EE and Orange Transmitters

50Twuncle

Are EE turning off old Orange transmitters ?


My wife has an (admittedly ancient) phone which does not have a "signal scan" facility - so is stuck on "Orange"


Her signal at home was lost about a year ago and now, she cannot even get a signal in central Birmingham !!
We are assuming that the phone itself is not at fault......because previously, despite a lack of signal at home - elsewhere she was fine !!

Mark_F

I have a similar problem, my 4 year old Blackberry works away from home ok but not at home.

After much investigation, it turns out that it is because I have a 2G phone (I thought it was 3G) and the nearest 2G mast to me is out of operation and has been since Feb 2014 so I can't use this or utilise the 3G or 4G masts.I think that my provider (O2) has deprioritised work on 2G masts

You need to contact your network provider to determine if this is the case but I suspect that like me, you will have to replace the phone.

ZhugeEX

EE are currently running a network optimisation programme by removing 9,000 ex Orange masts and integrating the remaining Orange and T-Mobile masts into one super network.

My suggestion is to just get a newer phone, basic phones can be had for under £10 these days and it'll sort the problem out.

See my posts in this thread for more about EE-
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4790744

50Twuncle

My Wifes average monthly bill is 20pence - her monthly bill cost EE twice this to send to her !!
She very rarely uses her phone - but it is there for emergencies
What is the best thing to do ?
1. Spend £10 on a new phone and stay with EE


2. Change phone companies - but will her old phone work on any other networks.


3. Forget her safety and don't bother with a phone.

NFH

See this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4790744

I got so fed up with EE turning off transmitters with degraded coverage that after 15 years with Orange, I switched to Giffgaff (on O2). The improvement was significant and very noticeable.

marvin

I used to run a charity that gave over 3000 mobile phones to Carers in Birmingham, we avoided Orange as the signal around Birmingham, especially the city centre was appalling. I am sure this and the phones have improved over the years, haven't they?

50Twuncle

I changed my own supplier from EE to THREE a few weeks ago and find the signal much better and reliable - the download speed (3G) is a steady 3Mbps compared to between 0.25 and 1.0Mbps on EE !!
My upload speed is about 4 times as fast too at 2Mbps !
I will talk my wife in to changing to THREE as well and get her a new phone

grumbler

50Twuncle wrote: »

My Wifes average monthly bill is 20pence - her monthly bill cost EE twice this to send to her !!
She very rarely uses her phone - but it is there for emergencies
What is the best thing to do ?
1. Spend £10 on a new phone and stay with EE


2. Change phone companies - but will her old phone work on any other networks.


3. Forget her safety and don't bother with a phone.

You can get a new phone for 49p-99p if either of you qualify for PAYG upgrade: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/upgrade?intcmp=PDP_upgradechcker_banner_050314

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/phone/samsung/samsung-e1200/ppayupg?colourCode=BLACK
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/phone/nokia/nokia-105/ppayupg?colourCode=BLUE

And, BTW it will be not locked to any network.

50Twuncle

grumbler wrote: »

You can get a new phone for 49p-99p if either of you qualify for PAYG upgrade: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/upgrade?intcmp=PDP_upgradechcker_banner_050314

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/phone/samsung/samsung-e1200/ppayupg?colourCode=BLACK
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/phone/nokia/nokia-105/ppayupg?colourCode=BLUE

And, BTW it will be unlocked.

Right - that's virtually free - a good move
I take it that my Wifes PAYG contract will not change in costs or any minimum contract period ?

grumbler

No, it's PAYG and nothing changes.

50Twuncle

grumbler wrote: »

No, it's PAYG and nothing changes.

But this is via CPW - my wifes contract is with Orange (directly)
How does this work ?