Considering moving to Lycamobile - thoughts?

kpanchev

grumbler wrote: »

Well,
- O2 sell S4 on 4g: (link here)

- Lyca use O2 network.

So, I guess it depends ...

I have a S4, it gets 4G signal from O2 quite happily, but when I put my lyca sim, most of the time it is 3G and it disables the LTE option in my mobile network settings. When it does get 4G though, it shows it as LTE signal even though the LTE mobile network settings say WCDMA/GSM (auto connect)

kpanchev

Just and update, for anyone who is struggling to make 4G from lycamobile work on their galaxy s4, there is a solution(you need a rooted phone for it though):
1. Get Root explorer (or any other file explorer with root access).
2. Navigate to /data/property/
3. Find the file named persist.radio.lteon and either delete it (what I did) or open it and change the value inside to true, save and close.
4. Reboot your phone, go to network settings and select LTE/WCDMA/GSM option.
5. Reboot again, you should be on 4G

Drawback - if you change your sim with another network and then come back to lyca sim, you will most probably have to repeat this.

kpanchev

sirine05 wrote: »

i think i want to register to GiffGaff any remarks, advises guys ?

Very bad 3g speeds at the moment, the trial 4g is a big joke.
Otherwise no complaints with value for money

d123

kpanchev wrote: »

Very bad 3g speeds at the moment, the trial 4g is a big joke.
Otherwise no complaints with value for money

I would agree, their 3G speeds are terrible, 4G has not only become a huge joke with only the 1GB allowance available, it's also become an invitation only process where you have to request to be included, they won't be allowing normal usage (or a variety of allowances) until November.

Those who have got onto the 4G plan are also reporting terrible download speeds on 4G as well.

Lyca seems to offer far better speeds, and of course a better variety of allowance offerings.

joeluken

sirine05 wrote: »

i think i want to register to GiffGaff any remarks, advises guys ?

Really poor 3G during peak day makes it unusable for many. Providing you don't have an account related problem you should be ok for call/texts although I have issues with texts either arriving days late or not at all.

Not great for iPhone users that want to use iOS Hotpot because it isn't supported and not everyone wants to jailbreak. Also can't merge calls to conference friends which can be useful.

It can be cheap if you fit its sweet spot and don't mind its systems or data performance. Outside the sweet spot it can be really expensive and forget about giffgaff 4G.

Personally I'd go for the Lyca £12 10GB 4G 500min Ultd texts but beware 4G doesn't work yet in iPhone 5s/c.

Profpie

The S4 is compatible with Lycamobile 4G, the problem is that the phone does not know that Lyca has a 4G service. The 4G LTE setting is then missing from the mode menu. There are fixes available, but these require rooting the phone. I would not recommend this, as I understand it invalidates your warranty. I have a workaround, that is quite simple. My phone has been updated, these are the system details:Handset model : Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505)
Handset software/OS version : Android 4.4.2 - Baseband version:I9505XXUFNB8 - Kernel version:3.4.0-481100 dpi@SWDD5814#1 Thu Feb 13 20:41:56 KST 2014 - Build number:KOT49H.I9505XXUFNB8 - SE for Android. If you have a different version this might not work.
First of all, you will need a different 4g sim, I used O2.
Put in the O2 sim, power on, go into settings, mobile networks, & enable LTE/WCDMA/GSM.
Then make sure you are in a good strength 4G area, & swap sims back.
My phone works on 4G after doing this, although the LTE setting is missing from the menu, when using the Lyca sim.
I really don't know why Lyca / Samsung / O2, don't sort this out. It's only needs Lyca, adding to the list of UK 4G providers.
Hope this temporary fix helps.

kingrulzuk

Is anyone using Lyca? How is it so far?

ZhugeEX

kingrulzuk wrote: »

Is anyone using Lyca? How is it so far?

It's O2.

I used a Lyca SIM for a month and had no issues with Lyca themselves. But it's basically O2 in terms of network coverage.

d123

The core service is good, calls/texts/3G work well, but there are some issues that are annoying.

4G is a little unreliable sometimes you have a signal but it fails to load pages and the only way to fix is to drop back onto 3G.

They STILL don't support the iPhone for 4G (it's always "coming in a few weeks") as well as some Android phones, depending on firmware version just don't have a 4G selection option.

Some bank apps and Sky Go won't work on Lyca as they see the phone as roaming because of the way Lyca present on the network.

kingrulzuk

I have NOTE 3 and i used sainsburys sims for last 4 months. now im using my old virgin sim and have Lyca to call my family Lyca to Lyca.
I want to spend only£15 a month