Going SIM only for the first time

[dionbee93]

Current 24mo Phone Contract comes to an end next week and i'm due to 'upgrade' If I'm honest I can't see any of the £50+ a month phones doing much more than what my Samsung S10 does.

Decided to go SIM only this time around. Having not looked around (currently with EE) - can anyone recommend a good SIM only deal to go for? ideally wanting unltd. calls and texts with around 60gb of internet.

Most come to around £20 a month from what I can see.

Am I missing something Obvious?

[mcflurry]

smarty offer 50gb for £15 or unlimited for £20. Uses the 3 Network.

Mod edit. No referral links please

[megaphone]

I get unlimited and 20GB data from EE for £7/m on a 12 month contract. I went into a shop and they did me a 'deal'

[HappyMidget]

I pay about 25 quid for unlimited on EE. The wife's is about £20 for 60GB, again on EE.

[Saleen836]

3 have unlimited texts/talktime & data for £16 a month sim only...

[dionbee93]

Thanks all - funnily enough I was just looking at three they do an 'unlimited everything' for £10 a month (first 6 months) and £20 a month for the other 18 which seems ok.

£17.50 a month seems ok really over 2 years.

Currently paying £52 so would be a huge difference!

[megaphone]

Check 3 will work where you want it to.

[LuS1fer]

I went from GiffGaff to Smarty and couldn't get a signal inside the house. It was terrible so back to GiffGaff I went. The number retention at GiffGaff was also instant where Smarty took several days.

Giffgaff do a £20 goodybag with 80Gb if it helps. No tie-in and you can change your goodybag as and when.

Edited by LuS1fer on Friday 7th May 13:07

[Jamescrs]

I've been on GiffGaff for over 12 months now and it's great, I wouldn't go back to £50 a month plus contracts now, the way forward for me is sim only and buy a handset when it breaks.

[Cybertronian]

I've just this week requested my PAC code from EE, as I want 5G but their SIM only 5G plans are pretty poor.

Received a call from EE retentions yesterday, where they revealed they have more flexibility to match the virtual networks like Virgin, Gifffgaff and Smarty (they also include Three in that list) but I need cellular Apple Watch connectivity, so I'm restricted to just EE, O2 and Vodafone.

Take a look at what the virtual networks are able to offer and quote specific plans when EE retentions call you up. EE's network is generally the fastest and has a pretty wide reach.

[flight147z]

I'd be wary of going with one of the piggyback networks (GiffGaff/Smarty etc.). Whilst they use the same network as the main carriers the speed is generally heavily restricted - there is a good reason they are cheaper than the main network equivalent tariffs!

You can normally get good cashback deals on SIM only, here is an example with 12GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts for £4/month on 3

Another one with unlimited everything on 3 for £7.50 a month

I always do cashback deals and I've never had any problems

[Freakuk]

I'm with GiffGaff and have been for a couple of years, the other half is with O2 so same network and it's clear that although we're on the same network she gets better data rate than I do.

It's not much of an issue as to be fair most of my browsing is done over WiFi anyways, but something to be wary off.

[Bam89]

You can probably ask your current network to move you to a sim only plan in line with what you've seen from 3. If they refuse, ask to cancel and the cancellations team will probably give you what you want.

[eps]

flight147z said:

I'd be wary of going with one of the piggyback networks (GiffGaff/Smarty etc.). Whilst they use the same network as the main carriers the speed is generally heavily restricted - there is a good reason they are cheaper than the main network equivalent tariffs!

You can normally get good cashback deals on SIM only, here is an example with 12GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts for £4/month on 3

Another one with unlimited everything on 3 for £7.50 a month

I always do cashback deals and I've never had any problems

This. Go with 1st tier provider not 2nd or 3rd... If you use your phone a lot or for incidental business use I personally don't think going 2nd or 3rd tier is a good idea especially if there are any issues. I think I'm currently on £6 per month with 6GB of data + everything else is unlimited. I'm struggling to use 6GB of data at the moment!! As everything is home based and so very little mobile data use.

There are usually deals to be had somewhere (either from the provider or Quidco, etc.). As others have indicated either make sure the coverage is as you expect it, before signing up or investigate WiFi calling if you are home based.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Ive been on GiffGaff for 8 years now - no problems at all. Previously I tried all of the major suppliers and every couple of months I had to spend ages talking to a numpty to get charges cancelled - I have never been overcharged by GiffGaff!

[PF62]

dionbee93 said:

Decided to go SIM only this time around. Having not looked around (currently with EE) - can anyone recommend a good SIM only deal to go for? ideally wanting unltd. calls and texts with around 60gb of internet.

Most come to around £20 a month from what I can see.

EE are offering 160GB for £14 on a 24 month contract if you get a PAYG sim and after 24 hours call 150 and ask what pay monthly deals they have.

As you are already with EE you could try retentions to see if they will do that now for you, or mess around getting your number onto an EE PAYG sim to do it.

[Mark-C]

I'm SIM only with O2 and paying £15 a month for 20GB of data which is rubbish compared to the deals above but fine when I signed up 10 months ago ...

However given I'm almost always at home or work with wi-fi I don't touch the sides of my data plan so I'm wondering what everyone else does with all their data! Mine mostly gets used radio listening when moving including being my DAB radio in my car.

[Glade]

How much data do you use... it might seem like good value paying £20 for unlimited - but if you only ever use 3gb why pay for more than a 5 or 8gb contract at under a tenner

[CoolHands]

How can anyone use that much data? Unless you don’t have wifi in your house

[untakenname]

Before the pandemic I was using 2gb per day, nowadays it's more like 2gb per week if that.

For sim only deals check out the cashback sites like quidco or topcashback as it can reduce the bill by quite a significant amount.