you are in one, the arithmetic is simple: the charge against the saving over the months remaining. On the published figures in this record, moving from a £23 unlimited plan to a £12.50 one saves £10.50 a month, so a three month remainder is worth about £31 against whatever the charge is.

Questions people ask before they switch

What is a pac code?

A seven-character code that moves your mobile number to a new network. It is free, it arrives by text within a minute, and it lasts 30 days.

What is a stac code, or what is stac code?

The same thing for leaving without keeping your number: it closes the account and releases the number. Use a PAC if you want to keep the number and a STAC if you do not.

How to get pac code, or how do i get my pac code?

Text PAC to 65075 from the phone you are switching. Text STAC to 75075 for a STAC. The reply carries the code, its expiry date and any early termination charge you would owe.

Do I have to tell them why I am leaving?

No. The text route exists so that leaving cannot be made into a retention conversation. You never have to call.

What this costs by plan type

• What Unlimited data SIMs cost in the UK, from published network prices
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