5 of the best SIM-only deals right now

jonnreeks

https://www.bonkers.ie/blog/broadband-phone/5-of-the-hottest-sim-only-deals-right-now/

• 1. GoMo - €14.99 a month
• 2. Virgin Mobile - €25 a month
• 3. 48 - €12.99 a month
• 4. Clear Mobile - €14.99 a month
• 5. Tesco Mobile - €20 a month

Hi, just wondering if anyone is on one of the above plans and can give their advice and experience of same.

By the by, I got a sales call from Eir recently with a new mobile plan offer of €9.99 p/m for 12 months than going back to my current €20 pay as you go plan.

Anyone care to advise.

N

KildareP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058349985/5-of-the-best-sim-only-deals-right-now

Depends on what you consider "best".

GoMo is owned Eir. 48, Tesco and Virgin are on 3. Clear is owned by Vodafone. Depending on which network best serves you.

If you're happy with online only support - GoMo or 48. If you specifically want prepay only - 48.

If you need to be able to walk into a shop somewhere and speak face-to-face with someone - Tesco or Virgin. If you specifically want prepay only - Tesco.

Clear - wouldn't bother to be honest. Data is capped at 5Mbps at best and the Vodafone network is going backwards with more and more areas being left with just EDGE as they switch off 3G and never bothered upgrading large parts of the country to 4G.

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058349985/5-of-the-best-sim-only-deals-right-now

I am on the €9.99 month SIM only plan from Eir. Although it is supposed to increase after 12-months, it is only a 30-day contract. I just call them up each year, and they renew. I have been doing this for 6 years, and there is never any problem getting renewal at €9.99pm for another 12 months.

They also do TV for €9.99 per month including a free Apple TV 4K box and Amazon Prime Video, with no extra monthly fee for multi-room, and again there is never a problem getting them to renew the discount each year. These are the best deals around, if you are able to bundle with Broadband. Eir (including their GoMo offering) are also the only network to offer full support for WiFi calling, including use for texting and while roaming - and this is a great way of avoiding roaming costs when outside of the EU. Their 5G coverage is excellent, and the Comreg maps show that it is now way better than Vodafone, who were once the best network for coverage.

Kaisr Sose

Is the eir €9.99 offer a legacy one? I dont see this on their site.

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089410#Comment_122089410

€9.99pm is not a legacy offer - it is still on their website, and has been available consistently for years at this price. However, this price is only available for SIMs added to a broadband bundle. For example, if you select the €34.99 basic fibre broadband bundle, you will then be offered to add on SIM-only only mobile or TV for €9.99pm each. It is also referred to on the following website, if you look towards the end of the page where there is a banner headed "See some benefits of eir broadband" - and 3 boxes within the banner. The box on the right shows the SIM-only pricing of €9.99pm.

https://www.eir.ie/shop/broadband

Kaisr Sose

@babelfish1990

Thanks..I don't have eir bb so that explains it. It's a good deal to bundle all these together. I just exited VF Gigabit BB contract. I am looking to just have a Sim only /pre-pay internet via a 4g router.

jonnybangbang

I had 48 before and I had it for years at the €8.99 rate but i found that it worked perfectly while here in Ireland and i would not be hesitant in recommending them …. i found that if travelling abroad the service was very hit and miss and mostly miss.

When roaming, it would not connect to foreign networks automatically. You needed to manually input the settings in order for it to work to use calls and data .. which when you don't have internet access is hard to look up an do. 🤷‍♂️

As i now travel abroad for work, I'm currently with Vodafone pay as you go for €25. This gives me unlimited Calls , texts and data (5g) while here in Ireland and generally i don't need to worry when i'm roaming.

• while writing this reply i checked vodafone and the offer is now €20 per month and i switched over.

jonnreeks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089480#Comment_122089480

Hi, by the by how do you pay this amount? Is this €9.99 month SIM only plan from Eir separate to your current Eir bill and paid monthly or does it have to be part of it?

😜

mondeoman72

Eir, well what else is there to say. exposed again last week for crap service and burying complaints.

i run 4 gomo sims, super reliable but got in at the beginning so only pay 9.99 each. i know they are eir but no need to contact them.

Have 1 48 sim and its gone down multiple times. Finally have a 12.99 clearmobile sim in a router on a mountain. It provides wifi at 5 meg, super reliable and fit for the person who needs wifi on her phone and mass on her tv.....

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089848#Comment_122089848

The €9.99pm SIM-only plan is an add-on to an Eir bundle. It is included on the normal bill - not separate. You can have several SIMs for different household members, if necessary - each is €9.99pm. This deal is only available if you bundle with Broadband. The original poster who posed the question had been offered the €9.99pm plan by Eir, so the assumption is that he was in a position to bundle.

babelfish1990

As you have observed - the Eir network (which you use for GoMo) is extremely reliable - and you yourself have found it more robust than 48. Personally, I have never had an issue with customer service - but since the network is reliable, the only time I ever have to engage with customer service is once a year, to renew my discounts. I have always found them efficient and agreeable when renewing. During the pandemic, it took longer for them to answer, like most other utilities - but I still got the discounts each year, and the network kept working. With a Million+ customers, I have no doubt that there are some customers that have had different experiences - but it certainly isn't all of us. Regarding Clear Mobile - I can see that it might work for some - but the severe capping at 5Mbps would be too much of a restriction for most users.

rightmove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058349985/5-of-the-best-sim-only-deals-right-now

Got same offer today from vodafone as with them for BB.

I actually need a sim so thinking of ringing them back. Just didnt know if it was a phishing type scam or not so checked here.

anyone else got this also?

Glaceon

I went with Sky on their €15 per month plan. They have had issues, but none of them have affected me so far and the iOS 18.2 update tidied up any loose ends that I did have. My preference would have been GoMo but the coverage was poor in places where I needed it.

banie01

I'm with Gomo on their legacy €9.99 for life offer. I'd guess their €14.99 offer is as close as you can get. I'm with them since November 2019, I've never yet needed to deal with CC, I travel quite a bit within EU and US and everything just works. My son is in the same deal, currently studying in Vienna and has never had an issue with data or roaming in 4 months there so far.

If ever I run into a problem with them? No doubt my opinion will change 😉

feargantae

Sky's €15 unlimited SIMO is great value if you need Vodafone coverage. eir's €10 SIMO with their broadband is good too. It's €14.99 for non eir broadband customers if you go in store. Probably in response to Sky launching @ €15. eir/GoMo/Clear have a sneaky €10 activation fee too whereas Sky do not.

Personally I'm still on 3's €20 plan where you keep your credit as all I need is unlimited data, everything else is WhatsApp for me!

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058349985/5-of-the-best-sim-only-deals-right-now

on the 48 plan since its introduction. €7.99 a month and no issues. At the start they had issues with roaming where you had to input the details but I have had an issue within the last 2 years since I updated my sim.

PixelCrafter

Quite honestly have been finding Eir’s customer service pretty good in recent months. I think they’ve genuinely turned a corner on that stuff - have had no issues with their FTTH, TV or mobile service and when I’ve has to talk to them they’ve been helpful and got stuff sorted —mostly just plan changes etc. Something’s definitely changed since the Illiad / Xavier Neil take over. They’re behaving like a telco for once!

Sky on the other hand nearly drove me around the twist!

rightmove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122092012#Comment_122092012

I rang about the offer and the lad sounded like he was living in a mountain in Tibet.
His english was terrible and he told me it was 15 euro and I explained it was 10 and he said yes with discount applied.

Got off the phone as quick as I could as lost faith they would process it correctly. Might see if there is an option to do it myself online

feargantae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013162#Comment_123013162

Weird! I thought eir's call centres were all in Ireland? (Sligo?) Unlimited SIMO is €14.99 for non bb customers in store and €9.99 for bb customers. Both have a €9.99 activation fee also

rightmove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013478#Comment_123013478

this is vodafone

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013478#Comment_123013478

Eir call centres are based in Yorkshire.

Simi

Honestly just order a 48 SIM and try it out for a month. It's 12.99 and truly unlimited. I'll still on the 7.99 deal which is limited to 4g and it's been great the last few years

feargantae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013510#Comment_123013510

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013518#Comment_123013518

I looked it up and all I can find is a Covid-era article saying "We have customer care call centres in Sligo, Cork and Limerick" and that they also work from home. So it seems it's all Ireland based now?

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123014113#Comment_123014113

They must be lying cos I am with eir and have spoken with their customer service plenty over the last few years, they are definitely in Yorkshire. Maybe they have some other parts of their business offices in Ireland?

Tbf, the Yorkshire staff are easy to understand!

rightmove

When they bundle the sim deal with the broadband. Does the sim activate the day you pay your monthly bill?

If you are doing sim on its own the activation date is the date you start using it.

How do they deal with the misalignment of activating you sim against your billing recurrence?

feargantae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123042343#Comment_123042343

If you go instore the sim is active straight away. With Broadband, the €9.99 activation fee + €9.99 SIMO charge are added to the broadband bill so everything is on the one bill and paid at the one time. Regardless of where you are in the billing cycle it seems they add it onto the next bill. That's how it was for me anyway.

Without broadband the SIMO is active straight away with the first bill (€14.99) + €9.99 activation fee payable 30 days later.

They really don't make it easy to understand 🤣

whizbang

Vodafone website acting strange; was down for maintenance a few times during the last week, now won't allow me to login or even register a new account