Phone providers that work in Northern Ireland

Bookowl

Hi,
I'm with giff gaff but I get next to no reception in Northern Ireland. Are there other providers that people use that they could recommend? I was thinking of Vodafone or three.

[Deleted User]

Get free sims from the main carriers and try them all in your usual haunts, it's a bit of a faffle but it's still the best option.

ballyblack

Gifgaff uses o2 masts so that's o2, Tesco, Sky mobile out

whereabouts in NI are you roughly? O2 is usually very good unless a remote rural area where the reception can be hit or miss for all the main suppliers

or try the NI board with your question

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32


.

pmduk

OP, who do your friends use, that's often a good starting point and may help in ruling out some networks?

D_Jennings

I was over in Norn Iron in September. I am on Vodafone and it worked great everywhere.

Frozen_up_north

Try the Rootmetrics app, it shows actual results from users on a map. They have a web site with maps too. The maps don’t indicate whether the user was indoors or outside when testing coverage.

The four networks own coverage prediction maps won’t be far off, however be aware that foil backed insulation in house walls and metal clad buildings (supermarkets) seriously degrade mobile signals, so indoor results can be a lot worse than outdoor.

Tammykitty

Personally I think 02 is the best in NI - I am on EE, and am moving to o2, as I don't have a signal when a lot of my friends do!


OP where abouts in NI are you?


Is your phone and sim capable of supporting 4g?

southantrim3

I find the OP's post very strange though not impossible to be fair...

Giffgaff runs of o2

O2 is the best network for coverage in Northern Ireland so if you can't get that good luck with the other providers, though there is the odd exception.
Vodafone is the next best, followed by EE and Three in that order. Though again there are the "odd" but not many exceptions...
All the rest of the providers piggyback of one of the above.
Personally, I use o2 and only really suffer in the most rural of places. I have found o2 to have got very expensive recently though but not sure I want to move to any of the other networks as their (o2) coverage is so good...

japitts

Tammykitty wrote: »

Personally I think 02 is the best in NI - I am on EE, and am moving to o2, as I don't have a signal when a lot of my friends do!


OP where abouts in NI are you?


Is your phone and sim capable of supporting 4g?

Disclaimer: I have no "on-the-ground" experience of mobile service in Northern Ireland...


EE are making extensive use of their 800Mhz spectrum to noticeably improve coverage in rural and remote parts of the mainland, I'm thinking of Cumbria and the Highlands & Islands mainly but certainly not exclusively.


But to benefit from this, you need a 4G-calling phone and in Android-land that also means (with caveats) network-supplied and not SIM-free.


Punchline: I wouldn't be surprised if the same theories hold true in NI, but I've done no research into this.

BigAl94

I'm with EE and with them many years. After a dispute I moved to O2 and regretted it as I found coverage poor. Moved back to EE and have no complaints. The trouble is, in Northern Ireland especially rural areas, all networks have poor coverage areas, Fermanagh especially. It's really what works for you where you need it most.

will-he-payitoff

Im with 3 and had good reception on a recent visit to NI