Lyca Mobile review 2025: cheap for a good reason?
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We joined Lyca Mobile in real life to test out their coverage, data speeds and other benefits as a customer. Here's what we found. Last updated: 27th November 2024.
Overall rating
SIM Sherpa rates Lyca Mobile as a good provider
(3/5, good)
“It’s not really a secret that Lyca Mobile’s main appeal is their cheap prices, as a way to get on the EE network. And you do get access to full speed 4G/5G, with now-identical coverage.
Those low prices do come across a bit in performance. Lyca still don’t officially support WiFi calling. And our tests couldn’t get it working. Experiences with their customer service leave a lot to be desired.
Lyca have made some noticeable improvements to their app and logged in account. And we still find their eSIM support very slick to get up in just a few minutes. But things can still feel a bit held together with string.
But you still get EU roaming. And even India data roaming! International calls are cheap. And you don’t need to pass a credit to join, on their cheap, flexible plans. Lyca pack a fair amount in for such low prices.”
The 3 best bits
1) Full speed 4G/5G via EE
2) Join instantly on an eSIM
3) Cheap international calls
The 3 worst bits
1) WiFi calling not supported
2) Customer service not great
3) Call quality can be poor
What network is Lyca on?
Lyca Mobile are on EE's 5G/4G/3G/2G network but they are separate companies.
Is Lyca Mobile the same as O2?
No. They're a separate company and they now aren't even on the same network, because Lyca have moved to using EE.
What happens when you run out of data on Lyca Mobile?
To use anything that's not included in your plan, you'll have to top up with credit and buy data add ons out of that, or start your plan anew.
Lyca Mobile’s network
Coverage is a strength on Lyca, particularly for data
Having once run on O2, Lyca Mobile now use EE’s network to provide signal for calls (2G) and data (4G/5G). We see this as a positive move, because their 4G data coverage is generally better.
Lyca offer identical coverage to EE and they have the biggest 4G network in the country (if you’ve previously read there are some differences in coverage, these no longer exist).
5G coverage is another big strength, with 5G live in a massive list of 1000+ locations. And EE only name a location as covered, once 5G covers 50% of its area, so the real number is higher.
We tested signal in various locations with our Lyca SIM to see how it lined up with their network maps and against EE directly. It’d be impossible to check every part of the country, but we did a few spot checks.
The coverage map is accurate and honest. And in our most recent tests we found signal was basically identical to being on EE, showing that Lyca do now get full access to EE’s band 20 masts when they didn’t before.
For most their 4G coverage will still be good enough. But with their 3G gone there’s no way for your phone to kick down to 3G if you get weak or no 4G signal in the countryside. You can get stuck on unusable 4G data.
Generally though, we had a good experience elsewhere with Lyca Mobile’s coverage.
Call signal is a bit weaker. Lyca’s hosts EE have shut off 3G and are in the process of shutting off 2G. Lyca do now have 4G calling to help with this. But the phaseout has caused noticeable coverage gaps check near you.
Useful link: All the networks that piggyback off EE
Data speeds can be brilliant and are not speed capped
There are no built in speed limits on Lyca Mobile, meaning you can often beat speeds on EE (because their plans are mostly speed capped). Tests show Lyca’s hosts are by far the fastest network for 4G data speeds.
In our own tests we got speeds as high as 130+ Mbps in the city centre, but as low as 5 Mbps in the countryside. More often we sat around 30-40 Mbps, which lines up with Opensignal’s result of 45.9 Mbps.
Lyca’s 5G speeds are a bit underwhelming though. Opensignal and Speedtest measured typical 5G speeds between 96.8 Mbps - 119.21 Mbps with peaks of 316.68 Mbps. That’s only third best in the UK.
We personally have found plenty of areas where 5G offers no detectable speed benefit vs 4G. But given the high performance of their 4G generally, we’re happy to give Lyca a top rating here, for the two combined.
Useful link: Lyca Mobile’s terms and conditions
4G calling works well but it’s poor there’s no WiFi calling
As 3G call signal is now gone and 2G is being phased out on Lyca, it’s crucial to have alternatives for calls. Fortunately our tests found 4G calling is now active on Lyca and worked on our phone automatically.
The same can’t be said of WiFi calling. There’s no mention of it on Lyca’s website and all our usual tricks on our test phone couldn’t get it to kick in either. For an EE-based network with WiFi calling see 1pMobile.
If we’re honest, our tests found call audio quality on Lyca Mobile isn’t the best. Not terrible. Just not great. But we didn’t have issues with receiving missed calls or texts that Lyca’s low-cost rival spusu suffer from.
So call technology isn’t a strength on Lyca. If you’re mainly a data user, you might not care. Regular callers or the hard of hearing might want to consider others.
Useful link: The best networks for WiFi calling
Lyca’s eSIM experience is their best extra network feature
✔ Get your plan up and running in minutesRead all network FAQs
at lycamobile.co.uk
(opens in new window)
Lyca let you join on an eSIM, where your plan is installed directly to your phone. We tried it and it’s a genuinely slick feature that got us connected in a matter of minutes (read Lyca’s eSIM guide here).
Tethering other devices to your phone’s data signal is allowed on all of Lyca Mobile’s plans. However they don’t let you use your whole data allowance for this on certain plans.
You don’t get any free WiFi hotspots on Lyca Mobile. On the networks that offer these they’re a handy way of staying connected wherever, and saving data on the go. But Lyca don’t offer any.
Lyca Mobile also don’t let you forward incoming calls to a different number (see the networks that offer this here). Nor do you get visual voicemail, but you can customise your voicemail message to how you like it.
Useful link: Lycamobile’s terms and conditions
Lyca Mobile’s additional benefits
Inclusive EU roaming is really good, so is data in India
Lots of networks have removed inclusive EU roaming from their plans, but not Lyca. You can use your mins, texts and data in these EU countries on any plan, but there are some limits on data usage abroad.
Most providers set a limit on data usage while roaming that applies to all plans, but Lyca set a different limit for each plan. And annoyingly you can only see this limit in the checkout when you take your plan.
One nice touch that some people will find useful is that you now get data roaming included in India too on Lyca. Note it’s only data and there are limits. But very few providers offer this so is pretty unique benefit.
Lyca are still a good choice for short trips to the EU. If you want to go further afield you’ll have to pay these steep rates (unless you’re going to India). But overall, Lyca’s roaming is still very good.
Useful link: The best UK networks for roaming
Cheap international calls is the best of their other benefits
Lyca’s best benefit in our eyes are the inclusive international minutes they offer on their plans. You can get between 100 - unlimited mins to these countries and most of Lyca’s plans include some.
Outside of that, Lyca offer some very low calling rates to Asian countries. Calls to India are as low as 4p per min, for example. Check the country you want to call here as rates vary massively per region.
Most of Lyca Mobile’s plans come with international minutes included. Here are their best current deals:
Another great thing about Lyca is the flexibility of their plans. They offer a good range of 1-month plans that let you switch up or down each month or leave Lyca altogether at the end of the month if you want.
These also don’t require you to pass a credit check to join as you’re not joining on a contract (you will need to pass one for a phone deal). That makes Lyca a great choice if you failed a credit check to join EE.
Useful links: Lycamobile’s international rates
There are a few other small benefits you might like
✔ Pay monthly plans have spending caps built inRead their FAQs
at lycamobile.co.uk
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Lyca help you avoid accidental overspending by essentially having spending caps built into their plans. You can only use extras by topping up with credit first, so there’s no nasty surprises on your monthly bill.
You can also block adult content from being accessed over data, for example if you want to get your kids on Lyca. Just bear in mind Lyca don’t let you add multiple plans and manage them from one account.
Lastly, if you run out of data before the end of the month, Lyca offer some decent value data add-ons to tide you over. This is generally cheaper than topping up with credit and paying out of that.
But you miss out on some benefits. You don’t get data rollover like you do on budget rivals iD. And you don’t get the free social media and streaming data that VOXI offer. Still, Lyca offer a good amount overall.
Useful link: Our 30-day rolling contract guide
Lyca Mobile’s deals and special offers
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Thanks, we'll send that out now. Please check your inbox for our email.Pay As You Go isn’t a great option on Lyca
If you want to pay as you go we’d steer clear of Lyca. This is due to their standard UK tariffs being pretty high, meaning you’ll quickly burn through your credit if you use your phone on even just a regular basis:
In fact they offer some of the highest PAYG rates of all networks. Data in particular gets expensive quickly. If you want a traditional PAYG scheme on EE’s network, 1pMobile are a great choice:
Or you can join Talk Home Mobile who also use EE’s network and have 1p per min, text and MB of data rates. But they do miss out on some features like WiFi calling that you do get on 1pMobile:
Either way, we wouldn’t recommend joining Lyca on Pay As You Go. Their monthly bundles give you much better value (especially for data) whilst still offering a great deal of flexibility.
Useful link: Cheapest UK Pay As You Go networks
Lyca’s phone deals are very flexible and decent value
Lyca Mobile’s phone contracts are all on finance agreements via Klarna, a third party service that help manage your monthly payment. The cost of your phone and usage plan (mins, texts, data) are separate payments.
This gives you the freedom to pay off your loan in one payment, in three separate monthly instalments or over 6, 12, 24 or 36 months to suit your budget. But your phone’s cost will be adjusted for inflation.
As your usage plan isn’t attached to your phone payment, you get the freedom to switch plans up or down each month or leave Lyca whenever you want while paying for your phone. Not all networks are this flexible.
It can be harder to manage your contract with your phone and usage plan payments being separate. And Lyca aren’t the best value option when compared to other networks, so that flexibility comes at a bit of a price.
Useful link: Lyca Mobile’s range of phone contracts
Lyca Mobile’s customer service
Plenty of contact options but agent skills need improvement
Joining a budget network often means sacrificing some customer service quality compared to larger networks. But Lyca Mobile offer plenty of ways to get help, which is a rarity for small networks.
You can call their centres between 9am and 6pm from Monday to Saturday, though they aren’t open on Sundays. But we would say it’s noticeable their agents are based outside the UK, language-wise.
You can also reach out to their chat agents if you prefer. It's easy to get in touch, but we found that we had to repeat our questions several times before getting a proper response.
It can be the case that you end up hoping things don’t go wrong on Lyca Mobile. They don’t appear in Ofcom’s complaints data but we’ve heard reports of people finding it difficult to get issues resolved.
Useful link: Best customer service networks