iD Mobile Coverage and Network Review

iD Mobile is a mobile network owned by the Carphone Warehouse that uses Three’s network. It offers a range of great value Pay Monthly, Pay As You Go and SIM Only plans.

But it really stands out due to the fact that plans come with data rollover and spending caps - we'll cover those things in detail below.

We’ll also look at the areas in which iD Mobile isn’t so good, to give you a full overview and review of the network.

Summary

Pros	Cons
Affordable and flexible plans	Tethering not supported
Data rollover	Maximum 20GB data allowance
Offers Wi-Fi and 4G Calling	Free EU roaming only, not worldwide

Our Rating

Coverage

As iD Mobile uses Three’s network it has the same coverage as Three, as you'd expect.

iD Mobile Coverage

Network Type	Coverage by population
4G	99.8%
3G	98.5%
2G	N/A

Meaning iD Mobile has over 91% UK population coverage with 4G and around 98% 3G. Three is also aiming to achieve 98% population coverage with 4G, so iD Mobile coverage is improving all the time. 

Use iD Mobile's coverage checker above to find out more about iD Mobile coverage in your area, including signal strengths and details on both indoor and outdoor coverage.

Towns and cities with partial or full coverage include but are not limited to: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Coventry, Derby, Dundee, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Sheffield, Southampton, Southend On Sea, Stoke On Trent, Swindon, Watford and York.

That's a very small subset of locations and the full list is growing all the time, so expect 4G from iD Mobile in your area soon if you don't have it already.

Network Speeds and Frequencies

OpenSignal – Mobile Networks Update, April 2018

Network	4G download speeds	4G latency (ms)
EE	29.02Mbps	40.35ms
iD Mobile (Three)	22.55Mbps	47.23ms
Vodafone	20.07Mbps	40.6ms
O2	15.16Mbps	42.84ms

In an OpenSignal report from April 2018, Three was found to have the second fastest 4G download speeds at 22.55Mbps on average. Since iD Mobile uses Three’s infrastructure it’s likely to offer similar speeds, so that’s good news.

However, Three’s latency (the amount of time it takes for the network to respond to a request), averaged 47.23ms in this report, which is slower than any rival, so that’s less good for iD Mobile.

Speedtest – Mobile Speedtest Data, Q3-Q4 2017

Network	Download/upload speeds
EE	28.80/9.29Mbps
Vodafone	17.26/8.16Mbps
iD Mobile (Three)	14.58/7.35Mbps
O2	14.11/7.13Mbps

A Speedtest report from late 2017 paints a slightly different picture, as it shows Three’s average download speed as being 14.58Mbps and its average upload speed as being 7.35Mbps.

Those scores are worse than either EE or Vodafone, but they still top O2 and they factor in both 4G and 3G use, so they can be explained by the fact that Three (and by extension iD Mobile) has slightly less 4G coverage than rival networks, so it will be falling back on 3G speeds more often.

Network Frequencies

Frequency	Frequency Band	Network
800MHz	Band 20	4G
1800MHz	Band 3	4G
2100MHz	Band 1	3G

iD Mobile uses 800MHz and 1800MHz bands for 4G, as well as the 2100MHz band for 3G. The 800MHz band helps with indoor and rural coverage, while the 1800MHz helps meet data demands in congested areas. You can find in depth details of those bands in our 4G frequencies guide.

Planned improvements

iD Mobile’s improvements are tied to Three’s, and that’s no bad thing as Three’s network and 4G coverage is continually improving.

Currently there aren’t any announcements on that front, but you can expect its 4G coverage to continue to grow.

Traffic management

Currently iD Mobile doesn’t publish its traffic management policy, other than to say that “at certain times the Network traffic will be managed when it begins to affect other customers on our Network.”

iD Mobile also doesn’t allow tethering, but beyond that there’s no information on whether it will slow certain types or amounts of data traffic.

Plans

iD Mobile has a range of plans available from as little as £4 per month. All plans come with free roaming in the EU, data rollover and spending caps, but tethering is not permitted.

You’ll find more information on the extras offered by iD Mobile below, but looking at the core plans, the network is middling both in terms of data limits and the amount of available tariffs that you can choose from.

Free Data Rollover

All plans come with data rollover, meaning that unused data is carried over to the next month. That’s a great feature because it means you are less likely to run out of data!

Spending Caps

iD Mobiles plans are perfect for those who want to control their spending. They come with a spending cap that's pre-set at your credit limit, but can be changed to as little as £5.

What that means is that once your allowance is used up you won’t spend more than a set amount each month. They are great for parents looking to control their child’s spending or for those fearful of unexpected bills.

Tethering

iD Mobile doesn’t currently allow tethering at all, which means you can’t use your phone’s data and signal to get other devices online. This is a major point against the network, as most networks do allow users to tether.

WiFi Calling

Wi-Fi Calling means making and receiving calls and sending text messages over Wi-Fi, rather than over a mobile network. This allows you to stay in touch even when there’s no signal, and it’s seamless – you use your normal number, dialler and SMS app.

iD Mobile offers Wi-Fi Calling, but currently only on a small number of handsets, including recent iPhones and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. Head here for a full, up to date list of supported phones.

VoLTE

VoLTE stands for Voice over LTE and is sometimes called 4G Calling. It’s similar to Wi-Fi Calling, but it works over 4G – so you can continue to call and text when you have a 4G signal but no 3G or 2G signal.

iD Mobile offers 4G Calling but only on a subset of handsets, including recent iPhones, the Huawei P8 Lite, Huawei P10, Huawei P10 Lite and Huawei P10 Plus. You’ll find the full list of supported devices here.

Free Roaming Abroad

iD Mobile plans give you free roaming abroad in 50 countries, so are perfect for those who regularly travel to foreign countries. When abroad in a destination you can use texts, calls and data allowances like you would at home.

Free roaming is available in Austria, Azerbaijan, Azores, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Réunion, Saint Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Vatican City.

SIM Only Deals

All Plans Include: Capping, Data Rollover and Roaming
	500MB data 150 minutes Unlimited texts	£3.99 a month See Deal
	1GB data 500 minutes Unlimited texts	£5 a month See Deal
	4GB data 500 minutes Unlimited texts	£8 a month See Deal
	5GB data 500 minutes Unlimited texts	£10 a month See Deal
	12GB data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	£15.00 a month See Deal
	20GB data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	£20.00 a month See Deal
Compare iD SIM Only Deals

Data Only Plans – For Tablets and Dongles

Data Only plans are for tablets, dongles and MiFi. That’s because they come with a data allowance, but no inclusive texts or minutes.

They are available on 1 or 24-month contracts.

Pay As You Go

iD Mobile also offers a trio of Pay As You Go bundles which come with a combination of texts, data and minutes. Bundles last for 1 month and can be set up to recur each month.

Pay As You Go Plans

Plans Available	✔
Add-ons available	✔
Max Data Allowance	4GB
Add-on expiry	1 month
Top Up Expiry	90 days inactivity
Tethering	✖
EU Roaming	✔
No credit check	✔

Once your allowance runs out you’ll enjoy low rates of 3p per min, 2 per text and 1p per MB of data. And if you prefer you can top-up and use your allowance without a bundle.

Customer service

According to the Which? H1 2017 UK Mobile Network Survey, iD Mobile has a customer score of 63% and comes in 8th place overall. That’s based on responses from 4,026 members of the public.

It additionally has a score of 2/5 for customer service, 3/5 for ease/speed of contacting, 4/5 for value for money and 2/5 for incentives. This report suggests that iD Mobile is average to slightly below average for customer service, but of course one report isn’t much to go on. We’ll update this section if more relevant studies are carried out.

Conclusion

iD Mobile is a robust, good value 4G network. Its major strengths come from the low prices and the extras you get from the plans – whether that’s rolled over data or 4G and Wi-Fi Calling. If either of those things are important to you it’s one of just a small number of suitable networks.

Those looking to tether should consider looking elsewhere though, while those living in rural areas should check coverage before joining iD Mobile.