Help! Moving to a village where 02 Coverage is AWFUL!

thisisthecount

I'm moving to a new build house in a village where the coverage for 02 uk is awful!

I've heard that some phones are better than others in terms of network reception? If this is the case, am I not best to try 2 or 3 of the other major network operator's sim cards in my phone?

The question is, how can I do this economically?

Can anyone offer any advice?

jd87

All the networks have coverage checkers on their websites. Why not just have a look at them?

thisisthecount

Sorry if I didn't make myself 100% clear above. Basically, O2's coverage checker indicates I should get good coverage, in "reality" I don't unless I walk outside the house / into the garden.

This is the main reason why I don't trust those checkers and I feel I would need to test this via a "real" sim card.

Hope that makes sense now?

4743hudsonj

http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/

Use that to find the operators with towers nearest to your new home. Bear in mind other factors such as height and obstructions will also effect signal.

Also bear in mind the data base is voluntary and each carrier sends updates every 3 months. Finally its voluntary so not all carriers like T-mobile have their towers on there .

pinkllama

thisisthecount wrote: »

I'm moving to a new build house in a village where the coverage for 02 uk is awful!

I've heard that some phones are better than others in terms of network reception? If this is the case, am I not best to try 2 or 3 of the other major network operator's sim cards in my phone?

The question is, how can I do this economically?

Can anyone offer any advice?

alot of newsagents/corner shops sell payg sims for 99p. you've no need to put credit on the sims. just put them in your phone (if it's unlocked) and check how many bars reception you get with each.

4743hudsonj

Ask neighbours too?

bubblesmoney

the coverage checkers are just indicative and give people false confidence about the network. best to check with a PAYG or invite a few friends with various network mobiles and do a test drive for the mobile signal.

alternatively speak to the neighbours or local workmen etc who might be able to give a better picture.

on orange you have the UMA facility to deal with poor network. on vodafone you have the sure signal options to boost signal. both piggyback on your wifi signal. other networks dont have any options for areas with poor signals as far as i am aware.

thisisthecount

thanks bubblesmoney. never heard of UMA or sure signal? can you let me know how these work generally?

thanks for your help.

talkalot

The other way is do a manual roam and see what networks your handset picks up. Whilst you wont be able to use them it will show you what is in the area. Do bear in mind to try this a few times to rule out the phone picking up weak signals.

4743hudsonj

thisisthecount wrote: »

thanks bubblesmoney. never heard of UMA or sure signal? can you let me know how these work generally?

thanks for your help.

Have you looked at the link i sent, what is the postcode of your new address, i could looks at local towers for you if you want.

And they look like routers which connect to the net and emit a 3g signal that your phone picks up as the network

thisisthecount

hi, yes, I tried that link, but I couldn't get it to work unfortunately 4743hudsonj - no way of zooming out? anyway, I think I might try the sim cards for 99p?

Just wondering what bubblesmoney meant by UMA or sure signal?