Best Sim-only Deals guide Discussion

Dave_The_Rave_2

Suggestion, would be good if the guide showed which providers offered WiFi Calling and 5G option.  Thanks

brookhouse

Dave_The_Rave_2 said:

Suggestion, would be good if the guide showed which providers offered WiFi Calling and 5G option.  Thanks

This site is my favourite for seeing what is offered by each provider...

https://www.4g.co.uk/coverage/

LittleGreyCatUK

I've just posted a separate thread before finding this one.

The Plusnet 12 month deal with cash back doesn't seem to show on the Plusnet site at the moment.
Plusnet are only showing a monthly rolling deal.
Has a deal just finished, or can I just not find it?

oldagetraveller1

I'll throw this one into the mix.

1p Mobile (EE MVNO),One Year Talker s.i.m.. Yes, it's £36 upfront which by my arithmetic results in £3/month. Unlimited minutes, unlimited texts. However, there's only 250mb/month added, therefore not ideal if more mobile data is required.

Malc101

I have an iPhone 12pro max.  My wife an iPhone11 pro max.  Both phones worked in the EU last summer using O2 network.  This year we travelled (camper van for 74 days) in the EU with Lebara sims blagged by MSE.

In summary:

both phones always had Edge (limited to email only - no internet).

NL and Germany no probs.

CZ both only Edge - nowhere any 3G or 4G.

France (we visited three times) wife's phone ok, mine intermittent - after being there for three weeks I got welcome to France message and had 3G for a few days.  Tried swapping sims but same problem.

Italy and Spain - wife's ok in some areas mine not at all.

Austria both ok

It seems there is problem with iPhone 12 and 13 models with Vodafone (and other networks - much on internet re this).

My research revealed that Lebara only ever used the Vodafone network. I installed eSims on my devices to access internet and they worked fine by using best available network.

I contacted Apple who ran tests on my phone and found no problems - they claimed no knowledge of the many similar problems documented on internet.

I contacted Lebara several times and they said they would fix it and ring back within the hour - I'm still waiting for their return calls.

stuart_b

Tried to use the Plusnet offer.  Did just my 'phone first.  Supplied PAC and as I'm a Plusnet broadband customer, got 14GB per month rather than 12GB.  Order confirmed, but then next day get an email that the port of my number has failed (I've not even received the SIM yet). The email quoted a completely different mobile number (perhaps the default Plusnet one).  Problem may be Plusnet or may be giffgaff? 

Unfortunately can't get through on Plusnet phone lines to sort out. Lots of messages of course saying to go online instead and that they are "busier than usual".  If you're going to run a promotion on say MSE, one might think it an idea to make sure you have some extra staff on hand.  As their annoyingly overfamiliar generic northern bloke might say "you need to fettle your whippets mate" or something.  I'm from t'North so can get away with that.

Only option was to cancel the order....which can only be done by calling (tried that) or printing a paper form and posting it to them.  

Dr.Rock

lunarjetman said:

A warning about the Plusnet mobile deal being promoted by MoneySavingExpert at the moment. If you want to keep the number from your old mobile network you are likely to run into problems. Plusnet are currently cutting off people from their old numbers but taking excessive amounts of time to compete the transfer process. (Many people are cut off for 10 days and counting, with no sign of progress).

So people are effectively "losing" their old telephone numbers by joining Plusnet. You can read all about it on the public forums at Plusnet (google: 'plunet mobile number port').

That's the least of the problems with Plusnet. Terrible intermittent service, non-existent customer service, disappearing voicemail and a useless app are just some of the things you will have to look forward to.

Bauhaus1000

I've just moved a couple of mobiles across from BT to Plusnet and the transfer process was quite painless. However, two problems immediately became apparent.

- Although BT and Plusnet are part of the same overall company, for some reason, PN's coverage in our area is far poorer than BTs. Not sure if this is deliberate throttling by BT to make PN less attractive.

- PN can't reply or send to text messages from "short code" phone numbers which are increasingly being used by public and quasi-public bodies e.g. the BBC.

Luckily, I only signed up for a one month rolling contract so will be switching to another provider once this month's credit is ended.

brookhouse

Bauhaus1000 said:

I've just moved a couple of mobiles across from BT to Plusnet and the transfer process was quite painless. However, two problems immediately became apparent.

- Although BT and Plusnet are part of the same overall company, for some reason, PN's coverage in our area is far poorer than BTs. Not sure if this is deliberate throttling by BT to make PN less attractive.

- PN can't reply or send to text messages from "short code" phone numbers which are increasingly being used by public and quasi-public bodies e.g. the BBC.

Luckily, I only signed up for a one month rolling contract so will be switching to another provider once this month's credit is ended.

My current favourite for features (WiFi calling, VoLTE, 5G, and EU roaming) are Smarty and Lebara. Voxi good if roaming not needed or you're happy to pay for a pass when needed. Of course, all depends on whether the signal is OK, but WiFi calling helps.

Bauhaus1000

brookhouse said:

Bauhaus1000 said:

I've just moved a couple of mobiles across from BT to Plusnet and the transfer process was quite painless. However, two problems immediately became apparent.

- Although BT and Plusnet are part of the same overall company, for some reason, PN's coverage in our area is far poorer than BTs. Not sure if this is deliberate throttling by BT to make PN less attractive.

- PN can't reply or send to text messages from "short code" phone numbers which are increasingly being used by public and quasi-public bodies e.g. the BBC.

Luckily, I only signed up for a one month rolling contract so will be switching to another provider once this month's credit is ended.

My current favourite for features (WiFi calling, VoLTE, 5G, and EU roaming) are Smarty and Lebara. Voxi good if roaming not needed or you're happy to pay for a pass when needed. Of course, all depends on whether the signal is OK, but WiFi calling helps.

From a brief trawl, neither Smarty nor Lebara support sending texts to "short codes". It would be really useful if this was an option to filter when selecting a new sim only mobile provider. I know that a company I used to work for used a short format code to allow staff to book on and book off their shifts via text, so it can be a fairly important facility to have.