Warning - Tesco Mobile for long-term travellers.

PadraigL

Tesco mobile are suspending your Tesco SIM if you are out of the country longer than 4 months.

It doesn't matter if you have credit or change to a different SIM deal.

If you don't use the Tesco SIM and have it in credit for emergencies and buy a local SIM for data/calls/texts but Tesco, Your bank, facility provider regularly send you texts about promotions, roaming information etc. These texts are counted as roaming.

This will only concern travellers for 6 months to a year as they will give some leeway but they may go the strict 4 month route.

innocent_lover

Which network you should go to if you travelling more than 6 months

Ah-Watch

Vodafone, just throw a fiver on it every 6 months to keep it active. If you don't top up in 8 months the number will get disconnected.

PadraigL

@innocent_lover

No idea really...

Vodafone and 3 Ireland have the 4 month roaming in their terms and conditions.

Vodafone suspended my Vodafone X SIM in 2022 after 4 months. At the time it was unlimited data while roaming, so I got it for that reason. It's now 30gb.

I was still using the Tesco SIM as it's my main number with no issues.

A Spanish company called Tiekom had a 200gb and 300gb data SIM for roaming with the EU with no restrictions on the Vodafone network. Vodafone suspended the deal with Tiekom this March. Tiekom are saying they are in discussions and may get the deal back.

RWG Mobile in the UK has a 200gb roaming SIM with no time restrictions. It just has to be activated in the UK by making 1 call. They said anyone living in Ireland can still order and use it as long as it's registered in the UK first.

There are esim EU roaming deals available.

babelfish1990

Eir are the only network to support WiFi calling when roaming. This connects you to your home network directly, as if you were at home, and bypasses roaming charges. Not sure if Eir are fussy about the number of months roaming, but using WiFi calling should mean that Eir see you as if you were at home, so it likely resets the clock.

Ah-Watch

If you're actively using it and roaming heavily in Europe constantly eg using it as your primary data in Spain for 4 months + and using large amounts of data I can understand any of the networks suspending the number but if it's purely just to receive a 2FA text here and there then Vodafone don't cancel sims for that reason. Have Eir brought in Wifi Calling on prepaid yet or is it still Bill Pay only? People are less likely to have a bill pay sim and roam for several months at a time as it would be the very minimum of 10e a month sim only.

I've a family member who was on Vodafone X and worked in the UK Monday to Friday for the last 3 years and generally used the 30GB roaming allowance almost every month and Vodafone never cut them off. Maybe because they would be connected to Vodafone IE on Friday to Sunday but even still. Cutting a number off after a few 2FA messages is just harsh no matter what network it is