Data only SIM

Can anybody recommend/has experience of a good data only SIM card for MiFi?
I went to EE St Neotts recently for a data sim, prior to buying it they wanted my DOB I declined to purchase, However my mate was with us and for £30 he got a 60GB data card lasting 6 months. As neither of us hold a EE account, we were amazed they were offered.
 
From 1st June Smarty will cap roaming data at 12gb per month. I have the 30gb @ £10 bought specifically for touring abroad as an upgrade to the 3 24gb data sim. Not been able to try it out of course. We only browse forums, web pages, weather, traffic email, news sites and some FaceTime to Oz and a 24 gb lasts nearly 18 months. Our usage seems to meet with approval as we normally get the full 24 gb.

My wife also has a Smarty sim, but with a lower data limit. Between both and the ability to increase, decrease and pause contracts on a monthly basis I think it will be easy to work around the cap.

Davy
I didn't know that roaming on Smarty had been reduced further. It was my intention to take abroad two or three sim cards from different suppliers, Smarty, Giff Gaff , one other and a 3 with legs. There seems to be several ways to get around the internet problem. Even if it means buying local sims.
I'll put my hands up to being thick as a brick when it come to tech. But if I can see a way around it, anyone can.
 
I went to EE St Neotts recently for a data sim, prior to buying it they wanted my DOB I declined to purchase, However my mate was with us and for £30 he got a 60GB data card lasting 6 months. As neither of us hold a EE account, we were amazed they were offered.
I have been working as an assistant warden for a couple of hours a day since last August. The free wifi whilst it was handy the amount of spoof and spam emails rose considerably. So I decided to do something about it as all my banking etc is done on line.

I am with EE and just got an upgrade. I have a 4G Mini Wifi from EE. The contract I have now gives me 160Gb per month (80Gb on the contract and another 80Gb for being on the contract!!??) which can be shared by 3 devices, phone, tablet and of course the 4G Mini Wifi.

I have 3 SIM cards which I can allocate how much data each SIM card gets and I can change it anytime I need more data on one device. All this costs is £20 per month. Contract is for 24 months.

If you are wondering how much 100Gb of data is for use each month:
Activity100GB data is equal to...
Accessing web pages 60,000 web pages (approx. 1200 hours browsing)
Basic e-mail/instant message35,000,000 messages
Rich e-mail/IM (with attachments)200,000 messages
Downloading or streaming music20,000 songs
Downloading or streaming video (SD)200 hours
Downloading or streaming video (HD)50 hours
Skype voice call 3000 hours
Skype video call 400 hours
Listening to online radio1600 hours
Downloading or updating apps2500 apps

Source for the above https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/data-plans/100gb-data#How_Much_Is_100GB_Data

I don't do all of the above but its handy to know its available. I do do a lot of YouTube and Netflix.

I don't have external WiFi aerial as I don't go abroad and coverage is fine for me staying in the UK.

Oh I get unlimited calls and texts.

I have been with EE for about 5 years now and I've never really had a complaint apart from their website, it is just awful. Best to stick with the EE app.

Hope that helps if your not straying from these shores.

Oh and I nearly forgot; if a get a 5G device that will work on the same contract without changing the SIM cards I have already got. So I've got 4G and 5G if I want it.
 
Common answer to this query is the 3, 24gb data only sim which is valid for 24 months when activated. Can be activated abroad, but when you return to Uk turn the mifi on for a minute or two to let 3 know you are no longer abroad as it is designed for short usage (3 months) abroad. Some people only get 19 gb, but this is down to usage in my opinion. I only surf sites, e mails, weather etc and seem to manage all 24gb. Available on Amazon and sometimes at sale prices. When used up do not top up. Discard and buy a new one.


Another option is a sim from Smarty (3) I use a £10 per month 30gb contract. You can stop and start, reduce or increase the amount as you wish although you may only get 12gb per month when abroad. My smarty sim also fits into my Huawei mifi and works fine to link to TV as my smartphone with the smarty sim will not cast (smart phone issue, not sim)

Davy
Where did you get the info on 12gb monthly roaming limit...I can’t find reference to that anywhere?
 
Most are 20gb . Well the ones I looked at are anyway 😬
 
Where did you get the info on 12gb monthly roaming limit...I can’t find reference to that anywhere?

I live in N. Ireland. When we are near the border with the ROI we often get ‘welcome to ireland’ messages which include call costs and data caps. About a fortnight ago I received such a message which I was fairly sure quoted a reduction to 12gb from early June. I rarely take notice of these and often delete them. You have made me doubt myself since, as you say, no mention in the t&cs and I cannot refer back to message.

I will be up on the north coast later in the week and will probably get a ‘welcome’ message. I will report back in due course to confirm my thoughts or else to apologise for being mistaken.

I would add that I was fairly sure of my facts as I had contributed to a thread elsewhere in response to someone who had been given to understand the 12gb cap and was seeking confirmation from others.

Davy
 
I logged into my smarty account. I quote from the roaming section of my dashboard.

Calling rates from UK to EU are changing

From 1st June, rates for calling all EU destinations from the UK will be charged at 19p per minute.

Fair usage while roaming in the EU is changing

As of 1st June, our fair usage policy is being updated, meaning you won’t be able to use more than 12GB of data with your base tariff each month while roaming in the EU.

If you would like to use more than 12GB of data while in the EU, you can purchase an out-of-plan add-on from your dashboard.

Updating terms to make clear roaming is for periodic travel​

To ensure all customers can benefit from roaming at no extra cost, we have put in place safeguards to prevent prolonged periods of roaming.

If you spend 60 consecutive days abroad, we have the right to suspend all services on your account.

Team SMARTY

I have also discovered the corroboration of another smarty account holder in the attached link.


Davy
 
I logged into my smarty account. I quote from the roaming section of my dashboard.

Calling rates from UK to EU are changing

From 1st June, rates for calling all EU destinations from the UK will be charged at 19p per minute.

Fair usage while roaming in the EU is changing

As of 1st June, our fair usage policy is being updated, meaning you won’t be able to use more than 12GB of data with your base tariff each month while roaming in the EU.

If you would like to use more than 12GB of data while in the EU, you can purchase an out-of-plan add-on from your dashboard.

Updating terms to make clear roaming is for periodic travel​

To ensure all customers can benefit from roaming at no extra cost, we have put in place safeguards to prevent prolonged periods of roaming.

If you spend 60 consecutive days abroad, we have the right to suspend all services on your account.

Team SMARTY

I have also discovered the corroboration of another smarty account holder in the attached link.


Davy
Using the link shown by MHF above. It states that coverage will be limited to 20gb per month in the EU.
One of us has got it wrong, or perhaps your quoting a different area rate. I'll talk to Smarty next time I renew.
 
Using the link shown by MHF above. It states that coverage will be limited to 20gb per month in the EU.
One of us has got it wrong, or perhaps your quoting a different area rate. I'll talk to Smarty next time I renew.
Log into your dashboard, then click on the roaming link. You should get a headline (in orange) stating the date of change with a link to the quoted section that I posted. I reckon the t&cs will not change until the date of implementation.
MHF will find the same if he logs on rather than tout for commission.

Davy
 
I usually buy the 3 data sims for the mifi and once I'd discovered/fallen foul of the fair usage limitations, I made a point of buying 2 or more 12GB sims instead of the larger ones. That way, you get to pop in a new sim when you hit the limit and start over again.
 
Log into your dashboard, then click on the roaming link. You should get a headline (in orange) stating the date of change with a link to the quoted section that I posted. I reckon the t&cs will not change until the date of implementation.
MHF will find the same if he logs on rather than tout for commission.

Davy
I did as you suggested, and yes,things will change as of the !st June.
As a result,I'll be taking Sim's from more than one supplier. I was anyway :censored:
 
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I can’t recall wether it was this forum or another where this topic was being discussed, but, my wife has a smarty sim as well for everyday use. Between the 2 we should manage 24 gb per month for (I think £8 for each sim). The ability to stop,start, increase or decrease the monthly contract should create an economic flexibility. The 60 day cap may not suit some users. Potentially better options are available from other suppliers, but given current uncertainty I would sit tight since were one leads others follow, particularly given the rather sneaky way that Smarty continue to advertise 20gb.

I bought my smarty sim to utilise at home but particularly abroad. I haven’t had a chance to try it out. However I still have 2 x 24gb 3 data sims for my mifi. Our basic use (non streaming) means we get the full 24gb over about 18 months.

I reckon we will not be adversely affected by this rather underhand change at short notice.

Davy
 
Just to be clear, if I buy a 30day data bundle but use it all in, say, a week, can I then immediately buy another bundle, effectively resetting the clock for another 30days?
 
Just to be clear, if I buy a 30day data bundle but use it all in, say, a week, can I then immediately buy another bundle, effectively resetting the clock for another 30days?
When you subscribe to Smarty, Giff Gaff and the like, they send out a second sim, “ For you to share “, hook onto that. Put a partner or family member name to that. Possibly not entirely a correct way of using it, but who’s to know?
What you suggested might be worth a try. It might work, until they get wise to it.
As I only use them for mifi, I’ll take several sims from different suppliers.
As I said in #22, if all else fails, I’ll buy a local data sim.
 
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Just to be clear, if I buy a 30day data bundle but use it all in, say, a week, can I then immediately buy another bundle, effectively resetting the clock for another 30days?
If we're talking about overseas fair usage, I'm not sure if that works when the sim/number remains the same. I tend to think you need to swap sims to start counting afresh but I may be wrong... I often am 😊
 
If we're talking about overseas fair usage, I'm not sure if that works when the sim/number remains the same. I tend to think you need to swap sims to start counting afresh but I may be wrong... I often am 😊
Having read through the t's & c's I can see that what I suggested is not possible. When the data bundle is used you can buy 'add ons' at a much increased cost, of course, until the 30 days is up.
As others say, having 2 or 3 sims is the way to manage this.
 

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