Buying a Prepaid UK Sim Card at London Heathrow Airport & In London 2024

Buying a Prepaid UK sim card can help you save on roaming costs whilst staying in the UK. Depending on which of the UK sim cards you pick, you can possibly also use it within the EU as well. Some sim cards can even be used worldwide!

Whether you’re staying in the UK or passing through Heathrow Airport this guide will help you with getting a UK sim card at the airport or in London.

There are dozens of UK prepaid sim cards for tourists available, that unlock monthly data, calling, and texting plans. UK Local prepaid sim cards are usually quite cheap, so I highly recommend buying one to make your trip more enjoyable and to remove the hassle of having to find and connect to public WiFi.

Since Brexit some UK networks which used to have a fair usage policy for EU roaming have kept this in place, although the restrictions have tightened. But most networks (including Three, EE, and Vodafone), are now charging daily fees for using your UK sim card abroad. Make sure to check if you can use the sim card in Europe if you are planning on visiting more than one country.

As a frequent traveler, I regularly buy prepaid sim cards when traveling. I live in the UK and have used all the networks covered in this guide myself, on more than once occassion so I’ve been able to personally experience the quality of the networks + customer service etc. Using this experience I will recommend what I believe to be the best networks and sim card plans.

How to use a UK Prepaid Sim Card

Before coming to the UK, make sure your phone is able to use UK Sim cards. You’ll need to make sure your phone is unlocked or contact your phone network to ask for an unlock code. Depending on the phone and where you live, there may also be a store or online website that can help.

The UK’s phone networks use LTE, with support for 2G, 3G, and 4G speeds. 5G is well supported by some networks such as EE having coverage across most of England and Wales. Some networks like o2, have poor coverage outside of cities. But if you’re visiting cities such as London, Liverpool, or York you will get 5G coverage with all networks.

Below’s a table of the band frequencies that the UK mobile phone network uses, make sure your phone supports these before you buy a sim card.

Network	Band type
EE	Band 3 (1800MHz) and Band 7 (2600MHz)
Three	Band 3 (1800MHz) and Band 20 (800MHz)
O2	Band 20 (800MHz)
Vodafone	Band 20 (800MHz) and Band 7 (2600MHz)

European networks mostly use the same technology but I recommend checking this Wikipedia list of mobile networks to confirm what network types are available in the EU countries you’ll be visiting.

If you have a dual-sim phone, make sure you configure your sim card settings to use the UK sim card. Ensure roaming is disabled on your home country’s sim, otherwise, you may end up with a huge bill.

Buying a Sim Card at London Heathrow From Sim Local

Sim Local stores are located in all of Heathrow’s terminals, and they recently opened two new stores making it easier to get an airport simcard.

Sim Local Stores are located in the folllowing places at the airport:

• Level 1 of Arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 2
• Baggage hall at Heathrow Terminal 2 (Newly opened in 2022)
• The ground floor of arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 3
• Baggage hall at Heathrow Terminal 3
• Level 0 of arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 5
• Arrivals Hall in Terminal 4
• The underground walkway between Terminals 2 and 3

The stores in terminals 3 and 4 are open from 6am until 10pm. The terminal 2 baggage reclaim hall store, is open from 6am to 2pm, and the arrivals level 1 store is open from 6am until 19pm. The terminal 5 store is open from 5:30am until 9pm.

If you need assistance installing the sim card or figuring out which plan you need, then I recommend going to one of these stores. But If you’d prefer to do it yourself, then you can go to WHSmiths or one of the sim card vending machines.

At a Sim Local store you’ll be able to buy sim cards from any of these networks; EE, Three, and Lyca mobile.

The image above shows the full list of plans available but here’s a quick summary of some of the best plans they have available:

Phone network	Plan	Price
Lyca Mobile	20GB of 5G Data, unlimited texts + minutes, 100 international minutes to 41 countries.	£25
Lyca Mobile	100GB of 5G Data, unlimited texts + minutes, and unlimited international minutes to 41 countries.	£30
EE	30GB of 4G Data, unlimited texts + minutes.	£30
EE	100GB of 4G Data, unlimited texts + minutes.	£35
EE	200GB of 4G Data, unlimited texts + minutes.	£45
Three	10GB of 4G/5G data, unlimited texts + minutes.	£25
Three	60GB of 4G/5G data, unlimited texts + minutes.	£30
Three	120GB of 4G/5G Data, unlimited texts, unlimited minutes	£35
Three	Unlimited 4G/5G Data, unlimited texts, unlimited minutes	£50

Buying a Sim Card From WHSmiths at London Heathrow Airport

WHSmiths has a range of UK pre-paid sim cards available. Sim Local also sells the same sim cards but if you get a sim card at WHSmiths don’t have to deal with someone trying to upsell things you probably won’t want.

So if you don’t need assistance with buying and installing the sim card, I recommend going here. Just make sure you have a sim card slot opener or you’ll have to pop to Sim Local or the tourist information for help installing it.

Tip: to avoid losing your sim card slot opener, you can attach it to a keyring on your house/car keys.

If you do have an issue with the prepaid sim card you purchased from WHSmiths, you can pop into the Sim Local store and they’ll be able to help fix it. Make sure you check the sim card works before you leave the airport, otherwise, you’d have to return if there’s an issue.

WHSmith stores can be found in the arrivals for Terminals 2, 4, and 5. They’re also in the Landside arrivals area for terminal 3, and the landside main in terminal 4. They’re open from 6:30 am until 10 pm.

Prepaid Sim Card Vending Machines at Heathrow

Sim card vending machines are located in all 4 terminals at Heathrow. They’re normally close to the food vending machines, in the baggage reclaim area before customs, and in the arrivals hall.

There’s also one near the multi-story car park at Terminal 2 & 3 and in the Heathrow Airport Central Bus Station where National Express, Megabus etc depart from.

The vending machines are run by Sim local, stocking similar sim cards to their stores but the vending machines are cheaper! They have sim cards from EE, o2, Vodafone, and Three so you can still pick from all the main phone networks.

Heathrow Airport Sim cards sold in the Sim Local vending machines are cheaper than Sim Local Stores and cheaper than the WHSmith vending machine. Although you don’t get any support or service so if you’re stuck, you’ll still need to go to a store.

Vending machines are open 24 hours a day so if your flight arrives before 6 am or after midnight you can still use a sim card vending machine to buy a UK prepaid sim card. But make sure you have the sim card opener or paper clip if you’re arriving outside of the store opening times.

WeKnow Sim Card Stores

WeKnow is the tourist information for London and has prepaid sim cards for EE and Three for sale in their store at Heathrow Airport.

Location: WeKnow is located in the Heathrow arrival areas for Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5. They’re open from 5:30 am to midnight in Terminals 3 and 5, and from 6 am to midnight in Terminals 2 and 4.

WeKnows sim cards are more expensive than those you can purchase in a local shop once in London but if you need a sim card on arrival they’re not the worst option – especially if you need help setting it up.

Here are some examples of the plans available:

Network	Plan	Price
EE (5G available)	40GB Data / 80GB Data / 120GB data for 30 days, unlimited UK calls+texts. Roaming data allowance includes the EU/EEA	£35-£45
Three (5G Available)	12GB / 30GB / 50GB / Unlimited data, for 30 days. All plans have unlimited UK calls+ texts	£25-£50
Lyca Mobile	1GB data, 100 UK Texts, 500 UK minutes, 500 International minutes	£25
Lyca Mobile	5GB Data, Unlimited UK calls + texts,  with 1000 call minutes to India	£30
Three	3000 minutes, 3000 texts, Unlimited data in the UK, up to 12GB data within the EU.	£50

If you want to, you can reserve and pay in advance for the sim card with WeKnow online, their website has sim cards for sale from EE, Three Mobile and Lyca mobile which you can pick up at Heathrow Airport.

When ordering online you’ll be asked to select your pickup location and time you’ll collect the sim card so make sure to double-check your flight information to make sure you have the correct terminal.

How to Buy a London Sim Card in the Heathrow Departure Area

If you’re a traveller passing through Heathrow, there are a few places you can find a sim card although options and limited, and you’ll probably have to pay extra than you would if you leave the airport.

I recommend waiting until you arrive at your destination and purchasing a local sim card when you arrive. If you’re not staying in the UK, check out my other sim card guides.

Sim Local has a store located just after security in Terminal 5b. This store sells pre-paid UK sim cards that can be used in the EU, US, and other countries so this is a great place to look for a sim card if you want to avoid expensive roaming charges in multiple countries.

Sim Local also has stores at other airport locations so you could also check if there’s a store available at your final destination.

You can also try WHSmith’s, as they sell local UK sim cards to global travelers in their stores. WHSmith are located in the departure hall in Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 after security and in Terminals 3, 4 and 5 before security. Most of the stores are open from 5:30 am to 10 pm but some are open earlier.

What To Do if Your Airport Sim Card Doesn’t Work

I recommend making sure your sim card is working before leaving the airport, to avoid the hassle and cost of returning to the airport.

If you’ve installed your sim card, and it has an error such as “no sim detected”, try restarting your phone. If this doesn’t work, try removing the sim card, and re-inserting it. If that still didn’t fix it then you’ll need to go to the Sim Local store.

If you have already left the airport, and cannot go back then your best bet is to contact the network provider and Sim Local. Sim Local used to have a refund request page but this has been taken down, so you’ll need to contact them via their contact page or you can email or ring them (the information is on the contact page).

To contact your network provider without a mobile phone is quite a hassle, so I’d advise going into one of their stores or asking wherever you’re staying if they have a phone you could use.

Where To Buy a Sim Card in London

So after you have landed you’ll probably want to get connected to a phone network as quickly as you can. But airport sim cards are expensive. If you can wait until you’re in London you’ll get a much better deal and save quite a bit of money.

Buying a sim card in London is easy. There are tons of stores selling sim cards all over London, and other areas of the UK and they’re cheaper than the airport. The UK has a lot of cheap sim cards available.

If you’re traveling to London, or another UK city you can find convenience stores everywhere that sell sim cards.

I find the best places to buy a sim card in London are either from Tesco Express, Boots, Sainsbury’s, or Co-op.

You’ll also find them in their supermarkets, such as Asda Supermarket, or Morrisons Supermarket. Although Lidl and Aldi don’t tend to stock sim cards, so don’t visit them if you’re after a sim card but they’re great for cheap food.

Sim cards in all supermarkets and convenience stores are normally located near the checkout. You normally have to top up at least £10 when buying the sim card. You can pay using your card or cash.

If you find you need help with changing sim cards, you’re best bet would be to head to one of the UK operators stores such as Three Mobile, EE, or Vodafone. These stores can be found all over London, and there’s normally a few in each large city and town. If you bought a sim card already and get problems installing it, you can always visit one of these stores and ask for help.

Supermarkets have much better sim card deals than the airport. Here are some examples of offers available from UK networks, as of June 2021 using supermarket sim cards:

A £10 top-up with GiffGaff will give you access to 10GB of data and unlimited UK texts + minutes for 30 days. With EE, a £10 top-up gets you 100 UK minutes, unlimited texts and 4GB of data for 30 days.

Some supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco, have their own-brand sim cards. Asda mobile uses Vodafone’s network and gives you unlimited minutes, texts and 10GB of Data – you’ll also get access to 5G if in a 5G coverage area.

Whereas Tesco, uses the O2 network, and a £10 top up with Tesco will give you a 4G sim card that has 5000 minutes, 5000 texts and 10GB of data.

You can also find London sim cards in shops like Argos, such as £15 for 15GB of data, unlimited minutes + texts with Vodafone. If you’re going to be using a lot of data in the UK, then VOXI offers 45GB of data for £20. This sim card is available from Argos.

Buying UK Sim cards in other countries

Depending on where you’re coming from, It is possible to pick up a UK sim card or an international tourist sim card that works in the UK, and sometimes multiple countries before you arrive.

This is a great way of guaranteeing you’ll have a working sim card soon as you land, and might save you time.

If you’re flying from Bangkok, you can pick up a 4G Sim Card with unlimited data, that lasts for 15 days from Bangkok Airport.

Coming from Singapore? You can order this 4G Sim Card, that works throughout Europe with 2 different plans available (2.5GB data for 7 days or 5GB data for 20 days). This sim card will be shipped to you so you make sure to order in advance to ensure there’s time for you to receive the sim card.

If you’re flying from Ha Noi or Ho Chi Minh City, there is a 4G Sim Card with either 5GB data or 12GB data that lasts for 30 days. This sim card will be shipped, so make sure to order well in advance to get it in time for your flight.

If you’re coming from the USA, you can order European Sim Cards off Amazon that cover the UK and EU. Such as this Orange Sim Card that has 20GB of data, 120 minutes and 1000 texts, or a Three sim card that gives you 12GB for use in the UK and Europe for up to 1 year.

I hope you found this guide to buying a prepaid sim card in Heathrow or in London helpful. If you nee help with buying a sim card in other countries, check out my other travel sim card guides:

If you’re staying in London and looking for some day trips, why not visit the beautiful Georgian city of Bath? or, make the day trip into a weekend by combining it with a visit to the beautiful county of Somerset?