reactivating orange sim card

tink23

Member
Jul 15, 2008
292
12
18
Hi,
I will be moving to Puerto Plata on August 7th. I have an orange cell phone and sim card, however my sim card has become deactivated since I haven't put money on it for over 3 months. Is it possible to bring the sim card to an Orange store and have them reactivate it so that I can have the same cell number as before? Or is the only way to buy a new chip?
Thanks.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
11,747
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There is a very good chance all you need to do is put some credit on the phone & it will work!
 

sweetdbt

Bronze
Sep 17, 2004
1,574
70
0
You may not even need to go to a shop. Buy an Orange card and go through the normal procedure to add pesos to the phone. If your number has not been reassigned, you will be up and running. If this doesn't work, you will need a new sim card and will have a new #. I'm not sure about Orange, but Claro now does not reassign numbers for at least a year. They were losing business when travelers returned after a few months and decided that since they had to start over again with a new number, it was a good time to switch to Orange or Viva.
 

tink23

Member
Jul 15, 2008
292
12
18
ok, thanks!
Hopefully I just need to add some pesos and I'll have a working phone.
 

BermudaRum

Bronze
Oct 9, 2007
1,208
372
83
Orange after three months reassigns your number to another user and it would be a waste of time purchasing minutes for your old number as your sim card is dead. If you wish to use Orange after you return you will have to purchase a new sim card.

Been there, done it!
 

sweetdbt

Bronze
Sep 17, 2004
1,574
70
0
No time or money would be wasted BermudaRum. If the number has been reassigned, then the card will still be valid to use with a new sim card. It is true that the phone will be inactive after 3 months and any remaining pesos will be lost, but that does not mean the number will be reassigned immediatly. This will not happen til the number is "needed" by a new customer, and with the addition of new area codes, that is not happening as quickly as in the past. I personally know people who have been able to reactivate Orange phones well past 3 months.
 
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TOOBER_SDQ

Bronze
Nov 19, 2008
708
212
0
When you get to DR, try calling the SIM number from another phone and see if it rings. Then you'll know.

The hardest part of this project is finding somebody that has credits on their phone. :ermm:
 

tee

Bronze
Sep 14, 2007
1,044
429
83
Cabarete
Orange no longer reactivate sim cards. You have to buy a new one with a new number. This costs 100 pesos. My buddy was over from the UK a few months ago and he had to purchase a new one.
 

sweetdbt

Bronze
Sep 17, 2004
1,574
70
0
When you get to DR, try calling the SIM number from another phone and see if it rings. Then you'll know.

The hardest part of this project is finding somebody that has credits on their phone. :ermm:

If it rings, you will indeed know, but if it does not, it does not necessarily mean the number has been reassigned, just that the phone is inactive. You are certainly on target about the hit or miss status of finding a Dominican with pesos on their phone to call you. 50 peso phone cards on the other hand, can be bought at every colmado, pharmacia or street corner in the country. Try adding the pesos, and then you will know for sure if you need a new sim.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
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Orange after three months reassigns your number to another user and it would be a waste of time purchasing minutes for your old number as your sim card is dead. If you wish to use Orange after you return you will have to purchase a new sim card.

Been there, done it!
+1

After 90 days you're SOL.

Been there.
 

tink23

Member
Jul 15, 2008
292
12
18
Thanks for all the responses. I think I may be ok with the same sim card. If I remember correctly, the last time I added pesos to my phone they were going to be lost mid May. I don't remember the exact date, but if I'm correct in this, it will be +/- 80 days by the time I return. I'll try buying the 60 pesos orange card and hopefully it will work. If not, worse comes to worse, I'll go and purchase another sim card. Thanks everybody!
 

Campesina

New member
Sep 12, 2004
464
20
0
Buy your orange cards quickly. My supplier in the Sosua area says they will be out of stock for at least several weeks in order to promote (force) the "plan". There were none available from her last week.
 

Tor

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
853
40
0
You don't need cards, just go to a store who can recharge your number electronically.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
163
0
Best thing to do is to try an Orange Card. If it doesn't work you still have your 60 pesos card for a new number.

I usually lose my minutes after 30 days of non use. I have never lost my number..............yet.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
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Old and New........

New, smaller Orange Card pictured at bottom.
.
29vcrbb.jpg
 
Jan 17, 2009
1,622
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Alternative. Dial #101*n?mero del destinatario# to let someone know you have no minutes, to call you. This is what Dominicans do when they have no minutes. You can try it from your phone or from someone else's to check if your number is still working.
 
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bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
163
0
TRY THIS
https://www.directrecharge.com/index.jsp?lang=en
you can type your number in and it will tell you if your number is still good
and you can also recharge your phone

Very nice link, thanks.

I wonder how Orange would handle this recharge method? I am not sure if I lose my minutes after 30 days of not using the telephone or do I lose my minutes because I have not recharged my phone within the last 30 days.
 

EnclineDesigns

New member
Aug 21, 2007
66
0
0
web.mac.com
Very nice link, thanks.

I wonder how Orange would handle this recharge method? I am not sure if I lose my minutes after 30 days of not using the telephone or do I lose my minutes because I have not recharged my phone within the last 30 days.

The Orange website directs you to this website for recharging the phone outside of DR. I'm curious too if/when the minutes will be cancelled out if the phone is not used, for example within 30 days of the recharge.