SMARTY review 2023: faster speeds & better 4G/5G coverage

Coverage on SMARTY has got noticeably better

SMARTY were set up as a sub-brand of Three, so they share their parent company’s 4G/5G network. You get identical coverage between the two. We’ve found no disadvantage for being on SMARTY vs Three.

4G data coverage (see 5G below) has historically been a weakness in rural areas for SMARTY but we’re pleased our latest tests have found much-improved signal, thanks to Three’s massive network investments.

More about our real life SMARTY coverage tests…

It’s impossible to test signal in every inch of the UK, but we did some spot checks in different locations near us. We tested to see if their signal lines up with their coverage map and if it’s the same as Three’s.

We loaded a Three SIM in one and a SMARTY SIM into two separate but identical test phones and went out to test coverage.

In every place we tested we got almost identical signal bars between the two networks. There was a little fluctuation but never in either’s favour. We got 5G and 4G in the same areas on SMARTY and Three.

What we found lined up well with what their coverage map showed. And they’re also totally honest with the location of blackspots which is good considering there are a fair few out in the countryside.

If you’ve previously ruled out joining a network on Three, now’s the time to re-check their coverage in your area. You can still find patchy areas in the countryside but they’ve come on leaps and bounds elsewhere.

For calls, it’s a similar story. We can’t fault them in most places, though indoor signal can be an issue if you’ve not got 4G calling on your phone. There are more rural call blackspots than other networks too.

Useful link: Check SMARTY coverage near you now

4G data speeds are reliably fast in our experience

We have never found any built-in speed differences when testing out a Three vs a SMARTY SIM side-by-side. So, you get all the benefits of Three’s £2 billion network investment on SMARTY.

The results of this network improvement are plain to see when looking at 4G speed results from independent network testers Opensignal. They measured typical 4G speeds of 35.4 Mbps (see 5G here).

More about our SMARTY data speed tests...

Just like we can’t test every inch of the UK for coverage, we can’t do speed tests everywhere. But, we checked speeds on SMARTY vs Three directly in the same urban and rural locations.

We found no built-in speed differences in our tests. Speeds weren’t always exactly the same between them, but that’s to be expected when testing two SIMs of the same network against each other.

In the suburbs we got our lowest result of 7 Mbps, while we got as high as 40 Mbps over 4G in a rural area where there was no signal congestion. In the city centre we got speeds as high as 70 Mbps.

SMARTY’s 3G speeds are also pretty decent. We got up to 12 Mbps over 3G, which is faster than their slowest 4G speeds. But for the most part we got around 4 Mbps over 3G.

That's like decent fibre-to-the-cabinet home broadband and easily lets you stream HD videos. The result puts SMARTY in second place (alongside Three) for data speeds in the UK.

In our tests we tended to stay around the 25 - 30 Mbps mark more consistently on SMARTY than on other networks. Speeds can be faster or slower than that, but rarely do you go hugely above or below that.

Useful link: SMARTY's promise not to slow you down

5G speeds on SMARTY can be really impressive

5G is probably the area where SMARTY benefit most from being on Three’s network. Speed results from Speedtest and Opensignal show that other networks can’t even touch them for 5G.

Both testers’ latest reports show typical 5G speeds between 237.7 Mbps - 286.27 Mbps on SMARTY’s host network. And peak speeds can get up to 696.73 Mbps, which is over twice as fast as the next fastest network.

Best current SMARTY SIM only plans with 5G

Like on all networks, our real-life testing of SMARTY’s 5G produces varying results. Sometimes, you’ll be on 5G and see absolutely no advantage over 4G. Other times, the 5G speed advantage is staggering.

SMARTY have 5G live in 484+ UK towns and cities. It’s not the biggest number of locations, but it’s still huge and it means you’re likely to get 5G near you. And coverage in those locations tends to be strong.

Useful link: Our rankings of the best 5G networks

WiFi calling is excellent and works really well

SMARTY’s 3G call signal is broadcast on high-range frequencies that aren’t great at getting into buildings, so indoor blackspots can be an issue. However, SMARTY have a way around this:

They now provide both WiFi calling and 4G calling on every plan. These features let your phone connect to calls and texts over WiFi or 4G signal where regular 3G call signal is weak.

We tested SMARTY’s WiFi calling and found it works identical to Three’s. Some users have claimed their devices weren’t compatible, so look at SMARTY’s list of supported phones here to make sure.

The test phone we used wasn’t listed but worked just fine. We think WiFi calling is basically a must-have on mobile networks nowadays (see all that do have it here), so it’s fantastic that SMARTY offer it.

Useful link: SMARTY's WiFi calling help section

WiFi hotspots are handy but not many other network features

We’ll now go over all the extra network features you get on SMARTY. They have a nice WiFi hotspot scheme that lets you stay connected to WiFi on the Underground. It’s the same as Three’s great scheme.

You can tether other devices to your data signal on SMARTY (essentially turning your phone into a personal hotspot). And SMARTY don’t limit how much of your allowance you can use for tethering in the UK.

SMARTY also include call forwarding. This is a feature that diverts incoming calls to another UK phone number. They have a handy guide for setting it up which you can read here.

But visual voicemail is not supported on SMARTY, which usually lets you sort through your voicemails one by one. And you can’t take an eSIM on SMARTY either, which is something you can do on Three.

Useful link: SMARTY's network feature FAQs

EU roaming is a brilliant benefit people will appreciate

Unlike the many other UK networks that have removed inclusive EU roaming from their plans, SMARTY still let you use your unlimited calls and texts to UK and EU numbers in these EU destinations.

You can use up to 12GB of your allowance each month while abroad. If you hit that limit you’ll have to pay for extra data. Thankfully, SMARTY’s extra data add-ons are the cheapest of all networks.

How we found SMARTY's roaming...

We ran into issues very quickly with SMARTY’s roaming, as we landed in the EU only to realise that roaming has to be turned on manually on SMARTY. To do so you’ll have to follow their guide here.

Our SMARTY SIM connected right away to 4G while abroad, but you can’t connect to 5G abroad. We don’t see it as a huge loss, but you won’t be able to get the fastest speeds possible while roaming.

We rarely lost 4G while abroad, so we were able to read maps, online reviews and social media without much slow down. In all, SMARTY offer a great inclusive roaming scheme with good signal while you’re there.

SMARTY don’t offer inclusive roaming beyond the EU and we wouldn’t expect them to. But you will have to pay at these rates. Calls can work out at decent value, but data gets to around £100 per GB in the USA!

It’s important to remember you have to turn on roaming manually before taking your SMARTY SIM abroad. Use their guide here to do it. It’s an annoying downside to an overall good EU roaming scheme.

Useful link: SMARTY's guide to roaming on their network

Families and groups can make some really nice savings

If you want to take out a SIM only plan for your kids or other family members, SMARTY are an excellent choice. In our eyes they have the best family plan scheme of all networks in terms of sheer value.

With SMARTY’s group plans you can add up to 7 extra SIMs onto your existing SMARTY account, with each added SIM getting 10% off the original cost. That’s 10% off already great value deals.

Each user can choose their own plan and you can add new plans whenever. And there’s the added convenience of managing your SIMs in one place, making it easier to set parental controls and manage extra spending.

The main potential downside is that you pay for each deal on the day you took it out, instead of all your plans being paid on the same date. But other than that, SMARTY’s family plan scheme is genuinely fantastic.

Useful link: Full details on SMARTY's Group Plans

You also get a few other handy benefits on SMARTY

We’ll now go over the rest of the benefits of joining SMARTY. The first is that they won’t increase your plan’s cost while you’re with them. Lots of networks increase your bill with RPI (inflation), but not SMARTY.

SMARTY’s deals naturally have spending caps on them. If you want to use any features that would cost extra, you must first to top up with credit or buy an add-on. If you don’t, you can’t accidentally overspend.

You also don’t have to pass a credit check on SMARTY as you pay for your allowance up front rather than joining on a contract. That also means you’re free to leave without giving notice by not renewing your plan.

A few of SMARTY’s plans have a special data discount benefit, giving you back the value of your unused data as a discount off your next month’s deal. But these are worse value than SMARTY’s other plans anyway.

Useful link: Why are SMARTY so cheap?

Other networks do have some stuff that SMARTY don’t

It’s important to know what you don’t get with SMARTY as well, as that’s the only way you can know if they’re right for you. SMARTY don’t offer any free streaming data unlike VOXI’s Unlimited Video and Social Media.

As we said above, SMARTY don’t offer any inclusive worldwide roaming. And while they do have those data discounted plans we spoke about, they don’t have a true data rollover scheme where you hold onto unused data.

They don’t have a rewards app like O2’s Priority, Vodafone’s VeryMe or the Three+ app. And there’s no free trials or subscriptions to any entertainment services or other apps.

It’s just not how SMARTY are set up. They’re a cheap, low-frills option and are able to offer such low costs by keeping premium benefits out of their plans.

Useful link: SMARTY vs VOXI guide

✔ Key facts about SMARTY's SIM only plans

SMARTY only sell SIM only deals. They don’t offer any phone contracts directly. They did say they were going to introduce some, but that was way back in 2019. So we imagine that’s not going to change any time soon.

But, as an existing SMARTY SIM only customer you can get £50 off the cost of a refurbished phone via a third party called reboxed. But these aren’t on contracts, you have to pay the whole cost of the phone outright.

If you want a phone contract while on Three’s network you can either join on iD’s range of low-cost phone deals here or join Three themselves.

You can compare phone deals on all networks using our comparison tool here. This lets you find the best deal on the phone model you want. Follow the link below to try it out:

Useful link: Use our phone contract comparison tool

Pay As You Go: SMARTY aren’t a good choice for this

Few networks still let you top up a SIM with credit and pay as you go for your mins, texts and data. But you can’t do this on SMARTY. Instead you take a new bundle each month to keep your SIM active with them.

If you only use your phone for a few calls or texts now and again, SMARTY aren’t a great choice. Instead, we’d look at 1pMobile who offer rates of 1p per min, text and MB data (read full details here).

1p per minute + 1p per text +  1p per MB data =  £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal

Three’s rates are now 35p per min, 15p per text and 10p per MB, so they’re really not worth joining on Pay As You Go. But there aren’t any better options if you want to pay as you go on Three’s network.

But if you’re a frequent phone user, then you might find you’d spend less on a SMARTY SIM only deal than constantly topping up and paying for your usage. But infrequent users will be better on these networks.

Useful link: Read our 1p Mobile review

Mobile broadband: SMARTY’s regular SIMs are best for this

If you want a SIM to use in a mobile WiFi device / dongle or a tablet, it’s good to know that you can use any of SMARTY’s regular phone SIMs for this. They don’t restrict which devices you can use their SIMs with.

SMARTY have some of the best value data-only SIMs (entirely separate from their regular range) when you compare them to similar products on other networks.

But considering SMARTY already offer such great prices on their phone SIMs and you can use these in other devices, it’s worth comparing their regular SIMs to their data-only SIMs on price.

That’s because SMARTY tend to offer better promotions on their regular SIMs than their data-only ones. If you keep looking you’ll find a regular SIM that’s cheaper per GB, even if you’ll never use the mins or texts.

Useful link: See SMARTY's full range of mobile broadband SIMs