Sim Only plans - what do you guys think?

General Chat
21

Like most have said here, Three’s SIM-only plan is pretty unbeatable on price. I’m intrigued myself as to how you get 30GB for £16. Pure luck on the timing when they’re doing a promo deal? Speed is not the best, but never too slow like everyone said. I guess you get what you paid for!

Are you under 25? If you are, then it looks like VOXI have some pretty fab deals going, especially if your main internet usage is on the major social media. They’re pretty new as well and I believe they are powered by Vodafone’s network behind the scene. I’m tempted to give them a try myself after my current contract runs out with Three.

22

I’d suggest getting a PAYGO SIM for a while and see how it goes. You can make your own mind up whether the lack of speed is an issue for you.

Another thing about 3 is that there’s free roaming in many countries outside the EU. Check the tethering, though, if it’s important, as they only allowed it in the EU when the new regulations came in and I’m not sure if they allow tethering outside EU.

And there’s no 4g outside the UK.

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23

I mean, I get unlimited data for £18 with Three… but I did sign up in 2014! :man_shrugging:t2:

24

Oh I see, do you get the keep the price you had in 2014 without asking for a contract renewal?! :open_mouth:

25

Yep. So it’s just been on a rolling 30 day contract since my initial 12 months ended in 2015 :raised_hands:t3:

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26

Also, their data plans are as cheap as it gets! :raised_hands:

27

It was a student offer they were doing a couple of months ago - before that, I’d had a similar sim only (600 mins, unlimited texts and 30GB) that was a deal they were offering a couple of years ago.

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28

I believe they now have to offer roaming within the EU for no extra cost (at least until we leave anyway). So I wouldn’t worry about that.

If you want all the bells and whistles - 4G calling, WiFi calling, HD voice on 3G, highest speed 4G, etc, etc - then you’ll need to go with one of the four main networks who actually own their own infrastructure.

If you’re not bothered about all the extra stuff and don’t mind a basic calls, texts and data service you’ll probably get a better deal from one of the virtual networks like Giff Gaff, ID, Virgin Mobile…

I’ve been on Three, EE and Vodafone in the last few years. For me, where I live (south coast), Vodafone has been by far the best for coverage and 4G speeds. I get 140Meg speeds on a regular basis on speed tests.

I found EE was good, with pretty similar (maybe a slightly stronger signal in terms of ‘bars’ in some places - which is mostly meaningless) coverage to Vodafone but their plans were really over priced.

Three was alright, but a phone with their firmware on it so you can access their 4G calling is pretty vital to get anywhere near as good a signal as you’d get with Vodafone or EE.

Was on O2 too, years ago. At the time it was a bit crap and they were really slow to roll out new technologies.

(I’m currently on Vodafone SIM only. Unlimited calls and texts and 50GB data for £30 a month)

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29

That 30GB for £16 plan on 3 is just their standard student offer, you need an ac.uk email address to sign up for it on their website.

Their coverage I’ve found because it’s at a minimum 3G only it’s usable in far more places than when I was with Vodafone. If you’re in a city with on any network though I’m sure your signal and speed will be fine/usable.

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31

You can use Giffgaff in the EU

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32

I also vote Giffgaff for the win

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33

Is the deal still active? I’ll have to look into that soon!

34

I abandoned three even though they were significantly cheaper because:

  • poor coverage at home even though the checker said it should be great
  • they only give 3G roaming

I had a voda sim in my work phone, an O2 SIM, a BT (EE) SIM and a 3 SIM. I set up a spreadsheet and went from room to room in the house, walked around my work and took them abroad to my common roaming destinations, recording signal strength multiple times for each.

For me, BT (EE) and three sucked. Voda and O2 were neck a neck and both gave 4G roaming. As I had voda on my work phone I decided to go with O2 for redundancy.

After 3 months, O2 is ok, but in use it is worse than vodafone.

(Oh and three offered me 100G data for £20 a month to stay - if they had a half decent network and proper roaming I would have!)

35

I think I’ve been with all of the major networks over the past few years, I chop and change quite a bit.

I was with Vodafone for a number of years - I found I always had signal, although it would often consist of quite a bit of 2G which wasn’t great in some areas. Cities were fine, 4G speeds were always good when I had it. Their WiFi Calling doesn’t support SMS which is a bit of an annoyance as it’s designed to do that and when you’re getting a code texted through or something with no signal the experience isn’t great. Their 4G roaming was excellent but the price they charge for it around the world (not EU) is ridiculous - £6 a day.

BT & EE 4G speeds were excellent. Signal was great. They were expensive and didnt support things I used occasionally like call conferencing and at the time 4G Calls could not be handed off to 3G which was a bit of an issue.

O2 I just found the speeds to be really slow and 4G coverage to be poor.

Three seemed to have the right balance, the speeds weren’t great on tests but are always usable and have never proven an issue. 4G Calls hand off correctly to WiFi and 3G vice versa correctly, it supports SMS over WiFi / 4G, all call features such as holding and conferencing and roaming in the places I go to around the world works fine. The others are right that they dont do 4G roaming though, only 2G and 3G.

Plus I pay £8 for unlimited everything and I’ve been with them around 5 months so I can’t exactly move anywhere else now

36

Well guys thanks very much for all the replies that is bloody useful !

Yet again Monzo (and the community) is blowing my mind!

Have a lovely sunny day peeps!

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37

I’m currently with 3 and have been for a number of years, I agree with some of the posts above, they may not be as fast on a speed test as EE but you don’t notice that when using the service. In some instances where I live it’s actually faster.
Currently pay £13 for unlimited mins, texts and 8gb of data. Looking to up that to 12GB and hoping to pay the same per month, we shall see what deal I get offered though.
Never have any signal issues here in Wales.

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38

You need to call Three to get more data for the money you’re paying. Also, there is 4G.
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@Jackcrwhitney the extra £1 a month for the extra data will be worth it

39

I’m on Smarty because my data usage when not on wifi varies massively, so i went for their 8GB/£15 plan, but I’ve never paid that much because of their discount policy. I don’t have to worry about how much I use now :slight_smile:

40

4G when roaming? I’ve never managed to get 4G in Europe when roaming with 3. Even in areas where I used to get 4G with EE.

41

I just called them they said sorry it’s £2 more a month. I said I’m looking on your website it’s £1 more. So I didn’t bother :joy:

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