PAYG Sim recommendation (3, Eir, Lyca, Vodafone)

misskell

Hiya,
I'm going to be in Ireland soon, and will need a sim card, so I obviously am wanting a PAYG sim as I will only be in the country for 2 weeks.

I've been looking up Eir, Three, Vodafone and Lycamobile PAYG sims, but I don't really know who to go with! I want some thats good value for your money of course.
Three has 20euro for unlimited data, calls 3 -> 3 and texts to any network (quite annoying as im pretty sure not all my family are 3 customers), 
Eir has 20euro for 15gb data, unlimited calls OR texts (which is slightly annoying) and free social media usage,
Vodafone has 20euro for 6gb (not really appealing), unlimited vodafone calls and texts, 100 minutes and texts to any network,
Lycamobile has 15euro for 25gb data, unlimited national calls and unlimited national texts (but i haven't heard a lot about their coverage/speed)

If anyone uses any of these carriers, whats your coverage and data speeds like? or who's the better choice in your opinion?
I will be using quite a bit of data I think and wanting to make calls to other ROI mobiles/landlines. Most of the time will be in the Dublin and Norther county Dublin areas, if that helps!

Any information will be greatly appreciated:)

raxy

If any of your family here are with virgin you can get them to get you a SIM. €5 per month for 5 months for unlimited. It's a 30 day contract so just cancel it when your finished. That's 25/month if not a customer so may be worth considering.
They're on 3 network so the same coverage, can no ok but not the best but depends on location.

Not sure on eir, I got a prepay SIM from them to test & found their coverage poor but others seem happy with them.
Tesco mobile is moving to 4g. They might be worth checking out. Not sure what they are offering though

kenmm

I was considering a change as well as my provider is backed by o2 and is really slow (3g only)

but most of the virtual networks seem to be backed by 02/3 now anyway

misskell

raxy wrote: »

If any of your family here are with virgin you can get them to get you a SIM. €5 per month for 5 months for unlimited. It's a 30 day contract so just cancel it when your finished. That's 25/month if not a customer so may be worth considering.
They're on 3 network so the same coverage, can no ok but not the best but depends on location.

Not sure on eir,  I got a prepay SIM from them to test & found their coverage poor but others seem happy with them.
Tesco mobile is moving to 4g. They might be worth checking out. Not sure what they are offering though

Thanks very much for the info! so id have to get a current virgin customer to get the 5euro sim for me is that correct? so i wouldnt be able to just go get it myself?

ED E

Short codes don't work on VM. Banks, park by text, Google etc etc. Deal-breaker for many.

babelfish1990

misskell wrote: »

Hiya,
I'm going to be in Ireland soon, and will need a sim card, so I obviously am wanting a PAYG sim as I will only be in the country for 2 weeks.

I've been looking up Eir, Three, Vodafone and Lycamobile PAYG sims, but I don't really know who to go with! I want some thats good value for your money of course.
Three has 20euro for unlimited data, calls 3 -> 3 and texts to any network (quite annoying as im pretty sure not all my family are 3 customers), 
Eir has 20euro for 15gb data, unlimited calls OR texts (which is slightly annoying) and free social media usage,
Vodafone has 20euro for 6gb (not really appealing), unlimited vodafone calls and texts, 100 minutes and texts to any network,
Lycamobile has 15euro for 25gb data, unlimited national calls and unlimited national texts (but i haven't heard a lot about their coverage/speed)

If anyone uses any of these carriers, whats your coverage and data speeds like? or who's the better choice in your opinion?
I will be using quite a bit of data I think and wanting to make calls to other ROI mobiles/landlines. Most of the time will be in the Dublin and Norther county Dublin areas, if that helps!

Any information will be greatly appreciated:)

The MyEir app gives you 400 free texts in addition to your bundle. (300 any Irish network, and 100 international). If you go with the Eir bundle unlimited voice and 15GB, you can use the MyEir app for free texts. Best option, in my view.

raxy

ED E wrote: »

Short codes don't work on VM. Banks, park by text, Google etc etc. Deal-breaker for many.

If he's only on holidays he can probably live without that. I was looking at other posts about virgin this week & people have been saying they are working for them.

& yes the €5 offer is only for customers

misskell

babelfish1990 wrote: »

misskell wrote: »

Hiya,
I'm going to be in Ireland soon, and will need a sim card, so I obviously am wanting a PAYG sim as I will only be in the country for 2 weeks.

I've been looking up Eir, Three, Vodafone and Lycamobile PAYG sims, but I don't really know who to go with! I want some thats good value for your money of course.
Three has 20euro for unlimited data, calls 3 -> 3 and texts to any network (quite annoying as im pretty sure not all my family are 3 customers), 
Eir has 20euro for 15gb data, unlimited calls OR texts (which is slightly annoying) and free social media usage,
Vodafone has 20euro for 6gb (not really appealing), unlimited vodafone calls and texts, 100 minutes and texts to any network,
Lycamobile has 15euro for 25gb data, unlimited national calls and unlimited national texts (but i haven't heard a lot about their coverage/speed)

If anyone uses any of these carriers, whats your coverage and data speeds like? or who's the better choice in your opinion?
I will be using quite a bit of data I think and wanting to make calls to other ROI mobiles/landlines. Most of the time will be in the Dublin and Norther county Dublin areas, if that helps!

Any information will be greatly appreciated:)

The MyEir app gives you 400 free texts in addition to your bundle. (300 any Irish network, and 100 international).  If you go with the Eir bundle unlimited voice and 15GB, you can use the MyEir app for free texts.  Best option, in my view.

Awesome! so would i just long into the myeir app and it will tell me how to claim the 400 free texts or is it automatic do you know?

babelfish1990

misskell wrote: »

babelfish1990 wrote: »

misskell wrote: »

Hiya,
I'm going to be in Ireland soon, and will need a sim card, so I obviously am wanting a PAYG sim as I will only be in the country for 2 weeks.

I've been looking up Eir, Three, Vodafone and Lycamobile PAYG sims, but I don't really know who to go with! I want some thats good value for your money of course.
Three has 20euro for unlimited data, calls 3 -> 3 and texts to any network (quite annoying as im pretty sure not all my family are 3 customers), 
Eir has 20euro for 15gb data, unlimited calls OR texts (which is slightly annoying) and free social media usage,
Vodafone has 20euro for 6gb (not really appealing), unlimited vodafone calls and texts, 100 minutes and texts to any network,
Lycamobile has 15euro for 25gb data, unlimited national calls and unlimited national texts (but i haven't heard a lot about their coverage/speed)

If anyone uses any of these carriers, whats your coverage and data speeds like? or who's the better choice in your opinion?
I will be using quite a bit of data I think and wanting to make calls to other ROI mobiles/landlines. Most of the time will be in the Dublin and Norther county Dublin areas, if that helps!

Any information will be greatly appreciated:)

The MyEir app gives you 400 free texts in addition to your bundle. (300 any Irish network, and 100 international).  If you go with the Eir bundle unlimited voice and 15GB, you can use the MyEir app for free texts.  Best option, in my view.

Awesome! so would i just long into the myeir app and it will tell me how to claim the 400 free texts or is it automatic do you know?

The free allocation is automatic. You just need to install the MyEir app from the app store. The allocation can be used either by Webtext from a PC or via the app from a phone.

Ten Pin

There is also an app for eir webtext, makes it easier to pick a contact rather than in a browser.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ingamedeo.eiriewebtext

goat2

raxy wrote: »

If any of your family here are with virgin you can get them to get you a SIM. €5 per month for 5 months for unlimited. It's a 30 day contract so just cancel it when your finished. That's 25/month if not a customer so may be worth considering.
They're on 3 network so the same coverage, can no ok but not the best but depends on location.

Not sure on eir, I got a prepay SIM from them to test & found their coverage poor but others seem happy with them.
Tesco mobile is moving to 4g. They might be worth checking out. Not sure what they are offering though

I did not know that one can get a PAYG at 5 euro unlimited per month month

raxy

goat2 wrote: »

I did not know that one can get a PAYG at 5 euro unlimited per month month

It's not payg. 30 contract but only €5/month for virgin customers. 25 usually

biebiebie

What's your average monthly data usage?
Based on that, can you estimate how much data you'll actually need for 2 weeks?

Although the Vodafone offer is for less data overall, their speeds/network is one of the best. Read quality over quantity.

If speed isn't a concern and 3G is sufficient for your needs then Lycamobile might suffice.

Also Tesco mobile Ireland offer 4G now take a look at their €15 PAYG plan.

Finally what about SIM plans from your current country of residence?
If you're in the EU then you may already have an allowance for Ireland with your current provider.

Some of the above may not be relevant but we don't have all the facts about your situation :-)

xckjoo

ED E wrote: »

Short codes don't work on VM. Banks, park by text, Google etc etc. Deal-breaker for many.

What does this mean exactly? Thinking of moving to VM, but use KBC for most of my banking. Will I not be able to get the OTP texts when I use my credit card?

biebiebie

xckjoo wrote: »

What does this mean exactly? Thinking of moving to VM, but use KBC for most of my banking. Will I not be able to get the OTP texts when I use my credit card?

That's exactly what it means.
However I'm not sure if this issues is fixed now or still an issue?

Reading this it appears to be fixed?
https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Virgin-Mobile/Replacement-SIM-Number-Unknown-and-SMS-Problems/td-p/3632208/page/4

However I'm not using VM mobile myself so can't confirm

xckjoo

biebiebie wrote: »

That's exactly what it means.
However I'm not sure if this issues is fixed now or still an issue?

Reading this it appears to be fixed?
https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Virgin-Mobile/Replacement-SIM-Number-Unknown-and-SMS-Problems/td-p/3632208/page/4

However I'm not using VM mobile myself so can't confirm

I asked them in the Online Chat on their website and they said they couldn't guarantee it would work. Bit of a deal-breaker to have access to my money so no VM for me


Thanks to everyone. That could have been a pain in the ass