Help me choose a network

BargainHunter234

Hi everyone,

I am new to the MSE Forum and this is my first thread. My contract with TescoMobile has come to an end but for the time being they have put me on a 30 day monthly rolling contract at the same price/data.

I have been with a fair few networks and I have had issues with quite a lot of them. Some I switched from purely down to price. I live in a rural area and according to Ofcom's coverage checker O2 and Vodafone are the worst performing at 67% with EE at 76% and 3 at 83%. However, despite this I know that EE is incredibly patchy in my area and is constantly complained about on community Facebook groups so I know I want to avoid EE and their piggyback networks.

I am getting a little bit fed up of scripted online chats being used as customer service but also want good value for money so I am wondering what people's suggestions are. I have listed the networks I have used below:-

TalkMobile - They were fine until there was a Vodafone outage in my area, the issues went on for weeks and the customer service was non-existent. My mother is with Vodafone and her signal came back before mine did. I wasn't getting anywhere with them so I ended up switching to SMARTY.

SMARTY- Initially, the signal was fantastic and the only network I managed to get 5G with at home and it was superfast. I got a text saying they were doing maintenance on a mast but it went on for months and over time the signal/service seemed to be diminishing, I was experiencing black spots which I didn't initially. I was struggling to get signal in the house. Similarly to TalkMobile the customer service was a scripted online chat. SMARTY have no telephone number it's all online. I know people who were directly with 3 and didn't have the same issues. I even tried a different phone and that wasn't the issue. SMARTY simply said they cannot guarantee coverage and wouldn't acknowledge that the coverage was there initially. In the end I had to switch and was told in a phone shop they had heard or multiple cases of SMARTY reducing the signal (whether true or not I don't know).

TescoMobile - Customer Service has moved offshore, uncompetitive pricing and they denied the local Mast was down despite O2 putting an issue on their website.

I am wondering what people's recommendations are, where should I go next? I was looking at Honest Mobile but they are pricey. I need around 30GB of data as my WiFi isn't the best. I don't want to enter a contract. Vodafone and O2 are similar in terms of coverage I am not averse to using 3's signal. However, I am a bit wary after my experience with SMARTY but during those first few months 3 was the best.

matelodave

TBH I think they are all as good or as bad as each other depending on where you live. I'm pretty rural (in the Cambridgeshire fens, where its pretty flat and with very few obstructions)

All the coverage checkers suggest that I should be able to get a signal where I live but that's not the case in real life. Vodafone is effectively useless as is O2.

The checkers suggest EE should be better than Three, but its not. I have dual sims, primarily Smarty and EE as a back up. 99% of the time Smarty is much better than EE. That said, I can go to the local village and neither of them work (nor does Vodafone according to my mate). Likewise I can go to Ely, nine miles away, and EE sort of works but Smarty (Three) doesn't.

twopenny

1p mobile package backs off EE. Replies using email. Simple clear website. No pushing to buy more.

I live rurally and it's fine.

MyRealNameToo

Your best asking friends and neighbours who they are with and what their service is like. MVNOs will generally be similar to the real network they are operating on. Saying what my network like here in London isnt going to help you knowing what's going to be best for you.

Here O2 is probably the strongest network with the one exception of a significant dip in the road (such that it's below the high tide level of the Thames) which unfortunately is where our local is. Inside the Pub only 3 gets any usable signal so 3, ID, Superdrug and Smarty are all ok and indeed added an ID 2nd sim to my phone as the pub went 4 years without wifi

BargainHunter234

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81861689#Comment_81861689

Unfortunately, I can't get EE where I live. Their coverage checker even says so. I have had multiple people say they struggle to get signal on EE in my area so EE and it's piggy back networks are not an option for me.

huw01

If you are on Facebook, then asking the question in a local community group will probably give you a flavour of which network will work best for you

BargainHunter234

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81861692#Comment_81861692

My issue isn't so much the signal but more the customer service as I have had negative experiences with 3 MVNOs and all of which had mostly webchat scripted customer services.

I know EE is a no go. My family have both been Vodafone and O2 customers for as long as I can remember. There is very little between them. O2 is slightly less patchy than Vodafone where the mast went down once in around a 10 year period. Vodafone on the other has gone down a fair few times over the last couple of years.

O2 have fewer MVNOs running off its signal and they aren't too competitive in pricing. As for 3 I don't know a huge amount of people with 3 or its MVNOs but the few I have spoken have been pleased with the signal.

As I mentioned my initial service with SMARTY was the best ever but it steadily declined to the point it was unusable and I don't know if that was a SMARTY issue or a wider 3 issue. If it was the latter then it's pointless me using 3s signal.

Myci85

I'm rural with similar issues with coverage, and obviously that is very much unique to where you live as to which will work better. But for me, I've been with Giffgaff for years now and really happy with them. My only complaint is that I can't get WiFi calling with them, as for some reason they seem to only have it available for a very small number of phone models. But I find them very good value, and I'm not tied in to a contract.

BargainHunter234

Thank you for the responses. My query isn't so much about the coverage but more about customer service.

Frozen_up_north

A couple of points to note…

Not all mobile phones have all the available frequency bands, an older phone may show no signal whereas a new phone might. Some coverage checkers used to include being able to pick your model of phone, but that seems to have vanished.

There are only three networks in the UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone/Three. The latter have merged their networks to some extent, eventually all their sites will be merged with possibly some locations being worse off when sites are turned off. Around here one of the Three sites went off air whenever there was a glitch in the mains, showing they didn't bother to install battery backup. The O2 and EE sites kept going (not sure about Vodafone). Here only EE have 5G.

In theory EE should be the best overall as it is the one upgraded to provide the replacement emergency services network, but as always not everywhere has coverage on EE that another network has.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81861721#Comment_81861721

Think it was 6 years ago when last I needed to contact either of my mobile networks customer service, the day to day of if the damned thing is useable is vastly more important.

Why do you need to keep contacting them?