Sky Mobile international data roaming: a complete guide

Heading off on holiday soon? As well as packing your suitcase, you’ll also need to get a few other travel essentials sorted. This includes checking whether you can use your UK debit card abroad without charges, and whether your mobile network allows international roaming.

In this guide, we’ll be focusing on Sky Mobile and how its international data roaming policy works. We’ll run through where in the world you can use your Sky Mobile device to get online, along with any data roaming charges you need to know about.

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What is Sky Mobile?

Sky Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). This is just a rather long-winded way of saying that it doesn’t have its own network, but uses another provider’s network. In this case, Sky Mobile uses the O2 network.

What services does Sky Mobile provide?

Sky Mobile offers a range of pay monthly plans and contracts for phones, tablets and laptops. You can also get SIM cards and buy accessories such as headphones and smartwatches at the Sky Mobile website.

How does roaming with Sky Mobile work?

Sky Mobile does allow roaming, which means that you’ll be able to use your phone to get online and make calls when you’re outside the UK.

However, it isn’t free. International minutes, texts and data aren’t considered to be included in your monthly plan, so you’ll be charged for them. We’ll look at roaming charges in more detail shortly.

Before you travel, you’ll need to make sure you have data roaming switched on in your phone settings.¹ But you don’t need to tell Sky Mobile that you’ll be using your phone internationally.

When you land at your destination, you should receive a welcome text from the provider which outlines the roaming charges for using your phone in that country.

You can set a spend cap to limit any roaming charges, but you need to make sure it’s above £0 if you want roaming to work.

Sky Mobile international data roaming coverage

Sky Mobile customers should be able to use their devices worldwide, although there may be a handful of exceptions. You can check the full list of roaming destinations here.

There are some specifics you need to know about certain destinations though. We’ll run through these next.

Sky Mobile data roaming in Europe (EU)

If you’re jetting off to Europe, you can use the Roaming Passport Plus Pass for £2 a day. This lets you use your UK data, call and text allowances while spending time in over 55 countries. This includes almost all of the EU/EEA, as well as the USA, Australia and a handful of other destinations.²

You don’t need to buy or order the pass. As soon as you use your phone in an included destination, the pass activates automatically.

Sky Mobile data roaming in the US³

For those travelling to the USA, there’s an extra complication to bear in mind. Before you go, you’ll need to make sure your phone is compatible with something called VoLTE Roaming or 4G Calling Abroad - and switch it on in your device settings.

This is because US mobile network providers are currently switching over from 2G and 3G to make way for 4G and 5G networks.

The following (but not all) phones should be compatible:

• iPhone 7 and above running iOS15 or higher.
• Samsung S10 and above, and Samsung A series, running Android 12 or higher.

If your device fits the bill, you can use the Sky Mobile Roaming Passport Plus Pass to use your UK data, call and text allowances while in the US. If not, you might need to look into getting a US SIM card instead.

Sky Mobile data roaming in Turkey

The only thing to know about data roaming in Turkey is that the Sky Mobile Roaming Passport Plus Pass does work there.¹ So all you need to do is switch on data roaming and start using your phone when you land - and it’ll be activated automatically.

Sky Mobile international data roaming charges

The Sky Mobile Roaming Passport Plus Pass costs a flat £2 a day, and allows you to use your UK allowance of calls, text and data in 55+ included countries. Be aware though that some additional charges may apply to certain calls or messages.

If you want to roam somewhere outside of the 55 countries, international data roaming charges will apply. These vary depending on the destination, and there’s a full list on the Sky Mobile Tariff Guide.

But to give you an idea, here are a few examples:⁴

• Malaysia - £0.36 per MB
• Albania - £2.16 per MB
• Tunisia - £4.32 per MB
• Mozambique - £12 per MB.

Additional fees

Like other providers, Sky Mobile also has additional charges for certain types of international calls or messages. It all depends on where you’re travelling to, but here are a few examples:⁴

And that’s it - your handy guide to Sky Mobile international data roaming. We’ve looked at where you can roam and how much it costs, along with any other destination-specific information you need to know.

After reading this, you should be all set to start planning your trip. Don’t forget to pop your Wise card in your travel wallet, as it could save you a bundle when spending abroad.

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Sources used for this article:

Sources checked on 8-Nov-2023.