DS Forums

 
 

3 Sim Cards and 2G phones?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 08-04-2004, 10:48
nobbynolan
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Liverpool
Posts: 1,824

Do 3G sim cards work in 2G phones for voice calls?
nobbynolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 08-04-2004, 12:26
wavejockglw
Inactive Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 10,276
Yes they do in some. Only for a while though as 3 (the network) block them as they have to pay 02 for roaming and that facility is designed only for areas where their network is not available.

(3's network (3G) is still pretty unreliable after a year - sort of comes and goes for no apparent reason).
wavejockglw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2004, 13:02
nobbynolan
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Liverpool
Posts: 1,824
Originally Posted by wavejockglw
Yes they do in some. Only for a while though as 3 (the network) block them as they have to pay 02 for roaming and that facility is designed only for areas where their network is not available.

(3's network (3G) is still pretty unreliable after a year - sort of comes and goes for no apparent reason).
Right, I see. Oh well, Thanks for the info.
nobbynolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2004, 03:00
lalaland
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 11,539
Most of the modern Usim cards (that's what Three call them) won't work, but the odd one does and nearly all the old type do aparantly.

I have a spare threepay usim at the moment and I have my contract usim in a nokia 7600, but I have yet to try the threepay usim.

I know that on contract you get a warning letter and new usim when they catch you, but my 7600 is allowed on the Three network so I am fine with that.

In regards to their signal, it did improve a while back and for the last 3-4 months was great, but recently the signal has got worse some how and constantly drops my calls or adds echos and other noises to it. Shame really, I was really enjoying using Three with their excellent tarrif and my 7600 is way better than the other pieces of sh*t they offer.

Aparantly the Motorla phones currently available on Three weren't intended as release phones, more as a trial but Three purchased them cheaply and used them as release phones. I read on a link somewhere that someone attended a phone conference and that the Motorola staff (US, not UK) were shocked when they heard that the handsets were publicly available in the UK as they said they weren't up to scratch and were only intended as demos for networks and trials etc.
I don't know how true this is as it was on a 3g forum, but it makes you wonder, especially as most of Three's official phones are really unreliable and pretty crap.
lalaland is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2004, 08:28
wavejockglw
Inactive Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 10,276
Dont beleive all you read lalaland on 3G forums!

Motorola and NEC are 3's lead handset suppliers and both companies have not only been closely involved with the planning and design of the telephones but have had considerable involvement designing the network infrasturcture for them in various markets. Motorola did'nt sell 3 their handsets 'cheap' nor were the early models 'trial phones'. These products were fully market tested and led the way as far a WCDMA is concerned. Make no mistake, regardless of how they ended up performing Motorola and 3 have been bigtime partners with the deals being done at the very highest levels.

Your Nokia is every bit as official a 3 phone as any other in their range. Dont be sucked in by the fact that 3 have arranged exclusive distibution in the UK by CPW. They distribute the 7600 in Australia directly and as its a UMTS handset it has to work on any UMTS network or roaming would not be possible. BTW Nokia kit has been used to build quite a lot of the UK 3 network!

Your point re dropped calls is and old favourite with 3. The network has been improving in terms of coverage but its still very unreliable with lots of dropped calls and full signals one minute and nothing the next. Data services are also a lucky bag. Why do you think so many try and use 3 USIM's in GSM phones? The 3 network is the worst in the UK and the price you pay to use it reflects that.

Bottom line on 3 is you get what you pay for so call quality, handset reliability, network stability and features that you take for granted on GSM are not in the same leauge as the experienced players in the UK. 3 has the highest number of complaints per 1000 customers in the UK almost 3X higher than other mobile networks. This is because they have over-promised and under-delivered. Will things improve on 3? We shall see but having had 2 handsets so far I think my experience qualifies me to have grave reservations with regard to that question.
wavejockglw is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:26.