This is how you switch with a smartphone

With all the competition on the mobile market, it has become a lot more attractive to switch to another provider. A calling and internet package that suits you better can save you more than €100 per year. It is therefore a good idea to check every now and then whether your mobile subscription still suits your needs. A logical moment for this is the expiry of the current subscription. And if you don’t have a permanent contract for a longer period of time, you can easily switch in between.

Step 1: How are things going?

If you are dissatisfied with your current mobile subscription, it is clear: time to look around for alternatives. Subscription contracts are standard for one or a maximum of two years. After that, they may no longer be automatically extended for a year and you can cancel per month. With some mobile subscriptions you can cancel every month from the start. So first check your subscription.

There is another escape clause: if your provider changes the conditions or prices to your disadvantage in the meantime, without there being a legal reason for this, you can terminate your contract early. You must be informed about this by your telecom provider.

Even if you are satisfied with your current subscription, it is wise to see if it could be cheaper or better. After all, things are changing quite often in the world of mobile telephony. Do you use a prepaid calling method? Then you can always switch.

Step 2: What do I need?

Making a good choice starts with thinking about what you need for mobile calls and internet. Approximately how many minutes do you call per month? How often do you surf the internet without WiFi and with a 3G/4G connection? How many text messages do you send? This information is kept by your telecom provider and is stated on the invoices or otherwise in the personal overview in your online account.

Do you need a new smartphone or does the current one still work fine? In the latter case, you can immediately ignore all those subscriptions that include a new smartphone. Do you want a new smartphone, but you still like the current subscription: keep an eye out for interim offers from your provider.

Step 3: Which calling method is right for me?

When selecting a new subscription, you have to choose between one of the mobile calling methods: subscription, sim only or prepaid. At a subscription you pay a monthly fee for which you can call a certain number of minutes, send a number of text messages and use a maximum amount of megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB) of internet traffic. If you exceed the limit, it will cost you – often considerable – extra money.

Such a subscription also includes a new mobile phone, which means that the monthly costs go up considerably; after all, you can buy the new smartphone on installment basis. Sometimes a subscription offers only one type of smartphone, sometimes you can choose from several models. You take out a subscription for one or two years.

If you don’t need a new mobile, then sim only useful. You will only receive a SIM card. This is the card that you insert into your smartphone and contains your subscription information, such as your telephone number. The phone must be SIM-free for this, otherwise you cannot use another SIM card. Fortunately, most smartphones are SIM-free. With sim only you are a lot cheaper than with a regular subscription because you save the costs for a new smartphone.

If you don’t want to be tied to a subscription for a longer period of time, then prepaid the best option. You pay for the costs incurred with a call credit that you top up yourself in advance. This way you will never exceed the limit of your calling bundle, but you can run out of calling credit. This means that you can temporarily not make calls or use the internet via 4G or 5G. Prepaid can be the cheapest choice if you only call and internet very little, or only surf at home and elsewhere via WiFi. If not, this will quickly become the most expensive option. Also keep in mind that with some prepaid packages, your calling credit will expire every month if you don’t use it. In that case you actually have some kind of subscription.

Step 4: Choose your new subscription

Once you have decided to switch providers or calling methods, you can often arrange this immediately via a call comparison website. Click on the button or link next to the offer and you will be redirected to the provider’s website. With some providers this option is not available and you have to surf to the corresponding website yourself to choose a subscription.

Anyway: always check the provider’s website carefully to find out what the offer entails and what conditions are attached to it. For example, a discount that only lasts a few months is something that many people read about. It is standard that the new provider cancels the current subscription when you switch, but always check this just to be sure.

There is always a legally required cooling-off period of two weeks for online purchases, so you can still cancel the purchase within that period.

Keep your phone number

In the past, it was often not possible to keep your phone number if you switched to another telecom provider or even a different calling method. Today that is no longer a problem. You just have to meet a few conditions. When switching to another provider or other calling product, you must indicate that you want to take the current mobile number with you. When registering with a new provider or new calling product, you must provide the current mobile number. The number is then checked as standard via a text message to your mobile.

Nowadays, this is all self-evident if you arrange the switch via the internet. If that bothers you, you can always get a new carrier or calling product from one of the real-world cell phone stores.