Checking Network Coverage?

DavidA

For years I've been with Vodafone. The signal at home was poor and caused me to always phone people back from my land line. Unprofessional and irritating. I tried the Vodafone signal booster but either it didn't work or I didn't get it working.

I switched to EE because I thought that the combination of T-Mobile and Orange might lead to a better signal. Now a lot of the time I get no signal at all.

I see the online network coverage maps but I've found these to be largely fiction. What I really need is to check the signal myself. Anyone know how I can do this in a cost effective manner? I was thinking I could buy a nano-sim for each of the networks but even PAYG start at £10 as far as I can tell.

Anyone know of a clever way?

JJ_Egan

Do you have any friends with a different network .

Cisco001

You can probably find out if there is mast near your home.
http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search

However, I don't know if the provider switch off the mast or how far from the mast to have good signal.

By the way, you can get free SIM online. Since you just want to check signal, you may not need to top up to activate.

DavidA

Thanks guys. I hadn't considered that I might be able to get a signal check from a free sim without actually topping it up. I'm going to try that.

Unfortunately most of my friends appear to be on the same phone network as me.

ZhugeEX

Cisco001 wrote: »

You can probably find out if there is mast near your home.
http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search

However, I don't know if the provider switch off the mast or how far from the mast to have good signal.

By the way, you can get free SIM online. Since you just want to check signal, you may not need to top up to activate.

Ok seriously, people need to stop posting sitefinder as a reference.

It's out of date by about 8 years in some areas and 2 years out of date everywhere.

robbies_gal

apply for a free payg sim from each network online u dont need to top up to get a signal as far as i know

Frozen_up_north

See all four UK networks, based on actual measurements: http://www.rootmetrics.com/uk/

[Deleted User]

If neither Vodafone nor EE can give you a good signal that only leaves O2 and Three.
Three is 3G only and operates at 2100Mhz so indoor coverage could be a problem if there's no mast within half a mile (in urban areas).
O2 operates 2G at 900Mhz and so penetrates buildings much better - as an example the nearest O2 mast to me is almost 2 miles away across town and I get a full scale signal indoors.
You can get a free sim at O2's website or buy one in Tesco for £1 and try it in your phone before even topping it up to see what the signal is like at your location.
Also O2 have 3G900 on some urban masts and this gives very good 3G coverage if your phone is compatible.

DavidA

Great replies. I suppose I hadn't realised that there were only four networks. I'll get a 3G and a O2 sim and see how I get on.

s2user

There is a website called 'sensorly' (I can't post links, but it's sensorly and ends with .com!) where you can find actual coverage down to street level from all the main providers - and it is user-contributed from real people with real mobile phones, so it's not fiction made up by the networks themselves.

The only problem is that being user-contributed, in some areas there is no coverage data just because no-one running the app has been there... But in more populated areas, you should get a good indication. And if you're feeling geeky, install the app on a smartphone and contribute some data. I've 'done' most of my local area.