5Gb a month mobile data

PeterDuggan

Hi. I'm hoping those of you who know these things can tell me the cheapest PAYG options for low volume data? I only need about 5Gb a month.

I'm using a dual sim phone so I don't need calls or texts at all (Sim1 does that). It's for personal use so speed and reliability are not critical. I don't need roaming. But I do want to tether. Oh and I'm in Dublin if that's relevant.

All advice would be very greatly appreciated. Thankyou very much.

Hope I'm in the right place for this query - but if not please feel free Mighty Mods to push me wherever I should be.

Davy

Can I ask why you dont add the data to the sim1 plan?

You can get a lot of data added to unlimited plans now reasonably priced.

What dual sim phone is it?
Not all dual sims support data on both sims, and some not 3G/4G.

PeterDuggan

Thanks Davy. I like the flexibility of cheap calls on sim1 and cheap data on sim2. The phone allows 4G on sim2.

How much do you pay for SIM 1?

biebiebie

Eir 6 month Data SIM (no voice), perfect for a dual SIM phone.

€30 in total for 50GB for the 6 months.
That's about 8GB per month.

It'll last until you've used up the 50GB or until 6 months is up, whichever comes first.

Using it myself in a dual phone and working great.

august12

biebiebie wrote:

€30 in total for 50GB for the 6 months. That's about 8GB per month.

Is Eir coverage as good as Vodafone?

biebiebie

I suppose it depends on your area really. It could be something that Eir can answer for you if you ask them.

If you know how good the Meteor network is then that's Eir.

Personally I get good coverage around Dublin from both of them.

PeterDuggan

Basil3 wrote: »

How much do you pay for SIM 1?

Less than €5/month. PAYG no "plan" and I use WhatsApp, etc when possible.

PeterDuggan

biebiebie wrote: »

Eir €30 for 50Gb for 6 months.

Thanks Biebiebie. That Eir deal looks hard to beat. I see you can even use 6.3Gb of it in the EU. And I think it can tether. Nice.

Do you know...
1) If you port a number to Eir do you get any free credit?
2) ...and can that credit be used towards the €30 deal?
3) Can it make or even just receive voice calls? My partner is on Eir so that could be handy.

Thanks again.

Ten Pin

1) If you port a number to Eir do you get any free credit?
Can't port to a broadband SIM. The broadband SIM used to have 3euro credit on it when it was Meteor, don't know if this is still the case
2) and can that credit be used towards the €30 deal?
The 3euro is only of use to try out the SIM before spending 30euro on credit. You'll get 150MB for the 3euro (2c per MB if you don't buy the pass)
3) Can it make or even just receive voice calls?
Neither, when you try to dial out, it will hang up. I presume you get a "number does not exist" type tone if you dial in.

Answers in bold.

You can receive text messages (same as a phone text) and use Eir webtext (400 free) to send messages although it's not as user friendly as sending regular mobile text (you need to log in on Eir website).

If you go in store to get the SIM, tell them it's for an unlocked router that you already have, if you tell them it's for a phone they may not give you the SIM and you'll end up having to go to another shop (more of a time saving tip than anything else).

There's a thread here about it if you need more details.

editorsean

august12 wrote: »

Is Eir coverage as good as Vodafone?

Eir's 3G/4G coverage is decent in built-up areas. In rural hilly areas such as around Co. Donegal, there are some areas with no or 2G coverage, where Vodafone (and Three) have 3G or 4G coverage. For example, the nearby village Carrick has Vodafone 3G, but no Eir or Three coverage at all. When I called Meteor (before the rebrand) about it, they claimed they have great coverage there according to their map and insisted my handset is the problem.

Tethering works fine with it here in Ireland, but reportedly is hit & miss while roaming in the EU. For example, this user was unable to tether with this SIM while in the UK.

The only next cheapest option I'm aware of is Tesco Mobile, but provides 3G-only connectivity using the Three network. This works out at €6 per month as follows: Choose the €15 plan and top-up by €15. This provides 10GB of data for 30 days and €15 of credit, then repeat 30 days later. For the following three months, buy the 5GB add-on, which uses €10 of that credit every 30 days. If you manage to avoid out-of-bundle usage and don't use the credit for anything else, that works out at €30 for 5 months.

Eir's prepay broadband on the other hand is very straight forward - Top-up by €30, buy the 50GB add-on and no need to do anything else with it for the next 6 months.

PeterDuggan

Thanks Editorsean. Your Tesco Mobile €30 for 10Gb/month for 5 months scheme is ingenius and I suppose it would even work in a standard single sim phone because it's a normal sim.

editorsean

Indeed that Tesco SIM will work in a regular single-SIM phone. Just note that the 3 months of purchasing the €10 data bundle from credit provides 5GB/month, where as only the first two months of topping up by €15 provide 10GB. The catch is that they do not offer any call bundle add-ons other than topping up by €15 for unlimited calls + 10GB that month. So if you make a few calls a month, this will quickly consume the credit after the second month, at 35c/min + 7c per connection.

I'm not sure what provider you currently use in SIM #1, but from looking around, iD Mobile seems to have the cheapest national/mobile call bundles for SIM #1 if you mainly use SIM #2 for data. iD Mobile works out at €2.50/month for 150 minutes using a similar technique as follows: Choose the €15 plan and top-up by €15. This provides 30GB of data and 300 any network minutes for 30 days, plus €15 of credit. Use SIM #1 for data that month. When the month expires, switch to SIM #2 for data. For the following five months, buy the 150 minute call add-on, which uses €3 of that credit every 30 days. Again if you manage to do this avoiding out-of-bundle usage, that will work out at €15 for 6 months.

It's a pity iD Mobile does not offer any monthly data add-ons that can be purchased using credit, otherwise it would offer the best of both with a single SIM phone.

I'm sure mobile networks are happy most people won't put in so much effort and make things so complicated just to save a few euro a month :pac:

PeterDuggan

It's more than a few euro though.

PeterDuggan

Editorsean your iD Mobile €2.50/month scheme for calls is brilliant again but personally I make so few outgoing calls I mostly just use WhatsApp, with normal call credit just occasionally.

PeterDuggan

MoneyguideIreland say that Lycamobile can work out at €7.50/month for avg of 20Gb. First month you buy their €15/10Gb offer – and second month use the €15 credit you kept to buy their €15/30Gb bundle. Both have unlimited calls and texts too.

Ten Pin

MoneyguideIreland say that Lycamobile can work out at €7.50/month for avg of 20Gb. First month you buy their €15/10Gb offer – and second month use the €15 credit you kept to buy their €15/30Gb bundle. Both have unlimited calls and texts too.

Money guide site is a little out of date.
Lyca bundle (month 2 from your example) is now 15GB and the bundle texts are Lyca to Lyca only (15c to other networks).
Lyca don't have 4G and they block tethering.

IMO the most efficient way to cover SMS, calls and data is to use a Vodafone SIM as your primary contact number for calls and text and the Eir broadband SIM for data. Then use Vodafone webtext (600 free per month) via an app like Swift SMS or Irish Webtext. For calls use an app like CSipSimple with a VOIP account from one of the VOIP providers (check here for some pointers and exclude connection fee services). You can still use WhatsApp as normal, tether and it's 4G. Lyca and Tesco are 3G only and Three is a little overcrowded. Vodafone probably has the best coverage/speed but Eir is next best.