Three 'Feel at Home' Data Speeds

jaffboy151 · 06-05-2016, 11:12

What with the 1p per mb cost and plans coming along from other operators which already include 4g roaming, three at home is looking a bit naff nowadays, more often then not it barely works, restricting maps as the other poster is a big mistake, I don't go on holiday to use my phone too much but do hire cars alot and like to have Google maps as a backup, three let me down in Spain last May badly in this respect, but was better using a vpn when u returned in August.

InfamousTeal · 06-05-2016, 12:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_T4

I'm currently in the USA roaming on T-Mobile. The data speeds are so bad on my iPhone it barely loads. Loading Google maps is a nightmare and slow... So AT&T GoPhone SIM it is.

Is roaming on AT&T okay?

bikerlad · 06-05-2016, 13:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfamousTeal

Is roaming on AT&T okay?

Roaming on AT&T or T-Mobile using Feel at home is very slow I find.

jonmorris · 06-05-2016, 15:16

Every time you can, run the nPerf benchmark test. It's very good at testing a lot of real world usage scenarios.

Craig Arthur · 06-05-2016, 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonmorris

Clearly by next June, the neutrality rules will effectively force Three to stop throttling and blocking services..

Net neutrality laws came into force on 30th April according to the Register

Daveoc64 · 06-05-2016, 15:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonmorris

Clearly by next June, the neutrality rules will effectively force Three to stop throttling and blocking services

Like most net neutrality regulations around the world, there are exemptions for traffic management.

As Three is applying the restrictions to all services (of particular types) indiscriminately, they are not doing anything wrong under the rules.

InfamousTeal · 06-05-2016, 23:31

Hmm I'm planning on using Feel at Home for my trip to USA this summer, and was planning on getting the whole family sims for it. I know streaming doesn't work etc, but just even for whatsapp, facebook etc? I assume AT&T performs well for that kind of thing?

jonmorris · 07-05-2016, 00:53

The foreign network will likely be just fine. Do a speed test and it will look wonderful. It's the throttling that kills you.

heskethbang · 07-05-2016, 01:09

I've used feel at home on AT&T and T Mobile across 7 states during 2013-2015, from California to New York State. It's absolutely fine. Facebook, Maps, etc- no probs. Sending and receiving photos - all fine. It was an absolute godsend to be honest, and next time I go to the states I shall probably return to Three for this reason.
It's the only thing I'll miss about three, who I've just left due to their mistreatment of customers re: kicking them off old contracts and whacking their bills up by a huge chunk.

Mark_T4 · 07-05-2016, 01:30

http://i.imgur.com/gD0zRsT.jpg

This is at Epcot, pages take forever to load. Streaming is a no go as well as Apple Maps.

heskethbang · 07-05-2016, 01:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_T4

http://i.imgur.com/gD0zRsT.jpg

This is at Epcot, pages take forever to load. Streaming is a no go as well as Apple Maps.

streaming yes - have to say Apple maps were fine for me, though I have to admit given the choice I always found AT&T slower, so often took to manually selecting TMobile.

natbike · 07-05-2016, 02:04

I'm not against two tier systems. I just think they should be operated transparently. Any differences between your service and a standard unrestricted service should be clearly stated.

I quite like the idea of letting people collect emails/IMs even after their allowance expires.

They also need to remember that some customers will have a reasonable expectation of what service to expect. A full service ought to be available even if only at an additional cost. It's not fair to lock someone into a contract without telling them that they can only use their phone abroad for holiday (non-business) purposes.

Mark_T4 · 07-05-2016, 02:43

http://i.imgur.com/IBabCvQ.jpg

Performance on T-Mobile after manually selecting. Defiantly won't be sticking with this one.

sky0000547 · 07-05-2016, 07:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by heskethbang

I've used feel at home on AT&T and T Mobile across 7 states during 2013-2015, from California to New York State. It's absolutely fine. Facebook, Maps, etc- no probs. Sending and receiving photos - all fine. It was an absolute godsend to be honest, and next time I go to the states I shall probably return to Three for this reason.
It's the only thing I'll miss about three, who I've just left due to their mistreatment of customers re: kicking them off old contracts and whacking their bills up by a huge chunk.

This is the experience I had whether be in Florida, Neveda or California, it was fine for general surfing, Facebook and maps. Sending and receiving photos via Whatsapp or iMessage were fine too.

Actually it wasn't just US that was fine, I never had major issues in France, Spain and Hong Kong. Macau lack of 3G in some places had some issue though.

It was this Feel at Home that I left O2 to join Three but also their cheap monthly unlimited sim only plan tempted me.

jaffboy151 · 07-05-2016, 11:00

Does anyone have any experience of data roaming in Portugal on Vodafone or three? I'm off to lagos soon and will be without WiFi, last time I used three at home in Spain it was a bit pants without a Vpn, even then that slowed things down, I was hoping to use my Vodafone allowance instead, just not familiar with networks in Portugal or what speeds or coverage is available.

jonmorris · 07-05-2016, 11:15

Can't answer about coverage, but Vodafone has 4G roaming there. Three would only only have 3G.

lozzauk85 · 07-05-2016, 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaffboy151

Does anyone have any experience of data roaming in Portugal on Vodafone or three? I'm off to lagos soon and will be without WiFi, last time I used three at home in Spain it was a bit pants without a Vpn, even then that slowed things down, I was hoping to use my Vodafone allowance instead, just not familiar with networks in Portugal or what speeds or coverage is available.

Coverage in Lagos is good on all networks (Vodafone, NOS and MEO)
I guess Vodafone's 4G partner will be Vodafone.

Not tried in Portugal since I left Vodafone (now on EE, 4G roaming is on NOS) but the Eurotraveller experience in Spain was far better than that in the UK. I never saw below about 20Mbps and frequently up to around 100Mbps.

I don't think you'll have any problems.

Denco1 · 07-05-2016, 13:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_T4

http://i.imgur.com/IBabCvQ.jpg

Performance on T-Mobile after manually selecting. Defiantly won't be sticking with this one.

Which iPhone are you using? Any UK iPhone before the 6 won't fully support T-Mobiles 3G network, although those speeds are pretty atrocious regardless.

jaffboy151 · 07-05-2016, 13:40

Thanks Jon & iozza for the info, sounds like I'll be using my Vodafone sim which is good, saves me topping up the three sim and dodging annoying throttling.

lozzauk85 · 07-05-2016, 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaffboy151

Thanks Jon & iozza for the info, sounds like I'll be using my Vodafone sim which is good, saves me topping up the three sim and dodging annoying throttling.

I would. Portugal is not a feel at home country on three.
I tried the £5 a day euro pass a couple of years ago. It was OK but there's noticeable throttling. The £3 a day eurotraveller is a far better option.

Mark_T4 · 07-05-2016, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denco1

Which iPhone are you using? Any UK iPhone before the 6 won't fully support T-Mobiles 3G network, although those speeds are pretty atrocious regardless.

I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus. I have found T-Mobile no good whatsoever, phone calls okay but texts have been delayed and find that data drops and have to restart to get data back. AT&T has been a lot better it is good for calls and texts, sending the occasional iMessage or Whatsapp, checking Facebook anything else is a no go.

heskethbang · 07-05-2016, 17:50

One thing I did notice. When I did the 2014 road trip around the western US, it was in the cities where speed seemed the weakest, so I'm guessing contention/capacity might be an issue out there. Once you got out onto the interstates or the edges of the deserts there was a noticeable increase in throughput.

Mark C · 07-05-2016, 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_T4

I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus. I have found T-Mobile no good whatsoever, phone calls okay but texts have been delayed and find that data drops and have to restart to get data back. AT&T has been a lot better it is good for calls and texts, sending the occasional iMessage or Whatsapp, checking Facebook anything else is a no go.

I had no noticeable problems with my EE iphone6 roaming on a mixture of TM and AT&T
in Boston ( I had 4G in Boston), and New England in October, and the same for my wife on her Three iphone5C, on the same two networks. Nothing beyond a light amount of surfing to find local info, Whatsapp, FB, and my work email.
Didn't feel any different to the UK ( but that's all we ever use our phones for here though)

Ad13 · 10-05-2016, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfamousTeal

Is roaming on AT&T okay?

I too am in the US, Miami to be exact. T-Mobile is shockingly poor. The data connection drops and disconnects. By manually selecting AT&T, things are slightly more reliable but still very slow for anything other than basic browsing.

Ad13 · 10-05-2016, 19:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_T4

I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus. I have found T-Mobile no good whatsoever, phone calls okay but texts have been delayed and find that data drops and have to restart to get data back. AT&T has been a lot better it is good for calls and texts, sending the occasional iMessage or Whatsapp, checking Facebook anything else is a no go.

I've found this 100% exactly the same!

06-05-2016, 11:12	#426
jaffboy151 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Woore, Cheshire/Shropshire Posts: 1,675	What with the 1p per mb cost and plans coming along from other operators which already include 4g roaming, three at home is looking a bit naff nowadays, more often then not it barely works, restricting maps as the other poster is a big mistake, I don't go on holiday to use my phone too much but do hire cars alot and like to have Google maps as a backup, three let me down in Spain last May badly in this respect, but was better using a vpn when u returned in August.

06-05-2016, 12:55	#427
InfamousTeal Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 303	Quote: Originally Posted by Mark_T4 I'm currently in the USA roaming on T-Mobile. The data speeds are so bad on my iPhone it barely loads. Loading Google maps is a nightmare and slow... So AT&T GoPhone SIM it is. Is roaming on AT&T okay?

06-05-2016, 13:36	#428
bikerlad Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 391	Quote: Originally Posted by InfamousTeal Is roaming on AT&T okay? Roaming on AT&T or T-Mobile using Feel at home is very slow I find.

06-05-2016, 15:16	#429
jonmorris Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: a land filled with trolls Posts: 12,018	Every time you can, run the nPerf benchmark test. It's very good at testing a lot of real world usage scenarios.

06-05-2016, 15:27	#430
Craig Arthur Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Somewhere in Scotland Posts: 52	Quote: Originally Posted by jonmorris Clearly by next June, the neutrality rules will effectively force Three to stop throttling and blocking services.. Net neutrality laws came into force on 30th April according to the Register

06-05-2016, 15:54	#431
Daveoc64 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bristol (BBC1 West) Posts: 15,143	Quote: Originally Posted by jonmorris Clearly by next June, the neutrality rules will effectively force Three to stop throttling and blocking services Like most net neutrality regulations around the world, there are exemptions for traffic management. As Three is applying the restrictions to all services (of particular types) indiscriminately, they are not doing anything wrong under the rules.

06-05-2016, 23:31	#432
InfamousTeal Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 303	Hmm I'm planning on using Feel at Home for my trip to USA this summer, and was planning on getting the whole family sims for it. I know streaming doesn't work etc, but just even for whatsapp, facebook etc? I assume AT&T performs well for that kind of thing?

07-05-2016, 00:53	#433
jonmorris Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: a land filled with trolls Posts: 12,018	The foreign network will likely be just fine. Do a speed test and it will look wonderful. It's the throttling that kills you.

07-05-2016, 01:09	#434
heskethbang Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Greater Birmingham Posts: 3,906	I've used feel at home on AT&T and T Mobile across 7 states during 2013-2015, from California to New York State. It's absolutely fine. Facebook, Maps, etc- no probs. Sending and receiving photos - all fine. It was an absolute godsend to be honest, and next time I go to the states I shall probably return to Three for this reason. It's the only thing I'll miss about three, who I've just left due to their mistreatment of customers re: kicking them off old contracts and whacking their bills up by a huge chunk.

07-05-2016, 01:30	#435
Mark_T4 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 23	http://i.imgur.com/gD0zRsT.jpg This is at Epcot, pages take forever to load. Streaming is a no go as well as Apple Maps.

07-05-2016, 01:39	#436
heskethbang Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Greater Birmingham Posts: 3,906	Quote: Originally Posted by Mark_T4 http://i.imgur.com/gD0zRsT.jpg This is at Epcot, pages take forever to load. Streaming is a no go as well as Apple Maps. streaming yes - have to say Apple maps were fine for me, though I have to admit given the choice I always found AT&T slower, so often took to manually selecting TMobile.

07-05-2016, 02:04	#437
natbike Forum Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 475	I'm not against two tier systems. I just think they should be operated transparently. Any differences between your service and a standard unrestricted service should be clearly stated. I quite like the idea of letting people collect emails/IMs even after their allowance expires. They also need to remember that some customers will have a reasonable expectation of what service to expect. A full service ought to be available even if only at an additional cost. It's not fair to lock someone into a contract without telling them that they can only use their phone abroad for holiday (non-business) purposes.

07-05-2016, 02:43	#438
Mark_T4 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 23	http://i.imgur.com/IBabCvQ.jpg Performance on T-Mobile after manually selecting. Defiantly won't be sticking with this one.

07-05-2016, 07:19	#439
sky0000547 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sheffield Posts: 190	Quote: Originally Posted by heskethbang I've used feel at home on AT&T and T Mobile across 7 states during 2013-2015, from California to New York State. It's absolutely fine. Facebook, Maps, etc- no probs. Sending and receiving photos - all fine. It was an absolute godsend to be honest, and next time I go to the states I shall probably return to Three for this reason. It's the only thing I'll miss about three, who I've just left due to their mistreatment of customers re: kicking them off old contracts and whacking their bills up by a huge chunk. This is the experience I had whether be in Florida, Neveda or California, it was fine for general surfing, Facebook and maps. Sending and receiving photos via Whatsapp or iMessage were fine too. Actually it wasn't just US that was fine, I never had major issues in France, Spain and Hong Kong. Macau lack of 3G in some places had some issue though. It was this Feel at Home that I left O2 to join Three but also their cheap monthly unlimited sim only plan tempted me.

07-05-2016, 11:00	#440
jaffboy151 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Woore, Cheshire/Shropshire Posts: 1,675	Does anyone have any experience of data roaming in Portugal on Vodafone or three? I'm off to lagos soon and will be without WiFi, last time I used three at home in Spain it was a bit pants without a Vpn, even then that slowed things down, I was hoping to use my Vodafone allowance instead, just not familiar with networks in Portugal or what speeds or coverage is available.

07-05-2016, 11:15	#441
jonmorris Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: a land filled with trolls Posts: 12,018	Can't answer about coverage, but Vodafone has 4G roaming there. Three would only only have 3G.

07-05-2016, 11:32	#442
lozzauk85 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 104	Quote: Originally Posted by jaffboy151 Does anyone have any experience of data roaming in Portugal on Vodafone or three? I'm off to lagos soon and will be without WiFi, last time I used three at home in Spain it was a bit pants without a Vpn, even then that slowed things down, I was hoping to use my Vodafone allowance instead, just not familiar with networks in Portugal or what speeds or coverage is available. Coverage in Lagos is good on all networks (Vodafone, NOS and MEO) I guess Vodafone's 4G partner will be Vodafone. Not tried in Portugal since I left Vodafone (now on EE, 4G roaming is on NOS) but the Eurotraveller experience in Spain was far better than that in the UK. I never saw below about 20Mbps and frequently up to around 100Mbps. I don't think you'll have any problems.

07-05-2016, 13:25	#443
Denco1 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 983	Quote: Originally Posted by Mark_T4 http://i.imgur.com/IBabCvQ.jpg Performance on T-Mobile after manually selecting. Defiantly won't be sticking with this one. Which iPhone are you using? Any UK iPhone before the 6 won't fully support T-Mobiles 3G network, although those speeds are pretty atrocious regardless.

07-05-2016, 13:40	#444
jaffboy151 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Woore, Cheshire/Shropshire Posts: 1,675	Thanks Jon & iozza for the info, sounds like I'll be using my Vodafone sim which is good, saves me topping up the three sim and dodging annoying throttling.

07-05-2016, 14:33	#445
lozzauk85 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 104	Quote: Originally Posted by jaffboy151 Thanks Jon & iozza for the info, sounds like I'll be using my Vodafone sim which is good, saves me topping up the three sim and dodging annoying throttling. I would. Portugal is not a feel at home country on three. I tried the £5 a day euro pass a couple of years ago. It was OK but there's noticeable throttling. The £3 a day eurotraveller is a far better option.

DS Forums

Three 'Feel at Home' Data Speeds

07-05-2016, 14:37	#446
Mark_T4 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 23	Quote: Originally Posted by Denco1 Which iPhone are you using? Any UK iPhone before the 6 won't fully support T-Mobiles 3G network, although those speeds are pretty atrocious regardless. I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus. I have found T-Mobile no good whatsoever, phone calls okay but texts have been delayed and find that data drops and have to restart to get data back. AT&T has been a lot better it is good for calls and texts, sending the occasional iMessage or Whatsapp, checking Facebook anything else is a no go.

07-05-2016, 17:50	#447
heskethbang Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Greater Birmingham Posts: 3,906	One thing I did notice. When I did the 2014 road trip around the western US, it was in the cities where speed seemed the weakest, so I'm guessing contention/capacity might be an issue out there. Once you got out onto the interstates or the edges of the deserts there was a noticeable increase in throughput.

07-05-2016, 20:17	#448
Mark C Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Hampshire Posts: 8,102	Quote: Originally Posted by Mark_T4 I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus. I have found T-Mobile no good whatsoever, phone calls okay but texts have been delayed and find that data drops and have to restart to get data back. AT&T has been a lot better it is good for calls and texts, sending the occasional iMessage or Whatsapp, checking Facebook anything else is a no go. I had no noticeable problems with my EE iphone6 roaming on a mixture of TM and AT&T in Boston ( I had 4G in Boston), and New England in October, and the same for my wife on her Three iphone5C, on the same two networks. Nothing beyond a light amount of surfing to find local info, Whatsapp, FB, and my work email. Didn't feel any different to the UK ( but that's all we ever use our phones for here though)

10-05-2016, 19:27	#449
Ad13 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 73	Quote: Originally Posted by InfamousTeal Is roaming on AT&T okay? I too am in the US, Miami to be exact. T-Mobile is shockingly poor. The data connection drops and disconnects. By manually selecting AT&T, things are slightly more reliable but still very slow for anything other than basic browsing.

10-05-2016, 19:28	#450
Ad13 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 73	Quote: Originally Posted by Mark_T4 I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus. I have found T-Mobile no good whatsoever, phone calls okay but texts have been delayed and find that data drops and have to restart to get data back. AT&T has been a lot better it is good for calls and texts, sending the occasional iMessage or Whatsapp, checking Facebook anything else is a no go. I've found this 100% exactly the same!