[Closed] the phone network 3.. for iphone..

hi, i have been with 3 for about 5 or 6 years now and have had no problems at all. Network has been fine, and even works when I am at my parents who live in deepest darkest Dorset!

only issue is there are times when they bombard you with sales calls trying to sell you a second contract. tends to happen every 3 or 4 months.

oh, and i have the iphone 4

do they run thru ther own network(phone masts) or use eg o2 network or summit..?
just trying to figure out if itl work around where i live... deepest darkest durham lol

I have an iphone 4 on O2 and even in London their 3G coverage can be hit and miss. I have a MiFi on 3 and their coverage is fantastic - I can get better speeds and availability using the wifi signal on the phone than I can the built in 3G.

I used the MiFi when getting the train down to Cornwall a week or so ago - a 7+ hour train journey - the coverage was significantly better on the 3 network than it was on O2...

It's the same in Sussex too.

I'm happy on 3. I moved from O2 because of their pricing and haven't looked back

yeah cant believe their deals... im on vodafone an i certainly think its the best network round me... but they cant compete price wise..

On 3 here for both iPhone 4 and iPad and no complaints at all.

3 for my work phone, and Vodafone for personal (iP4). 3 coverage pretty good but I'm convinced some of their handsets are just plain faulty. Their customer service isn't exactly hot IME either.

Much prefer Vodafone - sure you pay a bit more, but IMO it's worth it.

On 3 darn 'ere in kent. Signal is bloody dreadful sometimes.

Customer service is also shite.

I've been with three for about 4 years now after coming across from Vodafone, I much prefer threes bills!!!

I have an iphone4 and my wife has a 3GS, and my son has a small Nokia, we have had very few problems, except this month we lost signal at home due to a mast problem, one phone call and they halved all of our bills for the month!

Yes their customer service is mainly in India, but they are polite, knowledgeable and helpful.

I wouldn't move back to Vodafone, which I still have as a work phone and is OK but the data services are far slower than Threes.

Try the 3 website, you can bang in a postcode and check the expected coverage:

http://www.three.co.uk/Help_Support/Coverage

{Edit}

3 and T-Mobile were in the process of network sharing when Orange bought T-Mobile. I don't how far they've got but I guess 3 / T-Mobile / Orange will share coverage eventually.

i think 3 share masts with o2 but could be wrong............

I got the 4 on Three a couple of months ago on the basis that it has unlimited data (including tethering). The 3G signal is almost always 3-4 bars outside, with usually 2-3 inside most buildings. At this level of signal, internet browsing is quick enough; and it's also good enough to use the iPhone's 'personal hotspot' and provide a wireless network for other computers. Download speeds are typically between 2 and 4 Mbps; uploads around 1.5Mbps.

If you have concerns about coverage, I'd recommend buying your iPhone from the Three store (or online). They'll cancel contracts (on the grounds of poor coverage) if you do, whereas they will not do so if you buy at a third-party retailer.

i think 3 share masts with o2 but could be wrong............

In which case the MiFi thing has a better aerial than the iPhone, which is more than likely.

3 share some 2g masts with Orange. They recently (last year) turned off a lot of the 2g sharing and mainly rely just on their own 3g masts. My experience of this was that the signal in my hilly area went from all bars but mostly 2g signal, to 3g signal that had 1 bar sometimes, but was mostly no bars indoors. That was on a phone with good 3g reception, not an iPhone (they have a very bad reputation for phone reception compared to most other phones ). I found reception was terrible in much of derbyshire after they turned off the 2g - whole towns where it just didn't really work. Basically don't rely on their online coverage checker, if it says you can't get signal it is probably right, but if it says you can, it may well be wrong.

On the plus side, they were very quick to let me out of a long contract which I'd started 6 months back, and let me keep my shiny smart phone when I changed network.

thanx everyone.... iv checked the online coverage and it aint too good around here, poorer than 02 i would think so joe your probly right about them just using there own masts..
think il hav to ask about locally but not sure i kno anyone on 3.. and there mite b a reason for that... 💡

i've been on 3 since January with an htc desire

the 3G coverage is excellent, i'm rarely without the best connection (with a little H symbol). a mate has the same phone on O2, and his 3G very poor in comparison

i find the mobile reception to be OK too, but some friends living out in the sticks struggled and return theirs. they piggyback orange and o2, but not necessarily both in the same area, so you need to check for yourself

yesterday my phone died, meaning i had to call the helpline. i didn't take out any extra insurance, so i was expecting them to tell me to get stuffed but i am really impressed by their customer service. they basically said to head down to the nearest 3 shop, and they'll either fix it there and then, or send it away and i get a free courtesy phone

"i think 3 share masts with o2 but could be wrong............ "

No. Three own 50% of a network sharing joint venture with T-Mobile - it's called MBNL. Both networks have c13,000 jointly owned / operated 3G sites giving them more 3G coverage in more places than any other network - Three have c97% population coverage compared to under 90% on both Vodafone and o2.

Since Orange and T-Mobile were merged to form Everything Everywhere, Orange has become a partner in MBNL which in time means even more 3g cell sites.

Separate to that (it's all a bit complicated) Three have a network roaming agreement with Orange for 2G, which means that if you're outside of Three's 3G coverage, you roam into Orange for free.

In practice, as others have said already, Three's 3G coverage is actually pretty good - in places I go (London, Somerset and the North East) I've found that I consistently have 3G coverage on Three when my work vodafone phone only has 2G.

daveski - one other thing to note - o2's coverage maps are pretty optimistic - their own submissions to Ofcom showed that they had the least 3G coverage of the 5 networks to the point where they had only just managed to achieve 80% coverage.

i take back what i said about the customer service - they're a bunch of muppets

go for 3, but buy direct from them (not carphone warehouse) and you should be ok

one thing i didn't realise about 3 until now...

a 3 SIM will only work in a 3G phone.
i.e. if your 3G phone f*cks up, you can't use your old 2G phone as a backup

apparently this isn't the case with other networks. not really a problem unless your phone dies

I do keep a spare old Nokia E71 as back up in case one of our phones plays up for this very reason!

Just spoke to a customer service pre sales persons - i was told;

"In order to be eligible to return your mobile under the 14-Day returns policy you must not have used your handset to make or receive calls or texts, take photos, or download content."

DO not use text, Calls, any data during this time or the returns policy is invalidated. Seems totally pointless to me - how are you meant to be able to see if its any good if you cant use it.

That was on a phone with good 3g reception, not an iPhone (they have a very bad reputation for phone reception compared to most other phones ).

I just told O2 about the three deals and got a better deal from them! They originally wanted £200 odd quid up front for the phone, pointed them in the direction of the three website and they gave it to me for £29. Result!

I just told O2 about the three deals and got a better deal from them!

What was their data deal like?

Same as the comparable three deal I think (I don't know too much about these things...)

It was 600 minutes talk, unlimited texts, 1gb data and unlimited wifi (although i would have thought wifi was free anyway?)