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Three 4G Discussion Thread (Part 2)


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Old 11-09-2015, 07:43
simon69c
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Just checked my postcode with my iPhone 6 and it shows this.

4G coverage in LN60WD on Apple iPhone 6
Excellent.
You can make calls, send texts and use the internet in most instances on our 4G Super-Voice network. You should also get super-fast call set-up times and crystal clear HD-calling. Just so you know, indoor signal strength may vary.

Not sure how to check if I am connected to 800mhz
Was that with iPhone 6 selected in the coverage checker, or do you mean you were looking at the coverage checker on an iPhone 6 but had entered the Galaxy S5 as the device to show coverage for? As far as I know only the S5 entered in the coverage checker should show details about VoLTE and/or Super-Voice at this stage. I certainly don't get information about it when I search with iPhone 6 selected (in areas which show Super-Voice / VoLTE with the S5 selected).

[Edit] Just checked myself and looks like with iPhone 6 selected it shows the non-VoLTE information for that postcode - maybe they had entered something wrong on their database and have since corrected it. Alternatively where you searching by location on your device and is it running iOS 9 maybe?
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Old 11-09-2015, 07:52
GavinAshford
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I think (hope) the 800mhz is currently running at low power, I parked up what I believe is ~200meters away from the mast that has it turn on this morning and I was only seeing -110 to -115dB compared to indoors at home 2.5miles away I was getting -127 to -131dB.

It was the same LAC, Node and CI on G-NetTrack app, so I think it should be the same mast so it seems the signal can certainly travel!

Speedtests were a bit better 9.66down/0.91up (vs 6.6/0.3) though upload did again struggle to get going even that close to the mast which is a bit concerning.
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Old 11-09-2015, 08:24
GavinAshford
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It seem's some of Three's postcode data has indeed been updated since Monday when I compiled the spreadsheet.

Some postcodes that were showing as '800_Coming' and speed '100' now just '800' with a speed between 1 and 4. Those that do show '800_Coming' the speed has been changed to show '200' instead of '100'.

There is also seems lot of planned maintenance though Sept/Oct (nothing in Nov, yet, from what I can see in the first 500ish postcodes).
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Old 11-09-2015, 08:25
Informationwar
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Three didn't bid for there 800MHz they were told reserve price and bid exactly that. If you don't believe look at EE they paid double the amount for same size block.

That stupid advert campaign they doing has got be one of the worst advertising marketing plans I have ever seen.



It depends is it still on Three's firmware? If it is it will show the 3 logo on boot up
There's no 3 firmware on it. I think I'll go and see the guys in the shop. At least they can ring and speak to a department in the know I suppose.
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Old 11-09-2015, 08:38
plymouthbloke1974
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Nice to see that Cornwall is finally getting a look-in, albeit a tiny amount.
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Old 11-09-2015, 09:09
Mark in Essex
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When getting my wife the SIM for her Honor 4X I did not expect her to be able to use the SuperVoice (or whatever it's called), but I was expecting her to be able to use the 800mhz 4G for data.

I'm debating whether to keep the SIM until April when my £37/month phone contract is up so I've got the guarantee of cancelling my original contract and keeping the £17/month unlimited DATA SIM or not?

Do people think that they will either get rid of the unlimited data or put the price up before April as I did not really want to loose out on the unlimited data or find the SIM only cost for unlimited data jumps up to £25 (or something silly like that when they do eventually get decent 4G coverage)?

Cheers, Mark.
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Old 11-09-2015, 09:55
hatton920
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Was that with iPhone 6 selected in the coverage checker, or do you mean you were looking at the coverage checker on an iPhone 6 but had entered the Galaxy S5 as the device to show coverage for? As far as I know only the S5 entered in the coverage checker should show details about VoLTE and/or Super-Voice at this stage. I certainly don't get information about it when I search with iPhone 6 selected (in areas which show Super-Voice / VoLTE with the S5 selected).

[Edit] Just checked myself and looks like with iPhone 6 selected it shows the non-VoLTE information for that postcode - maybe they had entered something wrong on their database and have since corrected it. Alternatively where you searching by location on your device and is it running iOS 9 maybe?
It was with iPhone 6 selected and full postcode entered. Just checked again and it doesn't mention super voice. Weird.
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:00
Mark in Essex
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Well it looks like they may have turned off whatever they were doing with the 4G yesterday as it's back to normal again now (don't know if it was 800mhz or a new transmitter).
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:17
Zebb
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Well the information from the coverage map has changed today;
"Unfortunately there is no 4G coverage in your area. However, you may be able to access the internet using our 3G network."

So that's that then!
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:29
Stereo Steve
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Come on folks, it's been a day or so since the turn on. Do we really expect everything to be up and running perfectly? As for devices, there are surely more to come and probably ways to get non branded devices to work. It will just take time. I would expect 3's focus s to get this working for iPhone as that covers a huge amount of devices with probably few issues. Then the rest will follow.

Certainly coverage in the SW get's a nice boost and apparently there is work in my postcode on the 16th.

EE had similar issues with Wifi calling at launch. Nothing like this is ever going to go smoothly and I don't blame 3 at all for being cautious about how many people can initially use the service. If they just opened it to everyone on day 1 it would be chaos and their CS would be inundated. Patience required. The 4G landscape is changing fairly rapidly.
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:58
jaffboy151
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After you strip out all the none compatible/non approved phones what will be the actual percentage of three customers that can actually use this 800mhz 4g service? Is it a wise move to put all there effort into a tech not many of there users can benifit from? Surely the EE way would have been better, to build out the widely supported 1800mhz 4g then add 800mhz later when more phones are compatible.
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:07
GrannyGruntbuck
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So, do we know for sure yet that the only suitable phones at the moment are S5's and they HAVE to have 3 UK firmware on them?

Or is just a 3 UK sim?
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:13
mupet0000
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*snip* My town was actually activated today, not yesterday, interesting.
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:24
tarzion
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Now I get a different message when I perform a online check for my postcode.

The Map changes to blanket coverage for the S5 and remains unchanged for the Moto G.

If I select S5 then I get

"You can make calls, send texts and use the internet in most instances on our 4G Super-Voice network. You should also get super-fast call set-up times and crystal clear HD-calling. Just so you know, indoor signal strength may vary."

Moto G 3rd Gen LTE

"You can make calls, send texts and use the internet over our 4G network. Just so you know, indoor signal strength may vary. And good news about your phone it's 4G compatible."
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:28
aioderek
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So, do we know for sure yet that the only suitable phones at the moment are S5's and they HAVE to have 3 UK firmware on them?

Or is just a 3 UK sim?
When on the coverage map and using the S5 it states you can access 4G supervoice etc etc... It doesnt say the phone must have been purchased from three!!! Surely that is false information if they are declaring the S5 to work without mentioning it has to be purchased from Three... Three would need to be crazy to restrict access in such a way and exclude potentially thousands of customers..
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:48
Mark in Essex
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They have now added about the SuperVoice for me too on my postcode if I put in that I have an S5 (like I do).

If I put in iPhone 6 or S6 it drops the message about the SuperVoice.
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:53
Mark in Essex
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One thing I don't like about the new software update is that just to the left of the 4G symbol there are always 2 horizontal white arrows when it's showing 4G (still the same vertical up and down arrowa under the 4G symbol so not sure what the new ones are for (they are constantly white))?

Could they be to show that I have VoLTE (SuperVoice) available?
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Old 11-09-2015, 12:03
GrannyGruntbuck
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They have now added about the SuperVoice for me too on my postcode if I put in that I have an S5 (like I do).

If I put in iPhone 6 or S6 it drops the message about the SuperVoice.
Same for me in Broadstairs.
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Old 11-09-2015, 12:05
moox
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Nice to see that Cornwall is finally getting a look-in, albeit a tiny amount.
I think Bodmin and Helston have had 4G for a couple of months - the coverage in Newquay (on 1800 I'm guessing) is new. Bodmin-ish also seems to be the area that VF and O2 have decided to start their 800MHz 4G in, for some reason

My postcode was "super voice coming soon" yesterday with the S5, now it's the "headline not used" one that mentions VoLTE instead

What's interesting is that 3 are claiming 4G800 coverage in an nearby area that is a notorious blackspot for every network and every technology (you can't get a signal on any of them)
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Old 11-09-2015, 12:17
tt1986
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I'm in Buckinghamshire, about 20 miles from central London. I have an unlocked iPhone 6 Plus (purchased from Apple) with a Three SIM only plan. Having just put my postcode in and selecting iPhone 6 Plus I get the following message:

Good. Great news! Your phone is compatible with our VoLTE network, so in most instances you can make calls, send texts and use the internet over our 4G network. And just so you know, indoor signal strength may vary.

I haven't noticed any improvement in signal strength but I haven't tried out whether I have VoLTE yet either.
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Old 11-09-2015, 12:29
Stereo Steve
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After you strip out all the none compatible/non approved phones what will be the actual percentage of three customers that can actually use this 800mhz 4g service? Is it a wise move to put all there effort into a tech not many of there users can benifit from? Surely the EE way would have been better, to build out the widely supported 1800mhz 4g then add 800mhz later when more phones are compatible.
Early days and besides I don't think 3 have enough 1800 to roll out a service like EE has. It's doubtful whether they have enough 800 in the long run but there is always the possibility of combining with O2's 800 which I think is 2x10 meaning they will have more than anyone else. Assuming that deal is allowed of course. If they were allowed to aquire more 1800 from EE then they might get somewhere close. What they won't have is any 2600. Not sure if they can re-farm 2100 to 4G though.

I think they are all going to end up fairly close by the end of 2016 in reality. I think 3 will go for max coverage of 800 but it may not be as fast as their 3G, which is pretty good anyway. What I want to know is when EE are starting with 800 and secondly, if VOD are going to take rural areas seriously this time around.
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Old 11-09-2015, 12:42
Gigabit
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It's interesting how Three is looking to become the reliable network (was always seen as the fast but unreliable network in the past) and Vodafone is looking to become the fast network (was alway seen as slow but very reliable in the past).

EE has always been speedy and still is and O2 is well, I have no idea what O2's strategy is.
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Old 11-09-2015, 12:49
Stereo Steve
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O2's strategy is to get bought by somebody so they can give up trying.
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Old 11-09-2015, 13:07
gbailey141
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Have just been into the Southampton Three store to get my 30 day rolling sim. Asked the manager about Super Voice and he seemed confident it would be all 3 Customers and not just ones with a 3 Purchased Handset. He told me it was just the S5 at present but it would roll out to iPhone next month. I guess it could be taken with a pinch of salt as we know how clueless some of these people are.
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Old 11-09-2015, 13:35
Stereo Steve
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Have just been into the Southampton Three store to get my 30 day rolling sim. Asked the manager about Super Voice and he seemed confident it would be all 3 Customers and not just ones with a 3 Purchased Handset. He told me it was just the S5 at present but it would roll out to iPhone next month. I guess it could be taken with a pinch of salt as we know how clueless some of these people are.
I reckon he's right. iPhone will be the next logical step as it's a closed OS so easy to iron out bugs . Maybe also some select Samsungs / HTC etc. No sense in just opening it up. It's a long game and they aren't going to bend to furious forum rantings.
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