Lebara SIM Expiry: How Long Before Your Number Is Deactivated?

The useful answer

There is a pause first, then final expiry much later

Lebara's published inactivity rule has two stages. If you have not used the SIM to make a call, send a text or browse on mobile data in the previous 90 days, Lebara says you need to add credit or buy a plan to resume services.¹

After a further 365 days with no usage, top-up or plan purchase, Lebara says the SIM has expired and you need a new one.¹ That wording matters. The 90-day point is a recoverable service pause, not the same thing as final SIM expiry.

If you need a separate new line rather than saving an old number, check the current Lebara referral plans. A new order will not rescue an expired SIM or guarantee the old number.

Two stages, not one cliff edge

What happens as the SIM sits unused

Lebara does not call the 90-day stage final expiry on this help page. If the line has only recently stopped, try the published recovery route before giving it a funeral.

What keeps the line alive

Use the mobile service, not merely the handset

Lebara names three types of use for the first 90-day clock: making a call, sending a text and browsing the internet through the SIM.¹ A top-up or plan purchase appears in its wording for the later expiry stage.

• Make an outgoing callLet it connect. A failed attempt proves very little.
• Send a textUse ordinary SMS from the Lebara line, not WhatsApp or iMessage over Wi-Fi.
• Use mobile dataTurn Wi-Fi off briefly, open a small web page, then confirm the 4G or 5G data session worked.
• Add credit or buy a planThis is Lebara's stated route for resuming service after the 90-day inactivity point.

Do not rely on incoming calls, incoming texts, leaving the phone switched on or connecting only to Wi-Fi. Lebara's published list describes use made through the SIM, and those passive activities are not on it.

A low-effort routine

Set a reminder and make the test real

1. Put the SIM in a working unlocked phone.Check it shows network signal rather than "No service".
2. Turn off Wi-Fi for the test.This prevents a messaging app or browser from quietly using home broadband instead.
3. Make a short call or send an SMS.Confirm that it connects or delivers.
4. Open MyLebara.Check the number, balance and plan status while you still have access.
5. Set the next reminder early.Every two months leaves room for a failed payment, a lost SIM or a phone that needs charging.

If you keep the number for bank security messages, WhatsApp or account recovery, update those services with a second recovery method too. A mobile number should not be the only key to your digital front door.

The phone now says no service

Work out which stage you are in

1. Check the simple faults.Restart the phone, reseat the physical SIM and test it in another unlocked handset if one is available.
2. Check MyLebara.Look for the number, balance and any plan status. Do not assume a login proves the mobile line is still recoverable.
3. If it is around the 90-day stage, add credit or buy a plan.That is Lebara's published route to resume service after inactivity.¹
4. If it may have expired, contact Lebara now.Ask whether the number is still assigned to you before ordering anything.

Lebara lists online chat and phone support from 7am to 11pm UK time, seven days a week. Dial 5588 from a working Lebara SIM or +44 207 0310791 from another network or outside the UK.³

Will you lose the mobile number?

Treat expiry as a number-recovery emergency

Lebara's help page says the SIM expires after the further 365-day period and that you need a new SIM. It does not promise that an expired number can be restored.¹

Ofcom explains that a mobile provider can suspend an unused PAYG service and recycle the number. It also says inactivity periods vary by provider.² Once a number has been recycled and assigned elsewhere, getting a fresh SIM does not make it yours again.

Contact Lebara before buying a replacement and ask two separate questions: "Is this number still assigned to my account?" and "Can it be transferred to a replacement SIM?" If the answer is no, secure the accounts that still use the old number for login or recovery.

Quick answers

Lebara SIM expiry questions