[A_Noni]

Wondering if anyone else has had this experience!

For four years, I've been using Three's all you can eat data plan on my Samsung Galaxy tab. The tab is also a phone, which is my main use for it. I'm not a huge user of data ( average around 4gb per month). I bought the plan from a Three shop.

Today with no warning at all Three cut off the wifi. When I called to find out what was going on, I was told that I should never used a phone sim in the tablet because it's against the Ts and Cs of the contract.

I am seriously peeved off. The shop was fully aware of what I was doing and I honestly hadn't realised it was wrong, plus I've been doing it for four years. There's apparently no way to fix this, and so now I'm on the hunt for a new sim only plan with a new provider until the LG G3 comes out.

Of course, I realise Three must be trying to get people off the plan because I'm sure there's many customers taking the piss. However, there's nothing I do on my tablet that people can't do on a phone. This was such bad customer service. I've had a lot of people tell me Three are rubbish but I have never really had a problem with them. I guess they are right!

The real kicker for me is that I'm about to move house (tomorrow!) and for a couple of weeks I wanted to tether and would have been using more data until I get the broadband sorted. This has been a sudden move for a few reasons... Now I'm going to have to try and get it sorted much sooner. It's such a PITA!

[joeluken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Noni

The real kicker for me is that I'm about to move house (tomorrow!) and for a couple of weeks I wanted to tether and would have been using more data until I get the broadband sorted. This has been a sudden move for a few reasons... Now I'm going to have to try and get it sorted much sooner. It's such a PITA!

What Three plan did you have ?

[A_Noni]

The pay monthly all you can eat data/ 2000 minutes plan...

[some geezer]

Have you heard that Three are offering 4G for free?

This is the downside to it. They are providing 4G via EE so this is a cost to Three, hence they are tightening the bolts!

Let's face it, those old Three deals were too good to last..

[some geezer]

Have you heard that Three are offering 4G for free?

This is the downside to it. They are providing 4G via EE so this is a cost to Three, hence they are tightening the bolts!

Let's face it, those old Three deals were too good to last..

[joeluken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Noni

The pay monthly all you can eat data/ 2000 minutes plan...

I'm not sure what Three's policy is with regard to phone plans and tablets that can be used to make calls.

If it's the The One Plan you have then an option is to us the hotspot function on a phone and tether the tablet. May help you in the short term whilst you consider your options and it should be relatively cheap to pick up a used phone if you don't have one.

[joeluken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by some geezer

This is the downside to it. They are providing 4G via EE so this is a cost to Three, hence they are tightening the bolts.

Are they really providing 4G via EE ?

MBNL (50/50 Three/EE owned joint venture) provides 3G and Three have agreed to collaborate with EE on 4G but not to the same extent as MBNL.

Three state they don't support tethering on certain plans but in the past people have found they were able to do this and many bragged about consuming a lot even on PAYG. It appears Three are simply enforcing policy to stop use that breaks its conditions of use which may also apply to phone plans in tablets.

[Thine Wonk]

It is very clear, those plans are for phones only. They don't allow tablets on them as has been discussed here quite a bit.

Apologies OP, but if you look on Three's website and terms it does tell you this.

[A_Noni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeluken

I'm not sure what Three's policy is with regard to phone plans and tablets that can be used to make calls.

If it's the The One Plan you have then an option is to us the hotspot function on a phone and tether the tablet. May help you in the short term whilst you consider your options and it should be relatively cheap to pick up a used phone if you don't have one.

Thank you. I was thinking that may have to be an option.

As for the policy, apparently it's against the Tcs and Cs but I've been doing it for four years. There's really not much difference between this tablet and a phone.

[A_Noni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

It is very clear, those plans are for phones only. They don't allow tablets on them as has been discussed here quite a bit.

Apologies OP, but if you look on Three's website and terms it does tell you this.

I've not read the Tcs and Cs but I doubt they made it that clear 4 years ago. Apart from that, I actually bought the card from a shop, and had my phone/tablet with me so there's no way they couldn't know what it was

I may be a bit thick but can you please explain to me what is the real difference between a phone and a tablet? Is it that most tablets can't be used as phones, and perhaps some people with tablets use a lot more data?? I can't imagine people with phones don't do the same these days, especially with tethering.

[joeluken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Noni

Thank you. I was thinking that may have to be an option.

As for the policy, apparently it's against the Tcs and Cs but I've been doing it for four years. There's really not much difference between this tablet and a phone.

I think it is simply enforcing its existing T&C's possibly due people ignoring them. For example some people brag about using hundreds of GB's of data tethering on PAYG and that's also against its T&C's so this has probably triggered enforcement.

[A_Noni]

Yep, that's sort of what I was expecting. It would have been nice if they'd given me a heads up though. I had two really important meetings yesterday that I was going to rely on my tablet for. Fortunately I keep a PAYG dongle so got by.

I really I didn't make it clear in my OP that I had physically had the tablet with me in the shop as the storeperson was looking at the settings.........

[MGS4SnakeRulez]

I'd blame the salesman not the network

[jonmorris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Noni

Thank you. I was thinking that may have to be an option.

As for the policy, apparently it's against the Tcs and Cs but I've been doing it for four years. There's really not much difference between this tablet and a phone.

It is quite odd that Three doesn't want you using unlimited data on a tablet, but I guess the reasoning is (was) that you might want to stream a lot more video on a tablet, and therefore consume much more data than you would on a phone. In other words, Three originally assumed that most people getting AYCE data wouldn't actually need or want to use that much (the same logic for other networks, which is perhaps why Giffgaff is now having to use multiple tricks to cut down on data usage for everyone).

Now that phones have 5 inch screens and higher, it's even more nonsensical as I can, and do, stream loads of video on my smartphone - Sky Go, iPlayer, Netflix etc.

But, logical or not, Three doesn't let you use a SIM in a tablet unless it's a mobile broadband SIM/tariff and with a fixed amount of data.

[d123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by some geezer

This is the downside to it. They are providing 4G via EE so this is a cost to Three, hence they are tightening the bolts!

No, they are not. Three has it's own 4G network.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d123

No, they are not. Three has it's own 4G network.

Correct.

[Zee_Bukhari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by some geezer

Have you heard that Three are offering 4G for free?

This is the downside to it. They are providing 4G via EE so this is a cost to Three, hence they are tightening the bolts!

Let's face it, those old Three deals were too good to last..

where did you hear that rubbish from? They don't provide 4G via EE, They even use different street cabinets.

[jabbamk1]

No network allows you to use the "Phone" SIM inside a tablet. Whether they enforce it is another thing. It's clear this time that Three are enforcing their T&C, along with Giff Gaff and T-Mobile Three are one of the networks who enforce their T&C due to the fact they offer unlimited data. It's to combat heavy usage, (e.g someone with a phone is less likely to use more data than someone who sticks the SIM In a Mi-Fi to use 24/7) and also to increase mobile broadband sales.

Blame the salesperson and not the network.

[Gaz82]

Sorry but I agree with Thine Wonk, if it says in the T+C's of your contract and on their website that you can't do it then that's what you've signed up for. The fact that you've been "getting away with it" for a couple of years should really be seen as a bonus to you, not a right.

I don't mean to sound harsh but you openly admitted that you didn't read the T+C's when you signed up so it's not really fair to now brand Three "Rubbish" just because they have caught up with what you shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

Sure, the Salesperson in the store that day may have been looking at the settings on your phone/tablet but that still doesn't excuse the fact that it's your responsibility to read and understand the terms of the contract you were signing up for, not his/hers.

[swordman]

Of course as there are 'phones' with 6.4" screens classed as phones and this 'tablet' has a 7" screen so it does seem rather silly now as to how each is defined as such.

I have heard rumours that there will be a Sammi 7" phone shortly.

[Carl_Boys]

Try bad appeal it and say it won't happen again, you used it for months and has no issues and it is a phone.

[Orbitalzone]

This happened with my 10" Galaxy Tab2 that I put in a Three PAYG sim and soon got a text saying I couldn't use a phone sim in a tablet (I hardly had a chance to use a few MB of data and a few mins of voice calls)

So do they allow voice add on for a mobile data SIM?

[DevonBloke]

Three are obviously tightening up.
Jabba and Thine are correct. You can't use a phone plan on a tablet, MiFi or router.
Always been the case. Used to be a bit of a grey area depending on how much data you use but they are getting more serious with it now. 3G & even 4G have a limited amount of capacity per cell and they have to make sure that everyone has a fair share of the available spectrum.

[nafanny29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by some geezer

Have you heard that Three are offering 4G for free?

This is the downside to it. They are providing 4G via EE so this is a cost to Three, hence they are tightening the bolts!

Let's face it, those old Three deals were too good to last..

Wrong wrong wrong. Internet Fail!

[A_Noni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MGS4SnakeRulez

I'd blame the salesman not the network

I blame the network for giving me no notification it was going to be cut off