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What should Ido with my old SIM card?
Q After many years I recently switched mobile networks from Three to Smarty. The switch went relatively smoothly, and as a result I’ll save a little money every month. However, I now have an unwanted SIM card. I assume Three will have disabled it, but it made me wonder about the best way to dispose of it. As I assume it’s made of plastic, I don’t really want to throw it in the bin. Besides, would that be safe? Is any of my data or account information still on it? Can SIM cards be recycled?
Gavin Edwards
SIM cards are made mostly of plastic, with some minerals including a tiny amount of gold
A You raise a number of interesting questions, so let’s take them one at a time. First, assuming you used a port-authorisation code (PAC) to switch from Three to Smarty – keeping your old phone number in the process – then, yes, Three will have disabled your SIM card automatically during the switch.
If for some reason you didn’t do this and instead bought a new SIM from Smarty with a new phone number, then in theory your old Three SIM card could still be functioning. The onus would be on you to cancel your account with the company. We’re guessing you’ve done that, however, or you’d still be being paying Three, so the result is the same: the SIM card should be disabled.