Tell the operator whether you need a new Mainland number, want to link an existing number or only need cross-border data. These can involve different services and charges.
What to have ready
Before you start
CMHK's official plan materials distinguish Mainland China Number Service from CM Numbers Link, while cross-border data is another component. Documents from a completed 2025 promotion illustrate separate real-name registration, number-link activation and effects of changing or ending a plan. They do not establish prices or free periods available in October 2026. Obtain the current version actually offered to you before signing. A combined marketing headline can conceal several eligibility, activation and charging decisions that need individual confirmation.
What to do, step by step
- Ask CMHK's official service whether the task needs a new +86 add-on or linkage of an existing number, reception in Hong Kong and Mainland outgoing identity. Request the corresponding product and limitations. Receiving texts, sending texts and outgoing caller identification are separate questions to put in writing.
- State your nationality and document category and confirm the supported real-name channel and original-document requirements. Do not assume Chinese permits, non-Chinese permits and foreign passports are processed identically. Hong Kong SIM registration is not evidence that the separate Mainland-number application has been approved and activated.
- Obtain current terms and list basic subscription, number or linking fees, administration, voice, SMS, roaming data and excess usage individually. Check commitment length, price after discounts and effects of switching plans. Compare the complete term's cost rather than treating a promotional monthly headline as the full bill.
- After activation, verify status in MyLink or the official channel and test required texts and an ordinary incoming call. If linking an existing Mainland number, continue managing its original operator's charges and identity records. Linking does not itself establish cancellation of that separate account or its ongoing obligations.
Costs, timing, and things to check
Receiving SMS does not guarantee that a bank or government platform accepts the add-on for identity matching. Confirm with the intended service. Before cancellation or porting, update important bindings and ask whether the Mainland number can be retained rather than assuming portability from the Hong Kong main line.
Support for newer documents and non-Chinese applicants requires the operator's current written confirmation. Use OFCA's provider contact list to reach official registration support and retain a current personalised quotation and answers. An older promotional document is not a promise of the service available to you today.
A practical example
An owner of a Mainland Mobile number checks linking eligibility and adds the original number's charges to the Hong Kong plan. Someone without a Mainland number instead confirms new add-on registration. Neither signs solely from the same old promotion screenshot.
Choose the service for the actual number need and verify identity, functions and total charges in a current quotation.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.