Using Your IQ Mobile SIM Abroad

Your IQ Mobile SIM works across Europe, and the part people most need to know is how much of your data you can use there.

First, check which product you have — the allowances work the same way, but the plans they sit on are different:

• A SIM-only monthly plan (£7–£30 a month) — calls, texts and data on a UK number.
• An IQ Go SIM (£20 up front, £20 a year) — a data SIM for travel across Europe, topped up with 30-day data bundles.

How much of your data works abroad

You can use 25% of your data allowance while roaming in Zone 1. The rest is for use in the UK.

SIM-only monthly plans:

IQ Go data bundles:

The roaming share is part of your allowance, not an extra on top. So a 100GB bundle is 25GB that works abroad and 75GB that works only in the UK — and once the roaming share is gone, the UK data that is left will not connect abroad, even though your remaining balance still looks healthy. That is the single most common surprise, and it is worth planning around before a long trip.

If you expect to use most of your data abroad, the 100GB premium bundle avoids the cap altogether — the whole allowance is usable in Zone 1. See IQ Go data bundles for current prices.

Where Zone 1 is

Zone 1 is Europe and the Channel Islands, and it is wider than the EU — Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, the Faroes, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are all included. The full list, with a country search, is on Pricing & Roaming.

Calls and texts in Zone 1

On a SIM-only plan, calls and texts come out of your normal UK allowance while you are in Zone 1. That covers calls back to UK numbers and calls to numbers in the country you are in — a French number while you are in France, for example.

If you run low while you are away

Data add-ons come in 1GB, 3GB and 10GB, and they are the right tool when you run out mid-month:

• No fair-use cap. Unlike your monthly allowance, the full add-on is usable abroad.
• Stackable. Buy as many as you need — five 10GB add-ons is 50GB.
• They expire when your monthly bundle renews, not 30 days from purchase. With a day or two left in your billing month, buy a size that matches rather than a bigger one you will lose.

Buy them in the IQ Mobile app or at my.helloiq.uk under Purchase Data. Prices are on the IQ Go page.

Checking what you have left

Your roaming and UK balances are shown separately in the IQ Mobile app and at my.helloiq.uk under Data Usage. If the app shows your roaming allowance as 0GB when you know you have some left, update the app — older versions had a display bug that has since been fixed.

Travelling beyond Zone 1

An IQ Go SIM covers Zone 1 only. On a SIM-only plan you can add a Roaming Pass before you go — nothing is charged until you switch one on, so there is no harm in having it ready.

Zone 6 is not covered by a pass; standard rates apply there. Full rates and the zone breakdown are on Pricing & Roaming.

For a long trip, or one crossing several zones, an iqtravel.net eSIM covers 100+ countries — you pick the destination, duration and allowance and install it as a data-only eSIM alongside your normal SIM.

Before you travel

• Check your renewal date, so your allowance does not lapse mid-trip.
• Make sure data roaming is switched on in your phone's settings.
• If you are taking a router or MiFi, enable data roaming in the router's admin page too — see the guide for your device under Router Configuration.