iD Mobile Review 2021: Great Value SIM deals with 4G & Wi-Fi Calling!

Latest Offer: Unlimited Data for Half Price for the first three months!

iD Mobile is offering unlimited data for just £9/month for the first three months of your contract. The tariff also includes Wi-Fi Calling, 4G Calling and 5G coverage at no extra cost on selected 5G ready handsets! 

Who is iD Mobile

iD Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator owned by Dixons Carphone and powered by Three’s network. The carrier offers 30-day rolling, low-cost pay monthly SIM deals and a PAYG service. Unlike most other MVNOs, iD Mobile’s pay monthly contracts include 4G Calling and Wi-Fi Calling and still maintain competitive prices. The network is also offering is now offering few 12-month SIM only plans too.

As stated above, iD Mobile uses Three as its network provider, but doesn’t provide any 5G coverage to their customers even though 5G is available on the host network. On the other hand you’ll get decent 4G network coverage and fast data speeds.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about iD Mobile as well as what the network offers & more.

Half Cooked’s overall rating for ID: (4 / 5)

Table of Contents

Plans & Pricing

SIM Only Deals

The network offers pay monthly, 30-day rolling contracts and while they come at great prices with good value, you can’t purchase them without a credit check. iD Mobile’s pay monthly SIM only deals start from £6 per month with and you can even purchase an unlimited data deal for just £18/month.

One great thing about iD Mobile’s monthly plans is there’s almost always a great discount or a double data offer available. At one point iD Mobile was offering the cheapest monthly contract for as little as £3.99.

If you want to stay on Three’s network, but want to check out some other alternatives you can also have a look at SMARTY and Superdrug Mobile. SMARTY offers some of the most competitive prices on the market and even money back on their discount plans, and as for Superdrug Mobile, their unlimited data plan is one of the cheapest in the UK, plus you get double Health & Beautycard points for your Superdrug purchases.

Make sure to read our SMARTY Review and Superdrug Mobile Review to learn more about them. You may also want to read our Three Review to discover everything you need to know about their host network.

Pay As You Go

If you don’t want to undergo a credit check, then you might want to have a look at iD Mobile’s pay as you go service. The MVNO offers three different PAYG bundles to choose from, plus you can use the network as a traditional PAYG service too. However, iD Mobile requires you to top-up more frequently than most other networks and their PAYG Value bundles aren’t that great.

iD Mobile’s PAYG Value Bundles

At Halfcooked, we rate giffgaff’s ‘goodybags’ highly for their flexibility and prices. Plus you can mix and match and combine traditional PAYG with goodybags. Plus there are no credit checks on giffgaff and the carrier uses O2’s great 4G network!. Check out our giffgaff Review and find out what makes goodybags so special. If you want to learn more about the parent network, we also have everything you need to know covered in our O2 Review.

If you are specifically after a PAYG deal, we strongly recommend you read our best pay as you go SIM deals guide.

Pay Monthly Phones

iD Mobile makes good use out of its parent co. Dixons Carphone and offers wallet-friendly pay monthly phone deals. These handsets are unlocked and there are also SIM-free purchase options. The carrier proposes flagship smartphones from Apple to Samsung, and also mid-tier to low-end devices from manufacturers like Google, Huawei, Honor, Motorola, Oppo, Nokia and others.

iD Mobile also offers you the choice to buy a 24-month contract plan with your new device. Some of these deals include extra data and/or 1 year Apple TV+ subscription. Sadly though, you’re not given the option to split your airtime bill and phone bill, which makes upgrading your device difficult until the end of your contract.

If you’re looking for a more flexible phone deal, we’d suggest checking out O2’s handset range, EE also has some great refurbished deals.

Network Coverage & Speeds

3G and 4G Coverage

iD Mobile uses Three as its network provider, and therefore the carrier doesn’t offer any 2G coverage. Three is one of the four major mobile network operators in the UK, and just like the others they offer over 99% population coverage. Having said that, Three’s 4G landmass coverage is behind the likes of EE and Vodafone.

According to April 2021 4G tests performed by Opensignal, iD Mobile’s average 4G download speed is at around 19Mbps, and the carrier offers 7Mbps to 8Mbps upload speeds. These speeds are more than enough to play video games, stream your favourite content on Netflix, watch 1080p YouTube videos and listen to music. Just don’t forget to check the network’s coverage map and ensure that you get good connection in your area.

If you want the best 4G service in the UK, we’d suggest you read our EE Review. EE has the widest UK geography coverage for 4G, and the network also offers the fastest download speeds, hands down.

5G Coverage

Even though 5G is available to all Three customers at no extra cost, iD Mobile only offers 5G Coverage on specific 5G ready handsets for the time being. 

Mobile virtual networks tend to skip 5G at the moment as it’s not as essential as 4G, but some networks like VOXI and Tesco Mobile will grant you access to their 5G services. You can read our VOXI Review to learn more about their 5G plan with unlimited data, and you can head to our Tesco Mobile Review and check out their 5G price plans.

Looking only at Opensignal’s speed tests taken on a 5G connection, Three has decently fast 5G download speeds in the UK measured at 115Mbps. Plus, the network’s 5G coverage is available in 194 cities and towns.

Voice Call Quality

This is a tricky section, mainly because personal experiences can greatly differ due to the area you live in, the device you use and extra features networks provide. Therefore we rely on objective testing bodies and their test results. Open Signal and umlaut are two of these companies we trust and their test results say iD Mobile’s host network Three is ranked at the bottom among the four major mobile network operators in the UK with an overall score of “sufficient”.

Call setup times are considerably longer on Three compared to EE and Vodafone.

Wi-Fi Calling & 4G Calling

Thanks to Wi-Fi Calling technology you can make and receive voice calls over a Wi-Fi connection rather than using your regular mobile connection.

4G Calling is technically just making your everyday phone calls, but instead of using 2G or 3G signals your mobile phone will utilise your network’s 4G service. 4G Calling improves your call quality significantly. It also eliminates many indoor blackspots.

At the end of the day these two features can vastly improve your overall voice call quality and you’ll be glad to know iD Mobile customers can benefit from both features, provided their phone and SIM plan supports them.

Wi-Fi Hotspots

Unfortunately there are no specific free Wi-Fi hotspots you can benefit from if you decide to get an iD Mobile SIM plan.

If you don’t mind committing to a long-term contract, you can check out our BT Mobile Review. Using EE’s infrastructure BT Mobile offers millions of free Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK, as well as in some EU destinations.

Tethering

Tethering or turning your mobile phone into a personal hotspot means you can share your mobile data allowance with other compatible devices such as other smartphones, laptops etc.

You can tether freely on iD Mobile, but as always, you may end up using a lot more data very quickly. If you’re not careful tethering can be very costly. Especially if you’re tethering to a laptop, a gaming console or a regular PC.

International Roaming

You can use your iD Mobile UK minutes, texts and data allowances in 50 destinations throughout the EU in line with EU roaming regulations that were introduced in 2017.

The network splits inclusive roaming available destinations into two bands. Band 1 includes regular EU destinations and Band 2 allows you to make calls in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Macedonia. Having said that, in Band 2 you can only use your allowances to call & text the UK or the same country you’re in.

Band 1 lets you call or text the UK and all the other Band 1 destinations. iD Mobile’s app won’t be using your mobile data, so you can regularly check your allowances when you’re abroad. There are many great roaming deals offered by other UK networks and if you want to check them out make sure to have a look at our Roaming Abroad 2020 guide.

Features

Data Boost (Expired)

Update: This feature is no longer available.

iD Mobile’s data boost feature kicks in if you ever run out of your monthly data allowance. However, it’s a one-off perk so you can’t purchase a new data boost. On the other hand you can always purchase an extra data add-on from iD Mobile’s store.

You can keep track of your data boost with the iD Mobile mobile app or by logging in to your account directly from their website. Data boost stays valid for 36 months, but if you upgrade your account or change your plan, you’ll lose whatever remains of your boost. The amount of extra data you get with this perk depends on which plan you purchase and it can be between 10GB to 100GB.

Data Rollover

Not many UK networks offer a data rollover feature, and the ones that do usually require you to sign a long term contract or just allow it on their pay as you go deals. iD Mobile is the exception among the many as the network offers data rollover on all 30-day rolling price plans. Regardless of your plan choice, with iD Mobile you get a second chance to use your leftover data.

Bill Capping

Nowadays most mobile networks in the UK offer a money-saving feature and so does iD Mobile. With this feature, you can simply limit your monthly spend to a specific amount. iD Mobile won’t let you go over it and there won’t be any nasty surprises waiting for you at the end of the month.

Alternatively you can choose an out-of-plan spend cap between £1 and £25 above your monthly allowance. The carrier allows you to change your cap any time you want via their app or by logging into your account via any web browser.

Half Cooked’s Overall Breakdown

Half Cooked’s overall rating for ID: (4 / 5)

• Network Coverage and Speeds – iD Mobile gets the basics right with over 99% 4G population coverage but landmass coverage is behind other networks. The network also offers 5G at no extra cost on selected handsets.
• Voice Call Quality – umlaut & Open Signal rate Three’s (iD Mobile’s host) voice call quality as ‘sufficient’. Three’s call setup times were significantly longer than others according to their test results.
• Tethering – You can tether freely on iD Mobile, but be careful as you’ll be spending using your data at a faster rate.
• Wi-Fi Calling & 4G Calling – iD Mobile offers both Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling. You’ll need a compatible phone and a SIM plan though.
• Wi-Fi Hotspots – There are no free Wi-Fi hotspots available for iD Mobile users.
• International Roaming – The network offers the basic EU roaming and also allows you to roam somewhat freely in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Macedonia.
• Data Boost (No Longer Available) – iD Mobile offers you a one-off data boost that lasts for 36 months or till you spend it all.
• Data Rollover – The network gives you a second chance to use your leftover data. It’s a rare gift, given how most MVNOs don’t offer a data rollover feature or ask you to sign a long-term contract.
• Bill Capping – iD Mobile won’t charge you more than the cap you set. You can even set it to £0 and don’t worry about any extra charges.

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