closing tag is in template navbar
timefactors watches



TZ-UK Fundraiser
Results 1 to 37 of 37

Thread: Best SIM only contracts?

  1. #1
    Master Rocket Man's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    2,695

    Best SIM only contracts?

    Hi, can anyone recommend a good SIM only contract deal? Thanks!

  2. #2
    USWITCH seems to have the best deals to be honest.

    I got an o2 5G Sim for £6/month.

    You can also get automatic cashback through quidco.

    (This is my referral link if you're not already registered with them: https://www.quidco.com/raf/60652/ )

    Is your device 5G Ready?
    Last edited by GMTMaster; 4th October 2021 at 14:40.

  3. #3
    Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,246
    Depends what you need. With three dropping European and international roaming inclusive of the deal 02 look like the best bet. If that’s not important they all seem to offer pretty good sim only deals.

  4. #4
    Master Maysie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Middle of Nowhere (UK)
    Posts
    2,555
    It depends what you mean by 'good'.

    Three/Smarty usually offer very good value, but their customer service was utterly SHOCKING when there was a problem, so I would rather pay a bit extra and now stick with EE, who has (so far) been great by comparison, but they are not usually the cheapest.

  5. #5
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Surrey
    Posts
    994
    EE gave me a 160gb per month sim for £14 today, with a discount. Happy with that

  6. #6
    Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Northern Ireland
    Posts
    1,198
    Just switched to Plusnet.

    Unlimited texts and minutes, Euro roaming and 10gb data for 7 quid a month.

    Uses the EE network too

  7. #7
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Co. Durham
    Posts
    10,239
    Lebara Is ok. I've just moved from the £6 GiffGaff (only 500mgbts) to Lebara £5 (2gbts) they use the Vodaphone network.
    Old number ported next day.
    Pleased so far 😁

  8. #8
    Grand Master Griswold's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Yorkshire, England
    Posts
    20,093
    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    Lebara Is ok. I've just moved from the £6 GiffGaff (only 500mgbts) to Lebara £5 (2gbts) they use the Vodaphone network.
    Old number ported next day.
    Pleased so far 
    Lynn moved from BT Mobile to Lebara several months ago. Everything went very smoothly and she's very happy with it. They were offering the best VFM at the time she switched.
    Best Regards - Peter

    I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.

  9. #9
    I’m pro Sky mobile
    Awesome prices
    Rollover data that can be farmed out to other sims
    Great customer service

    02 network so great coverage
    Think I pay £6 for 10gb
    £3 for 1gb for mum

    All unlimited calls and texts


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    I've got my Daughter on GiffGaff, it's cheap and no contract. All the other big providers want to tie you in to a 12-48 month agreement.

  11. #11
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    pride of the north
    Posts
    961
    Quote Originally Posted by jimyu View Post
    EE gave me a 160gb per month sim for £14 today, with a discount. Happy with that
    Same good deal for me on extra line

  12. #12
    Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Chelmsford, Essex
    Posts
    1,168
    Im with VOXI which is part of Vodafone. Ive been happy with them and they have a good deal at £10 for calls, texts and 15GB on a rolling monthly contract. Many of the popular social media apps are unlimited don't count towards your data allowance.
    If interested i can send a referral code to get us both a £10 Amazon voucher if you join.

    Customer service is via online chat but I've found them helpful when needed.

  13. #13
    Just got the wife 100gb, unlimited mins&texts for £10

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Brighty View Post
    Just got the wife 100gb, unlimited mins&texts for £10
    On?

  15. #15
    Giff gaff £15 a month 25gb data unlimited text and calls no contract just set up on direct debit

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  16. #16
    BT if you have other packages with them are the best, i think i pay £6 a month for unlimited calls and text plus 2GB data.

  17. #17
    Craftsman enndriz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    Newcastle UK
    Posts
    519
    Am using smarty for the kids, it’s cheap (£7 for 8GB), dead easy to manage limits and buy add ons through the app/web. No complaints so far.

    The brief dalliance I had with ID mobile was a different story, and I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy

  18. #18
    Master Frankie169's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,068
    Blog Entries
    1
    Been with Giffgaff for years, great deals and no contracts

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Chicken Pox View Post
    On?
    Good point, Vodafone, 18month contract, think it's an existing customer deal cos we have our internet SIM with them, we've both been with O2 for years on 2 yearly contracts with phones, but our last phones were so bad we bought new ones a few months back, so switching to SIM only as soon as we're out of contract, which is this week for the wife and Dec for me
    Last edited by Brighty; 4th October 2021 at 18:14.

  20. #20
    Grand Master Andyg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Wiltshire
    Posts
    24,924
    I use Voxi. £10/month, free calls and texts, 15GB of data (which I struggle to use) plus infinite use of social media sites like FB and IG (which I also rarely use) - all powered by Vodafone.

    Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
    Friedrich Nietzsche


  21. #21
    Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Berkshire
    Posts
    9,149
    I am on O2 and just coming to the end of contract, originally purchased for a commute that doesn't happen & don't require 20gb for 1 day a week in the office.

    Wife is on Sky, which whilst uses O2 network, she swears she gets a better signal on my phone vs hers, both with wifi calling on as we live in some form of nuclear bunker it appears.

    Is this her imagination, or has anyone else experienced similar difference?

  22. #22
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    West Midlands
    Posts
    571
    Quote Originally Posted by Mj2k View Post
    I am on O2 and just coming to the end of contract, originally purchased for a commute that doesn't happen & don't require 20gb for 1 day a week in the office.

    Wife is on Sky, which whilst uses O2 network, she swears she gets a better signal on my phone vs hers, both with wifi calling on as we live in some form of nuclear bunker it appears.

    Is this her imagination, or has anyone else experienced similar difference?
    Swap the SIM cards over into each others phones then see if things change.

  23. #23
    Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    2,962
    Blog Entries
    1
    I’ve been on giffaff for a long time and all positive

  24. #24
    Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Berkshire
    Posts
    9,149
    Quote Originally Posted by Nigel306 View Post
    Swap the SIM cards over into each others phones then see if things change.
    Wow, I cannot believe I did not think of that, so obvious!!

    Thanks for a moment of utter clarity, clearly a long week already.

  25. #25
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    14,533
    Getting decent coverage is always tricky.

    One network might give great coverage in one place and another in a different one.

    My ASUS phone accepts two SIMs and I've just bought a GiffGaff (uses O2's network) PAYG sim to see if it give better (any!) coverage at my mother's house as I fear I may be spending more time there in future.

    I have an ID SIM at the moment (8GB a month for £7, works for me most places) and they use the EE network.

    M
    Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?

  26. #26
    Grand Master GraniteQuarry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Aberdeen, UK
    Posts
    27,868
    The key to a good deal is form a relationship, and then moan about the rates!

    I was with Orange for over 15 years then switched to Three about five years ago as they were offering way better pricing - the current deal I have is a rolling (12 months already passed) contract for unlimited everything for just £13.

  27. #27
    Master
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Sheffield, UK
    Posts
    1,077
    +1 for Sky mobile. My wife and kids are on it so can share data and rollover any that is unused. Came into its own on a 2 week camping trip where data usage that month was 10 times what it normally would be and they could use all the banked data from previous months. Signal and coverage appear to be great too.

    I'm currently on Vodafone with 5gb per month which is normally more than enough but every now and then I need a bit more but it goes through me paying extra when I've not used all of the previous month's allowances.

    I'll definitely be joining my family on Sky when my contract is up.

  28. #28
    Master Christian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    London
    Posts
    9,876
    Definitely use the comparison websites rather than going to the networks own websites. I've found a lot of deals appear in the comparison sites but not in the networks online stores.

    https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mo...nly-contracts/

  29. #29
    Grand Master Seamaster73's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    55°N
    Posts
    16,139
    Quote Originally Posted by xellos99 View Post
    BT if you have other packages with them are the best, i think i pay £6 a month for unlimited calls and text plus 2GB data.
    +1 for BT Mobile.

    I currently get unlimited calls and texts plus 100GB data for £20. And it’s not one of these pikey-come-lately networks like Three. It’s EE — I’ve tried all the others over the years and none of them are as good in the places I find myself. Tried Smarty recently — dismal.

  30. #30
    Master jukeboxs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    5,448
    Quote Originally Posted by Seamaster73 View Post
    ...
    I currently get unlimited calls and texts plus 100GB data for £20. And it’s not one of these pikey-come-lately networks like Three. It’s EE — I’ve tried all the others over the years and none of them are as good in the places I find myself. Tried Smarty recently — dismal.
    FYI - you get the same on Tesco (O2) for £14 (with further discounts if you have more than 1 Sim on the account).

  31. #31
    I agree with Sky being superb value for money, especially if you have multiple lines on the same account. But the only thing that matters is having usable service, so work out the best network option in the areas you need it most, and then look for deals. I’ve made the mistake of chasing a bargain and it being bad value as I couldn’t use it, it’s not much fun.

  32. #32
    Master Christian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    London
    Posts
    9,876
    As an example of not writing off networks based on what others say...I decided to test Three where I live by buying a PAYG sim as I am reaching the end of my current contract with Vodafone and wanted to test other networks.

    Vodafone - 4G. Download 27.5Mbps Ping 37ms
    Three - 5G. Download 486Mbps Ping 21ms

    Where I live, Three is quicker than my Virgin fibre broadband.

    I plan on using Three data for the month to see if the other places I go to are suitable then might switch.

  33. #33
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    527
    Mine isnt the cheapest but i've just switched from three where i was paying £23 all in...but the coverage at the places i use it most was shocking. Decided to go with EE's top tariff where you get 3 'benefits'. It should be £41 (reduced to £32 with work discount) and that includes BT sport, apple music and apple TV+. All of which i paid separate subscriptions for

  34. #34
    Grand Master Seamaster73's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    55°N
    Posts
    16,139
    Quote Originally Posted by Christian View Post
    As an example of not writing off networks based on what others say...I decided to test Three where I live by buying a PAYG sim as I am reaching the end of my current contract with Vodafone and wanted to test other networks.

    Vodafone - 4G. Download 27.5Mbps Ping 37ms
    Three - 5G. Download 486Mbps Ping 21ms

    Where I live, Three is quicker than my Virgin fibre broadband.

    I plan on using Three data for the month to see if the other places I go to are suitable then might switch.
    The problem with Three is they’re not consistent. You can get that one day, the next - in the same location - nowt. They really seem to struggle with contention in urban areas. In my experience at any rate. I gave them a fair crack of the whip for a month or so, but had to can them.

  35. #35
    I'm with EE and I have there 5G Sim only 24 month plan, 160GB data, unlimited texts, unlimited calls in the UK all of which can be used abroad in the EU which costs me £20 per month.

    I use a minute fraction of the above.

  36. #36
    Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Berkshire
    Posts
    9,149
    Bit the bullet & moving to Sky.

    £7 reduced to £5 for 3gb for 12 months.

    Given I’m only in the office 1 day a week am sure I don’t need more.

  37. #37
    Master Maysie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Middle of Nowhere (UK)
    Posts
    2,555
    Quote Originally Posted by Christian View Post
    As an example of not writing off networks based on what others say...I decided to test Three where I live by buying a PAYG sim as I am reaching the end of my current contract with Vodafone and wanted to test other networks.

    Vodafone - 4G. Download 27.5Mbps Ping 37ms
    Three - 5G. Download 486Mbps Ping 21ms

    Where I live, Three is quicker than my Virgin fibre broadband.

    I plan on using Three data for the month to see if the other places I go to are suitable then might switch.
    I used to use Three for my 4G home broadband and did so successfully for about 14 months, then the speeds fell off a cliff and it became so slow it was unusable, often for weeks on end. When trying to resolve the issues with Three, they just messed me around for a weeks and when I forced the issue they finally told me that my speeds were fine, despite dropping from 90mbps to 3mbps. So I immediately canned them and moved back to EE. Their customer service when thing went wrong was atrocious - which is why they are cheap I guess.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Do Not Sell My Personal Information