Loads of questions re 3 network

gk172

Ok hands up i done a silly thing passing the 02 shop took out contract for a k750i when i really wanted a nokia 6630 or 6680. So its going to be cancelled on tuesday but how long do i need to wait before i can take out a new one on 3? baring in mind i have 2 contracts with voda and one with orange (ending in 3 weeks).

Also somethings regarding the 3 network ive heard you can lock the phone onto 2g network to save getting cut off but will that cost more? is it advisable to lock onto 2g knowing it piggy backs onto 02? Will the mins rollover at all as ive been asking in shops and getting mixed answers im looking to go on the 600 talk and text tariff with either of the 2 montioned phones, and hopefully finally do 3 operate the text delivery reciepts? again an 02 thing as i know they dont do it but been with voda for 3 years so kinda used to it.

I know the k750i is a top phone but somehow i dont get the wow factor with it and i do with the nokias due to be released by xmas/jan when my other contract is up for renewal so really this is to be a good phone but the mins and cost is more important and 6630 for the year can be £120 compared to the k750i being £360.

matrix999

gk172 wrote:

Ok hands up i done a silly thing passing the 02 shop took out contract for a k750i when i really wanted a nokia 6630 or 6680. So its going to be cancelled on tuesday but how long do i need to wait before i can take out a new one on 3? baring in mind i have 2 contracts with voda and one with orange (ending in 3 weeks).

Also somethings regarding the 3 network ive heard you can lock the phone onto 2g network to save getting cut off but will that cost more? is it advisable to lock onto 2g knowing it piggy backs onto 02? Will the mins rollover at all as ive been asking in shops and getting mixed answers im looking to go on the 600 talk and text tariff with either of the 2 montioned phones, and hopefully finally do 3 operate the text delivery reciepts? again an 02 thing as i know they dont do it but been with voda for 3 years so kinda used to it.

I know the k750i is a top phone but somehow i dont get the wow factor with it and i do with the nokias due to be released by xmas/jan when my other contract is up for renewal so really this is to be a good phone but the mins and cost is more important and 6630 for the year can be £120 compared to the k750i being £360.

Please be advised that as 3 does piggy back onto the O2 network, if you lock your phone to the 2G network and 3 get wind of it they will bar your phone. Also note that if a 3 customer is using an O2 Cell Site and an O2 customer is having difficulty making a call due to congestion the 3 Customer will be cut off.

The 3 network is pants!!! Overall, there customer service is terrible, call success rate is poor and the choice of handsets is limited!

Thats just my opinion though!

gk172

Thanks thats answered one of the questions, i had heard about the cutting off and didnt know if locking to 2g sorted that but no, my problem is i need more mins and this seems the easiest and cheapest way, i called vodafone first who discontinued the 6630 and wanted over £100 for upgrade to 6680 with no free line rental even when i asked politley to cancel they wernt interested and when i put my notice into orange she told me to phone as a new customer but even then nothing like the 3 offer and told me i would be looking at paying £50 line rental a month which i cant and wont do, hence all these questions re 3 as its to be a back up phone rather than main number and daugter had a 3 phone and had no problems at all round and about where were are.

KabbaDabbaDoo

My experience is slightly different - the signal strength is great, not had to call customer service at all, and extremely pleased with being able to see how many minutes / texts i've got left via the phone and website. I was that impressed that we got another 3 phone for the wife

For every person with a -ve experience of 3, there may well be one with a +ve experience - as with evrything, you pay your money and take your chance

ChemicalBrother_2

I'm now on my fifth 3 phone in two years. Got two of 'em for free on their now extinct quasi-PAYG 3toGo option two years ago. Then updated to two more handsets (again, practically given away on their 'real' PAYG plan).

They were all NEC phones and they were all bad reception-wise on 3's network. The newer ones were better than the older models but they were still far from ideal.

I'm now using a Nokia 6630 and the reception, so far, is great. I've even got a software app on it telling me which cell tower I'm receiving/transmitting from/to and the bit error rate. I've stayed on 3G for what has to be 95% of the time and I'm getting good signal readings even when my phone locks on to masts a couple of miles away.

The real acid test will be when I leave town this weekend.

matrix999

ChemicalBrother wrote:

I'm now on my fifth 3 phone in two years. Got two of 'em for free on their now extinct quasi-PAYG 3toGo option two years ago. Then updated to two more handsets (again, practically given away on their 'real' PAYG plan).

They were all NEC phones and they were all bad reception-wise on 3's network. The newer ones were better than the older models but they were still far from ideal.

I'm now using a Nokia 6630 and the reception, so far, is great. I've even got a software app on it telling me which cell tower I'm receiving/transmitting from/to and the bit error rate. I've stayed on 3G for what has to be 95% of the time and I'm getting good signal readings even when my phone locks on to masts a couple of miles away.

The real acid test will be when I leave town this weekend.

Can you give me more details about this software app that tells you wish cell site your using?

Thanks

gk172

I decided to go for it anyway and see how it goes, and so far where i can struggle to get reception in the house with the 02 network it is fine full bars, i opted for the 6680 on the talk and text tariff so fingers crossed all will be good.

As mentioned just need to fill this phone up with apps and make th most of what the phone can actually do;)

ChemicalBrother_2

matrix999 wrote:

Can you give me more details about this software app that tells you wish cell site your using?

Thanks

It's called Celltrack and is available from here: http://www.afischer-online.de/sos/celltrack/index.html

When using it it doesn't have recognisable names of the cell sites, so you have to put them in yourself. So if I'm passing our leisure park and I know it's a cell the program hasn't come across before - I label it Leisure Park. That's the basics, it is easy to pick up adjacent cells from further away so some of it is trial and error. So, if I go past the Leisure Park loads more times and don't see it mentioned on the display it is likely that I got it wrong in the first place - I then alter the name to the cell that comes up the most often as I pass.