Tesco Mobile pay-as-you-go customer? Be prepared: it may push you to buy a bundle

The changes will start to take force from the end of this month, though they're happening in phases, so you won't necessarily notice any difference straight away. Tesco says this comes ahead of a 3G switch-off at the end of 2025, with its new service enabling 4G calling.

What's happening in a nutshell

Here are the key changes:

• ALL current Tesco Mobile PAYG users will be moved to its new standard PAYG Essentials plan. This will replace the existing 'Lite', 'Rocket Packs' and 'Triple Credit' options. You'll receive a notification from Tesco Mobile 30 days before you're due to be migrated – some may have already received this. You'll then receive a follow-up message within 72 hours of your migration date.

• Initially, you'll get a free 30-day bundle of calls, texts and data. This will be based on your average usage from the previous three months.

• After the 30 days, if you do nothing you'll start paying Tesco Mobile's new standard PAYG rates – with calls and texts costing more than before (though data will cost the same). We've full details on the new standard PAYG rates below.

• To save on Tesco Mobile's standard rates, you could take out one of its new bundles. We've full details on the new bundle prices below. Be warned: if you buy a bundle within your first 30 days of being moved to Essentials, you will lose any remaining allowance from your initial free bundle.

• You will keep your phone number alongside any existing top-up balance.

• If you have a 2G Sim, you'll need to swap to a 4G Sim. Until you do this, Tesco Mobile won't be able to move your mobile number across. If you have a 2G Sim, Tesco Mobile says it will contact you with information about your options. Alternatively, you can order a replacement Sim by getting in touch with Tesco Mobile via webchat, or by popping into any Tesco Mobile store – this swap should be free.

You'll pay more for calls and texts unless you buy a bundle

Tesco Mobile's 'Lite' plan, its lower cost option, is being discontinued. The network will still provide standard pay-as-you-go on the new PAYG Essentials tariff, but calls and texts will be more expensive than they were on the Lite plan – though data rates remain unchanged. Here's a breakdown of the upcoming price changes:

Essentials bundles will replace Triple Credit and Rocket Packs

Tesco Mobile currently provides pay-as-you-go options called 'Rocket Packs' and 'Triple Credit', both of which are being discontinued and replaced with PAYG Essentials bundles.

The Triple Credit deal is what it sounds like – top up a certain amount and you get extra credit for free, along with some texts, minutes or data on top. For example, a £10 top-up gets you £30 to use as you like, plus 50 texts or 75 minutes or 250MB data. This option is being removed completely.

Meanwhile, with the monthly rolling Rocket Packs, you buy a set number of minutes, calls and data for a pre-determined price. You'll continue to be able to do this, but at different rates under Tesco's new Essentials service, as outlined in the table below.

Use up your allowance before the end of the month and you'll now be charged Tesco Mobile's standard PAYG rates. Until now, Rocket and Triple Credit customers going over their allowance paid different, higher rates to Lite users.

Consider ditching PAYG and getting a cheap monthly Sim

Whether Tesco Mobile's new plan is the best option for you depends on how you use your phone:

• If you rarely use your phone or keep it just for emergencies, sticking with Tesco Mobile's standard PAYG rates may be the most cost-effective option. Tesco Mobile piggybacks on the O2 network, so if you're satisfied with the coverage, it'll still be the cheapest provider using O2's signal after the changes.
  
  If you're not wedded to O2, there are some cheaper options available to you. For example, with Talk Home – which uses EE's signal – you can pay as little as 1p/Mb, 1p/minute and 1p/text. Have a look at other options in our Pay-as-you-go Sim deals guide.

• If you normally buy bundles, you could save by ditching and switching. Tesco Mobile's bundles are decent value for PAYG, but are easily beaten by one-month rolling contract Sims (which don't tie you in and let you cancel penalty-free whenever you like).
  
  For example, right now you can get a monthly rolling Sim with 10GB of data a month and unlimited minutes and texts for the equivalent of £3.70 a month over a year (£1.50 a month for the first six months, then £5.90 a month after) from Lebara, which piggybacks on Vodafone's network. This would save you £75.60 over the same period compared to buying Tesco Mobile's new 10GB Essentials bundle.
  
  Alternatively, if you're a very light user, Sky Mobile (which, like Tesco Mobile also uses O2's signal), offers a 12-month contract deal at £1 a month for 1GB data with unlimited calls and texts (though Sky does reserve the right to increase prices mid-contract – most other providers will tell you in advance of signing up). For lots more options, use our Cheap Mobile Finder comparison to find the best deal for you.