Talkmobile review 2025: best choice on Vodafone's network?
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See how good 4G/5G coverage, data speeds and WiFi calling are on Talkmobile. We joined them for real to test out their benefits. Last updated: 10th March 2025.
Overall rating
Our recommended way to get on the Vodafone network
(4/5, excellent)
“We’re big fans of Talkmobile, having spent plenty of time as a customer on their network over the years. And it’s not just low prices and flexibility that we like about them.
We’ve tested their 4G/5G coverage and speeds against Vodafone and found them completely identical. Their WiFi calling and VoLTE (4G calling) are good too, as long as your phone’s supported.
You get EU roaming. And Talkmobile’s customer service also goes beyond their budget-network prices. You can phone them up for free. They’re not UK-based but have good English and they get things sorted.
We’d like to see them offer eSIM and support more Android phones for WiFi calling. And make their EU roaming limit bigger. Any network on Vodafone can be slow outside cities too. But overall, we’re happy to recommend joining Talkmobile.”
The 3 best bits
1) On Vodafone's reliable network
2) EU roaming on all plans
3) Customer service you can call
The 3 worst bits
1) Small fair usage cap abroad
2) WiFi calling support on Android
3) Online account management a bit basic
Is Talkmobile closing down?
The operator has been sold around a few times and it did temporarily close to new customers. But it’s now back and owned by Vodafone. It’s been taking new customers for a few years now and we can’t see them closing down any time soon.
Who is Talkmobile owned by?
They’re owned by Vodafone but run as a distinct operation and brand by a separate team at Vodafone’s headquarters.
Does Talkmobile support 4G?
Yes. They’ve had the technology for a number of years now. They were one of the last 3G-only providers but that is no longer the case.
Is Talkmobile 5G?
Yes. They've been offering 5G data through the Vodafone network since mid-2022.
Does Talkmobile have WiFi calling?
Yes, in theory. We've struggled to get the feature to work on our Android test phones but it has worked on iPhone. They need to increase the number of supported models quickly.
Is Talkmobile and TalkTalk the same company?
No. They never have been. They just both happen to have Talk in their names.
Does Talkmobile allow tethering?
Yes. It works automatically and there are no fair usage limits other than your own data allowance.
How long does a Talkmobile SIM take to arrive?
Their official website says it takes 3 - 4 days. And that’s what we experienced too. It’s a little longer than some providers.
Do you get inclusive EU roaming on Talkmobile?
Not if you're a new customer. If you join today, you do not get EU roaming included with your Talkmobile plan and will have to buy roaming passes separately if you go abroad.
In our review of Talkmobile
Talkmobile's mobile network
Coverage via Vodafone’s network is a big strength
Talkmobile are owned by Vodafone. But they’re run like a semi-independent company. And they have nothing to do with TalkTalk! It means Talkmobile SIMs get full access to Vodafone’s 2G/4G/5G networks.
We tested our Talkmobile SIM vs a Vodafone one. There are no built-in differences. We’d rate Talkmobile’s 4G data coverage as excellent nationally (but check near you here). Rural 4G is particularly impressive.
Calls and texts are a changing picture. They’ve been converting 3G transmitters to 4G, meaning older phones will rely on 2G, which is also being phased out. You have to be somewhere unusual for calls not to work currently.
The only real weakness on Talkmobile is their 5G data coverage. Vodafone’s 5G rollout isn’t going great guns, so we found ourselves on it less often than other networks. Again, check if it’s live in your area here.
Useful link: What Talkmobile say about their network
4G/5G data speeds can be impressive but do vary
People can wonder if Talkmobile are slower than Vodafone for 4G/5G data. Our side by side testing has only ever found identical speeds. And no evidence of “higher bandwidth priority” for Vodafone’s customers.
Independent network testers Opensignal put Talkmobile’s typical 4G downloads at 31 Mbps. That’s mid-table compared to other networks. In real life, we got way higher in cities (110+ Mbps) and lower rurally (5 Mbps).
Typical 5G speeds are naturally a lot faster. Speedtest put Talkmobile’s typical 5G at 162 Mbps, with peaking at 354.83 Mbps. That’ll put your home broadband to shame. We found their 5G holds up well in crowded places.
Generally then, we’d say speeds are very good on Talkmobile, without being the absolute best. Even things like HD video streaming will be absolutely fine in all but the smaller towns, villages and countryside.
Useful link: More about Talkmobile's 4G
WiFi calling and VoLTE have got a lot better
✔ A good feature as long as your model’s supportedCheck support page
at talkmobile.co.uk
(opens in new window)
Most providers nowadays include WiFi calling and VoLTE (4G calling) features - Talkmobile have both. These let your phone use data signal to connect to calls/texts, where traditional mobile signal is weak (like indoors).
We’ve tested Talkmobile’s WiFi calling and VoLTE on an iPhone and found they work well. Call quality is good. And you can move between WiFi and 4G/5G mid-call, without it dropping.
Where there is a slight weakness with Talkmobile’s technology is the number of models they support. iPhone 6 and more modern will work fine. But they’re a little cagier about Android phones (see their support page here).
With Vodafone turning off 3G and eventually 2G, these technologies are now more important than ever. So while the functionality is good on Talkmobile, they do need to work on supporting more phones, fast.
Useful link: All UK mobile networks with WiFi calling
You still don’t get some advanced network features
In this section, we’re looking for added connectivity features networks offer. Tethering is allowed on Talkmobile. And you can use anything up to your full data allowance for creating a personal hotspot.
Talkmobile also include call forwarding, which lets you divert incoming calls to another number. But in our testing, we only got this working on our Android, not on our iPhone.
There’s nothing like free a WiFi hotspot network on Talkmobile, like these networks offer to help you save data. And you can’t get an eSIM with Talkmobile yet either (see VOXI for a low-cost Vodafone network with eSIM).
Talkmobile don’t offer visual voicemail, which usually displays your voicemail messages and lets you play through them one by one. So overall, Talkmobile could do a bit better here.
Useful link: The best networks for WiFi hotspots
Talkmobile benefits
Inclusive EU roaming is nice benefit to have
Talkmobile have brought inclusive EU roaming back to their deals, meaning you can roam in these 41 EU destinations at no added cost on any of their plans.
While there, you can use up to 5GB of your data allowance. That’s a little tight, but that’s more than most people would use on a week away. Big data users should bear it in mind though to avoid any extra data charges.
You don’t get any inclusive roaming beyond the EU. Instead you’ll have to top up and pay at these rates to roam outside of their inclusive destinations. But it’s very rare for smaller providers to offer this anyway.
So Talkmobile are a very good choice for going on short trips to the EU, especially when so many other networks have removed their inclusive EU roaming.
Useful link: Full Talkmobile roaming terms and conditions
Not having to pass a credit check will be useful to many
There are many reasons you might get rejected by networks that force you to pass a credit check. You might be young, new to the UK or have missed payments. But Talkmobile don’t make you pass a credit check to join.
You will need to enter some personal information so they know who you are so they can set up a direct debit using the bank details you gave them. They should only reject you if you put in any incorrect information.
If you keep up with your SIM only bill after a few months, Talkmobile may offer you an upgrade to a phone contract. Doing so can help you build up your credit score if you keep paying your bill on time.
So Talkmobile are a very good option if you’ve been rejected by a different provider (such as Vodafone) for credit reasons and can help you build your score. But, in fairness, they’re a great choice for anyone.
Useful link: Talkmobile's buying online terms and conditions
They have some nice smaller benefits as well
There are certain things that you’ll have to pay extra for outside of your regular monthly bill. This includes things like calling premium numbers, making calls abroad or exceeding your data allowance.
But networks can still make their spending cap increments very wide if they choose. So we really like that Talkmobile let you set a cap that suits you. When you join you’ll first have to set it at £0, £5 or £10.
Talkmobile also offer great value on their 1-month contracts as well as their 12-month ones. That means you can get the flexibility to switch or leave your plan each month without having to fork over a huge amount.
Finally, Talkmobile offer some decent value data add-ons if you run out of data before the end of the month. The smallest is 500MB for £3 which can tide you over nicely and help you avoid any extra data charges.
Useful link: Cost of not-included extras on Talkmobile
Talkmobile deals and plans
SIM only plans from Talkmobile
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There’s no way to join on a phone deal directly on Talkmobile. Instead, you’d have to take a SIM only plan, keep up with your payments for a few months and then ask to get upgraded to one of their phone plans.
You can take a Talkmobile phone contract from Fonehouse if you need one straight away. It’s still a proper Talkmobile contract with even better value on a wide range of mid-level phones here.
They’re a third party retailer that sell Talkmobile phone plans. So when you’re joining one of these plans via Fonehouse your contract will work the same way as being on a Talkmobile phone contract.
Use our phone comparison tool here to find the best value phone deals on other networks and resellers. You can find great value phone deals on other networks that you can join right away.
Useful link: More about upgrading to a phone contract
Talkmobile customer service
Their customer service is excellent for a budget provider
✖ They don’t show up in Ofcom’s reportRead Ofcom's report
One way we judge a networks’ customer service is by looking how many complaints Ofcom receive about them, as it shows how good they are at resolving issues. But Talkmobile are too small to show up in their report.
But Talkmobile have always resolved issues efficiently in our experience. Some budget providers keep costs low by not paying for call centres, but Talkmobile give you low costs and decent over-the-phone service.
We ran into problems when we set up our online Talkmobile account. So we called up their customer service line to get help, which we could do at no added cost on 5888 using our Talkmobile SIM.
After getting through the automated options menu it took about 3 minutes to be put through to an agent. We did call around 17:30 and the speed of responses will vary depending on the time.
We were asked for a few security details before they put us through the registration process. After this they solved our issue in only a couple of minutes.
They helpfully explained why our first bill was more than what they had advertised (the cost was pro-rated so as to cover the beginning of the month).
Considering Talkmobile are a low-cost network they offer excellent over-the-phone customer service. You don’t have to give up joining a great value plan to get good customer service, you get both.
They also have a handy help online section if you’d prefer. And it’s easy to manage your account using the MyTalkmobile app. This shows you your bills, lets you set your spending cap, buy extra data and more.
In all, Talkmobile offer a lot of ways to get help considering they’re a budget provider. And the experience is smoother than on some of their budget rivals. So you’re getting good customer service and good prices.
Useful link: How to get help on Talkmobile