What happens if you don’t register your SIM?

After some time of issues and amendments, the SIM Registration Act has been finally passed late last year and rolled out on December 27, 2022.

The goal is to curb text scams, spam, and cybercrime by helping authorities in the investigation of related crimes. Despite the issues surrounding it, a lot of Filipinos still supported SIM registration, which in fact led to the telcos’ SIM registration portals being overloaded on the first day of its rollout.

As of January 16, it’s been reported that over 20.4 million users have already registered their SIMs.

If you haven’t already, it’s best to have your SIM registered as you only have until April 26, 2023, to do it. Now the question is, what will really happen to your SIM after the deadline? Smart Communications, gave us s detailed answer.

Update 04/25/23: SIM Registration deadline was extended by 90 days. New deadline is July 25, 2023.

What will happen to my SIM if I don’t register it?

As you probably heard, failure to register after the deadline will result in the deactivation of your SIM. This means that:

• You can’t receive or make calls — Not registering your SIM means that it will be deactivated. This also means that you won’t be able to make or receive outgoing calls to family and friends, even urgent ones. This is especially useful if you use your device to make important calls for your business, work, or school.
• You can’t send or receive text messages — Much like calls, having your SIM deactivated due to failure to register means that you can send or receive text messages. That includes incoming texts for one-time passwords (OTP) when making money transfers or retrieving a forgotten password.
• You can’t use mobile data to access the internet — Having internet access is one of the key uses of smartphones today. And if you’re a heavy internet user and you failed to register your SIM, you wouldn’t be able to do it anymore as your deactivated SIM will lose mobile data access. No social media, no researching, no streaming, etc.
• You lose your remaining data and load balance — When we say “deactivated”, it means that your SIM will be essentially useless. Other than calls, texts, and data, you will also lose all of your remaining load balance and data allocation.

Can I reactivate my SIM if I miss the deadline?

Filipinos who still missed the deadline, despite the 180-day period, and had their SIMs deactivated can still process for their SIMs to be reactivated not later than 5 days after the period set by the law.

Related

• eSIM: Advantages, Compatible Devices, FAQs
• Faking documents, other offenses committed on SIM Registration are punishable by law
• Globe, Smart, Globe, DITO, GOMO, TM, TNT SIM card expiration

How to register my SIM in the Philippines?

To avoid any of the hassles of having your SIM deactivated, it’s best to just have your SIM registered as soon as possible. Don’t worry, as the process is actually really easy.

Step 1: Visit your telco’s SIM registration portal. Globe, Smart, and DITO have prepared one for easy access.

Step 2: Input your personal information and a valid ID.

Step 3: Wait for the confirmation.

We have a more detailed guide on how you can register your SIM card. But if you’re having issues, you can visit your telco’s physical store or kiosk to assist you. You can also contact DICT’s special complaint center for assistance.