How to sign up for Lidl Connect and activate it

What do you need before you sign up for Lidl Connect?

You need the Lidl Plus app, an account in it, an age of 18 or over, an unlocked phone and a debit or credit card for Lidl Pay. To keep your number, your current SIM must be active and able to receive a text, and bill pay customers need the account number from their latest bill.

• Lidl's help pages list "basic personal details, create a Lidl Plus account … set up your payment method and activate your SIM/eSIM".
• No identity check: "Identity verification is not currently required".
• Phone: Lidl gives iOS 16 on Apple and Android 9 (Pie) on Samsung as the minimum versions, and the phone must be unlocked. For eSIM, your phone must support eSIM; see Lidl Connect eSIM.
• Keeping your number: "Your current SIM is still active and can receive an SMS with a security code". Lidl only asks for an account number "if you want to transfer a postpaid (bill pay) number".

How do you sign up and activate Lidl Connect in the Lidl Plus app?

Lidl's page sets out three steps: choose your SIM, keep your number or get a new one, then install or share it. Behind those sit payment by Lidl Pay and activation, which can take up to 24 hours. If you keep your number, Lidl handles the transfer and the old provider is not contacted by you.

Each Lidl Plus account can hold up to 4 lines: one main line and up to three more. The person using an extra line does not need the Lidl Plus app, according to Lidl's help pages.

1. Open Lidl Plus and find Lidl Connect

   Sign in or create your Lidl Plus account. Lidl Connect is "only available through the Lidl Plus app".

2. Choose your SIM

   eSIM, set up in the app, or a physical SIM that you buy in a Lidl store for €0.99 and activate in the app.

3. Keep your number or get a new one

   To keep it, enter your number and, for bill pay, your account number. You cannot pick a new custom number.

4. Pay with Lidl Pay

   Add a debit or credit card. Your Lidl Connect plan starts, and payment is taken, only once a number transfer completes.

5. Install or share the SIM

   Insert the physical SIM, or install the eSIM when the app offers it, then wait for activation.

Should you choose a Lidl SIM card or an eSIM?

Choose eSIM if your phone supports it: it is free, set up in the app and needs no trip to a shop. Choose a physical SIM for €0.99 if your phone has no eSIM, or if you swap SIMs between phones often. You can change type later in the app with Change my SIM, on WiFi.

Physical SIMs are "available exclusively in Lidl stores and must be activated via the Lidl Plus app". Lidl's pages do not say how a store SIM is linked to your account, for example by code or scan; the app guides you.

An eSIM cannot be used in a smartwatch at present, but works in compatible tablets.

When do you put the new Lidl SIM in your phone?

If you are taking a new number, insert the SIM or install the eSIM as soon as the app offers it. If you are keeping your number, wait: Lidl says the eSIM is "ready for installation after your number transfer has completed", and your old SIM must stay in to receive the security code and keep working until then.

Lidl's portability FAQ says: "Your existing service will remain active until your number is transferred." So during a transfer your old SIM carries your number. When the transfer completes, the old SIM stops and the Lidl Connect SIM takes the number.

Whatever your phone, do not remove or delete your old SIM until the Lidl Plus app tells you the transfer is complete. Without it you cannot receive the security code, and you would have no service while the number is moving.

How do you keep your number when you sign up?

Choose to keep your number during sign-up. Enter the number, and for bill pay the account number from your bill. A security code is sent by text to your current SIM to confirm it is yours. Porting runs 8am–6pm Monday to Friday, 10am–4pm at weekends, and 1GLOBAL says a move is usually done the same day.

Once the transfer is being processed, it cannot be cancelled. If the app reports a problem, Lidl says it usually means "some of the information provided did not match your current provider's records": check the account number and, on prepay, whether your number is registered, then resubmit.

In the first week, Lidl told TheJournal.ie that "exceptional" demand meant some transfers took longer than expected, and that a small number of customers had a temporary interruption. Lidl's customer services contacted those customers directly.

Provider-by-provider rules for leaving are on switching to Lidl Connect.

How do you know the switch to Lidl Connect is finished?

Lidl says you get a notification in the Lidl Plus app when the number transfer completes, then an email "confirming that you are fully active". Activation itself can take up to 24 hours, and the app shows its status. Your old SIM losing signal is the other sign: the number has left it.

What should you check after switching to Lidl Connect?

Check each service once: a call out and a call in, a text both ways, mobile data with WiFi turned off, and a verification code from a service you use. On a dual-SIM phone, make sure calls, texts and mobile data are set to the Lidl Connect line. If something fails, restart the phone first.

If anything does not work, the troubleshooting page goes symptom by symptom.

• Make and receive a call.
• Send and receive a text.
• Turn WiFi off and load a web page over mobile data.
• On a dual-SIM phone, set Lidl Connect as the line for calls, texts and mobile data.
• Ask a bank or app to send you a verification code by text.
• Turn on VoLTE and WiFi calling if your phone offers them; Lidl says both are supported on compatible phones.
• Set up voicemail: dial +353 899 099 505 from your Lidl Connect number.
• The default PIN is 0000 and PIN protection is off by default; turn it on if you want it.