How do I find best mobile phone coverage for my area please?

[MaggieW]

I'm not sure which provider to go with and want to check which would be best or SW London. At the moment I am with EE and don't think much of theirs. Can anyone advise please? TIA.

SiteFinder (from Ofcom) can tell you where the masts are. Not sure if that is much help but may give some reassurance that there are masts in the area. Problem is, buildings and other things get in the way.

opensignal.com

As I presume you live in a fairly populated area may he pretty accurate for you...

Thanks both. Very helpful.

Better still, get some free sim cards from each provider, put them in your phone and see. You don't need credit on them to get a signal.

I would ask people in the area and in the actual house you are moving too.

As MuswellHillDad says, you can get free SIMs from the networks, but you (a) need an unlocked phone, and may (b) need a 3G mobile if you want to test for coverage from Three.

Probably worthwhile for you to try different SIMs, but do consider a top-up so you can be sure that you can make calls (+ use internet if desired) in all areas you need (home, work, and shops).

Once you've found which network seems to offer you a reasonable signal (and I agree with you re EE - I left a T-Mobile contract with their blessing because of signal problems - they were switching masts from T-Mobile to EE 4G) then find yourself either a one-off deal (like Ovivo) or a SIM Only contract.

See is.gd/BestSimOnlyDeals (by Daniel Ahmad who posts on HotUKdeals and MoneySavingExpert sites)

Info based on that spreadsheet... Ovivo is a pay as you go service that provides FREE allowances every month. Ovivo use the Vodafone network. You get 200 Minutes, 300 Texts and 500 MB data every month for free with no need to top up.

You pay £20 for the SIM. You then get £15 of that as credit that can be used when you make an out of allowance call/text.

-A PAYG-like tariff with £20 initial fee, £15 credited to account
-Light on allowances, but there's nothing cheaper (£0/month)
-NB internet use subsidised by advertising
-Ovivo may suspend service if you don't use it for 60 days