I use a bog standard very old PAYG phone, quite happy.

Mrs Yorky has a new Moto phone and can't get EE to honour her old very cheap company TT contract to fire it up as it needs a different sim.

So whats the best new deal out there she can get please. She is not a heavy user be it in UK or abroad.

EE will do her a new deal better than the shop for being an old cutomer and ASDA can do her a cheaper staff deal than punters get. Her biggest worry is getting stuffed with a big bill if she uses her phone abroad.

Cheers Yorky. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

most providers now allow roaming on the continent free of charge after the government forced them to drop roaming charges. So EE, Vodafone, O2 you can now use phones abroad under the same contractual rules as you would have in UK.

Just find the cheapest deals to suit you and then before signing up ask them if European Roaming is inclusive of the call package

As for EU roaming, with it being an EU directive we have no way of knowing if free roaming will continue after Brexit. If she is not a big user then do as I did last year. I bought two Sony Experia smartphones for £115 new, and took on a SIM only contract for £11 each with Vodaphone (other deals available), it gave unlimited texts, 1Gb data and 500 minute calls all with free roaming in the EU and other designated countries at the moment.

it always works our cheaper to buy a phone outright then add a SIM only deal onto it. If you are not a phone snob, then you could consider a fleabay buy phone with warranty.

I've just put Mrs Mcsimmo on a contact phone with Sky mobile which I found to be the cheapest option when going for a phone and SIM deal. Updated- Waiting for a Scotland v England 6 Nations home win. 24th Feb 2018
Gone-1972 88 SWB Soft top
Gone-1981 24v FFR Lightweight
Gone-2009 Freelander 2 TD4 GS manual
Gone before it bankrupted me- 2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 GS Auto

YB, have a look at ID. good coverage and have great deals to suit any usage. If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

IMHO it is unlikely that you will have more than one or two providers with good reception at your residence, especially if you are out in the sticks. EE on-line checker shows us to have 'excellent' 4G reception but in fact it is cr , my son when visiting has to walk up the garden to send/receive a text with EE.

Most providers offer a basic sim only deal for around £10 pcm, providing several hundreds of minutes & texts when we (silver surfers) typically use only a small fraction of that. If you are on hols outside Europe then you should do the sensible thing and leave the phone switched off, just arrange to check for any urgent messages where free wi-fi is available.

Three do a 4Gb data, all you can eat texts and minutes for £10 a month on a 12 month sim only deal. You will be able to use that in Europe and with unlimited calls and texts you can be sure you won’t be charged any extra. Buy that same deal through TopCashback.co.uk and you’ll get £40 cash back which brings it down to £6.66 a month for the first year. Depending on what phone you have, 'three' have a 'WiFi calling' feature so if for example you lived in a remote location that had poor or patchy cellular coverage but your location had WiFi, it switches to WiFi automatically and you can make and take calls that are as clear as a bell. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

Buy her a decent phone ! Don’t muck about if she works abroad . Get her an iPhone ( a 7 will be fine ) . Communicate via Whats App , she can use hotel or business WiFi , you can have free video calls . I got a Sim deal from Vodafone £16.50 unlimited calls Unlimited Texts , 8gb data . I then added a £3 a month pack which lets me ring any number in 85% of the world for £3 .

Again don’t chase cheap phones. Bob, the apps that will run on a modern smart phone can be life savers. AA ? One button call out and geo located . She loses her wallet , Apple Pay to the rescue , Sat nav if your lost on foot , the list is endless . I’ve even converted my Mrs who uses the Luddites as her role model ! 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

I bought a Moto G4s plus with dual sim, my wife has a Moto G5 plus dual sim, we were both Samsung users I used her old one she bought new, both phones cost less together than the new S8, she still uses her O2contract less phone cost but I can't see the sense in it out here. Neither of us has found any loss of facilities with the Moto phones or problems swapping over, I use Plusnet as the provider sim only, they don't sell phones. £5/month with almost unlimited calls/text and 2gig data, Plusnet is our ISP provider to our UK house and uses the EE network, Plusnet is a BT company but operates independently of BT, BT own EE, I have a PAYG for Cyprus. I use Plusnet data all the time and have never gone over the limit. The cost for a non Plusnet customer is slightly more expensive about £7. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Last edited by Dartman the one on 9th Mar 2018 7:52 am. Edited 2 times in total

You can’t beat tesco sim only , cheap as chips and they use O2 network, O2 can’t touch them on price. I’ve been with them for 7 yrs now after O2 messed me around Do it now ! Your a long time dead !!

You'd think in this day and age there would be total coverage !!!!
I was with O2 signal crap unless I went half way up the field, stood on one leg and rolled the other trouser leg up and I can see their bloody mast in the farmers field about 600yards away.
But agree with MartynB Whatsapp the way forward

ID have good signal here out on the Welsh coast and when I'm up the West coast of Scotland and on the road trip both ways.
Many good deals with top phones at moment £5 p/m will get you enough minutes ,text and data that sails through a month with no danger of running out. If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

I use GiffGaff which runs on O2. Good signal. Packages PAYG or Goodybags starting at £5 per month. No contract.

Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Looks like she is staying with EE, on a new deal as a current user that she can't get in a EE shop. May be a couple of weeks as Mrs Yorky does not rush around like a headless chicken (George please note) being an accountant by training. Upside will be not having to move the number and she can contact her sister in OZ at reasonable cost as the mother in law is well into her 80's and that was high on the list of needs.

Thanks for the input  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

I thought the cheapest way to ring Oz was by messenger or WhatsApp, most in Oz run on mobile data, always talked to my son that way. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Probably along with Skype but the OZ sister in law is very mobile in her current working role, lives in the East and runs mines in the West as a HR director, even comes to UK to sort out Homebase (OZ owned) now and then so a mobile phone is my wife's weapon of first choice to get in touch if required at shorter notice re the mother in law. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current