If you have a prepaid STC SIM card (Sawa package) that is approaching expiry, and you want to keep your Saudi number active so that you can continue receiving SMS messages while living outside Saudi Arabia, this guide explains how to extend its validity.
The steps below apply to STC users only.
Step 1: Check Your Current Balance and Expiry dates
Send a text message containing 166 to 900, STC's customer service number.
You will receive a reply showing: your current credit balance, credit balance expiry date, and SIM service expiry date.
It is important to understand the difference between credit expiry and service expiry.
Understanding STC's validity rules
Based on my own testing, STC operates the following validity periods:
90-day credit expiry: Any recharged credit balance is valid for 90 days. Carrying out a paid activity, such as sending an SMS, making a call, purchasing a package or topping up (recharging) your balance, extends the credit validity by a further 90 days.
120-day service expiry: Your SIM service remains valid for 120 days after your last paid activity. This is one month beyond the 90-day credit validity period.
You may find websites stating that the SIM service validity is 180 days. This does not appear to be correct. I have personally tested the validity periods on my own STC SIM card and confirmed the dates.
Can you send SMS messages to 900 from outside Saudi Arabia?
Yes. You can send SMS messages to 900 free of charge, even if you do not have an active Sawa package. Sending a message to 900 does not require an active international roaming package, provided your phone is connected to a local mobile network with which STC has a roaming arrangement. STC has roaming agreements with almost every major carrier worldwide.
I have personally tested this using my Saudi STC number while outside the Kingdom. Despite having no active sawa package, I was able to send messages to 900 and receive replies successfully.
Step 2: Recharge balance to extend its validity
The simplest way to extend your SIM card's validity is to top up your prepaid balance. You can do this directly through your Saudi bank's mobile banking app. The cheapest available recharge option is SAR 20.
Once the recharge is successful, you should receive an SMS notification from 900 confirming your updated balance and expiry dates:
Credit balance validity: 90 days
SIM service validity: 120 days
Alternatively, you can also recharge your SIM card through the MySTC app by logging into your account and selecting the prepaid recharge option.
Both methods allow you to maintain your Saudi mobile number when you're outside the kingdom.
If you are living outside Saudi Arabia for an extended period and only need to retain your Saudi number to receive SMS messages (for example, banking OTP verification codes), a SAR 20 top-up every 3 months may be the most simple and cost-effective way to maintain your SIM service.
