3 Network - Not Brilliant! (1 Viewer)

[journeyman]

I've had a "3 network" all you can eat data/phone contract for 4 months on an Iphone 5. Having now completed 5 trips in the van, i've not been overly impressed with the "G" coverage. Admittedly they are in rural areas, but its not exactly at the end of the earth. At the majority of sites I failed to pick up 3G or its intermittent and deathly slow. I had visions of using the phone as a hotspot for myself and the OH, but at the moment its not an option.

This last weekend we went to Anglesey(Lligwy beach). My mate had a 3 MIFI in his van and was happily picking up the signal, although again it was intermittent. I'm thinking that either the Iphone has a poor antenna or 3's signal is not particularly strong.

Wonder if I could get them to do a deal on a MIFI, within my existing contract!

Disappointed

Jmn

 

[tofo]

I've had a "3 network" all you can eat data/phone contract for 4 months on an Iphone 5. Having now completed 5 trips in the van, i've not been overly impressed with the "G" coverage. Admittedly they are in rural areas, but its not exactly at the end of the earth. At the majority of sites I failed to pick up 3G or its intermittent and deathly slow. I had visions of using the phone as a hotspot for myself and the OH, but at the moment its not an option.

This last weekend we went to Anglesey(Lligwy beach). My mate had a 3 MIFI in his van and was happily picking up the signal, although again it was intermittent. I'm thinking that either the Iphone has a poor antenna or 3's signal is not particularly strong.

Wonder if I could get them to do a deal on a MIFI, within my existing contract!

Disappointed

Jmn

probably against their rules i

but if you got a mifi could you put your 3 sim in it

then youse your i phone 5 as a i pod without the sim in it

to conect to the mifi

yes i know you wont get calls

but its quite sinple to pop the sim in and out

its what i would try if pushed


:thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

[Peter & Elaine]

iPhone are crap on signal strength we use them at work and all of us carry a old Nokia and swap sims when can't get a signal it nearly always works in Nokia
Surprised at 3 I have voda phone Elaine is on 3 and she always has better coverage than me especially in rural areas

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[buttons]

Not just the west coast, 3 on the east coast is crap too, towns along the Norfolk and Suffolk coast are totally without 3 coverage. Can be a pain in the bum.:Sad:

 

[Phill D]

probably against their rules i

but if you got a mifi could you put your 3 sim in it

then youse your i phone 5 as a i pod without the sim in it

to conect to the mifi

yes i know you wont get calls

but its quite sinple to pop the sim in and out

its what i would try if pushed


:thumb::thumb::thumb:

sorry ... only true data sims will work in a mifi unit:Sad:

 

[Billy23]

iPhone really is CRAP on signal strength, that will be the problem. Try Samsung!

IMO

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Merle]

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note on 3, no complaints in almost 2 years. It regularly out performs my work Nokia on signal strength

 

[BigClick]

have two

I have a three mi-fi with a vodafone sim in it and I have a three sim in my iPhone
I generally get by between the two of them and random wifi, although I am speaking about the places I go to work because I haven't done much motorhomeing yet

 

[tofo]

sorry ... only true data sims will work in a mifi unit:Sad:

Bummeroh:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[beerdrinker1]

I got a 3 dongle following the Newark Show ( after paying a fiver for 1 days connection from the Newark site supplier ! ),

To date it has worked perfectly everywhere I have been parked up, with just one exception . . . . during my stay in the Forest of Dean, ziltch . . . . apparantly the signal on virtually every network is crap in that area,

Its usually very quick to pick up the signal and connect everywhere else, so I am very pleased with it, apart from the £15.99 a month that is !

 

[Peter & Elaine]

Look on eBay 3 gig data sim for about 12 quid lasts me about 2 months
Weekends away away and a bit of use in hotels when I am away with work
Same one from 3 shop 20 quid

 

[beerdrinker1]

Look on eBay 3 gig data sim for about 12 quid lasts me about 2 months
Weekends away away and a bit of use in hotels when I am away with work
Same one from 3 shop 20 quid

Hi Peter,

You are absolutely correct, as usual I rushed into things without thinking, I had read all about buying the WiFi Huawei plus the 3 gig sim ages ago here on Motorhome Fun, and thought it was a great idea, but got distracted in my line of thought whilst in the 3 shop in Newark, by the lovely lass Scarlett ( even the name has an effect !!!!! ) serving me,

After signing up for the dongle, I was then informed that it will only work on Windows so that rules out everything apart from the laptop which has about 2 hours battery life unlike the 8 hours from the Asus tablet,whereas the MiFi tethers up to 5 units, am I a dickhead or what oh:

Ah well time for a

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Peter & Elaine]

Check eBay for a unlocked or a 3 mifi
Your sim should work in that so you can connect any thing with wifi
Should be able to pick one up for about 40 quid

If that's your biggest boo boo don't fret you want see some of the cock ups I made in past cost me a fortune over years

 

[beerdrinker1]

Check eBay for a unlocked or a 3 mifi
Your sim should work in that so you can connect any thing with wifi
Should be able to pick one up for about 40 quid

If that's your biggest boo boo don't fret you want see some of the cock ups I made in past cost me a fortune over years

Yeah you are right, £40/ 50 for the mifi . . . . and I now only have 23 months to go on the dongle contract at £15.99 . . . . wow oh:

But you are right, alongside some of the big bollocks I have made along the way, this is nowt
:thumb:

 

[Peter & Elaine]

Elaine's just reminded me of a certain timeshare deal
Don't even ask 500 quid down drain
She still gives me grief over it not her fault though even if she was at side of me
Never done owt daft my beloved

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MR. FUSION]

Not many problems with 3 reception on my galaxy SII even in parts of rural Scotland, and 3 internet usually works much faster tethered on my lappy than on my home broadband.

Like the man said get a Samsung Galaxy if you want decent reception and a big screen :thumb:

 

[Chris]

I have got an iPhone 4S on Vodafone. Either the phone, Vodafone or both , are rubbish.:Sad:

 

[Welsh girl]

I have a galaxy note and couldn't pick up any signal for 3 months after getting a new 24 month contract with talk mobile on another phone (galaxy ace) it uses Vodafone.my note is unlocked and I prefer my note (long story)
I complained to Samsung and they agreed to take a look under warranty.
Since having it back the signal has been great everywhere, currently using orange in France I have got high speed internet in the remotest of places all over France, in the Dordogne area at the moment and we don't expect it to be any difference here.
So I conclude that the antennae in the phone must have been insufficient and they have fixed the problem.
Good old Samsung!!
Didn't realise iPhone was so bad with reception!
Good job I didn't get one of those!, don't like being tied in with the apps either.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[buttons]

iPhone really is CRAP on signal strength, that will be the problem. Try Samsung!

IMO

We have Samsung S2 and Iphone 4S both on 3. It is not just the iphone, both dont have a signal in many east coast towns and villages. I also have a Nokia on Orange which never has a problem.

 

[ShiftZZ]

I've had a "3 network" all you can eat data/phone contract for 4 months on an Iphone 5. Having now completed 5 trips in the van, i've not been overly impressed with the "G" coverage. Admittedly they are in rural areas, but its not exactly at the end of the earth. At the majority of sites I failed to pick up 3G or its intermittent and deathly slow. I had visions of using the phone as a hotspot for myself and the OH, but at the moment its not an option.

This last weekend we went to [HI]Anglesey(Lligwy beach). [/HI]My mate had a 3 MIFI in his van and was happily picking up the signal, although again it was intermittent. I'm thinking that either the Iphone has a poor antenna or 3's signal is not particularly strong.

Wonder if I could get them to do a deal on a MIFI, within my existing contract!

Disappointed

Jmn

I! was born and brought up not gar from there and you cant get 3G even in the towns...

 

[MJG2001]

probably against their rules i

but if you got a mifi could you put your 3 sim in it

then youse your i phone 5 as a i pod without the sim in it

to conect to the mifi

yes i know you wont get calls

but its quite sinple to pop the sim in and out

its what i would try if pushed


:thumb::thumb::thumb:

If this works it will only be for a very short time - 3 have systems to detect if a SIM card intended for us in a phone is used in any other type of device such as a dongle or mi-fi device. Once it's detected it will shut the connection down.

It is to prevent abuse of the data bundles intended for use in phones.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotjimland]

Not just the west coast, 3 on the east coast is crap too, towns along the Norfolk and Suffolk coast are totally without 3 coverage. Can be a pain in the bum.:Sad:

tell me about it.. not just 3G . lucky to get ANY phone signal where we live in Suffolk

and to cap it all, a diabolically slow adsl broadband on poles and cables put up during WW2..

I blame the Tory council

 

[journeyman]

I! was born and brought up not gar from there and you cant get 3G even in the towns...

Fair point Shiftz, but the problem seems to be the quality of the antenna in the iPhone. I think I will bite the bullet and get a PAYG MIFI.

 

[callumwa]

If this works it will only be for a very short time - 3 have systems to detect if a SIM card intended for us in a phone is used in any other type of device such as a dongle or mi-fi device. Once it's detected it will shut the connection down.

It is to prevent abuse of the data bundles intended for use in phones.

I have a 3 Mifi. I have unlocked it and have swap sims regularly when travelling.

None of the sims I use are data sims, just normal sims which can call, text and surf. I have never had a problem and never been disconnected. I just set up the approriate APN's and change the default APN to whatever sim I have put in the MiFi as required.


As for 3 network coverage I have a 3 contract with all you can eat data and an iPhone 4.

I never have a problem with their 3G signal from Ullapool to Cornwall. Everyone tethers to it's hotspot when we are travelling in the van.:thumb:

The worst is Vodafone with which I cannot even get a 3G signal in most town and city centres never mind when out in the sticks.



p.s. has the OP tried switching his 3 sim into another phone, Nokia, Samsung, iPhone or whatever and see what signal strength he gets just to make sure it is not just a problem with the particular iPhone he is using?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[journeyman]

p.s. has the OP tried switching his 3 sim into another phone, Nokia, Samsung, iPhone or whatever and see what signal strength he gets just to make sure it is not just a problem with the particular iPhone he is using?

Will give that a go.

Thanks

 

[journeyman]

Eventually I picked up a 2nd hand Heuwei Mifi unit for £38. Popped in a 3g card and was ready to go. Just had 5 days in the Lake District, 3g on my iphone...poor or non existent. No issues at all using the MIFI unit in the van. Both tools are on the 3 network. So it appears that the antenna on the IPhone 5 is a poor receiver.

 

[Billy23]

Eventually I picked up a 2nd hand Heuwei Mifi unit for £38. Popped in a 3g card and was ready to go. Just had 5 days in the Lake District, 3g on my iphone...poor or non existent. No issues at all using the MIFI unit in the van. Both tools are on the 3 network. So it appears that the antenna on the IPhone 5 is a poor receiver.

I think if you Google IPhone reception you will see they are bad, I wonder how they sell so many as it is a well known problem with most of the models.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gromett]

I think if you Google IPhone reception you will see they are bad, I wonder how they sell so many as it is a well known problem with most of the models.

Apple have always been form over function. It is the reason my iPhone got 2 weeks use (on a 24 month contract) then got dumped in a drawer.

I have always raved about Nokia and was a true Nokia devotee until they moved 100% to Microsoft windows.

I then moved to blackberry because their antenna management is also excellent.

I am now on Samsung and I have noticed it is better than the Blackberry...

Apple are known for bad antennas. Owners were even told at one point it was because they were holding it wrong oh:

Many people are unhappy with having a plastic phone. However I feel this means that the manufacturer doesn't have to compromise the design to maintain signal strength.

 

[WillH]

My wife and I both have HTC Widfires. I am with 3 and she is with O2. We usually find one network or the other works wherever we are, even up the west coast.

Rgds
Bill