Phones and data home and abroad. (1 Viewer)

[Mr porky]

I'm sure this has been covered a lot as the providers of data and phone sims keep moving the goal posts when it comes to travelling abroad.

We currently have in my Samsung tablet a smarty unlimited sim which works very well for us to stream TV whilst in the uk but drops to 12gb when in mainland europe.
We both have a phone with RWG we use for uk and abroad and have had very little issues however now they have dropped our allowance from 200gb then to 100gb then to to 20gb a month in Europe, so its pointless staying with RWG.
We do usually end up in mainland Europe up to 3 months at time.

We use esims if travelling to Asia as it works perfect over there but Europe doesn't seem to have cost effective esims.

So do we go back to a mainstream provider or is there an independent company that works in giving decent service at home and abroad.

Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations you have.

 

[daventess]

Can you use it as a hotspot

Yes, see me post below from their support people.

 

[ChrisL]

Tesco make decisions on their roaming policy each year, those of us on an older contract can keep our roaming until we change contract, so far each year for new contracts for the last two years it's been extended for another year so up until January 2025 at the moment, come the end of the year they may or may not extend it again, technically you are limited to two months in four however myself and some others on here have managed three months with no issues, but you are expected to use it in the UK as well. The last time I was in the EU i was using around 500gb's/month with no issues.

 

[Carpmart]

These threads are so confusing.

I’ve said this time and time again, many people are posting about unlimited phone data services and not mobile data services.

If you have a good phone data service which you are not limited on and you are happy with the inevitable data shaping that happens as an ‘in roamer’ then great. If you want a proper data service, please don’t compare phone data and mobile data services. It’s not helpful.

This is the classic apples being compared with oranges and is confusing the hell out of everyone.

Use a phone data service in a phone and it works well, it knows it’s in a phone and prioritises the traffic accordingly. Start tethering and it knows and depending on the network your roaming on, your service is controlled/shaped accordingly.

Home networks saying we don’t do XYZ and you can tether etc etc is just stating THEIR policy, not necessarily the policy of the network you’re roaming on! It’s meaningless quoting what some customer service bid is saying, they simply do not know what the network you’re roaming onto at any given point will do!

So, Phone data is for phones only!

Mobile data plans are for mobile data!

Let’s please all stop confusing the two!

 

[daventess]

These threads are so confusing.

I’ve said this time and time again, many people are posting about unlimited phone data services and not mobile data services.

If you have a good phone data service which you are not limited on and you are happy with the inevitable data shaping that happens as an ‘in roamer’ then great. If you want a proper data service, please don’t compare phone data and mobile data services. It’s not helpful.

This is the classic apples being compared with oranges and is confusing the hell out of everyone.

Use a phone data service in a phone and it works well, it knows it’s in a phone and prioritises the traffic accordingly. Start tethering and it knows and depending on the network your roaming on, your service is controlled/shaped accordingly.

Home networks saying we don’t do XYZ and you can tether etc etc is just stating THEIR policy, not necessarily the policy of the network you’re roaming on! It’s meaningless quoting what some customer service bid is saying, they simply do not know what the network you’re roaming onto at any given point will do!

So, Phone data is for phones only!

Mobile data plans are for mobile data!

Let’s please all stop confusing the two!

Sorry, but I'm not sure I completely follow your distinction between phone data and mobile data, or who that's aimed at?

edit ah, I think I understand based on this post :

Starlink ordered… I feel it’s the only sensible option now..

Now that the Camino (Tiekom) service has had its day and the continued roaming data challenges, as well as crappy data service in the UK, I’ve had enough of pratting around as I just want always on, full service broadband wherever I am. So, the solution (I hope) is a Starlink Roam order was...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Am I right when you say "mobile data" you are talking about Starlink et al as opposed to EE Mobile for example?

If so, then I get your point, but I don't think anyone in the conversation was confusing the two. The context set by the question was around mobile phone data.

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[ChrisL]

If you want a proper data service, please don’t compare phone data and mobile data services. It’s not helpful.

Do most people want or need a proper data service? I would suggest the majority just want to stream some tv, read emails and surf the web, if you need to download or upload large files for work then you need a proper data service, otherwise a phone sim in your mifi device will do the job, as I mentioned earlier my Tesco mobile sim worked flawlessly in a cat6 mifi device without external antennas streaming tv in hd and and general Internet access throughout France and Spain.

 

[Mr porky]

We have a tablet that we tether our TV to with a hotspot in the uk and its unlimited. Our phones we like extra data so whilst in Europe we can tether our TV to using hotspot but not as much as we are usually out and about doing stuff.

 

[daventess]

Do most people want or need a proper data service? I would suggest the majority just want to stream some tv, read emails and surf the web, if you need to download or upload large files for work then you need a proper data service, otherwise a phone sim in your mifi device will do the job, as I mentioned earlier my Tesco mobile sim worked flawlessly in a cat6 mifi device without external antennas streaming tv in hd and and general Internet access throughout France and Spain.

Most of us would like starlink I imagine, but we mostly accept what the mobile phone networks give us. Apart from running out of data (which is what threads like this are mostly used to discuss), I don't really have much of an issue when travelling using a SIM based service.

 

[Carpmart]

Sorry, but I'm not sure I completely follow your distinction between phone data and mobile data, or who that's aimed at?

edit ah, I think I understand based on this post :

Starlink ordered… I feel it’s the only sensible option now..

Now that the Camino (Tiekom) service has had its day and the continued roaming data challenges, as well as crappy data service in the UK, I’ve had enough of pratting around as I just want always on, full service broadband wherever I am. So, the solution (I hope) is a Starlink Roam order was...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Am I right when you say "mobile data" you are talking about Starlink et al as opposed to EE Mobile for example?

If so, then I get your point, but I don't think anyone in the conversation was confusing the two. The context set by the question was around mobile phone data.

An inclusive service on your mobile phone tariff = mobile phone data service

A specific mobile data SIM = data that can be used across multiple devices.

If you roam with the former, the network or company you subscribe to cannot guarantee you a service. The host roaming network decides how they treat you! You may get good service, it may be pants… pot luck!

If you roam with the latter, it carries a different in roamer profile which equals a better service on the network you're roaming on.

Starlink has nothing to do with it!

 

[daventess]

An inclusive service on your mobile phone tariff = mobile phone data service

A specific mobile data SIM = data that can be used across multiple devices.

If you roam with the former, the network or company you subscribe to cannot guarantee you a service. The host roaming network decides how they treat you! You may get good service, it may be pants… pot luck!

If you roam with the latter, it carries a different in roamer profile which equals a better service on the network you're roaming on.

Starlink has nothing to do with it!

OK, I misunderstood you. If your SIM is voice/sms/data activated then your allocated slice of the available data pie might well be throttled more noticably.

However I don't believe a data only sim is much less of a lottery. Data is traded, arbitraged and grey-routed just like voice & SMS. If it's destined for, or originated from, a mobile network it will pass through a multitude of unknown servers. Third party companies (and individuals) with banks of sim servers in a country and a nod from a network can inject themselves into this trading wild west, and big networks will use them, knowingly or otherwise, for a percentage of their data.

Maybe they will throttle you a little less if you are not also assigned some expected voice & sms use. I think it's still a lottery and in practical terms makes negligible difference, but that's me.

Anyway, nurse is here with my pills. I still suggest no one in this thread was confused about what we were talking about

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[SEV]

I'm sure this has been covered a lot as the providers of data and phone sims keep moving the goal posts when it comes to travelling abroad.

We currently have in my Samsung tablet a smarty unlimited sim which works very well for us to stream TV whilst in the uk but drops to 12gb when in mainland europe.
We both have a phone with RWG we use for uk and abroad and have had very little issues however now they have dropped our allowance from 200gb then to 100gb then to to 20gb a month in Europe, so its pointless staying with RWG.
We do usually end up in mainland Europe up to 3 months at time.

We use esims if travelling to Asia as it works perfect over there but Europe doesn't seem to have cost effective esims.

So do we go back to a mainstream provider or is there an independent company that works in giving decent service at home and abroad.

Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations you have.

iQ may be useful. We're currently away for 3 months and I've bought a range of sims and esims (Smarty, ID, Lyca and iQ) with us to make sure all our bases are covered. Next time I'd just stick with iQ - 100gb per month.

 

[daventess]

iQ may be useful. We're currently away for 3 months and I've bought a range of sims and esims (Smarty, ID, Lyca and iQ) with us to make sure all our bases are covered. Next time I'd just stick with iQ - 100gb per month.

I'm going to do a similar thing as a very mini test - I'm going with the data only sims from IQ Go, AirHub, I already have Smarty (though their £7 for 3 days unlimited roaming addon gets expensive when you run out!).

I simply don't know how much data I use at the moment, as Smarty is unlimited in the UK (and I've not been measuring usage myself in any meaningful way) and the last time I was in France I used their bolt ons when I used up the 12G roaming allowance (yes, expensive!)

So I'm going to start with IQ to see how my 100G fares. And if I run out I'll activate my AirHub esim. Then I have Smarty to fall back on if it all goes t*ts up! I will report back in June ...

 

[Flairy]

I’m none the wiser.

 

[sarumsteve]

ID mobile sim 30gb data and unlimited calls. Can use all of allowance roaming in eu. £4 pcm.

 

[RobPullen]

I'm sure this has been covered a lot as the providers of data and phone sims keep moving the goal posts when it comes to travelling abroad.

We currently have in my Samsung tablet a smarty unlimited sim which works very well for us to stream TV whilst in the uk but drops to 12gb when in mainland europe.
We both have a phone with RWG we use for uk and abroad and have had very little issues however now they have dropped our allowance from 200gb then to 100gb then to to 20gb a month in Europe, so its pointless staying with RWG.
We do usually end up in mainland Europe up to 3 months at time.

We use esims if travelling to Asia as it works perfect over there but Europe doesn't seem to have cost effective esims.

So do we go back to a mainstream provider or is there an independent company that works in giving decent service at home and abroad.

Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations you have.

We have had the same issue, finding a reliable service for a short(ish) period of time whilst in Europe.
We have now opted for Popit Mobile since last July for a few reasons.

1: We get 100GB per month for £25 - use it briefly in the uk before travelling out and plan your start date so you get the most of your months’ allowances. We use it in our Mifi now, but it can be used in a phone in the same way. This has given faultless service over the Easter period this year (2 weeks in France - eastern side from Calais to and around the alps and back).
You can monitor your use easily through the app (best part of the app) so you know when you may be getting near your limit. We both have mobiles with additional data for hot-spotting should we run out of data on Popit before the new month starts.

2: we can pause it when back and keep the SIM active which we did after getting it last year. It is simple to reactivate the 100GB when needed and, although the website and app are surprisingly iffy, the contact email and chat are very good. They will quickly help get you up and running. This worked brilliantly at Easter, reinstated the 100GB whilst in the UK the evening before the crossing and downloaded a couple of episodes of something we were watching.

3. Being a UK based SIM watching Uk tv and streaming services (iPlayer, ITVX, Netflix, Apple TV and Prime, etc) is easy and we had no problems anywhere with streaming whilst away.
Maybe slightly more of a challenge when away for longer in the summer as we will be watching the Olympics, Tour de France, and other such stuff, so will probably take an IQ 100GB package too, which can be used as described by others for up to 3 months, to be on the safe side.

We keep phone calls and messages on our phones and not part of the Mifi data packages as it is easier for us that way.

Hope this helps you with decision making.
Good luck.

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[DangerMousy]

Thanks.
Now, does my MH wifi have an eSIM option ..... ?

I've only found some rather expensive ones so far which seem have come with their own data offer, and its not clear if you can use an alternative eSIM in them.
One thing we've thought about doing is use a spare Android phone as the router: it doesn't support eSIMs, but it is compatible with https://esim.me, so we could buy a physical SIM from them and then use the Airhub eSIM mentioned above.

The only thing that's putting me off is that ideally I want to be able to use Three whilst we're in the UK (according to Ofcom, coverage is better on 3 at some of our favourite the New Forest campsites), so I might try ID Mobile 30GB for now and see how that goes.

 

[daventess]

but it is compatible with https://esim.me, so we could buy a physical SIM from them and then use the Airhub eSIM mentioned above.

Ooo, that looks interesting.

 

[starquake]

The only thing that's putting me off is that ideally I want to be able to use Three whilst we're in the UK (according to Ofcom, coverage is better on 3 at some of our favourite the New Forest campsites), so I might try ID Mobile 30GB for now and see how that goes.

Just get a cheap Three sim and put it in -> if you are a Business they offer VERY good data only sims as part of a Business plan via their Three Business team (via phone) (ours are £5 inc vat unlimited a month, and are not subject to APril price rises). These again don't roam (well not without expensive per day add ons and 12Gb limits) -> we wouldn't use outside uk.

or if you are not a buisness... https://www.scancom.co.uk/products/three-80gb-preloaded-data-sim-per-month-exp-08-04-2026

2 years of 80Gb a month for £70 one off payment, expires Arpil 26, beats the price on ID mobile. Small print is you must "agree" to them claiming you are self employed or a business to be eligable. And it doesn't roam. But it'll likely save you a FORTUNE on Three in UK. I've been using scancom myself for over 3 years now for EE unlimited sims, they are no fly by night and you can buy their sims via Amazon if you worried about chargebacks or faults. Edit -> should add these are 3 native sims, not reseller, and they do have a degree of prioritisation on Three, it'll likely from my testing outperform a Smarty sim in the same location in the same device from that testing.

 

[Lenny HB]

so I might try ID Mobile 30GB for now and see how that goes.

If getting an ID Sim do it via Carphone Warehouse (ID is a CPW company) you get a lot more data for the same money.

 

[DangerMousy]

And it doesn't roam. But it'll likely save you a FORTUNE on Three in UK.

No roaming means its no good to us I know I only mentioned the New Forest, but all our holidays are abroad so it needs to roam. UK use will just be the odd weekend.

If getting an ID Sim do it via Carphone Warehouse (ID is a CPW company) you get a lot more data for the same money.

Planning on going via Uswitch and Quidco: £9 standard cashback + £15 bonus this week. More data isn't really that useful as the roaming fair use policy is 30GB so there's little point having more than that. £8 a month for 6 months over the summer then cancel in the autumn will be fine for us.

To be honest we probably don't really need a mifi, but I like gadgets and and I like to have options So we have Starlink but as its a bit power-hungry we only tend to use it when on EHU, so the 4G is for in-motion use or for overnight stops if we can't be bothered to get the Starlink out. We also have 25GB each on VF (discounted, super-cheap) on each of our phones so Three will also provide us with a bit of diversity when out and about in the UK.

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[Rhiananders]

I can second IQ, just come back from 2 weeks in Europe, faultless, even works in Switzerland, which got us out of trouble as I didn't realise that Lebara doesn't unless you pay extra.

£20 to keep active for a year, then £20 for 100gb, if you run out just top up again, you don't have to wait until the following month.

Only drawback is to top up you have to buy a top up through their website and it doesn't get activated right away, it appears that they manually activate it the following day, so make sure, if you are a heavy user that you check your data regularly.

I find IQ Go good but, in spite of messaging them to ask, have been unable to find out how to check my data use. How do you check please ?

 

[Next Stop]

I find IQ Go good but, in spite of messaging them to ask, have been unable to find out how to check my data use. How do you check please ?

Just pop your number into this link and your usage comes right up (after a security check)

The link come from their website so is genuine



https://partner.mobileportal.uk/usage-details/request

 

[Rhiananders]

Just pop your number into this link and your usage comes right up (after a security check)

The link come from their website so is genuine



https://partner.mobileportal.uk/usage-details/request

This is the problem - I have no number as it is a data only sim. Or am I missing something ?

 

[Rhiananders]

This is the problem - I have no number as it is a data only sim. Or am I missing something ?

Sorry! I have now found the sim carrier card and, lo and behold, it has a number on it!!! Thanks for your assistance

 

[Teedub]

IQ Go is working well for us in our MoHo router. If you have not seen it, worth having a look at……

IQ Mobile reviews? vs RWG and Popit

Hi, looking at some of the challenges people are having with the RWG SIM cards I wondered if anyone is using IQ mobile? they offer a 3 month data only sim with 100gb a month for £60 and an IQgo sim with annual fee and monthly data as required. Can use all the data EU roaming Seems to use EE as a...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

We are in France now and can vouch for IQ GO we have it in a cheap TP link router and the results have been excellent. 100gb £20 we’re only here for two months so didn’t need the three month offer.

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[Dave and Jan]

Activated a Popit sim with100gb of data prior to heading to Europe on Monday. Spoke with their customer services who said you have to activate here in the UK and use at least 1gb of data here. After that the rest can be used in France and Spain for roaming. Did the same last year and then put it into an Alcatel router. Works really well.

 

[stevel]

I use Tiekom who have a 400GB data only SIM for 43 euro, although it reduces to 200 GB per month outside of Spain. Their customer service is really good.

 

[matbic]

Can you use it as a hotspot

Yes I am using it in my Pepwave everything on the Wi-Fi gets access to the internet.

 

[matbic]

Do you have a link for that offer? I just went on their website and can't find any data above 25g 50g/month (might have missed it),

eSIM Data - Airhub App-an exquisite esim experience for travellers

To stay connected wherever you may be, get your data eSIM plans on your eSIM device within minutes.

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[Speve]

I second the Tiekom sim it’s hassle free and works well we have been using them for some time now and I realise not everyone wants 400 gb per month but at €43.90 a month that’s roughly €11 for 100 gb .
Never let us down yet

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[Sideshow Bob]

I second the Tiekom sim it’s hassle free and works well we have been using them for some time now and I realise not everyone wants 400 gb per month but at €43.90 a month that’s roughly €11 for 100 gb .
Never let us down yet

I agree the Tiekom SIM is good with great service but it’s only 400GB whilst in Spain, when you return to the UK you only get 200GB which would be the same price as for example the RWG SIM - I know you could use one for 3 months in Spain and then put it on hold for a few euros per month - probably more attractive since RWG have reduced their roaming to just 20GB which is really disappointing