Replacing a Tecno or an iPhone feels like it should replace your ECG life. Units do not live in the phone. Tokens already entered live on the meter. What does live in PowerApp — login, saved meters, transaction history, in-app wallet — may follow the phone number, not the IMEI, once you complete OTP on the new device.
The messy cases are: you also changed the number; you cannot receive OTP on the old SIM; you expect the wallet to appear as MoMo; you buy twice because the new install looks empty. This blog does not migrate accounts and does not process payments. Official help is 0302 611 611. Official USSD is *226#. Everyday backup while the new phone argues with login is *714*22#.
What you should expect after a same-number swap
Install PowerApp from Play Store or App Store only. Log in with the old Ghana number. Receive OTP, or read it on *713*414# if the SMS is shy. Saved meters often reappear from the server. History often reappears. The wallet, if you had a refund, should reappear because it is an account balance, not a file in /Downloads.
If the list is empty, wait on data, pull to refresh, then add the prepaid meter from the plate rather than from memory. Confirm the name. Do not assume emptiness means ECG reset you. It may mean the fetch failed.
Local screenshots do not move unless you backed up the gallery. Copy the old phone’s ECG album before you wipe it, if you still can.
What never moves
Units on the LCD. A token you already typed. A token sitting only in an SMS on the old handset — unless you still have that SIM or a backup. MoMo float (that is the telco, and it follows the wallet number, which is usually the SIM you insert).
If the old phone is dead and the token SMS was only there, check MoMo date/amount and call ECG with the reference. Do not repurchase because the new Messages app is quiet. The vend may still be retrievable.
When you also changed the number
This is a new PowerApp identity unless ECG offers an in-app change-of-number that you complete while you still control the old SIM. Do that in daylight, both SIMs on the table. If the old number is gone (recycled, lost, donated), the in-app wallet can become a ghost. That is a call-centre job with ID, not a second signup that “should see the same wallet.”
A second signup will not show the first signup’s refund. It will show a clean, depressing zero. People then buy from MoMo, which is fine, and they also keep poking the ghost, which is not.
USSD does not care. *714*22# from the new MoMo SIM vends the old meter if the plate number is the same. The meter never stored your IMEI.
Wallet versus MoMo on a new device
PowerApp wallet ≠ the MoMo app you just installed. Logging into MTN MoMo on the new phone does not list ECG refund tiles. Do not withdraw from the wrong app. Do not send the wallet to yourself as a “test.”
If withdrawal exists in your PowerApp build, it will be fussy about the number matching. Finish OTP first. If withdrawal hangs, spend the wallet on the correct prepaid meter instead. If you cannot log in, spend MoMo on USSD and chase the wallet later.
Sequence that avoids double-pay
- Insert the SIM that owns PowerApp and, if possible, MoMo.
- Try official app login once, plus *713*414# if needed.
- If in, look at wallet and history before Buy Credit.
- If a pending or recent success exists, enter that token, do not buy.
- If login fails and the LCD is empty, USSD once. ewalepay.com if you have data and prefer a browser.
- Wipe the old phone only after you have screenshots.
Changing phones plus changing “I will try every channel” is the disaster pairing. Pick one purchase path.
iOS to Android or the reverse
The account is the number, not the Apple or Google identity. You still need the SIM. App Store versus Play Store is just how the binary arrives. Permissions will be asked again. NFC transfer payloads might be fussier across ecosystems — if you have a card meter mid-write, finish on the old phone if it still breathes.
Recycled numbers and the next owner
Ghana numbers get recycled. If you abandoned a PowerApp login on a number you no longer control, treat that login as hostile. The next owner of the number can request OTP. They may see your saved meters and a leftover wallet. Remove meters and spend or withdraw wallet before you give up a number, if you still can. If you cannot, call 0302 611 611 and say the number left you.
The new phone with a brand-new number is a new customer as far as the app is concerned. Your plates did not move. USSD still knows them. Do not wait on a migration that nobody promised.
FAQ
Should I keep the old phone until I see the wallet?
If the wallet matters, yes. A week of a second-hand phone as an OTP token generator is cheaper than abandoning a refund.
The new phone’s Play Store cannot download PowerApp.
Then it cannot open the wallet tonight. *714*22#. Install later.
A repairer logged into my PowerApp to “test.”
Change your relationship with that repairer. Watch Transactions. Call ECG if you see vends you did not make. Change MoMo PIN. Login is a key.
Do saved meters include my sister’s?
If you added them, yes, they may reappear. Remove what is not yours so the new phone does not make old mistakes faster.
A new phone is a new glass tile. The meter is the same metal. Move the SIM, not the panic. Confirm the name. Spend a visible wallet or a visible MoMo, not both for the same darkness.