Keeping an Irish number active: each network’s rules

How long does an Irish prepay number stay active?

It depends on the network, from 90 days at Lycamobile to 12 months at Three. Most prepay brands suspend a number after about six months without a top-up or use, then give it to someone else months later. Monthly plans such as GoMo, Clear Mobile, Sky and Virgin stay active while you pay.

Lidl Connect is a monthly plan, but its terms set out what happens after a missed renewal, so it is listed. 48’s own documents disagree: its terms add up to 13 months before the number is lost, while its code of practice says 48 may reassign it after seven months of suspension. Vodafone’s 2020 terms say 8 months; its current help page gives the longer timeline above.

What is the cheapest way to keep an Irish number active?

Use the SIM in a way the terms count, before the deadline. Lycamobile counts any call, text, data use or top-up every 90 days, and Tesco Mobile one chargeable outgoing use in 180 days. eir and Vodafone ask for a top-up of at least €5. None of the 12 networks we checked sells a number-hold product.

• Put a reminder in your calendar a few weeks before each deadline, counted from your last top-up or use.
• Vodafone itself suggests a €5 monthly auto top-up so the SIM does not go inactive.
• On eir, a call or a text does not count: only a top-up of at least €5 every 150 days does.
• None of these networks lists receiving calls as activity, so a SIM that only receives can still be suspended.
• Credit left on a lost number is not refunded: Lycamobile says so outright, and Three and Vodafone say unused credit is lost on disconnection.

Can you keep an Irish number while living abroad?

You can keep it, but EU roaming at home prices is meant for travel, not living abroad. Networks check usage over four months, and a SIM barely used in Ireland can lose home prices. Receiving calls and texts in the EU is free at Lycamobile and Vodafone, receiving calls at GoMo, and Lidl Connect says incoming texts are free worldwide.

Three, 48, eir, GoMo, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media and Lidl Connect all describe the same four-month test: if you spend more time and use more abroad than in Ireland, the network can warn you and then add surcharges. Three and 48 add that they may stop home prices on a SIM that has not been used, or barely used, over four months. Lidl Connect gives 14 days after a warning to change your use or show you live in Ireland.

Our roaming guide lists each network’s EU data limit and what to set up before you go.

Can you keep your home-country SIM working in Ireland?

An EU SIM roams in Ireland at home prices, and receiving calls and texts costs nothing extra. But EU rules let your home operator check four months of use and, after a warning, add surcharges if you spend and use more abroad than at home. For a SIM from outside the EU, prices are up to your home operator.

The EU rules also list a SIM left inactive for a long time and used mostly while roaming as a sign of misuse, so a home SIM kept only for bank codes may draw a warning. A dual SIM phone lets you keep it in one slot and an Irish plan in the other (see below). Ukrainian SIMs roam in Ireland at home prices under a separate EU–Ukraine arrangement; our roaming guide covers it.

What happens if your number is suspended?

Most brands give a window to restore a suspended number before it goes to someone else. Tesco Mobile gives six months, Vodafone six months after disconnection, An Post Mobile one month, and eir up to 13 months from the last top-up. Three and Tesco Mobile say moving the number to another network in time also keeps it.

To restore it, contact the network that issued the number: Tesco Mobile asks you to call 1749 and prove the number is yours, and eir and An Post Mobile restore through customer care. Our number transfer guide explains what a new network needs to move a prepay number, and our unused credit guide covers credit left behind when you switch.

Can you keep your old number and a new one on the same phone?

Yes, if your phone takes two SIMs. Apple says Dual SIM gives two active numbers for calls and texts, while mobile data uses one line at a time. Keep the old SIM for bank codes and calls, put the cheaper plan on the other, and use the old SIM often enough to keep it active.

• Apple: to use two carriers, the iPhone must be unlocked, unless both plans are from the same carrier. iPhone 13 and later can hold two eSIMs.
• Most Irish networks offer eSIM, so the second line needs no slot: see which in our eSIM guide.