Tesco Mobile review: Clubcard deals and great customer service

The UK’s biggest retailer also operates one of the UK’s top five mobile networks. In fact, Tesco Mobile is the largest of the virtual networks when it comes to market share. It’s built this up through a combination of good services and sensible pricing, with some great deals both on SIM-only plans and monthly contract phones.

Tesco has scored some strong results in previous Expert Reviews Mobile Network Awards surveys, and took a Highly Commended for Customer Service in 2021. It has repeated the trick in this year’s survey, coming second to Sky Mobile in this category once again, and the scores for value and reliability aren’t too shabby, either. Nearly eight out of ten users would recommend Tesco Mobile to a friend, and while some no-frills networks had even better figures, that’s a performance that puts Tesco ahead of EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Browse Tesco Mobile phone contracts

Tesco Mobile review: What do you get?

It’s often worth checking out Tesco Mobile when you’re on the hunt for a new handset, particularly as the network lets you roll your own deals by varying the contract length and upfront charge. Effectively, you pay separately for your phone and SIM contract, with one monthly fee for the phone itself and another for your minutes, texts and data.

This means you can keep your monthly costs low providing you’re prepared to pay over a longer period. For instance, an iPhone 14 could be yours with 3GB of data for a very reasonable £38/mth over 36 months. Drop the duration down to 24 months, of course, and prices rise. Your iPhone 14 with 3GB is now £51/mth. Bear this in mind if you’re comparing prices from network to network or store to store.

Tesco Mobile also has a decent range of phones on offer, including some good offers on the Samsung Galaxy S22 and, at the budget end, the Moto G62 and Samsung Galaxy A53. Just be sure to check against the likes of Three and iD Mobile to make sure there aren’t even better deals available.

Tesco Mobile’s SIM-only deals are often fantastic value, especially if you take advantage of Tesco Clubcard discounts and are happy to sign up for 24 months. For instance, with a Clubcard you can have 60GB of data for just £12.50/mth, or 12GB for £9/mth. Even without a Clubcard, prices are reasonable, sometimes undercutting no-frills networks or offering more data at the same price.

While Tesco Mobile doesn’t offer cut-price family plans, you can take out several contracts on a single account and choose a family perk such as additional data or a discount on your phone insurance. The amounts scale upwards and downwards with the cost of your plan.

Meanwhile, Tesco Mobile also earns some extra brownie points for freezing prices while you’re on a contract, so you don’t get a nasty surprise price rise before it’s up.

Users seem to appreciate Tesco Mobile’s approach; 92% of Tesco customers we surveyed were satisfied with their service when it came to value for money.

READ NEXT: Giffgaff review

Browse Tesco Mobile phone contracts

Tesco Mobile review: Customer service

Tesco Mobile’s biggest strength has always been its excellent customer service and support. That hasn’t changed in this year’s Mobile Network Awards survey, winning the network’s second Highly Commended in a row. Some 49% of Tesco customers told us they were very satisfied with their customer service, and a further 35% described themselves as fairly satisfied. That figure for very satisfied was the highest scored by any network.

Ofcom’s most recent research is even more complimentary, with Tesco Mobile the highest-rated network for overall customer satisfaction and joint highest for satisfaction with value for money. It also points out that Tesco Mobile has the second lowest number of customers with a reason to complain, and fewer Ofcom complaints per 100,000 customers than any other network covered.

READ NEXT: BT Mobile review

Tesco Mobile review: Coverage, reliability and speed

As with Sky Mobile and Giffgaff, Tesco Mobile operates as a virtual network running on top of Virgin Media O2. In fact, the relationship is closer, as O2 is, along with Tesco itself, a part owner of the Tesco Mobile brand. The 4G network covers around 99% of the UK population, and it’s only in some more remote coastal and rural areas that you might have problems locating a signal. 5G coverage is also improving, with the network reaching around 750 towns and cities, with half of the UK population predicted to be covered before the end of 2023.

The news on performance isn’t quite so good. RootMetrics’ last round of speed tests puts Virgin Media O2 fourth of the UK’s big four mobile networks, with a median UK download speed of 16.4Mbits/sec, far behind the third-placed Vodafone’s 23.8Mbits/sec, let alone the 29.9Mbits/sec of Three or the 66.2Mbits/sec of EE. However, O2 fares better in Northern Ireland, and it now has median 5G download speeds of over 100Mbits/sec in most of the 16 cities where RootMetrics runs its 5G tests. Right now, Three, EE and Vodafone give you more performance, but Virgin Media O2 could still catch up.

Just as crucially, Tesco Mobile does fairly well for reliability. 84% of the users we surveyed said their connection was mostly or always fast enough for web browsing. 54% told us that performance was mostly or always good enough for audio streaming, and 43% said the same about video. Enough users told us that their connection was rarely or never fast enough for audio and video to let rival networks pull ahead, but most of the time you should be able to do whatever it is you want to do while using your Tesco Mobile phone.

It might not be the best option for 5G, however. From our survey data, Tesco Mobile has fewer 5G users than the other major networks, and of the 33% of users with a 5G connection, fewer than half (48%) described themselves as very or fairly satisfied. The biggest reasons for dissatisfaction were poor 5G coverage and a lack of clear speed improvements, though 18% of Tesco Mobile 5G customers said that they didn’t have enough data on their contract to make full use of 5G – the highest percentage for any network.

Browse Tesco Mobile phone contracts

Tesco Mobile review: Roaming

Tesco Mobile’s roaming options are fairly basic, but – unlike some networks – it still supports free roaming inside the EU through its Home from Home feature, alongside some other popular destinations. Outside them, calling costs are fairly average, at around £1.29 to £1.49 to make a call, and 89p to £1.49 to take one. However, data costs are through the roof, at £5 per MB outside the EU. The only good news is that there’s a £40 spending cap in place while you’re abroad.

READ NEXT: Virgin Mobile review

Tesco Mobile review: Other services and spending caps

Tesco lets you limit your monthly spend to your allowance and nothing more, or you can set a safety buffer of £2.50 to £50 outside your current plan if you need a bit more flexibility. You can set the cap at the same time as purchasing the contract, then change it online or through the Tesco Mobile app.

Browse Tesco Mobile phone contracts

Tesco Mobile review: Verdict

It’s not hard to see what makes Tesco Mobile so appealing. It’s reliable and backed by good customer service and support, while there are good deals to be found whether you’re buying a new phone or a SIM-only contract. However, its dependence on Virgin Media O2 as a host network means it struggles to match the Three and EE-based networks when it comes to speed, and it’s under pressure on price from the often cheaper no-frills brands. Still, high levels of customer satisfaction have to count for something, and on that front Tesco Mobile is still one of the best.