going to the UK

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mortonman

271 posts

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#2891399 24-Mar-2022 14:09

sleepy:

Hi i always use https://www.giffgaff.com/ have been cheap over many trips

Enjoy

I second giffgaff. My partner used it on our last uk trip. She was also with 2 degrees but she uses the phone mostly for messaging and socials so didnt need to be contactable via her phone number.

I am with vodafone and just used the daily roaming charge.

SaltyNZ

8230 posts

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2degrees

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#2891400 24-Mar-2022 14:11

quickymart:

Are their roaming options no good? https://www.2degrees.nz/roaming?isoCode=GB

I used the equivalent Vodafone service when I was last overseas and found it worked really well ($7 a day, using my NZ minutes/data etc).

Yes I mean without speaking out of turn, if I was only going for a week or so the hassle of sorting out a local SIM just wouldn't be worth the small savings I might make.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

nztim

3816 posts

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TEAMnetwork

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#2891405 24-Mar-2022 14:34

There is so much free Wifi in the UK everywhere and anywhere

I just turn mobile off and utilize wifi calling

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

quickymart

13953 posts

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#2891419 24-Mar-2022 15:18

Problem with that is you have to connect/login to each network every time you move around.

everettpsycho

614 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2891448 24-Mar-2022 16:19

The uk has 4 actual networks to choose from:

O2
EE
Vodafone
Three

The only one that has some sketchy coverage outside of busy urban areas is three but they usually offer great value, so if you're sticking to those area it's worth considering. I can't say I really had any problems with them in the years I was with them.

On top of this there's a lot of MVNOs that offer better value with less perks, top ones off the top of my head were:

Giff gaff-based on o2
Tesco mobile-based on o2
BT - based on EE

This might be outdated a bit as it's been a while since I was there. Their data packs tend to be pretty good though offering significantly more than we get here for the money. I wouldn't pay 2degrees roaming fees as for $20 you could get a 1 month prepaid plan with 8gb of data. We didn't get anything from the airport and just went in to a shop the next morning to pick something up, almost every town will at a minimum have an o2 and ee store and Tesco is absolutely everywhere to buy a Sim card from.

One perk of three you might use is they have great roaming in a lot of countries on their prepaid plans, so if you are transiting through Singapore or another listed country you won't need wifi in that location, you can even use up any remaining data you have if you wanted to when you get back home as they work here.

openmedia

3329 posts

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#2891492 24-Mar-2022 17:41

everettpsycho: The uk has 4 actual networks to choose from:

O2
EE
Vodafone
Three

The only one that has some sketchy coverage outside of busy urban areas is three but they usually offer great value, so if you're sticking to those area it's worth considering. I can't say I really had any problems with them in the years I was with them.

On top of this there's a lot of MVNOs that offer better value with less perks, top ones off the top of my head were:

Giff gaff-based on o2
Tesco mobile-based on o2
BT - based on EE

This might be outdated a bit as it's been a while since I was there. Their data packs tend to be pretty good though offering significantly more than we get here for the money. I wouldn't pay 2degrees roaming fees as for $20 you could get a 1 month prepaid plan with 8gb of data. We didn't get anything from the airport and just went in to a shop the next morning to pick something up, almost every town will at a minimum have an o2 and ee store and Tesco is absolutely everywhere to buy a Sim card from.

One perk of three you might use is they have great roaming in a lot of countries on their prepaid plans, so if you are transiting through Singapore or another listed country you won't need wifi in that location, you can even use up any remaining data you have if you wanted to when you get back home as they work here.

I've used Tesco and GiffGaff in the past and hit a number of times where there was zero or very poor O2 coverage.

My parent's house appears to act as a faraday cage as almost none of the networks work reliably.

Some of the roaming deals have changed a lot with Brexit so if it is important to you double check what is available.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

KiwiSurfer

1451 posts

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#2891585 24-Mar-2022 19:19

For four weeks I think it would definitely be worth getting a local SIM. I normally work out the the cost of roaming vs the cost of a local SIM. For 1 week I would just roam as $7 a day works out to be just $35 so not worth the hassle of getting local SIM as the savings will so small and not worth the hassle. But for four weeks you're looking at $140 so yes a local SIM is a great idea.

If you're up for an in depth read, check out Prepaid Data SIM Card Wiki:

https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/United_Kingdom

It has info on all the UK networks as well as virtual retailers.

Some consideration for picking UK SIMs that may be worth thinking about:

Expiry: One thing I have noticed with EE is that they are pretty relaxed about SIM expiry. I have a EE SIM from around 2015 that is still active. For some reason simply connecting to a roaming network (e.g. here in NZ) is enough to keep it current. Every other foreign SIM I've ever had have expired except my EE SIM. This may be useful if you plan to return to the UK. I usually go to the UK every 3-5 years to visit family and friends so my EE SIM has easily paid for itself. I can just land in the UK and start using it straight away. (But be warned, new SIMs sold now may not have this 'feature').

European Access: Another nice thing about many UK SIM is the 'Roam Like Home' feature for Europe. I've used my EE SIM for several European trips with no trouble. However I am not sure this will continue given the UK has left the EU. The Wiki above notes that this benefit is starting to be reduced or even eliminated. This may not be any use to the OP but mentioning it here in case others are reading this.

Be aware: My experience with both EE and Vodafone is that coverage, especially in rural areas, in the UK is nowhere as good as it is in rural NZ. So adjust your expectations accordingly. Will be perfectly fine in the central areas of big cities but if you travel into smaller cities, villages or rural areas areas expect poorer coverage and less speed than you'd find in the equivalent areas in NZ.

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shk292

2853 posts

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#2891810 25-Mar-2022 08:25

everettpsycho: The uk has 4 actual networks to choose from:

One perk of three you might use is they have great roaming in a lot of countries on their prepaid plans, so if you are transiting through Singapore or another listed country you won't need wifi in that location, you can even use up any remaining data you have if you wanted to when you get back home as they work here.

I keep a UK Three SIM active here because:

It has free roaming in several countries inc Aus and USA
It will roam onto any NZ network, so a good backup to have in the boat for those anchorages when you get poor coverage from one network
Casual data is very cheap (even when roaming), so if you have an application (eg remote monitoring) that needs low data use over a protracted period, it seems the cheapest way to do this

lxsw20

3552 posts

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#2892005 25-Mar-2022 11:35

I'd avoid Three, their coverage is fine, but they always seemed to be way over subscribed to the point where the network was useless in London. I was with Vodafone and EE when living over there, both were fine.

Vodafone had some deal where it would automatically join you to london underground wifi too, which is handy enough.

everettpsycho

614 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2892102 25-Mar-2022 13:35

lxsw20:
I'd avoid Three, their coverage is fine, but they always seemed to be way over subscribed to the point where the network was useless in London. I was with Vodafone and EE when living over there, both were fine.

Vodafone had some deal where it would automatically join you to london underground wifi too, which is handy enough.

Three was the best speeds I think I ever got on a phone, when 4g launched I was getting 60mb on their dc-hspa 3G where I lived, upgrading to 4g made my phone slower. Their issue really was they sold all you can eat with no throttling that could be hotspotted for about $30 a month, the network took a hammering as many people just used it as their only connection and ditched their home provider, considering when I got that 60mb my adsl was peaking at 1.5mb it wasn't surprising people did this. I've not been back in a few years so it might have changed by now but they were a network with a ery bad reputation that in all the time I was with them I never felt they earnt.

The three roaming is also beyond just europe, like other said you can just keep it rolling when you get back Herr and it used to be 1p/mb which was decent value for pay as you go and not far off what our prepaid packs charge.

phrozenpenguin

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2895250 1-Apr-2022 11:53

Might be interested in https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=85&topicid=295456 in short turn off your 2D sim unless you want to be charged $7/day.

I've used https://www.esim.net successfully for UK data eSIM that is easy to add to a recent iPhone as a second SIM.

hamish225

1418 posts

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#2895963 3-Apr-2022 01:36

I lived in the UK for 2 years and worked with and used personally, the EE network :) robust and decent coverage

*Insert big spe*dtest result here*

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