iD Mobile Review

Table of Contents Plans Value for money Extras and benefits Network Which network does iD Mobile use? Coverage Speeds Frequencies Customer Service Conclusion Alternatives

Plans

iD Mobile has a range of plans available from as little as £6 per month. All plans come with free roaming in 50 destinations, data rollover (unless you have unlimited data), and spending caps.

The network offers both SIM Only deals and phones on contract, with the former coming in 1, 12 or 24-month durations, while the latter are all 24 months. The network doesn’t offer data only plans, and nor are there mobile broadband or home broadband options, so it’s a relatively basic network in some ways, but data rollover (detailed further down) helps it stand out.

iD Mobile also offers some Pay As You Go bundles, which come with an allowance of data along with unlimited minutes and text. 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	Unlimited
Add-on expiry	1 month
Top Up Expiry	90 days inactivity
Tethering	✔
Roaming	✔
No credit check	✔

Once your allowance runs out, you’ll enjoy rates of 3p per minute, 2p per text and 1p per MB of data, which is very low compared to most networks. And if you prefer you can top up and use your allowance without a bundle.

Value for money

iD Mobile is a generally good value network. Its plans are competitively priced and its Pay As You Go rates are among the lowest.

Like most networks there can be mid-contract price rises on 24-month handset plans, but stick with a short-term SIM Only plan and these can be avoided, since if you’re on a 30-day plan then you’re essentially free to change network if you’re ever unhappy with price changes.

Data rollover also improves the value of iD Mobile, as it helps ensure you’re not paying for data that you don’t use.

You can also get up to 3 months free Apple Music and Apple Arcade with iD Mobile’s phone and SIM Only plans.

SIM Only Deals

View All iD Sim Only Deals

Extras and benefits

iD Mobile offers a number of perks and extras. You can see a full list of these in the chart below, followed by more details about them, but highlights include data rollover – since that’s not offered by many networks, and free roaming – since a number of networks now charge.

iD Mobile Perks and Policies

	Mobile Phones	SIM Only
5G	✔	✔
Free Roaming	✔	✔
Tethering	✔	✔
Wi-Fi Calling	✔	✔
VoLTE	✔	✔
Data Rollover	✔	✔
Bill Capping	✔	✔
Unlimited Data	✔	✔
Family Plans	✖	✖
Credit Check	✔	✔

5G

iD Mobile offers 5G as standard on its SIM Only plans and with 5G phones, so you won’t have to pay any extra for the latest generation of mobile technology. That said, 5G is only guaranteed to work with select phones on iD Mobile. The full list is here.

Roaming destinations

iD Mobile plans give you free roaming abroad in 50 destinations, so are perfect for those who regularly travel to foreign countries. That said, its free roaming is limited mostly to European locations. When abroad in a destination you can use texts, calls and data allowances (subject to a fair usage policy of up to 30GB) 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.

Tethering

iD Mobile allows tethering, so you can use your phone’s data to get other devices online. If you have unlimited data then you can do this with no limits.

Wi-Fi 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 on most but not all handsets, including iPhones from the iPhone 5S onwards, and select Android handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23, Google Pixel 8, and many others. 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 iPhones from the iPhone 6 onwards, and many but not all Android handsets. You’ll find the full list of supported devices here.

Data rollover

All plans (except unlimited data plans and Pay As You Go) come with data rollover, meaning that unused data is carried over to the next month. That’s a great feature because it means you’re less likely to run out of data, and it’s something now many networks offer.

Bill Capping

iD Mobiles plans are perfect for those who want to control their spending. They have a Bill Capping feature that lets you set an out-of-plan spending cap.

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.

Unlimited data

You can get unlimited data on both SIM Only and with a smartphone on iD Mobile, and there’s no fair usage policy when in the UK, so you truly can use an unlimited amount.

Family plans

iD Mobile doesn’t currently offer any kind of family plan, so you can’t get discounts or other perks for adding multiple plans to your account. That’s a shame, but only of concern if you actually want to have multiple people on your account.

Credit checks

iD Mobile will run a credit check on you when you apply for a SIM Only plan, or a Pay Monthly plan with a handset. If you’d like to join the network without getting credit checked, then Pay As You Go is your only option. This though is in line with most other networks. If you’re looking for a plan that won’t credit check you, take a look at our no credit check SIM Only deals page.

Network

Which network does iD Mobile use?

iD Mobile uses Three’s network, so it offers 5G, 4G and 3G coverage in all the same places as Three. So if you want a network with Three’s coverage but different prices or perks, then iD Mobile is a good option. 

Coverage

Three’s coverage – especially its 5G coverage – is rapidly improving, and as it does so will iD Mobile’s, but you can see how its coverage stands currently in the chart below.

iD Mobile Coverage

Network Type	Coverage by population
5G	Now available in over 650 locations
4G	99.8%
3G	98.7% (but will be switched off by end of 2024)
2G	N/A

Check iD Mobile Coverage

Network Speeds

Opensignal – Mobile Network Experience, September 2023, and April 2020

Network	Download/upload speeds	4G latency (ms)
EE	40.0/9.3Mbps	36.0ms
iD Mobile (Three)	34.5/6.3Mbps	48.3ms
Vodafone	27.9/8.0Mbps	39.0ms
O2	20.9/5.0Mbps	38.1ms

In an Opensignal report from September 2023, Three was found to have the second fastest download speed at 34.5Mbps on average. Since iD Mobile uses Three’s infrastructure it’s likely to offer similar speeds. Its average upload speed meanwhile comes in third, at 6.3Mbps. Those speeds were recorded using a mix of 5G, 4G and 3G, much like you’d be getting when moving around many locations in the real world.

However, in an earlier report from April 2020, Three’s 4G latency (the amount of time it takes for the network to respond to a request), averaged 48.3ms, which is slower than any rival. We’re using older data for latency because later reports didn’t include it.

For 5G meanwhile, iD Mobile might be looking at average download speeds of around 205.5Mbps based on tests of Three done by Opensignal in September 2023, with a median 5G download speed of 165.7Mbps according to H2 2023 data from RootMetrics. That’s a higher average than any rival and a higher median than any but EE.

The same RootMetrics report also found that Three’s 95th percentile 5G download speed (which is what you can expect in the fastest 5% of instances) was 853.4Mbps, and that had all rivals beat too.

And there’s a Speedtest report from 2023, which put Three's median 5G download speed at 226.27Mbps, and its median 5G upload speed at 13.14Mbps, both of which were the highest on test too.

Three’s 5G latency could be around 17ms, based on late 2020 RootMetrics data, though 2023 Speedtest data put its median 5G latency at 31ms. So this could all apply to iD Mobile too.

Traffic management

On the subject of traffic management, iD Mobile says “we do not block access to or slow down traffic on our network unless it's legally required, to protect network security or to manage congestion in exceptional circumstances.”

It notes though that “in the event of network or equipment failure, or heavy congestion, we may have to deploy technology to ensure that our network runs smoothly, supporting time critical traffic and minimising disruption.”

Frequencies

Network Frequencies

Frequency	Frequency Band	Network
700MHz	n29	5G
800MHz	Band 20	4G
1400MHz	Band 32	4G
1800MHz	Band 3	4G
2100MHz	Band 1	3G
3400MHz	n78	5G
3600-4000MHz	n77	5G

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 and 5G frequencies guide.

For 5G, iD Mobile will be leveraging the higher frequency 3.4GHz and 3.6-4GHz bands. It should also have access to low frequency 700MHz spectrum, which could be used for 5G too.

Customer service

Not many studies have been done into iD Mobile’s customer service, but on Trustpilot, iD Mobile has an overall score from customers of 3.9/5, which is considered ‘great’. That’s based on 28,495 ratings at the time of writing.

An Ofcom customer service report from 2023 meanwhile found that 10 customers per 100,000 had reason to complain to Ofcom, which is slightly higher than the industry average of 8.

iD Mobile’s customer service is 100% online, with the goal being to help you get answers faster. Tools include live chat, a chat bot, a helpful community, and access to account features from both the web and the iD Mobile app, as well as an automated phone service.

Stores

You can make purchases and return items on iD Mobile in any Currys retail stores. 

Conclusion

iD Mobile is a robust, good value 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 then it’s well worth considering.

It's a well above average network overall, especially as it now offers unlimited data and 5G – with higher speeds than most rivals, but those wanting to roam much beyond Europe should consider looking elsewhere.

Alternatives

The key alternatives to iD Mobile are those networks with the same coverage. That includes Three, of course, since iD Mobile uses Three’s infrastructure.

Being a major network, Three offers a wider variety of plans, as well as extras like its Three+ app, but it’s also often pricier, and it doesn’t offer free roaming, so you may not find it a better fit.

A closer rival might be Smarty, which also uses Three’s network but is cheaper than Three. However, its selection of plans is very limited, with just SIM Only available.

You could also consider Sky Mobile. This network has different coverage to iD Mobile, but like iD Mobile it also offers data rollover, so if that perk is important to you then it’s a suitable alternative.