O2 is one of the big four mobile providers and offers a range of Sim deals. How did its customers rate it?
Before signing up for a new phone deal, read our review of O2 to see how it did in our mobile phone satisfaction survey.
Discover which mobile network providers impressed their customers most in our latest survey, which reveals thebest and worst mobile networks.
What O2's customers told us
- 'The priority offers used to be good but are uninteresting now.'
- 'The O2 branches that I visit occasionally are always helpful and friendly.'
O2 mobile review
Customer score: 68% (tied 10th out of 17). Which? members can also read our full review, including how its customers rated it for key factors, such as customer service and network reliability.
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- Pros
- Cons
- Which? Verdict
| Customer service | Overall value for money | Network reliability | Download speeds | Incentives | Technical support | Roaming value for money | Speed and ease of getting in touch | Communication quality and frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Results based on an online survey of 3,739 members of the public in January 2024.
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How good is O2's mobile coverage?
O2 has its own network and offers 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G coverage.
You can check coverage where you live by using a mobile network coverage checker. Enter your postcode into a map, and it will tell you how good O2's signal is in your area, and compare it with the other providers.
O2's deals and incentives
O2 splits its pay-monthly Refresh packages, so you'll actually be signed up for two deals – one for your minutes, texts and data (the airtime plan) and one for the cost of your phone handset (the phone plan).
Your bill is automatically reduced once you've paid for a handset (at the end of your contract). Most other providers will keep you on a higher tariff until you tell them to switch, even when you've paid off your phone – a practice we don't think is fair. Refresh also lets you easily upgrade to another phone by paying off the balance owed on your existing handset.
O2 is also known for offering perks, including O2 Priority. This gives customers access to a range of offers, including pre-sale tickets. There is also the O2 Rewards scheme for PAYG customers, which gives you back up to 10% of your quarterly spending on credit.
Compare the best O2 Sim-only deals and see how much you could save.
Does O2 increase its prices each year?
Each year, O2 increases its prices using the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation, plus 3.9%. It uses the January RPI rate published in February.
For February 2023, the RPI rate was 4.9%. This means the majority of customers will see a price increase of 8.8%.
O2 and its partner brand Virgin Media are the only telecoms providers to use RPI to calculate inflation-based price increases.
Other providers that raise prices on this basis use the Consumer Price Index (CPI). RPI is considered by the Office for National Statistics and other economic commentators to be an outdated statistic that overstates the level of inflation.
To find out how to avoid costly inflation-based price increases, read our guide to10 ways to save money on your mobile phone bill.
O2 stores
O2 is one of the UK's biggest mobile phone providers and has hundreds of high street stores, many of which offer technical support from the company's 'O2 Gurus'.
You can find your nearest branch using the O2 store locator or by calling O2's customer service on 202 (from an O2 mobile) or 0344 809 0202.
Find out how other providers fared in our guide to the best and worst mobile networks.
Recommendations you can trust
Which? is independent – we work for you, the consumer, so you can be sure that our recommendations are only influenced by our test and survey results. We're not swayed by third parties, and we don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers.
We buy all the products that we test ourselves, so our advice helps you to make the right choice first time and avoid a costly mistake.
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