Black Fri deals & duds, 264Mb broadband £17, cheapest iPhone, new guaranteed 0% deb t shift, no-brainer energy fix, extra 20% off Kärcher

Black Friday Week Telecoms Deals, including
Broadband: Fast 264Mb £17/mth
Sims: Get 50GB data for £4/mth
Mobiles: iPhone 16 £35/mth

Martin: Batten down the hatches, it's Black Friday week. Expect promised discounts & promos shoved at you from every angle. We've full Black Friday retail offers analysis below to split the deals from the duds, yet that's all about whether you want to, or should, spend.

So I'm leading with our broadband & Sim Black Friday deals analysis as here, if they stack up - and they do - they're genuine cost-savers. Many can slash what they're paying now and get far faster speeds or more data.

Then to complete the circle, we've the best handset deals too, though don't be persuaded to spend just because it's a temporary discount - only do it if you planned to anyway. The 'improvements' on the latest models are often only iterative, not revolutionary. So, on to the meat of this - below the team and I take you through the best on offer...

Most people pay £500 to £700 a year (£40 to £60/mth) for speeds that are less of a blur, more of a blah. Instead, barring a hyper-speed connection, most needn't pay over £30/mth. Provided you're out of contract, as seven million are, it's easy to ditch, switch & save.

As always, the best deals are short-lived switchers' promos via comparison sites (if firms offer cheap prices direct, then they have to match them for existing customers). We amalgamate them all in our broadband comparison tool - here are some highlights:

Quick tips for switching broadband...

A Sim is the chip in the back of your phone that gives it its identity and sets the tariff you're charged. So you can keep your handset, keep your signal, but just pay far less, as prices have plummeted.

1. Text 'INFO' for free to 85075 to see whether you're out of contract. 14m people are, and thus free to switch. This scheme from regulator Ofcom forces firms to reply (a few ask for your date of birth to validate it's you), unless you've a multi-phone contract. In which case, as a rule of thumb, if you've been on the same tariff for over two years, you're likely out of contract.

2. Out of contract and paying over £5/mth? Switch Sim & save. Right now you can get 100GB data for the equivalent of £5/mth - that easily covers most people's data use, so just use our Cheap Sim Finder to find the right deal for you. If you need to update your handset too, see best handset deals. And if you're unsure of your data use, try our Data Calc. Here are tariff highlights:

All these are short-lived promo deals, where you get a voucher or credit, which we factor into the cost over 12mths. They're explained in detail when you click the links. A few people's phones are locked, in which case your existing network must unlock it for free.

Not switching because you want to keep your signal? There are only four networks in the UK: Vodafone, Three, EE and O2. All the others use one of those four networks' signals (see who piggybacks on who). Our Cheap Sim Finder tool lets you filter by network to find the cheapest deal on that signal, and get roaming info too.

Savings here are nifty, as Kathryn emailed: "Using your info, I changed from a £12/mth Sim contract to Lebara which is currently 99p/mth [a saving of £132/yr]. Thank you and keep up the good work."

3. To keep your number, text 'PAC' to 65075. Then you get a 'Porting Authorisation Code' you can send to your new provider, which'll transfer your number over, usually in one working day (it also tends to mean your existing firm will try to give you a better deal to keep you - if you want that, see our Mobile haggling guide).

Most people don't need a new handset - it's a luxury item, not a necessity - so first check whether a Sim switch would do it for you. Yet if you're all set on some shiny new tech, let's ensure you get the cheapest price.

The table below takes you through some of the most popular handsets, but you can also deep dive in our tool to 1) Find me a phone, which picks the cheapest phone based on your need; 2) Find the best phone & deal within my budget; 3) Cheapest handset tool finds the cheapest deal for each type.

Need a new handset? Why not get a refurbished one for less...

Top-grade refurbished models are often just returned from customers who have changed their mind, but they can be far cheaper than buying new, eg:

- iPhone 14 (released 2022), 'pristine' condition: £403
- Samsung S23 (released 2023), 'pristine' condition: £390
- Google Pixel 7(released 2022), 'pristine' condition: £220

Though stock is often limited, so it's best to head to our handset comparison tool, which lets you filter on refurbished phones so you can compare refurbs against new phones to find the cheapest way to get one.