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What You Need to Know


Formerly known as Everything Everywhere, EE is the largest mobile network in the UK. They also were one of the first 4G network operators in Europe and still hold a healthy lead in the 4G coverage rankings. They claim their network covers 99% of the population and currently serve approximately 30 million customers.

EE offers both pay monthly and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) service. Pay monthly tariffs range between £17 and £66 depending on the phone and features you need. PAYG plans range between £5 and £25.

With both SIM-only and phone tariffs, there are options to suit any budget or credit scenario. They support a wide range of unlocked handsets with coverage for 2G, 3G and 4G across the UK. Multi-SIMs make it easy to use your own device. Just pop out the size for your device and insert it into your phone or tablet!

What’s Good?

  • Flexible tariffs
  • Vast phone selection
  • No-contract tariffs available
  • 4G+ access
  • Fast 4G speeds
  • Wi-Fi calling
  • US, AU, CA, MX and NZ roaming included with 4GEE Max plans
  • Early upgrade options

What’s Bad?

  • Higher prices than many other networks

Notable Features

  • 4G+: Available in select areas, 4G+ access offers speeds up to 90 Mbits per second.
  • Wi-Fi Calling: With a supported device, you can take advantage of strong Wi-Fi signals for calling, texting or video chat without using a separate app.
  • Free Underground Wi-Fi: EE offers access to Wi-Fi in more than 150 Underground stations with a quick sign up.
  • BT Sports App with Paid Monthly Tariff: Depending on your tariff choice, you’ll enjoy up to 24 months of free access to BT Sports.

Awards and Recognitions

  • Ranked highest for 4G download speeds, overall download speeds, overall latency and 4G availability in OpenSignal's "State of Mobile Networks: UK (April 2017)".
  • #1 in Ookla’s 2016 Speedtest Market Report UK for both upload and download speeds
  • #1 in every region for OpenSignal’s 2016 UK State of the Mobile Network report for 4G availability
  • #1 in overall download speeds in OpenSignal’s 2016 UK State of the Mobile Network report
  • Fastest 4G download and upload speeds in Ofcom’s 2016 Smartphone Cities report

How's the Network Coverage and Speed?

According to the EE site, their 4G network now covers 75% of the UK landmass and 99% of the population. They plan to push landmass coverage to 99% by 2020.

You can check coverage and network types in your area at their support page.

In the 2016 “Speedtest Market Report UK”, EE ranked first for both upload and download speeds. Uploads averaged 12 Mbits per second while downloads averaged 33 Mbits per second.

OpenSignal's April 2017 "State of Mobile Networks: UK" report shows 3G download speeds of 6Mbits per second and 4G download speeds of 32Mbits per second.

This is a slight improvement over last year's data. OpenSignal’s 2016 “State of the Mobile Network UK” report showed average 4G download speeds of 28 Mbits per second and 3G download speeds of 6 Mbits per second.

Finally, Ofcom’s 2016 “Smartphone Cities” report shows overall download speeds across 8 of the UK’s major cities averaging 32 Mbits per second.

Do They Charge Roaming Fees?

All EE Pay Monthy and Pay As You Go include EU roaming in more than 40 countries at no additional charge.

However, there are a few limitations:

  • You must normally be a resident of and use your phone within the UK
  • Data usage is capped at 15GB per month regardless of your plan allotment

If you're on a 4GEE Max monthly tariff, you'll also enjoy fee-free roaming in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the US on top of the already-included EU roaming.

With the cheaper 4GEE Essential tariff you can pay £4 to £5 per day for unlimited calls and texts plus 500MB of data at 11 different countries around the world.

Additional countries are available through the World Select Talk & Text add-on. For £5 per day, this adds unlimited talk and text to your pay monthly tariff.

Data add-ons depend on the area you’re visiting. Prices range from £4 to £100 for up to 2GB of data.

For full details on pay monthly roaming options and fees, consult EE’s Roaming page. You can also text “RO” followed by the name of the country to 150 from any EE phone to find out the applicable fees.

What About Long Distance Fees?

All EE plans include calling to mobiles and landlines in the UK with your monthly minute balance.

For calls outside the UK, it will depend on whether you are pay monthly or pay as you go.

Pay monthly tariffs include two add-on options:

  • The International Pack: For £10 per month, you get 1000 international minutes to 50 countries around the world.
  • The International Extra Pack: For £20 per month, you get 500 international minutes to 100 countries around the world.

Both packs limit you to calling 5 unique numbers per month. For a full list of countries covered by each add-on, consult EE’s Pay Monthly International Calls page.

For PAYG tariffs, you’ll pay a per-minute rate that varies by destination. You can find details at EE’s PAYG International SIM page.

Does EE Offer Wi-Fi Calling?

Yes. If you have a supporting phone, they allow calling over Wi-Fi at no additional charge. They do not currently offer an app for Wi-Fi calling on non-supported phones.

Not sure if your phone is compatible? Consult the EE Store.

For more information on how to use Wi-Fi Calling, check their Wi-Fi Calling Help page.

How About Voice over LTE (VoLTE)?

Yes. EE refers to their VoLTE service as 4G Calling. When using 4G Calling and a compatible phone, you can switch between VoLTE and Wi-Fi calls as well as use 4G data while on calls.

For device compatibility and additional information, check their 4G Calling page.

For 4G coverage in your area, consult their coverage map.

Can I Tether My Mobile?

Yes! EE allows tethering on all pay monthly plans and PAYG plans with a data allowance at no additional charge. For full details on activating tethering on your phone, consult their Tethering Your Device page.

NOTE: Tethering with a laptop or gaming console will often result in more data use than using your phone. If you have a tariff with a small data bucket, monitor your tethering usage to avoid unwanted surprises.

Can I Rollover Unused Data?

For pay monthly tariffs and PAYG packs, data expires at the end of the billing period. Most PAYG data expires one month from the time you add it to your plan.

What Add-ons or Bundles are Available?

EE offers a range of both pay monthly and PAYG bundles to help you tailor your tariff to fit your needs.

Pay monthly add-ons include:

  • Cross-network minutes: Add 200 cross-network minutes to your plan for £5 per month.
  • Data Top Off: Add between 100MB and 10GB of data to your monthly allotment for £1 to £15.
  • Picture messages: Add 200 picture messages to your plan for £6 per month.

PAYG add-ons include:

  • Data Top Off: Options range from 100MB of data for £1 to 3GB of data for £15.
  • Calling and Texting: 100 minutes or 200 texts for £3 to £5 and unlimited EE, Orange and T-Mobile calls for £3 per week or £10 per month.

Can I Bring My Own Mobile?

Sure! With support for 2G, 3G and 4G there’s a good chance you can bring your unlocked phone to EE.

You’ll find a full list of pay monthly, PAYG and mobile data plans on their SIM Only Plans page.

Do They Require a Credit Check?

All UK pay monthly plans require a credit check. PAYG bundles do not require a credit check if you already have a phone or pay for a new phone in full.

Requirements include:

  • You must be at least 18 years of age
  • You must have a UK credit or financial history

If you’re on the electoral roll at your address and have good credit, this can help to both speed up the credit check process and reduce the chance of needing to pay a large deposit.

To perform the check, EE will likely ask for:

  • Your name, date of birth and marital status
  • Your current address and other addresses in the past 3 years
  • A credit/debit card or bank account registered to your current address

EE checks Experian, Equifax and CallCredit bureaus.

NOTE: Credit checks from networks that pull your credit bureau report may impact your credit score. If you're not sure the best options for your credit profile, we suggest contacting EE before attempting to obtain service.

Do They Charge an Early Termination Fee?

If you are on a pay monthly tariff and want to cancel your service before the end of your term, you will be incur an early termination fee equal to 96% of your remaining monthly payments.

In EE’s Non-Standard Price Guide, they state:

“You can terminate your agreement with us at any time by calling customer services. Your agreement will terminate one calendar month from when we receive your call stating that you wish to terminate the agreement. You are free to change your mind and call us to restore your agreement at any time during that month’s notice period. You must pay everything you owe us if you terminate your agreement with us. If you are terminating once your existing minimum term contract has run out, you will be responsible for all charges including the price plan charges up to and including the date that your agreement terminates. If you are terminating whilst you are within your existing minimum term, a cancellation charge will apply. We calculate a cancellation charge by firstly adding together all outstanding monthly (or other periodic) monthly charges (or any other charges stated in the terms and conditions for any service) for the remainder of your minimum term. We then take off 4% of that figure to get the final charge.”

You might also incur additional fees if you financed a device or received a subsidy. Their Terms and Conditions state:

“You may get Equipment from Us when you take out a Price Plan. Unless We tell you otherwise, You will only own this Equipment at the end of the first six months of the Minimum Term (see point 3.14 and 3.15 of the terms and conditions). You will be required to take all reasonable care with the Equipment and keep it in good condition as if You owned it.”

Can I Port My Number To or From EE?

All mobile networks in the UK must provide a PAC Code upon request. Giving this code to a new network will allow you to transfer your number.

To port your number to or from EE, contact customer support and request your PAC code. They must deliver your PAC code within 2 hours of your request.

To receive your PAC code:

  • The account you are trying to transfer from must remain open.
  • You must be able to verify your identity through either personal documents or payment history

Once you receive your code, contact EE or your new network and give them the code. In most cases, your number will transfer within 1 to 2 business days. Be sure to complete this process quickly, as PAC codes expire 30 days from the date they are issued.

Will They Unlock My Mobile?

Most EE devices are sold locked to their network. However, upon request, EE will unlock them if you meet the following conditions:

  • Pay as you go phones may be unlocked immediately provided they are registered to your name and address. Unlocking is free.
  • Pay monthly phones must be active for at least 6 months prior to unlocking, your account must be in good standing, the device must not be reported lost or stolen and it must be registered to your name and address. Unlocking is a one-time fee of £8.99.
  • If you’re not with EE but have a used EE phone you would like unlocked, they will do so for £8.99

EE notes that the process might take up to 10 business days.

For more details on unlocking an EE mobile device, consult their How to Unlock Your Device page.


For other questions about pricing, features and coverage, be sure to check our EE Q&A Forum. It’s filled with questions and answers from people like you looking to get the most out of their mobile service!

If you spot any errors or missing information, please let us know! It's appreciated and will help make this page better for everyone.


Voice network: GSM 1800 MHz
Data network: GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSPA+, LTE

EE Customer Service

Mailing Address:
Unit 1 Mosquito Way Hatfield Hertfordshire AL10 9BW

Phone Number:
07953 966 250 (or 150 from your cell)

Helpful Links

Official Website, Facebook, Twitter, Coverage Maps, Manage Your Account

Resources


Review Sources and Citations

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