Best plan for light data use and very few calls but want good coverage?

MarkH748

Hi,

I am currently with eir as a PAYG customer. I am on an old plan where I get 250 MB data and free calls and texts for a 20 euro top-up, where I keep my credit afterwards. I use very little data (whatsapp, snapchat mainly) so I usually approach that 250 MB limit towards the end of the month, if at all. At the end of the month my data stops working and I get the option to use my credit or buy one of the "data boosters". I use 5 euro to buy a 500 MB data booster which gets me through another month and can normally get 4 months out of my 20 euro top up this way (a few brief calls might eat into my last fiver). This plan is ideal for me!

However, my coverage on eir is awful even in relatively built up areas (I get poor coverage in UL!). I know tesco mobile offer a similar deal where you can keep your credit and have a 1GB data booster, but I'm not sure if their coverage will be any better. I know vodafone supposedly have good coverage, but I'm not sure if I keep my credit with their plans and if I can use their addons the way I am currently, of if its simply an addon for the month that you've already paid for (i.e. just increasing the data limit).

Can someone familiar with the nuances of these prepay plans give me some help here?

Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Mark

lob020

MarkH748 wrote: »

Hi,

I am currently with eir as a PAYG customer. I am on an old plan where I get 250 MB data and free calls and texts for a 20 euro top-up, where I keep my credit afterwards. I use very little data (whatsapp, snapchat mainly) so I usually approach that 250 MB limit towards the end of the month, if at all. At the end of the month my data stops working and I get the option to use my credit or buy one of dthe "data boosters". I use 5 euro to buy a 500 MB data booster which gets me through another month and can normally get 4 months out of my 20 euro top up this way (a few brief calls might eat into my last fiver). This plan is ideal for me!

However, my coverage on eir is awful even in relatively built up areas (I get poor coverage in UL!). I know tesco mobile offer a similar deal where you can keep your credit and have a 1GB data booster, but I'm not sure if their coverage will be any better. I know vodafone supposedly have good coverage, but I'm not sure if I keep my credit with their plans and if I can use their addons the way I am currently, of if its simply an addon for the month that you've already paid for (i.e. just increasing the data limit).

Can someone familiar with the nuances of these prepay plans give me some help here?

Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Mark

Do not go to Tesco Mobile, service is diabolical
Vodafone for certainty,but not the cheapest

MarkH748

lob020 wrote: »

Do not go to Tesco Mobile, service is diabolical
Vodafone for certainty,but not the cheapest

Thanks for the reply. I've heard vodafone are good but they don't offer the 5 euro addons that I want to use to stretch my credit out. I think I'm gonna try Three and see if they're coverage is better.

RoYoBo

Vodafone have several €5 add-ons, both data and calls. I use the €5 one for 1Gb of data occasionally. I make very few calls (mainly use wifi, texts, whatsapp etc) and don't invoke/pay my €20 plan very often at all. I add enough credit to maintain the number - €5 every 6 months and more if I need the data add on.

Was there something in particular you wanted? I find Vodafone coverage to be the best overall and now with roaming included, it's my preferred option.

MarkH748

RoYoBo wrote: »

Vodafone have several €5 add-ons, both data and calls. I use the €5 one for 1Gb of data occasionally. I make very few calls (mainly use wifi, texts, whatsapp etc) and don't invoke/pay my €20 plan very often at all. I add enough credit to maintain the number - €5 every 6 months and more if I need the data add on.

Was there something in particular you wanted? I find Vodafone coverage to be the best overall and now with roaming included, it's my preferred option.

Oh. So if I top up by €20 on vodafone, I can just just spend 5 euro to get 1GB data for a month each time?

Basically what I currently do is top up by €20, and use the offer for a month while KEEPING my credit. Then when my offer is up I buy an addon for €5 to get data for another month and keep doing this until my credit is gone (usually 3 more months). Based on what you're saying I could do the same with vodafone BUT I wouldn't keep my €20 credit if I use my offer. So I could just forget about my offer and solely use addons. I'd get a month less for my 20 euro but much better coverage..

RoYoBo

MarkH748 wrote: »

Oh. So if I top up by €20 on vodafone, I can just just spend 5 euro to get 1GB data for a month each time?

Basically what I currently do is top up by €20, and use the offer for a month while KEEPING my credit. Then when my offer is up I buy an addon for €5 to get data for another month and keep doing this until my credit is gone (usually 3 more months). Based on what you're saying I could do the same with vodafone BUT I wouldn't keep my €20 credit if I use my offer. So I could just forget about my offer and solely use addons. I'd get a month less for my 20 euro but much better coverage..

That's it exactly and what I do most of the time! If you never/seldom make calls, whatever credit you have goes to them and to your texts. Believe me, I'm very parsimonious and let others on packages ring me when I can! The €5 data gives you 1Gb for 4 weeks and then expires.

Quackster

MarkH748 wrote: »

Oh. So if I top up by €20 on vodafone, I can just just spend 5 euro to get 1GB data for a month each time?

Basically what I currently do is top up by €20, and use the offer for a month while KEEPING my credit. Then when my offer is up I buy an addon for €5 to get data for another month and keep doing this until my credit is gone (usually 3 more months). Based on what you're saying I could do the same with vodafone BUT I wouldn't keep my €20 credit if I use my offer. So I could just forget about my offer and solely use addons. I'd get a month less for my 20 euro but much better coverage..

Yeah, make sure to not sign up to any offer when you switch to Vodafone so you can safely top up by any amount without an offer eating your credit.

Then just buy a 1GB data add-on for a fiver BEFORE turning on mobile data. Also set a reminder for the expiry date of the data add-on and turn off mobile data before midnight that night. Then don't turn mobile data back on until you've bought another data add-on.

If you don't take this precaution, you'll be charged the €1.99 daily rate for data because Vodafone doesn't disconnect your mobile data when your data bundle ends the way Meteor does.

RoYoBo

Just to add to my post above: I'm on an old Vodafone plan (Free calls and texts) which doesn't take my credit when I'm not topped up. I'm not sure if that's still available?