Mobile Networks in the UK

The UK has four mobile networks: EE, O2, Vodafone and Three. Every other brand you can buy a SIM from rents space on one of them, and the brand on your SIM, not the network underneath, decides which APN you type.

EE, O2, Vodafone and Three are the MNOs, the companies with their own masts. Vodafone and Three merged their UK networks on 31 May 2025 as VodafoneThree. Vodafone owns 51% and CK Hutchison 49%, and Vodafone has agreed to buy out CK Hutchison's share, subject to regulatory approval. Both brands still sell their own SIMs with their own settings.

Everyone else is an MVNO:

• On EE: BT Mobile, Lycamobile, 1pMobile and Utility Warehouse.
• On O2: giffgaff, Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile.
• On Vodafone: Voxi, Lebara, Talkmobile and Asda Mobile.
• On Three: iD Mobile and Smarty.

Same masts, different APN

A UK MVNO usually has its own APN, not its host's. giffgaff on O2 needs giffgaff.com, not mobile.o2.co.uk. Smarty on Three needs mob.asm.net, not three.co.uk. Lebara on Vodafone needs uk.lebara.mobi. Voxi is the exception: it uses Vodafone's own APN, wap.vodafone.co.uk.

Two networks also split by plan. Vodafone pay monthly SIMs use wap.vodafone.co.uk and pay as you go SIMs use pp.vodafone.co.uk. O2 pay monthly uses mobile.o2.co.uk and pay as you go uses payandgo.o2.co.uk. If a phone has full signal bars and no data, the APN is almost always the cause, and copying the host network's value onto an MVNO SIM is the usual mistake.

Picture messages need their own values

Data and MMS are separate settings. Each network page lists the MMSC, proxy and port next to the APN. Sky Mobile is the one that needs a second APN profile for picture messages, mms.mobile.sky, on top of its data APN. On every other network the data APN carries MMS, and a wrong proxy port is the usual reason MMS fails while browsing works.

eSIM and keeping your number

EE, O2, Vodafone and Three all support eSIM on modern phones, and an eSIM line normally gets its settings during activation, so you rarely type the APN on one.

To switch network and keep your number, text PAC to 65075 and your current network replies with a switching code. Give that code to your new network and the number moves over by the next working day.

When data stops after a SIM swap, a reset or a new phone, check the APN first. Find your network above and copy its values exactly.