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

Coverage on SMARTY is good and is still improving

SMARTY are a sub-brand of Three that get full access to their hosts’ 3G call signal and 4G/5G data networks. Coverage is identical between the two: where you get signal on Three, you’ll get it on SMARTY.

Our experience of SMARTY's coverage in real life...

We’re not able to test every inch of the UK’s landmass, but we did some spot checks in our local area. We wanted to see whether SMARTY’s coverage checker was accurate, and whether their signal was the same as Three’s.

We took two identical test phones out, one with a Three SIM and the other with a SMARTY SIM.

No matter where we tested, signal strength was largely the same between both networks with only a little fluctuation, which is normal. Where we got 5G, 4G and 3G on Three, we got it on SMARTY.

The coverage checker is accurate. Our real life findings matched up well with the checker’s claims. They’re also totally honest with the location of blackspots which is good considering there are a fair few.

In terms of 3G signal, SMARTY’s coverage is pretty much in line with other networks. But they’re missing some older pre-3G signal technologies, meaning rural calling blackspots can be a bit more common.

4G data coverage is an improving picture (see 5G below). SMARTY benefit from Three’s aggressive network expansion programme. This aims to convert more 3G masts into 4G ones.

In more rural areas you’ll likely find yourself kicked down to 3G on SMARTY than on other networks. But we sometimes found SMARTY’s 3G speeds performed better than some networks’ weakest 4G signal.

Generally then, we can’t say SMARTY have excellent coverage and there aren’t better networks. But if it’s fine in the places you mostly use your phone, how important is the rest of the country? Check and see.

Useful link: Check SMARTY coverage near you now

SMARTY’s 4G data speeds have recently got faster

We've tested Three and SMARTY SIMs side-by-side and never found any built-in speed differences between them. Joining SMARTY means you benefit from Three's £2 billion network improvement programme.

And it's looking like this is massively paying off for Three/SMARTY. The latest report by independent testers OpenSignal saw their typical 4G downloads shoot up from 25 Mbps to 30.7 Mbps (see 5G below).

The results of our SMARTY data speed tests...

Just like with coverage, we can’t do speed tests all over the country. However, we did a few checks to compare speeds on SMARTY vs Three in urban and rural areas.

We didn’t find any built-in differences between the two. Though results fluctuated now and then this is normal even when testing two SIMs of the same provider, so any tiny differences can be ignored.

The lowest result we got was 9 Mbps in the suburbs, while we managed to get 4G speeds of 40 Mbps in one rural area where very few people used it.

SMARTY also provide decently fast 3G, sometimes reaching 12 Mbps, which rivals the typical speed of 4G. More often though, it hung around 4 Mbps.

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

Our own testing has found SMARTY to be more consistent around that typical 25-30 Mbps mark than other networks. It goes below, it goes above. But you don't get the huge spikes and painful lulls we see with others.

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

5G is a major strength on SMARTY where you can get it

You'll get access to 5G data on every SMARTY plan, including the very cheapest:

And it's an area where being on the Three network is an advantage too. The latest results from independent network testers Speedtest and OpenSignal show them blowing competitors out of the water on speed.

The going rate for 5G downloads is about 228 - 248 Mbps over SMARTY's parent's network. That beats even fibre-to-the-home broadband you might have at home and is almost double that of the next-nearest provider.

They've done this by doing 5G properly. They've got the most bandwidth in the same frequency range and they're not doing the sort of re-purposing of 4G we're seeing on other networks.

You can use SMARTY's coverage checker here to check whether 5G's live in your area. Their list of live locations is bigger than any other provider. Though coverage within those is still street-by-street.

Useful link: Our rankings of the best 5G networks

WiFi calling on SMARTY knocks out indoor blackspots

We said in our coverage section that SMARTY broadcast their 3G call signal on high-range frequencies that aren’t great for getting through building materials, meaning indoor blackspots are more common. But there’s a way around this:

SMARTY now have WiFi calling (and 4G calling) active on all their plans. The technology lets your phone switch to using WiFi (or 4G) to make/take calls and send/receive texts where normal mobile signal is weak.

In our real life testing, we found SMARTY’s feature works the same as Three’s. There have been reports of some users’ devices not being compatible. See SMARTY’s list of officially supported devices here to make sure.

Our own test phone wasn’t on that list but still worked. We think WiFi calling is basically a must-have on mobile networks nowadays (see all that do have it here). So it’s great to see low-cost SMARTY having it.

Useful link: SMARTY's WiFi calling help section

Advanced network features: a few missing on SMARTY

Here we’ll go over all the other network features that SMARTY offer. They now offer a network of free WiFi hotspots on the Underground. We think it’s the same scheme as Three’s and it’s great for staying connected on your commute.

You can use your SMARTY SIM card for tethering (creating a personal WiFi hotspot using your phone and its mobile data connection to connect other devices). There’s no tethering fair usage policy in the UK.

SMARTY also allow call forwarding. You can see how to set it up using their helpful guide here. If you didn’t know, this feature lets you automatically direct unanswered calls to another UK phone number.

Voicemail calls are free (included in your plan). You can set up your own custom message or turn it off entirely. Visual voicemail is not supported by SMARTY though (see networks with visual voicemail here).

There’s no way to get an eSIM on SMARTY yet (here are all the networks that support eSIMs). However, SMARTY’s network hosts Three do offer eSIMs now.

Useful link: SMARTY's network feature FAQs

SMARTY still offer EU roaming at no extra cost

SMARTY are not among the list of UK networks that have removed EU roaming from their plans in the last few years. You can still use your unlimited calls and texts to the UK or other EU/EEA countries while roaming in these EU countries.

And you can use anything up to 12GB data abroad per month from your UK plan, if it’s that large. If you need to use more data while away, you’ll pay for usage above that by buying data add-ons.

How we found SMARTY's roaming...

Our first experience of SMARTY’s roaming wasn’t a positive one. We landed in the EU only to then realise that roaming is turned off by default on SMARTY. To turn it on you’ll need to follow their instructions here.

This can be a massive headache if you didn’t realise this before traveling. The only way to figure out the problem is by going online, which you won’t be able to do (without finding free WiFi or using someone else's phone).

While we were abroad, our SIM never connected to 4G. Instead we had to rely on 3G for reading maps, social media and online reviews. Their roaming works well, but it’s important to know what you’re actually getting out of it.

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

One thing to be aware of is that you need to manually set up your phone to work abroad on SMARTY. See instructions of how to do this here. It’s a downside to an otherwise decent roaming offer on SMARTY.

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

Family plans offer value on top of value with SMARTY

If you want to get your kids or anyone else in your family onto one mobile network, SMARTY are a fantastic choice for this. They offer what we consider to be the best family plan scheme of all networks just for sheer value.

SMARTY call them group plans. You can set up a group with up to 8 SIMs on one account. And each additional SIM receives a discount of 10% vs joining alone. It’s 10% off already-cheap prices.

Each user also gets the flexibility to join on different deals (some networks make you take the same plan for each user). And you can add new plans whenever.

Add to that the fact the account holder can manage all the added SIMs in one place, which makes it easier to set parental restrictions and stay on top of extra costs, and this scheme just gets even better.

If there’s a downside, it’s that you’ll pay for each plan on the date it started. They don’t all get added up into one singular payment on a known date. But that aside, SMARTY’s group plans get our thumbs up.

Useful link: Full details on SMARTY's Group Plans

Other added benefits of joining SMARTY

Here we’ll quickly list off the other benefits of joining SMARTY. Firstly, they won’t increase the cost of your deal while you’re with them. That’s great considering networks that offer contracts increase it annually with RPI (inflation). SMARTY don’t.

SMARTY’s plans sort of naturally have a spending cap on them. In order to use any services that would cost extra, you have to manually buy an add-on or credit. Don’t do that, and you can’t spend extra.

Since you’re paying for your allowance up front, SMARTY won’t make you pass a credit check to join them. And you’re not on a contract, so you’re free to leave without giving notice, just let your plan run out and don’t renew it.

There’s a small range of data discount plans on SMARTY. These pay you back the cost of any unused data as a discount off next month’s plan. It’s decent enough but SMARTY’s other plans work out better value.

If you’re looking to stay flexible and want a simple plan with no commitments, SMARTY should definitely be at the top of your list.

Useful link: Why are SMARTY so cheap?

Everything you won’t get on SMARTY

To know if SMARTY are right for you, it’s important to know what they don’t offer that other networks do. SMARTY don’t have anything like VOXI’s Unlimited Video or social media data benefits (essentially unlimited data for certain apps).

As we’ve mentioned, there’s no inclusive worldwide roaming scheme on SMARTY. There’s no data rollover where you keep unused data, although they do have limited data discounted plans we’ve mentioned.

Also they don’t offer rewards apps like O2’s Priority, Vodafone’s VeryMe or Three’s new Three+ app. Nor do they include any free trials or subscriptions to any apps or entertainment services.

It’s just not how SMARTY are set up. They’re there to be be cheap and simple - leaving out the extras so they don’t have to bake them into the cost of your plan.

Useful link: SMARTY vs VOXI guide

✔ Key facts about SMARTY's SIM only plans

Phone contracts: no direct deals on SMARTY

SMARTY exclusively offer SIM only deals. There’s no way to get a smartphone contract with them. They did plan to introduce phone deals, but that was back in 2019 so we can’t imagine it’s a priority for them any more.

They have teamed up with a company called reboxed though to offer SMARTY's SIM only customers a £50 discount off refurbished phones. These aren't contracts though, it's an outright purchase of a handset.

There are options for phone deals using the Three network, such as iD Mobile's range here as well as Three themselves.

And you can more easily find a mobile deal that suits you by using our phone contract comparison tool. This lets you directly compare deals on different phone models across different networks. Try it out by following the link below:

Useful link: Use our phone contract comparison tool

Pay As You Go: not really what SMARTY are for

Only a handful of networks still let you top up with credit and pay as you go for your minute, texts and data these days. SMARTY are not one of them. Instead you can keep your SIM active by taking a new bundle every month.

If you only occasionally use your phone, SMARTY aren't really for you. For a cheap pay as you go network we suggest 1pMobile, with rates of 1p per minute, text or MB data (take a look at them here).

Three have changed their tariff again recently, putting it up to 35p per minute, 15p per text and 10p per MB of data. We wouldn’t say they’re worth joining on pay as you go, as their rates are just too high.

If you want a good pay as you go scheme on Three’s network, iD Mobile are a good option with their 3p per min, 2p per text and 1p per MB tariff. Take a look at our guide to the cheapest pay as you go networks here.

Useful link: Read our 1p Mobile review

Mobile broadband: SMARTY data SIMs aren't always worth it

If you're looking for a SIM that you can put in a tablet or mobile WiFi device / dongle, it's worth knowing that there are no rules on SMARTY against using their regular phone SIMs for this.

They do offer a separate range of data-only SIMs, which are market-leading on price for 1-month plans when you compare against other data-only products with other networks.

However, because SMARTY are so cheap on their phone SIMs and you can use them in mobile broadband devices, it's worth comparing SMARTY against SMARTY on price.

That's because there are more-frequent promotions on SMARTY's phone SIMs than their data-only ones. Catch these at the right time and you'll pay less per GB, even if you never bother using the minutes or texts.

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