I want to leave 3 mid-contract 13 September 2021 at 6:40PM in Mobiles 8 replies 222 views

weddingringman

3s network coverage is terrible. They claim to provide 5G in my town, but in reality their maps show it just being available on our coasts esplanade. (Barely 1% coverage for our town).

Contrary to their coverage maps 4G is also completely unavailable to me indoors and often outside. It’s taken 15 minutes just for these pages to load to post this topic. (Our broadband is down right now).

To make matters worse text messages either fail to send or sometimes go 3 times. The irony. 

I’ve complained to 3 many times but I’m getting no where. I struggle to understand what they are saying to me on the phone, and the latest is they’ve asked me to go back to ‘affordable mobiles’ who sold the phone and contract as they are blaming the device.

Has anyone successfully had a contract terminated without having to pay the remaining months/year in full?

JenB79

I very much doubt Three will let you break a contract because of signal issues. That's your responsbility to check BEFORE you enter into a long contract, eg use a PAYM sim to get an idea of signal levels. Never ever solely rely on coverage maps, they're just a guide.

Moving forward, maybe its worth getting a handset which supports wifi calling? Might be a cheaper option than paying off the remainder of your contract. Or don't you have fixed line internet at your address?

simax

As the OP said, their home WiFi is not working at the moment.

jnm21

@JenB79 I take it you meant Pay & Go sim?  Often that will not give an accurate idea as on many networks they get different access/priority.

@weddingringman contrary to the advice above, I have been let out of a 3 contract early.  Have a look on their status check page (not the coverage check, but it should be linked to on that page). If you see it saying there is an issue in your post code, expect to see that it will be resolved in 7 days - place the same reliance on that as the advice that your taxi is just pulling up/round the corner!

Be as polite as you can without taking their nonsense - the call I got let off on, I refused to do their 'stand on your left leg and whistle dixie' checklist - that confounds front line support - computer says not on script!

Your first couple of calls will likely return service credit, the second or more likely third of fourth you stand a chance of getting what you want.

JenB79

simax said:

As the OP said, their home WiFi is not working at the moment.

Ah yes, the OP did say "Our broadband is down right now". In which case the OP should prioritize in getting his home broadband service fixed, a fixed line broadband service cannot be beaten for latency and stability assuming he's getting decent speeds.

JenB79

jnm21 said:

@JenB79 I take it you meant Pay & Go sim?  Often that will not give an accurate idea as on many networks they get different access/priority.

Sorry, yeah I meant a PAYG sim. From my own experience I've never noticed a huge difference in data speeds between PAYG and PAYM sims directly with the 4 main networks.

glennevis

Once the OP gets their home broadband fixed they could contact Three and ask for a Home Signal box (femtocell device) so at least their mobile will work reliably at home. There's a webpage on three's support site which explains.

The only drawback was, when I was offered one, they required me to sign up for a new 12 month contract before they would send me one for free.

jnm21

glennevis said:

Once the OP gets their home broadband fixed they could contact Three and ask for a Home Signal box (femtocell device) so at least their mobile will work reliably at home. There's a webpage on three's support site which explains.

The only drawback was, when I was offered one, they required me to sign up for a new 12 month contract before they would send me one for free.

A great suggestion, except that from what I read most of the networks no longer issue them (not sure if they are cancelling the ones out there already).

Seems that they expect folk to use WiFi calling instead.

Nice to see a helpful suggestion though.

jnm21

JenB79 said:

simax said:

As the OP said, their home WiFi is not working at the moment.

Ah yes, the OP did say "Our broadband is down right now". In which case the OP should prioritize in getting his home broadband service fixed, a fixed line broadband service cannot be beaten for latency and stability assuming he's getting decent speeds.

I'm not sure if you realise, but in 2 posts you have now told the OP what they should have done & what they should do (where it is not related to their chosen route) - you come across a little OTT or perhaps as if you have some issue with them.

As for the facts here, a home broadband service that is poor (either slow or unreliable) can most definitely be beaten by a mobile solution.  On cost & flexibility, which you seem able & willing to ignore, it is also very beatable too.

On the pay & go SIM suggestion, I often wonder just how much experience those who recommend that route have - for instance how many main networks offer 5G on Pay & Go?

There have been many discussions about priority levels on o2 (often by those on Giffgaff).

Many networks restrict certain 4G bands (20, 800Mhz being commonly restricted - I am both lucky not to need it & unlucky that when I do get it, it is often oversubscribed & woefully slow).

There has even been a conspiracy theory that Three prioritise those in the 14 days cooling off period!  I am not saying I believe it, but the fact I don't dismiss it is a sign of my confidence in three!