Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

UK Trip - PAYG sim recommendation

L

LMD75

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2010
317
1
Just ordered a Gevey Ultra Sim and a sim cutter for my trip to UK in August.

Can anyone recommend a good PAYG network for 3G internet, mobile calls and texts?

I came across 'three - PAYG' and they do 30 days unlimited data, 300 mins, 3000 texts for just 15 GBP.

This seems a little too good to be true - will this work fine with a cut down sim in an iPhone 4?

P.S. Do the UK PAYG sims have the smaller printed circuit board for ease of cutting (I botched a few practice sims using scissors hence why I bought a cutter)?

** UPDATED **

Cancelled sim cutter order as most networks provide a micro sim.

Summary of best networks:

Vodafone:
300 min, 3000 texts, 500MB web
£20

Three:
300 min, 3000 texts, unlimited web
£15

GiffGaff (Uses O2 network)
250 min, unlimited texts, unlimited web
£10 / £15 for 400 mins / £20 for 800 mins

Can't believe how cheap and competitive PAYG has become in the UK. Thanks to all that replied.
 
Last edited:
LMD75 said:
Just ordered a Gevey Ultra Sim and a sim cutter for my trip to UK in August.

Can anyone recommend a good PAYG network for 3G internet, mobile calls and texts?

I came across 'three - PAYG' and they do 30 days unlimited data, 300 mins, 3000 texts for just 15 GBP.

This seems a little too good to be true - will this work fine with a cut down sim in an iPhone 4?

P.S. Do the UK PAYG sims have the smaller printed circuit board for ease of cutting (I botched a few practice sims using scissors hence why I bought a cutter)?
Click to expand...
Where did you order your gevey sim from?

Also, do you really need a sim cutter or can you just use scissors?

I'm going to the UK in august as well
 
sou1 so1di3r said:
Where did you order your gevey sim from?

Also, do you really need a sim cutter or can you just use scissors?

I'm going to the UK in august as well
Click to expand...

http://www.applenberry.com/ is where you can get the Gevey SIM from. However, I went ahead and ordered one off eBay from the seller Gevey_USA. The seller was recommended by a couple of members in the long Gevey SIM forum posts in the 'iPhone Hacks' section. I had an eBay gift card so I went ahead and ordered one to see if it's the genuine one (the seller claims many times it is the genuine one and he had a good rating, so I'm willing to believe it's the real one, especially since it didn't cost me any money anyway). You can also get a SIM cutter from either Applenberry or eBay. I was going to order one, but I bought a T-Mobile prepaid SIM that's already cut, so I really dont need one, I suppose.

To the OP, I haven't completely researched it so I could be wrong, but maybe whoever carries the iPhone 4 in the UK would have micro SIMs. You may be able to pick one up from them.
 
sou1 so1di3r said:
Where did you order your gevey sim from?

Also, do you really need a sim cutter or can you just use scissors?

I'm going to the UK in august as well
Click to expand...

I ordered it from an eBay seller "13001r" for just 12.86 GBP delivered.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250843303259

I have done some searching and beleive this seller is genuine as he gets them from ApplenBerry as a wholesaler. Also check out the following YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZWXHG70G4s

I just placed my order a few hours ago so won't know for certain until it arrives.

You can use scissors but the last time I was experimenting I botched a few as the SIM cards with the larger boards are a really tight fit. The cutter was only less than 5 GBP delivered anyway.

Frenchjay said:
Vodafone have got good deals and they have the best 3g coverage in the country. You can order a microsim from here or probably in a Vodafone store.


£10
100 mins, 300 texts plus 50MB web access
£15
200 mins, 600 texts plus 100MB web access
£20
300 mins, 3,000 texts plus 500MB web access
£30
500 mins, 3,000 texts plus 500MB web access


https://freesim.vodafone.co.uk/orders/add?package_id=5&tracker=58f8dj&keyword=freesim
Click to expand...


Perfect - Many thanks for this. I will get one sent to a relatives UK address and get them to forward it on to me overseas in preparation for trip. Big bonus as its also a microsim.

Thanks also to Chocolatemilty.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
LMD75 said:
Perfect - Many thanks for this. I will get one sent to a relatives UK address and get them to forward it on to me overseas in preparation for trip. Big bonus as its also a microsim.

Thanks also to Chocolatemilty.
Click to expand...

Yes i was going to ask if you have someone already here that you could get the sims sent to. :)
 
Giffgaff (runs on O2's networks) have 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data for £10 a month just you need to cut down the sim and order one for a UK address delivery.
 
Giffgaff

I'm on giffgaff (it's a subsidiary of O2). For 10 UK pounds a month you get

  • 250 cross network minutes
  • UNLIMITED SMS Texts
  • UNLIMITED Mobile Data (really unlimited, not some 'fair use' bull)

Please drop me a message if you want to know more, or just click the link below to order a sim. And if you catch me on a good day I'll post the sim to you too, so it's ready for your trip.

 
Thanks Certinfy / Legolai / whitson

Prices have certainly dropped in the UK within the last year and half. There are some good deals there.
 
Last edited:
ZStation said:
This.

I wouldn't touch 3 with yours.

You can get a micro SIM from a Vodafone store, so you wasted your money on SIM cutters, etc.
Click to expand...

I now know the reason why the SIM cutters sell for peanuts :)
 
Get the 3 plan you mentioned in the first post. I'm on it, and I have never experienced drop in signal (much better than O2/GiffGaff) and it's very cheap.
 
Why is the Giffgaff network so damn cheap? If it runs on the o2 network then that's great because the network is pretty good! I might buy the next iPhone sim free and go with that because it's ridiculously cheap!

Honestly I pay 60£ a month now for my phone and insurance and it's way too much for a phone bill!
 
3G coverage in the UK is poor

Generally 3G coverage other than in larger towns and cities in the UK is pretty poor. I currently have a UK iPhone 3 on O2 and a French iPhone 3 on Orange. My wife has a Blackberry on Vodafone. None of them get much in the way of 3G coverage out in the country and if you leave the 3G enabled when you are out of 3G coverage, this will cause battery drain, as the phones search for 3G towers in range. The 3G coverage maps from the service providers are a three way split between wishful thinking, fiction and outright lies. My house in the UK is shown as having good coverage on 3G from O2, Vodafone and Orange. We sometimes get some 3G from Vodafone but none at all from either of the others. My daughter who lives about 1/2 a mile away, right in the village (we are on a farm just outside) but about 200 feet higher up from us was persuaded by Vodafone to buy a 3G dongle to get Internet as her copper line is very poor with a sync rate of just 500Kb. She got internet reception about 1 day in 4 and then at an even slower rate than her ADSL. After a lot of argument and having to threaten Vodafone with a report to the government regulator OFCOM, she got a grudging refund. I think the networks spent so much on buying the 3G frequencies from the government, they then could not afford to build/upgrade their infrastructure.
 
It All Depends Where You Are Going

I guess it all depends where you are going..... Don't be blinded by the price ! There is no point in paying for the internet if you can't use it. I live in London and 3 and O2 are appalling.
 
Last edited:
Internet coverage in Kensington

sou1 so1di3r said:
I'll be living in Kensington for 2 months... anyone from that area have recommendations on service providers?
Click to expand...

I was using my iPhone O2 internet coverage near Albert Hall in Kensington about a month ago and it was fine (trying to find the nearest Prêt à Manger sandwich bar before going in to a concert).
 
I find Vodafone give amazing coverage... Never had a problem with them however I have with Orange, 3 and O2...

Also Vodafone do offer some pretty good deals on if you top up a PAYG sim you get a bunch of date or SMS included etc.
 
I am in the UK now with a Gevey Ultra and active Giffgaff and Three sims.

Where I am located, O2 provides nearly 5mbps download and Three is around 2.5 mbps. However Three just runs alot quicker when browsing and streaming. The O2 network just seems to sit there on Safari for ages when loading pages where it is very fast with Three.

I am running the Gevey Ultra in manual mode and it is working well.
 
LMD75 said:
I am in the UK now with a Gevey Ultra and active Giffgaff and Three sims.

Where I am located, O2 provides nearly 5mbps download and Three is around 2.5 mbps. However Three just runs alot quicker when browsing and streaming. The O2 network just seems to sit there on Safari for ages when loading pages where it is very fast with Three.

I am running the Gevey Ultra in manual mode and it is working well.
Click to expand...

I'm about to order my Gevey Ultra right now!!

I don't think I'm going to get a SIM cutter, just try my luck with the sticker as the guide. So you would recommend Three then for your network?

Thanks for the update. I can't wait to leave for London on the 31st!:D:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back