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How can I activate the service when I receive my new Tello Phone?

If you have just purchased or received your new Tello Phone, here are the next steps to get the Tello service activated.

Your phone will arrive in a plain generic packaging box with simply the device, battery & charger.

It will not contain any manual or guide or accessories.
The phone manual is available in your online account, however.
Simply go to our Phones page, click "View Details" and scroll down to the Tech Specs section where you will see "User Manual".

When the package arrives, follow these steps:
1. Unpack the phone, plug it in and leave it to charge fully.
Do not turn it on yet.
2. Go to the "My SIM" section of your Tello online account.
3. Complete the field(s) required and follow the prompts.
4. After activating the service, which can sometimes take up to 20 minutes, wait another 5 minutes and then switch your fully charged phone ON.
5. Your phone should start to automatically activate with the Tello service.
6. If your phone does not activate automatically, please wait 30 minutes, then reboot your phone and try again.
7. You can also manually activate your phone by following the steps under the FAQ at the bottom of the My SIM page.
8. Start calling, texting & surfing the web with Tello!

Tello Phone Number & Porting
Every SIM delivery for a new line generates a new Tello phone number once activated. You will see a new Tello phone number in your online account when the activation process is completed.
You will not be able to port in a new number (replace that Tello number) until you have successfully activated that SIM in your online account.

Only after you have successfully activated the SIM in your online account, you can port in your own number to us by submitting a port-in.
The port-in form will only become available & visible after a successful SIM activation and it can only be done from your online account.

When you activate the service with Tello, all your APN settings are usually set automatically.
However, if you're having any issues with data, hotspot, MMS or group messaging, you need to check your APN settings to make sure that they're correct.
See "What APN settings are needed with Tello?"

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