Telia is holding my phone number hostage
In late November I got an email from Comviq warning me that my beloved Nokia 2660 will be blocked from their network in early 2026 due to the shutdown of their 2G and 3G networks. As I'd only had the phone for about five months I decided it was better to move to an operator whose network still supports it rather than replace it. So I immediately started the process of moving my number to Telia. Big mistake.
I've now been without my phone number for over three weeks. Here's the timeline of events.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2025-11-25 | Comviq warns of the 2G/3G shutdown |
| 2025-11-25 | Order placed with Telia |
| 2025-12-11 | Service ends with Comviq |
| 2025-12-11 | Telia's estimated delivery date |
| 2025-12-19 | Order cancelled with Telia |
| 2025-12-23 | Telia processes the cancellation |
| 2025-12-23 | Order placed with Comviq |
| 2025-12-23 | Comviq order automatically cancelled |
| 2025-12-23 | Phone call to Comviq support |
| 2025-12-23 | Phone call to Telia support |
| 2025-12-23 | Phone call to Comviq support |
| 2025-12-23 | Phone call to Telia support |
| 2025-12-23 | Telia registers a new order (why?) |
The delivery date for the Telia SIM came and went with no communication from them about the delay. By the time I gave up and called to cancel on the 19th, the estimated delivery date was over a week in the past. It had become unclear if the SIM would ever arrive, and I realised I no longer wanted anything to do with this operator.
Telia processed my order cancellation on the 23rd. I immediately tried to move back to Comviq. That order failed, so I phoned Comviq to ask why. They said Telia blocked them from moving the number, and that I needed to ask Telia why, so I did. Telia said that the number was frozen, and to tell Comviq to reserve it, so I did. Comviq said the number actually belonged to a company now, and to ask Telia to make it a personal number, so I did. Telia said that the number was actually still attached to the original cancelled order due to technical issues, and to wait a few days for that to resolve, so I did.
After all that, Telia for some reason registered a brand new order for mobile service. So now I'm waiting for the Christmas and New Year period to end so that I can call them to start this entire process again from scratch.
In the meantime, I've been forced into some kind of minor crisis scenario. I have had to temporarily update my emergency contact number with schools to my work phone number, as well as inform family and friends of the situation and the temporary number. It's impossible to know who or what has fallen through the cracks. Services with a 2FA login flow based on SMS codes are inaccessible to me. Delivery notifications via SMS? No chance. It has been a brand new kind of Christmas stress.
I am done – forever – with Telia. If I have to fake my own death and re-enter Sweden under a new identity to prevent them from locking me into this service contract, then I will do so. If I can't get my number back, and have to travel to the headquarters of each company that uses SMS codes for 2FA in person with my birth certificate and a urine sample to get my life back, then I will fucking do so. Never been so utterly let down like this before by a phone company.