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BT Mobile review: why they were our overall best-rated network

BT Mobile reviewVisit BT.com

The retailers featured on this page may compensate us when our readers follow links to their websites and make a purchase. More

Having joined BT Mobile as a real customer, we think they offer the best combo of coverage, speeds and deal pricing. Here's the full story. Last updated: 8th March 2022.

Notification

BT Mobile closed to new customers

1pMobile logo

Great value plans on EE's 5G networkRead our review

at simsherpa.com
(opens in new window)

As part of their strategy to combine BT and EE, BT Mobile are no longer open for new customers to join on SIM only or phone contracts. This review is now for historical reference only.

If you're looking for a decent alternative to EE and BT Mobile on their 5G network, take a look at 1pMobile here. They have some great value 1-month plans, like this:

Useful link: Read our guide to 1pMobile

Overall rating

SIM Sherpa rates BT Mobile as an excellent provider
 (4.5/5, excellent)

"The reason to join BT Mobile is pretty clear. They offer unbeatable 4G speeds, unbeatable 4G coverage and all the network features of a main operator you’d expect, like WiFi calling and 4G calling.

They even go better than their hosts EE by having a massive WiFi hotspot network to fall back on. BT also seem to have got to grips with a record of poor customer service.

BT also have some decent extras. People will appreciate getting BT Sport app access on premium plans. But more will benefit from BT’s Family Plans, which are one of the best on the market.

You’re not getting rock bottom prices. And you do need BT broadband to make their plan costs realistic. But it’s not a low-end experience. BT Mobile’s a premium-quality product at fair prices."

The 3 best bits

1) Coverage, speeds and WiFi calling
2) Kept inclusive EU roaming
3) Decent Family Plans

The 3 worst bits

1) Clunky automatic free WiFi app
2) Lacking any unique extra benefits
3) Phone contracts not competitive

Which carrier does BT Mobile use?

BT Mobile uses the full EE 2G,3G,4G,5G network. In fact, BT actually own EE.

Can I get 5G on BT Mobile?

Yes you can. All new SIM only plans and phone contracts for 5G-compatible models are sold as 5G.

Is 5G on BT Mobile good?

Yes, we believe it’s an identical experience to EE’s 5G.

Does BT have WiFi calling?

Yes and it’s our joint best rated scheme. It supports loads of phones and even SMS text messaging too.

Can I keep my number moving to BT Mobile?

Yes you can. Just get a PAC from your old provider by texting the word PAC to 65075 and give the code to BT Mobile when you sign up or at any point, in your online account.

Information symbol We're a professional reviews website but we bought our BT Mobile SIM card as a regular consumer, to test what it's actually like for real life paying customers. The contents of this review are a combination of our expert industry knowledge and what we experienced during our test.

BT Mobile's network

Coverage: BT Mobile have the best mix of signal

Check BT Mobile coverage

See how their signal is in your areaUse coverage checker

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

BT have owned EE for a while now, so it only makes sense that BT broadcast their signal using the same masts as EE. In our real life tests, we found no differences in signal between the two networks.

We used our BT SIM as we would on a day to day basis. By testing in various locations we found it difficult to find somewhere without signal.

You’d be surprised at some of the places you can get 4G signal. On some networks you get wider 4G signal coverage in exchange for slower speeds in rural areas. But BT get you decent 4G speeds in most parts of the country.

Where we did find some weakness was indoors. The further indoors you are the shakier and worse quality calls can be. This isn’t an issue if your phone has WiFi or 4G calling.

Now, we can’t check every part of the country. You might be living somewhere that BT aren’t able to cover well, so use BT’s coverage checker before signing up to see how signal will be in your area. We found it pretty accurate to real life.

No other network covers as much of the UK’s geographical area with 4G signal as BT do. With them you’ve statistically got the best chance of getting a high-quality data connection while out and about.

But no network is perfect. BT’s call signal (3G/2G) coverage is less extensive than O2’s or Vodafone’s. There isn’t much difference in urban areas. And their indoor signal can be a weakness, making WiFi / 4G calling more important than other providers.

All in all, you’d have to be quite unlucky to have poor signal with BT. Their signal has been brilliant in our experience. But as always, use their network map to check the places you’ll regularly use your phone before buying.

Useful link: Check BT Mobile indoor and outdoor coverage

BT have the best overall 5G coverage with EE

BT Mobile coverage

Best coverage in their locationsRead 5G guide

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

All the main networks are focusing a lot of attention on bringing 5G to the highest amount of locations and expanding 5G coverage within those locations as much as possible. BT’s hosts EE are definitely winning this race.

Looking at the number of declared locations, BT come in third place with 160+ covered locations. But this doesn’t take into account that they only declare locations once 5G is available in 50% of a location’s area.

What that means is that 5G coverage is generally better in BT’s declared locations than other networks, and that there are more locations with 5G that just haven’t been declared yet. Their 5G is brilliant and you get it on all plans:

We can’t yet say for certain in how many locations you’ll get 5G on BT. But we can say that you’ll generally stay on 5G more often on BT than on other networks. In any case, use their coverage checkers to see how 5G is in your area.

Useful link: BT's full guide to their 5G

Our coverage rating:
★★★★★ (best choice)

Rank:
Joint 1st

As good as:
EE

Better than:
Vodafone, O2 & all others

4G data speeds: BT Mobile are consistently the fastest in most places

BT Mobile traffic management

Same speeds as being on EERead traffic policy

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

BT’s old 30 Mbps data speed cap is now gone for new customers, and they now take joint-first place for 4G speeds along with their network hosts EE. Both our real life tests and results from independent network testers prove that.

We tested our BT SIM in various different locations in order to see where the independent tester’s results are coming from.

In some locations speeds went way beyond what we expected. We were able to get up to 100 Mbps in some areas. That’s the sort of speeds you’d get on home fibre broadband and even challenges 5G speeds in some areas.

The lowest we typically dropped to was around 10 - 12 Mbps in very rural locations. It was very rare that we got below that.

When we switched from using our BT SIM to another network’s SIM we immediately noticed the difference in speeds. BT really are that good.

Independent testers Opensignal have had EE and the providers that use their network as the fastest network for ages. They measure typical speeds around 44 Mbps over 4G.

In reality you can get up to 5x that average speed on BT Mobile on 4G+ (but also a third of that average in rural areas). So there's a bit of variation. But it averages out like decent home broadband.

For 5G speeds, BT are also measured as one of the fastest. Between Opensignal’s and Speedtest by Ookla’s results, typical 5G speeds on BT lie somewhere between 131.9 Mbps - 158.30 Mbps, and their results have gone up over time.

Useful link: BT's No Limits plan

Our speeds rating:
★★★★★ (joint best choice)

Rank:
Depends on plan

As good as:
EE

Better than:
Vodafone, Three, O2

Call extras: BT offer great WiFi calling and 4G calling schemes

BT Mobile WiFi calling alternative

Connect to calls even without call signalSee supported devices

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

We’ve said that BT’s calling signals (2G/3G) can generally be poorer at getting indoors, but BT do offer WiFi calling and 4G calling as a solution. They come on all plans at no extra cost.

With WiFi calling you can connect to calls over WiFi signal instead of call signal, and even do the same with SMS messages. Their 4G calling lets you do all that over 4G, and also improves call quality and coverage.

Our tests showed that these features are very well implemented and work just as we’d like them to.

Some networks don’t support phone models that weren’t bought directly from them for WiFi calling. But with BT, any phone we put our SIM into was supported for both WiFi and 4G calling.

Your SIM will use WiFi for call signal right away, rather than waiting for mobile signal to be poor before “kicking in” as some networks do.

The quality is great, you get connected to calls quickly and smoothly and you can move from WiFi signal to 4G signal and your call will be transferred over without it dropping (it will drop if you then move to 3G signal).

We also tested the messaging feature and found SMS texting worked on WiFi and came through just as fast as it would over a mobile signal.

The fact that everything works so smoothly and BT’s extensive support for loads of phone models, even those not bought directly from them, is why they’re so high on our list for the best networks for WiFi calling.

We like how easily their WiFi and 4G calling kick in. The call quality is great and if you’ve got decent WiFi you’ll be able to connect to a call just as fast as using mobile signal. It also pairs well with BT’s WiFi hotspot scheme.

Useful link: Read what difference 4G calling makes

Our rating:
★★★★★ (excellent)

Rank:
Joint 2nd

Similar to:
Three, EE

Better than:
All others

Free WiFi hotspots: BT Mobile have the best scheme

Free WiFi on BT Mobile

Your phone will connect automaticallyHow free WiFi works

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

Joining BT on any plan will get you access to the largest network of WiFi hotspots in the UK. Their hotspots are placed in useful places all over the UK. Currently there are 5 million BT WiFi hotspots.

It’s a great way to avoid running out of data, or to avoid going over if you do run out (see extra charges here). You might also end up somewhere with poor or no data signal where a nearby hotspot can help.

It’s a great scheme to help users save a bit of data while out and about in the city. WiFi hotspots are also very useful to stay connected even if you’ve run out of data.

In our experience we found it better just to manually log in every time than to use their automatic BT WiFi app.

When we used our Android phone to connect we got a notification at the top of our screen that wouldn’t go away when connecting. It took up a lot of the screen and we couldn’t get rid of it.

The app will also automatically connect you to hotspots even when their connection is poor, which ends up sometimes giving you worse signal than usual. The app is more an inconvenience than anything.

You can either log in manually every time you want to access a hotspot with your BT ID (you’ll get this when you join) or you can use their app that will log you into the closest WiFi hotspot automatically.

BT’s WiFi hotspot keeps you connected most of the time, without too much hassle. This is combined with their excellent coverage, the result being a network with whom you’ll rarely go off the radar.

Useful link: See where hotspots are near you

Our free WiFi rating:
★★★★★ (best choice)

Rank:
1st

Way better than:
Everyone else

Tethering: you can do it as much as you like on BT Mobile

BT Mobile tethering allowed

No limits to how much you can tetherRead BT's full terms

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

While tethering isn’t something that everyone will make use of, being able to turn your phone into a personal WiFi hotspot to connect non-data devices to is very helpful.

This is most useful for devices without data capabilities when you’re without WiFi signal, such as using your tablet on a long car journey.

Allowing users to tether costs networks money as it tends to use up more data, so some of them restrict how much you can do it. But BT let you tether up to your entire data allowance at no added cost.

When tethering on BT you’ll hardly notice the difference between your tethered signal and your usual home WiFi signal (if you’ve got 4G). In public, it’ll almost always be faster than free WiFi.

On other networks you’ll notice some lag when tethering, especially when trying to load image-heavy or video-heavy websites when 4G signal is poor. But this shouldn’t be an issue on BT.

This pairs well with their excellent 4G coverage, allowing you to tether a strong signal in most places in the country, letting you stream without buffering.

Tethering tends to eat up a lot more data than using your phone. You’re more likely to end up going over your limit if you tether quite often. If that happens you can pay for data add-ons at these rates.

Useful link: Full tethering terms and conditions

Our tethering rating:
★★★★★ (Joint best choice)

Rank:
TBC

As good as:
TBC

Better than:
TBC

Reviewing BT Mobile's perks & extras

Inclusive roaming: great EU roaming policy with some worldwide passes

BT Mobile roaming for free within the EU

Free roaming in 47 EU/EEA destinationsFull list of countries

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

BT Mobile have changed nothing about their EU roaming plan since Brexit, so you’ll be able to roam in any of these 47 European destinations (that's still a fairly standard scheme).

Right after you land you’ll receive a text letting you know you’re roaming and you’ll be connected to 4G wherever it’s available. You don’t have to go fiddling around in your account settings to get it working.

If you’re on a data plan over 50GB (including unlimited) you’ll be limited to 50GB during your trip. This is a hefty amount and a lot more than some other networks offer, but it’s still worth keeping in mind.

We took our BT SIM to the EU and everything worked as it should. We didn’t have to manually change anything to get it working.

You get 4G data speeds while you're away. And BT seem to partner with some decent networks internationally, because you can get some frightening speeds with them.

BT’s roaming works just like being at home, which is how a roaming scheme should be. We have yet to test it beyond the EU, however.

They also offer worldwide passes for going beyond the EU. These give you a small allowance of data (500MB) every day for a daily rate in 12 popular worldwide destinations. They’re better value than paying as you go at BT’s high rates.

While some networks have started pulling their EU roaming, BT get a decent positioning in our list simply due to keeping theirs in place. It’s still only a decent scheme, so we only rate it as “good”.

Useful links: Other roaming charges on BT Mobile | More about Roam Like At Home

Our roaming rating:
★★★☆☆ (good)

Rank:
Joint 3rd

Not as good as:
O2, Tesco

Spending caps: avoid overspending on BT Mobile

BT Mobile spending caps

It’s simple to change your spending capHow to cap bills

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

Mobile networks now have to let you set a cap on overspending so you can’t accidentally rack up a huge bill at the end of the month. BT have actually let their customers do this for a while now anyway.

You can set a limit in increments of pounds (£) on how much over your usual monthly bill you can spend. It helps avoid extra costs such as roaming fees, going over your allowance or use of premium services (see all here).

When you first join BT you’ll set your spending cap in the checkout. But it’s easy to change later on if your needs change.

The only way to change your cap is via the BT website, you can’t use the app to change it. Once you log into your account you can choose a cap option from a dropdown:

Screenshot of BT's spending caps

It took about 5 - 10 minutes after changing our cap for it to kick in, but we got a text telling us that it had been changed right after we did so. BT also keep you informed if you’re about to hit or go over your limit.

BT spending cap text

They’ll tell you once you hit your limit. After that you won’t be able to do anything that costs extra unless you bump up your cap.

Whenever you try to use a service that would incur extra charges over your capped amount, they simply won’t work unless your raise your cap. But free services will still work.

BT Mobile let you cap your spending as low as £0 and increase it in increments of £2.50 and £5. Don’t worry too much about it as they’re very good at letting you know when you’re about to hit your cap.

Useful link: Read BT’s help articles on managing your mobile service

Our spend cap rating:
★★★★☆ (recommended)

Rank:
TBC

Not as good as:
TBC

Equal to:
TBC

Customer rewards: BT broadband customers get money off their plan

£5 discount for BT broadband customers

BT broadband customers get £5 offGet exclusive prices

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

The good thing about going with a mobile network that also provides broadband services is that if you go with them for both, they will club everything into one single bill on one account. This helps you keep things tidy.

Existing BT broadband customers will get a straight £5 off their monthly bill (both SIM only and phone contracts). After the discount, BT are much cheaper than EE and puts them a bit closer to Plusnet’s cheap prices (who also use EE).

Despite the simple discount, the actual worth is hard to calculate. For some of their plans it’s not really necessary, but on their more expensive plans it’s hard to justify taking them without the discount.

BT can be quite bad for increasing your broadband bill when your contract is up. You’ll need to keep being a broadband customer to keep getting the discount, so you’ll have to think about your options once your broadband contract is up.

You could either leave BT broadband and lose your £5 mobile discount, or renew your broadband to get the discount again. It’s a loyalty trap to keep customers on for the long-haul. You need to be aware of it.

Useful link: BT broadband customer? See your exclusive deals here

Our reward rating:
★★★☆☆ (good)

Rank:
5th

Not as good as:
O2 Priority, Tesco Mobile Clubcard Points, giffgaff recruiter scheme, Plusnet Mobile Mates Rates

Better than:
All others

Multi-buy discounts: BT's have one of the best Family SIM schemes

BT Mobile Family SIM alternative

Save on additional SIMsSee savings per plan

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

We’ve looked at the networks that give you discounts when you buy more than one plan from them. We’re glad to say that BT provide an excellent scheme with their Family SIMs.

You’re essentially getting a discount for buying multiple SIM deals in bulk. Every SIM you add to your account will have a bigger and bigger discount applied to it (see current Family SIM discounts here).

We rate the scheme highly for its flexibility. You can add a new SIM whenever you want and each new SIM is only on a 30-day contract so you can drop them at short notice if need be.

What holds this scheme back is that every SIM has to be the same data amount. We just don’t think that’s practical for a family, as each member will have different needs. It’s something BT should seriously consider changing.

Useful link: See BT Mobile's Family SIMs

Our Family Plan rating:
★★★★☆ (very good)

Rank:
2nd

Way better than:
All others

Free subscriptions: free BT Sport app offered on some plans

Free BT Sport app access on BT Mobile

Offered on mid-range and high-end plansSee qualifying plans

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

Not only do you get discounts for being a broadband customer, but choosing BT for your TV provider can get you free access to the BT Sport app on your phone.

If you take a SIM only or phone contract costing £15 or more (after the broadband customer discount) you’ll get free access to BT Sports via the app on your phone until your contract ends.

With this you can watch anything broadcast on BT Sport channels, including UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup football. But it’ll only work on your mobile (it doesn't on your TV or laptops via Chromecast).

That makes it a bit annoying if you want to watch Sport with friends, but in any case it’s a nice benefit for joining them.

Useful link: How free BT Sport app with BT Mobile works

Our freebies rating:
★★★☆☆ (good)

Rank:
TBC

Similar to:
Vodafone, EE, Virgin

Better than:
Most others

What you don’t get on BT Mobile

Endless Video banner

Unlimited data streaming on VOXIHow it works

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

It’s always good to know what you get and what you miss out on with each network. BT themselves don’t offer much in the way of extra features. Their network is their main selling point.

Sky Mobile are BT’s main competitor and offer free unlimited data streaming for their TV apps for Sky TV customers. Even BT’s hosts EE have an unlimited data streaming pass (see EE vs BT) and it’s something BT could introduce.

BT don’t offer data rollover which would help you keep any unused data for future months, so the data you don’t use in a month is gone for good once the month is up.

And there’s no data sharing on BT either like these networks offer. While BT aren’t no-frills, they’re not bursting at the seams with extra benefits either.

Useful link: BT Mobile features page

How BT Mobile's deals compare

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BT Mobile SIM only plans: quick facts

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Phone contracts are no longer a focus of BT Mobile

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We compare BT’s deals to other networks’Compare phone deals

at simsherpa.com
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BT have never put much of an emphasis on their phone contracts, but they’ve started to phase out their own phone contracts on their website and have started promoting EE phone contracts instead.

BT broadband customers can either get the £5 BT customer discount on the token handful of phones they still offer, or the much better discount of with their 10% off on select EE phone deals promoted on their site.

Since EE’s phone deals are usually pretty expensive, 10% is actually a pretty massive discount. But on the other hand you can get a phone with BT and get all the benefits of being a BT customer, with the £5 discount as a sweetener.

Use our phone comparison tool here to see how BT Mobile’s prices stack up against the competition. You can filter for them alone, or just find the phone you want and see how they compare.

See popular phones at BT.com: iPhone | Samsung Galaxy | Other makes

Pay As You Go: Nothing like it on BT Mobile

1p Mobile logo1p Mobile pay as you go rates

Cheapest PAYG provider on EE’s networkGet a 1pMobile SIM

at 1pmobile.com
(opens in new window)

If you’re an occasional phone user, a pay as you go system can be your best option as you can pay as much as you’ll actually need instead of paying monthly for what you won’t use. BT don’t offer pay as you go.

By far the best pay as you go provider in the UK are 1pMobile. Not only do they offer the cheapest rates in the UK of 1p per minute, text and MB of data, but they also get full access to EE’s network.

We have a full review of their network and benefits here, where we test one of their free SIMs to see what their network is like.

Useful link: Read our 1p Mobile review

Our rating:
N/A

Rank:
N/A

As cheap as:
N/A

Cheaper than:
N/A

Mobile broadband: BT Mobile offer data only SIMs

BT mobile broadband device and some SIM cards

Use a data SIM for a tablet or dongleSee latest pricing

at BT.com
(opens in new window)

BT now offer a range of data-only SIMs that can be used with non-data devices like tablets, dongles and all sorts of mobile broadband devices so you can stay connected anywhere there’s 4G signal (which is most places on BT).

It’s a cheaper way to get onto the EE network than joining EE directly. But per GB they work out pricier than BT’s phone SIM deals, even though you’re only getting data and no minutes or texts.

BT also offer some mobile 4G broadband devices that let you connect up to 20 devices wherever there is 4G signal. It’s great if you need to connect multiple users, but the maximum data plan you can get is only 30GB.

These are only available on 24-month contracts. There's no price difference on its plans vs going data SIM only, meaning the device is effectively free (at the cost of committing to the longer contract).

Useful link: See BT's current data SIM plans

BT Mobile customer service

Customer service: BT Mobile are much better than before

Ofcom complaints data

BT used to be much worseRead Ofcom reports

at ofcom.org.uk
(opens in new window)

Here we’ll look at Ofcom's data on the number of complaints received about mobile phone providers per 100,000 customers. Ofcom are the government regulator and Ombudsman for telecoms.

If a network has a high number of complaints with Ofcom, that means their customer service are not resolving their customers’ issues effectively.

BT used to have a higher than average amount of complaints (5 per 100,000 customers when 3 was the average). But they have really cleaned up their act and are now one of the lowest (only 1 complaint per 100,000).

There’s a general trend of BT’s customer service getting better across the board (for TV, broadband services and so on) and their Mobile brand is no exception. It’s even more impressive given their size as a network.

It used to be one of the reasons we suggested not joining them. Now they’ve completely turned it around and we can now only praise them for their customer service record.

Useful link: How to get help on BT Mobile

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