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VOXI review 2024: why we're impressed with their network

VOXI review headerVisit VOXI.co.uk

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Having joined VOXI as a real-life customer and used their network, we give our verdict on their 5G/4G coverage, speeds and added benefits. Last updated: 13th September 2023.

Overall rating

SIM Sherpa rates VOXI as a very good provider
 (3.5/5, very good)

“We have actually had to downgrade our review score of VOXI since they ditched inclusive EU roaming but there is still plenty going for them. Not least their brilliant Unlimited Video streaming benefit.

The basics of any network are excellent too. VOXI have decent data speeds and excellent overall coverage, though their 5G rollout needs to hurry up a bit to keep up. WiFi calling and 4G are good too.

People will really value the lack of any commitment on their SIM only plans too and that you don’t need to undergo a credit check to join VOXI. It means they’re accessible basically to anyone.

One bugbear for some people might be the lack of any telephone-based customer service or some of the more niche network features but it’s all baked into the price. We’d join VOXI over Vodafone any day of the week.”

The 3 best bits

1 Unlimited Social Media on all plans
2 5G coverage on all plans
3 Only ever a 1-month commitment

The 3 worst bits

1 No more inclusive roaming
2 Online-only customer service
3 No app

Why is VOXI for under 30s?

It’s not any more. Any age can join VOXI. It was originally launched by Vodafone to target this age group, which would not normally become Vodafone customers - with benefits that would appeal to younger users like Endless Social Media.

Do you have to be a student to use VOXI?

No. They’re now open to anyone. They used to have a maximum 30 years old age limit. But this is no longer the case.

Is VOXI fast?

It can be. It depends where you are and what technology you’re using. We’ve clocked over 70 Mbps in cities but about a tenth of that in the country.

Is VOXI 5G-ready?

Yes. 5G is now live on all VOXI plans, including SIM only and phone contracts for models which have 5G as a feature.

Is there an app for VOXI?

No. There’s no app. You have to sign in to your online account. In there, there are some limit settings you can adjust.

Can I bring my old number to VOXI?

Yes. It works in the usual way. Text PAC to 65075 from your old SIM. Your old provider will give you a code. You then give this to VOXI, who will arrange for you mobile number to be moved across to them.

Can you join VOXI from Vodafone?

Yes. And you may even be able to do it without ordering a new SIM. Just order your plan from VOXI’s website and you’ll be able to choose that you’re an existing Vodafone customer.

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

VOXI's network reviewed

VOXI provide excellent signal via Vodafone’s network

VOXI 4G and 3G coverage map

Check signal in your local areaCheck signal near you

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI were set up by Vodafone as a sub-brand. As such, they use Vodafone’s network for 5G/4G/3G/2G signal. In fact, when you pop your VOXI SIM in your phone, it will say you’re connected to “Vodafone” not VOXI.

That means they’re on the joint-largest network for calls (3G/2G) and the second largest for 4G data (see 5G here). You get an excellent mix of coverage and total blackspots are very rare.

While we can’t check every inch of the UK’s landmass for signal, we did some spot checks in different locations. We tested our VOXI SIM in the same phone and places as our Vodafone SIM to check for any differences.

The number of signal bars we got was the same on both networks wherever we went. There were no coverage differences between the two and nothing to suggest they don’t share the same call and data signal.

In urban areas, we were consistently on 4G and even superfast 4G+ signal in some areas. And we managed to 4G in some surprisingly rural locations.

We got call signal in the middle of our home and found it nearly impossible to get somewhere with absolutely no signal, short of going below ground.

Overall, we think most users will be happy with the excellent mix of coverage that VOXI offer.

Indoor signal is usually good on VOXI, which is not surprising as they broadcast their call signal on frequencies that are great at getting into buildings. You’re less likely to run into indoor blackspots with them.

Either way, it’s best to use their coverage map here to check what signal will look like near you before you join. Check at home, at work or anywhere else you’ll need to connect to call and data signal.

Useful link: Check VOXI's signal near you

Coverage rating:
★★★★☆ (excellent)

Rank:
Joint 2nd
(out of 4 places)

Not as good as:
EE
(and all providers that use them)

Similar to:
O2
(and all providers that use them)

4G speeds can be impressively fast or underwhelming

VOXI's 4G speeds delivered by Vodafone

Super fast 4G+ in big towns and cities

Read more

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI’s network hosts have put a lot of effort into increasing 4G speeds and independent network testers Opensignal’s latest report shows they’ve had a good amount of success with this.

They measured typical 4G data speeds of 25.9 Mbps on VOXI’s hosts Vodafone. Their results have gone up since Opensignal’s last report, which is good to see. But remember it’s a blend of higher and lower speeds in real life.

While we can’t test data speeds in every part of the country, we did some tests in different areas to see what speeds look like in real life and how Opensignal got their results.

We found no built in speed caps on VOXI vs Vodafone when we tested both SIMs in the same phone. Speeds weren’t always exactly the same, but that’s not enough to say one was faster or slower.

In the city centre, we managed to get up to 100+ Mbps over 4G+ signal, which even rivals home fibre broadband. But speeds will slow down as you move out of the centre, even down to around 6 Mbps - 8 Mbps.

Out in the sticks, speeds went down to 5 Mbps, so averaging it all out we can see how Opensignal get their results. You can get blistering fast speeds in the city, but in the countryside speeds will slow to a crawl.

VOXI and the other providers on Vodafone sit in third place for 4G data speeds. They’re faster than O2, but offer slower typical speeds than Three and EE, as well as slower peak speeds than EE.

Typical 4G data speeds are similar to what you’d get over mid-range home broadband. But they can offer much faster 4G in the city than some networks, while 4G in the countryside can be slower than on other networks.

Useful link: Read FAQs on VOXI's network

5G speeds and coverage are good but not incredible

VOXI 5G unlimited data banner

Typically much faster speeds than 4GFull 5G info

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

Most UK networks now offer 5G access and many of these include it on every plan. VOXI are one such network, offering it on all their great value 1-month plans (check prices with our SIM only comparison tool).

VOXI offer 5G on every SIM only plan. Here are their best value ones currently going:

VOXI provide 5G in 141+ UK towns and cities. That sounds like a lot, but they have much fewer 5G live locations compared to other networks. And they’re not as good at covering those locations as others.

We tested VOXI’s 5G by putting our SIM card into a 5G-ready Motorola and an iPhone 12. We found 5G worked right away on both (we’ve run into problems getting 5G to work on Motorolas before).

Where VOXI’s coverage map said we’d get 5G we got it. In the areas that they said 5G wasn’t available we didn’t. We’d say that using their coverage checker is a good way of seeing how 5G signal is in your area.

We measured our download speeds using Opensignals’ useful app and found we got a healthy and consistent 126 Mbps. That’s more than 5x faster than their typical 4G speeds:

Screenshot

According to independent network testers Opensignal and Speedtest, typical 5G speeds on VOXI sit around 100.6 Mbps - 146.19 Mbps, with peak speeds up to 315.35 Mbps. That’s healthy, but slower than Three and EE.

While Vodafone put emphasis on their 5G being 10x faster than 4G, 5G can also help ease 4G signal congestion where lots of people are using it. This helps their users get healthier data speeds.

Useful link: Learn about Vodafone's 5G rollout plans

Data speed rating:
★★★★☆ (excellent)

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

Better than:
O2
(and other providers that use them)

WiFi/4G calling is handy if your phone is supported

VOXI WiFi calling banner

Comes on all of VOXI’s dealsRead their guide

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

While VOXI’s call signal is good at getting indoors, you may still find blackspots if there are obstructions between your home and the mast. VOXI let you call over WiFi instead of call signal to help with this.

They also include 4G calling, which lets you connect to calls with 4G signal rather than call signal. This increases coverage for calls and improves call quality (check 4G signal near you).

We tested VOXI’s WiFi/4G calling as soon as it came out in order to see how well it works as a feature and how it compares to Vodafone’s.

VOXI’s WiFi calling was basically the same as Vodafone’s in testing and there were no major differences between them. The same went for 4G calling too.

As a feature, VOXI’s WiFi calling works very similarly to Vodafone’s. It’s great that you don’t get a worse experience on VOXI vs being on Vodafone directly.

You can also send/receive SMS texts over WiFi and 4G instead of conventional 3G/2G. And if you move out of WiFi range while on a call it will be transferred to a 4G call (if you’ve got 4G signal) without dropping.

The worst thing about VOXI’s WiFi calling is that they don’t support as many Android devices as some providers, so you might struggle to get it to work on some older models. But overall it’s a great feature.

Useful link: Our guide to the best WiFi calling networks

WiFi calling rating:
★★★☆☆ (good)

VOXI don’t offer many extra network features

VOXI's tethering policy

Turn your phone into a personal hotspotRead full T&Cs

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI let you tether your data signal to other devices such as laptops or other phones that have run out of data. They let you use up to your entire data allowance, even on their unlimited data plan.

Visual voicemail is also supported on VOXI, letting you sort through your voicemails one by one and display them in the order you received them. They’re one of just two small networks to let you do this.

You don’t get any free WiFi hotspots on VOXI any more. This is a shame as these kinds of schemes are useful for saving data on the go.

VOXI also don’t support call forwarding to different numbers. And you can’t join VOXI on an eSIM either, which is something you can do on their hosts Vodafone.

Useful link: Read FAQs on tethering

Tethering rating:
★★★★★ (joint best choice)

Rank:
Joint 1st

Same as:
Most other networks

Better than:
iD Mobile

VOXI benefits

Unlimited Video is a fantastic streaming data benefit

VOXI Endless Video

Free data streaming on higher end plansRead full terms

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI include their Unlimited Video benefit on mid to high-end plans, letting you stream video on YouTube, Netflix and these other apps on the go without using up your data.

Video streaming is usually one of the fastest ways to eat through your data allowance. So this scheme can save 100s or even 1000s of MB every month, while letting you stream without worrying about data usage.

To test whether their “Unlimited Video” benefit is really unlimited, we turned off WiFi and left a 4K video playing non-stop on 4G to see if it would eat into our data allowance.

After letting it stream for 10 hours we checked the YouTube app to see how much we had used. It said we only used 15GB to stream a 1080p video during that time, likely because of video compression by the network.

Screenshot of YouTube app usage

But when we checked our data usage (not YouTube’s estimation) we found we had used none of our data whatsoever:

Screenshot of data allowance

Of course, no one would ever stream a HD video on data for 10 hours straight. But we wanted to take the benefit to the extreme to show just how much data you can potentially save with it.

But VOXI don’t include Unlimited Video on every one of their plans, so make sure you join a plan that includes it. Here is the lowest cost SIM only plan that includes the benefit:

The benefit even works if you’re tethering your data signal to stream on other devices. That’s really handy since tethering uses up more data than usual, so the amount of data you can save is genuinely impressive.

Useful link: Read VOXI's full guide to Unlimited Video

Unlimited Social Media helps save a bit of data too

Unlimited data for social media

Unlimited data on these appsFull list of apps

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI have offered their Unlimited Social Media benefit on all of their plans since they were first set up. That was before they started offering Unlimited Video.

When you use social media apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat and these others on data, your usage won’t come out of your allowance. This can help you save hundreds of MBs every month.

We used the social media apps over data to see if your usage would be subtracted from our monthly allowance.

VOXI don’t offer any way to see how much data you’ve actually saved with the benefit. To do that you’ll have to look at the data usage for each app in your phone’s settings.

Screenshot of allowances

But when we checked our data allowance we found that nothing had come out of it. To be fair, these apps don’t use up much data anyway, so that might be why VOXI don't bother making it more clear.

Some other networks offer similar schemes (see all of them in our guide here) but no other network covers as many apps as VOXI do. VOXI are genuinely one of the best networks for saving data.

You will have to have some data left in your allowance for it to work, it won’t work while roaming and making video/voice calls on the apps will still eat your data. But overall it’s a great way to save some data.

Useful link: Read VOXI's explanation of Unlimited Social Media Data

Free social data rating:
★★★★☆ (excellent)

Rank:
Best for social media
(out of 14 providers)

Better than:
Virgin

Way better than:
All others

Get rewards cards for bringing friends onto VOXI

Amazon voucher on VOXI

Refer a friend for extra rewardsHow it works

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

If you’re an existing VOXI customer and have friends or family members who want to join a new network, you can get some nice rewards for referring them to VOXI which take the form of Amazon vouchers.

You can read the full details of VOXI’s refer a friend scheme here. Basically, you just send your friend a special link which will take them to VOXI’s website where they can take their plan.

Once your friend has been on VOXI for two months you’ll both get your vouchers. You can get a £10, £15 or £20 voucher depending on the cost of your friends’ plan. There’s no limit to how many friends you can refer.

By referring lots of friends or family members you can really offset the cost of your deal. The scheme would be better if you got money back, but it’s still a nice scheme to reward your loyalty as a customer.

Useful link: Full offer terms

Rewards rating:
★★★☆☆ (good)

Rank:
N/A

Not as good as:
N/A

Better than:
N/A

VOXI also include some other good benefits

VOXI capped contracts

You only pay for what you actually useHow payment works

from VOXI's help section
(opens in new window)

VOXI’s deals are similar to other networks’ PAYG monthly bundles. Think of it like topping up your SIM with an allowance of mins, texts and data to use up in a month. This type of deal has a few upsides:

Because you’re not stuck on a contract you can switch or leave your plan when you want. Just turn off “auto-renew” and let your plan run out. After that you’re totally free to switch.

You also don’t have to pass a credit check to join VOXI’s SIM only deals, as you’re not joining on a contract. And you can’t accidentally overspend on extras, as you have to manually top up with credit to use these.

Unfortunately you can’t cap how much of your credit can be used on extras, but at least you can’t go racking up a massive bill without actively topping up your SIM.

If you want to call abroad, VOXI let you buy an International Minutes Extra which gives you 100 international mins for £3 a month. And extra data is also decent value at just £3 for 1GB if you run out.

Useful link: How billing works on VOXI

Spend cap rating:
★★★☆☆ (good)

Rank:
TBC

Similar to:
Everyone else

Better than:
N/A

You don’t get inclusive EU roaming on your plan

VOXI endless roaming banner

Talkmobile on Vodafone do include EU roamingSee all destinations

at talkmobile.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI got rid of their inclusive EU roaming a while ago. They’re one of the many UK networks that now make you pay for every day you roam in the EU (read our guide here).

You have to pay for every day you use your VOXI SIM abroad, or you can take their temporary roaming passes. You can pay £2 a day, £4 for 2 days, £8 for 8 days or £15 for days. Those are your only choices.

If you want a cheap 1-month provider that uses Vodafone and has EU roaming, we’d recommend looking at Talkmobile who have re-added inclusive roaming on the continent to all their plans:

To go beyond the EU on VOXI you can take a Global Roaming Extra, which gives you a small allowance of mins, texts and data for 8 or 15 days. This is much cheaper than paying their international rates.

We wouldn’t expect a small network like VOXI to offer inclusive worldwide roaming but it’s nice they do at least have a way to take the edge off often sky-high non-EU roaming rates on UK networks.

Useful link: All VOXI roaming costs

Roaming rating:
★☆☆☆☆ (poor)

Not as good as:
All the rest

Other networks offer some benefits that VOXI don’t

SMARTY logoSMARTY's group plans

No group plan discounts on VOXISee group plans

at SMARTY.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI don’t have a family plan scheme. This is something low-cost rivals SMARTY do offer, with 10% off any extra SIMs on your account, giving you better value out of already great value deals.

If you want to roam beyond the EU, Vodafone might be a decent alternative. They let you roam in 83 worldwide and EU destinations on their premium Unlimited data deal with 3 Xtras.

VOXI can also increase the cost of their plans whenever they choose, as they’ve made no promises not to do so. Compare that to giffgaff and SMARTY who have both promised not to increase prices for 2023.

Finally, VOXI don’t offer data rollover. iD Mobile are a budget network that let you hold onto your unused data for a month on all plans, while Sky let you store your leftover data in a piggybank for up to 3 years!

Useful link: Compare VOXI deals

VOXI's deals and plans

What sort of deal are you looking for?

Choose an option to skip to the right section:

Special offers now on VOXI

Here are the best SIM only deals at the moment.

SIM only plans from VOXI

Use our price comparison tool further below to find the right deal

Key facts on VOXI's SIM only plans

Find a VOXI SIM only plan

Networks

Providers:

1p Mobile logo
Three logo
ASDA logo
BT Mobile logo
Coop Mobile logo
EE logo
giffgaff logo
Honest logo
ID logo
IQ logo
Lebara logo
Lycamobile logo
O2 logo
Plusnet logo
SMARTY logo
Sky logo
Talkmobile logo
Tesco logo
Virgin Mobile logo
Vodafone logo
VOXI logo

Plan

Data: (0MB+)

Minutes: (0+)

Contract

Maximum length: (Any)

Added features

VOXI don’t reject users based on their age

VOXI age limit

You may have heard that VOXI used to prevent anyone over the age of 30 from signing up to their network. However, these restrictions are long gone now, so anyone can join VOXI these days.

We’re not sure if VOXI were accused of discriminating based on age or if they just wanted to sell their plans to more people. But in any case there’s no age restrictions anymore.

If you want to join on a phone contract you will have to be 18 or over as you’re joining on a credit agreement via Paypal Credit. But they won’t stop you from joining them if you’re over 30.

VOXI already draw in a lot of young customers who wouldn’t usually join Vodafone. But the removal of the age restriction has made VOXI a much more popular network overall.

Useful link: VOXI's explanation on removing their age limit

Phone contracts: VOXI offer good value and great flexibility

What kinds of phone deals can you get on VOXI?

Mobile phone and a magnifying glass

Phone options

Manufacturer:

Apple logo
Samsung logo
Alcatel logo
CAT logo
Doro logo
Emporia logo
Fairphone logo
Google logo
Honor logo
Huawei logo
IMO logo
MobiWire
Microsoft logo
Moto logo
Nokia logo
Nothing logo
OnePlus logo
Oppo logo
realme logo
Sony logo
TCL logo
Vivo logo
Xiaomi logo
OS box
Features box

Budget

Upfront: (Any upfront cost)

Monthly: (Any monthly cost)

Contract

Length: (6 - 36 months only)

Data: (Any)

Networks

Providers:

Three logo
BT Mobile logo
EE logo
giffgaff logo
ID logo
O2 logo
Sky logo
Talkmobile logo
Tesco logo
Virgin Mobile logo
Vodafone logo
VOXI logo
Sort arrows Sort by lowest: Monthly cost | Upfront costTotal contract cost

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Phone contracts from VOXI

All the latest phones on offerSee the full range

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

VOXI’s phone contracts split the cost of your phone into smaller monthly payments over an agreed period of time. The longest contracts they have go up to 30 months (usually networks offer 24-months at the longest).

You can pay lump sum amounts or choose a higher monthly price to reduce your contract length. And you can pay off the cost of your phone whenever you like if you want to upgrade to a new device.

Your monthly bill is made up of two separate payments, one for your phone and the other for your usage plan (mins, texts, data). This means you can switch or leave your usage plan while still paying off your phone.

But it can be harder to pass a credit check for these contracts, and the consequences of missing a payment are worse for your credit score than on a SIM only contract. And you can’t get one if you’re under 16.

Passing a credit check for these is more difficult, and missing a payment is awful for your credit score. But, if you can get one, VOXI offer good value on lots of high-end phones, especially compared to Vodafone.

Useful link: All VOXI phone plan benefits

No proper Pay As You Go scheme, but plans are flexible

Pay as you go SIM

Pay up front for your planOrder a free SIM card

at VOXI.co.uk
(opens in new window)

All of VOXI’s SIM only plans are sold as 1-month deals where you pay up front for your monthly mins, texts and data with a debit or credit card, similar to how you’d top up and pay as you go.

It is possible to top up with credit and pay for your minutes and texts out of that as if you were on a traditional Pay As You Go scheme, but for data you’ll have to buy separate passes.

Their Pay As You Go tariffs are quite high, so there’s no point trying to pay as you go with them, especially since some other networks offer much lower rates.

If you’re dead set on joining a PAYG network, your best choice are 1pMobile with their 1p per min, text and MB tariff or ASDA who also use Vodafone’s network and have a decently cheap tariff.

Useful link: FAQs on how you pay for VOXI

VOXI customer service

VOXI offer very few ways to get help

Ofcom complaints data table

They don’t show up on Ofcom’s reportRead Ofcom's report

VOXI are one of the many budget networks who keep costs down by not having call centres. They do have an online chat, but it’s hard to get through to a real person and the chatbot is a bit frustrating to use.

The easier way of getting in touch with a real person is via their social media accounts. While this is a decent option, we’ve found it can take a while for them to respond.

VOXI don’t show up in government regulator Ofcom’s complaints record, either because they’re not technically a pay monthly network or because they’re too small. Vodafone tend to score about average with them.

Over-the-phone services would give users another avenue of getting issues resolved, rather than waiting for a response via social media. But as it stands they’re our least favourite network for customer service.

Useful link: How to contact VOXI

More VOXI guides

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