Christ on a bike. I'm looking for a data SIM for a spare phone being used as a sat nav. Need 'some' data (dunno how much 'till I start using it), don't want to pay monthly or via contract. Just want to buy it and use it for as long as possible before it 'expires' (i..e rather than used up, I'll top up if needs be).
Any ideas please oh STW hive mind?
Not an expert, but can you not duplicate your existing SIM into the new device, so that it uses whatever data allowance you already pay for?
I don't think you're allowed to clone SIMs if that's what you mean?
I've got a https://www.rwgmobile.wales/rates-plans-eng-per/ 'teaser' SIM for similar barely used device. 750MB/month for £2/month. Fine for me. They do 5GB for a year @£50 which only makes sense if you want the unlimited calls.
Three used to do a 24G one that lasted 2 years - I bought a couple a few months ago, but they don't seem to be available on Amazon at the moment. Smarty do a 2GB for £5 a month, rolling contract
Is it not cheaper/easier to just get a Satnav rather than a SIM?
Although obviously better for the planet to use your existing device
Actually looks like Three now doing 120GB for a year for £40 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Broadband-Pre-loaded-Months-dp-B0FH2SMJF4/dp/B0FH2SMJF4/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?th=1
Three are very vague about this, I don't think they like people doing it. I think you can still get a sim and put say £10 on it then they will charge you per min/Mb/text until the £10 is gone. Not particularly cheap per Mb but should last a while if you aren't using much. You can set it to top up the £10 once it gets low or runs out. Or as above, just buy a cheap monthly one (and pretend you have paid £60 for a year).
Well I just found a 10gb 3 PAYG SIM on Amazon (sorry soul) for 44p and (it says) the data doesn't expire. Worth a punt for 44p n'est ces pas?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CX1VZH2S/?coliid=IYN382MD6QKOR&colid=29KSEAWRBDUT6&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_gv_dp_ii
I tried, but this forum is *****
Amazon, scancom data SIM 25gb a month until 2027. £24.99 one off payment.
Sadly you'll have to search Amazon for it....
What exactly are you using it for?
GPS doesn't need mobile data. Neither does offline mapping (eg, OS maps). Things like Google Maps will mostly cache routes you've programmed before setting off, though will still use data for traffic updates. If you're using it in addition to your regular phone for some reason, you could use the latter as a mobile hotspot.
I tried, but this forum is *****
Cheers, that's the one 👍
I use one in the headunit in my van, perfect for internet radio and Google maps sat nav
I've been using Three 12/24GB data sims for ~8 years, that expire after 12/24 months respectively, mostly the latter and ~£35 on Amazon.
But as linked above, there's been some crazy deals by Scancom both direct and on Amazon, that I've seen posted on HotUKDeals this year. Various size monthly data quotas on the Three network that renew monthly at least as low as 3GB going forward in some cases to around Feb '28.
If you're using it in addition to your regular phone for some reason, you could use the latter as a mobile hotspot
Well i never bloody thought of that clever arse 🙃 The main reason not to is running the phone charge down. The 'satnav' phone will be wired. Good idea though 👍
Assuming you're using it in a car, as Cougar suggested use an old phone as the satnav phone and hotspot off your phone. Run a usb cable to the 12v socket or usb socket. Let the car charge it.
If it's not in a car discount the appropriate bits above
Yeah it's on a motorbike so not easy to wire up the second phone.
Aha, that was the pertinent piece of information I was missing.
How is the bike phone mounted? I have actually done this, so I'm curious what you're doing differently.
Sorry. Quadlock stem mount and their 12v/5v USB converter for power. It's got a sort of Rawlplug that goes down ya stem hole and expands to avoid it escaping. Q/r thingy for the phone case back. All in about £60 plus the spare phone.
Ah, right, so it's charging via the wireless pad? Is that why you're not just using your regular phone, power usage > power supplied?
No I went for a non charging pad but run a 12v/5v USB converter from the battery to charge the phone. I want to keep my primary phone phone safely tucked away as, like most, use it for EVERYTHING and don't want to risk losing/breaking it. The sat nav phone is spare so it dunt matter if it gets wet/broken/lost.
It made sense when I pressed 'buy', less so now 🙃
Gotcha.
The one I wired up was an Otterbox style ruggedised case on a bar mount (it might even have actually been an Otterbox, thinking about it). It was my then-partner's iPhone, so wiring was a Lightning cable inside the box running to the bike's guts. The biggest pain of it all was routing the cable through the faring.
Being fully enclosed it was weatherproof, but obviously meant you'd to program the sat nav before closing the lid (not that you could readily interact with it on the move..!) Plus there was no temptation to leave it "just for a minute" whilst you went for a coffee.
Wiring is similar. The phone is out in the open on a q/r mount. This'll obviously make naving in the rain a pain (see what I did there?) but I try and avoid that anyway.
Interested if anyone has experience of getting preplanned routes into nav software EASILY. It obviously can be done with Google Maps but it's a bit of a palava. Thinking of the equivalent of GPX's and RWGPS.
Interested if anyone has experience of getting preplanned routes into nav software EASILY.
I bought CoPilot. Fully offline mapping, though rendered obsolete now (for me anyway) by Google Maps. Back in the day it was very good.
just thinking out loud here..... when we go abroad we download our map area to be used offline, using just GPS in case of lost signal. can you not put your sim in the old phone, download a map area, set google maps for offline use, then swap sim back and just use the downloaded map area offline? or do you need it to be live, with traffic updates?
Interested if anyone has experience of getting preplanned routes into nav software EASILY.
Get the TomTom Go app for your phone. Prepare routes on the TomTom web-based route planner, and it will sync.
Bonus features - you get the absolute best mapping, traffic data and intelligent re-routing bar none. Maps are downloaded to the phone so minimal data usage on the phone.
App is £20 a year, but excellent value compared to free options, because it's a lot better.
just thinking out loud here..... when we go abroad we download our map area to be used offline, using just GPS in case of lost signal. can you not put your sim in the old phone, download a map area, set google maps for offline use, then swap sim back and just use the downloaded map area offline? or do you need it to be live, with traffic updates?
I did think about that but I've found Google Maps a bit inconsistent with total disconnection. When touring, I've downloaded areas in the past and turned everything off to save battery. Google Maps has complained on occasion and obv you'll not get live data to that's less important for me.
On reflection, I think I'll need to transfer my primary SIM to my sat nav phone during use as another 'issue' I hadn't thought of is the audio prompting. This needs a Bluetooth connection to my intercom and (I think) you can only have one at a time. I'll need one from my voice phone for, y'know voice calls and one from the nav phone for nav prompts. That's the real Ethiopian in the firewood...
Interested if anyone has experience of getting preplanned routes into nav software EASILY.
Get the TomTom Go app for your phone. Prepare routes on the TomTom web-based route planner, and it will sync.
Bonus features - you get the absolute best mapping, traffic data and intelligent re-routing bar none. Maps are downloaded to the phone so minimal data usage on the phone.
App is £20 a year, but excellent value compared to free options, because it's a lot better.
I'll second Tom Tom, I find it really good and had a sub until recently. I found I was mostly using Google Maps for real time updates and/or the inbuilt nav in my car which made it uneccesary. I didn't know you could plot and plan on a website - good info. I find one of the biggest hurdles in sat nav planning is 'forcing' the nav to take a specific route. You have to drop waypoints in Google which is a pain to simple. It's really annoying when you do a recalculate mid route, forget the waypoints and everything goes to shit at 80mph on the peage...
Wiring is similar. The phone is out in the open on a q/r mount. This'll obviously make naving in the rain a pain (see what I did there?) but I try and avoid that anyway.
Interested if anyone has experience of getting preplanned routes into nav software EASILY. It obviously can be done with Google Maps but it's a bit of a palava. Thinking of the equivalent of GPX's and RWGPS.
Get the TomTom Go app for your phone. Prepare routes on the TomTom web-based route planner, and it will sync.
TomTom Go requires a data connection (according to their website at least).
Interested if anyone has experience of getting preplanned routes into nav software EASILY. It obviously can be done with Google Maps but it's a bit of a palava.
I do my navigation on a desktop PC and then hit "send to phone." Whether this is quite what you're looking for though, I don't know.
Is it not cheaper/easier to just get a Satnav rather than a SIM?
Although obviously better for the planet to use your existing device
How does a standalone satnav deal with traffic? We had one that received traffic by radio I think but once google maps arrived it was in a different class. The satnav traffic information had such a huge lag on it it was pretty much useless.
Things like Google Maps will mostly cache routes you've programmed before setting off,
*mostly* is the key there. My regular riding spot has no signal where I park and I've found google maps will happily plot a route to home as it's clearly cached enough info to do so - even with routing options - but the time to destination is based on zero traffic and completely changes when I reach an area with signal.
and if you miss a turn and it needs to recalculate...it can go badly wrong - it did it to me in a big dead area in the hills near my sister. At night. And just dumped everything. No directions at all (and I had no map, and had removed the map card fro the inbuilt car satnav.....)
that was a few years ago, and maybe they've built some workarounds now, and maybe it helps if you've got offline maps but I'm pretty sure I've had similar issues more recently missing a turn in a deadzone. You'd have thought it would still have th route and might 'perform a u turn' to get you back to what it has cached but that doesn't reliably seem to be the case.
The installation is quite neat, electrics still to do. It's freezing in the garage ATM 🥶
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Is it not cheaper/easier to just get a Satnav rather than a SIM?
Although obviously better for the planet to use your existing deviceHow does a standalone satnav deal with traffic? We had one that received traffic by radio I think but once google maps arrived it was in a different class. The satnav traffic information had such a huge lag on it it was pretty much useless.
Things like Google Maps will mostly cache routes you've programmed before setting off,
*mostly* is the key there. My regular riding spot has no signal where I park and I've found google maps will happily plot a route to home as it's clearly cached enough info to do so - even with routing options - but the time to destination is based on zero traffic and completely changes when I reach an area with signal.
and if you miss a turn and it needs to recalculate...it can go badly wrong - it did it to me in a big dead area in the hills near my sister. At night. And just dumped everything. No directions at all (and I had no map, and had removed the map card fro the inbuilt car satnav.....)
that was a few years ago, and maybe they've built some workarounds now, and maybe it helps if you've got offline maps but I'm pretty sure I've had similar issues more recently missing a turn in a deadzone. You'd have thought it would still have th route and might 'perform a u turn' to get you back to what it has cached but that doesn't reliably seem to be the case.
That's my experience with Google Maps too. Even with offline maps, it seems to need a connection to be able to reliably recalculate on the fly. If you just use a cached route with an offline map whilst out of signal, it seems to be fine.
TomTom Go requires a data connection (according to their website at least).
I didn't say it didn't. Obviously it needs data for live traffic, which is why I said "minimal" data transfer not none. Also a data connection will be needed for map updates, but that can be done via wifi at your leisure.
Am I reading that Amazon link correctly? 25Gb per month until Feb 2027 for a one-off payment of £25? Seems like a good deal!
Am I reading that Amazon link correctly? 25Gb per month until Feb 2027 for a one-off payment of £25? Seems like a good deal!
It is indeed, although 25GB for £55 (it offers me a 10% discount voucher so £50) until Feb '28 is almost as good!
Now it is only a 4G SIM home broadband router rather than 5G, but the TP-Link has just been further reduced to £31.72...
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CTCZLFX7?th=1
~27 months of BB for ~£82 is unreal, we could do Three 5G home broadband for initially £15pcm via blue light card which increases by ~£2.50pcm in Apr '26 and Apr '27 over the 24 month contract but that would be ~£425 over the contract term.
Our NowTV BB and unlimited free sub 60min calls (that we hardly make use of) has recently gone up to £32.50pcm for ~23Mbps down and ~6Mbps up, which if there were no other increases, would cost ~£877 until Feb '28.
So SIM deal plus 4G router would save us ~£790, a 4-night midweek CenterParcs outside school holidays! 😮
Am I reading that Amazon link correctly? 25Gb per month until Feb 2027 for a one-off payment of £25? Seems like a good deal!
Yes you're reading it correctly.
It's a great deal, I bought one last October for the same price (same end date too) it was an even better deal then 😁
I put one of the sancom 500gb per month pre-paid sims in a wifi router in junior's flat in July.
I paid £75 for 500gb per month until November 2027 in June. It's been excellent, and has saved me £30 per month for wire-based broadband.
Yes you're reading it correctly.
It's a great deal, I bought one last October for the same price (same end date too) it was an even better deal then
Many thanks for confirming 👍 It certainly is a great deal!