Apologies in advance if this post gets a bit technical, but I hope that any outcome will help others (especially non-technical people who want to use the internet abroad).
I've had a BT monthly SIM for my phone for a while; it gives me a small amount of data which is all I normally need ('cause I'm at home with landline broadband most of the time).
When I'm away in my van I need more data, and I also want to get the best signal in remote parts, so I installed a MiFi device with an external antenna. And I fitted it with a '3' pay-as-you-go SIM. I chose this because it allows you to buy large chunks of data on an ad-hoc basis (so I can buy a month's worth, for example as much as 30GB, for £25; it should cover my time away in France and I don't need to spend that much every month when I'm at home.)
The problem is that the '3' SIM is far worse at getting data than the BT SIM. I've tried now at three different locations in central France. Each time the BT SIM gets 4G downloads whereas the 3 SIM gives me only 3G (if I'm lucky; often nothing at all).
It's nothing to do with the phone or the MiFi device because if I swap the SIMs around, the problem goes with the SIM.
I spent a long time on an internet 'chat' with a support guy from Three the other day, who couldn't offer any reason for this. I asked him if Three didn't have a 4G roaming arrangement with OrangeF (which was the service both SIMS were connecting to) but he couldn't answer. I asked him to tell me with what French services I could get 4G with my SIM but he couldn't answer and said it would take him 24 hours to find out. 3 days later and he hasn't called me back as promised.
So, to summarise, I'm in a very rural area of France. I can download a 60-minute TV program from Netflix in 5-10 minutes with the BT SIM, but it fails completely with the Three SIM, even after trying all night, using the same hardware. But I can do that only once a month with the BT SIM because I only have a small data allowance on that.
Has anyone else had any luck with '3' PAYG SIMs in France? I've paid for 30GB of data but can't use it because the connection is so poor. If others have made it work then at least I can go back to Three support with a different story.
I've had a BT monthly SIM for my phone for a while; it gives me a small amount of data which is all I normally need ('cause I'm at home with landline broadband most of the time).
When I'm away in my van I need more data, and I also want to get the best signal in remote parts, so I installed a MiFi device with an external antenna. And I fitted it with a '3' pay-as-you-go SIM. I chose this because it allows you to buy large chunks of data on an ad-hoc basis (so I can buy a month's worth, for example as much as 30GB, for £25; it should cover my time away in France and I don't need to spend that much every month when I'm at home.)
The problem is that the '3' SIM is far worse at getting data than the BT SIM. I've tried now at three different locations in central France. Each time the BT SIM gets 4G downloads whereas the 3 SIM gives me only 3G (if I'm lucky; often nothing at all).
It's nothing to do with the phone or the MiFi device because if I swap the SIMs around, the problem goes with the SIM.
I spent a long time on an internet 'chat' with a support guy from Three the other day, who couldn't offer any reason for this. I asked him if Three didn't have a 4G roaming arrangement with OrangeF (which was the service both SIMS were connecting to) but he couldn't answer. I asked him to tell me with what French services I could get 4G with my SIM but he couldn't answer and said it would take him 24 hours to find out. 3 days later and he hasn't called me back as promised.
So, to summarise, I'm in a very rural area of France. I can download a 60-minute TV program from Netflix in 5-10 minutes with the BT SIM, but it fails completely with the Three SIM, even after trying all night, using the same hardware. But I can do that only once a month with the BT SIM because I only have a small data allowance on that.
Has anyone else had any luck with '3' PAYG SIMs in France? I've paid for 30GB of data but can't use it because the connection is so poor. If others have made it work then at least I can go back to Three support with a different story.