Calls to the Isle of Man

[pendle666]

Hello,

I'll be visiting the Isle of Man in a couple of weeks time and according to to my account, the IOM is included.

But when I called the hotel I'm going to be staying at (01624 landline number), I was charged 72p for a 2 minute call.

I'm going to be using potentially a lot of data (I'm on unlimited ) so I want to be sure before I go over.  I'll be landing on a Sunday so I won't want to be rushing to the stores to get a Manx Telecom sim card.

thanks

[XRaySpeX]

@pendle666 : When you called IOM from home you are not roaming but are making an International Call from UK. These are not included in your allowances. International calls & texts to overseas nos. from UK can be rather expensive but EE has a add-on, for £2.16 pm for those on contract or free for some legacy PAYG, that can be applied for to give these calls & texts at a fraction of the standard rates. See The CALL ABROAD Add-on for Cheap Calls/Texts from UK .

When you do get to IOM, then you will be roaming in EE's EU Zone.

You'll receive a Welcome text upon arrival at a country giving your roaming options.

You may use your usual UK allowances in the EU with up to 50 GB (contract) or 25 GB (PAYG) data per billing month if you have more. If on contract & your contract started after 07/07/2021 there'll be a £2.59 / day charge for using your UK allowances in EU unless you buy the 7-day EU Pass for £15 or the 12-day EU Pass for £21.50 or you already have them as an Inclusive Extra or you have an EE Essential Plus, All Rounder or Full Works Plan.

On PAYG there will be roaming charges to use your pack allowances in the EU, to be taken only from your PAYG credit, not your recurring card payment. You will receive a msg upon arrival offering & inviting you to take up the options for roaming in EU of either £2.50 / day, by replying ROAMEU1D to 150, or £10 / week, by replying ROAMEU7D to 150. If you opt to reply neither or you don't have an active pack, you will be paying standard rates for calls & texts & will need to buy a PAYG add-on for data.

If you are on contract, just remember to text ROAMING to 150 before leaving UK to ensure the roaming ability is enabled on your no.

If you are on PAYG, just make sure you had already used your PAYG SIM to make a call or text in the UK.

[pendle666]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply.

I'm on a contract since 2023, so I'll be able to use my allowances while on the IOM and there's a £2.59 per day charge?

I'm only there for 3 days, so I'll not bother with the EU pass.  But I will keep this information for next time.

[XRaySpeX]

What is your contract called? Not all contract include free roaming in EU w/out the £2.59 daily charge.

Thanks! You're welcome 🙂 ! Glad I could be of assistance & trust it is now sorted.

[pendle666]

My contract is (copied from my account page)

All Rounder SIM 24M £27 T

• Unlimited data
• Unlimited SMS
• Unlimited minutes
• 24 month plan
• 1 Smart Benefits: Google One Premium 2 TB

[XRaySpeX]

That plan doesn't include free EU roaming (the latest All Rounders do) unless you are able to switch your Smart Benefit to Free EU Roaming.

[pendle666]

I've had a look around the account and plan sections and chose Roaming, and it tells me that I have it - "your current plan allows you to use your phone abroad like you would at home for no extra cost"  Then there's guidance on what to do.

I also had a look at the add-ons and roaming is there:

WiFi Coverage Boost - Free - Remove

Roam in EU - Free - This add-on cannot be removed

5G Standalone - Free - This add-on cannot be removed

Network Prioritisation - Free - This add-on cannot be removed

Google One Premium 2 TB - Free - Remove

PC Game Pass Activation - Free - Remove

I just wish the account pages were a bit more user friendly!

[bristolian]

If in doubt, the text message & website pricing tool should both allow account-specific checks of roaming bundles.

Text message tool - text ROAMING to 150 and follow the instructions. This also allows checks of whether roaming is enabled on your SIM to allow access to foreign networks - which Manx Telecom is.

For website checks - use https://ee.co.uk/help/mobile/roaming/roaming-costs 

[pendle666]

I've done that and it's included.

Thank you for all the help.