By 1p Mobile offers flexible Pay As You Go plans from 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB. They also offer 30-day plans from £5 per month.
In the UK, 1p Mobile offers flexible Pay As You Go plans with access to EE’s 4G & 5G network for coverage.
On their classic Pay As You Go plan, you’ll pay just 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/megabyte. There’s no monthly subscription fee but you’ll need to spend at least £10 every 90 days on your SIM. This is equivalent to spending £3.33 per month on average.
Alongside this, 1pMobile has a number of 30-day bundles such as 4GB data for £7.50, 25GB data for £10, and 50GB data for £15. On all of those plans, you’ll get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included. This makes it a better option for regular mobile users.
As a special offer for customers ordering through this link and using the VAKTT4GB voucher code at checkout, you’ll get a 4GB Data Boost for free when you activate a 1pMobile SIM card. It’s free to get a 1pMobile SIM card when you top-up it up with at least £10 of credit.
1p Mobile is offered by Telecommunications Management Limited, the sister company of Utility Warehouse and part of the FTSE 250-listed Telecom Plus PLC group.
Order 1pMobile SIM card (Free with £10 top-up) →
(enter the VAKTT4GB voucher code at checkout for 4GB of free data)
| Pay As You Go Rates: | 1p/minute 1p/text 1p/MB |
|---|---|
| Exclusive Offer: | Get 4GB of free data with VAKTT4GB voucher code (new customers only) |
| Spend Requirement: | £10 minimum spend every 90 days |
| Pay As You Go Bundles: |
|
| Coverage: | 4G & 5G coverage from EE (check postcode) |
Contents
Plans & Pricing
Classic Pay As You Go
1p Mobile is best known for their classic Pay As You Go plan. With this, there’s no monthly fee for maintaining your 1pMobile SIM card. You’ll just pay for what you use at the rates of 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB.
In the past, this Classic Pay As You Go offering from 1p Mobile was one of the standout choices for light mobile users. However, from February 2024 onwards, there’s now a minimum spend requirement of £10 for every 90 days that you’re a customer on their network. This makes it a less suitable option if you’re a light user.
To give an example, if you were to spend £8 over a given 90-day period, an additional £2 of credit would be deducted from your 1p Mobile account. In contrast, most other classic Pay As You Go SIM cards do not have a minimum spend requirement. This means you’re able to keep your unused credit.
The following table shows 1p Mobile’s Pay As You Go rates in the UK:
| Calling Rates: | |
|---|---|
| Voice Calls | 1p/minute (any network, any time) |
| Calls to Voicemail | 1p/minute |
| Calls to Special Rate Numbers | 5p/minute access charge + service charge from the company you’re calling |
| Messaging Rates: | |
| Text Message (SMS) | 1p |
| Picture Message (MMS) | 30p |
| Internet Rates: | |
| Mobile Data | 1p/MB |
The prices stated in this table are for UK usage. If you’re travelling outside Europe or making international phone calls, higher charges will typically apply. Source for pricing information: 1pmobile.com.
You can check your Pay As You Go balance at any time by calling 150 from your 1pMobile handset. It’s free to do this.
Monthly Bundles
If you use your mobile phone fairly regularly, it can be better value buying a 30-day bundle. On 1p Mobile, these are also referred to as Boosts. You’ll need to pay a monthly fee for the Boost, which gives you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts, and an allowance of data.
The following table shows a list of 1p Mobile’s Boosts:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £5.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £7.50 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 25GB | £10.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 50GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 200GB | £20.00 |
If you’re mainly after the inclusive minutes and texts, and if you’re willing to pre-pay upfront for one year, there’s also a £48 per year SIM card on 1p Mobile. This will give you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts and 500MB data per month. It’s available for the equivalent of £4 per month, but there’s no refund if you cancel during those 12 months.
In our opinion, 1p Mobile is currently one of the better value options if you’re looking for a Pay As You Go plan with coverage from EE. However, the amount of competition has recently increased in this area, with both Lyca Mobile and Spusu now also offering EE coverage on their plans.
Exclusive Offers & Voucher Codes
As a special offer for readers of this website, you can get a 4GB data boost for free when you order a new 1pMobile SIM card through this link. You’ll need to enter VAKTT4GB as your voucher code at checkout to take advantage of this deal.
Get 4GB Free Data using VAKTT4GB →
This exclusive offer is only available to new 1pMobile customers and requires you to make a minimum initial top-up of £10 on your SIM card. Your 4GB data boost will then be valid for 30 days.
Gold Numbers
If you’d like to choose a phone number, 1p Mobile is fairly unique in that they’ll allow you to choose your phone number, but at an additional cost. It costs £5 to choose a regular phone number, or you can get a memorable ‘gold number’ for £30.
You can search the list of memorable numbers on the 1pMobile website.
If you’re happy to be assigned a new phone number at random, you can join 1pMobile without paying for a phone number. Alternatively, you can transfer your existing phone number from another network at no additional cost.
Comparison to Alternatives
Pay As You Go Rates
1p Mobile has the lowest per-minute, per-text and per-megabyte rates of any Pay As You Go network in the UK. However, the requirement to spend at least £10 every 90 days makes it a less suitable option if you’re a light mobile user.
On the other mobile networks, you’ll typically pay more for your usage than you would on 1p Mobile. For instance, giffgaff charges 25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB. On the other hand, if there’s no minimum spend requirement, it could still work out to be a cheaper option overall.
For more information, see our guide on the best Pay As You Go SIM cards for light users.
£10 Per Month Bundles
On 1p Mobile, you can buy a £10 bundle which gives you 25GB data, along with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts.
The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of what you can get for £10 per month on other Pay As You Go networks:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £10.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 25GB | £10.00 |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £10.00 |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 15GB | £10.00 |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10GB | £10.00 |
 | 500 | Unlimited | 8GB | £10.00 |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 7GB | £10.00 |
£15 Per Month Bundles
1pMobile’s £15 bundle comes with 50GB data, plus unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts.
This also compares fairly strongly to the £15 plans on other Pay As You Go networks in the UK:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 90GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 50GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 35GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 25GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 25GB | £15.00 |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £15.00 |
For more information, see our guide to the UK’s best value Pay As You Go bundles.
Network & Coverage
4G & 5G Coverage from EE
In the UK, 1p Mobile is a virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses EE as their network coverage provider. As a 1p Mobile customer, this means you’ll receive the same coverage as customers on EE.
At the time of writing, customers of 1p Mobile can access 99% population coverage on EE’s 4G network. This includes full access to EE’s band 20 LTE (800MHz) spectrum. In addition, there’s 5G coverage which is available to more than 60% of the UK’s population, providing you have a 5G-ready device.
Before you sign up to 1pMobile, it’s worth checking the coverage in your area. You can do this by entering your postcode on the 1pMobile website:
Check 1pMobile Coverage (1pmobile.com) →
You’ll have access to Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling on 1pMobile, as long as you have a compatible mobile phone.
APN Internet Settings
Before you’re able to access the internet on your phone, it may be necessary to input the Access Point Name (APN) settings for your 1p Mobile SIM card.
On an iPhone, you can do this through Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Options > Mobile Data Network. Meanwhile, on Android, you can do this through Settings > Wireless & networks > More > Mobile networks > Access point names.
You’ll need to input the following settings to access the internet on 1pMobile:
- Name: 1pMobile
- APN: data.uk
- User: user
- Password: one2one
- Type: CHAP
For more information, see the help documentation on the 1pMobile website. Alternatively, if you’re using a 1p Mobile SIM card in a handset that’s locked to EE, you may need to use alternative APN settings that are detailed on the 1pMobile website.
International Roaming
On 1pMobile, you can use your mobile phone abroad through international roaming. To do this, you’ll need to enable both the “international calling” and “international roaming” features within your 1pMobile account. This can be done by logging in to the 1pMobile website and enabling both of these options in the “Network settings” section.
If you’re travelling within Europe, you’ll benefit from roam-like-at-home. This means you’ll continue to pay your normal UK rates whilst travelling in Europe. You can also use your Data Boost allowance when you’re travelling in Europe (up to a maximum of 14GB per month).
If you’re travelling outside Europe, additional roaming fees will apply. These fees will be higher than your normal UK rates. For instance, if you’re travelling to the USA, you’ll pay 9p/minute, 9p/text and 2p/MB. It isn’t possible to use your Boost allowances outside Europe.
Keeping Your Phone Number
If you’re moving from another mobile network to 1p Mobile, it’s a straightforward process keeping your current phone number.
To do so, start by asking your current mobile network to provide you with a PAC Code. You can get one from your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075.
Once you’ve gotten a PAC Code from your old network, order your new SIM card from the 1pMobile website.
After your new SIM card arrives, you can log in to your online account to submit your PAC Code to 1pMobile. Once you’ve done this, your phone number transfer should normally be processed on the next working day. You should try to use up the remaining Pay As You Go credit on your old mobile network as it can’t be transferred to 1pMobile.
For a step-by-step guide on moving your phone number to 1p Mobile, please select your current mobile network from the drop-down menu below:
About 1p Mobile
1p Mobile has been available in the UK since September 2016. It’s offered by a company called Telecommunications Management Limited (TML), which has operated in the UK since 1998. TML is part of the FTSE 250-listed Telecom Plus PLC and is the sister company of UW (also known as the Utility Warehouse).
According to the Telecom Plus PLC group financial report (November 2023), the group has 420,000 mobile network customers. However, it isn’t clear how these customers are split up across the 1p Mobile and Utility Warehouse brands.
In our opinion, it’s a positive that 1p Mobile is part of one of the UK’s largest public companies. In addition, the network is now firmly established, having been in operation for more than eight years. On the other hand, their recent introduction of a minimum spend requirement (February 2024) dilutes one of the key selling points that helped them to grow and acquire their customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
| How much will I pay to use 1p Mobile? | You’ll pay 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB on 1p Mobile. There are no regular monthly fees. However, there’s a minimum spend requirement of £10 every 90 days. A full list of Pay As You Go rates can be found on the 1p Mobile website. |
|---|---|
| Does 1p Mobile have any voucher codes available? | Yes. You can get a 4GB Data Boost for free when you order your 1p Mobile SIM card through this link and use the VAKTT4GB voucher code at checkout. |
| Does the Pay As You Go credit on 1p Mobile expire? | Your Pay As You Go credit won’t expire, providing you spend at least £10 of credit every 90 days.
If you spend less than £10 in a given 90-day period, the shortfall will be deducted from your credit. For instance, if you’ve spent £8 over 90 days, the remaining £2 of credit will be expired from your account. |
| What network does 1pMobile use for coverage? | 1p Mobile piggybacks on the EE network for coverage. This means you’ll get 99% population coverage on EE’s 4G network. You can also get 5G coverage in selected areas with a 5G-ready phone. Enter your postcode on the 1p Mobile website to check the coverage available in your area. |
| Can I keep my existing phone number? | Yes. It’s a straightforward process to keep your phone number when moving to 1p Mobile. Simply ask your existing mobile network to provide you with a PAC Code. You can get this through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075. Give the PAC Code to 1p Mobile once you’ve activated your SIM card. |
| Who owns 1p Mobile? | 1p Mobile is owned by Telecommunications Management Limited. It’s part of the FTSE 250-listed Telecom Plus PLC and is also the sister company to Utility Warehouse. |
More Information
For more information about 1p Mobile, please see their official website.
JPFoneMan said:
Great review Ken – and 1p Mobile is awesome and I’m a very heavy to medium user on the 200GB Virtually Unlimited package, everything is easily managed the website, even my port from Spusu to 1p Mobile went really well. If anything “read” the T&C’s very carefully, I’m an Auto Boost customer which means I don’t see the effect if you’re just using the base package where 1p is taken from your account. EE network is fast, I get all the bands, 5G, VOLTE and WiFi calling.
Mak said:
Hi Ken, your review is out of date as of the 8th Feb 2024 when the new terms have come in.
Previously a topup would extend the validity of your account at equivalent of £10 per 120 days or any multiple of that for pure PAYG and you would keep that credit.
Now from 8th Feb there’s a new minimum charge of £10 per 90 days. If you did not spend enough per 90 days, the remaining balance will be deducted to make up that £10 charge.
Also topping up no longer extends validity by adding days on the end, the validity period is from the date of the topup.
The £36 talk SIM is now £48
The window to check for roaming has been extended from 90 days to 120 days so now it’s much easier to trigger the £1/day surcharge by not building up enough days usage in the UK.
The T&Cs are very significantly changed for their product offering.
Ken replied:
Hi Mak,
Thanks for letting me know. Yes, unfortunately, a lot has changed over the past year since this review was initially written. It’s on my list to get updated soon 🙂
Ken
Mak said:
Hi Ken, a note on 1p roaming in the EU. They updated the T&C this summer with 4.J.II to place a £1 per day charge on roaming outside of their fair use. The way it’s done is quite annoying. The charge applies even if you don’t use any calls/texts/data, and when you’re out of credit roaming is totally deactivated with no way to receive calls.
Fair Use requires more use in the UK than abroad. If you use little/no data in the UK over 4 months because you’re on wifi, but buy a 10GB boost for your holiday, that also breaches fair use after a few days because of more data abroad than at home.
Edwin Bradford said:
A word of warning, we moved two accounts to 1pMobiile from Plusnet with whom we’d never had a problem. 1pMobile’s estimation of data usage was around *ten times* higher than that recorded on both handsets and on my account their estimation of data usage started going up and up over two months until I eventually received an SMS saying I’d reached my limit. I turned off data on the phone but their estimation kept going up resulting in them billing me three excess payments of £10 each in one weekend. They refused to admit any error, refused to refund me and told me “I must have lost Wi-Fi connection and used data instead”. I never turned data on again and moved to another provider within a week, now pursuing them through the Ombudsman.
Adrian said:
Is it free to receive incoming calls? Naturally, I understand that you have to have some form of contract in place.
Many thanks
Ken replied:
Hi Adrian,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, it is free to receive incoming phone calls on 1pMobile 🙂
Ken
Miles replied:
I use 1p. My understanding is that you effectively pay £2.50 per month for the service or minimum top up of £10 every 4 months. I have auto topup when balance drops to £2.00. If your balance drops to £0 you get cut off. So the service is not free to receive incoming calls without any credit. Other payg services allow incoming calls without credit but 1p dont as far as I am aware.
Matthew said:
I don’t understand why if 1p Mobile are owned by the same company as Utility Warehouse why UW don’t have 5G on EE when 1p have. I’ve just joined UW and the speeds are capped at 30Mbps which is so annoying…
Miles said:
Ive just moved back to 1p mobile as they have recently upgraded the EE signal in my area. Its by far the cheapest payg system in June 2023. There is a minimum topup of £2.50 per month. If you are light user like me roughly 50 mins and 50 texts a month that £1 per month which is a great deal. Just remember the data at 1p a MB is poor value, so you must use wifi wherever possible for data otherwise your credit will be used quickly.
Kevin said:
Can u use the £36 plan year after year after year or is it just a one off thing
Ken replied:
Hi Kevin,
It’s a minimum £10 top-up every 120 days after the first year. If you top-up with another £30 of credit, they’ll extend your SIM card validity by 360 days.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Kevin replied:
Thank u my friend very helpful take care
Al replied:
Ken, thats not what Kevin asked…
Kevin, yes its a yearly, not just a once off, im using myself, it basically takes off 36 a year, and if you set to autotop up nothing else to do, helps to have some extra credit on case you go over your data.
£3 a month effectively for unlimited mins, txts and 250mb data is good, especially as you get wifi calling and 5g,
Miles replied:
IMO 1p mobile is only good value if you are someone who uses very little data. You must use WIFI where possible. If you use data your credit will disappear in a flash.
Chris replied:
The £36 plan is available as a boost within the account area. So I would guess at the end of the year you can just add another one year boost.
Scott E said:
I would like to use 1p sim for when I do an irl stream on TWITCH, I only this occasionally so what would be the best sim option for me do you think please ?
I was thinking of the ONE YEAR FLEXI
£30 to use over 365 days
No need to top-up for a whole year.
Ken replied:
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your comment. My main worry about this is you’re likely to use up quite a lot of data when you do your IRL stream on Twitch. At 1p/MB, you can use up your credit very quickly! I’d personally consider getting a Pay As You Go bundle with more data instead (you only need to buy a bundle when you’re doing a stream).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Amir said:
Not sure where you’ve gone Ken? Are you ok? I have comments that are weeks old and aren’t approved anymore. That’s a shame as your website is excellent. Just to let you know 1p mobile has one of the cheapest per MB for roaming. The USA is only 2p a megabyte and 10p a minute which is excellent. For a small number of messages this is excellent even the 20p/megabyte which is in every country.
Could we have your roaming guide updated as a lot has changed. Now EU isn’t ‘free,’ outside of Europe I feel is getting cheaper. Sky charge just £2 for it’s ten countries outside of Europe and it’s free to receive.
Ken replied:
Hi Amir,
Thanks a lot for your contribution and also for pointing out 1pMobile’s great US roaming rates (or Sky Mobile for heavier usage). Apologies for the delay in approving your last comment – unfortunately, it got lost in the approval queue. It’s now approved and on site.
Thanks again!
Ken
Terri said:
If I buy the £30 year deal, under their recent changes in charging in terms of low usage users, will £2.50 be deducted each month?
Ken replied:
Hi Terri,
Thanks for your comment. The £2.50/month minimum spend requirement only applies to 1pMobile customers who signed up before the 1st January 2021. As a new customer, it won’t apply to you. They’ve also said there are no plans to change the T&C for customers who’ve joined after the 1st January 2021 (however, that’s not to say they won’t do it in the future).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Spencer said:
Hi Ken, does EE restrict data speeds to 1p mobile customers, like O2 does to giffgaff/Tesco customers? Is there a traffic management policy in place?
Also, have you heard any news that they may start up EU roaming charges next year, like some other operators are announcing? Not sure how up to date their website is!
BTW love your site, lots of useful information!
Ken replied:
Hi Spencer,
Thank you for the kind feedback! I do believe the speeds on 1pMobile used to be throttled to 20Mbps. However, I don’t know whether that’s still the case as they now offer 5G coverage (it would seem rather pointless to do so if they still had that 20Mbps cap in place). With regards to EU roaming on other providers, this is still something to keep an eye on at the moment (no news yet on what the MVNOs will do – I imagine it will partly depend on the wholesale agreements they have with their roaming provider).
Ken
Flash said:
Can I use email, youtube, facebook on 1p mobile? Thanks.
Ken replied:
Hi there,
Absolutely! You’ll just pay the standard 1p/MB rate when using any of these services, or you can use your Data Boost allowance if you have one.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Paul Miller said:
Hi. I’m a low user. I have two questions about 1pMobile.
1) If I buy the £30 one-year deal do I have to spend all the credit in that year? or will unused credit carry over to the next year?
2) When top ups are due can I use unused credit to pay for the top up?
Thank you.
Ken replied:
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your comment.
1) The credit will roll over if you don’t use it within the first year. There just isn’t the requirement to top up again for another year.
2. Unfortunately, not. It needs to be £10 of fresh credit that you add to the SIM card.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Paul Miller replied:
Thank you.
JW replied:
I use 1pMobile. Yes, any unused credit carries over, and, yes, if you have an accumulated balance then you can use £10 of your balance to extend the 120 days, rather than adding more new funds.
Ken replied:
Thanks JW – that’s super interesting. Does that mean you can essentially get away with just topping up by £10 every 240 days?
e.g. top-up by £10 on day 0, spend that £10 on day 120 and then you won’t need to top-up again until day 240?
Ken
Ben replied:
Hi Ken,
If you have built up credit you can extend the usage period by 120 days using £10 of your existing credit rather than adding another £10 to your credit balance.
So you don’t end up with ever increasing unused credit if you are a very low user.
JW replied:
I think there must be a minimum threshold as I’ve noticed it doesn’t give you that option if your balance is only just over £10.
It did, however, give me that option after just topping up £10 with a resulting £15.10 balance. So, yes, I could have used £10 of this balance immediately to extend the 120 days, leaving £5.10 to use for calls etc. A button appears on top up history page, that you can click on to choose to do this.
This is the wording on the top up history page,
*If your SIM has not been topped-up as per our 120-day top-up requirement, rather than disconnect your service and if you have a large phone credit we will use £10 of your phone credit to extend your usage for another 120 days. All your remaining credit will be rolled over. (Alternative amounts and durations may be agreed via 1pMobile Customer Services)
BigT replied:
This has now stopped, from live chat
“Hi there, this was previously offered as a gesture of good will however we no longer are offering this”
Alan said:
Hi Ken
Not sure if you are aware but 1pmobile have changed their data boosts and now only have three
£6 = 2GB
£10 = 10GB
£15 = 50GB
Ken replied:
Hi Alan,
Thank you so much for letting me know about this! I’ve just updated this article to reflect the new Data Boost bundles 🙂
Much appreciated,
Ken
UmmK said:
Hi Ken
Thanks for such valuable info!
I’d like to ask if the 1p sim is suitable for a phone that requires a micro SIM? I’ve got a Nokia 105 for kids and it requires a specific size of sim. Any ideas anyone?
Ken replied:
Hi UmmK,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, you can use a 1pMobile SIM card inside a phone that requires Micro SIM. You can simply pop out the size of SIM card you require from what they send you in the post.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Mark said:
Hi I am looking for a sim provider to put in a tracker system
Is this network able to do this
I do not need minutes only text and possibly a little bit of data
Ken replied:
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, a 1pMobile SIM card should work inside a tracker system. You should, however, bear in mind the minimum top-up requirement of £10 every 120 days. You’ll need to make sure you top-up with at least this amount in order to keep your SIM card active.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Lewis said:
Poor support and misleading website information (on their website), avoid.
Ken replied:
Hi Lewis,
Thank you for the feedback on 1pMobile. Do you have any specifics about what you find misleading on the 1pMobile website? Also, any detailed feedback on their customer support is very much appreciated – I’m sure other readers of this website considering the network will appreciate it very much!
Ken
Pixiee replied:
Yes
You CLEARLY advertise “£30 for 1 years credit” .But thats not TRUE is it ? So we shall see what Trading Standards and OFCOM have to say about you tomorrow morning .By the look of you I can see why you think you would get away with this.
You also say that you have “eye catching” prices 🤭🤣🤣🤣 .Eye watering more like at massive £10 per 1GB . I can reliably inform you that you are not permitted to
mislead consumers in the way that you are doing
Meanwhile I wont be wasting anymore money on you .BYE BYE 😁
Nicholas replied:
And what was the result ? I bet it was nothing – after all they do clearly state that if you use the £30 before the year is up, then you need to pay more.
However, as you don’t way what the problem is, it’s to hard to tell.
Oh, and I don’t think Ken works for them either, so saying “you” is a bit disingenuous.
I’m thinking of using them as I pay £6 with GiffGaff and I use up all the data allowance in the month (almost 0 phone calls), so I’m hoping to save a bit of money. I try to use Wifi as much as possible but there are places I work where there is no Wifi signal (or rather not a public one), so mobile data is needed.
Alan Rowe said:
I have less than a £1 on my mobile account. I have not received any prompt like I used to get from 1p when one needed a top up. I cannot get any answer via the two phone numbers one of which was to provide a top up access. Please investigate and explain why this has happened. In the past I used to get am e mail prompt which seems no longer available.
Martin said:
Some points:
There is fully itemised billing down to 1p, including data by the hour.
SMS delivery reports also cost 1p.
I pay my excess to charity via premium text (cost: 1p + the donation). You need to enable premium texts. Turn them off again after.
Calls to the answerphone are 1p per minute.
Alana Naismith said:
Also, does a 1p mobile sim card have a GPRS plan.
Ken replied:
Hi Alana,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, 1pMobile offers 2G coverage so it should be fine to use them on GPRS or EDGE. Is there a reason you want to do this, as opposed to using 3G or 4G?
Ken
Alana Naismith said:
Is a 1p mobile sim classed as a GSM sim please. I can’t find an answer to this question.
Ken replied:
Hi Alana,
Yes, the 1pMobile SIM will be a GSM SIM (as will all other SIM cards offered in the UK)!
Ken
Jason B said:
If you have enough credits >£10, 1pmobile will no longer automatically deactivate your account when failing to topup after 120 days have elapsed. I notice this little addition when I last checked my account yesterday on the ‘TopUp history’ tab. There is no mention of this clause in the terms and conditions though.
+120 credit used to extend usage*
*If your SIM has not been topped-up as per our 120-day top-up requirement, rather than disconnect your service and if you have a large phone credit we will use £10 of your phone credit to extend your usage for another 120 days. All your remaining credit will be rolled over. (Alternative amounts and durations may be agreed via 1pMobile Customer Services)
This is useful for those who had built up a sizeable credit via topups and £5 referrals (which also extends the topup date) and no longer finds the tariff suitable for them. They can slowly run this down without fear of losing all accumlated credits >£10.
Keith replied:
Hi Jason I just noticed this as well, I currently have £17.73p credit and an due a top up in two days time when it will be 120 Days since my last £10 too up, would I be right in assuming if I don’t pay another £10 they will deduct £10 from My Balance, leaving Me £7.73p and giving Me another 120 Days usage??
Thanks in advance.
Margaret replied:
Hello Jason
I have just checked this with 1p Mobile and it is correct that £10 can be taken from a large credit balance to extend the top up date by 120 days and roll over the remaining credit. Good news for lighter users.
But the £5 referral/friends bonus will not extend the top up date (i.e. it’s £15 to use in 120 days). I have just confirmed with them.
I am very impressed with their answering of questions on live chat and telephone.
lucy davies said:
Hi Ken, does 1p mobile have the same system as other networks whereby they are obliged to give you a pac code so that you can leave their network and still keep your number? Thanks for the informative site!
Ken replied:
Hi Lucy,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, 1pMobile are obliged to follow the normal PAC Code process (as are all other mobile networks that allowed to operate in the UK). This is part of Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement.
Hope this helps!
Ken
Lucy replied:
It does indeed help, thank you very much! I do appreciate your rapid response, and I think you are doing a great job providing this kind of information. I’m sure I will be using your site again. Many thanks!
Lucy
Bert said:
Is WIFI Calling possible with this network ?
Ken replied:
Hi Bert,
Unfortunately, 1p Mobile does not currently support Wi-Fi Calling.
Ken
trevor scott said:
What was your complaint, if you dont mind sharin?
Matthew Joyce said:
Hi Ken
I’m with 1p mobile they have changed a bit (for the better) since your review. For example topup £10 40 days before the 120 days is up and you don’t have to top up again for 160 days. Topup more than £10 and you don’t have to top up for longer eg £20 topup extends by 240 days. Very fair policy in my view.
Ken replied:
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for your comment. This is fantastic news for customers of 1pMobile, especially as it gives the added flexibility. I suppose it also removes the disincentive to top-up early, which is good for them as well 🙂
Thanks again for sharing!
Ken
stuart watson said:
I love the idea of 1p mobile sounds bloody great however I like to top up my phone not using my bank details, known it is possible for any company to get hacked and steal a persons bank details this is why I like till top up vouchers instead. I would welcome 1p if they sold till top up vouchers, just not happy doing money transactions over the internet.
Frank Rutter replied:
Paypal might help as extra layer of security (not infallible) &/or have a seperate bank a/c with minimal funds?
Mark Geeson said:
Great review, most useful. I frequently help friends set up their new smartphones and select a mobile service provider. This is a great source of information/comparisons for low users. Thanks Ken.
KEITH BIRD said:
1p looks good and if you set auto top up then you do not lose your credit or number even if you fail to use the phone within the normal 6 month cut off time.
I too would welcome a review of Vectone mobile.
euge said:
Really. If anyone is troubled about a £2.50 a month contract…How much is a postage stamp these days ?
If I get keep my old slider phone on this deal I am in.
Amir said:
Delight is another 2g offering! But someone said you had to top up every 90 days otherwise it expired. Hoever that seems to have been removed from their website. Can you confirm ken? There seems to be no review for vectone or delight? I know its time ken but would be worth it
Ken replied:
Hi Amir,
I believe Delight Mobile does still have this policy in place. More information here.
Hope this helps and have a very merry Christmas!
Ken
ChrisK said:
I set up a 1p sim on behalf of my Sister-in-Law last and I’m amazed at the control the user gets within their online account.
You can switch on and off using a radio button, things like voice mail, adult content, restrict the use of data, text and calls. These are just a few things and other networks could learn from this network instead of having to ring customer service just to change something.
As for payment this too is great and something else they do is top up via PayPal and again you can turn auto top up on and off when ever.
If you look at it, not so much as a PAYG system but more of a £2-50p per month contract but without a contract it really is a good deal and I have no trouble running the S-i-L sim over the next six months or so I may well be tempted to ditch my Plusnet monthly sim for this.
Andrew said:
The only thing thats spoils this package is the minimum £30 per year spend. For a light user equates to using 8+ mins per day. A lot of very light users like me and my wife may only require an occasional call. My wife uses less than 2 minutes under a minute every month, I average about less than 15 per month and maybe 10mb.
For lots of light users, a TRUE pay as you go package such as three’s 321 payg (watch out for 3g only and patchy coverage) or O2’s classic payg (5p per min but good coverage and 2g support) makes more sense.
I get very frustrated when packages are labelled or reviewed as pay as you go when in fact they are prepaid monthly (or 4 monthly) contracts.
Ken replied:
Hi Andrew,
Agreed, and I don’t think 1pMobile is a very good solution for anyone who uses their phone very lightly. As you say, people would actually be much better off choosing a slightly more expensive network but without the 120-day minimum top-up requirement. I think this tariff is really for people who want the flexibility (i.e. people who use their phone enough to spend £30/year, but not on a predictable enough month-by-month basis to warrant buying a bundle).
To pick up on one other point: there’s a requirement to top-up at least £10 every 120 days, but there’s no requirement to actually spend that credit. Of course, the credit is non-refundable so you’ll need to use it eventually, but there’s nothing to stop you from building up a balance and then using it all in one go. Therefore, I do consider 1pMobile to be a Pay As You Go tariff (albeit, a fairly unique one in the market with the minimum top-up requirement).
Ken
Miles said:
Hi Ken
I have been using 1p mobile for 10 months now and its great. I am a light user and it costs me next to nothing to use my sim free iphone. 1p uses the EE network which has great coverage.
The Three 3/2/1 payg deal is competitive, which I used to use, but the major advantage of 1P over 3 aside from price is that you can use a 1P sim in old style Nokia 2G phones if necessary. 3 sims only work in newer 3 and 4G phones
Wendy said:
Great website. As a light user of a 2g phone, 1p mobile looks very very good. What are the charges for voicemail. I believe some companies charge for a viocemail arriving on your phone even if you do not listen to it.
Ken replied:
Hi Wendy,
I believe you’ll just pay 1p/minute for listening to your voicemail – I don’t believe they’ll charge you for receiving the message. However, it’s worth checking this directly with 1pMobile if it’s something you’re likely to use a lot!
Ken
Iain Harrison said:
Firstly, thank you for such an informative website. I used to maintain a similar site and I know how difficult it can be. You do it brilliantly!
I’d like to add one more thing about 1pmobile: they are the only PAYG service that gives you a VAT invoice. This means that a VAT-registered customer only pays a net 0.8p per minute.
OK, it is not a huge saving, but a VAT invoice also keeps the accountants happy!
Ken replied:
Hi Iain,
Many thanks for the kind words, and also for sharing this really useful insight! Great to see that 1pMobile is making it really easy to get a VAT invoice. I did have a brief look into this topic in the past, though it was mainly for PAYM contracts rather than PAYG. This is something most mobile networks make pretty hard to maintain (especially Pay As You Go networks), so 1pMobile should be congratulated for offering this.
Ken
Ken
Ottavio said:
I don’t understand the 120 days rule. Will the credit expire or will it be carried over the next 120 days?
Ken replied:
Hi Ottavio,
Your credit on 1p Mobile will not expire, but you’ll need to top-up your SIM card at least once every 120 days. If you don’t top-up for more than 120 days, your account will be closed and your credit will be lost.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Andy Messias said:
Any info on the cost of calls when using abroad?
Thanks in advance.
Ken replied:
Hi Andy,
Yes! You can see the fees for international roaming here on the 1pMobile website. For roaming inside the UK, costs are fairly reasonable due to EU regulations. Outside of the EU, however, you can expect to pay a lot more (typically between 85p/minute and £1.75/minute). If you regularly travel abroad to other countries, I’d possibly consider Three instead due to their low-cost international roaming.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Pete Forman said:
1pMobile have just modified the way that the (optional) auto top works. It used to be just money based, kicking in when your balance went below £2. Now it will also happen when the 120 day limit is reached. That prevents disconnection.
Kudos to them for acting on the suggestion that I sent them.
Ken replied:
Hi Pete,
This is a fantastic change from 1pMobile, so thanks very much for the heads up about it. Do you by any chance have any information on how to activate this feature? I’d love to include the information in the review above, as I think there’ll be lots of people who can benefit from it.
Thanks again,
Ken
Pete Forman replied:
According to their FAQ (about leaving) the auto top-up control is in accounts settings. It will not be visible until you log in.
https://www.1pmobile.com/status.taf
Miles said:
Hi Ken
I’ve been used 1p mobile since December 2016. The service is excellent and I have not had any problems. The major advantage over 3 payg is the cheaper rate and that you can use the 1p sim in a 2g only phone which is not possible with 3.
The other change just introduced is the removal of the £5 top up which is a shame but the 30 day credit expiry has been raised to 120 days which is great. Another plus point is that you can Topup with PayPal which is very useful.
Regards
Miles