Mobile coverage checker

Try our mobile phone coverage map

The quality of coverage you get from different mobile phone networks varies a lot depending on where you are. We've created this interactive tool to show you the quality of the signal in different parts of the UK. We show you how reliably each provider can deliver a signal good enough for online activities.

Best mobile phone coverage by postcode

It's really simple to use. Just put in any UK postcode to see how good the mobile phone signal is in that location by provider. You'll get a percentage for each of the four big network providers.

Percentages are a measure of quality, not geographical coverage. More precisely, they're a measure of how much of the time you can expect a good signal. We don't think spatial coverage on its own is a very useful metric - what matters is what you can do with the signal you get.

How to interpret your results

You've typed in your postcode and got 70% for the provider you're currently with. This means that 70% of the time, the mobile data signal from that provider in your area is good enough to let you do stuff online.

We think the signal is 'good enough' when you can do things like:

• Browse the web
• Make video calls
• Instantly send and receive messages on apps like WhatsApp and Signal
• Watch videos online

That 70% figure means that seven times out of ten, the signal from your provider is good enough to do those things. The other three times, it's not.

Which mobile network has the best coverage?

On a national level, the winner is EE. Data from Rootscore, the firm that collects information about mobile network performance, has rated EE as the best overall network 22 times in a row. EE comfortably beats the other three for highest median download speed. It also narrowly won the 2024 award for best 5G experience.

Being rated the best nationally doesn't mean a provider is necessarily the best choice in your area. That's why the mobile coverage checker needs your postcode. We'll show you the results for how all four main providers are performing in your district.

When we checked the signal quality at Go.Compare's Cardiff offices in June 2025, EE came top with 82% and O2 had the worst rating with 72%. For comparison, we ran it again for Hammersmith in London and found that Vodafone was the winner.

UK mobile networks

You'll see that we only show results for four providers. That's because there are really just four mobile phone networks in the UK:

• EE
• O2
• Three
• Vodafone

These four are known as MNOs (short for Mobile Network Operators) or carriers. They're the only companies who actually build and maintain the mobile phone masts.

Every other mobile phone company is what we call a virtual network operator. Each one leases network space from one of the four MNOs to deliver its service. For example, Sky Mobile leases space from O2. So if you're using our checker to find out what Sky Mobile coverage is like in your area, you'd look at the percentage for O2.

What if my provider gets a poor score where I live?

The mobile coverage checker might show that the provider you're currently with is not the best for quality in your area. Our first question would be: does that surprise you?

Maybe you ran the check because you're already a bit annoyed with the signal quality you're getting. If so, the quality percentage from the signal checker gives you some hard data to back up your experience. Leaving your mobile phone contract early usually means paying an exit fee, so it probably makes sense to wait until your minimum term is up.

If you're out of contract, you're free to compare mobile phone deals and switch. If poor signal quality is a pain point for you, we'd suggest you choose a new deal with a provider who has a better quality score for your postcode.

How the mobile network quality checker works

This tool has been developed in collaboration with Opensignal, a company that provides insights into mobile and broadband network experience.

Opensignal has a free app (available on Google Play and the iPhone app store ) to help people test mobile connectivity and signal strength. When you install the app and use it, you're sharing your results with Opensignal. It collects the anonymised data from everybody who uses the app and uses it for the mobile coverage checker. About a million people in the UK are using the Opensignal app, which gives them plenty of data points to make the checker as accurate as possible.

Occasionally, the coverage checker can't deliver good results for a specific postcode because there isn't enough data. When that happens, you'll see results for a bigger geographical area.

You can help to make the network checker even more accurate by downloading the Opensignal app yourself and adding to the source data. Everything is done in accordance with privacy regulations and the app won't collect any information that could identify you personally.