Moving networks

wildest_jjk · 25 May 2013 at 01:05

Hi guys,

I'm currently with O2 and have an iPhone 5 but am looking to change my sim only contract. My current allowance gives me 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500 MB data which includes tethering. This costs £11.50 a month.

I am basically looking for a one month rolling sim only contract that gives me more minutes and data. The reason I want a one month contract is because I want the flexibility with being able to leave at any time. This is due to the introduction of 4G by some new networks over the coming months. I do not need 4G currently however.

One tariff I was looking at is this:

The One Plan 1 month SIM.

All-you-can-eat data
2000 minutes
5000 texts
5000 Three-to-Three minutes

It's £25 a month and with three. I have no idea what their coverage is like though etc. What do you guys think? Any other recommendations?

Thanks

Fallen god · 25 May 2013 at 02:51

Firstly 4g on your iPhone will only work on 2600mhz which is only going to be on EE and Three so your options for that are limited.

I current use the 600 unlimted with Three, I find I normally use 500mins so its about right, not sure if you would use all 2000mintues. Three is going to offer 4g for no added cost so I think you might be better off just getting a 12 month deal, but firstly just get a sim card and test it and see how it is. They normally ahve decent amount from quidco too.

Ryan-3 · 25 May 2013 at 09:15

For me, the all you can eat data and free 4G when it comes (and their 3G is FAST anyway) is what made me go with Three. I barely use any of the minutes, but a lot of data and texts.

So far, my signal has improved for almost everywhere.

wildest_jjk · 25 May 2013 at 12:37

So it probably is sounding like three would be the best network to go for?

The chance to switch at any point and the option to try their 4G for free when its released sounds pretty tempting. The thing I am worried about currently is their network coverage.

Thanks

thep02 · 25 May 2013 at 13:37

If you're gona buy the sim online go via topcashback and get even more benefit from the sim, I favour 3 their uncapped speeds are great I get speed on my n4 that's faster on 3g than ee were talking about on 4g.

wildest_jjk · 25 May 2013 at 16:16

I can't seem to get it working on top cashback. I think it's the three website though.

m4rk84 · 25 May 2013 at 17:45

Impossible for us to tell you tbh. In some areas of the country Three are great, in others not so much. Basically all comes down to your location.

wildest_jjk · 27 May 2013 at 02:36

Ok so I signed up to the one month contract with three. It will give me this:

Ultimate Internet SIM 600 1 month - £18.90 per month.

Contract Length:
1 month
Inclusive UK voice minutes:
600 mins
Inclusive UK text messages:
5000 texts
Internet Allowance:
All-you-can-eat data

However I am having second thoughts already. Would it just be better to go with a 12 month contract with EE. I didn't want to do this but I can't really see any negatives now. It is obviously 4G and I think they have brought the prices down so I cannot see any reason why it matters.

I have been looking at this package:

£21
500MB
Unlimited Calls
Unlimited Texts

What do you guys think? Carry on and give three a go or just sign up with EE and forget about it?

Cheers

Fallen god · 27 May 2013 at 13:46

wildest_jjk said:
Ok so I signed up to the one month contract with three. It will give me this:

Ultimate Internet SIM 600 1 month - £18.90 per month.

Contract Length:
1 month
Inclusive UK voice minutes:
600 mins
Inclusive UK text messages:
5000 texts
Internet Allowance:
All-you-can-eat data

However I am having second thoughts already. Would it just be better to go with a 12 month contract with EE. I didn't want to do this but I can't really see any negatives now. It is obviously 4G and I think they have brought the prices down so I cannot see any reason why it matters.

I have been looking at this package:

£21
500MB
Unlimited Calls
Unlimited Texts

What do you guys think? Carry on and give three a go or just sign up with EE and forget about it?

Cheers

For me personally 500mb isn't nearly enough to get me through a month moreover with 4G. I think it would be advisable to just see how Three goes for this month then you can upgrade to 12months bring the price down to 15£, I would recommend just getting a new sim card and getting it through quidco/topcashback to get a nice bonus to bring the price down even more.

If the signal is bad on Three then you could look at the 4g contract or the -tmobile unlimited contract which is 16£.

dasyad · 27 May 2013 at 14:08

Why are you so interested in 4G? DCHSDPA that Three are putting out is probably more than enough for your needs, if you can get the coverage.

The sensible thing would be to try Three for a month and see what coverage is like in your area and also get an idea on data usage, remember being on an unlimited you don't have to think about how much data you're using you can just use it; so you may find that actually if you were to move to a capped plan you would need more than 500mb.

I honestly do not believe you would get good value for money on EEs 4G plan with 500mb allowance.

wildest_jjk · 17 Jul 2013 at 17:06

Hey guys,

So I have tried three for a couple of weeks and the signal seems fine to me.

I did have an issue at work but I think that was the same for a lot of networks. The one thing that I am not sure about is whether or not three still use orange's 2G network as a backup.

The other thing that I am annoyed about is that the cost of the tariff has gone down in price on their website. So I might cancel and restart the contract. I am paying £15.90 and am getting:

600 minutes
5000 Texts
1GB data

Unless I am being stupid it is now £12.90! The other network I am now considering is GiffGaff. This is because they are also cheap (if not slightly cheaper) and use O2's network which has been OK.

What do you guys think? Stick with three and get the reduced price? Or try GiffGaff as well?

I'm really sick of O2!

Thanks

lamboman · 17 Jul 2013 at 17:42

wildest_jjk said:
Hey guys,

So I have tried three for a couple of weeks and the signal seems fine to me.

I did have an issue at work but I think that was the same for a lot of networks. The one thing that I am not sure about is whether or not three still use orange's 2G network as a backup.

The other thing that I am annoyed about is that the cost of the tariff has gone down in price on their website. So I might cancel and restart the contract. I am paying £15.90 and am getting:

600 minutes
5000 Texts
1GB data

Unless I am being stupid it is now £12.90! The other network I am now considering is GiffGaff. This is because they are also cheap (if not slightly cheaper) and use O2's network which has been OK.

What do you guys think? Stick with three and get the reduced price? Or try GiffGaff as well?

I'm really sick of O2!

Thanks

If you're sick of O2 why do you want to try giffgaff? The only reason I can see why you'd want to move to giffgaff is if Three is poor in your area - they're more expensive than Three now, taking TCB into account.

To get yourself switched over to the new tariff you simply need to call Three and ask them to switch you over. Job done.

wildest_jjk · 17 Jul 2013 at 18:07

lamboman said:
If you're sick of O2 why do you want to try giffgaff? The only reason I can see why you'd want to move to giffgaff is if Three is poor in your area - they're more expensive than Three now, taking TCB into account.

To get yourself switched over to the new tariff you simply need to call Three and ask them to switch you over. Job done.

I'm not sick of their coverage. I don't like the fact that I was receiving loyalty discount of £6 a month and now they won't give it me back. They only offer the same as what new customers would get and they are expensive.

The reason I am considering GiffGaff is because O2 signal is fine and they are a lot cheaper.

m4rk84 · 17 Jul 2013 at 18:16

If you are happy with the o2 signal in your area there is no reason not to go with Giffgaff. Giffgaff offer a great service, just in my area o2's data speeds are horrid so I switched to 3.

lamboman · 17 Jul 2013 at 18:34

wildest_jjk said:
I'm not sick of their coverage. I don't like the fact that I was receiving loyalty discount of £6 a month and now they won't give it me back. They only offer the same as what new customers would get and they are expensive.

The reason I am considering GiffGaff is because O2 signal is fine and they are a lot cheaper.

Ah, I get you. Unfortunately I've heard that from not only O2, but Three as well (and possibly the other networks). Personally I don't think the retention matters much when the prices are so much higher than the alternatives however. I'd have to disagree with giffgaff being cheaper though, purely because of TCB. From the experiences of both myself and many others, giffgaff's reliability has been pretty poor (see below).

m4rk84 said:
If you are happy with the o2 signal in your area there is no reason not to go with Giffgaff. Giffgaff offer a great service, just in my area o2's data speeds are horrid so I switched to 3.

Wouldn't say giffgaff's service is that great. Over the couple of years that I was with giffgaff there were frequent national service outages along with constant billing and website issues. giffgaff didn't seem to feel like they had to do anything to sort the problems out (though this may have changed). Additionally, all over my city I've found that even in full signal areas, O2 cannot keep a call connected (of course, this will vary from area to area, though it does appear to be fairly representative of O2's performance nationwide). O2's data speeds were frequently poor; again, in full signal areas, it simply wouldn't load a page (no connection whatsoever). Both of these apply not just to my current Nexus 4, but also to an iPhone 5, Galaxy S3, and an HTC 8S currently (not mine, someone else's).

Fallen god · 18 Jul 2013 at 23:07

I've got orange 2g once in 12 months. For 3 I have seen they have the new One Plans at 15£ for 12months (unlimited net, 2000min, 5k text, 5k 3to3 mins) so might be worth a shot.

Freedom · 19 Jul 2013 at 02:09

Another happy 3 customer on the one plan, Great signal in my area and easilly get 20+mb speeds on my phone.

SPG · 19 Jul 2013 at 13:13

Wouldnt touch 3 with a barge pole, Customer service is pathetic and there billing department cant even add up. On the flipside GIFGAF have been really good.