I'm looking to move from EE to another provider. I've been with them for 10 years, and am currently on the Orange Dolphin plan. I've got so fed up with them, I need a change.

Can anyone recommend another PAYG deal that offers similar or better to the dolphin plan, as in getting at least 400 free texts, and 1gb data a month?

GiffGaff - £10 per month for 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB data.

I'm getting sick of Giff Gaff's unreliable 3g connection. As an alternative, consider Sainsburys mobile who offer the same deal on a rolling bundle.

http://www.phoneshopbysainsburys.co.uk/bundle

I think that's where I'll be heading next.

GiffGaff is ok if you don't mind spending a lot of the time on 2G GPRS and getting your data rate severely throttled.

Sainsburys use Vodafone but way better than GiffGaff still can spend a lot of time on GPRS. But it depends on where you live so check coverage maps.

3 mobile £15 300mins 3000 texts unlimited data

Well I'm afraid I am starting to mind! I only use a few hundred meg a month and all I want is a little reliability in built up areas that are supposed to have good 3g coverage. ..

http://blogs.which.co.uk/technology/...h-awards-2014/

Which readers survey analysis came up with GiffGaff the as 'top telecoms' award for 2014.

I can't say I have ever used GiffGaff but all networks work great here.

If VF got off their high-horse and included 4G on all their plans like O2 do and allowed MVNOs to use it, I suspect customers would have a much better experience.

Just be careful not to use much of the 'unlimited' data allowance or face a suspension/ban from the service. In many areas it's impossible to use a lot though as it's so slow.

This is the best

What problems have you had with EE? Is this something that only arose after the takeover? Isn't it something that would be alleviated by going Pay Monthly?

Like you I was with Orange for 9 years before I made a huge mistake and joined Virgin Mobile. I was considering joining EE now my sentence is over - partly because my experience with Orange was superb.

^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^

Three offers the best value on PAYG for majority of people. You have the option of just sticking with their 321 offering (like I do), or as the previous poster mentioned getting a bundle. My own experience has soured somewhat over the last 12 months, however that doesn't detract from how good their PAYG offering is.

Now PAYG ? - their data allowances are pretty generous( if you don't mind 3G data only),

500 mins / 1000 texts / 10GB for £15.00 or unlimited data, unlimited texts and 800 mins for £20

They also do smaller packages too, £10 gets you 1gb data, 400 mins, 1000 texts

They use the EE network, was your gripe with EE regarding their prices / service or network coverage, if its coverage then disregard.

Awful service. I lasted just 2 weeks with them. Web browsing was slow. Streaming was buffering...yes buffering!

I left Three to go to them, then went back to Three.

I got my PAC and went and got a PAYG Three sim and started the next day even with over 2 weeks left on the 30 days of NOW. I was prepared to waste that 2 weeks I'd paid for.

Three might have their pitfalls, but after trying The Peoples Operator, previously and NOW, I know where my bread will stay buttered.

now mobile I would not recommend they refuse to give me my pac code and would not sort my text and calling problems very dodge network.

If they refuse to give you your PAC code and refuse to provide a valid reason then you can complain to OFCOM and they'll respond pretty quickly in my experience.

Are you fed up with Orange/EE because of coverage issues? Customer service? Slow internet speeds? Knowing a bit more on this would provide more targeted answers here.

Best thing to do is to get a free Sim card from other networks that'll allow you to check what coverage is like. I won't include anything for Orange/EE as I'd assume you're already familiar with it...

Vodafone - O2 - Three

Dolphin PAYG on Orange, as I'm sure you know, gives you 400 texts and 1GB of mobile data for topping up £10 in the previous month and you keep that £10 for credit. Bear in mind that many suggestions like those given here for giffgaff and Three mean offering a bundle of calls, texts & data that is deducted from your balance either when you activate it, if you have it "queued up" to start when the current bundle finishes, or when the next renewal of the bundle starts, not as an additional extra for topping up, so make sure that you're aware of this and note the difference.

You're not limited to just those networks - there are numerous "Virtual Operators" that act as their own network but use the network infrastructure of a "real" network. For example, Virgin Mobile uses EE, Mobile by Sainsburys uses Vodafone and Tesco Mobile uses O2. So for example Tesco Mobile will work anywhere where O2 has a signal for you. The majority of virtual networks are on EE's network, the most well known among them being Asda Mobile, Vectone, & Virgin, while Lebara and Talk Mobile use Vodafone's network with Lycamobile and giffgaff using O2's network. There are a couple of virtual networks on 3, but these are aimed mainly at mobile data users.

I'll leave it to others to add what they think is "best" - quite often personal circumstances will come into play where some deals look good but might not suit yourself, and vice versa.

As I'm sure you're aware Orange and T-Mobile plans are no longer available to new customers.

Oh I know they're being grandfathered (I still have a 3 PAYG sim on the Flat 12 tarrif), but I would assume that if you were to find and buy either an Orange or T-Mobile PAYG Sim in a shop for the time being I'd say you'd still be able to use one of the PAYG plans?

Tesco mobile is good use 02 and you can get 8gb data bundle for £20 http://www.tescomobile.com/help-and-...o-data-bundles and they will also then give you triple credit http://www.tescomobile.com/help-and-...-triple-credit so you can use that for calls and text. Also if you top up £15 or more you can get a free bonus of 150min or 5000text or 500mb of data on your on line account you just select which few reward you want every month,

Where I live on 02 4g speeds are faster than ee and better indoor coverage but as every one knows coverage needs to be checked

I'm with GiffGaff - I only pay £12 a month, and get unlimited data, unlimited texts and 300 minutes.

However - I have never had 3G on GiffGaff, not even in the middle of Newcastle where everyone else is getting 4G. I stay with them because they're cheap and free wifi is everywhere, otherwise I would probably look elsewhere for a better data connection.

And while the unlimited data definitely is unlimited, constant streaming for hours every day has proven this, it does not allow me to hotspot, which is completely useless if I'm trying to work on my laptop while travelling.

Personally I would recommend o2; I used to be with them, and they're cheap enough and offer some good rewards to their customers, which is nice.

1 - GiffGaff is not unlimited. People have been kicked off for using "too much data".
2 - I am a bit confused. You complain about GiffGaff not giving you 3G even in the city centre, yet then recommend O2 who would give you exactly the same poor signal.

I find it quite hard to call the new style of PAYG PAYG.

They are rolling contracts that simply need renewing/topping up every month, week or day.

True in a sense - I guess the attraction is that you can never get an unexpected bill for extra usage, or so I assume.