Mobile Carriers

General Chat Referrals
62

Ok, so this isn’t a referral of any sorts, merely info on an MVNO that I’ve just signed up to, in this case, SPUSU. They are an Austrian company that piggyback off the EE network.

I have an iPhone 14 Pro and since the beginning of 2024, I’ve been utilising esims for travel purposes as I mainly holiday outside of Europe. Having just returned from the Caribbean, I had been using Airalo as a esim data provider and it worked fantastically well. Similarly, earlier this year I used Nomad esim for data in Mexico and that too worked flawlessly and was significantly cheaper than my UK network provider had I used data roaming.

My current pay monthly physical SIM card with Lebara, as yet, don’t yet offer esim in the UK and they piggyback off the Vodafone network but Lebara won’t pick up the 5G network anywhere in my locale. I literally have to travel in excess of 40 miles before my Lebara SIM card will lock onto a 5G mast.

So I discovered SPUSU who do offer esim for compatible phones and as they use the EE network who do have 5G coverage in my area, I thought I’d give it a go. I signed up to a promotional £1.00 for the first 3 months, 5GB of data, unlimited calls and texts UK and free European roaming (with caveats). Thereafter, it’s £4.50 a month for the package. I don’t generally stream and barely use 5GB a month of data anyway.

Their iOS App is a bit basic but it does work. Sign up was easy, you get to choose your phone number beforehand. Installation of the esim was an absolute cinch and activation of the esim via text message went without a hitch.

After activation, I went through my mobile settings, labelled my lines as Primary and secondary, enabled 5G auto and data switching and finally, I’m in, 5G coverage in my own house, job done!

So now I have two fully functioning calls and data lines on my iPhone, which for me will be ultra handy separating my personal and work life. It means I no longer have to carry two phones with me all the time.

I fully realise there will be some reading this who will think I’ve been well behind the curve for ages, but there’s plenty of folks out there who won’t have delved into this area before, so I hope it helps anyone who might have thought about going down the esim/dual SIM route.

1 Like
63

I’ve fancied flirting with an e-sim for sometime but never attempted it.

Given your fulsome setting-up narrative, I’ll take a closer look.

64

Not seeing an introductory offer here, though.

65

£10.90 for 40GB is pretty good. I wonder why Google Pixels don’t support their 5G. My spare phone is a Pixel 6a and it supports 5G with my EE SIM.

66

I have a pixel 8 pro and it works fine with 5g on Giffgaff/O2. I also have a Vodafone eSim which I use for my work number, it is “Vodafone basics” and £7.50/month for 2GB data, I am very interested in a £4.50/month 4GB eSim plan - but can’t find that on the spusu website…

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67

Also be aware that there are many reports of OTP SMS not arriving on Spusu. Some banks work, others don’t.

Just going by what I’ve seen on ISP Review and Trustpilot. Also mentioned on the SIM Sherpa website.

2 Likes
68

I’m not using this line for banking. I got the eSIM purely to see if I could get 5G where I live. I am aware of the apparent issues regarding SMS messages.

69

Happened to me on a fair few MVNOs, incl GiffGaff.

70

I wonder if Spusu don’t have access to all the 5G frequencies that EE have. I can’t think of any other reason why 5G would work with an iPhone but not a Pixel.

71

Interestingly, when setting up the eSIM on my phone, a message pops up asking if you want to use the SIM for messaging and FaceTime. You have the option to click yes or no. I’m wondering if some folks are not hitting the yes option and so aren’t getting messages? Just a thought :man_shrugging:

72

No, that just adds the SIM’s number to iMessage and FaceTime to enable you to originate and receive iMessages and FaceTime calls on that number.

iMessages (appearing on the iPhone as blue texts) are sent over the data connection, unlike SMS (green texts) which go via the mobile network. FaceTime calls are also sent via the data connection.

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73

I just changed my mobile number on my RBS current account to my new spusu mobile number and I can confirm it works for messages. I received a confirmation message on the new number :+1:

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74

I wanted a EE mvno and went with 1p mobile after hearing there were issues with the OTP.

2 Likes
75

Popit also is okay I’ve heard. Also entirely based in Britain too

76

I’ve used RWG for 18 months now as a second SIM. I paid (I think) £36 upfront for 2 years service.

It has been thoroughly adequate for its use cases - phone number to give recruiters and data to use when Vodafone is unavailable but EE is.

They’re quite hard to recommend now though as it seems they’re now using Three as well as / insead of Now (EE).

77

I took a look at their website (Popit) and SIM plans and compared to other MVNO’s they are in my opinion not particularly priced competitive.

So it’s only been 24 hours for me on this spusu esim and it it easily beats my Lebara SIM for coverage and speed. As far as speed over Lebara is concerned, spusu on 5G is 3 times as fast according to Ookla.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I changed my number for my RBS account as it’s not my main account, and the spusu SIM received confirmation messages, so I might take the plunge and try it out with Chase.

As, unlike Android phones, one can’t have two WhatsApp accounts on a single WhatsApp App, I’ve got around this by downloading WhatsApp Business to cater for the spusu esim.

I’m basically trialling spusu for the next 3 months. If it doesn’t cause me any issues, I will probably switch to a different spusu plan with a bit more data and downgrade Lebara to their cheapest monthly plan or find a cheaper SIM to use as a second line.

78

Coverage is going to be subjective but Lebara SIMs are limited at 150Mbps whereas Spusu are currently providing a service equal to EE’s, with all bands available.

Vodafone + EE is a solid choice of networks to pair up in a dual SIM arrangement; Vodafone & O2 share some masts as do EE & Three, Vodafone and EE are the better from each.

79

Yes but their data is also not capped in EU. Might not be an issue for you but I use a lot of data

There’s also probably a cost to domestic customer service. They’ve not outsourced everything in the race to the bottom

There’s also China Mobile, also on EE and about £20 for 200gb.

80

Ok, so I’ve been changing my phone number to my new SPUSU number and therefore effectively forcing OTPs from the likes of Amazon, PayPal, eBay, Wise and Barclays bank to name just a few.

So far, every organisation I have changed my number with, I have received OTP’s on my SPUSU number. I even switched off my Lebara SIM just to make sure.

I haven’t tried it with Chase as yet because I don’t want to change my number with them until my 3 month trial with SPUSU is near end, but I have no reason to suspect that OTP’S with Chase would be affected.

81

Sounds like things might be improving, then.