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Sky Mobile review 2025: rating their coverage & benefits

Sky Mobile logo with a phone and a SIM cardVisit sky.com

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We joined Sky Mobile as a real life customer to put their 4G/5G network to the test and see if their added benefits are any good. Last updated: 16th December 2024.

Overall rating

SIM Sherpa rates Sky Mobile as a very good option
 (3.5/5, very good)

“We’ve always found being on Sky Mobile very slick. The network basics are right. Great coverage, WiFi calling / 4G calling and even eSIM now. Data speeds do let them down a little though.

If you travel outside Europe, Sky’s roaming charges work out cheap. Unfortunately, offering no inclusive EU roaming means we’ve had to give Sky Mobile a worse score than previously though.

Sky’s extra benefits are among the best. You’ll get unlimited data for streaming Sky TV apps. Keep unused data for 3 years and trade it in for rewards. Sky VIP is nice too. And their phone contracts are very flexible.

Overall, Sky Mobile offers the quality you’d expect from Sky. And it shows in their high customer satisfaction ratings. If you’re not fussed about speed or roaming, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

The 3 best bits

1) Excellent blend of UK coverage
2) Free data to stream Sky TV apps
3) Trade in unused data for rewards

The 3 worst bits

1) No inclusive EU roaming
2) Data speeds slower than average
3) eSIM experience not the best

Is Sky Mobile legit?

Absolutely. Sky are an absolutely massive company and their mobile product is one of the slickest virtual mobile operations in the country. They’re 100% legit.

How long is a Sky Mobile contract?

It depends on the product. Their SIM only plans are on 12-month contracts. Their phone contracts are 36 months long (Swap24) or 24 months (Swap12). Tablet contracts can even be 36 months or 48 months!

Which network does Sky Mobile use?

Sky use the O2 network. They access O2’s 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks.

Can I port my number to Sky Mobile?

Absolutely. It works the same as any other network. Text your old provider on your old SIM with the word PAC to 65075 and give the code to Sky when you join or at any point in your contract.

What happens at the end of a Sky Mobile contract?

You’ll continue to pay for your monthly airtime (your SIM with its minutes, texts and data) on a rolling basis. If you had a device as part of a phone or contract tablet, that will be paid off and you will no longer have to pay for it.

Information symbol We're a professional reviews website but we bought our Sky 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.

Sky Mobile's network

Coverage is one of Sky’s main strengths, especially 5G

Map showing Sky Mobile's coverage

Coverage in most places on Sky’s mapCheck signal here

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

Sky and O2 are wholly separate companies, but Sky use O2 for signal, which brings a few advantages. You should get call signal in most places, unless you’re in a geographically unusual location.

And these signals are broadcast on frequencies that are great at getting into buildings, so indoor blacksports are less common. Unlike other networks, they're not shutting of 2G/3G until next year (read more here).

We popped a Sky Mobile SIM into a test phone and did some spot checks in the city and out in the countryside. We found no built-indifferences between being on Sky Mobile vs being on their hosts O2.

It was very rare that we would be kicked down to 3G signal (H or H+) instead of 4G data signal in towns and cities.

We were really impressed with their indoor signal. We got consistent call signal in all parts of the house on Sky. On other networks you may have to stand near a window or outside to make calls, but not on Sky.

Being on O2 is also a massive advantage for 5G data coverage. Sky provide 5G in a massive list of 3000+ UK towns and cities, and are generally excellent at covering their locations (but this does depend per location).

4G coverage is beatable though. It’s strong in urban areas, but you may find yourself bumped down to old technologies in rural areas more often. Sky offer good coverage overall, but check near you before joining.

Useful link: Read differences between Sky and O2

Our coverage rating:
★★★★☆ (excellent)

Rank:
Joint 2nd
(out of 14 providers)

Not as good as:
EE

Better than:
Three, iD Mobile, SMARTY

4G/5G data speeds can be underwhelming on Sky

Sky Mobile 5G banner

5G can make up for their slower 4GLatest 5G news

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

While using O2 gives Sky excellent coverage, we've found speeds are less of a strengh. And independent testers show their speeds are the slowest of all providers.

We did get speeds as high as 95 Mbps in the city centre on Sky, while speeds did slip down to 5 Mbps in the countryside. But we mostly sat around 18 Mbps, which is backed up by Opensignal’s result of 23.1 Mbps.

That puts them in last place for typical 4G speeds across all networks, and 5G is a similar story. Opensignal and Speedtest measured pretty mild typical 5G speeds of 80.1 Mbps - 85.08 Mbps and peaks of 229.54 Mbps.

We tested speeds ourselves in a few different places, and we found speeds average between 16.95 - 18.00 Mbps over 4G. That lines up quite nicely with Opensignal’s results.

Speeds went as low as 5 Mbps in some areas, while in the city centre we got speeds up to 90 Mbps. We rarely got speeds above or below that range. They are the slowest network for 4G, but it’s not always noticeable.

If you’re just browsing the internet or social media you’ll hardly notice any difference. We even managed to watch HD Youtube videos without any buffering, so it’s not like speeds are super slow on Sky.

We also tested speeds on our Sky SIM directly against what we got with our O2 SIM with the same test phone in the same places. We found no evidence of built-in speed limits on Sky vs being on O2.

While that’s an improvement over 4G, they’re still way behind even the next slowest network. They’re still more than fast enough for HD video streaming, but users who need superfast speeds might look elsewhere.

Useful link: What difference having 5G will make

Our speeds rating:
★★☆☆☆ (average)

Rank:
Joint last

Not as good as:
EE, Three, Vodafone
(and other providers that use these)

Same as:
O2, Tesco Mobile, giffgaff

WiFi/4G calling has improved quite a bit on Sky

Screenshot of Sky's WiFi calling help page

Android device support is a bit sparseSee supported phones

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

You can run into indoor calling blackspots on any network especially if there’s anything between you and the mast. WiFi/4G calling help with this, letting you call over WiFi/4G instead of conventional call signal.

Sky’s WiFi calling is now very similar to the best schemes out there in terms of functionality. You can now connect to SMS texts over WiFi/4G and transfer from a WiFi call to a 4G call without it dropping.

We weren't able to get WiFi calling working on our manufacturer-bought Samsung Galaxy S7. As such we can say the devices not listed here won’t be compatible with Sky’s WiFi calling.

When we tried it with our iPhone 7 using the same SIM WiFi calling worked without any issues. But WiFi calling only “kicked in” once we lost call signal entirely.

We haven’t yet tested how smooth the transfer from WiFi calls to 4G calls is if you lose WiFi signal, or if it even works at all. We’ll update this section once we have, but for now we’ll just say it should work.

But you may run into more issues getting it to work on Sky than other networks. While they support most iPhone models, their support for Android devices isn’t quite as comprehensive as on some other networks.

And they say devices not bought directly from them might not be compatible with their WiFi calling. While we think this is them just being defensive, you may run into issues if you’re on an older Android device.

Useful link: Sky's WiFi calling help page

Our rating:
★★☆☆☆ (average)

Rank:
TBC

Better than:
All others

Extra network features are another upside of joining Sky

Sky Mobile hotspots

You can now get an eSIMRead their eSIM guide

at sky.com
(opens in new window)

Sky offer a big network of free WiFi hotspots around the country. These are helpful for saving a bit of data on the go. But anyone can use these, not just Sky users. So it’s not an exclusive benefit for joining Sky.

You can also tether without limits on Sky, so you can use your phone as a personal hotspot to connect other devices to. This will use up your data faster and Sky don’t have any unlimited plans to help with this.

Call forwarding is also included on every Sky plan which lets you forward incoming calls to another number. This is handy if you don’t want to be bothered by calls on your SIM.

Sky also offer visual voicemail while not many providers do. This lets you go through your voicemails one at a time on-screen instead of having to listen to them. And you can customise your voicemail how you like.

The only major thing Sky miss out on are eSIMs. For now it’s mostly just the main networks that offer these, but we imagine Sky will introduce them sometime in the future.

Useful link: Best networks for WiFi hotspots

Our rating:
★★★★☆ (good)

Rank:
TBC

Not as good as:
TBC

Better than:
TBC

Sky Mobile benefits

EU roaming isn’t included, worldwide is decent value

Sky Mobile roaming passports banner

Pay extra to roam in the EU and beyondSee the latest countries

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

Sky got rid of inclusive EU roaming ages ago. With them you’ll have to pay each day you use your plan in these 40 EU/EEA destinations and beyond that.

You have to pay £2 a day to roam in the EU. They do let you use up to your entire data allowance while abroad. But the lack of inclusive roaming makes them a poor choice for going to the EU in our eyes.

Roaming is turned on automatically on Sky, so there was no need for us to go messing around in our account settings to get it to work.

Just after we turned off flight mode we got a text from Sky welcoming us and giving us all the information about roaming costs in the destination we were in.

We were connected to 4G signal where we thought we would, and we got good signal strength and data speeds.

Overall, we like that Sky’s EU roaming works without any issue, just like it does in the UK. But we haven’t tested it beyond the EU.

But this £2 per day rate also applies to these destinations outside the EU. Compared to a lot of other networks that’s pretty cheap. It’s still not inclusive, but it makes Sky a good choice for going beyond the EU.

Outside of those destinations roaming will get very expensive. So Sky are in a strange position where they’re a fair choice for certain destinations, but EU roamers might want to steer clear.

Useful link: See all Sky Mobile roaming costs and charges

Our rating:
★★☆☆☆ (average)

Rank:
N/A

Not as good as:
All others

Same as:
Tesco, VOXI

We’re big fans of Sky’s free streaming data benefit

Sky Mobile Watch banner

Free data streaming on TV appsRead full details

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

Sky’s best benefit by far is the unlimited streaming data they offer on all plans. This is a really generous scheme that lets you stream Sky’s TV apps without eating into your data allowance.

You do need a home Sky TV package for most of these apps, but if you do it’s a great way of keeping the kids (or yourself) entertained on long journeys. It’s one of the best free streaming data apps out there.

To add to that, Sky have one of the best data rollover schemes around too. Sky will put any data leftover at the end of the month into a “piggybank”, which you can withdraw from at your own convenience.

And if you’ve got multiple users on your account you can even share this data between them. This can be very helpful if they go over their data allowance and prevent extra data charges. There’s a lot to love here.

Useful link: Read Sky’s full guide to their Mobile Watch benefit

Sky offer some other smaller benefits that may be useful

Tesco's capped contracts

Super flexible overspending caps on SkyHow to set a cap

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

All networks have to let you cap any spending outside your plan. But Sky go a step further by letting you set it in £1 increments between £0 - £100, so you shouldn’t need to worry about spending more than you want.

You can also switch your plan up or down every month on Sky. If you switch to a bigger plan it will change right away, while you’ll have to wait until your next bill date to switch to a smaller plan.

Sky also promise not to up the cost of your deal while you’re on your contract. That applies to their longer 36-month phone contracts, which is really generous.

You are missing out on some benefits with them. You don’t get inclusive EU roaming like you do on their hosts O2. And calling abroad can get expensive on Sky, unlike on Lebara. But we like what Sky offer overall.

Useful link: See costs for going over limits on Sky

Our rating:
(best choice)

Free data streaming ranking:
1st

Data rollover ranking:
1st

Spending cap ranking:
1st

Sky Mobile deals and plans

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Added features

Phone contracts from Sky Mobile

How good are Sky’s phone plans on flexibility and price?

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Budget

Upfront: (Any upfront cost)

Monthly: (Any monthly cost)

Contract

Length: (6 - 36 months only)

Data: (Any)

Networks

Providers:

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Sky’s phone deals are good value but not the most flexible around

An example of a Sky Mobile credit agreement

Phone contracts that work like loansHow the loans work

at Sky.com
(opens in new window)

Sky Mobile base all of their phone contracts on finance agreements, which are essentially loans that you pay off with your monthly bill. They’re generally quite good on price, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

You can take a 24-month or 36-month contract with Sky. While you at least get a choice, there are a few networks that offer way more flexibility in choosing your contract length, letting you suit it to your needs.

Their 24-month contracts are very competitive on price, but they’re one of the few networks that make you pay more for your phone over a 36-month contract, so you’re almost punished for choosing a longer contract.

You can pay off your loan to upgrade early after one month (some networks let you do it earlier but most won’t make use of that). And you can switch your usage plan (mins, texts, data) up or down each month.

So Sky do offer a decent level of flexibility once you’re on a contract, it’s just the lack of customisable contract lengths that are a bit of a sore point. Either way, Sky are good choice for phone contracts.

Useful link: Sky Mobile’s full range of phone contracts

Our phone contract rating:
★★★★☆ (excellent)

Rank:
TBC

Not as good as:
TBC

Equal to:
TBC

There’s no way to pay as you go on Sky Mobile

Expired stampSky Mobile Pay As You Use

No Pay As You Go options on Sky

Sky haven’t provided a method of paying as you go since they got rid of their “Pay As You Use” scheme way back in the day. You can only join Sky Mobile on a contract.

giffgaff are your best choice if you’re looking to pay as you go on O2’s network. But their rates are still quite high, so they’re only a realistic option if you use your phone infrequently:

But, 1pMobile have by far the cheapest Pay As You Go tariffs of all networks. And they get full access to EE’s brilliant network:

There are a few good Pay As You Go schemes out there. You can see all of them in our guide here.

Useful link: Read our 1pMobile review

Sky Mobile customer service

Sky are excellent at resolving their customers’ issues

Ofcom complaints data table

Fewer than average number of complaintsRead Ofcom's report

To gauge how good networks are at resolving customer issues, we look at Ofcom’s complaint records. They’re the last place customers can go if their network failed to resolve an issue.

Sky have generally had a pretty clean complaints record and that’s still the case. Their number of complaints has stayed at 2 per 100,000 customers, while the industry average has gone up to 4 per 100,000.

You can also visit a Sky store or use their online chat agent (but it didn’t work when we tried). Or they have a lot of online help articles you can use if you’re tech savvy. There’s always a way to get help on Sky.

We never had to call them as they’re good at telling you about your bill dates or anything else by text. And their app is also handy for managing things. In all, a great customer service experience.

Useful link: Read Ofcom's latest telecoms report

Our customer service rating:
★★★★☆ (good)

Not as good as:
Tesco, Three, EE

Better than:
All others

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