Lebara (fair useage §h!t£)

[jongood]

Excellent thread, good to have the options in one place.

I’m headed down to Croatia, and thinking of Popit or Lebara. Do they have as good coverage there?

Thanks

I used my O2 sim in Croatia without any data problems. I did get caught out with a phonecall close to the Bosnia border, where I hadnt realised the phone had picked up a Bosnia mast. To add insult to injury I was trying to sort out an issue with my bank that was their fault

 

[Davecrawf]

Never had a problem before now but data stopped working.
I am a very low usage customer never ever getting close to data limit.

First " your phone settings are wrong"
Then after email to them: "you have used more data than you have used in the UK over the last 120 days you need to now pay per call, text and Mb".

I use Popit £25/mo/100gb
Never an issue and excellent customer support. I also believe it is best to use a UK sim for watching TV, such as BBC iPlayer.

 

[matbic]

Has anyone used Maya mobile? It's an esim so you keep your existing plan and sim card. You buy a maya data plan, then when you get to the destination country you activate it.

You need a compatible phone, I think most are now looking at the list.

Maya Mobile - eSIM vs Physical SIM - How Does an eSIM Work?

See how an eSIM works with no physical SIM card. Enjoy multiple plans, instant activation, and total flexibility with an eSIM plan.

maya.net

I have not tried this one but I have an eSIM from https://www.bnesim.com/ and it works well. It is not the cheapest way to get data but I only pay when I need it, no contracts, there are no limits to speed when roaming and it is very convenient to administer with an app. The best thing is it has multiple networks it can use (for example O2, EE and Three in UK) so has a very high chance of getting a good signal. Maya is the first unlimited EU eSIM I have seen but it limits speed to 1Mbit/sec after the first 2Gbyte/day so not ideal for watching lots of TV.

eSIM market seems to be changing daily at the moment! Thanks for sharing your findings, it’s a full time job keeping up with all the new products!

All the best

 

[Russell's Dad]

But was sufficiently stung by Vodafone in my phone to have left them. Sudden advice, while abroad, that I've now used all my data and that it will cost me a body part per Gb thereafter. On a plan I've had since pre-Brexit where they repeatedly promised me that the rules wouldn't change post Brexit and that it would be ok. But they always have wiggle room, always have a way of sneaking things past you.

As ever, Tom Waits is correct. The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.

I'm now a bit concerned. I am on a legacy 100gb contract with Vodafone and it has worked seamlessly for the last few years in the EU. Has something changed at Vodafone? I'm away to Spain for a few weeks soon.

 

[Bessy765]

We have IQ mobile sim but you can only use it in the EU three months in any one year.

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[Bessy765]

My Poppit is £25/month for 100gb with no roaming or fair usage clauses. Speeds are OK.
Thinking of StarLink. It’s just that £85/month that’s the killer.

Terms of use with popit is the data in the EU must equal that used in the UK

 

[treblid]

We have IQ mobile sim but you can only use it in the EU three months in any one year.

That is not correct.

IQ Go state "You may only use abroad for 3 months back to back in the year".

You can use it for more than 3 months in a year but not more than 3 months consecutively. It is to stop permanent EU roaming.

 

[VXman]

We've used multiple Lebara Sims (including some of the 1penny deals) on two extended European trips (one 12 weeks the other 10 weeks) without falling foul of the roaming fair use terms. We did make sure that the two months prior to going away each time we maxed out the data in the UK to get a good baseline UK usage - (downloaded and then deleted iPlayer films, etc.).

Same here. We actually only bought and used those 1p sims for abroad. Clearly they were not implementing this policy at that point.

 

[VXman]

Your call… saves the endless sim juggling people seem to be happy doing when roaming. Can’t think of anything worse TBH..

You can change your tariff every month , so you could have a low data use tariff whilst in UK and bump up to 100Gb (£25) no fair usage when roaming.

Sorry my view on life is make things easy, even if it costs a few quid more.

It's not difficult. I have a sim for everyday use in the UK (smarty - no contract. £5 per month) which is more than enough data in the UK. When we go abroad I will buy a sim that suits. Last Autumn we used RWG - 200GB reduced to 100GB for Europe. No contract. Just buy it online. put it in the phone spare sim slot and use that in Europe. No fuss, simple, effective and cheap. At end of holiday go on app and click cancel. 10 seconds of 'hassle'.

Excellent thread, good to have the options in one place.

I’m headed down to Croatia, and thinking of Popit or Lebara. Do they have as good coverage there?

Thanks

All these 'cheap' networks piggy back off the main players (EE, Vodaphone, Three etc) so no problems with coverage. Often it is better because Europe does mobile coverage better than UK and as as you are roaming you will hop onto a greater variety of masts.

Our experience in Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia was amazing. Just bought a cheap sim from a kiosk on the side of the road. 500GB for about £7 and speed/signal always superb even in the mountains. I reckon it's because it's what most locals rely on instead of fixed line broadband.

 

[Trevor Wbm]

I did look briefly but when I saw 10GB was £13 I moved on.

Pity you didn't scroll down a bit. £100G is £25 - and, you get the full 100Gb in Europe, that lasts for 6 months, and after using 'enough' data in the UK you can go on line and pause the SIM at £1 a month. (Not obvious on their site, but I've just double-checked with them). They use EE in the UK.

https://www.popitmobile.co.uk/plans

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[Trevor Wbm]

I'm now a bit concerned. I am on a legacy 100gb contract with Vodafone and it has worked seamlessly for the last few years in the EU. Has something changed at Vodafone? I'm away to Spain for a few weeks soon.

You may well find that if it's a pre-B word legacy contract you can carry on with it, but as soon as you renew it will change to I think 25Gb a month roaming, that's what happened to me, hence I'm now with RGW and have a Popit SIM currently paused at £1 a month which I use as backup or when I lend the van to the offspring.

 

[Russell's Dad]

You may well find that if it's a pre-B word legacy contract you can carry on with it, but as soon as you renew it will change to I think 25Gb a month roaming, that's what happened to me, hence I'm now with RGW and have a Popit SIM currently paused at £1 a month which I use as backup or when I lend the van to the offspring.

It seems PaulW2 had a legacy contract too, but got stung! Time will tell, I guess. If they do move the goalposts I'll be off to Tescomobile.

 

[Freo]

I don’t get why people aren’t using Popit?

Because RWG is a better deal, perhaps?

Popit - £25 per month for 100Gb in UK and EU.
RWG phone SIM - £20 per month for 200Gb in UK, restricted to 100Gb in EU.

The RWG phone SIM definitely works in France and Spain.*
I’ve read on here that it also works Portugal, too. I don’t know if it works elsewhere in the EU, and I have no idea how it compares with Popit on that score. Both work via EE, I understand, so I would tend to think that they might both work in the same list of countries.
*Admittedly, I had a connection issue on arrival in France. However, an email quickly rectified this.
(I received a reply with a fix the next day.) Since then it’s been superb, apart from one area where the mobile signal was grim, but that also affected my Smarty phone SIM.

I should maybe point out that I use my RWG phone SIM as my main internet provider at home. As such, in the UK it’s £5 per month cheaper for twice the data - so it’s a no-brainier as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Freo]

Forgot to add that I’m using the RWG via a VPN. I can report that I’ve had no issues streaming the main UK TV channel apps - i.e. BBC iPlayer, itvX, Channel 4, and My5.

 

[Richard n Ann]

The 100GB is better value, if I used that much it's worth having. 20 is easily enough for me

I remember when we first used to go to Benidorm for 10 weeks I'd buy a 12GB data card and have plenty left at the end

Pity you didn't scroll down a bit. £100G is £25 - and, you get the full 100Gb in Europe, that lasts for 6 months, and after using 'enough' data in the UK you can go on line and pause the SIM at £1 a month. (Not obvious on their site, but I've just double-checked with them). They use EE in the UK.

https://www.popitmobile.co.uk/plans

Yes did acknowledge the 100GB is better but that much data is way too much for me.

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[Richard n Ann]

I've ordered the 25GB iD mobile sim, £7/month. It's a monthly contract so I can easily change network if there's any problems actually I would be eligible for a lebara 3 month deal again on Uswitch

 

[Bolti]

I've ordered the 25GB iD mobile sim, £7/month. It's a monthly contract so I can easily change network if there's any problems actually I would be eligible for a lebara 3 month deal again on Uswitch

Ukhotdeals have Lebara Sims 15 GB £1 for 6 months.

Results for "Lebara"

www.hotukdeals.com

 

[VXman]

The RWG phone SIM definitely works in France and Spain.*
I’ve read on here that it also works Portugal, too. I don’t know if it works elsewhere in the EU, and I have no idea how it compares with Popit on that score. Both work via EE, I understand, so I would tend to think that they might both work in the same list of countries.

RWG will work anywhere in the EU - as with all UK sims when roaming.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Ukhotdeals have Lebara Sims 15 GB £1 for 6 months.

Results for "Lebara"

www.hotukdeals.com

Brilliant thanks bought one for my other sim slot, I'll get rid after 6 months

 

[Bolti]

Brilliant thanks bought one for my other sim slot, I'll get rid after 6 months

You now only have 30 days to activate, used to be 90.

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[Richard n Ann]

iD just sent me an email with the roaming fair usage policy, seems OK, we not going away until end of July probably..

"

Permanent Roaming.​

We understand that sometimes you'll want to roam for a few weeks at a time or take an extended trip. However, it is important to remember that if you spend more time abroad than you do in the UK over a 4-month period, we might think you're permanently Roaming. If you do spend more time abroad than in the UK over a 4-month period, we'll have to take the following actions:

1. First, we'll send you a text reminding you of the fair usage policy.
2. If you don't change your usage behaviour to comply with our policy, we'll also ask you to provide proof that you do still have strong ties to the UK, like a UK bill or bank statement.
3. If you don't/can't provide any proof of having strong ties to the UK, and you continue to roam more than you use your plan in the UK, we'll have no choice but to apply an additional charge to your EU Roaming usage.
4. Finally, when this additional charge is applied, we'll send you another text message - to make sure you're aware of the situation, giving you a second chance to stop Roaming to avoid charges.

The additional charges applied to your plan if you're a permanent roamer that continues to use their allowances abroad are:

1. 3.2p per minute per call.
2. 1p per text.
3. 10p per MB of data."

 

[jongood]

I'm now a bit concerned. I am on a legacy 100gb contract with Vodafone and it has worked seamlessly for the last few years in the EU. Has something changed at Vodafone? I'm away to Spain for a few weeks soon.

Vodafone are going through a major upheavel, I believe the sale of their Spanish operation is imminent and I think Germany has already been sold.

 

[Carpmart]

iD just sent me an email with the roaming fair usage policy, seems OK, we not going away until end of July probably..

"

Permanent Roaming.​

We understand that sometimes you'll want to roam for a few weeks at a time or take an extended trip. However, it is important to remember that if you spend more time abroad than you do in the UK over a 4-month period, we might think you're permanently Roaming. If you do spend more time abroad than in the UK over a 4-month period, we'll have to take the following actions:

1. First, we'll send you a text reminding you of the fair usage policy.
2. If you don't change your usage behaviour to comply with our policy, we'll also ask you to provide proof that you do still have strong ties to the UK, like a UK bill or bank statement.
3. If you don't/can't provide any proof of having strong ties to the UK, and you continue to roam more than you use your plan in the UK, we'll have no choice but to apply an additional charge to your EU Roaming usage.
4. Finally, when this additional charge is applied, we'll send you another text message - to make sure you're aware of the situation, giving you a second chance to stop Roaming to avoid charges.

The additional charges applied to your plan if you're a permanent roamer that continues to use their allowances abroad are:

1. 3.2p per minute per call.
2. 1p per text.
3. 10p per MB of data."

So 61st day roaming (nominally) could mean these measures are taken…

 

[Richard n Ann]

So 61st day roaming (nominally) could mean these measures are taken…

Yes
"we might think you're permanently Roaming"

Might.. I'm a gambler

 

[jongood]

So 61st day roaming (nominally) could mean these measures are taken…

I'm not sure how good theycare at managing this I broke it with O2 several times but got away with it. Always a risk of course.

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[Minxy]

So 61st day roaming (nominally) could mean these measures are taken…

Yes however from Richard and Ann's post above Lebara say:

If you don't change your usage behaviour to comply with our policy, we'll also ask you to provide proof that you do still have strong ties to the UK, like a UK bill or bank statement.

So all you need to do is prove you are still living and/or paying bills in the UK to not be penalised immediately, it would then be up to you and them to come to an agreement about how much longer you could roam for without penalty.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Not got off to a very good start at iD Mobile. The app is having problems and I can't register. Been on the forums and it's the same for many customers, also some people's data isn't working and it's the second time since December

 

[Bolti]

Not got off to a very good start at iD Mobile. The app is having problems and I can't register. Been on the forums and it's the same for many customers, also some people's data isn't working and it's the second time since December

Good job you bought that Lebara Sim.

 

[sgl5gjr]

off to Belgium tomorrow.... first time roaming with my Popit sim.......I swapped after returning last year after the Smarty sim was rubbish.... poor signal/low speeds....Popit has been bang on in the UK

 

[berni109]

I found popit ok in most of central and eastern Europe but in a few places it was not as good as I hoped.

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