Improve your festival phone connection

With some UK festivals reaching attendance numbers in the hundreds of thousands, it’s no surprise that mobile phone networks get overloaded and phone signal becomes as rare at festivals as a clean toilet.

These days phone companies will do their best to accommodate that extra demand by installing temporary masts around big events like festivals.

Some of the big festivals like Glastonbury and Reading have an official connectivity partner, offering services to festival attendees and extra rewards to their existing customers. This can include charging stations and free wi-fi to ensure you can keep in touch with your friends.

But for smaller, independent festivals, these extra services aren’t common, and connectivity can become a big problem.

Kara Gammell
Personal finance expert at MoneySuperMarket

Plan for going off-grid

Phone signal at a festival isn’t a luxury. For some, it’s a necessity – especially for young or vulnerable attendees. In the event of an emergency, it’s important that you can reach out to friends or family and keep track of anyone that might get lost in the crowds.

Even if you’re not expecting patchy phone signal, festivalgoers should always have a back-up plan if someone gets lost or needs assistance. Make sure you have a copy of the festival map, know where the designated places are to receive first aid, and decide early-on with your group on a meeting point if you lose contact.

While many festivalgoers choose to enjoy their festivals the old-fashioned way, with their phones off or at home, for many that's not an option.

Here are a few ways you can boost your phone signal at a festival.

Switch off 5G

With many modern phones prioritising a 5G connection, you might find that you get better signal by switching to 4G instead. Using 4G over 5G can also help to extend your battery life, so you won’t need to rely too heavily on portable chargers.

You can find out how to switch off 5G here.

Get a temporary SIM

Different phone companies have different connectivity around the UK. In some areas, your phone service provider might not have great coverage, especially if you’re traveling out of the city for a festival.

To find out the connectivity of your next festival or summer event you can use Ofcom’s mobile coverage checker. By putting in a postcode you can find out what the service is like in the area for the top four providers and whether 5G is available.

If your current provider doesn’t have great service in the area, one solution is to get a temporary SIM for a provider that does have good service. You can compare 30-day SIM only deals with us to find a good deal on a short-term SIM.

Alternatively, if you're a customer of one of the four major UK mobile networks – EE, O2, Three, or Vodafone – you might be eligible for an eSIM. An eSIM is an entirely digital SIM card that that allows you to switch between two networks so you can have the best of both.

Move around the venue

You’ll often find that areas with the most amount of people have the worst signal. If you need to get in touch with someone, try moving around the festival away from densely populated areas.

If you’re attending one of the big festivals, keep an eye out for temporary cell towers as well. These usually look like tall, standalone metal structures. Getting closer to one of those will usually give you better signal. If you find one at the festival, make a note of its location and head towards it if you’re not getting any signal.