Vodafone are currently offering a scheme called “Data Test Drive” to all new and upgrading Pay Monthly customers. The scheme is intended to help customers understand how much data they use and to allow customers to get the most out of their smartphone for 3 months without the worry of incurring additional costs for exceeding their download limits.

Most smartphone users on Vodafone currently have a download allowance of 500MB/month, though this can vary between 100MB/month and 1GB/month depending on the phone and price plan. According to our guide on download allowances, 500MB approximately corresponds to 1,500 rich web pages, 100 MP3 files, 1 hour of online video or 8 hours of online radio. Once customers exceed their inclusive download allowance, further downloads will typically cost an extra £5 per 250MB without a web pack. “Data Test Drive” waives this charge for the first 3 months.

How much will I get charged for additional data on Vodafone?

During the initial 3-month “Data Test Drive” period, there are no additional charges for exceeding your download allowance. Once those 3 months are up, you’ll be charged an additional £5 if you continue to exceed your download allowance. This £5 payment buys you an additional allowance of 250MB internet which lasts for a month. Exceeding your monthly download allowance by more than 250MB could result in multiple charges being taken from your account.

As an alternative, Vodafone offer Web Packs for customers who know they will regularly exceed their download allowance:

• £5/month for an additional 500MB download allowance
• £15/month for an additional 2GB (2,000MB) download allowance

For an explanation of what terms such as 250MB, 500MB and 2GB actually mean in terms of everyday usage, please see our in-depth guide to download allowances.

Do any networks offer unlimited data for the entirety of a 24-month contract?

Three's "The One Plan" offers unlimited internet for the entire of your contract.

Yes. Three offers all-you-can-eat (unlimited) data on The One Plan. You can also tether your smartphone to a computer, tablet or iPod Touch for a free mobile broadband service. Starting from £25/month as a SIM-only one-month rolling contract or £25/month as a 24-month Pay Monthly contract with a new phone, Three’s unlimited data offering lasts for the entirety of your contract so you never need to worry about download limits.

You’ll also get 2000 minutes, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes and 5000 texts with The One Plan so you’re also unlikely to incur extra charges for using too many minutes or too many texts.

What are the alternative ways of finding out how much data I’m currently using?

It’s possible to look at how much data you’re using on your current smartphone and to use that as an indication of how much data you’ll need on your next smartphone. This is a reasonably reliable indicator providing your usage patterns do not change significantly. If you’re upgrading from a feature phone to a smartphone this is likely to be quite inaccurate as your data usage will increase significantly.

The most accurate way of checking your current data usage would be to log in to your mobile network’s website (Three, O2, Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone). Most networks will show your data usage in your monthly bill or account summary. Alternatively, you could look to see if your phone keeps track of how much data/internet you use. iPhone users can find their data usage figures under in the menu under Settings > General > Usage. Android users should download the “3G Watchdog” application from Android Market.

Does “Vodafone Data Test Drive” allow me to cancel my contract after 3 months?

No. “Data Test Drive” does not allow you to cancel your contract after 3 months, even if you are unhappy with Vodafone’s download speeds or any other aspect of your service from Vodafone. It also does not permit you to downgrade your contract after 3 months if you deem it to be unsuitable (you can however upgrade to a more expensive contract at any time).

The only thing that “Data Test Drive” does is to waive your excess download charges for 3 months so you can decide whether to buy a Web Pack. In this way, Vodafone’s Data Test Drive differs from other test drives.

Is “Vodafone Data Test Drive” available on Pay As You Go?

No. However, Vodafone offer a range of free Pay As You Go SIM cards with free internet – the “Text & Web” Freebee tariff offers 500MB internet free with a £10 top-up.

“Vodafone Data Test Drive” is only available on Vodafone Pay Monthly contracts. If you’re looking for unlimited data on Pay As You Go, Three and Giffgaff offer unlimited data on their Pay As You Go tariffs (from £15/month on Three, from £10/month on Giffgaff).

What is Vodafone coverage like where I live?

You should use the Vodafone coverage checker to ensure you can receive a 3G signal from Vodafone. Select the “Internet and email” option on the left-hand side under the heading “What do you want coverage for?”

I’m switching to Vodafone. Can I keep my existing phone number?

Yes. You’ll need to ask your existing network for a PAC code and then to provide this to Vodafone. The entire process of transferring your phone number should take no more than 24 hours. Our PAC Code Finder tool provides a step-by-step guide to transferring your mobile number to Vodafone.

Where can I find out more about Vodafone’s Data Test Drive?

Vodafone have more information about Data Test Drive on their website. You can also find a list of Pay Monthly smartphones and Pay Monthly iPhones.

Related posts:

1. T-Mobile’s £99 PAYG Nokia 5230 offers free GPS, year’s music downloads, 6 months internet
2. How unlimited is your “unlimited mobile internet”?
3. O2 scrapping unlimited internet; imposing 500MB/month fair usage cap

Launch the iPhone price comparison tool

The Apple iPhone 4S launched today and it’s available for purchase on contract from 6 networks in the UK: Three, O2, Orange, Tesco Mobile, T-Mobile and Vodafone. Yet there’s a whole myriad of different tariffs to consider – each with differing monthly allowances, download allowances and each tariff different combinations of upfront and monthly cost. With this new price comparison tool, we hope to make searching for the right iPhone tariff easier.

• We’ll show you in one simple table what you’ll get on each tariff: minutes, texts, data allowance and any other key features of the tariff (same-network calls, BT Openzone, visual voicemail, photo messages, etc.)
• We’ll show you the “total cost of ownership” of each tariff. This is the total amount you’ll pay over the length of your contract (including both upfront and monthly costs). We think this is a much better way of comparing tariffs rather than simply looking at either the upfront cost or the monthly cost by itself – you’ll see exactly how much it costs you over the long run. Sometimes it’s better value to pay more upfront in exchange for a lower monthly charge.
• We’ll show you the download allowances included with each tariff. Whilst most tariffs offer 500MB internet, some tariffs don’t include internet whilst others include truly unlimited “all-you-can-eat” downloads.

Full tariff listing

For a complete listing of available tariffs (without filtering), select the model of iPhone 4S you’d like:

• 16GB iPhone 4S (96 tariffs available)
• 32GB iPhone 4S (91 tariffs available)
• 64GB iPhone 4S (68 tariffs available)

Please use the form at the top of this page to find the best value tariffs based on your monthly usage.

Your thoughts, feedback and suggestions.

We are continually looking at add new features to this price comparison tool. If you’ve got any comments, please drop us a comment below: we’d love to hear from you.

Related posts:

1. Compare Samsung Galaxy S II Mobile Tariffs: Price Comparison Calculator
2. The iPhone Tariff Price Comparison Tool – with 23 iPhone tariffs
3. Compare Pay As You Go Tariffs: Price Comparison Tool

24 months can be a long time to hold a mobile phone contract: you never know what’ll happen and how your phone usage might change over that time. If you’re currently stuck in an unsuitable mobile phone contract, you may still be able to change it mid-contract. Of particular note O2, Orange and Three will allow you to downgrade your mobile phone contract to a cheaper deal: something which should instantly shave about £60/year from your phone bill. In this article, we look at your options for changing your mobile tariff whilst still being mid-contract.

What options do I have to change my tariff mid-contract?

The options available to you depend on the type of tariff you’re on and what changes you’d like to make.

• If you’re on Pay As You Go, you’re able to leave at any time and join another network or tariff by requesting a new Pay As You Go SIM card. This means if you’re unhappy with your mobile network for any reason, you don’t need to stick with them. You can keep your existing phone number but you may need to unlock your phone first.
• If you’re on a SIM Only contract, the same rules generally apply as on Pay Monthly. However, the shorter contracts generally mean you have a lot more flexibility. If you’re on a one-month contract, you’re able to switch network or tariff at any time with 30 days notice.
• If you’re on a Pay Monthly contract, you have the minimal flexibility to change tariff as you’ll be tied in for 18 months or 24 months. You certainly won’t be able to change network mid-contract but there are options available to change your tariff by adding/changing features and the monthly price. If you’ve come to the end of your Pay Monthly contract, you should move to a SIM-only tariff instead of changing your existing tariff – this will save you about £180/year.

In the rest of this article, we discuss the options for Pay Monthly customers to change their tariff mid-contract. There are 3 main reasons for wanting to change your phone tariff mid-contract:

• You want a new phone.
• You’d like to add new features to your tariff.
• You’ve got too much/little airtime.

We’ll take these in turn.

Can I change my phone mid-contract?

Yes, there is nothing to stop you from changing your phone in the middle of your contract, for example if you’ve taken over someone’s old device or you want to replace your phone early. If you’d like a new phone in the middle of your contract, you’ll need to buy it “SIM-free” from a retailer such as Amazon.co.uk or the Carphone Warehouse. Expect to pay between £20 and £100 for a feature phone and at least £200 for a smartphone.

Because SIM-free phones are sold unlocked and without a SIM card, you can slot your current SIM card inside and continue using your existing contract with it the. There are no charges associated with changing your mobile phone mid-contract: indeed your mobile operator may not even know you’ve changed phone.

Note that if you’re moving to a smartphone, you’ll need to add an internet add-on to your current contract. If you’re moving to a BlackBerry, you’ll need to move to a BlackBerry tariff (this isn’t always possible mid-contract).

Can I add extra features to my tariff mid-contract?

A data plan needs to be added if you upgrade to a smartphone.

If you’re changing to a smartphone or would like to add additional services (e.g. internet access, travel or international calling bundles), you can usually add these as extra packages onto your tariff. These packages are called “bolt ons” on O2, “Flexible Boosters” on T-Mobile and “add-ons” on most other networks. Log in on your mobile operator’s website for a list of packages you can add:

• Three
• O2
• Orange
• T-Mobile
• Vodafone

I’ve got too much or too little airtime. Can I change the amount of airtime I’ve got?

If you regularly find yourself with loads of extra minutes left at the end of the month or you consistently incur charges for exceeding your airtime allowance, you’re probably on the wrong contract. Thankfully some networks give you the option to change your price plan mid-contract.

If you need more airtime, you should move up a price plan (“upgrade”). Although the monthly price of your contract will increase, you should no longer running up punitive charges for calls and texts made outside of your allowance. This means you could actually save money by moving up a price plan.

If you have too much airtime, you should move down a price plan (“downgrade”). This will typically cut £5/month (or £60/year) from your phone bill. You’ll have fewer inclusive minutes after a downgrade.

The options available to you depend on your network:

* Three allow you to downgrade your contract once you’re half way through your contract (i.e. 12 months if you’re on a 24 month contract). There may be an “admin fee” involved.
** O2 and Orange allow you to downgrade your contract once you’re half way through your contract, but only once.

Three

Three allow upgrade to a higher-priced or same-price plan at any time. You can also downgrade to a cheaper tariff once you’re half way through your contract although this may involve an “admin fee”. We’ve not had any feedback on the size of the “admin fee”: if you’ve downgraded please do drop us a comment and let us know!

You can move to one of our selected price plans of equal or higher value at any time during your contract, provided you’ve kept up to date with all the payments on your existing price plan. We could also move you to a lower monthly charge if you’re finding the cost too expensive. But you’ll have to complete half of the minimum term of your contract and pay an admin fee.

Source: Three: “How can I change my current contract”

O2

O2 allows customers to downgrade to a lower priced tariff once half-way through the contract. You can downgrade no more than once in the term of your contract.

When you sign up for, or upgrade to, a new a minimum term contract you will then only be able to move to the next available lower priced tariff (with a lower rate monthly subscription than the tariff you’ve joined on) once during your minimum term. You can only do this after you are more than halfway through your minimum term.

Source: O2 Pay Monthly Tariff Terms (March 2011) – Point 3

Orange

Orange allows you to upgrade to a higher priced tariff at any time. Like on O2, you can also downgrade to a lower priced tariff but only once half-way through the contract. You can downgrade only once during the term of your contract.

You may switch to a higher Service Plan at any time. You may switch once only to the next lowest Service Plan after one half of your Minimum Term has expired, unless otherwise stated. You may switch to an equivalent Service Plan at any time after one half of your Minimum Term has expired, unless otherwise stated.

Source: Orange Network Services Terms and Conditions – Point 15.1

T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s terms and conditions make no provision for you to be able to upgrade or downgrade your contract. However, we would expect T-Mobile to be sympathetic to the case of upgrading a contract as it brings in additional revenue for the company.

We don’t have to allow You to change Price Plan.

Source: T-Mobile Terms and Conditions (November 2010) – Point 2.7

Vodafone

Vodafone do not allow downgrades mid-contract. However, you can upgrade your tariff mid-contract.

Related posts:

1. Mobile phones: Contract VS Pay As You Go
2. How to conduct a 15-minute review of your mobile contract and save hundreds
3. Upgrading to Apple iPhone 4S: Transferring your Apps, Contacts & Keeping your Phone Number

Over the last few months, we’ve been reporting on an unprecedented string of price increases across the UK mobile industry. The price increases are most likely in response to mobile operators aiming to recoup lost revenue due to Ofcom’s reduction in mobile termination rates (MTRs). The latest in a long line of price increases comes from Vodafone who are increasing the cost of calls and voicemail from 21p/minute to 25p/minute. Text messages are also increasing from 10p to 12p each.

What changes have been made to the Vodafone Pay As You Go tariff?

As of the 14th July 2011, the following price changes will be made to the Vodafone Pay As You Go tariff:

• Call charges increasing to 25p/minute. The price of outgoing calls to other mobile phones or landlines is increasing from 21p/minute to 25p/minute. This represents an increase of 19% and means that calls on Vodafone are now 5x more expensive than discount networks such as Vectone Mobile (see detailed review) who only charge 5p/minute.
• The minimum call charge rises to 25p. The minimum call charge increases to 25p. You will be charged 25p if an outgoing call connects (even if it goes to voicemail and you don’t leave a message).
• Texts increasing to 12p per message. The price of text messages is increasing from 10p per message to 12p per message. This represents a 20% increase in the cost of sending text messages. Whilst this is in line with the prices charged by all of the major networks, discount networks such as Giffgaff offer texts from just 4p each.
• Internet rises from £1/day to £1 per 25MB per day. The price of using data on smartphones is £1 per 25MB per day up to a maximum of £5/day.
• Voicemail now costs 25p/minute. Previously it cost 20p/minute to pick up voicemail.

I’m a Vodafone Pay As You Go customer. How will my mobile expenditure change?

Although the price changes for calls and texts are individually measured in the pennies, the cumulative effect over the course of one month can add up to be fairly extensive. As a rough estimate to how it’ll affect you, you can obtain your new monthly mobile expenditure by multiplying your currently monthly expenditure by 1.2. For example, if you previously spent £10/month, you would now expect to spend £12/month. This is how much you should expect to top-up by each month.

Opting into Vodafone Freebees can cut your Vodafone Pay As You Go phone bill.

A Vodafone Pay As You Go customer who makes 50 minutes of phone calls and sends 200 text messages each month will see their bills rising from £30.50/month to £36.50/month (an increase of 19.7%).

Are existing customers affected by these changes?

Yes. The price increase affects both new and existing Vodafone Pay As You Go customers. As Pay As You Go tariffs do not involve a contract, Vodafone are free to change their prices at any time.

How can I reduce my Vodafone Pay As You Go expenditure?

Make sure you opt in for Vodafone Freebees – every time you top-up you’ll get a free allowance of either “texts & web” or international calls. The allowances last for 30 days and you’ll keep all of the credit which you topped up by. You can opt in to Freebees by calling 2345 from your Vodafone mobile.

Alternatively, you could use your top-up to purchase a “Freedom Freebee”. This allows you to exchange your top-up for an allowance of minutes, texts and internet. Confusingly, despite the “freebee” name you don’t get to keep your credit with the “Freedom Freebee”. A £10 “Freedom Freebee” will buy you 100 minutes, 300 texts and 50MB internet which lasts for 30 days. This is much better value especially if you make a lot of calls, but that said, if you’re going to buy a “Freedom Freebee”, you might as well consider a SIM-only tariff.

How does Vodafone’s Pay As You Go prices compare with the rest of the market?

Vodafone’s price increases bring them roughly in line with the rest of the major operators. Amongst the mainstream networks, T-Mobile offers the cheapest calls at 20p/minute and providing 100 free minutes with each £10 top-up (you keep the £10 as credit). For the lowest prices on Pay As You Go, discount networks such as Giffgaff (get a free SIM card) and Vectone Mobile are worth a look. You’ll pay just a fraction of what you will on one of the mainstream networks and the coverage quality is just as good.

* On O2 Pay As You Go, the cost of calls to landlines and other O2 mobiles drops to 5p/minute after the first 3 minutes.

** Vectone’s discounted rates apply only if you top-up through their website. For customers who top-up using a voucher, charges are 10p/minute for calls and 9p per text message. Vectone currently offers 10MB/day free internet for 30 days with each top-up. However, it is unclear whether this will continue past the end of June 2011.

Will I find it better value to switch to a Pay Monthly contact?

If you’re spending £10/month or more on Pay As You Go, it could well be worthwhile switching to Pay Monthly. SIM-only deals allow you to pay a fixed price each month for an allowance of minutes, texts and internet whilst allowing you to keep your existing phone. For £10/month, you could get 300 minutes, 3000 texts and 1GB internet on Three. You’ll get a new SIM card which can be inserted into your existing phone (providing it isn’t locked) and you can keep the same phone number. See our detailed guide to the UK’s best value smartphone SIM only tariffs – all of these deals include internet access so you can check your e-mail and update Facebook on the go.

With the Vodafone Pay As You Go price increases, Pay Monthly tariffs are looking a lot more attractive.

I’m leaving Vodafone. Can I keep my existing phone number?

Yes. You’ll need to ask Vodafone for a PAC Code and then you’ll need to provide this to your new network. You can obtain a PAC Code from Vodafone by calling the Customer Services department on 191 from your mobile (or 0870 0700 191 from a landline). Our PAC Code Finder tool can take you through the process of transferring your phone number. Please note that if you’re keeping your handset, you may need to unlock your phone first.

Which other networks have recently increased prices?

In the past few months, we’ve seen price increases from O2, Orange, Vodafone and ASDA Mobile.

• April 2011: O2 increases Pay Monthly prices by 2.3%-4.4%
• 31st May 2011: ASDA Mobile increase Pay As You Go prices by 25%-50%
• June 2011: Vodafone increases Pay Monthly prices by 2.0%-5.0%
• 1st July 2011: Orange increase Pay As You Go prices by 20%-25%
• 14th July 2011: Vodafone increases Pay As You Go prices by 20%

Where can I find out more about the Vodafone price increases?

Vodafone have provided a guide to the price increases on their website.

Related posts:

1. Orange hike Pay As You Go call charges by 25%, text charges by 20% from July
2. Giffgaff raise prices to 10p/minute and 6p/text; Giffgaff Goodybags remain unchanged
3. O2′s “Text and Call” PAYG tariff offers free texts and calls

As of June 2011, Vodafone have updated their Pay Monthly tariffs with an increase to the monthly price and the addition of free tethering. The tethering service allows you to share your phone’s 3G data connection with a laptop or other portable devices such as e-book readers, music players such as the iPod Touch and tablets such as the iPad. The tethering service comes with a download limit which is shared with data usage on your handset.

How has the price of Vodafone Pay Monthly contracts changed?

The monthly price of Vodafone’s tariffs has increased by between 50p/month and £1/month depending on the selected tariff:

These new prices apply only to new Vodafone customers from June 2011 onwards and existing Vodafone customers who opt in to the new tethering service.

What is tethering?

Tethering means connecting your mobile phone to a PC or laptop and using it as a modem to access a 3G mobile broadband service. Tethering allows you to access the internet from your computer on the go wherever you have a 3G signal – and even when you are out of range of a public wi-fi hotspot. You’ll need a phone which supports tethering such as the Apple iPhone 4 or an Android-powered smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Desire, etc).

If you’ve got a phone running iOS 4.3+ or Android 2.2+, you’ll be able to take advantage of the “mobile wi-fi hotspot” (MiFi) feature. This feature allows your phone to create a personal wi-fi hotspot over which it’ll share a 3G data connection. You can then connect any wi-fi enabled device such as an music player, tablet or e-book reader to the 3G mobile broadband service.

How do I use tethering?

Providing you’ve got a phone which supports tethering, there are two different tethering methods:

• Tethering via a USB cable. By connecting your phone to a laptop via a USB cable, you can use your phone as a 3G modem. You may need to install additional software provided by your handset manufacturer.
• Tethering using a wi-fi hotspot. You’ll need a iPhone running iOS 4.3+ or an Android-powered smartphone running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later. Your phone will create a wi-fi hotspot over which it’ll share your phone’s 3G internet connection. No additional software is required and this method will work with all wi-fi enabled devices including music players such as the iPod Touch, tablet devices such as the iPad and e-book readers such as the Kindle.

We’ve got a complete guide on the different methods of tethering and how to use it on your phone.

How far will my download limit go?

Your tethering service on Vodafone will have the same download limit which is shared with your handset. This means if you’ve got a 500MB download allowance, you’ll need to be careful that the combined data usage of your handset and tethering service does not exceed 500MB. We’ve got a detailed guide to what terms such as 500MB actually mean in reality.

With regard to data usage via tethering specifically: It’s difficult to know how much data you’ll actually use through tethering. It really depends on how you use your computer: the applications you use and the amount of photos/music/videos you download and share. Features such as Windows Update or P2P applications such as BitTorrent could also be utilising your internet connection in the background and could use up a hefty chunk of your download allowance. Applications such as tbbMeter can help to measure data usage on your computer.

We reckon the 500MB download allowance should be fine for very occasional light use such as reading and replying to e-mails. Sustained use will come with the risk of exceeding your download limit and of incurring extra charges. To avoid being charged for exceeding your download limit you should refrain from using online video and radio sites, P2P applications and you should ensure the automatic download of software updates on your computer is disabled.

What are the charges for exceeding the download limit?

You’ll be charged £5 per 250MB of data used above your download limit. Remember that the same download limit is shared between your handset and tethering service so either one could lead you to exceed your download limit. It is possible to add one of two bundles which will boost your download limit:

• £5/month for 500MB data and 100 MMS (picture messages)
• £15/month for 2GB data

I’m worried about exceeding my download limit/data allowance. Are there any tariffs available without a download limit?

If you’re looking for a tariff where you wouldn’t need to worry about download limits, Three’s “The One Plan” is a good bet. It comes with 2000 minutes, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes, 5000 texts, all-you-can-eat data with no download limits and free tethering. Unlike with Vodafone’s service which comes with excess usage charges and where download limits make it difficult to use the service on a regular basis, there are no limits on the amount of data which can be downloaded on “The One Plan” when tethering and no hidden charges.

I’m an existing Vodafone customer. Can I use tethering straightaway?

No. You’ll need to contact Vodafone Customer Services (191 from your mobile phone) and ask to transfer to one of the new plans. This won’t extend the length of your contract (i.e. you don’t need to sign up for another 24 months) but your monthly price will increase as listed in the table above.

As an alternative, you could add a tethering pack to your existing plan. This costs £15/month for 2GB of tethering data so will typically work out to be more expensive than transferring to one of the new plans.

I’m an existing Vodafone customer. Will the price of my plan automatically change?

No. You’ll continue to pay the same monthly price as before unless you ask to switch to the latest tariff.

Where can I see details on Vodafone’s tariff offerings?

Vodafone’s Pay Monthly and SIM-only tariff offerings are listed on their website. Further details on the tariff update can be found in the Vodafone forums.

Related posts:

1. Three offer “all you can eat” data and free tethering on The One Plan
2. O2 increase Pay Monthly contract prices, introduces new data plans and free tethering
3. Vodafone introduce 12-month Pay Monthly contracts for smartphones

Why are Vodafone introducing 12 month contracts?

The EU recently ruled that mobile operators must give consumers the option of taking out a 12-month mobile phone contract. The reforms come into law in May but ahead of this, Vodafone have launched a range of 12 month smartphone tariffs. Starting at £35/month with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB internet, a range of smartphones are available on the new tariffs including the Apple iPhone, the BlackBerry Torch, the HTC Desire HD and Samsung Galaxy S. Unfortunately all 12 month tariffs come with an upfront charge for the smartphone.

Which phones and tariffs are available?

Vodafone’s new 12-month Pay Monthly tariffs start from £35/month for 300 minutes rising to £50/month for 1200 minutes. All of the new 12-month tariffs come with unlimited texts and a 500MB internet allowance which should be suitable for the majority of smartphone users (see our guide to what 500MB really means).

As well as the monthly fee, you’ll need to make an upfront payment for the phone:

What is the total cost of ownership over 12 months?

When considering each of the phone/tariff combinations, it is worthwhile to consider the “total cost of ownership” over 12 months. This is the total amount you’ll pay for the phone and the contract over the course of your 12 month contract. It is calculated by total cost of ownership = upfront cost + (monthly cost * length of contract in months). The total cost of ownership for each phone/tariff combo is as follows:

Is it possible to get a free phone on a 12 month contract?

Unfortunately Vodafone do not offer any free smartphones on a 12 month contract. A much larger range of phones is available if you opt for an 18-month contract including some “free” smartphones.

How do Vodafone’s 12 month contracts compare to their 18-month or 24-month alternatives?

12 month contracts are great for giving you the flexibility to change your phone every year and the ability to switch to cheaper deals such as SIM-only tariffs once your 12-month contract period is over. However the cost of having this flexibility is that you’ve got a smaller range of phones to choose from, you’ll have to pay for the phone upfront and your monthly bill will be higher. Compared to an 18 month contract you could be paying an extra £5/month for the same amount of airtime and compared to a 24-month contract, you could be paying an extra £10/month for the same amount of minutes and texts.

For some phones, it’s barely worth going for a 12 month contract as it’ll work out costing roughly the same as an 18 month contract.  Take the Samsung Galaxy S with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB internet each month for example. The price plans compare as follows:

In this case there are few savings to be had with the 12 month contract: you’ll only pay an extra £31 to get the phone on the equivalent 18 month contract.

For some phones, there are some savings to be had on a 12 month contract. Take the 16GB iPhone 4 with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB internet each month. The price plans compare as follows:

At first glance, the 18 month and 24 month options look fairly attractive as the “effective monthly cost” comes right down. However, savings could be had if you opted for the shorter 12 month contract and then switched to a SIM-only tariff after 12 months. If you signed up for the 12 month Vodafone iPhone contract and then switched to Three’s £10/month SIM-only tariff after the 12 months, the total cost of ownership would only come to £839 over 24 months – a saving of £80 compared to the straight 24 month contract.

Does anybody else offer a 12-month contract?

At the time of publication, Tesco Mobile is the only other network to offer a smartphone on a 12 month contracts. Once again you’ll have to make an upfront payment for the phone.

All of the major networks offer 12-month SIM-only contracts. These tariffs are ideal for people who are happy with their current phone but would like a monthly allowance of minutes, texts and access to the internet to go with their phone. We’ve got a guide to the UK’s best value smartphone SIM-only tariffs.

What does 500MB actually mean?

500MB approximately corresponds to browsing 5,000 basic webpages or receiving/sending 500,000 basic e-mails (without attachments). Generally, in our experience, 500MB should be more than enough providing that you don’t use your phone to stream music/video. We’ve prepared a detailed guide on the meaning of 500MB internet.

Where can I get a 12 month contract on Vodafone?

Vodafone are currently offering 12-month smartphone tariffs through their website.

Vodafone also offer a range of 12-month SIM-only tariffs (an airtime only contract without a new phone).

I’m switching to Vodafone. Can I keep my existing phone number?

Yes. You’ll need to ask your existing network for a PAC Code and provide this to Vodafone. Vodafone will handle the process of transferring your number from your existing network to Vodafone. Our PAC Code Finder tool can walk you through the whole process of transferring your phone number.

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What is the Blackberry Torch?

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is currently the flagship smartphone from BlackBerry incorporating both a touchscreen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Key specifications include:

• 3.2-inch touchscreen
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• 5 megapixel camera with flash, image stabilisation and auto-focus
• Web browser (based on the WebKit engine which also powers the iPhone & Android browsers)
• Built-in maps feature; support for GPS location and A-GPS (assisted GPS)
• 4GB memory with support for microSD card up to 32GB (4GB microSD card included)
• Blackberry OS6 Software

The full specifications are available on the BlackBerry website.

What do I get with the £25/month Vodafone deal?

For £25/month, you’ll get:

• A BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone
• 500 any-network minutes
• Unlimited texts (fair usage of 3000 texts per month)
• 500MB internet

It’s a 24 month contract. Over the 24 months, the total cost of ownership is £600. This compares to buying the Torch without an airtime contract (SIM-free) for £400.

Compared to the iPhone 4, there are huge savings to be had with this BlackBerry contract: the equivalent iPhone 4 contract would set you back at least £900 over the 24 months of the contract.

How does the Vodafone deal compare to other deals on the market?

Compared to other deals with similar amounts of minutes, texts and data, the Vodafone deal undercuts the market by about £200-£250. Only O2 offers a similarly competitive deal: you’ll get the same deal (500 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB data) for an extra 53p each month.

What is Vodafone coverage like where I live?

Enter your postcode on the Vodafone online coverage checker to ensure that you can receive a signal from Vodafone where you live.

What is the fair usage limit on “unlimited” texts?

The fair usage for “unlimited” texts on Vodafone is 3000 texts per month (approximately 100 text messages per day).

What does 500MB actually mean in terms of real-world usage?

500MB approximately corresponds to browsing 5,000 basic webpages or receiving/sending 500,000 basic e-mails (without attachments). Generally, in our experience, 500MB should be more than enough providing that you don’t use your phone to stream music/video. We’ve prepared a detailed guide on the meaning of 500MB internet.

Can I use BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on this tariff?

Yes. The Vodafone £25/month deal comes on a BlackBerry tariff so you’ll be able to use BBM.

If I switch to Vodafone, can I keep my existing phone number?

Yes. Order your new BlackBerry Torch directly from the Carphone Warehouse. Once it has arrived, you’ll need to ask your existing network for a PAC Code. Provide this code to Vodafone Customer Services and they’ll handle the transfer of your number. Our PAC Code Finder will take you through the entire process of porting your number to Vodafone.

Where can I get this deal?

This Vodafone deal is only available through the Carphone Warehouse website.

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Vodafone are now offering either free texts and internet or free international calls for 30 days to Pay As You Go customers who top up by at least £10/month but existing customers need to opt-in. In this article, we outline what “freebees” are available and how to get them.

What are the “freebees”?

Vodafone customers can choose from two different Freebee schemes. The first offers free texts and web access with each top up whereas the second offers free international calls. All “freebees” last for 30 days from the date of top-up.

Customers on “TopUp and Get Text and Web” will receive:

500MB internet is roughly equivalent to 1,500 rich webpages or 500,000 basic emails without attachments. See our detailed guide to what 500MB actually means.

Customers on the “TopUp and Get International” package will receive:

Please check the Vodafone website to ensure that country you wish to call is included in this promotion (29 countries are excluded).

What happens if I don’t top up in a given month?

Nothing. You simply won’t receive your “freebee” for the month. You can top up again at any time to get a new 30 day “freebee”.

What are Vodafone’s standard call charges like?

Calls and voicemail cost 21p per minute and texts cost 10p each. This makes Vodafone one of the more expensive networks for Pay As You Go: networks such as ASDA Mobile and Giffgaff offer 8p/minute calls and 4p texts.

What other networks offer similar deals?

Vodafone’s “freebee” deals are very similar to those offered by O2 and Orange.

For those who want texts and internet:

For those who want the free international calls:

How does this differ from tariffs such as O2 Simplicity PAYG, Giffgaff Goodybags and Three’s All in One?

On tariffs such as O2′s Simplicity PAYG, Giffgaff’s Goodybags and Three’s All in One tariff, you need to spend your credit to buy “bundles” of minutes, texts and internet access. For example, O2 and Giffgaff both offer unlimited texts for £5 per month. As soon as you top-up and you receive your unlimited texts bundle, £5 will be deducted from your Pay As You Go credit to pay for the bundle.

In the case of Vodafone’s tariff, you will receive the allowance of texts/internet/international calls but you’ll get to keep all of the credit you topped up by. This makes it much more similar to a tariff such as O2′s Text and Web (reviewed here) or Orange’s Dolphin tariff. Because you get to keep all the credit you would have had anyway, we would recommend that if you’re an existing Vodafone Pay As You Go customer, you should sign up to “freebees” regardless of how many texts you send or how many web pages you browse.

Note that just because you get to keep your credit on “Freebees” and tariffs such as Text and Web, those tariffs aren’t necessarily better value for you. For example, it is better value to spend £5/month to get an unlimited texts bundle rather than having to top up by £10/month to get 300 free texts and then spending the rest of the credit on another 100 texts.

I’m an existing Vodafone customer. How do I opt in to receive “freebees”?

If you’re an existing customer, you won’t receive “freebees” automatically – you’ll need to opt-in. You can do this by calling 2345 free from your Vodafone mobile. You’ll need to top-up again to activate “freebees” as any credit added before opt-in does not count.

How do I join Vodafone Pay As You Go?

You can read more about Freebees on the Vodafone website or just grab yourself a free SIM card.

Shouldn’t it be spelt “freebie” and not “freebee”?

We thought so too! The reason for the name is because Vodafone are launching a £10 million Christmas marketing campaign starring animated bees.

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Vodafone have just launched the “Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi R201″ hotspot in the UK. It’s a standalone battery-powered device which connects to the Vodafone 3G network and then makes the mobile broadband connection available to other devices (such as laptops, iPod Touch, iPad, game consoles and smartphones) over wi-fi.

The hotspot will allow up to 5 connections at once and according to Vodafone will last for up to four hours on a single charge.

What tariffs is this available on?

Vodafone are offering the hotspot on three Pay Monthly tariffs starting from £15/month:

For more information on what the monthly allowance means in terms of webpages, emails or downloads see our detailed guide to download limits.

How does Vodafone’s deal compare to Three’s Mi-Fi?

Vodafone are the second network to offer a wi-fi hotspot product. Three have had their Mi-Fi hotspot since last September. Like Vodafone’s offering, Three’s Mi-Fi is also a personal mobile wi-fi hotspot allowing up to 5 devices to connect.

We’ve discovered that Three’s Mi-Fi deals offer much better value than the Vodafone deals. For example, 5GB/month would cost £25/month on Vodafone but just £15/month on Three. For £22/month, you’ll get a 15GB/month allowance on Three.

Three’s plans are as follows:

Three also have the Mi-Fi available on Pay As You Go plans.

Unless you have issues receiving a signal from Three where you live, the Three deals provide much better value for money.

What are the benefits of a mobile wi-fi hotspot over a normal USB dongle?

Simply put: you can connect more devices at once and you can connect devices without a USB port. We recently outlined how iPad customers could save money by buying the Wi-Fi only version of the iPad and using the Mi-Fi accessory with it.

Is this a good way to connect my iPad to the internet?

Yes. The Vodafone product will allow you to access mobile broadband from your iPad, even if you chose the iPad without 3G connectivity.

What should I be looking for in a mobile broadband service?

Aside from a low price, there are two other key factors:

• Network and coverage – Make sure you can receive a 3G signal where you live. Use the coverage checkers provided by the networks.
• Download limits – Make sure you’ve got a large enough download allowance to cover everything you need to download. We outline what download limits mean in terms of webpages, emails and other downloads.

We’ve got more over at our detailed guide to mobile broadband.

Where can I get this deal?

This deal is available through the Vodafone website.

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If you’re travelling abroad to Europe, Australia or New Zealand (particularly to the latter two as they offer the most substantial savings), you may find it good value to grab yourself a free Vodafone SIM card with “Vodafone Passport”. It will allow you to stay in touch with family and friends at home at a fraction of the price by providing discounted calls and texts.

How much do calls abroad cost with Vodafone Passport?

“Vodafone Passport” is an opt-in feature of Vodafone’s Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go tariffs. In “Passport countries”, you pay your standard UK call costs plus a 75p connection charge for each call.

For Pay As You Go customers on the “Simply” tariff:

A standard 10 minute call from Australia/NZ to the UK would cost £8 without Passport and £2.75 with Passport. If you were on the receiving end of a 10 minute call, you would pay £7.50 without Passport and just 75p with Passport. For travellers to Europe, the savings are less substantial but you’ll still save money on calls of 4 minutes or longer.

If you’ve got a Pay Monthly tariff you can use your inclusive minutes whilst abroad but you’ll still need to pay the 75p connection charge per call. Assuming that you don’t run out of minutes whilst abroad, the costs are as follows:

What about texts and internet?

photo: lrargerich

In passport enabled countries, texts are 10p each (Pay As You Go) or 11p each (Pay Monthly). You cannot use your inclusive texts allowance abroad. Texts are always free to receive where ever you are in the world (this applies to all network and tariffs as receiving a text is outside your control).

Unfortunately, the use of internet abroad isn’t discounted by Passport. If you’ve got a smartphone such as an iPhone, make sure you’ve got data roaming turned off otherwise you could run up a huge bill. Vodafone have full details on the costs of using data abroad on their website.

I’m a Vodafone customer. How do I register for “Passport”?

You need to opt in to add Vodafone Passport to your account. You can do this by calling 5555 from your Vodafone mobile.

I’m not a Vodafone customer. How can I save money using Vodafone Passport?

Providing your phone is unlocked, you could apply for a free Vodafone Pay As You Go SIM card and use this in your existing phone whilst abroad. Remember you’ll need to call 5555 once you receive your new SIM card to enable “Passport”. Whilst abroad, use this SIM card to take advantage of the discounted call and text charges offered by Passport.

In particular, you could encourage other people to call you – this provides the biggest savings as you can talk for up to 60 minutes at a flat rate of 75p per call. They would pay the standard call costs as if you were still in the UK (i.e. they can still use their inclusive minutes). Of course, you’ll have to provide them with your new Vodafone Pay As You Go phone number.

photo: Paulo Brandão

You can get a free Vodafone Pay As You Go SIM card here.

Which European countries are covered by Passport?

As of July 2010, the following countries are covered by the Passport scheme:  Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal (Including Madeira), Republic of Ireland, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (Including Canary Islands), Sweden, Switzerland and the Vatican City.

There is a full list at the Vodafone website.

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