EE just kindly sent me a text informing me that from next month, my 'plan' will be increasing 50% to £15/month, and another £1.50 every March thereafter. It's over 15 years since I changed provider so am very out of touch of so called virtual networks. I have discovered a network called Lebara (which use the Vodafone network) . They are offering the same as I currently get for only £4.95/month. Despite much googling, I have 2 x questions.

1) Do they include WiFi calling (VoLTE) A deal breaker as I don't get any mobile network signal at home.

2) Do they have a customer service department that is straightforward to reach?

Best bet is to ask them yes you can talk to an agent. I used them a while back and they were ok. I now used ID Mobile thru Carphone warehouse. £5.00 a month unlimited calls, texts and 5gb of data

7 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

Best bet is to ask them yes you can talk to an agent. I used them a while back and they were ok. I now used ID Mobile thru Carphone warehouse. £5.00 a month unlimited calls, texts and 5gb of data

The most shocking thing about your post is Carphone Warehouse! I thought they went bust years ago LOL Must check to see if I still have one local. Big fan of doing something like this in person rather than online, less chance of error, and of there is one, I can speak to a human to sort! That's my deal, unlimited texts/minutes, 5Gb data, and free EU roaming as I cross the Irish border a few times/yesr.

Lebara must have been going for years now.

I used to work a cig & alcohol counter (despite not smoking or drinking lol) and was also in charge of the PayPoint machine that did things like electric keys and mobile phone top ups. 

One of my first days there a man with a very strong accent asked several times for 'lbrla' and I just could not understand his request!  Eventually another staff member clarified it for me, I'd never heard of Lebara before!! 😬

No idea why that incident has stuck in my mind all these years lol.  Anyway, he was a regular customer and I always knew what he wanted from them on.  It seemed to be very popular with customers who had relatives abroad due to low rates for international calls.

CarphoneWarehouse is part of Currys now.  I think all of their stores are inside Currys stores.

7 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

CarphoneWarehouse is part of Currys now.  I think all of their stores are inside Currys stores.

That would explain a lot, don't think I've been inside a Currys since Blair was PM LOL

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Do they include WiFi calling (VoLTE)

I'm not an expert on the subject but I'm sure that Wi-Fi calling and Volte can be problematic unless you bought the phone from the provider (it has their firmware) or have an iPhone.

The other thing about Vodafone is that even though you may get Wi-Fi and Volte, some calls with some phones cut out after 30 minutes and the problem is not fixable for some phones.

This thread in the Vodafone Forum is 48 pages long and although it was for a Pixel phone it applies to some other makes as well. There are other Threads on the Forum that essentially say the same thing   https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Android/Pixel-3xl-drops-calls-after-half-hour/m-p/2725766

43 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I'm not an expert on the subject but I'm sure that Wi-Fi calling and Volte can be problematic unless you bought the phone from the provider (it has their firmware) or have an iPhone.

My phone is impossible to buy from a network provider, a CAT S52 (Android 10). I know for definite, with my EE SIM, I have made a 3 hour call before without issue - to Sky! Normally my personal calls are measured in a few minutes, so fingers crossed, there'll be no issue...

...and wash your mouth out, me, with an iPhone?? 🤣

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

My phone is impossible to buy from a network provider, a CAT S52 (Android 10). I know for definite, with my EE SIM, I have made a 3 hour call before without issue - to Sky! Normally my personal calls are measured in a few minutes, so fingers crossed, there'll be no issue...

...and wash your mouth out, me, with an iPhone?? 🤣

You may have misunderstood me, it was only Vodafone that had the calls cutting out problem with some phones because of a piece of equipment of theirs that is not compatible with some phones that have Wi-Fi/Volte.

My personal calls are normally short as well, it's phoning businesses that can take longer.

I have never had an iPhone either but with the Wi-Fi/Volte and 3g being dumped they are starting to look more attractive. 

When you speak with Lebara  they may clarify the Wi-Fi/Volte situation for your phone.

12 minutes ago, Tizer said:

When you speak with Lebara  they may clarify the Wi-Fi/Volte situation for your phone.

I will try and clarify that, as Lebara do use the Vodafone network...

Yes, I have had Lebara for a while now. No complaints.

Should you decide to switch your number over to them don't worry, when I did that, it all went smoothly.

One tip. MoneySavingExpert, the Martin Lewis outfit, have a deal running giving significant reductions over other ways of getting a sim-only deal with Lebara. That's what I did and saved a fair bit.

Don't know anything about the Wi-Fi mVolte situation. All I know is that my recent Samsung can be used anwhere.

Best of luck,

ScaniPBman.

21 hours ago, StephenFord said:

The most shocking thing about your post is Carphone Warehouse! I thought they went bust years ago LOL Must check to see if I still have one local. Big fan of doing something like this in person rather than online, less chance of error, and of there is one, I can speak to a human to sort! That's my deal, unlimited texts/minutes, 5Gb data, and free EU roaming as I cross the Irish border a few times/yesr.

you will find Carphone warehouse in most branches of Curry's. I did mine online also used the keep your number bit, have done that with mobile and landline number since the year dot. Keep an eye on the price comparison sites as they sometimes have special offers. I have 5G, Wifi, Volte on mine Brsk broadband on a Oneplus 12R

Thought I'd round this thread off. After much, much research, finally decided to go with Asda. So requested my PAC code from EE. Within 2 minutes, they called me. Anyway, long story short, I have continued my contract with EE on £6/month on a 6Gb, unlimited calls & text, with free EU roaming deal. That's cheaper and more data than I was with them initially before their 'price rise' text LOL

It's a funny old world Hector...

edit: you've posted at the exact same time as me 😅

did you go with Lebara in the end?

i've been with them probably over  year at this point. not sure about the wifi calling 

they are cheap which is great. i find the mobile data when out and about pretty patchy though i.e. i'll be out and about and won't get FB messages or some whatsapp messages until i get home and it connects to the wifi

customer services isn't bad, it's mainly online in a chat. 

they have got a lot more mainstream since even i joined them. i'm seeing ads for them all over the place now. i found them on moneysupermarket. 

To add to this I've decided to order a £5 Lebara Sim for my spare phone to try them out and may decide to ditch my Vodafone contract if Lebara are ok.

I recently bought a slightly newer second hand phone as a standby for my 7 year old one that still works ok but must have a limited life. Both phones are locked to Vodafone at the moment and Wi-Fi and Volte work on the new one as well with my current Sim Card swapped over.

I plan on running both phones in tandem for the month that I paid for to see if there is any difference in the signal dropping out and will report back with my findings. 

consider a dual sim phone ? when funds permit. I have 2 numbers 1 for day to day, the other for potential spam contacts.

29 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

consider a dual sim phone ? when funds permit. I have 2 numbers 1 for day to day, the other for potential spam contacts.

LOL, my phone is actually 'dual' slotted but I use one for a 128Gb memory card. Also, I am nowhere near popular enough to warrant 2 x SIMs, I barely have enough friends/contacts to warrant one 😁

Can a SIM slot be used for an SD card?  Mine has two slots for SIMs and a separate one for a micro SD card.

An update on my experience with Lebara as promised.

My Lebara Sim arrived yesterday and I did not need to unlock either of my phones for it to work. Volte worked on my "new" phone straight away but there was no Wi-Fi calling even though Wi-Fi calling worked on my new phone with my old Vodafone Sim but last night Wi-Fi  started working, apparently it can take several days for it to work if you did not port your number over.

I have been trying to compare the signal strengths of both phones with each other and as @NorthernSky said Lebara is so far not quite as strong as Vodafone, that was testing it in my house and both Handsets are different so not conclusive yet.

I also have a touch of man flu at the moment so I'm not out and about yet. to test it in weaker areas.

When I get time I will swap the Sim cards over to see if it is the Handsets that are causing to Lebara signal to be weaker or not.

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Can a SIM slot be used for an SD card?  Mine has two slots for SIMs and a separate one for a micro SD card.

It depends on whether the phone was designed like that or not. With Sony Duel Sim phones you can use the second Sim slot for a SD card.

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Can a SIM slot be used for an SD card?  Mine has two slots for SIMs and a separate one for a micro SD card.

As usual, you're absolutely correct! .I just got this from my phone manual, where it appears there are 2 x SIM slots in addition to a memory card slot.

4 hours ago, Tizer said:

An update on my experience with Lebara as promised.

My Lebara Sim arrived yesterday and I did not need to unlock either of my phones for it to work. Volte worked on my "new" phone straight away but there was no Wi-Fi calling even though Wi-Fi calling worked on my new phone with my old Vodafone Sim but last night Wi-Fi  started working, apparently it can take several days for it to work if you did not port your number over.

I have been trying to compare the signal strengths of both phones with each other and as @NorthernSky said Lebara is so far not quite as strong as Vodafone, that was testing it in my house and both Handsets are different so not conclusive yet.

I also have a touch of man flu at the moment so I'm not out and about yet. to test it in weaker areas.

When I get time I will swap the Sim cards over to see if it is the Handsets that are causing to Lebara signal to be weaker or not.

Does Lebara not piggyback off Vodafone ???????

22 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

Does Lebara not piggyback off Vodafone ???????

yes seems so i found great so far no problems,two months now all good

1 hour ago, limpoo said:

yes seems so i found great so far no problems,two months now all good

Yes it does but the signal strength has hardly ever been the same on my two phones at the same time,one with a Vodafone Sim, the other with a Libara Sim.

To confuse things further my l Lebara Sim  phone is now a lot faster than the Vodafone Sim one unlike yesterday.

Here is a Screenshot of my Lebara phone taken a few minutes ago, it is a healthy minus 97 dBm, the Vodafone one right next to it was showing a poorer minus 109 dBm at the same time.

I've paid for a month with Lebara and will do some more investigation when I'm feeling better.

39 minutes ago, Tizer said:

Yes it does but the signal strength has hardly ever been the same on my two phones at the same time,one with a Vodafone Sim, the other with a Libara Sim.

You seem like a phone nerd, like myself. 😁 You may enjoy an app called, 'network cell info lite'. Gives you a nice graphical representation of your mobile signal strength as well as your WiFi...

7 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

You seem like a phone nerd, like myself. 😁 You may enjoy an app called, 'network cell info lite'. Gives you a nice graphical representation of your mobile signal strength as well as your WiFi...

Thanks, I've seen Apps like that before. I live a City so I've always been used to getting a good signal at home, I'm only checking things just now so that I can decide if I move over to the Lebara Sim.