Reception on "3"?

Starzz123 · 25-06-2014, 20:46

I'm considering a contract with 3 but the the network has a bad reputation for it's signal, could any of you guys make a compelling case for/against moving to 3 from Orange/EE.

Lidtop2013 · 25-06-2014, 20:50

I think it depends largely on location, I was using a Vodafone sim for the last 3 days and the signal/data speeds were terrible, now I'm back on Three I've got a great signal and lightening fast internet, yet someone else might say the opposite of me, just get a PAYG sim and check the areas where you'll be using the phone

jabbamk1 · 25-06-2014, 20:51

Three and EE have a 3G share going on. So if you get 3G on EE then it's very likely you'll get 3G on Three as well.

Also Three has come a long way from those years ago when it was crap.

Just try out a pay as you go SIM or something. I've been with them for a while now and no issues.

nafanny29 · 25-06-2014, 21:15

Three reception has been faultless for me in NW London. I use Hullomail which informs me of any calls that go straight to voicemail even if no message is left, and I have had zero calls not come through and ring the phone in the last 6 months (except when my phone is off/out of service in an underground gym).

The internet is superb, but can occasionally be a bit slow on the occasional evening esp when tethering.

Overall Three are infinitely better than my old network T-Mobile!

moox · 25-06-2014, 21:22

Are you with EE now?

Do you like the 3G coverage you get with EE? Because if you do, you'll get very similar coverage on 3, as they share masts with them.

I can't fault the reception and I am in a rural area.

Starzz123 · 25-06-2014, 21:59

Thanks for the info guys! I live in a pretty built up area so if rural connectivity is good I'm pretty optimistic, I never knew they shared masts either, definitely makes the decision worth it!

TheBigM · 26-06-2014, 07:21

Yep, EE and 3 footprint is now very similar (but not exactly identical).
They are a good network and you get 4G included for nothing, 4G costs extra on EE.

I travel around the country for work and have a work phone on Vodafone and personal on Three. For pure signal alone, Three surprisingly beats the pants off Vodafone which isn't even THAT great for 2G in reality.

corf · 26-06-2014, 08:17

Been on Three for a couple of years, very pleased with my decision to switch from Vodafone, previously I have been with all the networks.

As has been already mentioned, EE and Three have nearly identical 3g Coverage due to their network share under the MBNL banner. If you regularly rely on EE 2g however you may not receive coverage from Three.

Mark in Essex · 26-06-2014, 08:29

I have been with either O2 or Vodafone since the days of 1G (analogue) and always swore by them (especially when my friends all got Orange and their reception was c**p to begin with).

I got a PAYG SIM from Three about 6 months ago to try them out as I was getting annoyed with Vodafone with their slow DATA and I was really impressed (I do a lot of driving for my job and one of the tests was I had my own phone with a Three SIM in it and also my works phone with Vodafone (both Galaxy S3's) and I drove from Harlow to Cromer in Norfolk and where Vodafone dropped down to 2G or even no signal at-all Three had the minimum of 3G)!

A couple of times I have been away with my wife and friend and where they would have 2G or Edge data on their O2 and Vodafone phones I would have HSPA+ (3G++) on my phone and could stream iPlayer etc with no problem and was even kind enough to let them tether to my phone so they could use the internet

.

I have since signed up for a 2 year contract with Three with a phone and could not be happier.

The only problem I did have was I only had 1 bar of reception at home, but the only network with more than that is O2 (even Vodafone is never more than 2 bars), but as soon as I signed up for 2 years Three said I could have a booster box for home and now I have full signal.

I would recommend getting a PAYG SIM just to try them out.

John_Patrick · 26-06-2014, 08:45

Remember that Three, although their coverage for 3G will be close to EE's 3G, they dont have their own 2G to fall back on except in some limited areas (and even then you cant use data on the fallback).

A 'Three' contract will probably be cheaper/offer more minutes etc than EE but if you require the security of having that 2G fallback as well, EE could be better.

Also, although Three do offer 4G at no extra cost, its not as if their coverage is much to speak of at the moment.

Three's 30 day SIM only deals are quite competitive if you dont require a new phone, maybe a way of testing the service for a few months.

moox · 26-06-2014, 10:32

"very limited" 2g fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience.

The Sack · 26-06-2014, 11:00

I've just moved from EE to Three and in my house I've gone from great coverage to extremely iffy.

Jordosaur · 26-06-2014, 11:52

It depends largely on your location. Whilst I'm in Sheffield for university, the coverage is faultless no matter where I am and the 4G in Sheffield is expanding from what I can see. Back home in a rural South East Wales town, the signal is also really good but no 4G. The only issue I have at home is that the signal is a little spotty along the bus route but other than that, it's brilliant.

Get a 3 PAYG sim, chuck it in and see how it goes for a couple of days. That's really the only way to be sure!

omnidirectional · 26-06-2014, 12:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

"very limited" 2g fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience.

Much of North/Mid Wales too.

grumpyoldbat · 26-06-2014, 12:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnidirectional

Much of North/Mid Wales too.

I've never actually seen my phone go to 2G fallback. I have 3G the majority of the time, and very occasionally I get a no service message if I'm underground, or in the middle of nowhere. I travel around lots of bits of the country and Three has service pretty much everywhere I've been.

finbaar · 26-06-2014, 12:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Sack

I've just moved from EE to Three and in my house I've gone from great coverage to extremely iffy.

You would have known this before you switched so why switch? I suppose home coverage is not important to you.

jonmorris · 26-06-2014, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Sack

I've just moved from EE to Three and in my house I've gone from great coverage to extremely iffy.

See if you can get on the InTouch trial by calling customer services and explaining you have poor coverage.

Presumably if you're no longer getting good coverage, you were using 2G on EE before. If it was 3G, there should be no difference.

RAN Man · 26-06-2014, 13:15

There will still be differences between EE 3G and Three 3G coverage due to the different load on the networks. For 3G, as load goes up, coverage comes down (cell breathing). This wouldn't necessarily be in favour of one or the other, or hugely significant, but simply dependent on the load on each network in each area.

Being selfish, if you're happy with your 3G network, keep it to yourself, as the more users in your area you convince to move, the worse it might be for everyone!

corf · 26-06-2014, 13:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

"very limited" 2g fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience.

And pretty much all of wales except the major cities, I was Roaming on Orange on the South Coast of Wales this weekend, H from three was present but indoors it was patchy.

EDIT: saw this was a duplicate comment - cant see how to delete.

lost boy · 27-06-2014, 15:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

"very limited" 2G fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience.

A fair bit of East Anglia too in my experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAN Man

Being selfish, if you're happy with your 3G network, keep it to yourself, as the more users in your area you convince to move, the worse it might be for everyone!

Absolutely

that's what I tend to do now, as mentioning the Three network seems to bring out the worst in people. That being said, I've encouraged 2 people to move from Vodafone to Three in the past week. Reason for this being, to put it simply, we spent a fair bit of time in a particular location, and signals from each were as follows; VF - nothing, Three - romping H+. I wouldn't have believed it myself quite frankly, if I hadn't seen the "Emergency Calls Only" on their phone's screen, but there it was.

paulbax · 27-06-2014, 15:50

I depends on where you live.
I live just outside Glasgow and get a full 3G/4G signal 99.9% of the time. Ive been with 3 for four years and would never go back to another network now!

Alex_1 · 27-06-2014, 19:23

Moved from Vodafone...best move I ever made 3 for Data is superb
and I have no issues with calls either

Miyagi · 28-06-2014, 12:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by finbaar

You would have known this before you switched so why switch? I suppose home coverage is not important to you.

Not true. I checked coverage myself and they also checked in store, before I switched to 3, and was promised excellent coverage for calls and data, at my home address, reality is at home I never have more than 1 bar indoors, and often no bars (not a problem with the Three InTouch app that I am trialling), and data is often 3g and never 4g indoors (not a problem as I have wireless at home). Away from home my coverage is excellent.

The Sack · 28-06-2014, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by finbaar

You would have known this before you switched so why switch? I suppose home coverage is not important to you.

How would i have know it? im not blessed with the gift or foresight i must be honest.

As for why i switched, its well documented on here but after nearly 20 years with One2One/T-Mobile/EE they refused to renew any loyalty bonus and they suddenly looked pretty poor value.

enapace · 28-06-2014, 14:31

I find Three 3G Coverage very good specially now MBNL has got round to upgrading a lot off the Orange 2G Only Masts in Cheshire. Only place I really struggle for a signal these days is a rural village in Cheshire I travel to a fair bit which is in the center of a massive amount of outdoor coverage on the map hope MBNL put a new mast in that area as it could really use it even Orange 2G isn't that good. Imagine 4G 800MHz would help as well quite a bit primary benefit of it is villages like that.

Funny enough Vodafone 2G is the best there and have been doing upgrades on that mast so imagine 3G900MHz will happen soon.

25-06-2014, 20:46	#1
Starzz123 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 1,686	Reception on "3"? I'm considering a contract with 3 but the the network has a bad reputation for it's signal, could any of you guys make a compelling case for/against moving to 3 from Orange/EE.

25-06-2014, 20:50	#2
Lidtop2013 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Midlands Posts: 2,450	I think it depends largely on location, I was using a Vodafone sim for the last 3 days and the signal/data speeds were terrible, now I'm back on Three I've got a great signal and lightening fast internet, yet someone else might say the opposite of me, just get a PAYG sim and check the areas where you'll be using the phone

25-06-2014, 20:51	#3
jabbamk1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,759	Three and EE have a 3G share going on. So if you get 3G on EE then it's very likely you'll get 3G on Three as well. Also Three has come a long way from those years ago when it was crap. Just try out a pay as you go SIM or something. I've been with them for a while now and no issues.

25-06-2014, 21:15	#4
nafanny29 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kilburn, NW London Posts: 1,240	Three reception has been faultless for me in NW London. I use Hullomail which informs me of any calls that go straight to voicemail even if no message is left, and I have had zero calls not come through and ring the phone in the last 6 months (except when my phone is off/out of service in an underground gym). The internet is superb, but can occasionally be a bit slow on the occasional evening esp when tethering. Overall Three are infinitely better than my old network T-Mobile!

25-06-2014, 21:22	#5
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Are you with EE now? Do you like the 3G coverage you get with EE? Because if you do, you'll get very similar coverage on 3, as they share masts with them. I can't fault the reception and I am in a rural area.

25-06-2014, 21:59	#6
Starzz123 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 1,686	Thanks for the info guys! I live in a pretty built up area so if rural connectivity is good I'm pretty optimistic, I never knew they shared masts either, definitely makes the decision worth it!

26-06-2014, 07:21	#7
TheBigM Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: moon Posts: 12,983	Yep, EE and 3 footprint is now very similar (but not exactly identical). They are a good network and you get 4G included for nothing, 4G costs extra on EE. I travel around the country for work and have a work phone on Vodafone and personal on Three. For pure signal alone, Three surprisingly beats the pants off Vodafone which isn't even THAT great for 2G in reality.

26-06-2014, 08:17	#8
corf Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,458	Been on Three for a couple of years, very pleased with my decision to switch from Vodafone, previously I have been with all the networks. As has been already mentioned, EE and Three have nearly identical 3g Coverage due to their network share under the MBNL banner. If you regularly rely on EE 2g however you may not receive coverage from Three.

26-06-2014, 08:29	#9
Mark in Essex Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,644	I have been with either O2 or Vodafone since the days of 1G (analogue) and always swore by them (especially when my friends all got Orange and their reception was c**p to begin with). I got a PAYG SIM from Three about 6 months ago to try them out as I was getting annoyed with Vodafone with their slow DATA and I was really impressed (I do a lot of driving for my job and one of the tests was I had my own phone with a Three SIM in it and also my works phone with Vodafone (both Galaxy S3's) and I drove from Harlow to Cromer in Norfolk and where Vodafone dropped down to 2G or even no signal at-all Three had the minimum of 3G)! A couple of times I have been away with my wife and friend and where they would have 2G or Edge data on their O2 and Vodafone phones I would have HSPA+ (3G++) on my phone and could stream iPlayer etc with no problem and was even kind enough to let them tether to my phone so they could use the internet . I have since signed up for a 2 year contract with Three with a phone and could not be happier. The only problem I did have was I only had 1 bar of reception at home, but the only network with more than that is O2 (even Vodafone is never more than 2 bars), but as soon as I signed up for 2 years Three said I could have a booster box for home and now I have full signal. I would recommend getting a PAYG SIM just to try them out.

26-06-2014, 08:45	#10
John_Patrick Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Newcastle Posts: 904	Remember that Three, although their coverage for 3G will be close to EE's 3G, they dont have their own 2G to fall back on except in some limited areas (and even then you cant use data on the fallback). A 'Three' contract will probably be cheaper/offer more minutes etc than EE but if you require the security of having that 2G fallback as well, EE could be better. Also, although Three do offer 4G at no extra cost, its not as if their coverage is much to speak of at the moment. Three's 30 day SIM only deals are quite competitive if you dont require a new phone, maybe a way of testing the service for a few months.

26-06-2014, 10:32	#11
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	"very limited" 2g fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience.

26-06-2014, 11:00	#12
The Sack Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: S6 1SW WTID UTO FTB Posts: 6,327	I've just moved from EE to Three and in my house I've gone from great coverage to extremely iffy.

26-06-2014, 11:52	#13
Jordosaur Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 120	It depends largely on your location. Whilst I'm in Sheffield for university, the coverage is faultless no matter where I am and the 4G in Sheffield is expanding from what I can see. Back home in a rural South East Wales town, the signal is also really good but no 4G. The only issue I have at home is that the signal is a little spotty along the bus route but other than that, it's brilliant. Get a 3 PAYG sim, chuck it in and see how it goes for a couple of days. That's really the only way to be sure!

26-06-2014, 12:23	#14
omnidirectional Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 10,879	Quote: Originally Posted by moox "very limited" 2g fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience. Much of North/Mid Wales too.

26-06-2014, 12:29	#15
grumpyoldbat Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,636	Quote: Originally Posted by omnidirectional Much of North/Mid Wales too. I've never actually seen my phone go to 2G fallback. I have 3G the majority of the time, and very occasionally I get a no service message if I'm underground, or in the middle of nowhere. I travel around lots of bits of the country and Three has service pretty much everywhere I've been.

26-06-2014, 12:32	#16
finbaar Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3,921	Quote: Originally Posted by The Sack I've just moved from EE to Three and in my house I've gone from great coverage to extremely iffy. You would have known this before you switched so why switch? I suppose home coverage is not important to you.

26-06-2014, 12:46	#17
jonmorris Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: a land filled with trolls Posts: 12,018	Quote: Originally Posted by The Sack I've just moved from EE to Three and in my house I've gone from great coverage to extremely iffy. See if you can get on the InTouch trial by calling customer services and explaining you have poor coverage. Presumably if you're no longer getting good coverage, you were using 2G on EE before. If it was 3G, there should be no difference.

26-06-2014, 13:15	#18
RAN Man Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 249	There will still be differences between EE 3G and Three 3G coverage due to the different load on the networks. For 3G, as load goes up, coverage comes down (cell breathing). This wouldn't necessarily be in favour of one or the other, or hugely significant, but simply dependent on the load on each network in each area. Being selfish, if you're happy with your 3G network, keep it to yourself, as the more users in your area you convince to move, the worse it might be for everyone!

26-06-2014, 13:50	#19
corf Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,458	Quote: Originally Posted by moox "very limited" 2g fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience. And pretty much all of wales except the major cities, I was Roaming on Orange on the South Coast of Wales this weekend, H from three was present but indoors it was patchy. EDIT: saw this was a duplicate comment - cant see how to delete.

27-06-2014, 15:23	#20
lost boy Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Norfolkland Posts: 1,787	Quote: Originally Posted by moox "very limited" 2G fallback seems to include quite a lot of the south of England from my experience. A fair bit of East Anglia too in my experience. Quote: Originally Posted by RAN Man Being selfish, if you're happy with your 3G network, keep it to yourself, as the more users in your area you convince to move, the worse it might be for everyone! Absolutely that's what I tend to do now, as mentioning the Three network seems to bring out the worst in people. That being said, I've encouraged 2 people to move from Vodafone to Three in the past week. Reason for this being, to put it simply, we spent a fair bit of time in a particular location, and signals from each were as follows; VF - nothing, Three - romping H+. I wouldn't have believed it myself quite frankly, if I hadn't seen the "Emergency Calls Only" on their phone's screen, but there it was.

27-06-2014, 15:50	#21
paulbax Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 2,427	I depends on where you live. I live just outside Glasgow and get a full 3G/4G signal 99.9% of the time. Ive been with 3 for four years and would never go back to another network now!

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Reception on "3"?

27-06-2014, 19:23	#22
Alex_1 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Leeds Posts: 113	Moved from Vodafone...best move I ever made 3 for Data is superb and I have no issues with calls either

28-06-2014, 12:03	#23
Miyagi Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 647	Quote: Originally Posted by finbaar You would have known this before you switched so why switch? I suppose home coverage is not important to you. Not true. I checked coverage myself and they also checked in store, before I switched to 3, and was promised excellent coverage for calls and data, at my home address, reality is at home I never have more than 1 bar indoors, and often no bars (not a problem with the Three InTouch app that I am trialling), and data is often 3g and never 4g indoors (not a problem as I have wireless at home). Away from home my coverage is excellent.

28-06-2014, 14:01	#24
The Sack Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: S6 1SW WTID UTO FTB Posts: 6,327	Quote: Originally Posted by finbaar You would have known this before you switched so why switch? I suppose home coverage is not important to you. How would i have know it? im not blessed with the gift or foresight i must be honest. As for why i switched, its well documented on here but after nearly 20 years with One2One/T-Mobile/EE they refused to renew any loyalty bonus and they suddenly looked pretty poor value.

28-06-2014, 14:31	#25
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	I find Three 3G Coverage very good specially now MBNL has got round to upgrading a lot off the Orange 2G Only Masts in Cheshire. Only place I really struggle for a signal these days is a rural village in Cheshire I travel to a fair bit which is in the center of a massive amount of outdoor coverage on the map hope MBNL put a new mast in that area as it could really use it even Orange 2G isn't that good. Imagine 4G 800MHz would help as well quite a bit primary benefit of it is villages like that. Funny enough Vodafone 2G is the best there and have been doing upgrades on that mast so imagine 3G900MHz will happen soon.