My reception is fine, yet when using 3g it will very rarely work for more than 5 minutes at a push ! Infact as we speak now I can see the little sign in the corner has changed so I won't be able to post this till it changes back!
Seriously its a load of bloody crap. I would love to know what I'm paying for because the 'data' seems to run out essay before my billing date but I barely use the thing because it never sodding works
Is this just how it is on every phone on every network ?
Or is o2 just a pile of poo. Does anyone else have the same problem

Yeh, o2 isn't exactly known for their 3g coverage. It is very poor of you're not in the middle of a town centre. Im on o2 myself and find that at home I can get a decent 3g signal. But when Im travelling it is very poor.

O2 claim to offer 84% 3g population coverage which is nothing compared to the 95%+ that other networks offer. Plus their data packages are not great. They advertise 500mb as a lot of data when intact the average user will use over 1GB now. You need to spend a minimum of £32pm just to get 1gb on o2.

If you need data and good coverage then look at three or T-Mobile next time. They give much more data, they're cheaper and have more 3g coverage.

Oh and im on o2 so no one call me bias for this post. They have a great 2g network with edge. Just lack 3g

After 4 years with O2, I've made the decision to leave when my contract ends. I've tried out both Three and T-Mobile's 3G coverage in a bunch of different places alongside O2 and they always get 3G in places O2 don't. If you're in a town or city O2 is OK, but outside that, hopeless.

Does O2 even have 3G? I hadn't noticed.

I had the same problem with O2, so moved to Vodafone. Although their 3G still isn't as good as 3 in terms of coverage and speed, I found them worlds better than O2, who underinvested in 3G to the point where ofcom had to threaten to fine them just to make them get 3G up to the minimum level of coverage.

Indeed, I think when O2 say they have 85% 3G coverage, I think they mean they wish they did.

I live just outside of London and I get good 3G coverage here. I travel into London a lot for work/uni and also get good coverage. I guess it depends on where you live. I've always had good coverage with O2 but poor with T-mobile and 3 in different areas.

3G coverage is decent on all the networks in London though.

I find O2s 3G signal to be pretty good. It works where I need it. Vodafone however . I struggle to get a 3G signal anywhere where I live, including the city centre.

Then again it may be a difference in my handsets but I'm not going to say which is which incase its starts (yet another) Apple vs Android war

I was with O2 for 10 years, When i took out my upgrade contract for a HTC I was told that 3G coverage would increase, that was 2 years ago - it never did, so i was left with a smart phone which i could only use 10% of the time due to nil 3G signal which is vert limited to town centres!

since moved to sim only with t mobile and I am always in 3G coverage, network moniter states since last night

GPRS 23 mins 2.8%
UTMS 52 mins 6.3 %
HSDPS 13 hours 90.7%

Tmob/orange 2G is good too, many areas i would have no O2 signal but since swopping i can think of about 2 occasions when ive had no coverage and even that lasted a few mins.

I am dissapointed with O2, they lost me as a customer.

When I lived in London (SW) T-mobile was terrible, that was about 3 years ago.

I also lived in East London up unitll 6 months ago and 3 was even worse.

O2 has been the only network that has been consistently good for me in London.

Yep, bollocks here in Dundee and surrounding areas...

Yup, since they don't have one here...

I can't fault the O2 3G which I use through Giffgaff. I have a work phone as well which runs on Vodafone and their 3g is far slower and often end up using my own personal phone for internet for work stuff as I don't like to wait for my Vodafone to catch up

Surely everyone knows O2's 3G is shite by now? Has the message still not got about, we've had enough threads about it, not just here but there's plenty of articles online on the The Register and other blogs talking about poor 3G coverage and performance from O2.

True, but i know a hell of a lot of people who have used O2 for ages and think its the best. Because they've never tried another network they won't know that O2 isn't actually as good as it used to be.

Perhaps you should move......As someone else earlier, I have two phones, one on the O2 network and one on Vodafone. The O2 one is the most consistent one of the two with an excellent 3G signal.
Unlike others though I realise that it all depends on where you are and to some extent whether your phone is working correctly.

The number of people I see with iPhones on O2 is pretty funny - paying Apple all that money to get exclusivity obviously paid off. Shame they didn't spend that money on building a 3G network.

They don't realise that the world is so much better if you go with a proper network that is prepared to invest rather than do the bare minimum to get Ofcom off their back, and who doesn't instead use their money and lawyers to stop other people advancing technology (4G rollouts).

As I said in my previous post. My 3G on Vodafone is attrocious. On O2 it is solid. So while you are laughing at these people on O2, many of them will be laughing back at you because they have a rock solid service.

A lot of people buy their phones/network for what suits them and where they live. Thats a sensible approach.

Where I live O2 is demonstrably awful - and there's no way the people I see with iPhones on O2 are getting a better service as it's pretty much countywide. Next to no 3G coverage anywhere, and where it does exist it's quite slow.

Vodafone isn't much better, and T-Mobile/Orange/3 are exemplary because they've actually bothered to invest.

"Rock solid service on O2" must be an oxymoron. When it's not coverage, it's massive countrywide network failures, data networks going down, having to apologise to the City of London for shoddy service, groveling to OFCOM for their lack of investment in 3G, etc etc.

O2 is more concerned in locking in exclusivity deals and trying to impede progress in this country with 4G court challenges, than actually doing anything with the network they currently have.

Totally agree. I've always had good service from o2 where I live and poor from 3 and T-mobile.

Works for me.Thats all I need say on the matter and its the answer to the OP.

At work, my O2 is OK. The company phones are on Voda and constantly drop calls and have a terrible reception. Three and T-Mobile are both good.

So all this shows is that some networks are good in some places and not in others, but in my experience, travelling around the UK, whilst O2 has good 2G coverage, their 3G is lacking.

At work in Birmingham City Centre my O2 3G is brilliant, you really cant fault it.

At home my phone contunually flicks betweem 2G and 3G happily dropping calls unless you turn off 3G.

O2 are aware of the poor coverage, promise return calls, trials of the O2 Connect app, and/or Boost Box, but nothing ever materialises, or do they return calls.

Next time after many years a loyal O2 customer I will sadly have to look elsewhere.

O2 and Vodafone will be sharing 3G networks to boost both operators coverage. O2 really need a boost!