Mobile Phone Networks, Upgrades etc

JohnBoyUK

I'm due my next mobile phone upgrade on T Mobile.  Thought I'd have a look for at the iPhone 4s.  Spoke to T Mobile Customer Services and was a little shocked at what they were offering me.
Now bearing in mind I've been with T Mobile for the best part of 15 years, you would have thought they'd give me a good deal but no so.

So on a £35pm 24 month contract, they want to charge me £219 for the 4s then I only get 600 mins, 500 txts and data capped at 500mb.
Now bearing in mind I'm currently paying the same, getting 900 mins, 1200 txts and UNLIMITED data, I think that takes the p1ss quite frankly.

Hung up in disgust.  Had a look around a few of the other networks and three offer what looks like an amazing deal in comparison...
On a similar £35pm 24 month contract, they want to charge £189 for the phone, then I'd get 2000 mins, 5000 txts and unlimited data.  So whats the catch?  Is the three network bad or something?  I've got my iPad 2 on a three connection and I've always had a fairly decent 3G signal literally wherever I've gone in the SE.

The price of the new phone doesnt really come into it as I'd sell my current phone through Muzuma Mobile and get over £100 for it but I cant understand why T Mobile is so much more expensive and not as much value for money as the three deal.

So what Network do you use?  If you're on the three network, do you recommend it?  Whats the call quality like, does the connection drop a lot etc?

Rizzo

I think there was a thread on here a while ago about mobile networks and 3 did not come out of it smelling of roses.

The question you should ask is whether you need all the minutes and texts they 'give' you? How much do you actually use. You might find you're better off buying the handset and going pay as you go.

Rizzo

Another thing, anyone else bugged by the Vodafone 'Freebies'? Since when does paying a fiver for something qualify as being free?

tangoflash

If you get a phone on 3 network, your conversations are limited to one word which you repeat over & over.................."hello?...............hello?..............Hello?. This is usually followed with dockers language.

Yes, they do some great deals but not much point when you can never get a signal.

Besides, why get an iphone 4? They look the same as the last one so nobody will know you're better than them. ;-)

JohnBoyUK

If you get a phone on 3 network, your conversations are limited to one word which you repeat over & over.................."hello?...............hello?..............Hello?. This is usually followed with dockers language.

Yes, they do some great deals but not much point when you can never get a signal.

Besides, why get an iphone 4? They look the same as the last one so nobody will know you're better than them. ;-)

So 3 havent improved then.  I'll be giving them a wide birth then.
I must admit, never had an iPhone before.  First contact with any Apple produce was my iPad2 and can see why they have a huge fan base but I'm not overly convinced with the 4s tbh.  I've always liked my HTC handsets and would be happy with another one.

tangoflash

There are some great sim only contracts out there, so although the initial outlay may be a bit more, it would probably work out alot cheaper to buy the handset and then get your contract seperately.

BDL

John, I have three contracts with Three and have had no problems.

Plus you get a great reception at the Valley ;-)

JohnBoyUK

John, I have three contracts with Three and have had no problems.

Plus you get a great reception at the Valley ;-)

Am getting the feeling 3 are very much like Marmite.  You either love them or hate them.

Friend Or Defoe

John

My mate recommend 3 and they were the cheapest so I went with them. I now longer talk to my mate. You get 0 reception abroad.

Regards

FOD.

Wilma

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2010/11/maximising-your-mobile-coverage/

Check with Three about coverage where you'll use your phone most (home, work etc.) before making a decision. Three have got better recently but still lag a long way behind the established networks.

ken from bexley

The new  4s is a stop gap phone till the apple iphone 5 gets released.

At least according to mac world.

The 4s  has apparently the new IOS 5 chip I am informed, with 200 alleged new features. Probably 199 you will never use?,....... or should I add that I will not.

The i4s chip is the dual core 5 chip boasting up to 2 times faster , and 7 times faster graphics.

You also will get  the 'i cloud 'and 1080HD video recording.

But of course here is the rub, with the 1 phone 5 pre launching before x mas your phone will not be the latest product before long from Apple.

However getting a good deal on the i phone 5 is going to be almost impossible knowing Apple as they do this every launch to ramp up the hype, and all these Apple geeks running around with there cash like Lemmings prepared to  claim the latest Apple bit of kit?. I know people at the BBC who could not wait a week, when the 4 came out and waited 6 hours to que up and pay £45 for the phone per month when they could have got the same deal for £25 through the bbc a week later.

I will wait, and have to suffer the humiliation of having my old i phone over Christmas,........ aint life a bitch?

In the meantime, the tarriffs , and bolt on's have gone up from the last time I bought, so  I may even get a pay as you go chip and stuff O2, and let people call me!

my old phone is worth £60 although only a year old, and O2 do not give you the partner rate any more but a cash back deal 3 months later. 

Personally speaking I would NOT bother with it all, but  having a mac it still just makes sense. well at least I tell myself that?

Kap10

To be fair to your provider, Apple control the deals that can be offered on their phones and prevent providers offering competitve / good deals regardless of time spent with them.

suzisausage

I think at the moment - definately over the last 6 months, I haven't spoken to a single person about their phone signal who hasn't had a problem. my mate has problems on 02 (iphone) making/receiving calls, getting cut off, not having signal. I have the same problem Orange (blackberry) where it cuts me off mid call, goes to sos, no signal when the phone hasn't even moved even just sitting on my sofa at home. brother o2 (iphone) also has no signal at random times and husband vodafone (iphone) often loses signal for no reason when i have full signal. I have a work vodaphone (iphone) which seems to be good the majority of the time but just loses battery ridiculously quickly.

It is completely random and signal generally for all networks has deteriorated over the past 6 months and for no clear reason.

Is it the phone or the network that is crap or a bit of both?

Plaaayer

I don't even bother using my O2 phone when I'm indoors because it just cuts off as soon as I answer it I stick with my work Vodafone one.

At times though the Vodafone one loses coverage and I have to switch it off and on again to sort it out.

CAFC, We hate Palace

I live in New Eltham and Ive been on o2, Vodafone and 3 over the past 3 years and found o2 to have the best call coverage but slow data speeds.Also in crowded areas data would grind to halt.

Vodafone we almost as good on calls but better data

Three are average on call signal and good on data speed.

I dont make that many calls so am happy with three (Currently using)

CAFC, We hate Palace

If you go down the SIM only route and arent put off my three this is a good deal, works out at ~£5.50 p/m

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/10-for-300mins-3000txts-1gb-internet-12month-three-quidco-54-54-1035643

AppyAddick

Any O2 customers, not sure if you have seen the compensation offer.

http://blog.o2.co.uk/home/network-updates/

cafc-4-life

Had a horrid time with T-Mobile, joined them in December 2010 on a £20pm contract, since then they have upped my contract price twice with just a letter of warning. Whilst also the customer service team did not insert my Direct debit details correctly for the first year after several calls each month I was being charged £4 extra each time to do it my a bank transfer. Including that I've had a fake voicemail on my phone for the past year of which as a touch screen phone it would sometime call it without my choice for me to put it down and be charged whilst they said they can't delete it. On top of all that I was given a phone what then stopped working in any sounds and inputs so I had to send it back under warranty for them to give me a brand new version of my current handset to now not be able to turn on unless I plug it in to a computer and crashes several times in a day. So yeah that's my terror story of T-Mobile, so if anyone can suggest a good network come November would be great, going to try and haggle T-Mobile but doubt that will go down much for how much it's hassled me.

BDL

Ignore what I say about Three, they are ok until something goes wrong and you want to talk to someone in the UK. None of the call centre staff in India will go off script and havent a clue if you have a problem they haven't prepared for!

Nightmare.

csr_cafc

BDL said:

Ignore what I say about Three, they are ok until something goes wrong and you want to talk to someone in the UK. None of the call centre staff in India will go off script and havent a clue if you have a problem they haven't prepared for!

Nightmare.

Its why i left them...its great when it works but the moment something goes wrong your essentially screwed.

best/cheapest way now is to go sim free- im paying vodafone £10.50 pm on a sim free 12month contract and get 600mins, unlimited txts and 500mb internet

their customer service that i have spoken to have all been in the UK and the network is so much better than 3 (for me anyway) but can get slow down at the valley

AppyAddick

BDL said:

Ignore what I say about Three, they are ok until something goes wrong and you want to talk to someone in the UK. None of the call centre staff in India will go off script and havent a clue if you have a problem they haven't prepared for!

Nightmare.

i had the same thing with mobile broadband coverage, the coverage checker says i have 5 bar coverage if they input my postcode but i actually have no coverage.

I asked them to tell me how much data i had used, when they told me i had used none they still stuck to the message that i have full signal. I refused to pay and asked them send an engineer to check.........I still had to pay up the contract!

Braziliance

Bump.

I'm looking at getting a phone for the first time on contract (behind the times)

Could anyone give me some pointers, bad experiences and good etc.

I can't decide between a HTC M8, iPhone 5s or Samsung Galaxy S5 (preferred atm)

I went on compare the market and all the best deals seem to be from sites that aren't as popular as Phones 4 u and Carphone Warehouse. The site in particular that seems to have some very good deals is 'mobile phones direct'. Has anyone bought their phone from this site and if so could you tell me how it went?

Also some info on which phone you think is best right now would be helpful too, cheers.

Uboat

HTC One M8, Carphone Warehouse, £28/month. Job done. You won't regret it.

Braziliance

Uboat said:

HTC One M8, Carphone Warehouse, £28/month. Job done. You won't regret it.

Looks a good deal that, I'm not sure if 1Gb is enough though, i've been looking at 2GB, also Carphone Warehouse insurance is a bit too much, 15 quid a month, most places I've searched charge 6-8 quid a month.

Shame though cause good deal and looks a smart phone. Found any faults with it yet?

cafcfan

Braziliance said:

Uboat said:

HTC One M8, Carphone Warehouse, £28/month. Job done. You won't regret it.

Carphone Warehouse insurance is a bit too much, 15 quid a month, most places I've searched charge 6-8 quid a month.

Mobile phone insurance is a rip-off. In any event it has a terrible reputation for not paying out. thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2306417/Phone-stolen-Forget-insurance-unless-youve-beaten-up.html
fca.org.uk/news/mobile-phone-insurance-review

Also there have been A LOT of fake insurers selling non-existant insurance policies on phones. For some reason a lot of them seem to have been based in Swansea.

fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/common-scams/insurance-and-warranty-schemes

southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/court-deny-allege-mobile-phone-scam/story-18955781-detail/story.html

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8632325.stm

Instead, you can get, say, £2000 of personal possessions "all risks" on your household insurance for maybe £40 a year. You may even be covered already. That protects your phone and other stuff worldwide. With some insurers you don't even have to list the separate items unless they are over a certain value.
Two words of caution: First, can you afford to buy a replacement phone yourself? Because it will take a little while for your claim to be dealt with to reimburse you. Second, check with your network provider regarding your contract because you don't want to end up in a situation where you have no phone but are still obliged to pay monthly contract bills for two years, so find out what happens about a replacement SIM, etc.

Braziliance

cafcfan said:

Braziliance said:

Uboat said:

HTC One M8, Carphone Warehouse, £28/month. Job done. You won't regret it.

Carphone Warehouse insurance is a bit too much, 15 quid a month, most places I've searched charge 6-8 quid a month.

Mobile phone insurance is a rip-off. In any event it has a terrible reputation for not paying out. thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2306417/Phone-stolen-Forget-insurance-unless-youve-beaten-up.html
fca.org.uk/news/mobile-phone-insurance-review

Also there have been A LOT of fake insurers selling non-existant insurance policies on phones. For some reason a lot of them seem to have been based in Swansea.

fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/common-scams/insurance-and-warranty-schemes

southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/court-deny-allege-mobile-phone-scam/story-18955781-detail/story.html

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8632325.stm

Instead, you can get, say, £2000 of personal possessions "all risks" on your household insurance for maybe £40 a year. You may even be covered already. That protects your phone and other stuff worldwide. With some insurers you don't even have to list the separate items unless they are over a certain value.
Two words of caution: First, can you afford to buy a replacement phone yourself? Because it will take a little while for your claim to be dealt with to reimburse you. Second, check with your network provider regarding your contract because you don't want to end up in a situation where you have no phone but are still obliged to pay monthly contract bills for two years, so find out what happens about a replacement SIM, etc.

Cheers for the info. I'm pretty reluctant as it is to go for insurance. I've never lost or broke a phone in my life. Sods law means I will if I don't get the phone insured now.

I'll check about the insurance stuff later, not sure on that. If not that sounds a good idea

kings hill addick

Braziliance said:

cafcfan said:

Braziliance said:

Uboat said:

HTC One M8, Carphone Warehouse, £28/month. Job done. You won't regret it.

Carphone Warehouse insurance is a bit too much, 15 quid a month, most places I've searched charge 6-8 quid a month.

Mobile phone insurance is a rip-off. In any event it has a terrible reputation for not paying out. thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2306417/Phone-stolen-Forget-insurance-unless-youve-beaten-up.html
fca.org.uk/news/mobile-phone-insurance-review

Also there have been A LOT of fake insurers selling non-existant insurance policies on phones. For some reason a lot of them seem to have been based in Swansea.

fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/common-scams/insurance-and-warranty-schemes

southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/court-deny-allege-mobile-phone-scam/story-18955781-detail/story.html

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8632325.stm

Instead, you can get, say, £2000 of personal possessions "all risks" on your household insurance for maybe £40 a year. You may even be covered already. That protects your phone and other stuff worldwide. With some insurers you don't even have to list the separate items unless they are over a certain value.
Two words of caution: First, can you afford to buy a replacement phone yourself? Because it will take a little while for your claim to be dealt with to reimburse you. Second, check with your network provider regarding your contract because you don't want to end up in a situation where you have no phone but are still obliged to pay monthly contract bills for two years, so find out what happens about a replacement SIM, etc.

Cheers for the info. I'm pretty reluctant as it is to go for insurance. I've never lost or broke a phone in my life. Sods law means I will if I don't get the phone insured now.

I'll check about the insurance stuff later, not sure on that. If not that sounds a good idea

You will need to call the insurance company and advise them if it's a high value phone. It shouldn't affect the premium but they need to list it on the policy.

cafcnick1992

I'd recommend three to anyone. No signal problems anywhere I've been, incredibly quick 4G and truly unlimited data.

Btw you can't go wrong with the HTC one or the galaxy S5. Both terrific handsets

Talal

Just wanted to ask something here as I'm sure people will know...

My contract is up on the 22nd Jan and I'd like to try out a new provider. I have to give 30 days notice to o2 and get a PAC code (which I think is valid for 30 days), but at what point do I sign up to the new provider? Is it as soon as I've given the notice or do I wait until nearer the end?
Thanks

Covered End

Talal said:

Just wanted to ask something here as I'm sure people will know...

My contract is up on the 22nd Jan and I'd like to try out a new provider. I have to give 30 days notice to o2 and get a PAC code (which I think is valid for 30 days), but at what point do I sign up to the new provider? Is it as soon as I've given the notice or do I wait until nearer the end?
Thanks

If you sign up now you'll being paying 2 contracts for a month.

Oh_Yoni_Boy

Talal said:

Just wanted to ask something here as I'm sure people will know...

My contract is up on the 22nd Jan and I'd like to try out a new provider. I have to give 30 days notice to o2 and get a PAC code (which I think is valid for 30 days), but at what point do I sign up to the new provider? Is it as soon as I've given the notice or do I wait until nearer the end?
Thanks

Best thing to do is time it so that they overlap for a week or so - to give your provider a chance to move your current number to your new SIM before it's cancelled. It shouldn't be too difficult to work it out that way - you'll know in advance how long it'll take to deliver the new phone and the date your current contract ends.

In short, check the delivery times of the phone you want before you cancel the contract. Feel free to message me if you want as I went through all this switching contracts business last week.