This is a recurring topic of course, but I would like to get some clarity. I have not “actively” used my SIM card for a while (I assume more than 6 months, since it was deactivated). I didn’t receive a reminder SMS, because I changed my phone and didn’t even install the SIM card there (I only need it every now and then to receive some 2FA SMS’s. Presumably, contacting us by email, as a backup, is too much of a trouble for Odido. It’s frustrating since I entrust them with managing my personal phone number. But OK, rules are rules. This question is more about the possibility to recover a deactivated number.
If I understand it correctly, when I transfer my number to Odido, they add it to the pool of numbers they are managing. What happens, technically, when they decide to deactivate a number? I can imagine only two scenarios. (1) It remains in their pool, and they can sell it to another customer. In that case, it should be possible for them to sell it to me. (2) They give it back to some number-managing Dutch authority, which will randomly assign it to any provider? If so, it should be technically possible to find out what provider it is assigned to and buy it from that provider.
As far as I know, Odido (and I have a similar experience from another country) claims that it’s technically impossible to recover a deactivated number. Do we understand why?
