3 is the cheapest, but is it best

secretmsg

I live in london,5 years back i was with three and had issues with the signals, i took out contract last month with three again and so far no issues with signals and giving me better service compared to T-mobile, Plus conference system is only available with three..

plob

am with three, have been for many years and love the service. always had a great service and signal

niceguyrichy

S0litaire wrote: »

Basically "3"s signal strength is best in the Central belt of Scotland and getting weaker as you head towards Land's end..

i'm not sure about that.
in the north east here (fraserburgh, peterhead kind of way) 3 is really the network to be on.
even in the little rural village i live in i get full HSDPA, whereas my missus and her mother (vodafone & orange) have to b#gger about with balancing phones on the tops of kitchen units, windows or whatever.
3 = win

sebfrogs

Handset HTC DESIRE

Location Glasgow

Ease and reliability and connection When i took the contract in June ,full indoor network coverage in the area .Since mid August ,no signal at all .
Went thru the technical support and the antenna has been changed and nothing they can't do except offering me 2 months free on my contract or cancellation .I am trying to open a complaint but the customer services transferred me all the times to the technical support .
Doesn't look like there is complaint services
Rating 1/10 due to customer services

3 advertising we bringing you a better network but for myself it went from very good to no network at all !!!!!!!!!!!!

jingies

thommo41 wrote: »

Handset: iPhone4

Most commonly used location: Burton upon Trent, Staffs

Ease and reliability and connection: See below

Any other problems: 3G signal checked before ordering, full strong coverage in my area. T&C's read regarding 1GB data allowance. NO MENTION OF CONTENT FILTERING. From day 1, app store issues meant I could hardly download anything. I later found out they knew about this problem, and it was aparantly fixed on 11th August. Regardless of that issue, I found downloading anything to be near impossible, even with full 3G signal. Speedtest app says <60kbps. Absolutely unuseable as an internet mobile. Nothing to do with "death grip" problem as I get 4/5 bar signals. Called customer services to report issues, found out content filtering was also blocking certain sites and apps. They said this is to protect children - Im 30!!! They want £5 extra a month for a bolt-on that removes this filter. Unacceptable to me, I tried to cancel after 5 days. They messed me about on the phone for half an hour, before sending me to their technical department to go around in circles. They said I need to call web sales. I did, after being given 3 wrong numbers, and they said I'd used the phone (of course!!!) and they would not allow me to cancel and return because of that. I spoke again to customer services who had no come-back to my complaints, so they frustrated me to near death by sending me back to their tech department. Nothing against Indian call centres if they are useful, but these are not helpful, not on the same page as the customers, and despite stating I WANT TO CANCEL, they wouldn't let me. They said they would work out the issues with me, and call me back Monday (16th Aug). I couldn't get anywhere at all, and after nearly and hour and a half, I had to accept them looking into the issue and calling me back. Still want to cancel, but how can I when they physically won't let me??? Any advice is GREATFULLY RECIEVED!

Overall service and rating (out of 10): 1/10. If I could give a 0.1/10 I would do!

Handset: HTC Desire

Most commonly used location: Surrey/Sussex

Ease and reliability and connection: Phone - acceptable, mobile internet - appalling

Any other problems: Mobile internet is heavily censored :mad:, and Three will try to sell you pornogpaphy.

Like the above user I have recently discovered Three's scattergun censorship policy which blocks a large proportion of the internet claiming 'adult material'. The sites in question are far from pornographic (links from the MSE newsletter have been blocked in the past!).

To add insult to injury the 'page blocked' webpage has several links to Three's own 'adult' services. Customer services have been completely unable to help, other than try to sign me up for a monthly subscription to Three's !!!!!! offering!

Worrying that Martin is now recommending Three as his 'best deal' for iPhones, without any mention of this major drawback.

Overall service and rating (out of 10): As phone 5/10, as smartphone 1/10.

KTF

I believe you can get round this by changing the APN settings from 'three' to 'threemobile' or something similar.

markdavey

rubyjam wrote: »

Just adding that I got the phone because I saw the deal recommended on this site. Not blaming Martin - I've only got myself to blame but it would be helpful if some kind of wording was added to say that '3' has signal 'blackspots' in some areas and it would be wise to check this out before signing any contracts!

This is the case for any radio based service (not just mobile phones) and all networks suffer from blackspots. The '3' coverage maps are on their site for all to see so you should be able to go into a contract with your eyes open. I do note that the coverage maps may not be as accurate as people would like but it is fairly simple to get a PAYG SIM and test coverage at your most visited locations before committing to a contract (this is what I did). I have been generally happy with the coverage on Three. My phone will 'roam' onto Orange (or T-Mobile, can't remember which) where there is no '3' signal for voice services so I think most of the bases are covered.

Not had to use their customer service yet but am prepared for a less than acceptable service should I need them but my expectations are already set low.

My advice to anyone that is entering into a long mobile contract is to test coverage on a PAYG before committing.

So far, '3' are no worse than any other network I have used for voice coverage, I have not had a data led handset before but I have not been dissappointed yet by data coverage either.

I have a HTC Desire.

Exhortation

rubyjam wrote: »

Handset: White Apply Iphone 3GS 32mb

Most commonly used location: South Manchester

Ease and reliability and connection: No Signal

Any other problems: Poor customer service

Overall service and rating (out of 10): 0

I bought a white iphone 3GS 32mb for £129 with an 18 month contract from my local '3' store but when the phone arrived and I switched it on there was no signal ....

And so begins a very long saga which I won't bore everyone with but I would advise anyone who will listen to never ever ever even think about getting a contract from '3' before checking you do actually have a signal where you live.

Ignore all 14 day money back guarantees as they don't honour them.

Consumer Direct have been helping me but they have just referred my case to Trading Standards. Hopefully 'three' will see the error of their ways any day now.

I'm itching to call Watchdog but I'll wait to see how Trading Standards get on. Good luck to anyone who's just signed up with these cowboys.

Perhaps it's something to do with the area but I have friends who live in Alderley Edge (not overpaid, prima donna footballers, I hasten to add) who recently went 10 days without a 3G signal - and that was with O2, not Three.

cairns136

KTF wrote: »

I believe you can get round this by changing the APN settings from 'three' to 'threemobile' or something similar.

get around what???

markdavey

markdavey wrote: »

Not had to use their customer service yet but am prepared for a less than acceptable service should I need them but my expectations are already set low.

Well, I have just experienced the 3 customer service for the first time and I have to say, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I contacted them through E-Mail as I had a query on my account yesterday (Friday) afternoon. I was called back this morning (Saturday) by a very helpful Indian chap. After an initial discussion, he advised me that he would look into it and call me back as soon as possible. Within 30 mins he had called me back and resolved my issue completely.

Given the price plan I am on, and the fact that the coverage is perfectly acceptable, from my experience, 3 are actually better than some of the other mobile networks overall and I have used them all at one point or another. I know other's experiences have been less than perfect but I, for one, am happy I changed networks.