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If you want to get the most out of your smartphone allowances and ensure your data never goes to waste, then you should consider a data rollover plan, as these are designed with this in mind.
Below, we’ll explain exactly how data rollover works, and look at the different options offered by the UK’s networks.
What is data rollover?
Data rollover means having your unused data roll over from one month to the next. So, if for example you have a 4GB data allowance and only used 3GB one month, the next month the 1GB that you didn’t use would be added to your allowance, giving you 5GB to play with.
On networks that don’t have data rollover you instead lose that data, meaning you can end up paying for lots of data that you don’t use. So if your data use varies from month to month it can be very beneficial to be on a plan with data rollover.
It also lets you plan ahead – if you know you’ve got a heavy data use month coming up, you can use less the month before to ensure you have enough.
Read on below for a look at which networks offer data rollover as well as the specifics of it, such as how long you can keep your rolled over data for.
Which networks offer data rollover?
A number of networks offer data rollover, and you’ll find them all below, along with information on the exact terms and availability of their data rollover offer.
|
Network |
Pay Monthly |
Pay As You Go |
|---|---|---|
|
Sky Mobile |
✔ Up to 1 year |
- |
|
iD Mobile |
✔ 1 month |
✖ |
|
Asda Mobile |
✔ 1 month |
✖ |
|
SMARTY |
✖ Money back for unused data |
- |
|
Vodafone |
✖ |
✔ 1 month |
|
EE |
✖ |
✔ 1 month |
|
O2 |
✖ |
✔ 1 month |
|
Three |
✖ |
✖ |
|
Tesco Mobile |
✖ |
✖ |
|
Giffgaff |
✖ |
✖ |
|
Honest Mobile |
✖ | - |
|
ParentShield |
✖ | ✖ |
|
Spusu |
✖ | - |
|
Talk Home |
✖ | ✖ |
|
1pMobile |
✖ | ✖ |
|
VOXI |
✖ |
✖ |
|
Lyca Mobile |
✖ |
✖ |
|
Lebara |
✖ | ✖ |
|
Talkmobile |
✖ | ✖ |
|
|
1GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£2.90 a month |
|
|
16GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£8 a month |
 |
60GB data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts |
£10 a month |
| Compare SIM Only deals | ||
Sky Mobile
Data rollover for up to 1 year
Sky Mobile lets you roll over all your unused data each month and it’s available to use for up to one year, so if you’re regularly using less than your allowance, then you can keep building up what you have available.
The data you roll over is stored in your ‘Sky Piggybank’ and to use it you have to manually roll it back into your allowance in 1GB - 5GB chunks. This can be done through your Sky account online or in the My Sky app at any time.
Sky Mobile’s data rollover is available on all plans, and you can have up to seven SIMs on a single account, all sharing the same Piggybank, so you can potentially pool your data with family or friends.
You can also cash in unused data for rewards, such as vouchers and discounts, so if you’re never likely to use your rolled over data it still doesn’t go to waste.
iD Mobile
Data rollover for 1 month
All of iD Mobile’s current Pay Monthly plans (other than those with unlimited data) come with data rollover, this includes phone and SIM contracts.
With iD Mobile, any unused data from one month is rolled over to the next and will be used before your normal allowance that month. However, unlike on Sky Mobile you only have this one extra month to use it.
Asda Mobile
Data rollover for 1 month
Although not heavily advertised, Asda Mobile’s FAQ states that any unused data on your plan will roll over to a second month, giving you a second chance to use it.
This applies on Pay Monthly but not on Pay As You Go, and as with most networks you only get the one extra month before the data expires.
O2
Data rollover only with Pay As You Go bundles
O2 lets you roll over your data from one month to the next if you purchase one of its Rolling plans on Pay As You Go, assuming you automatically renew your bundle the next month. However, you can’t roll over data on contracts.
O2 also caps the amount of data you can roll over from one month to the next, with the figure varying based on what bundle you have.
Vodafone
Data rollover only on Pay As You Go
If you purchase one of Vodafone’s Big Value Bundles on Pay As You Go, any unused data will be rolled over into the next month’s bundle. However, it only rolls over once, so you have to use the rolled over data within the next 30 days.
You also don’t get the rolled over allowances if you renew your bundle early, switch to a different bundle, or wait beyond 30 days to renew it.
Note that Vodafone also offers Pay As You Go Plus, which is a different selection of bundles that don’t include data rollover.
EE
Data rollover only on Pay As You Go
EE’s data rollover is also limited, in that it’s only available on Pay As You Go. However, you can get it when purchasing any Pay As You Go pack that includes data (at the time of writing).
Any unused data will be added to the next pack you buy – as long as you buy the next pack within seven days of the first one expiring, and your rolled over data will be used before your standard allowance.
SMARTY Mobile
Get money back for unused data
Technically SMARTY Mobile doesn’t offer data rollover, but it offers a similar and arguably even more useful service, as it will buy back any data you don’t use each month on some plans (called data discount plans).
Specifically, it will give you a £1 discount off the following month’s price for every 1GB of unused data, and you don’t need to have a full gigabyte left over – it will pay you back for each individual megabyte. It pays you back at the same price the data costs you in the first place, so unless you specifically want to build up a pool of data this could be a great option.
However, at the time of writing data discounts are only available on plans with low data allowances, so this is only useful for light data users.
Conclusion
For conventional data rollover, Sky Mobile is clearly the best choice as it doesn’t cost extra or have any real restrictions and it lets you store your data for up to three years.
If your concern is more about avoiding wasting money than actually having a pool of data to call on then Smarty Mobile could be an even better choice, as you essentially only pay for what you use – though this feature is limited to plans with low data limits, so you’re not going to be able to use much data in the first place.
Asda Mobile and iD Mobile are honourable mentions, as they both offer data rollover on a range of plans, but only being able to store your rolled over data for one month makes them rather more restrictive.
All the other options are a lot worse for one reason or another, as you can see above, but can still make for a nice bonus if the network appeals in other ways.
