Three network views?

[d2000s]

Hi,

Its new phone time and "Three" seem to have the best deal for the phone i want (Sony E c902). I've never used them so was looking for feedback. I'm currently on Orange, but had O2 previously and found it much better - my signal drops from 5 to nothing regularly and I get a lot of missed call texts from Orange despite my phone never ringing and I am meant to be quite close to a mast.....annoying to say the least.

[threadkiller]

Depending on where you live 3 can be quite good, or absolute *****. I changed to 3 last year as a friend was with them & it was the only phone that attempted to work in my house. 2 months later nothing, nada, no signal. driving to work or just locally and the service drops up & down like a whores drawers. yet when I'm in the village next door, its great. If you know someone already on 3 ask them or see if they'll lend you a phone to compare signals with

[PockyMonster]

The above nails it, you need to make sure that the equipment works where you need it, and it should be ok then. If not, youll have to deal with their CS, which is ... just not worth thinking about. They say my parents area has great signal, but it gets no reception whatsoever on 3G and refuses to lock down to 2G (the old NEC handsets allowed you to lock to 2G which piggybacks the o2 network, but obviously costs 3 more). Contract was canceled and they never asked for the phone back, which was nice.

[Mr Flibble]

echo what everyone else says, can't wait for my contract to expire, so I can ditch them asap, the reception is hopeless for me, and the CS is next to non-existant

[jimjam]

If you get a signal they are great, However if you are not in a 3 area it will go back to 2G on Orange now as there contract with o2 has finished. Also if like me you are in a rubbish area for both 3 and orange its a nightmare as the phone will try to always lock onto the faintest of a 3 signal.
I have just managed to get out of my contract with them and i wouldn't go back. Its also to much hassle trying to deal with the call centres.

[d2000s]

I think I have given up on the idea of Three after hearing what people have said. I know O2 is good, so gonna go to them I think. Thanks for the advice everyone.

[TELREA]

I think I have given up on the idea of Three after hearing what people have said. I know O2 is good, so gonna go to them I think. Thanks for the advice everyone.

Stick with o2 mate im in Larne and my reception is ok most of the time but their CS can be a bit of a nightmare if you need to use it my contract finishes in 9 days and then im of to do the 02 simplicity deal

[ArthurDent]

Bit late replying to your thread, but as others have said their CS is diabolical, and verging on the rude sometimes. Another nice touch is that as soon as you "use" your handset you're deemed to have agreed with their T&C's and your locked in. Even if your handset fails to pull a decent signal you're stuck.

Can't wait for my contract to end.

[M@rtin]

Just to offer a differing opinion, I've had a few Three contracts and find the reception to be excellent these days. There are very few places I've found myself without a signal, even when driving over the Pennines from Manc > Sheffield I get a better signal than on O2/Vodafone. You roam onto Orange when a true Three signal isn't available, so that effectively increases the coverage.

The CS can be a pain to deal with but on the whole I'd say they are a lot more clued up than when Three first launched, and are about the same as any other network IME. Plus their retention deals are second to none - I'm on a £5pm contract with a free phone every 12 months :)

[moeshka]

I have had a terrible experience with three, purely on the CS side of things.
The phone and network coverage were absolutely fine and I decided to leave three in July.

Again, this is the reason I have left three, the CS team have lied to me and when cancelling my account was told that the cancellation fee would be approximately £160.

Received a final bill yesterday for £265!!!!
That's more than 'approximate' if you ask me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DB2k]

FYI 3 now use Orange as the 2G roaming partner (not O2), and have partnered with Tmob for 3G network so in theory, if there is a Tmo mast where there is no 3 coverage, 3 subs should use that and visa versa. So coverage really should be pretty good but its' very hard to say unless you know someone in the area on that network.

[d2000s]

Went with Vodafone in the end and am pretty happy, much more reliable service I have noticed already. They gave me the C902 on the £25 month contract (as opposed to the £30 one they insist you take instore and on the web page). What I did was talk to the sales guy in the store and then said I was going to see about O2s deals, he took my details as their sales team "might be able to do a better deal" - sure enough, they phoned me up and offered me the deal right away.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice regarding 3, I had decided against them after hearing some of the early posts, but have heard even more bad stuff about them since, especially regarding coverage in NI.
I am gonna stick with Vodafone or O2 in future, apparently all the networks have more or less the same coverage, but the likes of Orange and Three have "thin coverage" i.e. less capacity in the masts, so they can support fewer people in one area using their phones -compared to O2/Vodafone who have "thick coverage". Thats why you go from excellent reception to it suddenly dying if you are with the smaller networks.

[pompeyfan]

Strangely here on the Isle of Wight 3 are the only network I can get 3G coverage with, and 3 and T-mobile are the only networks here I can get a signal at all the places I need to - Orange & O2 can be hit and miss and I can't even get a Vodaphone signal anywhere I tried.