3 Mobile (Reception)

martin_donegan1 · 01-05-2016, 00:14

Hey Everyone

My next post comes about 3 Mobile, generally about their reception but im going to add a few more points in too!

I joined 3 back in January and it was a disaster from day 1.

I was greeted by Laura in store who I purely went to see about my non-threeUK mobile as I was having issues with the handset and hoped for some technical knowledge.

Laura was very quick in asking how long I had left on the contract, to which I stated "1 year" and due to this, was not looking for a new contract, she then told me she could offer me a buyout option.

I said super, if I can get a new phone and you can end my current contract, that's great!

I walked away with a new iPhone 5s and thought nothing more of it.

After a week I had terrible service, baring in mind, Laura had to perform a coverage check as this was "company policy" and I have "fantastic coverage indoors and outdoors", which actually led to constant "No Service" or one bar no matter where I was, at home, it was constantly "No Service".

I phoned 3 who sent me a free home signal booster which don't get me wrong, works a treat! but I also mentioned about the contract buy out which I was promised only to be told "sorry sir, 3 don't offer contract buy outs",

I visited Manchester city centre to have "No Service", 3 blamed Apple and Apple blamed 3, it led to Apple replacing the handset and 3 replacing the sim which made no difference at all.

I phoned 3 to be constantly cut off due to no service, they finally said that 4G Super Voice is likely to work but is not compatible on iPhone 5s so I would need to upgrade to an iPhone 6 which they would let me do, but not before blackmailing me with a £576 fee to end the contract, I protested that this was not my fault so 3 should be doing what they can at all costs to rectify their poor service, it made no difference.

After 13 phone calls, I had lost my patience keep explaining the situation and said I want to speak to your manager (im at home now by the way) after a further one hour I was put through to the Customer Excellence Team, who to be fair, were amazing, I told him everything from day one to present and said I've had enough, I want to leave 3 so YOUR options are to end my contract or you wont receive another penny from me, as per your terms and conditions, you provide me a service and I need to pay you, your not providing the service so the contract is void, and after a bit of arguing, he said I could leave the contract fee-free.

My advice is if your thinking of joining 3, be careful, if your already with them, and have these issues, get through to Customer Excellence and state your point (they're all British by the way in the least discriminative way), it's a shame they're not customer service!

I have just purchased a new phone and gone to BT, who are offering me Unlim mins, unlim txts, 20GB data and a £35 iTunes gift card for £20 per month.

It's down to who you get through to and about stating your case and not backing down.

Good luck

wilt · 01-05-2016, 00:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin_donegan1

I was greeted by Laura in store who I purely went to see about my non-threeUK mobile as I was having issues with the handset and hoped for some technical knowledge.

But...why?

Speaking to a sales rep for another network for help with your phone was perhaps the worst option.

Everything Goes · 01-05-2016, 00:54

That would be Three's Executive Office in Glasgow. You have practically no chance of speaking to them unless things have gone spectacularly wrong. Ive spoke to them once back in 2003. Its a bit like finding the A Team lol

Gigabit · 01-05-2016, 11:41

Are they different to the Customer Relations team in Glasgow?

Carl_Boys · 01-05-2016, 23:10

My signal with three is great in all places with 3. I get 3G in places where other people get edge. I'm happy but ee is a better network and bt mobile is the better sim only option. What network was you with before before joining three with the problems. Also going into a three store with phone issues was always goijg to be a sales upgrade. Not helping you ha

Orbitalzone · 02-05-2016, 10:08

Hmm, it's like going in to a Ford garage and speak to a salesman about your troublesome Mini and end up buying a Ford.

So did Three buy out the previous contract and if not, what happened to that?

Hopefully you've learnt a lesson, don't be suckered in by a charming sales lady!

Gigabit · 02-05-2016, 17:47

Three can buy out contracts in store?

d123 · 02-05-2016, 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigabit

Three can buy out contracts in store?

Not that I've ever heard of.

Gigabit · 02-05-2016, 18:31

I would have thought (if it's anything like Vodafone) that that would all be left to the retentions team.

preecey · 02-05-2016, 20:12

Hmm, something's not quite right. You say you've gone to BT, surely your signal with them must be bad as well?

BT uses EE, who have a network sharing arrangement with Three called MBNL. They only share each other's 3G networks however, not 2G or 4G. So if you're getting 3G coverage right now from BT, then you must have also had 3G coverage from Three in similar places.

The MBNL arrangement applies to the vast majority of Three/EE masts.

Apologies for sounding cynical, but your last sentences sound like an advert for BT Mobile. It's great that you've found a network that works for you, but I have my doubts whether this story is legit and is more of a carefully placed ad on behalf of BT Mobile.

de525ma · 03-05-2016, 02:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by preecey

Hmm, something's not quite right. You say you've gone to BT, surely your signal with them must be bad as well?

BT uses EE, who have a network sharing arrangement with Three called MBNL. They only share each other's 3G networks however, not 2G or 4G. So if you're getting 3G coverage right now from BT, then you must have also had 3G coverage from Three in similar places.

The MBNL arrangement applies to the vast majority of Three/EE masts.

Apologies for sounding cynical, but your last sentences sound like an advert for BT Mobile. It's great that you've found a network that works for you, but I have my doubts whether this story is legit and is more of a carefully placed ad on behalf of BT Mobile.

Meh. Perhaps BT provide the op with 2g service at least for calls. There's a lot of ex Orange 2g and 3g masts in rural areas that 3 have no access to.

biggyt · 03-05-2016, 08:04

I get ee 2g backup for calls and texts and I am a 3 customer

jaffboy151 · 03-05-2016, 22:43

If the O.P is in an area simular to mine then comparing three and EE (BT) coverage is of little relevance now, 2g backup on Three is a distinct memory for most and although they do share 3g networks via the mbnl agreement, this has never included the former orange part of EE's network, only T Mobile and three, as a result particularly in my County area EE customers have a choice of additional legacy 2g orange masts or upgraded orange masts which provide 2g/4g but often no 3g,

hammy_y · 04-05-2016, 00:28

Bit of a shame then that Manchester city centre only has 2G and Orange 3G masts.

de525ma · 04-05-2016, 00:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggyt

I get ee 2g backup for calls and texts and I am a 3 customer

No, you don't. You get access to the ex-Orange 2G masts only, and even then only in certain areas.

de525ma · 04-05-2016, 00:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaffboy151

If the O.P is in an area simular to mine then comparing three and EE (BT) coverage is of little relevance now, 2g backup on Three is a distinct memory for most and although they do share 3g networks via the mbnl agreement, this has never included the former orange part of EE's network, only T Mobile and three, as a result particularly in my County area EE customers have a choice of additional legacy 2g orange masts or upgraded orange masts which provide 2g/4g but often no 3g,

All remaining Orange sites will be upgraded eventually and they are usually brought into MBNL at the same time.

jaffboy151 · 04-05-2016, 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by de525ma

All remaining Orange sites will be upgraded eventually and they are usually brought into MBNL at the same time.

That claim has been put around for a few years now, very few have been upgraded and integrated in recent months. If any,
It seems that although the existing mbnl arrangement remains in place that EE has no plans to add masts to it while its little partner has big ideas of grandeur.

retrodj · 04-05-2016, 11:02

I've been with 3 for a few years now. Originally I was with 02 on PAYG. However, I decided to bite the bullet and get a decent phone on contract. Back then it was the Galaxy S3, and I got my wife one as well at the same time. We had no issues with the signal and had unlimited data for a nice £23 a month.
After we both upgraded in June last year everything was fine until August. (no longer on unlimited data though) Our signal quality diminished greatly. So much so, I think from September to January I must have contacted 3 atleast 6 or 7 times to try and get it resolved. I knew it wasn't my phone as my wife was having the same call quality issues outdoors as well and her phone is different to mine. It was ok in some parts of the town and our part of the town where we live it was ridiculous. I had line rental free for some months and half price for others whilst they tried to fix the issue.. (which I found out was that one of the masts was down and they had no fix date so all traffic was going through the other mast which, in turn was causing the signal quality to drop consistantly at times).

Eventually I spoke with someone in Glasgow for the last time. I was ready to cancel my contract. I was given the cost to cancel early due to the ongoing problems.. basically just to pay the remaining price of the phone which I think was £120 quid or something. However, If I cancelled and went elsewhere, I would probably have had the same issues with another network due to it being the mast.

So, the friendly chap in the customer relations said he could reduce my allowance from unlimited minutes to 300 and keep the 1gb data and I would only pay £16 a month (£19 for my wife) instead of £27 for the remainder of my contract. I decided to stay with them, as apart from the issues late last year in to this year, I've not had many problems using their network at all. I also hoped the signal would be fixed and I could pay less. Lo and behold just a few weeks after I was able to make calls and hear the other person fine. Haven't had any issues since..

I do think 3 have got a lot more expensive over the last couple of years.

de525ma · 04-05-2016, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaffboy151

That claim has been put around for a few years now, very few have been upgraded and integrated in recent months. If any,
It seems that although the existing mbnl arrangement remains in place that EE has no plans to add masts to it while its little partner has big ideas of grandeur.

2 ex-Orange masts in my area have been upgraded to 4G in the last 2 months and 3 added to them. It's still happening.

Stereo Steve · 04-05-2016, 13:56

Bit odd to pop up on a forum, bad mouth one network and then promote another. Then not reply in any way to the thread. Bit odd that. Bit odd.

Almost like it's a load of made up BS.

jonmorris · 04-05-2016, 15:08

Yes, I think it's a clever way to big up BT. It also needs an answer to the question of what happened to the original one year contract that Three didn't take over.

I assume BT didn't either!

ianradioian · 06-05-2016, 09:50

I've gone with Three again for the 5th year. Here in Cjheltenham and the Cotswolds it's a good signal and 4G almost constantly now. Last year the phone went between H+, 3G and 4G constantly. However I've noticed the signal strength has dropped to 1 or 2 bars though still connects fine.
Speed varies a bit here and there.

DevonBloke · 06-05-2016, 14:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonmorris

Yes, I think it's a clever way to big up BT. It also needs an answer to the question of what happened to the original one year contract that Three didn't take over.

I assume BT didn't either!

Kind of but I don't think it's that clever at all Jon.
The main point where the BS meter goes off the scale is the SIM was clearly working albeit with a poor macro signal but a very good femto signal but somehow no service in Manchester city centre??
Yeah right!
If you are going to make up a story you have to know your facts and make sure everything fits!

mrgs12 · 08-05-2016, 08:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianradioian

I've gone with Three again for the 5th year. Here in Cjheltenham and the Cotswolds it's a good signal and 4G almost constantly now. Last year the phone went between H+, 3G and 4G constantly. However I've noticed the signal strength has dropped to 1 or 2 bars though still connects fine.
Speed varies a bit here and there.

You can't get 3 in Whinchombe and lot of that Cotswold area, no 4g in Cirencester. In Cheltenham of course but very patchy elsewhere. Nothing for Painswick Cranham Sheepcombe areas.

01-05-2016, 00:14	#1
martin_donegan1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 2	3 Mobile (Reception) Hey Everyone My next post comes about 3 Mobile, generally about their reception but im going to add a few more points in too! I joined 3 back in January and it was a disaster from day 1. I was greeted by Laura in store who I purely went to see about my non-threeUK mobile as I was having issues with the handset and hoped for some technical knowledge. Laura was very quick in asking how long I had left on the contract, to which I stated "1 year" and due to this, was not looking for a new contract, she then told me she could offer me a buyout option. I said super, if I can get a new phone and you can end my current contract, that's great! I walked away with a new iPhone 5s and thought nothing more of it. After a week I had terrible service, baring in mind, Laura had to perform a coverage check as this was "company policy" and I have "fantastic coverage indoors and outdoors", which actually led to constant "No Service" or one bar no matter where I was, at home, it was constantly "No Service". I phoned 3 who sent me a free home signal booster which don't get me wrong, works a treat! but I also mentioned about the contract buy out which I was promised only to be told "sorry sir, 3 don't offer contract buy outs", I visited Manchester city centre to have "No Service", 3 blamed Apple and Apple blamed 3, it led to Apple replacing the handset and 3 replacing the sim which made no difference at all. I phoned 3 to be constantly cut off due to no service, they finally said that 4G Super Voice is likely to work but is not compatible on iPhone 5s so I would need to upgrade to an iPhone 6 which they would let me do, but not before blackmailing me with a £576 fee to end the contract, I protested that this was not my fault so 3 should be doing what they can at all costs to rectify their poor service, it made no difference. After 13 phone calls, I had lost my patience keep explaining the situation and said I want to speak to your manager (im at home now by the way) after a further one hour I was put through to the Customer Excellence Team, who to be fair, were amazing, I told him everything from day one to present and said I've had enough, I want to leave 3 so YOUR options are to end my contract or you wont receive another penny from me, as per your terms and conditions, you provide me a service and I need to pay you, your not providing the service so the contract is void, and after a bit of arguing, he said I could leave the contract fee-free. My advice is if your thinking of joining 3, be careful, if your already with them, and have these issues, get through to Customer Excellence and state your point (they're all British by the way in the least discriminative way), it's a shame they're not customer service! I have just purchased a new phone and gone to BT, who are offering me Unlim mins, unlim txts, 20GB data and a £35 iTunes gift card for £20 per month. It's down to who you get through to and about stating your case and not backing down. Good luck

01-05-2016, 00:44	#2
wilt Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Potterspury Posts: 930	Quote: Originally Posted by martin_donegan1 I was greeted by Laura in store who I purely went to see about my non-threeUK mobile as I was having issues with the handset and hoped for some technical knowledge. But...why? Speaking to a sales rep for another network for help with your phone was perhaps the worst option.

01-05-2016, 00:54	#3
Everything Goes Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In the future.... Posts: 11,259	That would be Three's Executive Office in Glasgow. You have practically no chance of speaking to them unless things have gone spectacularly wrong. Ive spoke to them once back in 2003. Its a bit like finding the A Team lol

01-05-2016, 11:41	#4
Gigabit Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 2,887	Are they different to the Customer Relations team in Glasgow?

01-05-2016, 23:10	#5
Carl_Boys Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 164	My signal with three is great in all places with 3. I get 3G in places where other people get edge. I'm happy but ee is a better network and bt mobile is the better sim only option. What network was you with before before joining three with the problems. Also going into a three store with phone issues was always goijg to be a sales upgrade. Not helping you ha

02-05-2016, 10:08	#6
Orbitalzone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Sussex Posts: 12,173	Hmm, it's like going in to a Ford garage and speak to a salesman about your troublesome Mini and end up buying a Ford. So did Three buy out the previous contract and if not, what happened to that? Hopefully you've learnt a lesson, don't be suckered in by a charming sales lady!

02-05-2016, 17:47	#7
Gigabit Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 2,887	Three can buy out contracts in store?

02-05-2016, 17:58	#8
d123 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,993	Quote: Originally Posted by Gigabit Three can buy out contracts in store? Not that I've ever heard of.

02-05-2016, 18:31	#9
Gigabit Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 2,887	I would have thought (if it's anything like Vodafone) that that would all be left to the retentions team.

02-05-2016, 20:12	#10
preecey Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swansea, Wales Posts: 146	Hmm, something's not quite right. You say you've gone to BT, surely your signal with them must be bad as well? BT uses EE, who have a network sharing arrangement with Three called MBNL. They only share each other's 3G networks however, not 2G or 4G. So if you're getting 3G coverage right now from BT, then you must have also had 3G coverage from Three in similar places. The MBNL arrangement applies to the vast majority of Three/EE masts. Apologies for sounding cynical, but your last sentences sound like an advert for BT Mobile. It's great that you've found a network that works for you, but I have my doubts whether this story is legit and is more of a carefully placed ad on behalf of BT Mobile.

03-05-2016, 02:23	#11
de525ma Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 787	Quote: Originally Posted by preecey Hmm, something's not quite right. You say you've gone to BT, surely your signal with them must be bad as well? BT uses EE, who have a network sharing arrangement with Three called MBNL. They only share each other's 3G networks however, not 2G or 4G. So if you're getting 3G coverage right now from BT, then you must have also had 3G coverage from Three in similar places. The MBNL arrangement applies to the vast majority of Three/EE masts. Apologies for sounding cynical, but your last sentences sound like an advert for BT Mobile. It's great that you've found a network that works for you, but I have my doubts whether this story is legit and is more of a carefully placed ad on behalf of BT Mobile. Meh. Perhaps BT provide the op with 2g service at least for calls. There's a lot of ex Orange 2g and 3g masts in rural areas that 3 have no access to.

03-05-2016, 08:04	#12
biggyt Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 345	I get ee 2g backup for calls and texts and I am a 3 customer

03-05-2016, 22:43	#13
jaffboy151 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Woore, Cheshire/Shropshire Posts: 1,675	If the O.P is in an area simular to mine then comparing three and EE (BT) coverage is of little relevance now, 2g backup on Three is a distinct memory for most and although they do share 3g networks via the mbnl agreement, this has never included the former orange part of EE's network, only T Mobile and three, as a result particularly in my County area EE customers have a choice of additional legacy 2g orange masts or upgraded orange masts which provide 2g/4g but often no 3g,

04-05-2016, 00:28	#14
hammy_y Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Leicester Posts: 203	Bit of a shame then that Manchester city centre only has 2G and Orange 3G masts.

04-05-2016, 00:46	#15
de525ma Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 787	Quote: Originally Posted by biggyt I get ee 2g backup for calls and texts and I am a 3 customer No, you don't. You get access to the ex-Orange 2G masts only, and even then only in certain areas.

04-05-2016, 00:49	#16
de525ma Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 787	Quote: Originally Posted by jaffboy151 If the O.P is in an area simular to mine then comparing three and EE (BT) coverage is of little relevance now, 2g backup on Three is a distinct memory for most and although they do share 3g networks via the mbnl agreement, this has never included the former orange part of EE's network, only T Mobile and three, as a result particularly in my County area EE customers have a choice of additional legacy 2g orange masts or upgraded orange masts which provide 2g/4g but often no 3g, All remaining Orange sites will be upgraded eventually and they are usually brought into MBNL at the same time.

04-05-2016, 08:16	#17
jaffboy151 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Woore, Cheshire/Shropshire Posts: 1,675	Quote: Originally Posted by de525ma All remaining Orange sites will be upgraded eventually and they are usually brought into MBNL at the same time. That claim has been put around for a few years now, very few have been upgraded and integrated in recent months. If any, It seems that although the existing mbnl arrangement remains in place that EE has no plans to add masts to it while its little partner has big ideas of grandeur.

04-05-2016, 11:02	#18
retrodj Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Up North Posts: 125	I've been with 3 for a few years now. Originally I was with 02 on PAYG. However, I decided to bite the bullet and get a decent phone on contract. Back then it was the Galaxy S3, and I got my wife one as well at the same time. We had no issues with the signal and had unlimited data for a nice £23 a month. After we both upgraded in June last year everything was fine until August. (no longer on unlimited data though) Our signal quality diminished greatly. So much so, I think from September to January I must have contacted 3 atleast 6 or 7 times to try and get it resolved. I knew it wasn't my phone as my wife was having the same call quality issues outdoors as well and her phone is different to mine. It was ok in some parts of the town and our part of the town where we live it was ridiculous. I had line rental free for some months and half price for others whilst they tried to fix the issue.. (which I found out was that one of the masts was down and they had no fix date so all traffic was going through the other mast which, in turn was causing the signal quality to drop consistantly at times). Eventually I spoke with someone in Glasgow for the last time. I was ready to cancel my contract. I was given the cost to cancel early due to the ongoing problems.. basically just to pay the remaining price of the phone which I think was £120 quid or something. However, If I cancelled and went elsewhere, I would probably have had the same issues with another network due to it being the mast. So, the friendly chap in the customer relations said he could reduce my allowance from unlimited minutes to 300 and keep the 1gb data and I would only pay £16 a month (£19 for my wife) instead of £27 for the remainder of my contract. I decided to stay with them, as apart from the issues late last year in to this year, I've not had many problems using their network at all. I also hoped the signal would be fixed and I could pay less. Lo and behold just a few weeks after I was able to make calls and hear the other person fine. Haven't had any issues since.. I do think 3 have got a lot more expensive over the last couple of years.

04-05-2016, 13:46	#19
de525ma Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 787	Quote: Originally Posted by jaffboy151 That claim has been put around for a few years now, very few have been upgraded and integrated in recent months. If any, It seems that although the existing mbnl arrangement remains in place that EE has no plans to add masts to it while its little partner has big ideas of grandeur. 2 ex-Orange masts in my area have been upgraded to 4G in the last 2 months and 3 added to them. It's still happening.

04-05-2016, 13:56	#20
Stereo Steve Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,378	Bit odd to pop up on a forum, bad mouth one network and then promote another. Then not reply in any way to the thread. Bit odd that. Bit odd. Almost like it's a load of made up BS.

04-05-2016, 15:08	#21
jonmorris Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: a land filled with trolls Posts: 12,018	Yes, I think it's a clever way to big up BT. It also needs an answer to the question of what happened to the original one year contract that Three didn't take over. I assume BT didn't either!

DS Forums

3 Mobile (Reception)

06-05-2016, 09:50	#22
ianradioian Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 24,347	I've gone with Three again for the 5th year. Here in Cjheltenham and the Cotswolds it's a good signal and 4G almost constantly now. Last year the phone went between H+, 3G and 4G constantly. However I've noticed the signal strength has dropped to 1 or 2 bars though still connects fine. Speed varies a bit here and there.

06-05-2016, 14:26	#23
DevonBloke Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Totnes, Devon Posts: 6,694	Quote: Originally Posted by jonmorris Yes, I think it's a clever way to big up BT. It also needs an answer to the question of what happened to the original one year contract that Three didn't take over. I assume BT didn't either! Kind of but I don't think it's that clever at all Jon. The main point where the BS meter goes off the scale is the SIM was clearly working albeit with a poor macro signal but a very good femto signal but somehow no service in Manchester city centre?? Yeah right! If you are going to make up a story you have to know your facts and make sure everything fits!

08-05-2016, 08:25	#24
mrgs12 Forum Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 93	Quote: Originally Posted by ianradioian I've gone with Three again for the 5th year. Here in Cjheltenham and the Cotswolds it's a good signal and 4G almost constantly now. Last year the phone went between H+, 3G and 4G constantly. However I've noticed the signal strength has dropped to 1 or 2 bars though still connects fine. Speed varies a bit here and there. You can't get 3 in Whinchombe and lot of that Cotswold area, no 4g in Cirencester. In Cheltenham of course but very patchy elsewhere. Nothing for Painswick Cranham Sheepcombe areas.