I don't know what I'm doing. Please advise.
I had a 4G sim only monthly deal on a Lenovo 5Gs+ mobile. A couple of weeks ago the battery expanded and split the screen from the body. Being nervous of fire I bought a Samsung A32 sim free phone outright on a deal from Amazon and contacted Virgin Mobile about obtaing a new sim for the new phone with the same telephone number. The Samsung is a 5G phone. There is no 5G service in Cheltenham but Virgin confirmed it would still work with the available 4G. In that conversation I upgraded from a 4G to 5G sime deal which was the same price but had more data included.
While waiting for the sim I used the share-it app to transfer all my data to the new Samsung and I transfered my SD card to the new phone. I set up the new phone to my preference including a PIN for access. Seemed to be working fine on my Wi-fi. Then I did a factory reset on the Lenovo prior to disposal. Perhaps foolishly I dropped and mislaid the old sim. I didn't realise I would have to text READY to 789768 on the old phone but th
I didn't realise I would have to text READY to 789768 on the old phone but the new sim instructions seem to make that optional. The new sim arrived and I put it in the Samsung. I was not asked for any pin for the new sim, and the only pin on the new phone was the one I use to unlock it. So I couldn't enter 7890 - the instructions don't make it clear into which app this number should be entered. Nothing spontaneously autoran for me to enter that number. The phone settings recognise the presence of the new sim and the formatted SD card but there is no phone number associated with the sim. I am confused as I expected the sim to carry over the same telephone number as the damaged phone had, especially as that is what the documentation that accompanies the new sim said would carry over. I only have access to emergency numbers and cannot make calls or text messages. I have cold started the new phone multiple times. It is not clear from the insructions whether I should leave the phone turned on for 24 hours to get the sim activated or whether I can turn it off. I don't understand how Virgin could detect to activate the SIM if there is no way for me to communicate that activation is required.
I have tried contacting Virgin Mobile over the Internet from my PC but can only get a triage bot that directs me to WhatsApp which I won't use. I have no alternative mobile device to use now.
Please could someone set me straight as to what I should be doing? Do I just wait indefinitely for something to happen spontaneously? Should I go into a Virgin/O2 shop to resolve this? Should I try to find a telephone box and try to contact someone human at Virgin Mobile or what?
Thanks for any advice.
David
