Looking for thoughts on 3 network???

abbas5001

Just hoping a few people on 3 can give me their thoughts.

I have always heard bad things about the network, i am currently on o2 and have just bought the iphone 6 sim-free. o2 deals are relatively poor to be honest and 3 have the best sim only deals but i am concerned about service. However, i have done a bit of research and 3 has actually come top in a number of experiments and surveys but there is nothing better than speaking to people actually with the company.

Their network coverage tool says my area is excellent, but to be honest all the networks always say that if you're in an urban area. My main area of concern is the reliability and speed of mobile data connection, 02 is pretty good for both can the same be said for 3?

pepdavies

I'm typing this while travelling down the motorway in rural Devon. I've been really impressed with 3. I get a good data connection nearly everywhere. Worst places are very rural areas but even small villages are fine. Cheap too!

oldharryrocks

Some recent favourable comments about 3 in this thread.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5097627

lfc321

I switched from Orange to Three this summer. I'm in South Yorkshire.

I'm very impressed so far. I get a strong 4G signal at work (for no extra), although I only 3G at home (which is further out of town - but I get a 3G signal at least as good as I used to get on EE). That's exactly as the coverage map says, so in my case at least it is accurate.

Have used Feel at Home while overseas which is a very, very good deal.

So far my impression is that coverage is generally better on Three than it was on EE while traveling around the UK (e.g. on trains).

Haven't had to deal with Three customer services at all yet, so can't comment on that.

I'm also spending about £10 a month less on 3-2-1 than I was on my old orange contract.

Frozen_up_north

As the title of the TV program says "location, location, location". On all the networks, signal level and data throughput really does depend where you are... Here in rural East Yorkshire forget Vodafone and O2, unless you are happy with basic 2G voice and text. At my location Vodafone only provide 2G signals, not a peep of 3G. Both 3 and EE cover the village with 3G and in the case of 3 I usually get 10 ~ 12 Mb/s download and 1 ~ 2 Mb/s upload at off peak times, such as mid morning during weekdays. I have a 3 SIM only deal on a 30 day basis, so can swap neworks fairly easily if a better deal comes along. My phone is an iPhone 5.

Last week, during half term school holidays, the 3 data speed in Beverley dropped to a trickle at late morning... But when the kids are at school the speed can exceed 10 Mb/s. Last year on holiday in a seaside town the speed on 3 dropped to a trickle one Saturday evening.

Check out the Rootmetrics App on the Apple App Store, it will show the best technology for the 4 UK networks in your area and also the best data speeds. Beware that the networks are upgrading to 4G and coverage can change as they upgrade sites, which can mean moving sites and that may result in worse coverage depending on how close you are to an existing mast.

Tyler_Du

I'm in a semi rural area and my wife uses 3, inside our house the signal is patchy to say the least

joeluken

abbas5001 wrote: »

Just hoping a few people on 3 can give me their thoughts.

I have always heard bad things about the network, i am currently on o2 and have just bought the iphone 6 sim-free. o2 deals are relatively poor to be honest and 3 have the best sim only deals but i am concerned about service. However, i have done a bit of research and 3 has actually come top in a number of experiments and surveys but there is nothing better than speaking to people actually with the company.

Their network coverage tool says my area is excellent, but to be honest all the networks always say that if you're in an urban area. My main area of concern is the reliability and speed of mobile data connection, 02 is pretty good for both can the same be said for 3?

I've used Three and some others for a while. I travel around so get to compare in lots of different places. Out of them all I find Three the best balance of price, performance and coverage especially in my main use areas. Every network has issues in some places and there isn't one that covers everywhere so it's best compromise. I have no real issues with Three customer service.

For a general upto date idea of how networks compare around the UK for voice, text and data this is useful - http://www.rootmetrics.com/uk/special-report-2014-1h-uk

"It was a two-horse race in our mobile internet category, with EE and Three separating themselves from O2 and Vodafone"

or this for data on the move -http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/blog/20140714-road-trip-2014-results

"O2 managed 23%, or just 18 out of a possible 78 tasks. There were no significant differences between 3G and 4G, both scored 23% and experienced long periods with no connectivity at the same time."

"Three was at the front of the pack with 90% completion rate. Breaking this down further, Three 3G and 4G dongles each managed 90%. "

System

Unless O2 are offering you a good deal, why not try 3 and see how you find it?

You can order a free PAYG sim from their website or a preloaded one with one month's PAYG usage from Amazon

19lottie82

Tyler_Durden_UK wrote: »

I'm in a semi rural area and my wife uses 3, inside our house the signal is patchy to say the least

No network provides 100% coverage....

I bought an IP6 and use three PAYG (£15 add on), no complaints so far, and I'm loving the unlimited 4G data included.