ASDA Mobile offers flexible SIM-only bundles from £4 per month. You’ll get 99% population coverage from Vodafone.

If you’re looking for a flexible Pay As You Go mobile plan from a well-known household name, ASDA Mobile currently offers SIM-only plans from just £4 per month in the UK.

The one-month rolling Pay As You Go plans from ASDA will give you access to 99% population coverage using the Vodafone network. You’ll also get 5G coverage included on the plans from £10 per month. All of the plans are flexible so you can change them month-to-month. There’s also a built-in cap on how much you’re able to spend so there’ll be no surprise bills at the end of the month.

In this article, we’ll look at ASDA Mobile’s Pay As You Go bundles, including the plans and the features available. We’ll also look at how you can keep your current phone number when you switch to ASDA Mobile.

ASDA Mobile Plans

4G Pay As You Go Bundles

On ASDA Mobile, you can get a one-month rolling Pay As You Go bundle from just £4 per month. This will come with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included, allowing you to stay in touch with your friends and family without any limits.

For an inclusive allowance of data, you can get 3GB data on ASDA Mobile’s £5 bundle, 5GB data on their £7 bundle and 10GB data on their £8 bundle. On all of these bundles, you’ll get 99% population coverage from Vodafone’s 4G network. There are no download speed limits, so you’ll get their fastest available download speeds on 4G.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedNo data£4.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited3GB£5.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£7.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited10GB£8.00

5G Pay As You Go Bundles

For more data and for access to Vodafone’s 5G network, you can choose one of ASDA Mobile’s 5G-ready Pay As You Go bundles. Starting from £10 per month, this will give you access to faster download speeds on 5G, along with a larger allowance of data to use each month.

You’ll now get 15GB of data included on ASDA Mobile’s £10 bundle. This increases to 25GB data on the £15 bundle and 50GB data on the £20 bundle.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited25GB£15.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited50GB£20.00

On all of these bundles, you’ll get ASDA Mobile’s fastest available download speeds on 5G.

Unlimited Data Bundles

If you’d like to use your mobile phone without the need to worry about ever running out of data, ASDA Mobile offers 5G-ready unlimited data plans from just £20 per month. Here, there’s a choice of three unlimited data plans, depending on the speed you require:

  • The £20 ‘Unlimited Value’ plan gives you download speeds of up to 2Mbps. This is enough for things like browsing the web, using social media apps, listening to music online, and watching standard-definition videos. However, you won’t be able to do things like streaming HD-quality video, and larger files may take longer to download.
  • The £22 ‘Unlimited Speedy’ plan gives you download speeds of up to 10Mbps. This will allow you to stream HD-quality videos on your phone. You’ll also get a better experience when downloading and sharing files from your phone.
  • The £24 ‘Unlimited Superfast’ plan gives you download speeds of up to 150Mbps. This is perfect for streaming 4K ultra-HD video and for downloading large files to your phone.

The following table shows ASDA Mobile’s unlimited data bundles:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
2Mbps max		£20.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£22.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
150Mbps max		£24.00

On all of these bundles, you’ll have access to 5G coverage, giving you a smoother and a more reliable network experience. The £24 ‘Unlimited Superfast’ plan also allows you to benefit from the faster download speeds available.

Pay As You Go Rates

If you don’t have an active Pay As You Go bundle or if you’ve used up all of the allowances included on it, you’ll pay ASDA Mobile’s standard Pay As You Go rates. At the time of writing, you’ll pay 15p/minute for calls, 10p per text message and 10p per MB of data.

In the vast majority of cases, you’ll be better off buying a Pay As You Go bundle from £4 per month, or upgrading to a larger plan that includes all of the data you need.

ASDA Mobile Features

Flexible Plans with No Credit Check

All of ASDA Mobile’s Pay As You Go plans are available on a one-month rolling basis. Because of this, you’ll have the flexibility to change your plan from month-to-month. For instance, you can upgrade to a plan with more data included or you can downgrade to a cheaper plan to save some money.

In addition, there’s no credit check when you sign up to ASDA’s Pay As You Go mobile service. This makes it perfect if you don’t want the hassle of going through a credit check. You can also give an ASDA Mobile SIM card to your kids (e.g. to go together with a new mobile phone that you’re buying for Christmas).

Vodafone Coverage

On ASDA Mobile, you’ll have access to 99% population coverage using Vodafone’s 4G network.

In addition, you’ll have access to 5G coverage when you choose an ASDA Mobile plan from £10 per month. This gives you access to more network capacity and faster speeds depending on your plan (subject to 5G coverage in your area).

If you’d like to check ASDA Mobile’s coverage in your area, you can do this by entering your postcode on the ASDA Mobile website:

Check ASDA Mobile Coverage (mobile.asda.com) →

You’ll also get Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling if you’re using a compatible handset on ASDA Mobile. With Wi-Fi Calling, you’re able to make and receive phone calls and text messages wherever you are, as long as you have access to Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, 4G Calling gives you higher quality calls, with high-definition audio when you’re connected to 4G.

Inclusive European Roaming

On ASDA Mobile’s Pay As You Go bundles, you’ll be able to use your plan allowances at no extra cost in a total of 46 European destinations. This is capped at a maximum of 5GB data per month.

You’ll be able to use your mobile phone at no extra cost in all of the following European destinations:

  1. Aland Islands
  2. Austria
  3. Azores
  4. Balearic Islands
  5. Belgium
  6. Bulgaria
  7. Canary Islands
  8. Croatia
  9. Cyprus
  10. Czech Republic
  11. Denmark
  12. Estonia
  13. Finland
  14. France
  15. French Guiana
  16. Germany
  17. Gibraltar
  18. Greece
  19. Guadeloupe
  20. Guernsey
  21. Hungary
  22. Iceland
  23. Ireland
  24. Isle of Man
  25. Italy
  26. Jersey
  27. Latvia
  28. Lichtenstein
  29. Lithuania
  30. Luxembourg
  31. Madeira
  32. Malta
  33. Martinique
  34. Mayotte
  35. Netherlands
  36. Norway
  37. Poland
  38. Portugal
  39. Reunion
  40. Romania
  41. Slovakia
  42. Slovenia
  43. Spain
  44. St Barthelemy
  45. Sweden
  46. Vatican City

If you’re on a 5G-ready plan, you’ll also be able to get superfast 5G roaming in Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Romania, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Cyprus and Portugal.

ASDA Mobile App

As an ASDA Mobile customer, you’ll be able to use the ASDA Mobile app to manage your account. This includes topping up your account with Pay As You Go credit, monitoring your usage of the service, and buying bundles or add-ons.

The ASDA Mobile app is available on the iPhone and on Android devices.

Keeping Your Phone Number

If you’re switching from another network to ASDA Mobile, it’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number.

Start by ordering your new plan on the ASDA Mobile website. Once you’ve done that, you can get a PAC Code from your old mobile network by texting PAC to 65075.

Once your new ASDA Mobile SIM card has arrived in the post, you’ll be able to submit the PAC Code online through your ASDA Mobile account. Alternatively, you can call ASDA Mobile’s customer service team on 2732 to give them your PAC Code (0808 006 2732 if you’re calling from another network). Once you’ve done this, your phone number transfer will normally take place on the next working day.

For a step-by-step guide on moving your phone number to ASDA Mobile, please select your current mobile network from the drop down menu below:

PAC Code Finder: Transfer Your Phone Number to ASDA Mobile

Select your current mobile network:

  More Options

More Information

For more information about ASDA Mobile’s Pay As You Go bundles, please see the official ASDA Mobile website.

Your Comments 127 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 127 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • gizmo said:

    May 2023
    ASDA mobile Unlimited data plans are actually limited to 1TB per month, you will get cut off from data and told to wait until you next bill cycle to be able to use data again.

    None of the contracts or fair usage policy mention any data limits, quite the opposite, encouraging data tethering/4g,5g modem usage, so this is quite sneaky from them.

    Avoid if you are expected to hit over 1TB per month

  • Mike Thomas said:

    I have been using Asda mobile for a short while with the £22 unlimited data bundle in a second hand Alcatel Y800 mobile broadband device and it works great around the house, in fact better than expected, so will be sticking with them for the foreseeable future if the service continues to be this good.

  • Miles said:

    With Asda mobile going up from 4p to 15p for calls and 4p to 10p for texts this confirms what excellent value 1p mobile still is in 2022 (if you can get an EE signal) and does beg the question how much longer will 1p mobile still remain in business, Im prepared to bet either 1p will fold or it will become 10p mobile in the near future.

  • Wendy Britton said:

    As has been mentioned their PAYG rates are about to increase by just under 400% from 4ppm to 15ppm. Not to mention the other reductions in benefit.
    When they were on the EE network and their Customer Service (CS) was up in the North East (Durham way) the service was impeccable – the staff were superb and communication was easy and efficient.
    Now they’re with Vodafone and the CS is in Egypt.
    I will concede when you ring them on 2732 they generally answer the phone quite promptly and they generally speak quite good English. That’s where the good news ends.
    Following their recent announcement of a PAYG price increase from 4p to 15p I decided to relinquish a couple of the spare accounts I have with them and requested a refund as per their notification on their website. One of the refunds went through OK, and one didn’t …. and trying to rectify this failure to receive the due refund has been a farce. Both the telephone CS agents on 2732 and whoever deals with emailed CS enquiries on asda.mobile@help.vodafone.co.uk are unable or unwilling to perform the job they’re employed to do. I won’t bore everyone with the details but suffice to say it wasn’t good.
    Additionally the Asda Mobile online account details for two of my accounts were showing wrong details and trying to get them to correct the errors has been impossible and decidedly frustrating.
    I am literate and clear spoken. I was patient and tolerant throughout my dealings with them – but it has got me nowhere. They are a shambles. I still don’t have my refund and the details on my online account are still wrong. Asda Mobile are no longer attractive option for me.

  • John Bannister said:

    Hi Ken,

    From 26 September 2022 Asda Mobile are changing the PAYG rates to 15p per minute, 10p per text and 10p per mb.

    Roaming allowance also dropping from 25gb to 5g

    This suddenly makes Asda a lot less competitive but they are allowing you to call your voicemail free when it used to be 4p. Greta joy!

  • name said:

    does ANYONE know the minimum topup amount on the new network via topup card in a store with a topup sign?

    Everything is kept secret on the new system, you can use payg with topup instore still without an online account, you can (if lucky) find the incredibly rare “instore” sim and topup card in their supermarkets, with the 50p cost returned on first topup (this site’s details seem out of date, vouchers have been removed, topup cards only). You can just put your sim in, ring 2732, select 2 then 4 when able, type in the asked for number on the topup card, and that’s it. However, you start at 0p credit, so no outgoing calls (turning off voicemail, and other settings for, now needs a number to be rung which is charged at 4pm just like using voicemail, despite you only hear a robot confirming your action, whereas you justed texted free to 2732 in the past, but then again, it’s only 4p and you only have to dial 1210 once, as I believe voicemail defaults to on).

    As far as I can tell the only use for an online account is ordering bundles, needless to low users or people having it on a backup/emergency phone, and blocking marketing, and the latter is likely a violation of GDPR as blocking marketing shouldn’t have restrictions of how they are notified about electronic marketing removal (your number will likely be used in “anonymous” data analysis even if you have no online account to say who you are in detail).

  • Yvonne said:

    Just changed my mobile network from ASDA to To The Moon Mobile. I dont like that ASDA switched to Vodafone. Prefer to stay with EE quality that To the moon provides.

  • Mike said:

    Hi. Just been to Asda Mobile site. They are now using Vodafone. Calls reduced from 8p/min to 4p/min & voicemails reduced from 8p/min to 4p/min. Text messages are the same price as the old network. They’ve also introduced Unlimited data bundles from £20 per month.

  • Myles North said:

    Hi Ken, thanks for providing this great service.

    Have you any inside knowledge as to when Asda mobile will be allowing new connections to their new Vodafone network? There’s very little info on the Asda mobile site.

    Many thanks.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Myles,
      Great question! I believe it’s currently planned for Q1 2021, but unfortunately I don’t have a more precise date than that 🙁
      Ken

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Jon,
      Thanks for your comment. I believe an ASDA Mobile SIM card does sometimes work inside an EE-locked phone, but this isn’t always guaranteed so you’ll need to check to make sure. Saying that, I wouldn’t advise doing this at the moment as ASDA Mobile will be transitioning to Vodafone coverage from next year. At that point, your ASDA Mobile SIM card will no longer work unless you get the handset unlocked from EE.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Craig said:

    Does anyone know whether it’s correct that Asda Mobile charge 20p PER TEXT to RECEIVE a text message abroad (on PAYG and not in the EU)?

    Their website suggests it is and if true, it seems ridiculous to charge a user for something they have absolutely no control over. I understand it’s within my control whether to accept a call while abroad, but my bank, my nan, spam – all of these will pelt me with texts and I control any of it.
    https://mobile.asda.com/bundles#european_destinations

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Craig,
      That’s a very good question! I’ve never heard of any network charging a customer to receive an incoming text message whilst they’re abroad. As you say, there’s no control over whether to accept that text message so it isn’t really fair to charge for it. Probably something for someone to double check with the team at ASDA, but my personal guess is it’s probably a typo or error for these reasons.
      Ken

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Izzy,
      Thanks for your comment. ASDA-to-ASDA calls are charged at the normal rate. That’s 8p/minute if you’re on traditional Pay As You Go, or you can use the allowances from your bundle if you have one.
      Ken

  • Alison Shrimpton said:

    Alcatel do a basic mobile £7 on EE or £14 if unlocked. If I get the EE mobile, can I just put an Asda sim in it – the sales assistant in Asda wasn’t sure. Thanks

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Alison,
      Thanks for your comment. I believe an ASDA Mobile SIM card will work in some EE-locked phones, but this definitely isn’t guaranteed. I’d personally go for the unlocked model just to be sure (it will also give you more flexibility in the future when it comes to changing to another network).
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

      • Mrs A Shrimpton replied:

        Hi Ken – decided to go with a classic sim from O2 as had an old O2 smart phone so no problem re locked to a network and it works fine.
        Only a stand by phone so wanted any topup to last a long time and Asda was longer at 270 days but O2 180 days so still ok.
        Thanks

  • tony said:

    I have been using the ASDA mobile network for 3 years with no problems. I had a slight delay when transferring my number over to them when first joining ASDA, but a call to the help desk had it sorted straight away. Great value monthly bundles, no contract, whats not to like, I recommend them.
    As they use the EE network comments about slow data transfer speeds could mean you are in a poor reception area for the EE network. I have yet to find a poor reception spot anywhere in London.

  • Jason Cartwright said:

    Currently ASDA are offering double data and double minutes for their monthly tariffs, until late August, so I took the opportunity to transfer my mobile operator from Three to ASDA.

    The outcome proved fatal, a big mistake, for ASDA’s data network is excruciatingly slow. I never encountered slow data transfer on Three’s network nor when using Wi-Fi.

    Regardless of the time of day, in the middle of the night or during the day, ASDA’s network is torturously slow. I previously encountered no speed problems with Three, and have no speed problems when using Wi-Fi.

    My advice is to avoid ASDA’s network like the plague.

    ASDA Mobile may be cheap, but it’s certainly not cheerful.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi G,
      You can contact ASDA Mobile Customer Services on 2732 (or 0800 079 2732 from a landline) – I’d recommend getting in touch with them directly to see whether they’re able to help you.
      Thanks,
      Ken

  • Pagey said:

    Hello. Under the ‘£10 Bundles’ section, the information written does not correspond to the grid info. Written says best offer is ASDA 600 minutes, unlimited text and 2GB data, but the grid gives top bundle as ASDA, unlimited calls unlimited texts and 12GB data!!!???

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Pagey,
      Thanks for your comment. This page is a little bit of a mish-mash at the moment, as ASDA have a 12GB offer bundle which expires on the 9th January 2018. I’ll update the page again shortly, after which it should hopefully be a little bit clearer!
      Thanks,
      Ken

  • Claudia Couldrey said:

    Hi ya
    Once u start the pay monthly sim deal with ASDA … £10 for 12 g data can ASDA change this bundle after a couple of months or if u do auto renew r u able to continue with that amount of data per month indefinitely?
    Many thanks
    Claudia

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Claudia,
      Unfortunately, the Mega Christmas Bundle is only available until the 9th January 2018. Depending on the dates you buy your bundle, it’s therefore possible to use this up until early February. After that, you’ll need to revert to ASDA Mobile’s standard £10 bundle which currently has 2GB of internet per month.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Eddie Balaam said:

    Hi Ken, can you tell me why there is so much difference between say ‘ASDA and EE’ for price. Why do some charge 40p per minute while others charge 8p per minute. Is it just greed. Or is there a hidden benefit that props up the price. ie. the expensive one gets priority in peak hours. I have searched the internet and as yet I have not found the reason. I have been thinking about changing back to a ‘pay as you go’ tariff as I use my phone very sparingly. In fact it’s a fraction of what I pay for each month. But I’m amazed at the difference between the providers. If I changed to a low cost provider, would I get an inferior service or regret it for some unseen reason. As you are concidered to be a ‘expert’ (and I mean that in the best possible way) can you explain to me the difference between them. Thank you Ken.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Eddie,
      Many thanks for your comment and sorry for the delay in approving your comment. This is a really good question and goes back to the fundamental economics of how mobile networks operate. Basically, the main costs of running a mobile network are fixed costs (e.g. maintaining the network of mobile phone masts along with the associated back-haul and the required licenses for spectrum, etc). The actual variable costs are relatively low so it actually doesn’t cost very much to connect a phone call on the network.
      The challenge for mobile network operators is to recoup the cost of providing their network. Companies like EE do this in one of two ways: either by selling airtime directly to the consumer, or by selling it on a wholesale basis to MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators like ASDA). Brands like EE and ASDA target different segments of the market and have a different strategy for generating revenue. For instance, EE might use the high per-minute charges to try and recoup the cost of running of their network. Meanwhile, brands like ASDA Mobile charge a bit less and pay some money back to EE through the wholesale agreement.
      Practically speaking, you’ll get the same underlying service on both EE and ASDA Mobile. However, on EE, you might get access to a few extra features (e.g. EE customer rewards, in-store support, wi-fi on the Underground, etc). On ASDA Mobile, you may not have access to these extras. Customer service and billing are also handled by ASDA.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • John Smith said:

    Just to let all your readers know, adsa mobile may be cheap, but they are unable to fix a pretty basic issue with the HLR which prevents 25% of my contacts from texting me. FIVE WEEKS and still no resolution… Appalling for the 21st century.

  • michael hickley said:

    I am still on a 2 year contract with i.d.,part of carphone warehouse, who piggy back off 3.The package I got was sold to me by the techy guy,who said based on my usage,i.d.came out the best.obviously the staff are told to sell the carphone warehouse i.d. package.I get 300 minutes, 500(I think) texts, and 1gb of data for £15.50 a month.
    Fast forward to looking at other bundles/packages from other suppliers…..I have chosen ASDA mobile.The £15.00 a month deal is far better than carphone warehouse offers.I was so disgusted with the way I was lied to by carphone warehouse staff,that I cut up my sim cvard, and now use ASDA mobile.When my carphone warehouse contract ends in may 2018,I will not be renewing it.

  • encoderX said:

    Hi Ken, fantastically easy, unbiased & in-depth reviews. I went with Asda Mobile & loving it. Great monthly bundle allowances for price, easy top up, applying bundles & signal is ee so safe enough + 4G. Thanks for the pointer in right direction. No regrets.

  • Mike said:

    PS I went to the EE store to ask about a new handset. They gave me lots of guff about broadband that I don’t need. All the contract prices worked out way more expensive than just getting a new handset online and keeping my EE PAYG sim. I thought that a contract would work out as lower total costs over 2 years because you’re locked in. That’s how it used to be. But it seems not any more.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Mike,
      Thanks for the update. You’re absolutely right: it’s often cheaper to buy your handset online with a single upfront payment and then to use a SIM Only deal for your airtime. There are several reasons why this is cheaper than a typical 24-month contract e.g. see my article about hidden APRs on a 24-month contract and about the benefits of an unbundled deal. In particular, the trend of buying your handset & SIM card separately has accelerated in the past few years so there’s now a lot more competition in the space.
      Thanks,
      Ken
      Ken

  • Mike said:

    Dear Ken
    Thanks for a very useful article. I’m trying to compare whether to switch from EE PAYG (£10pm) to Asda (£7 pm) (or another provider). As you don’t mention boosts in the Asda article, I presume you can’t get data boosts on Asda the way you can on EE? I’m currently on the EE £10 tariff but I get 4Gb per month because I’ve done a data boost every 3 months. But in truth I don’t know how much data I use, and maybe 2Gb is enough. Any ideas whether I can check how much data I use? Also I presume that EE to Asda calls aren’t free in the way that EE to EE calls are. Many thanks.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Mike,
      Many thanks for your comment. You’re right: there are unfortunately no free boosts available on ASDA Mobile. Therefore, you’ll lose all of the free boosts you’ve accumulated on EE Pay As You Go. You can check how much data you use through the My EE app/website, or alternatively by following the instructions on this page. If you find you don’t actually use that much data, then a switch to ASDA Mobile can be worthwhile and save you some money.
      With regards to EE-to-ASDA calls, this is treated as cross-network (so different to EE-to-EE calls). Saying that, I’m not aware of EE offering free EE-to-EE calling – do you know which package they’re offering this on?
      Ken

  • Joan said:

    Hi Ken,
    Many thanks for your help, all your info is very helpful and simply the best!

    1.
    How can i transfer old one 2one sim number, when even Tmobile is closed to get PAC number?

    2.
    Can i pick asda sim from supermarket for traditional pay as you go?
    3.
    Could just not find any link, which says if e.g. Asda sim on pay as you go traditional pay per minute,text,data (not bundle) will work outside of uk?
    E.g. europe or even usa?
    4.
    How to get roaming?
    5.
    And how much will cost me incoming calls when abroad in eu?
    Or data usage?
    6.
    Can i or anyone top it up online from abroad?

    Or i need to buy few top up cards in advance in case i will be abroad for a year or two?
    Do they have expiry date if unused?

    Thank you so much!

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Joan,
      Many thanks for your questions about ASDA Mobile. I’ll try and answer them in order:
      1. Is your One2One/T-Mobile phone number still active? If so, you can transfer it by obtaining a PAC Code – there are step-by-step instructions here on how to do this. If your old account at T-Mobile has already been closed, it unfortunately won’t be possible to now recover the phone number.
      2. Yes, you can pick up an ASDA Mobile SIM card at ASDA supermarkets in the UK. There’s a charge of 50p when you pick up the SIM card in-store (you can bypass this by ordering the SIM card online for free).
      3. You can indeed use traditional Pay As You Go outside of the UK. In Europe, you just pay the normal amount (8p/minute, 4p/text and 5p/MB). There’s more information in my guide to European roaming. Outside of Europe (e.g. in the US), you’ll pay a lot more – see the ASDA Mobile website for more information.
      4. I believe roaming is enabled automatically, but you can call the Customer Services team on 2732 to check.
      5. Incoming calls are free in the EU and data is charged at 5p/MB.
      6. There shouldn’t be any problem topping up from abroad – see the information here for details on how you can top-up the SIM card.
      Finally, your SIM card has no expiry date providing you keep it active. At minimum, this means using the SIM card for a chargeable activity once every 270 days (ideally, once every 180 days if possible). For more information, see my guide to Pay As You go inactivity & credit expiry.
      Hope this helps!
      Ken

      • Joan replied:

        Hi Ken,
        Thank you very much!

        You have been such a great help to me!!!
        I was a bit confused as what sim to get, but your wisdom got it so much easier to choose!!!
        I am based in 2 countries in Europe, so Asda will work wonders for me and thanks for the trick with sending sms to keep my number!

        Loads of love!
        Thanks again, have only the great days!
        x

      • Louise replied:

        Hello Ken,
        I am using ASDA mobile for about 2 years. I am pay as you go (not many calls and sms).
        I occasionally need SMS from bank which sends me security code – in past it worked, I have got these SMS with se. code from my bank. Now it does not work.
        Can you please advise – I contacted cust. service of ASDA mobile and they said they do not support these numbers from banks and claiming that they never supported it. But I have got it in the past ( couple of months ago the last SMS from bank) – which other network to switch to instead od ASDA – I was happy with them otherwise – I am not frequent caller or sms user. Thank you Ken.

        • Ken replied:

          Hi Louise,
          Many thanks for your comment. As far as I know, these SMS text message notifications should work absolutely fine on ASDA Mobile. The only thing they don’t support is texting to five digit SMS short codes (these are normally used for premium-rate activities like voting on reality TV shows, etc). It might be worth double-checking with your bank to make sure they have the right phone number and details?
          Ken

  • Tom said:

    Just activated an ASDA SIM with the purpose of using it to forward all calls to another mobile number. We’re a club that wants a dedicated number on our literature without publishing individual members numbers. Have since discovered that ASDA don’t support call forwarding!!! So this SIM is going in the bin. Unless anyone knows how to get call fowarding working?

    Thanks

    Tom

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Tom,
      Many thanks for your comment. I believe you can manage your call divert settings on ASDA Mobile by dialling *#21#. You’ll definitely be able to change the settings for divert to voicemail, but I’m not sure if you’re able to divert calls to another number (but definitely worth calling the number and giving it a go!). Some Pay As You Go tariffs do not support call diversion, as it causes complexity for the user deducting money from their account (as you need to pay the per-minute fee for diverted calls, and as there’s no guarantee there’ll definitely be credit on the account).
      Ken

  • alan jones said:

    Hi ken. In the article u state that you will get the exact same coverage on asda as ee. I am on delight, which runs on ee. I changed from ee to delight because they are nuch cheaper. At home with delight im lucky to get 1 bar of signal. If i put my ee sim into the same phone in exactly the same location, i get full signal, as soon as i go back to delight, 1 signal bar. How can this happen, if, like you say the coverage will be the same?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Alan,
      Thanks for your comment. Delight Mobile uses coverage from EE, but they only allow you to access 2G and 3G. Meanwhile, when you were using EE directly, you would have also been able to access EE’s 4G network. Because of this, it’s possible your coverage could be worse on Delight Mobile if the 3G coverage in your area is worse than the 4G coverage.
      With ASDA Mobile, you really should have the same level of coverage as they now give you access to 2G, 3G and 4G.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

      • alan jones replied:

        Thanks for your reply ken. I should of also said i am using a phone which is not 4g. 2g and 3g only. It is a prestigio 5504 . Not a 4g phone

        • Ken replied:

          Hi Alan,
          Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I’m not sure why this is happening as they should both use the same underlying signal. A good way to check this for yourself is to manually search for networks on your phone: you should see the same signal for Delight and EE (more accurately, EE will probably show up as Delight if you have a Delight SIM card inside the phone).
          Ken

  • Ken said:

    Hi guys,
    Just a quick update to the table above. The good news is 4G will be coming very soon to ASDA Mobile. Following the extension of ASDA Mobile’s contract with EE, 4G will made available to customers in Spring 2017.
    Ken

  • Richard said:

    Despite me switching from Asda Mobile to Plusnet Mobile I would recommend Asda Mobile as they are a good provider. The reason I switched was because I’ve recently started using my phone a bit differently (using data!!) and Plusnet Mobile are cheaper for the amount I intend to use (roughly 500-1000MB) whereas Asda Mobile would cost me £10 a month Plusnet is £7.50 so I switched.

    Asda Mobile is best for people that don’t use data on their phone as they offer cheap standard rates or the £5 Talk and Text bundle or for moderate users of data by purchasing one of their 30 day bundles.

    I wouldn’t rule out a return to Asda in future as their bundle ranges are good, customer service is one of the best and their offers are great. They gave me 1.5GB free Data in October and the Christmas Bundle (20GB data, unlimited calls and texts) was a tremendous help in december and the first few days of January.

  • Jackie said:

    We have taken Asda mobile on this offer. However you will lose all data and minutes on 31st December 23:59 It will not run past this date.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Jackie,
      Thanks for your comment. You can purchase the £10 Mega Christmas Bundle at any time up to 31st December. However, once you’ve bought the bundle, the allowances will last 30 days from that date. Hence, you can actually buy it on the 31st December and your allowances would then last until the 30th January.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • David said:

    Asda Mobile’s home page is currently advertising a 30day Mega Christmas Bundle, which offer unlimited minutes/texts plus 20GB data for £10.

    I cannot determine if this is a one-off, or whether a bundle bought now could be renewed before Christmas, but it seems like a good deal either way.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi David,
      Thanks for the heads up about this! I’ll try to find out more before writing a proper update, but it looks like a fantastic deal from ASDA Mobile! Based on the name, I’m expecting it should be available until Christmas at least so you should probably be able to buy at least two of these bundles 🙂
      Ken

      • Ken replied:

        Hi David,
        I’ve just had clarification that the Mega Christmas Bundle will be available to buy until the 31st December 2016.
        Hope this helps,
        Ken

  • Dave said:

    Ken, I will be visiting the UK from the US a couple of times a year. The ASDA Mobile Sim PAYG looks like a great deal. I have a UK relative I can have the sim sent to. Will I need a UK credit card to pay the tariffs or to top up the SIM card?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Dave,
      Thanks for your comment. There’s no need to have UK-based credit card to top-up your phone. If you’re topping up over the telephone hotline, there’s a possibility they’ll decline a non-UK card (however, it’s always worth trying as this varies by network). If they do decline your card on the phone, you can always top-up in-person at shops electronically or buying a ASDA Mobile top-up card (for this, you can use any payment method including cash, etc). For more information, please see my guide to topping up your UK mobile phone.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Amanda said:

    I have recently swapped from EE to Asda, as their sims work in phones locked to EE. Brilliant .. way cheaper ( I was a very light / emergency user on EE). I haven’t noticed any reduction in call quality or signal strength. Now I’m not scared to use my phone due to the high cost. I’d definitely recommend. Very friendly people when you call customer services too, and it’s free to call .. sorry EE but yours cost 25p per call for payg users.

  • Les said:

    I was recently the victim of what is apparently called a SIM swap – somebody requested a PAC and “stole” my ASDA Mobile number. To stop this happening to you, call 2732 and put a password on your number. ASDA Mobile customer service were fantastic and got my number back within a few days. In the meantime the local ASDA store gave me a free SIM (with a different number) to use, a bit of a nuisance but OK under the circumstances, and my old number was allocated to the new SIM once ASDA Mobile got it back.
    I have the same gripe as others about not being able to text 5 digit numbers and I do wish I could renew bundles immediately they run out rather than having to wait until the end of the 30 days or roll over an unused balance. My usage is highly variable so I either run out after 2 weeks or am left with a huge unused balance after 30 days if I buy a bigger bundle.

  • Fred said:

    I will be visiting the UK in July and thought I would purchase an Asda PAYG sim. Can I get a sim from an Adsa store or do I need to obtain it on-line?

  • Andrew said:

    Hi. I can’t send messages to a five digit short code number. The number is to a local radio station. Is there a block?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Andrew,
      Thanks for your comment. I’ve just taken a look into this for you and unfortunately, it looks like five-digit short codes aren’t currently supported on ASDA Mobile. For more information, visit their FAQs and search for ‘short code’:

      At the moment, we don’t offer this service on Asda Mobile. However, due to the number of requests we have received from our valued customers, we are looking at introducing the service in the near future.

      Ken

  • John said:

    Great site full of helpful info,thanks Ken
    Just changed from EE to Asda mobile no problems apart from internet which after a short call ,no waiting for it to be answered,the problem was sorted,friendly staff as well,and it was a UK call center.

  • alan jones said:

    Hi ken. Asda not good value for low users. Delight offer 1p mb 2p text and 3p per min calls. Plus you get unlimeted delight to delight calls and text. No top up required. They also run on ee. Ideal for low users

  • Paul said:

    To quote AsdaMobile from 2013;

    ‘We are pleased to announce that we will be using EE and in 2014 all our customers will have access to 4G signal’

    Yet another untruth from an MVNO.

    Virginmedia promised exactly the same when it started using the EE network!

  • Kay said:

    I lost my cherished mobile number (worth over £1,000) as was not told that after 90 days of no OUTGOING calls, the SIM gets suspended. Asda telephone support had no clue about this EE catch and wasted time trying to to recover it. By the time EE got involved, the number was out of my hands. Furthermore, both Asda and EE had no ‘reference’ on their system to the cherished number – just a SIM number but nothing they claimed connected it to the number itself (which was previously ported across from Orange). I found that hard to believe – how could you not know what your client’s mobile number is – even the PPI spammers seem to achieve this rather well. I had had this fab number with Orange for over 10 years – but lost it in an instant with Asda Mobile. Customer Service is absolutely shambolic. There is not an ounce of lie in that last sentence. This truly is a bad set up and I would never recommend them as long as I stay alive, purely on the basis that both Asda and EE is an incompetent and amateur partnership trying to compete with their more experienced competition. They have no idea of the real world, and when problems arise, they are a lost cause from the very start. If the thought of ‘PAC code’ and Asda Mobile / EE is going through your head, please think about something else. Seriously.

  • Chris said:

    Hi Ken,

    How do you check what is left of your 30 day bundle?

    When I text ‘BAL’ it just says 300 mins, unlimited text, 500MB each time.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Chris,
      Thanks for your comment. I didn’t know that BAL would only tell you your monthly allowance rather than what remains of the bundle you have. Is the information available in the menus when you call 2732?
      Ken

      • Jabez replied:

        In order to test this I have just texted BAL to 2732.

        The reply tells me that “Your balance is £7.34. In your £10 bundle you have 376:14 min Unlimited texts 683MB.”

  • Jabez said:

    Hi Ken

    I have been using Asda Mobile for over a year now, and have been reasonably satisfied with the service they offer.

    My main gripe is that they are somewhat miserly when compared to GiffGaff, when it comes to the data allowance within their more expensive bundles.

    Users are able to buy additional data at £7.50 per GB, and unlike their regular bundles, these packages can be renewed once the data has been used up, rather than having to wait for the 30 days to expire. That said, it is my understanding that you have to call customer services, at a cost of 25p to achieve this, which makes me look elsewhere.

    I do not normally use a lot of data, but spend much of the summer on the road, when it becomes useful to have reasonable internet access via a tablet or a dongle. My latest workaround is to buy preloaded 6Gb EE 4G Sims for £15 from ebay, so neither Asda nor GiffGaff benefit from my travels.

    Asda do not permit texting to 5 digit short codes, such as BBC Radio 2’s 88291 number. I would not normally text such numbers, so never saw this as a problem. However, Barclays bank recently asked me to confirm an online payment by texting Y to a short code, and being unable to do this caused me a lot of problems.

    Asda say they are ‘looking into’ allowing such texting, but they have been ‘looking into’ creating online account management for over 18 months now, so I’m not holding my breath.

    I am of the opinion that Asda are relying upon the fact that they use the EE network, which IMHO seems superior in many rural areas, to maintain their market share. In other respects I perceive them to be surprisingly behind the curve in what they offer.

    • Amir replied:

      You can call from a landline but now as 0800 is free you can use that number instead then its free. Sainsburys is always free even when calling abroad. Hope this helps

  • Pete Andeseren said:

    Run a mile to avoid ASDA mobile!
    Horrible service.
    Broken promises.
    Couldn’t care less about customers.
    Take your money, and then *ignore* you.
    Like everything with the ASDA brand – it is cheap rubbish.

  • Jade said:

    Hi Ken – I tried to top up my phone by £5 with voucher but it kept saying incorrect voucher code and put me on hold for customer services – when I got through it gave you different options 1 for this and 2 for that etc – when I was put through to an advisor I was told my credit had gone down by £2.45!! I asked how as the message says at the beginning you will be charged either 10p or 15p (cant remember) for speaking to customer services – they said I have rang an 0845 no which I hadnt – I had only rang them – I asked them for this no that I was supposed to have rang and they gave it to me and it was EE – and by pressing 1 or 2 whichever the CS option no was it passes your call via ‘a switchboard’ and then charges you!!
    I complained and was told it would be investigated – that was 12 months ago – every now and again when I am in ASDA – I goto their CS desk where they sell the phones etc and use their own phone to ring ASDA CS/EE and speak to them and each time I am told its still being investigated – I was told to send in a letter of complaint if I wasnt happy.

  • philip said:

    Hi I tried Asda mobile but when I make a call it just makes a horrid noise and it miss calls all the time and the Internet runs slow .my phone is an s3 . But works fine on orange.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Philip,
      Thanks for your comment: this is a really odd problem to be having on your phone. Have you tried calling ASDA Customer Services and asking them if they know what could possibly be wrong? Otherwise, it might be worth trying your ASDA SIM card in a different handset (this should tell you whether it’s a problem with the handset or a problem with the network/SIM card).
      Ken

  • David Piper said:

    Hi, Ken I have a Nokia lumia 520 on Asda Mobile, Calls ok, ordinary Texts ok. But try to enter comps by 5 figure text entry – NOT A Chance. Why is this ? would love an answer as have £20 credit and this will last for ever if I am unable to enter these comps. If not possible will move provder at first possible moment.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi David,
      Thanks for your comment. I’m not aware of any reason why you shouldn’t be able to text premium-rate shortcodes on the ASDA Mobile network. It’s probably worth giving ASDA Customer Services a call on 2732 – they should hopefully be able to investigate for you.
      Let me know how you get on & if there are any further problems!
      Ken

  • nimi said:

    Thank you Ken. Yes gift gaff I am considering it, I wanted to know before I move. face to face is important to me, as use it for international call, phone I talk less, text little, but more on Internet. I am looking. Asda does not do video calls.

  • nimi said:

    Ken, I have been using Asda network, now I am simfree apple phone, I heard asda do not have Nanotechnology sim, and I won’t be able to use face time, as asda do video on network. Also asda has no 4G,
    pls reply, thank u

  • chris said:

    Hi. Does anyone know how to stop reminder messages from asda. my daughter recieves constant reminder messages telling her to top up. just looking at her message history and she is gettimng them several times an hour. this is making the phone unusable.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Chris,
      Thanks for your comment. From a quick search on Google, it seems like this is a very common issue for users on ASDA Mobile. I wasn’t able to find a solution to your problem but you could try replying to the text message with the keyword “STOP” (there’s a possibility they’ll be monitoring this keyword). Aside from that, your best bet would probably be to contact ASDA Customer Services on 2732. They should hopefully help you turn off the reminder text messages.
      Ken

    • Ken replied:

      Hi there,
      Thanks for your comment. According to these guys on the EE community forums, an ASDA Mobile SIM card will work on handsets locked to EE or T-Mobile. It may also work on some newer Orange handsets but your mileage may vary depending on when the handset was bought.
      In practice, I would strongly recommend you unlock the handset from EE before using it on the ASDA Mobile network. Both EE and Orange will only unlock handsets for the person who bought the handset originally. You must also have that original account open (e.g. see the instructions for unlocking an iPhone from EE or Orange). If you don’t unlock the handset before switching to ASDA Mobile, you may find it becomes permanently locked to EE.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

      • Confused replied:

        Hi Ken,
        Thanks for replying to my query as quickly as you did, I am thinking of buying a Huawei Y530 smartphone from asda which is on offer and currently on EE, having asked the staff in-store for advice. I got the impression that they weren’t very clued up on the products, I have read the posts linked to EE and find that it may well be a good idea to go ahead with the purchase…

        Thanks Again For The Advise, You’re A Top Man, Cheers..

  • Donald Munro said:

    I decided to move from EE to Asda Mobile after reading on the Asda website that this would be so easy and take no more than 2 days. Big mistake. I am now 3 days into the process and it has not happened. I am being told it will take up to a further 5 days to happen. In the meantime I basically have no phone. I would urge anyone reading this not to attempt to join Asda mobile

  • Amir said:

    Hi Ken, decided to go with ASDA mobile as phone presence. giffgaff might do vouchers but you have to email customer services and you can call ASDA free on the landline number now.

    However, no one seems to know how much it costs to dial 0870 and 0845 numbers? You had a review of this once but I noticed it is hopelessly out of date. An update on that would be greatly appreciated for all networks.

    Thanks though ken for your effort in this website

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Amir,
      Thanks for the feedback! It’s certainly difficult to find information about the cost of calling non-geographic numbers. For ASDA Mobile, you can find the information on this page:

      For 0800 and 0845 numbers: 10p/minute + 10p connection charge
      For 0870 numbers: 35p/minute + 35p connection charge
      For 0843 and 0844 numbers: 30p/minute + 30p connection charge
      For 0871 and 0872 numbers: 35p/minute + 35p connection charge

      Hope this helps,

      Ken

      • Ian replied:

        This will have changed on 1 July 2015.

        Calls to 080 are free.

        Calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 have an Access Charge and a Service Charge.

  • Tony said:

    Hi Had to change my phone after the vodaphone/EE switch over because my old phone wouldn’t work. I had a old cheap phone to keep me going which works fine. My son has given me his old Network free BLACKBERRY 8520 and although calls and text are working perfectly, it won’t let me connect to any free WiFi or my home router. Have been it touch with ASDA online but still no joy? Do I need a different ASDA Sim card to be able to connect to the web? The phone worked for my son but all I get is the message “contact your provider”? Cheers

  • Rowland said:

    Asda Mobile have overnight changed their bundle line up, which with the exception of the basic £5 offering, now offers better value.

    Unfortunately, as part of that process they have managed to make their website less navigable; hence it is no longer immediately obvious that you can buy bundles by texting the appropriate code to 2732

    The FAQ answer to “Where can I buy bundles?” now says “Dial 2732 from your handset or 0800 952 0393 from any UK landline”. This strikes me as a backward step, in that I can envisage the call centre becoming unnecessarily busy.

    The bundle line up is here https://mobile.asda.com/pages/tariffs-prices

    In order to see the relevant code you need to click upon the bundle you are interested in, which makes it turn red. This then changes the content of the associated green box, and reveals the code that you can text to buy that bundle.

    Text the following codes to 2732 to purchase the relevant 30 day bundle.
    £5 = 100 minutes, 2000 texts, 100MB data – Code = 5
    £7.50 = 250 minutes, 2000 texts, 250MB data – Code = 7.50
    £10 = 500 minutes, 2000 texts, 500MB data – Code = 15
    £15 = 1000 minutes, 2000 texts, 1GB data – Code = 20
    £20 = 1500 minutes, 2000 texts, 2GB data – Code = 20
    Data bundles can run alongside regular bundles.
    £5 for 500MB – Code = data5 (this used be data)
    £7.50 for 1GB – Code = data7.50

  • richard laverick said:

    I was on LIFE mobile (Phones4u, uses the EE network) but couldn’t get any signal where I live. Does this apply to changing to an ASDA Mobile sim card? Also, is giffgaff on ee due to us not being able to get any signal via LIFE Mobile (EE)?

  • M.Kennedy said:

    After many years as a satisfied ASDA PAYG user, I have been transferred to the new EE service,and I cannot text to 5 numeral addresses any more. This means one cannot text Argos and numerous other businesses, along with the BBC,LBC and other broadcasters. Asda EE is now only a partial service and I wonder how many other shortcomings there are to discover. Would I be able to text 5 number addresses with the Sainsbury Vodophone service ? Ken.London

  • Roger said:

    What if you are changing to the Asda network, wanting to retain your existing number, and your already with EE.?

  • David said:

    Hi Ken

    You may wish to draw readers’ attention to the fact that Asda’s content filter blocks some 20% of non-adult websites, including all shortened Twitter links.

    Unlike other providers Asda do not enable users to remove this restriction online or via a free phone call, even though their FAQ and blocked content landing page say call 2732 to remove the filter.

    This is completely misleading and tantamount to theft. The call cost users 25p and they are told that they must take their passport into an Asda store to ‘prove’ they are over 18 (I am 57). Of course the same store will sell customers alcohol as long as they ‘look’ over 18.

    I see this requirement as totally OTT, and impossible to comply with given that my nearest store is nearly 50 miles away.

  • tony murray said:

    Hello Ken,
    thanks for this valuable site.
    My wife and I (76 yrs) both obtained ASDA phones, ALCATEL One Touch 282 using the VODAPHONE network and eventually successfully changed over to EE network. Suddenly my phone has ‘locked’ such that I get a ‘Dial SOS number?’ or ‘Network key?’ in the window and can not remove it. I have tried removing battery and sim without success. I have put my sim into my wife’s phone and it works normally. When I put her sim into my phone I have the same problem. I have contacted ASDA mobile using my wife’s phone and they say I have to go to a 3rd party unlocker. We went through that route having to pay 2 x £10.00 to unlock the phones from the VODAPHONE network.
    Any suggestions?

    regards

    tony murray

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Balbus,
      As far as I’m aware, a handset locked to EE won’t work on the ASDA Mobile service. You’ll need to unlock it before using it on ASDA.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • GRS said:

    When i purchased an Asda phone in September i was not
    aware of the pending change.

    When i phoned to day (post April) they told me i should
    have checked their website.

    Surely the onus is on them to tell me not for me to look
    at websites in the event of changes to their network
    etc.

  • GRS said:

    I was offered 100 free minutes to stay with Asda in October.
    I agreed.

    It is now May and they have refused me to use their service.
    Not only that the phone i bought at Asdamobile doesnt work
    possibly because it is on the old network.

    I have tried contacting them but it has cost me a lot of
    money to try and get it sorted.

    It would have been nice if i could have kept my number but
    they choose not to do this either.

  • Tom said:

    Has anyone received their unused credit cheque, or in my case the requested Asda voucher yet?
    I have yet to receive mine. Suppose it’s early days yet.

    • Tom replied:

      Further to my last post, I received my Asda Gift Card today, however it was for a very much lower amount than that which was claimed.

      I have written an appropriate response to them. There was no contact address in the letter but fortunately there was an “If undelivered” address on the back of the envelope.

  • Thackley said:

    I have been an ASDA mobile customer for a good few years and after reading the problems on this and other sites I approached the changeover to EE with dread and nearly fled to Gifgaf untried. Am I glad I didn’t. The sim pack arrived three days after ordering it and having plucked up the courage to switch I held my breath and…. having followed ASDA’s clear instructions I was switched (including my original number), set up for internet, picture messaging etc. within two days! I had already carted my new sim (dual sim phone) around with me to check coverage and I found everywhere I went I had as good, if not better, coverage than the old ASDA mobile using Vodafone. I wonder whether all the one stars simply reflects a lack of feedback from those, like me, that have found the process painless. I have to say that having had no problems I have not tried the customer services aspect and so cannot comment on this (yet!)

  • Chris E said:

    As an existing customer I was expecting to be switched over from the ASDA Vodaphone network to the new EE one. But when I inserted the new SIM card which they’d sent me, it told me that my phone was locked to the old network. I phoned ASDA for a network unlock code, only to be told that my mobile cannot be unlocked and that it is therefore nothing but a useless bit of plastic! I now have a choice if I want to stay with them – I can accept a basic £5 hand-set from them or buy another new, decent one at my own expense!!
    To add insult to injury, I bought my mobile in ASDA itself.
    I’m absolutely amazed at the shoddiness of their service, feel like I’ve been ripped off and will be leaving them as soon as my remaining credit is used up.

  • Colin said:

    Is there anyone who can tell how to send and receive pics on this PAYG Asda EE, mine or the girlfriends won’t send and when my son sends any all I get is gobbledee gook

  • Laurence Johnston said:

    I’m using the Asda £10 bundle at the moment and I think it’s pretty decent except when I tried to ring a government department. It was an 0845 number and the recorded message from Asda said I hadn’t any credit to ring this number. Why can I not call 0845 and how do I rectify this.

    Thanks

    Laurence Johnston

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Laurence,

      Unfortunately, ASDA’s PAYG bundles only include calls to UK landline & mobile numbers (most numbers beginning with 01, 02, 03 and 07 – see this guide for more information). For 0845 numbers, you’ll pay a 10p connection charge followed by 10p/minute (see this help article). Unfortunately, as all of your credit has been used to buy a bundle, you don’t have any credit remaining to call 0845 numbers.

      The good news is that most Government departments have now switched to using 0345 numbers (included within your ASDA allowance). If you double-check online for the latest contact details, you should hopefully find an 0345 alternative.

      Hope this helps,

      Ken

      • Ian replied:

        Wherever you see an 084 or 087 number advertised it is often useful to try calling the matching 034 or 037 number. If it works, it will be a cheaper call. If it doesn’t, there will be no charge.

        Thousands of organisations have changed to 03 numbers in the last year or so, but very many third-party websites are still advertising the old 084 or 087 numbers.

        Sometimes the new number will be an unrelated 030, 033 or 080 number, in which case you’ll need to check the official website of the organisation you are calling in order to find that new number.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Peter,

      Don’t worry… I’m not an employee of ASDA 😉 There’s a difference between how I’ve listed the ASDA bundles and how they do so on their own website.

      ASDA has four basic bundles at £5/month, £10/month, £15/month and £20/month. Each of the bundles can be upgraded with 500MB of extra data. In my article, I’ve listed the basic bundles and data added bundles as separate entries in the table: hence we start with 8 bundles. On the ASDA website, they don’t show this clearly – they only show four bundles.

      There’s also a £5/month standalone bundle for 500MB of data. This is listed both in my table and on ASDA’s website. Hence, I’m up to 9 bundles whereas the ASDA website is now up to 5.

      Finally, ASDA have a £5/month add-on for BlackBerry Internet Service. I haven’t listed it here as most people don’t use a BlackBerry. I end up with a total of 9 bundles whereas the ASDA website ends up with 6.

      The details are the same but I think the table on this website should provide a clearer overview of the options.

      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Cliff said:

    Acording to Asda mobile all of their phones sold for use on Asda mobile after a certain date are unlocked. If you have an older one (I do – Alcatel OT-C550) they say they will give you an unlock code (without it the new SIM will not work). On their website you put in the IMEI number and it might give you a code, if it does not (mine did not) you have to phone them on a 0845 number (I tried doing it on their usual 2732 number but they said I had to ring the 0845 number). After waiting in the queue(which gives no info on how long the queue is) for 29 minutes I was cut off as it had used all of my remaining credit. Bearing in mind any credit you have on the old SIM is lost when you switch, they will not transfer credit to the new SIM, I am obviously not keen to put more credit on my old SIM and how much would I need anyway just to get through to them.
    I tried emailing them and pointed out they took all of my credit with their queue. The acknowledgement said they would reply within 24 hours. It took them 49 hours to reply and they told me I had to phone them.
    It does seem unreasonable that we have to pay per minute for calls to arrange to get their new SIM working and that it appears they will not deal with it by email.
    Perhaps it’s all designed to make me give up and buy a new phone.

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