Vodafone Mobile Phones

Vodafone is the second-best mobile network for 4G coverage in the UK, and the best network for coverage in urban areas, particularly in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

In terms of 5G, Vodafone offer the widest coverage in Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol, and have rolled out 5G connectivity to over 120 towns and cities across the UK.

Vodafone offer a range of the latest mobile handsets including deals from Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony, Motorola, Oppo, Doro, Nokia and others.

Phone Plans and Airtime Plans run on separate contracts, so customers won't end up over-paying once their mobile phone is paid for.

Vodafone mobile contracts can be taken from 3 months to 36 months, and airtime plans can be taken from 12 or 24 months, as part of their Vodafone EVO deals.

These flexible mobile plans allow customers to choose how much they want to pay upfront and how long they want their contract to be.

Vodafone offer a VeryMe Rewards scheme to provide special deals to customers and a Vodafone Together discount if customers take mobile services alongside Pro home broadband services.

Mobile phones purchased via Vodafone on a Phone Plan come with two main benefits with no extra charge:

Battery refresh

Vodafone say they'll replace a battery if it's no longer working as well as it should. They have a battery health check app that can tell if it needs replacing, and if it does, they'll replace it for free.

Total Care Warranty

Vodafone offer a two-year warranty that will protect phones against any manufacturer faults. Some manufacturers like Samsung already offer a 24-month warranty, however Apple only offer a 12-month warranty, so customers buying an Apple mobile phone will benefit most from this.

Choosing a mobile network provider with coverage in your area is important, and whilst most people will figure this out through word of mouth or experience, it's worth checking exact coverage in the places you go the most.

That said, Vodafone is a solid choice for mobile coverage across the UK, with the most 4G indoor coverage of the four main networks alongside O2, at 95%. Vodafone has slightly less 4G geographical coverage overall than market leader EE, but again, they have the most 4G indoor coverage of urban areas.

Vodafone fall behind both EE and O2 for coverage in rural areas, but they have the best coverage in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Vodafone has rolled out 5G to 138 towns and cities across the UK. They have the best coverage in Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol.

Vodafone is often placed as the second fastest mobile network in the UK, falling just behind EE.

Our research into mobile network speeds has analysed reports from five sources, and Vodafone generally score well for fast mobile speeds, including upload speeds and latency.

Across the UK, our analysis shows Vodafone has an:

• average download speed of 32Mb
• average upload speed of 10Mb
• average latency 42ms

These figures are a guide drawn from multiple sources, but they provide an indication that Vodafone offers a fast mobile experience for most users.

Vodafone offer either set usage plans, or three levels of unlimited data plans, for their pay monthly mobile customers:

• xxGB: Unrestricted speeds
• Unlimited Max: Unrestricted speeds
• Unlimited: 10Mb max download speed
• Unlimited Lite: 2Mb max download speed

Most mobile handsets purchased on Vodafone are only available with set usage limit plans or the Unlimited Max plan. However, it's worth being aware of the other two unlimited plans as they will restrict download speed if chosen.

Unlimited Lite plans are the cheapest unlimited plans available and offer maximum download speeds of 2Mb. Unlimited plans are the second tier and include maximum download speeds of 10Mb.

Vodafone don't recommend the Unlimited Lite plan if a customer intends on any video or TV streaming. Vodafone say the mid-Unlimited plan should handle HD streaming, but heavier users should be cautious.

For customers to enjoy the fastest speeds Vodafone can offer, they will need to sign up to Unlimited Max or set usage limit plans which allow them to access the fastest available speeds from Vodafone in their area.

Customers signing up to Vodafone mobile and hoping to use 5G services will need to take an Unlimited Max plan or their speed will be limited.

Vodafone's EVO plans offer flexible tariffs that separate the Phone Plan from the Airtime Plan.

Customers can choose varying contract lengths for the Phone Plan, and similarly for the Airtime Plan, although the latter can be more limited.

Phone Plans can be taken out over a 3 to 36-month period, allowing customers to pay for their handsets quickly, or spread the cost over a longer period.

Airtime Plans can be either 12-months or 24-months in length, however 12-month Airtime Plans are only available if a customer chooses a Phone Plan of 12-months or less.

Airtime Plans include a range of data options with unlimited minutes and unlimited texts.

Customers can also choose to add Xtra benefits and Entertainment add-ons.

Annual Price Increases

It's worth being aware, like most other mobile providers, Vodafone increase their prices each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is linked to inflation.

Airtime Plans will increase by CPI + 3.9% in April. This will apply even when a customer is within their minimum term.

Annual price increases don't apply to Phone Plans however.

The Vodafone Entertainment plan offers the ability to choose a subscription service to be included in the monthly price. Typical options include:

• YouTube Premium: YouTube without ads, plus YouTube Music
• Amazon Prime: Prime Video + One Day Shipping and more
• Spotify: Ad-free music streaming and download to listen offline

After signing up to a plan with Entertainment, customers will receive a link to choose their perk and set it up.

Customers cannot change their Entertainment Pack once it has been activated.

As a mobile network operator, Vodafone tend to offer more premium tariffs, which means customers get a few more extras included.

Xtra benefits

Xtra benefits are commonly seen on Airtime Plans for mobile phone handsets. They're basically extra benefits included in the monthly subscription cost, saving customers money for a more premium service.

They're really only valuable to customers who would use these extras anyway, so be mindful of choosing a more expensive plan just to get a benefit you don't need.

These include:

• Unlimited picture messages: picture text messages aren't included in standard airtime plans, so this benefit waives any charges for sending them.
• Money off Smartwatch connectivity: share your phone's data allowance with your smartwatch, so it can be connected even when out of range of wi-fi or your mobile.
• Roaming: use your airtime plan in 51 European destinations at no extra cost
• Data boosters: customers on set usage limits can boost their data allowance to unlimited for the rest of the month a certain number of times per contract period.
• Device care: a handset health check covering the battery, storage and software. This is less valuable than it seems as Vodafone include a battery health check as standard.

VeryMe Rewards from Vodafone

Vodafone pay monthly customers can access the Vodafone VeryMe Rewards customer loyalty programme. This programme provides exclusive giveaways, offers and rewards to customers, with personalised deals depending on how a customer interacts with the app.

VeryMe Rewards can only be accessed through a mobile app and is unavailable on a desktop.

Vodafone Together

Vodafone Together is a discount scheme for Vodafone pay monthly mobile customers who add Pro Broadband to their plan or customers who take both services at the same time.

Customers are only eligible for Vodafone Together while both services remain connected.

Vodafone Together customers receive a £3 monthly discount on their bill plus a 30% discount on any additional mobile SIMs cards. For every customer who signs up to Vodafone Together, the provider will also give a SIM card to help someone living in digital poverty via the Trussell Trust.

Vodafone has complaint levels slightly above the industry average as of Q3 2021. They generated 3 complaints per 100,000 mobile customers compared to the average of 2.
Vodafone mobile complaints have reduced in recent years, reaching a high of 7 in Q3 2019.

Other mobile customer service metrics put Vodafone in the middle of the pack. Their overall customer satisfaction in 2020 matched the industry average of 90% while calls to their customer service line were answered within 1 minute 56 seconds, faster than the average.

However, more Vodafone customers had a reason to complain in 2020 (16%) and they had one of the lowest satisfaction rates with complaint handling (55%).