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Now Plusnet have turned off, I need to switch providers. They were piggybacking EE but the EE SIM only deals don't look too appealing.
Have previously been on 3 but their coverage always felt a bit flaky.
Want SIM only, no 24 month contracts please, decent amount of data. Not overly fussed about 5G but it would be nice.
My Plusnet deal was 18 quid a month for unlimited calls/text and 52GB of data.
Thinking GiffGaff or Vodafone. Any reason to avoid those?
So what does STW recommend?
I'm on BT Mobile, was the cheapest, 8GB Sim only 5G, unlimited calls and texts, uses EE network, free roaming. £16.99 per month. Think it may have been 24 month, but pretty sure they've got shorter too. Not sure why you wouldn't want a 24 month contract if it's a good price.
Only issue is it doesn't have visual voicemail, if that's a deal breaker for you?
I'm on Voxi. Its on Vodafone, so much so that some comms come through calling me a "Vodafone customer".
I was on Three/Smarty before and generally I think the service is better but YMMV based on location.
I like the no nonsense options offered. It's easy to switch or add roaming etc.
I’ve moved from 3 to Asda mobile, who piggy back Vodafone.
How much data do you actually use? There's little point in paying for a 52GB allowance if you only use 5.
If reception is your concern, there are only four carriers in the UK (and you've named three of them in the OP). Everyone else is a reseller of one of those four, there's a list on Wikipedia. Personally I've always found Voda to be the worst locally, people in other parts of the country may say the opposite.
I'm with Smarty on something like 60GB/month for £10 on a rolling 1-month contract. They're either 3 or EE, I forget which, 3 I think. There is a referral scheme which nets ten quid for both parties, it's against STW's rules to post referral codes so whatever you do don't PM me if you're interested.
The kids are on Smarty and it seems like good value and we've never had a problem.
It looks like £12 gets you 125GB data, £8 gets you 15GB so pretty cost effective.
WiFi calling and roaming seem pretty good too.
BT Mobile, was the cheapest, 8GB Sim only 5G, unlimited calls and texts, uses EE network, free roaming. £16.99 per month. Think it may have been 24 month, but pretty sure they’ve got shorter too. Not sure why you wouldn’t want a 24 month contract if it’s a good price.
That's a terrible price and you're locked in for two years.
TBH I rarely hit 50GB, but when we're away in the van a few times a year I can get close pretty quickly with streaming, etc. Would rather pay a little more each month for more data than hit the limit and pay through the nose before I get chance to buy an add-on as sometimes happens.
No real reason for not wanting a 24 month contract other than not liking the tied down feeling...
I know everyone's a piggyback on one of the four, and have at one time or another been a customer of all of them apart from O2, just wondered what the current opinions were.
If it helps I'm in the East Midlands, but travel all over the UK for bikes and holidays. Lakes and Scotland most often ATM.
I just literally moved yesterday from EE to Tesco. I know you said you didn't want a 24 month contract but I've just got an unlimited text and minutes and 100gb data fixed for 24 months at £16 if you have a club card.
TBH I rarely hit 50GB, but when we’re away in the van a few times a year I can get close pretty quickly with streaming, etc. Would rather pay a little more each month for more data than hit the limit and pay through the nose before I get chance to buy an add-on as sometimes happens.
No real reason for not wanting a 24 month contract other than not liking the tied down feeling…
125GB, £12/month, unlimited voice/text (isn't everyone these days?), EU roaming, tethering, Wi-Fi calling, 5G.
https://smarty.co.uk/plans/100gb-calls-and-data
I’ve just got an unlimited text and minutes and 100gb data fixed for 24 months at £16 if you have a club card.
Do you have a cooling-off cancellation period? 😁
1p mobile...
They piggy back EE and have full EE coverage, band support, WiFi calling etc...
25gb for £10 a month.
I’m on BT Mobile, was the cheapest, 8GB Sim only 5G, unlimited calls and texts, uses EE network, free roaming. £16.99 per month. Think it may have been 24 month, but pretty sure they’ve got shorter too. Not sure why you wouldn’t want a 24 month contract if it’s a good price.
Only issue is it doesn’t have visual voicemail, if that’s a deal breaker for you?
That's dreadful I'm afraid, and the 16quid goes up by CPI +3.9% every April.
I’m with three and have been for a long time. Signal was ropey way back when but is fine now, in truth, all the major networks are fine.
Ignore the network and just get the best deal, that’s what I’d do anyway.
I switched to 1pmobile from plusnet a few months ago and it's been fine (definite upgrade from plusnet due to the 5G access etc). Good deals too as cp has mentioned!
I was with Three for years, switched to O2 for the last year and the service was shocking - regularly at work I’d have a full signal but no internet working due to “a problem with one of our masts”.
Coverage elsewhere was pretty sketchy too.
I was tied in to 12 months but have just left to ID Mobile so back to Three and everything is well again.
150GB for £10/month. Includes roaming & data rolls over.
I switched from Plusnet to Lebara (Vodafone network) as it was the best data roaming offer of the value networks. I think it's cheaper if you sign up through a comparison website than directly.
You can check mobile coverage here: https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage
Who's your broadband with - there are often deals if you take both together,
Vodafone - £10 mo / 40GB of data (but I only use 8GB)
I have Smarty, Voxi and Lycamobile plans on various devices.
If EE works for you then the Lycamobile unlimited deal (fair use of 400 gb IIRC) might work for you.
https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/bundle/go-unlimited/
I'm on Talkmobile. 12 month contract. Unlimited minutes and texts 100gb data. Vodafone owned and network.
£8.99 a month.
Thanks all. Smarty SIM incoming. Seemed to tick all the boxes.
Smarty is on the Three network.
Smarty for all the reasons already highlighted above
They were the best from my research and have a Which? Recommended provider
Furthermore, you can try them for a month and if coverage is not adequate for you, simply cancel
Simple pricing, no complex long term contracts, what’s not to like?
oldtennisshoes
Smarty is on the Three network.
Yeah. I was last on Three about 3 years ago and some of my weak signals may have been down to a compact phone with a poor antenna. Other than that I was always happy with their service.
Definitely willing to take a punt on a month's service with Smarty to see how things are.
Network is still a factor depending on where you live. Zero three signal where I live and suspect never will be. EE have taken over from Voda as provider of choice in rural areas and are the network Scottish emergency services use. If going remote places is a thing for you, it's worth taking into account.
I moved from Plusnet to O2 and while I got a good Black Friday deal the coverage is noticeably worse than I had on Plusnet/EE. I'm in the West Midlands and I'm surprised how often I don't have any signal. Same for motorway travel.
Looking for a new Sim for kids - Lebara looked like the best bet via Uswitch rather than direct - 15Gb plus unlimited texts/minutes for the same as no. 1 is on for 12Gb via Talkmobile.
We’re on O2 for reasons of work coverage. If you’ve got multiple O2 contracts in the same household you get a discount.
Never saw the need for massive data allowances but then a) not running my work email on a personal phone and b) don’t stream much video, and stream even less away from WiFi.
I moved from Plusnet at the end of last year to iD Mobile SIM only (partly on recommendation from here). Seamless transfer, great communications. Includes Webcall which Plusnet didn't offer, very good for me as 4G around here isn't the best. Also very competitive though I am not a big data user.
ID Mobile. Cheap as chips. £8 for 35gb or something or nothing. Inc int. roaming and rollover. Brilliant app too.