4 GB Data
UNLIMITED Minutes
UNLIMITED Texts
£6.00 a month
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iD Mobile is a mobile network owned by Dixons Carphone 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. On top of that, iD Mobile has also started offering plans with unlimited data, which is fairly common now but still not something that all networks offer.
Plus, you can get both Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling on iD Mobile, which are two features that are usually reserved for ‘premium’ networks like EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone.
There are some ways in which iD Mobile doesn’t do such a good job though, such as roaming and not offering 5G.
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Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
|
Affordable and flexible plans |
No 5G yet |
|
Data rollover |
Free roaming is mostly limited to Europe |
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Offers Wi-Fi and 4G Calling |
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Our Rating
Contents
As iD Mobile uses Three’s network it has the same coverage as Three, as you'd expect.
| Network Type | Coverage by population |
|---|---|
| 4G | 99.8% |
| 3G | 98.7% |
| 2G | N/A |
That means iD Mobile has around 99.8% UK population coverage with 4G and around 98.7% with 3G.
Use iD Mobile's coverage checker above to find out more about iD Mobile coverage in your area, including signal strengths and details of 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.
iD Mobile doesn’t yet offer 5G coverage at the time of writing, but it has confirmed that it aims to launch 5G in the first half of 2021. It will be using Three’s infrastructure for this, meaning it will be able to offer 5G in all the same places.
At the time of writing that means parts of 154 towns and cities, but that number is likely to be even higher by the time iD Mobile’s 5G service launches.
|
Network |
4G download/upload speeds |
4G latency (ms) |
|---|---|---|
|
EE |
36.4/9.1Mbps |
37.3ms |
|
iD Mobile (Three) |
22.2/8.0Mbps |
46.3ms |
|
Vodafone |
22.4/8.5Mbps |
39.4ms |
|
O2 |
18.2/6.2Mbps |
37.4ms |
In an Opensignal report from October 2020, Three was found to have the third fastest 4G download speeds at 22.2Mbps on average. Since iD Mobile uses Three’s infrastructure it’s likely to offer similar speeds. Its average upload speeds also come in third, at 8.0Mbps.
However, in an earlier report from April 2020, Three’s latency (the amount of time it takes for the network to respond to a request), averaged 46.3ms, which is slower than any rival. We’re using older data for latency because the October report didn’t include it.
|
Frequency |
Frequency Band |
Network |
|---|---|---|
|
800MHz |
Band 20 |
4G |
|
1400MHz |
Band 32 | 4G |
|
1800MHz |
Band 3 |
4G |
|
2100MHz |
Band 1 |
3G |
As a Three MVNO, iD Mobile presumably uses all the same frequency bands, meaning the 800MHz, 1400MHz 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, and the 1400MHz band is a middle ground. You can find in-depth details of those bands in our 4G frequencies guide.
When iD Mobile rolls out 5G, it’s likely to start leveraging the 3.4GHz and 3.6-4GHz bands, which Three uses for 5G.
iD Mobile has announced that it’s working on bringing 5G to its network, so that’s the next big improvement you can expect at the time of writing.
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.”
Beyond that there’s no information on whether it will slow certain types or amounts of data traffic.
iD Mobile has a range of plans available from as little as £6 per month. All plans come with free roaming in 50 countries, data rollover and spending caps.
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|
Phone plans |
SIM plans |
|---|---|---|
|
Data Rollover |
✔ |
✔ |
|
EU Roaming |
✔ |
✔ |
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Spending Cap |
✔ |
✔ |
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Tethering |
✔ |
✔ |
|
4G |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Max Data |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
|
Contract |
24 months |
1 or 12 months |
|
Deals |
|
1 Month Contract 15 GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£8.00 a month |
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1 Month Contract 1 GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£5.00 a month |
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1 Month Contract 4 GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£6.00 a month |
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1 Month Contract 6 GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£7.00 a month |
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12 Month Contract 30 GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£10.00 a month |
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| View All iD Sim Only Deals | |||||||||||
You’ll find more information on the extras offered by iD Mobile below, but looking at the core plans, the network offers a decent selection and up to unlimited data, whether on Pay Monthly or SIM Only.
All plans (except unlimited data 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.
iD Mobiles plans are perfect for those who want to control their spending. They let you set an out-of-plan spending cap of between £0 and £25.
What that means is that once your allowance is used up you won’t spend more than a set amount each month. Caps are great for parents looking to control their child’s spending or for those fearful of unexpected bills.
iD Mobile didn’t used to allow you to tether but has now reversed that decision, so you can use your phone’s data to get other devices online.
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 select handsets, including iPhones from the iPhone 5S onwards, and select Android handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 and many others. Head here for a full, up to date list of supported phones.
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 iPhones from the iPhone 6 onwards, and many but not all Android handsets. You’ll find the full list of supported devices here.
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 (subject to a fair usage policy which varies from plan to plan) 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.
iD Mobile also offers some 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.
|
Plans Available |
✔ |
|
Add-ons available |
✔ |
|
Max Data Allowance |
Unlimited |
|
Add-on expiry |
1 month |
|
Top Up Expiry |
90 days inactivity |
|
Tethering |
✔ |
|
EU Roaming |
✔ |
|
No credit check |
✔ |
|
Bundle |
Minutes |
Texts |
Data |
|---|---|---|---|
|
£6 Value |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
1GB |
|
£8 Value |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
4GB |
|
£10 Value |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
6GB |
|
£15 Value |
Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB |
|
£20 Value |
Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| View Pay As You Go Deals | |||
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.
Not many studies have been done into iD Mobile’s customer service, but on Trustpilot, iD Mobile has an overall score from customers of 3.5/5, which is considered ‘average’. That’s based on 4,323 ratings at the time of writing.
An Ofcom study covering 2019 meanwhile found that 10 customers per 100,000 had reason to complain, which is slightly better than most networks.
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 Calling and Wi-Fi Calling. If any of those things are important to you it’s one of just a small number of suitable networks.
It's a well above average 4G network overall, especially as it now offers unlimited data, but those wanting to roam much beyond Europe should consider looking elsewhere.
