Sky Mobile offers flexible plans with rollover of unused data and unlimited streaming through Sky TV apps without using data.
In the UK, Sky Mobile offers mobile phone SIM cards and handsets, using 4G & 5G coverage from the O2 network.
There are a number of unique features on Sky Mobile. One of them is Roll, which allows you to roll over unused data for up to three years. Another is Watch which gives you unlimited streaming through Sky TV apps without using your data allowance if you’re a Sky TV customer. Customers buying a mobile phone from Sky can also benefit from Swap, which allows you to upgrade your device every year.
In this article, we’ll look at Sky’s mobile plans including their SIM-only deals and mobile handset plans. We’ll then look at some of the key features available on Sky Mobile including Roll, Watch, Swap and Mix. Finally, we’ll look at the coverage that’s available on Sky Mobile and how you can keep your existing phone number when moving to Sky Mobile.
Contents
Sky Mobile Plans
SIM Only Plans
The easiest way to join Sky Mobile is by getting one of Sky’s SIM-only plans. You’ll be given a new SIM card by Sky which can slot inside your existing unlocked mobile phone.
A range of different data allowances are available on a SIM-only basis:
Network | Data | Monthly Cost | |
---|---|---|---|
| 5GB data | £10.00 per month 6 months half price 12 month contract | See deal |
| 15GB data | £14.00 per month 6 months half price 12 month contract | See deal |
| 25GB data | £16.00 per month 6 months half price 12 month contract | See deal |
| 50GB data | £20.00 per month 6 months half price 12 month contract | See deal |
| 100GB data | £28.00 per month 6 months half price 12 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £40.00 per month £35 for 12 months 12 month contract | See deal |
You’ll benefit from Sky’s data rollover feature as standard when taking one of Sky’s SIM-only deals. You’ll also receive unlimited streaming through Sky TV apps without using your regular data allowance if you’re a Sky TV customer.
With Sky Mobile’s SIM-only deals, you’ll need to sign a 12 month contract. However, you have the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade your price plan at any time. For instance, you can upgrade your plan to get a larger allowance of data, or you can downgrade your plan to save some money each month. Upgrades to your price plan will take effect straight away whereas downgrades will take effect from your next billing period.
Handset Plans
If you’d like a new smartphone to go with your SIM card, Sky offers a selection of handsets from Apple, Samsung, Google, and others.
When choosing a new handset, you can decide between Swap24 (which allows you to upgrade your phone every 24 months) and Swap12 (which allows you to upgrade your phone every 12 months). Of the two, Swap24 gives you a lower monthly price and is normally recommended if you don’t need to upgrade your phone every year.
Once you’ve chosen the handset you want, you can then add one of Sky’s regular SIM cards to your plan. For instance, you could combine a handset that costs £25/month with a SIM card that costs £10/month. You’d then pay a total of £35/month for this package, including both your handset and airtime.
A full list of available handsets can be seen on the Sky Mobile website.
Tablet Plans
Sky also offers a number of Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy tablets on a choice of Swap36 and Swap24 plans.
The lowest monthly price is available on Swap36, which allows you to upgrade your tablet every 36 months. For more frequent upgrades, you can choose the Swap24 plan which allows you to swap your tablet every 24 months.
Once you’ve chosen your tablet, you can add one of the usual Sky Mobile SIM cards to it. Please see the Sky Mobile website for a full list of available tablets.
Pay As You Go
Sky doesn’t currently offer a Pay As You Go mobile service. This means you’ll always need to sign a contract and to undergo a credit check before joining Sky Mobile.
If you don’t want to sign a contract or undergo a credit check, you can choose a Pay As You Go SIM card from another mobile network. See our guide to the UK’s best value Pay As You Go SIM cards. Alternatively, if you’d like a different service with the same coverage as Sky Mobile, see our guide to mobile networks that piggyback on O2 for coverage.
Sky Mobile Features
There are four key features on the Sky Mobile network:
- Roll: Sky Mobile allows you to roll over your unused data for up to three years, so money isn’t wasted on data you don’t use. You can also share it with up to 5 other SIM cards that are attached to your account.
- Watch: If you’re a Sky TV customer, you’ll get unlimited streaming through Sky TV apps without needing to use your regular data allowance.
- Swap: You can upgrade your mobile phone to the latest model every 12 months or 24 months.
- Mix: You can change your plan at any time, either to get more data or to save some money every month.
In the following section, we’ll explore these four features in more detail.
Roll
On Sky Mobile, your unused data will roll over at the end of each month and will be added automatically into your Sky Piggybank. Your unused data can be stored in the piggybank for up to three years. This gives you the flexibility to use more data in future months by dipping in and withdrawing data from the piggybank.
If your family has multiple devices or SIM cards attached to the same Sky Mobile account, you’ll have a shared piggybank where everyone will share their unused data. This means there’s flexibility to move data between different people’s accounts (or between your smartphone and tablet if both of them are on the same Sky Mobile account).
Data can be withdrawn from your Sky Piggybank in 1GB increments. It typically costs £10 per extra gigabyte of data if you’re not using the Sky Piggybank feature.
If you have lots of unused data remaining in your Sky Piggybank, you can alternatively decide to cash it in for a reward instead. Rewards include money off a new device or a Sky Store voucher which can be used to buy or rent movies and TV shows.
Watch
If you’re a Sky Mobile customer with a Sky TV subscription, you’ll have access to a feature called Watch. This gives you unlimited data for use within the following Sky applications, without it counting towards your normal monthly data allowance:
Sky+ app, Sky Go app, Sky Q app, Sky Cinema app, Sky VR app, My Sky app, Sky Store app, Sky Kids app, Sky News app, Sky Sports app, Sky Sports Mobile TV app and the Sky Sports Box Office app
You’ll also get access to Sky Go Extra allowing you to download on-demand programmes for watching offline.
You can use the Sky Mobile Watch feature in the UK and Europe, as long as you have at least 50MB of your regular data allowance remaining. Additional subscription charges may still apply for content within the individual applications (e.g. if you’re buying something from the Sky Sports Box Office app).
Swap
Customers who’ve bought a mobile phone or tablet from Sky can easily swap their device for a newer model.
If you’re buying a mobile phone from Sky, you can choose from one of the following payment plans:
- Swap12: Swap your mobile phone for the latest model every year. This typically involves paying a higher monthly cost than on Swap24. The Swap12 tariff is offered on a 24-month credit agreement, with the proceeds of trading in your phone after 12 months being used to pay off the balance on your agreement.
- Swap24: Swap your mobile phone for a newer model every two years. This comes with a lower monthly cost than Swap12. Swap24 involves taking out a 36-month credit agreement, with the proceeds of your phone after 24 months being used against the balance on your agreement.
It’s worth noting that these aren’t directly comparable to more traditional 12-month or 24-month contracts. With Swap12 and Swap24, you’ll only be able to keep your old handset after completing the full length of your credit agreement (i.e. after 24 months on Swap12 or after 36 months on Swap24). On a traditional contract, you’ll normally own your handset after the initial 24-month period, leaving you free to do whatever you like with it (e.g. recycling it, giving it to a friend or family member, selling it on eBay, etc).
When swapping your handset after 12 or 24 months, your old credit agreement will normally be paid off in full providing your handset is in “full working order and undamaged”. Deductions may occur if your handset is damaged (e.g. from a broken screen). In this case, you may need to make an additional payment to clear off the remainder of your credit agreement before changing to a new device.
Swap Plan for Tablets
If you’re buying a tablet from Sky Mobile (e.g. an Apple iPad), you’ll have the option of two tablet-specific plans:
- Swap24 (tablets): Swap your tablet for a new one after 24 months. Comes on a 36-month credit agreement.
- Swap36 (tablets): Swap your tablet for a new one after 36 months. Comes on a 48-month credit agreement.
These tablet-specific Swap plans work in much the same way as the Swap plans for a mobile phone. Typically, tablets are upgraded much less frequently than mobile phones so they’re offered on a longer credit agreement.
Mix
Finally, Sky offers a feature called Mix as standard on all of their plans. This feature allows you to change your Sky Mobile plan at any time. For instance, you can upgrade to a plan with more data, or you can downgrade to a cheaper plan that has less data included.
Data plan upgrades take effect straight away, whereas data plan downgrades take effect from the following month.
For more information, please see the Sky Mobile website for details about the features available on their service.
Network & Coverage
4G & 5G Coverage from O2
Sky Mobile is a virtual network operator making use of coverage from the O2 network. This means customers using Sky Mobile will receive the exact same coverage as customers on O2.
At the time of writing, Sky has 99% population coverage for their mobile service in the UK. In addition, there’s access to 5G coverage, as long as you’re using a 5G-ready phone.
You can check the coverage in your area by entering your postcode on Sky’s online coverage map:
Check Sky Mobile Coverage (sky.com) →
We’d strongly recommend checking the coverage in your area before ordering your new phone, tablet or SIM card from Sky Mobile.
Tethering
Tethering or personal hotspot refers to the process of your sharing your smartphone’s internet connection with other devices (e.g. with a laptop or tablet). It’s a useful feature for getting a mobile broadband connection whilst you’re on-the-go (for instance, for doing some work on your laptop where free wi-fi isn’t available).
On Sky Mobile, it’s possible to tether without any restrictions. Any data that’s used through the tethering or the portable hotspot feature will simply be deducted as normal from your monthly download allowance.
International Roaming
Sky provides international roaming for customers who are travelling abroad to other countries.
For customers who are travelling inside the EU & EEA (the European Union & European Economic Area), Sky’s Roaming Passport feature allows you to use your normal UK allowances in 30 destinations at no extra charge.
In 12 other worldwide destinations (Australia, Canada, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Qatar, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the USA), you can use your normal UK allowances for an extra £6/day. This is available as part of Sky’s Roaming Passport Plus.
Please see the Sky Mobile tariff guide for an in-depth list of roaming charges.
Keeping Your Phone Number
If you’re switching from another mobile network to Sky Mobile, it’s a straightforward process to keep your existing number.
To start with, ask your current mobile network to issue you with a PAC Code. You can normally get your PAC Code online or by texting PAC to 65075. Your PAC Code is a nine-digit code that authorises the transfer of your phone number to Sky Mobile.
Once you have the PAC Code from your current network, order your new phone or SIM card from the Sky Mobile website. To start with, you’ll be assigned a temporary phone number which will allow you to test out the Sky Mobile service.
When you’re happy to complete the transfer of your phone number, you should submit your PAC Code through this online form. Providing you do this before 5pm on a weekday, your phone number should normally be transferred on the next working day.
For step-by-step instructions on moving your phone number to Sky Mobile, please select your current mobile network from the drop down menu below:
If you’re looking to transfer a landline telephone number to Sky, a different process applies for doing this.
Popularity & Number of Subscribers
As of June 2019, Sky had 1 million customers on the Sky Mobile service. This makes them one of the UK’s fastest growing mobile networks, given the service only originally launched in December 2016.
When Sky Mobile first launched in December 2016, it originally offered just SIM-only plans. Over time, additional products were added to the line up such as handsets in mid-2017 and tablets in April 2018. Unlimited streaming through Sky TV apps was added as a feature in March 2019 for Sky Mobile customers with a Sky TV subscription.
More Information
For more information, please see the official Sky Mobile website.
Amir said:
Hi Ken. An update on Sky would be good. But I gather you’re very busy.
Roaming is now £2 for the EU and if you set a pass off and travel to a different country you can use the same pass.
Also international roaming has been reduced from £6 to £2 making the USA, SA one of the cheapest places to roam with sky. Useful for us as we got to SA regularly.
It’s good to see non EU countries not subsidising so called ‘free’ eu roaming. Plus with Sky all the countries if someone calls you it does not activate the pass and so therefore is free to receive calls.
Vinny said:
Hi Ken,
I’ve just started my move from Tesco Mobile to Sky Mobile – I have a dual SIM phone and my number transfer will start in a couple of days so have both SIMs in the phone. Interestingly, my Tesco SIM fluctuates between has 1 and 3 bars (always has done) and the Sky SIM has the full 5 bars?
Why is this, they both use O2 so you would expect the signal to be the same?
Ken replied:
Hi Vinny,
Thanks for your comment and that’s a very good question! Do you know whether your mobile phone is dual SIM 4G, or whether the second SIM card might be operating on 2G or 3G? Often, only one SIM card on a dual-SIM phone will be operating at 4G at a given time, which will explain why you’re seeing different signal strengths on the two SIM cards.
Ken
Vinny replied:
Hi Ken,
That may explain it, I’ve just turned the Dual SIM 4G option on and they are now both the same, currently fluctuating between 2 and 3 bars. So the 2nd SIM (Sky) was on 3G and the 1st SIM (Tesco) was on 4G. Now with the option turned on, they are both 4G… Interesting, thank you so much, I always wondered what the option was 🙂
Stewart said:
VoLTE is available on Sky Mobile as has been for awhile I have used it on my device and constantly see it around my small town for the last 6 months
Richard Scott said:
Please be warned, Sky mobile allows you to take 5 handset contracts, however that’s it!!!
Once you have taken out the 5 contracts and the contracts are paid off you can’t be a Sky mobile customer again.
This has recently happened to me, infact the Sky mobile call handler informed me that I had to take out a contract with an alternative mobile phone provider!! Avoid Sky Mobile obviously they don’t need the custom
Khairul said:
Ken, Sky Mobile now provide unlimited calls & texts as standard to everybody, regardless of whether you are a Sky TV subscriber or not.
The new perk for Sky TV customers is that they get unlimited 4G streaming, without eating into their data allowance.
Ken replied:
Hi Khairul,
Thanks for the heads up about this! I’ll make sure this is reflected the next time we update this article 🙂
Ken
Amir replied:
Also if you’re lucky you can get 50% off too. The roaming plus plan allows minutes and texts and is now £6 a month. We appreciate your time ken but this article needs updating.
Adrian said:
I have 4 phones with sky and, as a Sky TV customer, it is great value for money.
Unlimited calls to any UK number (mobile or landline) and unlimited texts.
Only £9 per month for each phone.
Peter said:
I have 3 IPhones with Sky and, as I am a Sky tv customer I get unlimited calls to U.K. Landlines and mobiles and 1GB data on each phone for £5/month per phone. This is great value for me and my family.
Richard said:
Looks pricey to me and not worth bothering with unless you are a Sky TV customer………….better deals elsewhere!