iphone 3G on O2 (UK) a couple of questions

[Psyxologos]

I am currently on Orange, planning to migrate to O2 for iphone 3G sake. After getting my PAC from Orange, I was hopping to buy my new phone from my local shop. I might wait a day or two though for those keener than me to have their go first.

I was just wondering about coverage and general customer service on the O2 network. I have been with orange for over 10 years, so I am a bit nervous about the switch. I am thinking on going either for the £35 or the £45 per month option. They both say they offer 'unlimited wi-fi and data'. Does that mean I can browse the net, use weather and GPS and read/write emails all inclusive? If so this is really appealing. Any help?

Thanks for your help!

[Pointer]

I am currently on Orange, planning to migrate to O2 for iphone 3G sake. After getting my PAC from Orange, I was hopping to buy my new phone from my local shop. I might wait a day or two though for those keener than me to have their go first.

I was just wondering about coverage and general customer service on the O2 network. I have been with orange for over 10 years, so I am a bit nervous about the switch. I am thinking on going either for the £35 or the £45 per month option. They both say they offer 'unlimited wi-fi and data'. Does that mean I can browse the net, use weather and GPS and read/write emails all inclusive? If so this is really appealing. Any help?

Thanks for your help!

If you really want an iPhone 3G in the next few days I would recommend getting one on Friday, it could all be hype but O2 are really playing the "there isn't much stock, get them quick!" card.

I have been with O2 for 18 months now and my experience in terms of coverage and customer service have both been excellent. In my old flat I hardly got a bar of reception on Vodafone so I switched to O2 and got 5 bars solid, EDGE coverage is also good where I live (near Manchester), I am hoping 3G will be just as good if not better.

In terms of customer service I have emailed the CEO a couple of times and had replies back, as well as emailing staff at their head office and again getting very timely emails back. Whenever I have had cause to phone the customer service number thay have been more than helpful and extremely polite.

Good luck with getting an iPhone!

[chrissmash]

Hey dude,

Yes exactly what you said. One thing to bare in mind is the texts are quite low on the iPhone contract so add the £7.50 bolt on for unlimited texts if you use that many and your sorted :)

O2 have excellent coverage and usually they are very switched on as far as support goes. Staff in the stores I find to be slow and slightly clueless.

Join the iPhone side of things my friend!

Chris

[ayzee]

yes unlimited data means you don't have to worry about how many webpages you visit or emails you send etc. Iphone's wouldnt really work that well without this because they are constantly comunicating with the Internet.

Even though there has been a lot of bad press lately, O2's customer service is really their strong point for me. They answer calls quite quickly, have uk based call centres and are genrally very polite and helpful. I've been with all the major uk networks and I would rate them the best when it comes to customer service. Don't worry :)

[Pointer]

Sorry, forgot to reply to your tarrif question. I am on the £35 a month tarrif currently and get 600 minutes and 500 texts a month as well as unlimited data. The data really is unlimited so yes you can check stocks, weather, browse the net, email, anything you like and it is all included in your unlimited data. GPS is also included in your data as it is "A-GPS" and I guess uses tiny amounts of data from the cell towers to help position itself quickly. The GPS part does not use data.

[neiltc13]

O2's coverage is the worst I've ever seen in the UK. In my house I rarely get above 1 bar out of 5 on my iPhone and everywhere else it's rare to see above 3. EDGE coverage is nonexistent.

Good luck.

[chrissmash]

O2's coverage is the worst I've ever seen in the UK. In my house I rarely get above 1 bar out of 5 on my iPhone and everywhere else it's rare to see above 3. EDGE coverage is nonexistent.

Good luck.

I dont believe that to be true, statistically they are the strongest carrier for any coverage. In northern ireland Vodafone is rather bad.

Maybe where you live is different (dont mean to sound mad at you) but anywhere ive been on the UK travelling and working O2 has never let me down.

[digmo]

I dont believe that to be true, statistically they are the strongest carrier for any coverage. In northern ireland Vodafone is rather bad.

Maybe where you live is different (dont mean to sound mad at you) but anywhere ive been on the UK travelling and working O2 has never let me down.

Even though we clashed on Monday past I agree with Neil. O2 coverage is generally great. I gave up on Vodafone in Northern Ireland long ago but I a cautious about 3G access given that I am still waiting for my local area to get Edge :)

David

[Psyxologos]

WOW! This was really FAST. Thanks a lot guys, I am much obliged with your help.

I live in a place close to Blackpool (Lytham St Annes) and currently with Orange I get a full 5 bars on 3G. Does the EDGE network refer to o2's own infrastructure? I guess I could easily check coverage by buying an o2 pay as you go card and moving about the house. I do not expect problems though.


Does anyone know anything about VoIP applications on iphone 3G? Is this a possibility? when I got my Nokia N95 last year (Orange) the feature was disabled. I have read that o2 are not as pedantic as Orange is.

As far as the ID and credit checks are concerned, I get conflicting messages from reading these forums. As I am non-British (living in the UK for the last 15 years), I do not have a UK passport, birth certificate or driving licence (I come from an EU country so I have the equivalent) but I of course have UK debit cards, NI number etc. Would I be OK with the security checks? On the o2 website it does not mention any need for me to present driving licences etc, but I read in these forums that some people were asked to fax copies of these documents over. Any update on this?



I am getting quite hyped up about it, it should be exciting getting the iphone 3G in my hands.

EDIT: A quite important question is whether I can transfer my contacts from my N95 to the iphone 3G. Could I do this over bluetooth? If not, what are my options?

apologies for the long email and the barrage of questions.

[chrissmash]

As far as credit checks go, its a minor thing, no need for ID I think, take a driving license or something but I doubt you will need it, well since you are signing for a new contract they may ask for some identity but it will not matter where your passport etc is from, just that you are you lol.

http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/

Go there ^^ for a good idea of your O2 coverage, in Blackpool you should be fine for EDGE too, I have had edge support in some really poor locations so dont worry about that.

No voip support I believe at the moment, maybe a native app from the app store will appear. Anything else your not sure on?

Defo invest in the iPhone, best investment I ever made...except maybe a news paper I bought once for 60p and won £1300 in a scratchcard win. That was a good day :)

[Psyxologos]

As far as credit checks go, its a minor thing, no need for ID I think, take a driving license or something but I doubt you will need it, well since you are signing for a new contract they may ask for some identity but it will not matter where your passport etc is from, just that you are you lol.

http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/

Go there ^^ for a good idea of your O2 coverage, in Blackpool you should be fine for EDGE too, I have had edge support in some really poor locations so dont worry about that.

No voip support I believe at the moment, maybe a native app from the app store will appear. Anything else your not sure on?

Defo invest in the iPhone, best investment I ever made...except maybe a news paper I bought once for 60p and won £1300 in a scratchcard win. That was a good day :)

hahaha. Thanks mate, you made me smile!

As far as coverage is concerned, it looks like I have high HSDPA coverage (I gather this is 'better/faster/newer' than EDGE, right?) as well, so no problems at all.

Since your offering :o I would like to know if I can transfer my contacts from my N95 to the iphone using bluetooth. People in other threads write that the bluetooth on iphone is 'crippled' as it is not A2DP (whatever that means).

Thanks again!

[chrissmash]

hahaha. Thanks mate, you made me smile!

As far as coverage is concerned, it looks like I have high HSDPA coverage (I gather this is 'better/faster/newer' than EDGE, right?) as well, so no problems at all.

Since your offering :o I would like to know if I can transfer my contacts from my N95 to the iphone using bluetooth. People in other threads write that the bluetooth on iphone is 'crippled' as it is not A2DP (whatever that means).

Thanks again!

Well when you set up your iphone there is way to import your contact, I believe the video is on apple.com/iphone as far as I kno. It lets you move over your contacts from your N95 and sync them back to the iPhone.

Its a great device dude, and I strongly recommend trying to get on on Friday.

Also you have no worries as far as EDGE/3G go, i think all major cities and tourist spots are sorted for it so dont you worry your tired little head about it....y am I still up??

[Psyxologos]

Well when you set up your iphone there is way to import your contact, I believe the video is on apple.com/iphone as far as I kno. It lets you move over your contacts from your N95 and sync them back to the iPhone.

Its a great device dude, and I strongly recommend trying to get on on Friday.

Also you have no worries as far as EDGE/3G go, i think all major cities and tourist spots are sorted for it so dont you worry your tired little head about it....y am I still up??

Keep asking myself the same question. :confused: I guess I got excited about the gadget and I am trying to find as much info as possible. Thanks anyway, I think I got all the info I needed, will post again if I think of something. Have a good night!

[chrissmash]

No worries at all, let me know if you need anything else.

[Aravintht]

I am thinking on going either for the £35 or the £45 per month option.

get the £45/month and then switch to £35/month after 9 month - it is cheaper than getting the £35/month - do the maths

[Psyxologos]

get the £45/month and then switch to £35/month after 9 month - it is cheaper than getting the £35/month - do the maths


this is a great piece of advice. THANKS!

[icantbelieveit]

another fan of O2's coverage here. I was on Orange, but switched about a year ago and i literally have full signal everywhere! With Orange i was constantly waiving my phone around or holding it up when sending a message to get an extra signal bar (i usually had 1 bar the majority of the time).
O2's coverage, for me anyway, has been amazing!

[Jacksteruk309]

As far as the ID and credit checks are concerned, I get conflicting messages from reading these forums. As I am non-British (living in the UK for the last 15 years), I do not have a UK passport, birth certificate or driving licence (I come from an EU country so I have the equivalent) but I of course have UK debit cards, NI number etc. Would I be OK with the security checks? On the o2 website it does not mention any need for me to present driving licences etc, but I read in these forums that some people were asked to fax copies of these documents over. Any update on this?

The best thing to do is bring your EU passport and/or driving license and a utility (i.e. gas, electricity) bill to prove who you are. It's better to be safe than sorry!

EDIT: And don't forget details of the bank accounts you'll be using to pay for the iPhone and the contract

[Psyxologos]

The best thing to do is bring your EU passport and/or driving license and a utility (i.e. gas, electricity) bill to prove who you are. It's better to be safe than sorry!

EDIT: And don't forget details of the bank accounts you'll be using to pay for the iPhone and the contract

Yea, will do that. Will allso bring my NI and bank cards for good measure! :cool:

Thanks!

[Psyxologos]

OK, I have a couple more questions after fiddling with a 16GB in my local shop!

Something that worries me is that, when I tried to send over a 'business card' from my N95 to the iphone via bluetooth, there were 5 failed attempts before the salesperson and I gave up trying. I mean, is this a general problem due to the 'crippling' of the bluetooth in the iphone or it was just my bad luck?

I do not see me getting an iphone if I will have to manually imput ALL 200 contacts (each one of them with more than just one piece of info i.e mobile number, landline, email address etc). I will be doing nothing else for a week. Any ideas on how I can transport all my contacts from my N95 to the iphone?

Another question I have is whether I could use any piece of music from my iphone as my ring/message tone. Is this possible or do I only have a choice from the pre set ones? I hope i will be able to chose as I please. Any help?

Finaly, what impressed me was that he told me apple is going to release another iphone (next generation) in less than eight months and that O2 are going to upgrade ALL iphone owners free of charge (apparently he said they did the same this time round with first generation iphone owners to upgrade them to the 3G one). Was that just a sales technique or does it stand?

[Psyxologos]

Please guys, anyone that can help me with these questions? PLEASE!

[Tipsy]

Something that worries me is that, when I tried to send over a 'business card' from my N95 to the iphone via bluetooth, there were 5 failed attempts before the salesperson and I gave up trying.

I believe this is a consequence of the crippling. I don't think you can do any kind of bluetooth file transfer using the iPhone - it's purely for connecting it to bluetooth headsets and the like.

Any ideas on how I can transport all my contacts from my N95 to the iphone?

Use Nokia PC Suite (http://europe.nokia.com/pcsuite) to transfer your contacts to your computer (Outlook, Outlook Express or whatever) then follow these instructions (http://www.ehow.com/how_2059455_transfer-contacts-computer-iphone.html).

Another question I have is whether I could use any piece of music from my iphone as my ring/message tone. Is this possible or do I only have a choice from the pre set ones? I hope i will be able to chose as I please. Any help?

Yeah, search the forum - there are instructions! Apple intended people to buy music from the store and then pay a little more money to make 30 second clips of the songs into ringtones but if I remember correctly it's not hard to bodge in your own, unless they've broken this with 2.0.

<snip> O2 are going to upgrade ALL iphone owners free of charge <snip> Was that just a sales technique or does it stand?

It seems very unlikely that a sales droid in an O2 store will have any idea what Apple's release schedule is. They may have heard rumours but unless they personally know someone very high up in Apple or someone very high up in O2 (if even they would know) you can probably safely assume they have no idea.

[kinster]

Hey dude,

Yes exactly what you said. One thing to bare in mind is the texts are quite low on the iPhone contract so add the £7.50 bolt on for unlimited texts if you use that many and your sorted :)

O2 have excellent coverage and usually they are very switched on as far as support goes. Staff in the stores I find to be slow and slightly clueless.

Join the iPhone side of things my friend!

Chris

anything above the £30 tariff has a good amount of txts

[chrissmash]

anything above the £30 tariff has a good amount of txts

I send a powerful amount of texts with work so thats the only reason I do that, every text over the limit is rather expensive.

[iflipper]

O2's coverage is the worst I've ever seen in the UK. In my house I rarely get above 1 bar out of 5 on my iPhone and everywhere else it's rare to see above 3. EDGE coverage is nonexistent.

Good luck.

I've just moved from Orange to O2 (about 3 months now) and O2s coverage is significantly better than Orange's was. I think I saw an "E" symbol once on my last 2.5G edge enabled phone on Orange. On the other hand with my 2.5G iPhone with O2 I have Edge support at work (in York), intermittently around Leeds, on the Lincolnshire coast I had full Edge support where I barely had a single bar with Orange. I'm not saying it's perfect but I've found Edge support all over the place, including on major towns on the train between Leeds and London.

[Brenster]

WOW! This was really FAST. Thanks a lot guys, I am much obliged with your help.

I live in a place close to Blackpool (Lytham St Annes) and currently with Orange I get a full 5 bars on 3G. Does the EDGE network refer to o2's own infrastructure? I guess I could easily check coverage by buying an o2 pay as you go card and moving about the house. I do not expect problems though.


I live in Blackpool and was visiting my parents in LSA this afternoon (near what used to be Guffogs on Headroomgate Road). I was quite happily getting 3G data speeds in the garden, & indoors, and only once dropped down to EDGE speed whilst indoors behind two sets of brick walls.

Call quality was excellent regardless.

[Psyxologos]

I live in Blackpool and was visiting my parents in LSA this afternoon (near what used to be Guffogs on Headroomgate Road). I was quite happily getting 3G data speeds in the garden, & indoors, and only once dropped down to EDGE speed whilst indoors behind two sets of brick walls.

Call quality was excellent regardless.

That is very reassuring. Thanks a lot mate for this.

Tipsy, thanks for your replies, they are very helpful. I have searched the forums though and was unable to dig out the relevant thread regarding the ring tone. I used several search phrases but no luck. I think I will make a separate thread and endure people's wrath for asking the same question that has already been answered...

EDIT: I found several threads now! Thanks. Do not know what PC demon got in my search terms earlier...

[draperm25]

or you could check this thread out for the ringtones, depending on what OS you have.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=390564&highlight=audacity+iphone+ringtones

[Psyxologos]

or you could check this thread out for the ringtones, depending on what OS you have.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=390564&highlight=audacity+iphone+ringtones

than you very much. every piece of advice helps. (I sound like a tesko's add)

[Psyxologos]

Can I ask if what I heard today about Iphone 3G having a much worse signal reception (especially on 3G) is an urban myth or an actual fact? These people are O2 customers for a few years now and insisted that their old phones had much better reception than their new iphones...

[zign]

Can I ask if what I heard today about Iphone 3G having a much worse signal reception (especially on 3G) is an urban myth or an actual fact? These people are O2 customers for a few years now and insisted that their old phones had much better reception than their new iphones...

3G reception is quite weak. It is fine when outside in central London. As soon as you turn off 3G, reception is actually quite amazing. Better than on the original iPhone.

[zign]

O2's coverage is the worst I've ever seen in the UK. In my house I rarely get above 1 bar out of 5 on my iPhone and everywhere else it's rare to see above 3. EDGE coverage is nonexistent.

Good luck.

Probably something's wrong with your phone. I'd been with Orange for 7 years when the original iPhone came out and I switched to O2. I was quite amazed with the reception.

[sibruk]

I live in an area which has a really very good O2 signal - both EDGE and 3G. On my old Sony Ericsson phone, I always had a full 3G signal. Now on the iPhone 3G I am lucky to get a 2 bar signal inside. It improves a lot outside, but I would hazard a guess that a future software update might tweak the 3G signal.

With regards to your earlier posts about ringtones, I know you said you already had answers, but by far the easiest way to create a custom ringtone for your new iPhone is to use the Audiko service (http://audiko.net/). You upload any audio file from your computer, clip to the piece you want, add fades etc. and then download the .m4r file straight away (just load this file into iTunes and it will be available as a ringtone after your next sync).

[neiltc13]

Probably something's wrong with your phone. I'd been with Orange for 7 years when the original iPhone came out and I switched to O2. I was quite amazed with the reception.

Well with my 3G now the signal is slightly improved (one bar or so more, probably due to the plastic on the back instead of the metal) but this is GPRS only where I live. O2 really isn't making much of an impact on the country with 3G or EDGE rollout.

[Psyxologos]

3G reception is quite weak. It is fine when outside in central London. As soon as you turn off 3G, reception is actually quite amazing. Better than on the original iPhone.


Thanks very much. It sounds odd really though, because I am with Orange and where i live (and in many other places in the UK) I have no troubles at all getting 4 or 5 bars on 3G in my N95. I definitely want the iphone 3G (mainly for the ease of use and the amazing extra on being able to be connected to the internet any time wherever you are for free with the o2 tarrifs) but they are strongly dependent on a decent 3G signal. This is what I fear...

I live in an area which has a really very good O2 signal - both EDGE and 3G.

I live in Lytham St Annes (close to Blackpool) and orange has 3-5 bars 3G constant indoors-outdoors. Do providers differ? I was unde the impression they share masts. No?

On my old Sony Ericsson phone, I always had a full 3G signal. Now on the iPhone 3G I am lucky to get a 2 bar signal inside. It improves a lot outside, but I would hazard a guess that a future software update might tweak the 3G signal.

Is this possible? It would be great if it is....

With regards to your earlier posts about ringtones, I know you said you already had answers, but by far the easiest way to create a custom ringtone for your new iPhone is to use the Audiko service (http://audiko.net/). You upload any audio file from your computer, clip to the piece you want, add fades etc. and then download the .m4r file straight away (just load this file into iTunes and it will be available as a ringtone after your next sync).

This is great info. Thanks a lot!

[sibruk]

Psyxologos, cellular providers definitely do differ in their coverage! You are correct in that they often do share masts (they lease space off of each other) but not all masts carry a cell for all providers.

And in answer to your other question about software updates delivering signal enhancements - yes, each new release of the iPhone OS comes with a new version of what's called baseband firmware. Basically tweaks and performance enhancements to the radio equipment inside the phone. It is these changes that gives the hacking community so many headaches, because they need to find new methods of unlocking the new baseband firmware.

[Psyxologos]

Psyxologos, cellular providers definitely do differ in their coverage! You are correct in that they often do share masts (they lease space off of each other) but not all masts carry a cell for all providers.

And in answer to your other question about software updates delivering signal enhancements - yes, each new release of the iPhone OS comes with a new version of what's called baseband firmware. Basically tweaks and performance enhancements to the radio equipment inside the phone. It is these changes that gives the hacking community so many headaches, because they need to find new methods of unlocking the new baseband firmware.

Very concise and clear information. Thanks a lot indeed!

[sibruk]

You are very welcome. :)

[Psyxologos]

I have been indecisive about buying an iphone since launch day. Just when I am about to make the decision and leave orange after 10 years of happy subscription, I read horor stories about 3G reception being non existent in iphone (technical fault some say) some (significant portion) of the time and i put it off.

I am holding still for Tuesday's event and the aftermath of the rumoured release of the 2.1 firmware that allegedly will address the issue of reception. I find it quite difficult to say good bye to 5 bars of 3G constantly in my N95 to get a phone that at best of times has two or three bars of 3G. I am definitely attracted by the internet function in the iphone, I like the ease of interface, I most definitely like the design. But these are not good enough reasons for me to take a step back in technology and get myself a phone that has limited connectivity and crippled bluetooth.

Any idea if the reception issue so profound in the US is as widespread here? I have heard so many things, I do not know what to believe. Some say that the expected firmware upgrade will tackle the 3G reception issue, others say that it is a motherboard issue and people wanting an iphone should wait for the German firm supplying apple with the motherboard to sort the situation out.

As far as the bluetooth problem is concerned, I doubt they will do anything, given the fact that INTENTIONALLY crippled it in the first place. Such a waste of potential. Why cripple the phone to make it less efficient?