1. Mobiles
2. Providers
3. Giffgaff Help

Chances are that, along with your keys, your mobile phone is the other item you're never without. If you're with giffgaff, what happens if something goes wrong, though?

Because giffgaff has no call centres or any kind of staffed help line, it can be daunting wondering where to find help. In this guide we will take you through some of the most common issues faced by giffgaff customers and how to resolve them. We will also provide advice on how to navigate giffgaff's own, unique help system.

What actually is giffgaff?

Giffgaff is a mobile network provider and phone reseller. It differs from other mobile providers such as Virgin, BT or Vodafone in two main ways.

No contracts

Giffgaff uses a system of payments called goodybags (basically, SIM-only deals) that come with unlimited national calls and texts and varying allocations of data. All goodybags come on a one-month contract and the data allowance does not roll over.

‘Golden’ goodybags come with large data allowances – up to unlimited – and are all 5G-ready. They roll on automatically each month unless you take action. Standard goodybags are 4G-only and come with smaller data allowances. They also require you to have a supply of credit with which to purchase them.

No call centres

Giffgaff is what's called a Mobile Virtual Network Operator or MVNO. Sounds complicated? It isn't. This means that giffgaff uses someone else's network, in this case O2. But it doesn't use O2's staff nor its buildings or call centres. Instead, it relies on its community of users to supply help and advice to each other.

Solving phone signal problems

As with all mobile phone networks there are a number of reasons that you might get a dropped signal: network maintenance, a damaged tower, bad weather. Before you decide to ask the giffgaff community what the problem is, there are a couple of options open to you.

• Check the service status – You should use the 'Help>check network coverage' area on the giffgaff website. Not only will this show you if the postcode you're interested in is covered by giffgaff, it will also show you the state of the network at that time. This includes both voice, data and text statuses
• Are you in credit? – With giffgaff this isn't a problem unless you're overseas. For phone credits, giffgaff uses what it calls 'goodybags'. Credit is required for standard goodybags you can log into your account to check your credit situation and top up if necessary

Solving text and data problems

The most common problems with data and/or text problems boil down to…

No credit

When it comes to payment, giffgaff uses a system of recurring payments that it calls 'goodybags'. All of these goodybags come with unlimited national calls and data but are limited in terms of data. Make sure that you've got enough credit with your giffgaff goodybag for the data you need. You can do this by logging in to your account pages, or using the giffgaff app on your iPhone or Android-based phone. If you don't have enough data credits, you can top up using the giffgaff app or via your account pages on the giffgaff website.

Golden goodybags do not require credit – instead you will have to provide a valid credit or debit card which will automatically be debited each month your golden goodybag rolls on.

Network status

Giffgaff uses the O2 mobile phone network but it has its own network status checking page on its website. You can find this by clicking through to the Help menu and choosing 'Check network coverage'. If you are travelling, you can also use this to check that you will be able to get a giffgaff phone signal at your destination. It's a good page to bookmark in your browser.

Phone settings

When it comes to data rather than calls or texts, there may be a problem with your settings and what's called your Access Point Name (APN) specifically. You will need to enter (or make sure you've entered correctly) the giffgaff-specific settings as follows:

• Giffgaff iPhone settings – On an iPhone these are available in Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Network
• Giffgaff Android phone settings – Mobile Networks/Networks > Mobile Network > APNs

You can find all the latest APN settings for your phone at the giffgaff help pages on the 'Data not working' page.

Using giffgaff abroad

Giffgaff uses the O2 network and therefore O2's international franchise partners. So actually getting a signal and setting up roaming is no more of an issue with giffgaff than it is on any other network. In terms of credits, however, you will incur charges for international calls, texts and data usage that will be over and above the standard giffgaff goodybag payment system. So, make sure to top up your credits when you plan to travel.

How to get help on giffgaff

Giffgaff relies on its users rather than trained staff to provide help. This means that over the years it has built up a 'Knowledge Base' and created online help guides that deal with most of the common problems you might face. When new problems crop up, say with a new model of phone or a change to giffgaff's coverage, then you can turn to the community help forums on the giffgaff.

Other giffgaff users can upvote or downvote tips, helpful comments and other additions to the forums. Upvoted items accrue Payback (data credits). Because Payback is only paid out twice a year, the voting balances out over time, and the more helpful a user is, the more likely they'll receive Payback credit.

This can often result in faster fixes to new issues, and also tried and tested resolutions to older problems being more readily available.

The next stage up from the community message boards and forums is to contact a giffgaff 'Agent'. This is someone with more than a passing knowledge of the systems. You can contact an Agent by logging on to your account on the giffgaff website.

Customer service phone number

Because giffgaff is a network that uses its community of users for the majority of its help activities, it does not publish a customer service phone number. However, the company's registered address is the same as O2's in this country, which is: 260 Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4DX.

Use social media to speed up response times

Because giffgaff is a community-inclusive operation it has quite a healthy social media presence with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and LinkedIn accounts. In the unlikely event that you're not getting a fast response via giffgaff's community, its help guides and knowledge base pages, or from a giffgaff Agent, you can try making your issue known on giffgaff’s social media accounts. Make sure to keep things courteous and constructive though.

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