Just spoke to Three and asked when the iPhone 6 update would be out for VOLTE.. I said I thought it was being released on the 21st October. He said that he didn't think it was being released until the end of the year as Apple have put the update back. Has anyone else heard the same?

The same reason that Vodafone's 2G network is so good. They were the first two mobile networks (O2 was previously BT Cellnet) & they even at one time used to compete on who had the better network coverage. They made a ton of money out of 2G calls & texts but didn't invest in 3G infrastructure.

I switched from Three to ee in London recently; it's chalk and cheese in terms of speed. Three is like a car you've hired that includes unlimited fuel but limits you to the slow lane whereas ee charges you for the fuel but allows you to speed away when you want.

Personally, I can't get the obsession all the Three customers have with VOLTE. The big differentiator in London at least with ee (although I believe Vodafone have it too now) is 4g+/LTE advanced. On Three I would switch between 3G & 4G around 50:50; in London at least on ee I now have 3G around 5% of the time, with 4G around 50% of the time and 4G+ the remaining 45%. I've only done 2 or 3 speed tests but have got 60mb/80mb down and 20/30mb up. The consistent problem I had on Three with the download being far slower than the upload has disappeared completely.

Depends what you meant by good - when most networks report voice call volume dropping fast, and O2 2G having a poor reputation for voice quality - is this a benefit or a millstone?

Plenty of places I've been recently have EE 2G and 3G coverage, have no O2 coverage, not even 2G.

Speedtests are all very nice and everything, but really I'm happy if the data service is reliable and fast, I class 10Mb/s fast and anything more than it doesn't really change the user experience of everyday use at all. I'd much rather have "use as much as you want", than capped and unnecessary high speeds which don't really make a difference in real world use.

Is the G4 a go? Do the "hacks" to get 800MHz work?

I'd love to know, if so I'd buy one, if I can get 800 and more importantly force 800, either on sim free or from Three.

I went into a Three store today to buy one, but when I tried the demo unit on display, the hidden menu doesn't have many options at all, looks like their firmware might have blocked out the band selections, there was no sim in so it's difficult to say for certain.

Even better if there's a way to get 800 working on a G3 that is non 3G branded, whether now or in November when they support branded G3's.

If you force 800MHz on an unlocked G4, what happens?

I forced on an unlocked G3 and it says data service blocked and you don't get anything. Haven't tried a G4, maybe somebody else has?

The hack still hasn't been published on XDA so as of now nope.

True, but in my experience Three was never consistently above 10mb. Maybe 4mb or so, but I've also had times where it's been on 4g and sub 1mb. Occasionally I'll stream 720p football on a mobile; with Three it was pot luck whether it would work well or not, but so far I've not had that problem on ee.

I think the hidden menu should be the same on the Three G4 as the unlocked G4. I also tried a G4 in a 3 store but had no issues with seeing the band selections and the other settings which are present in the unlocked G4 hidden menu.

Nothing, it just refuses to connect and shows no signal.

The G4 direct from Three is such a rip-off price. I'd do it if it wasn't £200 more than everywhere else

Outside big cities Three can be very patchy. If you select the VOLTE compatible layer on the Three coverage map the improvement over 3G is huge.

Several rural masts showing about 8 mile radius of coverage! Of course this will effect speeds but many people will actually get a signal where they had nothing.

Then again, judging by the feedback on here (http://blog.three.co.uk/2015/04/23/v...omes-to-three/) there's still some problems to iron out.

I doubt I will see VoLTE for a while, I always buy my phones unlocked and chop and change my provider.

Is this true? This would effectively limit VoLTE to being almost useless if true?

No it's bull... you are placing a call which is routed on the network, could be to a landline or anywhere. It is likely that both parties need to have it to get the higher call quality though I'm sure.

So if Three themselves don't understand this, how are we supposed to?

What percentage of Three's customer-base uses their handsets? I always saw Three as a bring-your-own-device network.

Hmmm I tried it in store but I didn't see the options I needed listed, lots of device tests, but not the menu items specified for LTE only or bands.

I'd also lose wireless charging if I upgraded too, unless I bought the extra case on top of the £200 inflated price on Three, you can see why I'm thinking twice and wondering if it's even worth it. I has to do the band selection and LTE only otherwise it's such a downgrade from the position I'm in with a G3 where I just can't access 800 / VoLTE but can select 3G / 4G

Is it possible that the in-store devices are locked down more than those purchased at retail level?

I had a Vodafone LG G4 and that had band selection.

Possibile I guess, that's why I'm hoping somebody who has one can tell me.

There is no sim card in the in store demo unit, but I took the sim card out of my G3 and rebooted to see if the menu items were only shown with a sim in, but no they are there regardless.

I'm sure over the next couple of months I'll find some solution, flash the G3 to Three ROM for the November activation of the G3 on 800 / VoLTE or get some confirmations about the G4 and pick one of those up...

Where is that quote from? Totally wrong anyway.
VoLTE is just voice over 4G. You can make or receive a call to/from anywhere.
Obviously the call quality is governed by the lowest quality connection so a VoLTE call to a land line or 2G is going to sound like land line or 2G quality.
To get HD voice currently you need to be connected to someone on the same network and either 3G, VoLTE or WiFi calling (assuming that particular network does HD over 3G).
The main advantages of VoLTE on Three and EE is that they just happen to be rolling out 800Mhz at full power at the same time.

For VO2 the main advantage will be HD on the same network.
Their 800 voice will actually be not quite as good coverage wise than their 3G900.

Oh and battery life is supposed to be much better on all networks but I think the jury is still out on that one......

High end pay as you go phones from networks directly have always been more than sim free because they have never wanted people to buy them they have always just wanted them to get them on contract instead.

And when Three does a good deal on PAYG (bearing in mind they're unlocked) my personal experience is that shop staff won't sell them on anything but a contract, and claim they have different stock and other excuses.