I am going to be travelling around England for about a week later this month and I am always happiest travelling when I have access to data (nothing like a google search or map to confirm you are in the right place). Right now I have an iPhone 5s on AT&T and I was wondering what my best bet is for getting a short term data plan while I am overseas. Is something like AT&T Passport my best bet, swapping out the sim card or something else entirely?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Best Option for temporary data in the UK
- Thread starter Adros
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You won't have any trouble finding a store for any network in the UK, they literally just litter every shopping centre and high street. Leicester has 3 EE stores to the best of my knowledge just in the city, and I'm pretty sure that's after closing one because 2 were pretty much facing each other.
Sim only, 30 day contracts may be great for you as you can just pay one bill and cancel it or even a pay and go sim could work if you get one with a good data plan, if you're only going to be here for a week you could probably get a weeks worth of data for less than £10.
Sim only, 30 day contracts may be great for you as you can just pay one bill and cancel it or even a pay and go sim could work if you get one with a good data plan, if you're only going to be here for a week you could probably get a weeks worth of data for less than £10.
How much data will you use. The three payg is great value up to say 1GB then it gets cheaper to add an add on.
Heathrow etc have vending machines in the airport with payg sims.. Fine as long as your phone is unlocked
Heathrow etc have vending machines in the airport with payg sims.. Fine as long as your phone is unlocked
For only a week one of those passports is probably your best bet.
It's not that much money and you get to keep your own phone number for calls and SMS while you're roaming the UK. Also, 120MB of data is more than enough for simple casual Google Maps and messaging.
Now, if you were going longer than a week, I'd start recommending a local SIM.
It's not that much money and you get to keep your own phone number for calls and SMS while you're roaming the UK. Also, 120MB of data is more than enough for simple casual Google Maps and messaging.
Now, if you were going longer than a week, I'd start recommending a local SIM.
Are you going to be traveling much while in the UK? Maybe if your only going to a couple of places then people living in those areas could say what reception they are getting on their networks. A lot of the UK has black spots where different carriers have little or no signal.
I would recommend EE sim only deal and then when you activate it just buy an add on bundle.
I would recommend EE sim only deal and then when you activate it just buy an add on bundle.
BTW is it just UK or other places in europe too? Three has free (same price as uk).roaming in a fair few countries including France Italy USA and many more
Thanks for all the replies guys! Sadly I found out that my phone is locked and unless I pay an early termination fee (over $100) it will remain locked until November... seems as though my only option is to stick to wifi or the AT&T passport.
My trip is going to be mainly Oxford, London and Shrewsbury so confined to the UK. Next trip I look forward to being able to use a local carrier!
My trip is going to be mainly Oxford, London and Shrewsbury so confined to the UK. Next trip I look forward to being able to use a local carrier!
You're best off going with EE if you want fast speeds though. You won't have unlimited data but you'll have enough.
I get 20GB per month for £30 so I'm sure you could find something.
Those speeds are great, but paying £13 extra with a data cap isn't worth the sacrifice over Three's plan IMO.