O2 UK sim card

A UK sim card is essential for anyone visiting the UK. It means that you can make phone calls and access mobile data for the same price as someone living in the United Kingdom as opposed to the more expensive roaming rates you would be charged if you kept your regular sim card in your phone.

The O2 UK sim card features:

This sim card comes set up on your choice of either the 30GB or 100GB Big Bundle tariff

Your O2 UK sim card comes with your UK mobile phone number and it is already set up on your choice of the 30GB or 100GB Big Bundle tariff. This tariff includes:

Your service is good for one month from the date you add at least £20 or £30 credit (to pay for your month of service) and your service will roll over to another month as long as there is another £20 or £30 credit in your prepaid balance to pay for the next month. Your monthly service costs £20 if you have chosen the 30GB plan or £30 if you have chosen the 100GB plan.

This means that if you have a sim card on the 30GB plan and top up with £25, your remaining balance will be £5 (after O2 take payment for your service) but you will have use of the included calls and data until the start of the next month of service. As long as your month is paid for, it is OK if your account balance is zero.

If you are using your service for longer than one month, any unused data will roll over to the following month.

Your mobile service renews on the same date each month. For instance, if you start using your service on 23 January, your next month will start on 23 February. This means that it is slightly better value in October compared with February.

Using your O2 sim card in the United Kingdom

When using your O2 SIM card in the United Kingdom, your tariff’s inclusive value includes:

Unlimited call minutes included each month

Both the 30GB and 100GB Big Bundle tariffs include unlimited call minutes to standard landline and mobile phone numbers in the United Kingdom. These included call minutes can be used for calls to standard UK landline and mobile numbers. This includes calls to UK numbers starting with 01, 02, 03 and 07 but it does not include calls to premium numbers nor does it include calls to numbers in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (which are international calls even though they share the same +44 country code as the United Kingdom).

Once your monthly mobile service has been paid for you can make calls from your unlimited call allowance even if your prepaid credit balance is zero.

International calls with your O2 sim card

International calls are no longer included in O2’s Big Bundle tariffs (although calls to some European countries are included if you are on the 100GB plan). You can still make international calls but you will need to top up additional credit to do this.

Both the 30GB and 100GB plans have discounted international calls at the following rates:

The non-discounted rate is 19p per minute for calls to EU countries, 55p per minute to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and £1.50 per minute to non-EU countries. This is the rate that would be charged on O2’s other tariffs (which offer less data) and it is also what you would be charged if your plan expires and you do not top-up enough credit to remain on your 30GB or 100GB tariff.

While it is unlikely that you will need to call the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) or the Isle of Man, we include rates to these countries as there are several travel sim cards that are advertised as having UK phone numbers but actually have Jersey phone numbers, which are much more expensive to call (despite sharing the +44 country code with the UK). If you’re travelling with someone with one of these sim cards it is a good idea to encourage them to buy an O2 sim instead so you can call each other using your inclusive call minutes.

International text messages cost between 6p and 30p each, although they are free if you (and the person you are messaging) use iMessage or most other messaging apps.

Many people use a service such as Facetime, Rebtel, Skype, Teams or Viber to make calls home over a data connection rather than paying for these international call charges. In most cases, the person you’re calling needs to have the same app installed on their phone for this to work; however, both Rebtel and Skype allow you to make calls to regular phones as long as you have additional credit in your Rebtel or Skype app (or a call subscription) to pay for these calls.

Staying longer than one month

Your service is good for one month from the date you arrive in the United Kingdom. You have two options if you’re staying longer than one month:

1. Top up another £20 or £30 to pay for another month (which will give you another month of your inclusive call and data value)
2. Pay O2’s higher standard call and data rates

The first option is generally much better value and this is what most people choose; however, if you’re only staying a couple of days longer than a month it is better to simply pay a higher rate for those last couple of days rather than pay for another full month.

To choose the first option, simply top up enough credit to pay for your second month and when your first month has finished O2 will deduct £20 or £30 from your prepaid credit balance to pay for your next month. If you do this before your first month has finished, any unused data will roll over to the next month.

If you choose the second option, you will be charged the following rates (which will come out of any remaining value in your prepaid credit balance):

Because call charges are much more expensive if you choose the second option, this is only recommended if you are only going to be staying a few days longer than a month. If you do this, we recommend using an app such as Rebtel or Skype to make any calls.

Calls to premium service numbers

Your inclusive call value is good for calls to standard landline and mobile numbers in the United Kingdom. This is any UK number beginning in 01, 02, 03 and 07* as well as 0800 and 0808 (freephone) numbers but it does not include non-geographic service numbers and other premium numbers.

Numbers starting with 08 (except 0800 and 0808 freephone numbers), 09 and 118 are charged at a higher rate than regular phone numbers. Numbers beginning with 08 are a little bit like 13 and 1300 numbers in Australia, where a lot of people think that they are free but they are actually considerably more expensive than standard phone calls.

These numbers are charged in two parts: the access charge (which goes to O2) and the service charge (which usually goes to the company you are calling but sometimes goes to the company they got the premium number from). O2’s access charge is 65p/minute and the service charge varies from nothing to 13p per minute bringing the maximum charge to call these numbers to 78p.

Many service numbers are used by companies that need a non-geographic number that is not tied to a specific area so they can advertise one number nationwide that is diverted to the branch closest to the customer but some of these numbers are used by companies that simply want to either avoid talking to their customers or make a little more profit from each inbound phone call.

Numbers beginning with 03 are similar to 08 numbers in that they are non-geographic numbers but these are the same price as a regular phone call and you can call these for free using your 1000 inclusive call minutes. Some companies serving tourists (for instance easyJet and the YHA) have transitioned to 03 numbers to make it easier and cheaper for their customers to call them but other companies (like Ryanair and Travelodge) still use expensive 0871 phone numbers. Premier Inn is currently transitioning to 03 numbers, although there may still be some hotels with the more expensive 0871 numbers.

* Numbers beginning in 070 have a much higher charge than regular mobile numbers as do mobile numbers in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man (which look similar to UK mobile numbers). It is unlikely that you will call one of these numbers but if you get a message saying that you don’t have enough credit to call a number starting with 07, that would be the reason.

Calls to other UK numbers

Several other UK phone numbers are priced differently to standard phone calls. These include:

You will need extra credit in your prepaid balance to dial 101 (the non-emergency police number).

Using your O2 sim card outside the UK in Europe zone countries

The O2 UK sim card is a great option for use throughout Europe as roaming rates are very reasonable in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus*, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion and Mayotte, Romania, Saint Barthelemy (St Barts), St Martin, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the Vatican City.

*Northern Cyprus is not included in the Europe zone

When using your O2 SIM card in the above Europe zone countries outside the United Kingdom, your tariff’s inclusive value includes:

When you’re travelling in Europe zone countries you can use your included call minutes to make calls anywhere within this zone. For instance, if you’re in Barcelona, you can make a local call to your hotel, call ahead to your next destination in France, call friends in Germany or call other people you’re travelling with who also have O2 UK sim cards.

However, international calls to countries outside these European countries (including some calls that would otherwise be free if you were calling from the UK) are much more expensive when using your phone outside the United Kingdom in Europe zone countries. If you need to make an international call (to someone outside the Europe zone) then you should use an app such as FaceTime, Rebtel, Skype or Viber. You can call regular phones with Skype (not just other Skype users) as long as you have credit on a Skype account.

Using your O2 sim card outside Europe

Although an O2 SIM card is a great option when travelling within O2’s Europe zone countries, it is considerably more expensive (and not recommended) outside this zone. This even applies in other European countries such as Andorra, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Switzerland that are not in the European Union as well as countries in Eastern Europe such as Albania, Belarus, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Northern Cyprus, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

How do I activate my sim card?

It is easy to set up your O2 UK sim card. It already comes with a mobile phone number and is already set up on a tariff that includes a bundle of calls and data. All you need to do is arrive in the UK, pop the sim card in your phone and add at least £20 or £30 credit (depending on which tariff your sim card is set up on).

1. Wait until you arrive in the United Kingdom
   Your first use of this sim card must be on O2’s network in the United Kingdom.
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2. Buy a top-up voucher for at least £20 or £30
   You can buy top-up vouchers from most convenience stores, newsagents, petrol stations, pharmacies, post offices and supermarkets in the UK. Simply ask the cashier for an O2 top-up voucher and you will get a printed voucher with a 16-digit top-up PIN. When you ask for your top-up voucher you need to specify which network you want it for (O2) and the value of the voucher (at least £20). We recommend topping up a little more than the £20 or £30 minimum and adding £25 (or £35) will give you an extra £5 credit for those times when you may need to make a call that is not included as part of your inclusive call value. Virtually all airport terminals in the United Kingdom have branches of Boots the chemist and WHSmith newsagents, which both sell top-up vouchers. Look for one of these two shops when you arrive at the airport and you’ll have your top-up voucher in no time.
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3. Pop the SIM card in your phone
   Your O2 SIM card is a tri-cut sim that will work in all phones, except older phones that take a credit-card-size sim card (but who still has one of those). You need to pop out the right size to fit your phone.
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4. Redeem your top-up voucher
   Call 4444 from your phone and follow the prompts. A recorded voice will ask if you are topping up with a credit card or voucher (choose voucher) and you will then be asked to enter the 16-digit top-up PIN that is printed on the top-up voucher.

You can do all this within 5–10 minutes of clearing immigration and customs.

Topping up your credit

You can buy top-up vouchers from over 100,000 shops in the UK including corner shops, newsagents (including WH Smith), post offices, petrol stations, pharmacies (like Boots and Superdrug) and supermarkets (like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose). The minimum value top-up voucher is £10.

Any shop in the UK that has the green top-up logo will sell top-up vouchers for the O2 network.

Just ask the cashier at any of these shops for an O2 top-up voucher and you will be given a top-up voucher that looks like a receipt. The top-up voucher will include instructions for redeeming your top-up. Basically, to redeem a top-up voucher call 4444 from your mobile and follow the prompts (which will ask you to key in the code printed on the voucher).

O2’s mobile coverage

Compared with other networks, O2 has excellent coverage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

O2 advertises 99% coverage, which is slightly higher than other UK networks and it has won the Uswitch Best Network Coverage award in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, the has been awarded Best Network for Reliability by GWS in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and Best Network Performance by Mobile News in 2019 and 2020. Since 2013, O2 has been investing over £2 million per day on improving its network coverage and in the 2018 Ofcom Spectrum auction, they ended up with more spectrum than any other UK network. The frequency that O2 operates on also means that it generally has better indoor coverage than other UK mobile networks.

Basically, this means that your sim card will work in most parts of the United Kingdom, including the Scottish Highlands and islands. However, 99% still isn’t perfect and coverage in rural areas is never as good as what we’re used to in Australia (if you’re an Optus or Telstra customer, then virtually nowhere else in the world offers rural coverage as good as what you’re used to at home). All networks in the UK do have some areas where coverage is a little patchy, particularly in rural areas. If you will be visiting rural areas you should check your coverage here.

Frequently asked questions

Is it possible to top up this sim card outside the United Kingdom?
Because this is a UK sim card, you can only buy credit at shops in the United Kingdom but you can also top up online. If you have a UK credit card (a credit card issued by a UK bank with a UK billing address) you can buy credit online directly from O2 and if you don’t have a UK credit card you can top up online at mobiletopup.co.uk.

Can this sim card be used in data-only devices?
This sim card is designed for use in a mobile phone and cannot be used in data-only devices such as tablets or pocket Wi-Fi devices. You need to visit a mobile phone shop in the UK to buy a data-only sim card to use in a tablet or similar data-only device.

Can I use my phone as a mobile hotspot?
Yes. Unlike many other European prepaid mobile services, O2 let you tether (use your phone as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot). This wasn’t always the case and up until early 2017 this was a service restricted to customers on contract, but now all O2 customers including prepaid customers can use their phone as a mobile hotspot.

A couple of important points:

• If you have an Apple iPhone, tethering will only work with an iPhone 5 or newer and it needs to be running iOS 10.1 or higher.
• Tethering is only supported when using your phone on the O2 network in the United Kingdom. There is no guarantee that it will work when roaming on other networks outside the UK.

When will I know my UK mobile phone number?
You will know your UK mobile phone number as soon as you receive your sim card. Your phone number is printed on the back of the SIM card packaging. It is the 11-digit number starting with 07 printed under the barcode.

Do I need to register my service and do I need to provide ID?
No. There is no requirement to register your service or show identification when activating a new mobile phone service in the United Kingdom. Simply put it in an unlocked phone, turn it on when you arrive in the UK, add at least £20 or £30 credit and it is ready to go.

How long will my sim card remain active for?
Your service will be valid for one month from the date you arrive in the UK, you can extend your mobile service for another month simply by topping up at least £20 to pay for your next month of service.

If your credit runs out or your Big Bundle package ends, your sim card will remain active for six months from the last date you used your phone (the last date you accessed data, sent a text message or made a phone call). You can top up your credit within this six-month period to start using your service again, but if you go for longer than six months without using your SIM card, your service will expire and you will need to buy a new SIM card.

If you regularly travel to the UK or Europe, you can keep your sim card active simply by popping it in your phone at home (make sure you turn off data roaming first) at least once every six months to send a text message (the cheapest thing you can do when roaming outside Europe). You will need extra credit on your account to do this.

Does my phone need to be unlocked?
Yes. Your phone must always be unlocked before using a sim card from a different network. Nowadays, many phones are sold already unlocked but it is best to check that your phone is unlocked prior to travelling. If you’re on a contract, most networks will unlock your phone and many will do this free of charge.

Can I use this sim card in a mobile phone from Australia or New Zealand?
Yes. O2 (and other mobile networks in the UK) use the same technology standard as mobile networks in Australia and New Zealand. Like at home, newer phones (that support more bands) will give you better mobile coverage than older phones.

Can I use this sim card in a mobile phone from Canada or the USA?
It depends on your phone and the network you normally use at home. Many mobile networks in Canada and the USA lock your phones to their network so you first need to make sure that your phone is unlocked (many networks will unlock your phone on request).

Also, not all phones or mobile networks in the USA use the same technology as networks in the UK and Europe so you should first check that your phone is compatible. Generally, you should have no problem if you’re an AT&T or T-Mobile customer in the USA or a Rogers customer in Canada; however, it is always best to contact your network and double-check before travelling to the UK.

How will Brexit affect European roaming?
Up until the end of 2020, European roaming rates were capped as a result of a European Union regulation that prevents EU mobile companies from charging high roaming fees when their customers travel in other EU countries; however, O2 (and some other UK-based mobile operators) have decided to continue offering cheap European roaming even though the United Kingdom has left the European Union and is no longer legally required to offer cheap roaming.

Although O2 have stated that they have no plans to increase roaming charges after Brexit, it is impossible to be certain of this and there is always a small chance that roaming fees may increase if mobile networks in other European countries decide to charge higher roaming fees to UK mobile networks.

I’ve heard that O2 has a plan that gives you free coffee. Can I get a free coffee?
Free coffee is available on both these tariffs; however, it can be difficult to get your free coffee if you don’t live in the UK.

Both mobile plans entitle you to a free standard coffee once a week (after 10am on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) from any Caffè Nero cafe in the UK (there are 790 to choose from) and you can upgrade to a specialty coffee if you use a reusable cup. However, you need to install the O2 Priority app on your phone in order to get your free coffee and this app is only available from the UK App Store. While free coffee sounds great, it’s probably not worth losing access to all the apps you need to when get home, although it is worth a shot if you travel to the UK regularly enough to have a second phone set up with a UK-based Apple ID.

Which countries can you ship this sim card to?
The O2 UK sim card can be posted to the following countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• Fiji
• French Polynesia
• Hong Kong
• Malaysia
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• South Africa
• United States of America

We do not post this sim card to addresses in the United Kingdom or Europe. If you’re already in the United Kingdom it is quicker to simply pop into an O2 shop to buy your sim card and if you live elsewhere in the European Union, chances are that the mobile service you use at home has attractive roaming rates in the UK.

How much does it cost to post this sim card?
The £3 cost of this sim card includes worldwide delivery. You can upgrade to delivery with tracking for an additional £6.

How long does delivery take?
These sim cards are posted from Australia and delivery times vary depending on where the sim card is being posted to.

The reason that we ship from Australia is that this makes delivery times much quicker for our customers living in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore and the delivery time between Australia and North America is more or less the same as having the sim cards posted from the UK. People already in the UK can get this sim card quicker by popping into a local shop and European residents will usually have cheap roaming to the UK as part of their mobile plan.

Your sim card is posted as a standard airmail letter, and the standard delivery option is not trackable. Delivery usually takes around a week, but it is best to allow two weeks or longer in case of any delays in the postal service.

There is also an option of upgrading to delivery by tracking for an additional £6. Although this does not upgrade you to an express delivery service, in some instances this can be a little quicker than the standard delivery option.

When do I need to start using my sim card by?
Our current batch of O2 UK sim cards is valid until 13 December 2022. This means that you have until this date to start using your sim card after arriving in the United Kingdom. As long as you start using your service before this date, you can continue using it beyond this date as long as you make a call, send a text message or access data at least once every six months.

We regularly receive fresh stock of sim cards so just check back with us in a month or two if you’re travelling after this date.

When should I order my UK sim card?
You need to take into account both the sim card expiry date and the delivery time to ensure that you both allow enough time for delivery and that your sim card is valid when you travel to the United Kingdom.

As a general rule, you shouldn’t order your sim card any later than two weeks before you travel to the UK but usually not earlier than 4–5 months before you travel.