Full disclosure: We were paid by Honest Mobile to provide a totally honest review of their mobile phone plan, warts and all. That’s exactly what we did.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you might remember our review of Smol laundry and dishwasher tablets from earlier this year. In that post, we took a deep dive into the latest sustainable offering to hit the market and assessed whether it was a case of ‘clothes washing’ or ‘green washing’.
See what I did there?
Well, Honest are the newcomers on the block in the mobile phone plan space, claiming that they’re ‘reinventing mobile for you and the planet’ as the only carbon negative mobile network. They reached out and sent me one of their sims to try.
Let’s get cracking.
Who are Honest Mobile?
I don’t know about you, but when challenger banks like ‘Starling Bank’ and ‘Monzo’ came along, I couldn’t have jumped ship from my old bank, which I’d been with since I was 11, quick enough. I’ve never looked back.
Over the last decade, the banking and energy industries respectively have gone through something of a transformation, bringing together technology with a more customer-focused approach – gone are the days of sitting for hours on hold on a poorly support telephone line.
We expect better.
What’s this got to do with a mobile phone company you ask? They claim to be doing the same for the mobile phone industry.
Taking a completely mobile-first approach to, well, mobile phone plan management, they aim to put control into the hands of their users. We’ll delive into that later.
Are Honest Mobile Environmentally Friendly?
Here’s a scary statistic for you: The tech industry makes up 3.7% of all greenhouse gases, a figure which is expected to double by 2025. They reckon state that ‘by 2040 communication technology will account for 14% of the global environmental footprint’.
In my day job, I’m the Head of Marketing for a sustainable energy company that harvests the sun’s energy through solar farms and redistributes that energy into electric car charging infrastructure across the UK.
I’m passionate about creating a sustainable future for my children. Last year I wrote last year about how my family were taking active steps to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
I love that Honest Mobile are taken active steps to help its members take an interest in their carbon footprint.
They do this by:
- Offseting and capturing CO2 through their investments in afforestation, biochar and direct air capture
- Tracking your phone’s carbon footprint so you can see the positive impact you’rehaving
- Donating 1% of your bill to reforestation projects as part of their mission to plant 1 million trees
Ordering your Honest Mobile SIM
The process of ordering your new SIM couldn’t be easier.
You can choose from either 30 day rolling plans or 12 month contracts which, at the time of writing this review, start from £12.15 per month.
Personally, I like the freedom of not being tied in to a contract and I use a lot of data because I share my hotspot plant with my daughter, Evie so she can stream on her iPad when we’re in the car for extended periods of time.
Once you’ve chosen your plan, you can order your free sim by dropping your email address and then some delivery information and payment details.
The process is all rather painless.
All I had to do next was download the app, which I’ll talk about later in this review.
One thing I really liked was how Honest asked me whether I’d like to transfer my phone number. Once I selected ‘Yes’, they let me easily choose when I’d like that switch to happen.
I chose to swap my number the day the SIM arrives.
Your SIM is sent first class and mine arrived a few days after I ordered it.
In fact, mine took longer than promised, but that’s because the Royal Mail deliveries in my area have been suffering a staff shortage recently due to COVID. When I checked in via the Help section of the Honest app, the response was immediate and they were super helpful…kudos.
The SIM packaging was lovely and definitely had a premium, well-thought-out feel to it.
I just popped out the SIM card and started the setup.
What’s the Honest Mobile App Like?
The Honest Mobile app is easy to find and, at the time of writing, has 4.6 out of 5 stars from 18 reviews.
Solid.
The app preview screen was clear and easy to follow, putting you immediately at ease when it comes to downloading it.
I downloaded the Honest app on Apple iOS and began the registration process. It started well, the process was easy to follow and they recognised that my email address had already been registered for an account.
As I hadn’t yet set a password, I clicked to request a new one…
The process fell down a little there and although Honest told me a new code had been sent, it didn’t tell me where: Email or phone.
After an hour and a half, I received the code and was able to register my account.
Top tip: If you don’t receive your email code right away, be patient…It will come through eventually.
What’s the Honest Mobile App Like?
Before you go any further, you’ll need to download the Honest Mobile app.
The links are here:
iOS
Android
The app is easy to find and, at the time of writing, has 4.6 out of 5 stars from 18 reviews.
Solid.
The app preview screen was clear and easy to follow, putting you immediately at ease when it comes to downloading it.
I downloaded the Honest app on Apple iOS and began the registration process. It started well, the process was easy to follow and they recognised that my email address had already been registered for an account.
As I hadn’t yet set a password, I clicked to request a new one…
The process fell down a little there and although Honest told me a new code had been sent, it didn’t tell me where: Email or phone.
After an hour and a half, I received the code and was able to register my account.
Top tip: If you don’t receive your email code right away, be patient…It will come through eventually.
How Easy is Setting Up My New Sim?
The setup is incredibly easy. Once you’ve fired up the app, you’ll be guided through a few questions on porting your number (if you so choose) and then you’re good to go!
How does Honest Mobile’s pricing compare to other plans on the market?
If you’re looking for the lowest price, Honest Mobile probably isn’t it. A quick Google search showed 30 day rolling contracts with unlimited data, the equivalent to what I received from Honest Mobile, starting at just £10.00 per month with Asda Mobile.
That said, you would be subject to download speed throttling. At a maximum speed of 2mbps, you’d be looking set for very basic activities like checking social media or browsing the web, but not much else.
As social media moves increasingly towards a video-first approach, you’ll find it cuts the mustard even less in 2022.
Smarty and Lebara also offered unlimited data 30 day contracts are around the £15-£16 mark too.
How do I Transfer My Phone Number?
Transferring your phone number to your new sim is super easy.
Honest talk about this on their website, but the process looks like this:
- Order your sim card
- Download the Honest App and transfer your number using your PAC code
- Activate your SIM
The switchover process took about two days in total, but was incredibly easy.
What’s Honest Mobile’s Data Signal like?
Honest Mobile sits on Three’s network. I’ve been on Three’s network with other providers in the past and have always found the pretty solid in the South of the UK.
There are a few ways you can double-check what the coverage is like in your area.
- Ofgem, the UK’s regulator for gas and electricity markets, have a free checker you can use here.
- You can check Three’s network coverage here if you’re not sure. I ran a test using this link and you can see that I get a good service in my area.
The Verdict
Honest Mobile claim to be the mobile network that is ‘helping you do your bit for the planet’. Although they definitely aren’t the cheapest provider on the market, their ethics, solid network coverage and easy-to-use app offer great value for money.
Something I felt really set these guys apart from the rest was the customer service support. Response times were blisteringly quick and, when I had trouble dealing with transferring my phone number over, they had all the answers straight away.
If you’ve never looked at Honest Mobile before, I strongly recommend you give them a try. Just head to https://honestmobile.co.uk/plans to get your sim.
