Contract expiring, recommend a new phone/network?

Jasseh · 1 Dec 2014 at 22:44

My contract with O2 ends next month and I'm looking to replace my iPhone 5 and also possibly move away from O2 due to bad signal in my area.

I haven't really been keeping up with what phones are best at the moment but I know I don't want a new iPhone....

Any recommendations on new phone/network?

I'm tempted to go for a SIM-only deal and buy the new phone separately to avoid getting tied into a 24 month contract again.

Meatball · 2 Dec 2014 at 00:31

I'd be looking at Three and one of their 30 day rolling sim-only plans

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Jasseh · 2 Dec 2014 at 00:40

Meatball said:
I'd be looking at Three and one of their 30 day rolling sim-only plans .

That could work, all you can eat data + 200 minutes for £18 or 600 minutes for £23 doesn't seem too bad.

I've started looking at the Note 4 and Nexus 6 but think they may be too big, going to try have a look at them in town tomorrow.

IvanDobskey · 2 Dec 2014 at 09:59

I also recommend a sim only three deal. I'm on a 12 month three deal which gets me 600 mins, unlimited data and 5000 texts for £12.60 a month. Then just buy the phone of your choice.

Jasseh · 2 Dec 2014 at 18:05

IvanDobskey said:
I also recommend a sim only three deal. I'm on a 12 month three deal which gets me 600 mins, unlimited data and 5000 texts for £12.60 a month. Then just buy the phone of your choice.

Looking at Three's website they don't look to have a plan that cheap with unlimited data any more. Cheapest option right now looks to be a 12 month contract for £15 per month with unlimited data, unlimited texts and 200 minutes (or £20 with 600 minutes).

200 minutes would probably be enough for me really, might go for that option.

Just need to decide which phone now and get the money together for it

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andy_mk3 · 2 Dec 2014 at 23:02

I'll be going for that £15/month option as soon as my One Plan contract is up in March. Can't beat it really as I rarely use 20 minutes let alone 200!

Brett249 · 3 Dec 2014 at 07:49

My O2 contract ran out last month and I've moved to GiffGaff £12 a month (rolling) and it's ace. 500mins, 3gb data and unlimited texts.

For £15 a month you can have unlimited data aswell. Also I can't fault the signal strength at all. It hasn't dropped out anywhere i've been yet.

Jasseh · 3 Dec 2014 at 19:25

Brett249 said:
My O2 contract ran out last month and I've moved to GiffGaff £12 a month (rolling) and it's ace. 500mins, 3gb data and unlimited texts.

For £15 a month you can have unlimited data aswell. Also I can't fault the signal strength at all. It hasn't dropped out anywhere i've been yet.

Looks like it is £18 per month for unlimited data and both that package and the one you are on are 3G, I will be wanting 4G.

Richy888 · 3 Dec 2014 at 20:35

andy_mk3 said:
I'll be going for that £15/month option as soon as my One Plan contract is up in March. Can't beat it really as I rarely use 20 minutes let alone 200!

Same regards the Three option (I think??) as my One Plan is up in March.

I say 'I think' as I got one of the EE Dan and Phil Limited Edition Sim to give their network a try again. O2 and Voda not right good in my area so not an option. The EE sim is PAYG but comes with 100GB of data for 2 months (100gb/month). Anyway, EE have a slight speed edge but signal reception is about the same as I'd expect. BUT, browsing, email etc on 3G is that much 'snappier' than my current Three 3G service. Three seems to have aquired some lag in the last few months and hence looking over the fence again. I'll see how it goes.

But anyway, the Three sim only deals are worth a look.

Jasseh · 3 Dec 2014 at 22:40

I plan to go for 1 month first and see how the signal is for me. If it is better than my current O2 signal then I'll switch to the 12-month contract.

If it is bad, I'll have to try another network

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andy_mk3 · 3 Dec 2014 at 22:51

It's really down to where you live for coverage and speed. At work I get 4G and fantastic speeds, the guys I work with are on EE and Voda, most of the time they end up tethering off me as they can't even get 3G!

Brett249 · 4 Dec 2014 at 07:41

Tbh, H+ is plenty fast enough for me, 4G is so hit and miss all over the country at the moment.

dbmzk1 · 4 Dec 2014 at 09:56

Brett249 said:
Tbh, H+ is plenty fast enough for me, 4G is so hit and miss all over the country at the moment.

It's fast enough, but the latency on 4G is much better. It loads the moment you click, rather than half a second later. Might not sound like much, but when you do a lot of browsing etc it makes a big difference.

4G is great in most major areas now

xGBHxPegasus · 4 Dec 2014 at 12:38

Jasseh said:
Looking at Three's website they don't look to have a plan that cheap with unlimited data any more.

Its a shame they raised their prices tbh, I'm on the month rolling contract of 200mins, 5000 texts and unlimited data for £12.90.

Speeds are slow at times but still usable.

jolliman86 · 4 Dec 2014 at 13:07

I use giff gaff at the minute and can't fault them on the £10 deal. As you need 4g they probably arent the best bet, but for anyone else interested I would recommend them.

TheVoice · 4 Dec 2014 at 13:24

jolliman86 said:
I use giff gaff at the minute and can't fault them on the £10 deal. As you need 4g they probably arent the best bet, but for anyone else interested I would recommend them.

They use the O2 network anyway so the OP would still get the same poor coverage he has currently.

Brett249 · 4 Dec 2014 at 13:25

True, surprisingly though, on GiffGaff I have a better signal in areas than I used to on O2.

Richy888 · 4 Dec 2014 at 20:29

dbmzk1 said:
It's fast enough, but the latency on 4G is much better. It loads the moment you click, rather than half a second later. Might not sound like much, but when you do a lot of browsing etc it makes a big difference.

Which is a bit like comparing EE and Three 3g here currently. Click a web page and it pretty much starts to load instantaneously with EE but for some reason on Three there can be huge delay before anything happens. I've been aware of the latency on Three for a while and worse in the evening but the surprise is how much better EE is. I'm on the One Plan with Three and in contract until March. I'm in the sticks with no 4G from anybody. A good 3G service will do me fine on my phone. Might have to consider EE at contract end.

dbmzk1 · 5 Dec 2014 at 06:22

Brett249 said:
True, surprisingly though, on GiffGaff I have a better signal in areas than I used to on O2.

No you don't, it's in your head! Giffgaff use the O2 network - and are in fact owned by O2 as well.

Also it's worth pointing out that although Three and EE share masts, they do not share their back end - so their 3G services are still different.