I cant transfer my old phone number. My old phone number's plan expired last 2 days ago and I didn't renew my plan. Do i need to have an active plan just to transfer my number?
This phone number cannot be ported to Tello. Please ensure the number you wish to transfer is active and not already being transferred to another provider.
Hi everyone,
I just got a new Tello eSIM while I'm outside the US. The eSIM installed successfully, my Tello account shows the line is active and I have a phone number, but my Pixel only says "Emergency calls only."
The bigger problem is that I can't enable International Roaming because Tello says the line must first be used in the US. But since I'm outside the US, I can't connect to the T-Mobile network in the first place.
Has anyone been in the same situation? Is there any workaround, or can Tello support enable roaming manually? Other than asking for a refund, is there anything else I can try?
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi, I have moved out of the US for good but need to keep my US phone number. Is it possible for me to port my T-mobile number to Tello? Can I activate my Tello e-SIM from outside of the US?
right now, most of my family is abroad for the next few months. can i let the plan expire and reactivate when they return? will they lose their numbers immediately, or is there a grace period?
I want to move from RP to Tello
RP - ATT does not have Wifi Calling for 13 countries and I am in those 13 countries.
This is the reason why ALL my call thru RP ESIM gets deducted from Global 100min / 1GB Package . Eevn if i use wifi or local network every call gets deducted from 100 min .
RP package is excellent but not for me . I got it annual package for $30 on ebay.
My question is if i trasfer to Tello can wifi calling be activated outside US. Is it tried tested and works every time or is it also hit and miss (some times works some time not) as I read from previous posts.
I have US VPN on my iphone and can use VPN if that help in activation of this new esim with Wifi calling.
BTW i was on Tello before joining RP bit that 12 country restrition was not know
AT&T blocks Wi-Fi Calling in 13 specific countries due to local government regulations
Help if you can reply.
I'll be going to the States for vacation for almost a month, and was researching on affordable E-Sims. I was about to go with my usual Saily, then saw that Airalo had a better deal for new users: 50 GB for 30 days for $37.80. Upon further researching, I stumbled upon Tello mobile, offering a $25 unlimited phone plan (data, call, text) per month.
Has anyone tried Tello? And are they reliable? I'll also be working some hours on my laptop, so I need a reliable connection. It also states on their website that for eSIM, the 30-day plan starts as soon as the order is processed. So I should only purchase it a day before I leave for my vacation, so I don't waste my 30 days?
Hi,
Currently with Verizon and will be moving abroad very soon. I want to keep my US phone number for verification purposes with my bank. My phone can have 2 numbers so my goal is to keep my US number and I'll add another line with my new foreign number after I move. Is Tello a good idea for that, or should I look into other options?
Actually not a fan of the word expat but that's what will help it come up in search, so.
Throughout my move to Germany I've decided to write down my experiences, good and bad, to help others. I am moving in a little over a week so I am still stateside--I CANNOT give any advice for activating abroad, but there are multiple threads on the subject. It's way easier to do in the US so for my fellow Americans looking to live abroad, add this to your "do before you leave" list.
Make sure your phone is unlocked. When in doubt, call your carrier and ask. If you have an iPhone, you can also go to Settings > General > About > scroll down to Carrier Lock. If it says "No SIM restrictions", you should be good. But again, your carrier is the best source of truth on that. If your phone is locked, you will not be able to add a new number or switch until it is unlocked.
Make sure your phone is compatible. Tello as a nifty little tool so you can make sure your phone is able to run the network anyway, which would be a handy thing to know before giving them your credit card information. As their instructions say, "Dial *#06# on your phone and you'll receive your phone's IMEI code" OR on iPhone you can go to Settings > General > About and scroll down to see the IMEI.
STEP 1: Sign up for Tello. Was super easy. As I was starting in the US I picked the unlimited plan, which is still only $25 a month. I used my legal U.S. address for the account/for tax and area code purposes. I got access to my dashboard immediately as well as an email welcoming me to the platform.
STEP 2: eSIM activation. I have an iPhone 14 which is eSIM only but supports dual eSIM. With the QR code open on my laptop, I scanned with my phone camera and followed the instructions. It was very simple and took about 2 minutes to activate.
STEP 3: dual eSIM configuration. My iPhone prompted me to label my new secondary line as well as my original (Verizon) line. I was able to choose my default voice and data line, which I left on my primary for the time being. Don't worry about having the second number--you can replace it with your old number later.
STEP 4: Testing. I switched off my primary line and texted my sister from my new number, and asked her to test out texting/calling me. Worked perfectly. I live in a bit of a dead zone so I wouldn't say it was lightning speed internet browsing, but it was the exact same with my old carrier (Verizon). Call quality was just fine. Also, this little test helped satisfy Tello's "you have to use the line in the US before activating international roaming" requirement (although that was tricky, more info on that below).
STEP 5: The app. I guess it's not a necessity but I downloaded the My Tello app for easy access to settings. Have them send you a one time SMS code to log in (you have to initiate it, the login doesn't do it automatically).
This was a little tricky. I knew I needed Wifi Calling at least initially while abroad so I turned it on during carrier setup, using my current US address as the E911 address. However, this turned out to be a problem when trying to activate roaming. So this is what I ultimately had to do to get it set up--again, while in the US.
STEP 1: Disable Wifi calling (or just don't set it up right away).
STEP 2: Turn off the primary line to force your phone to ping T-Mobile towers on the Tello plan.
STEP 3: Add Pay As You Go credits, minimum $20 plus tax.
STEP 4: Use your phone. Make calls/texts, browse the internet. It may take up to 48hrs for this activity to show up in your account.
STEP 5: Correct settings on your phone's side. For iPhone, this is under Settings > Cellular > your Tello number. Scroll down and ensure the network selection is Tello, Wifi Calling is off, Voice & Data is LTE, and Data Roaming is on.
STEP 6: If all of this doesn't work, do the ol' refresh. Turn your phone off and on. And finally--what actually worked for me at the very end of all of this! Reset the cell network settings. On iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular > your Tello number > Cellular Data Network. There should be an APN with the name "wholesale". Scroll down and hit "Reset Settings". Then go back to your Tello Dashboard and try again. This is what finally allowed me to turn on International Roaming on the Tello account side. I was definitely pinging US towers but I think it just wasn't getting through until I refreshed things.
NOTE: You will still definitely want Wifi Calling/a travel eSIM when you travel abroad because Tello's international roaming prices are insane ($50/GB). It's just a good thing to have as an option for emergencies. You can enable or re-enable this once you've turned on International Roaming.
If you don't care to keep your old number then skip this. You can just cancel your old plan on your time.
STEP 1: Verify eligibility. The first thing you'll need is to find out if you can even port your old number. Under your Tello Dashboard, go to Number Transfer and check your old number. If it is possible to transfer the number, they will give you a bunch of fields to enter your account information into (account #, porting PIN, etc).
STEP 2: Get information/the breakup convo. Getting this information right is critical to ensure the port works (I think of it as like doing a bank transfer--make sure the names and numbers are 100% accurate to the letter). For the best accuracy, you will want to go to your old carrier and request this information. Awkward. But they have to give it to you. If you have Verizon, you can actually get the "Number Transfer PIN" generated from your Verizon account. Less awkward.
STEP 3: Submit the information and start the port. Your old number will replace the new number. Note that if you only had a single line on your old phone plan, this port will effectively cancel your previous phone plan so you will be billed for any outstanding fees/payments if your phone isn't paid off. (This is another reason you want to talk to your old carrier beforehand--if you are in a contract, you need to know how much it will cost to break it. If you have a promo plan, you need to know how much is left to be paid off.) For me, the transfer was done in literally 3 minutes.
STEP 4: Reboot and set your new voicemail. You'll get an email from Tello once the port is complete with instructions, which basically boil down to this. Check your Cellular Settings first to make sure the new number is in there (note, your old eSIM will probably stick around, so it'll look like you have two eSIMs with the same number, but the old one will be inactive). Once you've confirmed your old number has been brought over, restart your phone. I relabeled my Tello eSIM as primary and was able to set up my voicemail from the Phone app, but the Tello email will contain alternate instructions to do that if you don't have an iPhone.
STEP 5: Final test and delete the old eSIM. Make one last round of calls and texts. Browse the net. Make sure you've turned wifi off so you're actually testing the cellular data. Once you've confirmed your Tello eSIM is working, you can safely delete the old one. Hit the road, Jack, and dontcha come back no more no more NO MORE no more...
STEP 6: Paying your final bill. If you're an ex-Verizon customer, you should still be able to log in to your My Verizon account. I literally just ported my number this morning and while it's showing me what my charges (which is mainly a small device payoff) will be it's not letting me actually pay. I'm guessing it will show up on my next billing cycle. I have auto pay enabled anyway so I'm sure they'll come back and get what they want.
I hope this helps somebody. This is my first time doing this--I got this number 12 years ago when I signed up on my family's Verizon plan right before I went to college. Funny enough, we all eventually broke off in different carrier directions and I was the last Verizon customer, mainly out of laziness and the fact that they were paying my phone off. So far Tello has been very easy to use and the service is just fine considering the area I live in which is notorious for having bad service anyway. It's mainly music streaming and internet browsing which are slow. Texts are ok and calls are clear. Outside of my particularly touchy neighborhood, all service has been great. I'm not planning on using it much while overseas but it'll be a nice thing to have when I'm visiting home. $25/mo for unlimited with 50GB of high speed data per month is a pretty dang good deal IMO.
Danke und viel Glück ;)
This topic has come up a few times lately, so we wanted to add a bit of context.
Like most online services, Tello has security and fraud-prevention measures in place to help keep things safe for both our customers and our service. Those checks involve a combination of automated systems and human review (our wonderful Customer Support team keeps a close eye on things), and occasionally an order won't make it through the verification process. So no, it's not just AI making decisions behind the scenes, our humans are very much involved, too. 😊
These decisions aren't based on a single check or one specific piece of information. Because they're part of our security process, we can't share the criteria or comment on why any particular order was declined.
Thanks for raising the question. We always appreciate the feedback, and we hope this provides a little more insight into how the process works.
I have a monthly unlimited talk and text plan, and I was previously able to make unlimited calls to India without any issues.
While I was in India, I had trouble receiving text messages on my Samsung phone, so I enabled roaming and added a $20 top-up.
Now that I'm back in the USA, my top-up balance has disappeared, and I can no longer call India. Instead, I'm being asked to recharge my top-up balance.
My understanding is that international calls to India should still be unlimited from the USA with my monthly plan. Has something changed because I added the roaming top-up? I have already turned off roaming now that I'm back in the USA.
Could you please explain what's happening and advise me on how to restore my unlimited international calling?
Been using Tello WiFi calling at home in the states with no issues. Am currently in the UK and got a data-only eSIM that's got a strong connection; did lots of reading beforehand that said I could use "WiFi calling" and texting for Tello via the eSIM's data. But it's not working.
If I join an actual WiFi network, I get the "Tello WiFi calling" scrolling display and it works great. As soon as I drop back to mobile data from the second eSIM, Tello defaults to international roaming.
Settings/variables:
These are the settings that other people have reported working in the same situation, so that's what I've tried.
I tried using Tello chat support and got an incredibly aggravating chatbot that repeatedly told me live chat was available 24/7 and then told me no live chat was available and to send an email. I have sent an email and am waiting to hear back, but I'm wondering if maybe someone else has run into this and solved it before and I'm just missing something obvious.
Tried reboots, airplane mode off/on, etc. I've seen a few mentions of "Backup calling" but that seems to be a long gone setting from older versions of Android. I have tried this with Automatic data switching turned both off and on, and didn't see any difference.
Edited to add: if I turn off international roaming in my account, my Tello sim shows "No service" even when I've got a data connection from the second sim. But as soon as I join an actual WiFi network it jumps to WiFi calling.
I followed all steps to set up new line using my existing phone and phone number. SIM card activated, number ported successfully but I cannot make or receive calls or texts. For 3 DAYS THERE HAS BEEN NO LIVE CHAT OPTION through the website. They claim 24/7 live chat support. Emails have taken over 24 hours for a response, which was first a copy/paste of the same instructions you find on the website and next a message that they will call me today at a certain time, which sounds great, but I'm not able to get any calls.
The Tello website says to check the IMEI, which is useless. I can't do that without buying the watch, and I don't want to buy it without knowing whether it will work on Tello.
Has anyone successfully used a Pixel Watch on Tello (esp. Pixel Watch 4)?
Will tello eventually cancel your line if you only use your phone for wifi calling and texting never access via us cell tower. My Tello phone is only used over WiFi.
I received Tello phone to Korea and now I would like to use this phone,
but the text message is not working. Anyone knows how to activate this?
I saw some posts where people claim that the ESim activation can be done completely out of the US. I did so, paid around $12 for the plan+eSim and $20 pay as you go balance for roaming. The eSim was detected by my phone but now it's not finding any network. I did everything using ExpressVPN to USA.
What should I do so it eventually finds a network?
I want to port my US Google Fi number to this but won't do it until I confirm it can connect to some network.
I can't even turn on International Roaming from My Tello because it says it should be done from the US only. I have a Google Pixel.
I'm thinking of converting my Tello monthly plan to a Tello PayGo only plan. Please "Tello me about it 😎" if this (👇🏾) will work and if I can still keep my current Tello PayGo credit:
I currently have X dollars as my Tello paygo credit.
Two days before the end of my monthly plan, I'll cancel my monthly plan with the cancellation date set for the end date of my monthly plan.
The following day, I'll purchase $10 Tello paygo credit.
After my monthly plan cancels the next day, would my paygo credit be X + 10 dollars?
I'm thinking of porting my USA number to Tello prior to moving to Madrid, Spain.
I live in L.A. and I will be living abroad for a few years. I'll need my USA number for two-factor authentication (2FA) for banks, etc.
Questions:
I'll probably use DIGI for my Madrid eSIM.
Thanks for your advice.
This is probably not a Tello issue specifically, but during my last plane trip, I decided that since I had my new iPhone with me, that I would use it to display e-boarding passes rather than printing out paper boarding passes. While waiting in line, I clicked on the appropriate link in the text message, and my browser displayed the boarding pass, as expected.
However, when the time came to scan it, my browser decided to refresh the web page instead. So, my phone was just displaying an hourglass while the page reloaded, and I had to step out of line, to let other passengers board. It was taking a while (due to de-prioritization?), so the ticket agent decided to just print out a boarding pass for me.
That was my first and last attempt to use e-boarding passes; paper is fine. Was this just really poor timing, or does it happen a lot? I noticed it wasn't happening to any of the people behind me. Are there phone or browser settings to stop auto-refresh, or some other workarounds that people use, such as taking a screen shot of the web page?
Let's say I port my number to Tello and one day Tello decides to suspend or close my account, will I be able to port out my phone number to another provider or will it be locked and re-assigned to a new customer?
I'm asking this because I've had my phone number since childhood and I've grown attached to it, I would be really sad to lose it