Three (UK) Home Signal - Page 2

Furifo · Nov 22, 2012, 01:03 PM

Sorry you guys are having issues. I was on Three for 2 years and I was loving their 3G speeds with the iPhone 5 (consistently 10+ in the east midlands - was hitting between 12-18 most nights).

Signal was really poor indoors and where I really needed it as well as randomly dropping out in supermarkets. I switched to O2 and have had no problems at all - signal has been brilliant allowing for more consistent but slower 3G speeds.

3 is awesome in the North though. In and around Manchester, I had brilliant signal. Its just that I'm in the midlands for most of the year and signal isn't the best in the places I usually am.

Damolee · Nov 23, 2012, 09:33 AM

In areas where 3 believe they have great coverage, they have completely dropped 2G back up.

Where I use to live, I never had any signal whatsoever where as my other half had 4 bars of 2G with T-Mobile.

It took months, but I eventually got my contract revoked and got out without penalty.

Now im in the East Midlands, the signal is good everywhere on T Mobile except for work. Which is annoying. Ive had to take out a seperate sim only deal just for work.

PVisitors · Nov 23, 2012, 10:02 AM

Been really happy with Three so far.

Was gutted at first because the first weekend I was back at home I was getting 1 bar and no service despite their signal checker saying it was 'very good' in my area.

Anyway, came back home last week and I was shocked to see I've been getting consistent 3-4 bars in all rooms of my house; with 3G speeds of 17mbps+ consistently. Pretty neat. One assumes they must have been doing maintenance on the mast when I was there as I was pretty stumped as they piggy back on the T-Mobile Mast which was my previous carrier and had no issues at home with them.

Back at uni it's even better. I have 5 bars despite being on the 7th floor of a big modern student accommodation block. Speeds of at least 10mbps+. Likewise I haven't seen my network connection drop below 4 bars once whilst in Newcastle.

Edit: Though I do think that Three no longer use Orange's 2G network. I've never yet seen Three with an edge logo or the little dot on my iPhone. It's either 3G or for the rare cases, just no service.

I will admit that they do not have the same coverage range as T-Mobile and Orange [EE], but I would expect that given they're now by far the biggest carrier after merging their networks together, for example with EE I could get 3G even in the lift shaft or in a deep basement etc, however their 3G is definitely worse and patchier. Nonetheless signal has never been an issue for me with Three.

jmmo20 · Nov 23, 2012, 10:05 AM

I managed to get Three to send me a Home Signal. I played the ignorant one on the phone and showed great surprise when the guy mentioned the home signal box

)

I'll be here on Monday.

As for 2G, I think they should request Ofcom to be allowed to use 2G. Same happened in Spain a while ago, first when everything was 900mhz GSM there were just two carriers, Vodafone and Telefonica Movistar, then came Amena (now Orange) who was assigned the 1800mhz GSM band. A few years later they allowed Orange to operate in the 900mhz band as well.

Then Yoigo only had licence for 3G UMTS but was later allowed to use GSM on their alloted frequencies, and all 900mhz carreiers were allowed to use that frequence for 3G as well.

Just like Ofcom allowed EE to use their 3G frequencies for LTE, they should allow Three to have some sort of baseline 2G network. But i'm nto sure they would be at all interested, of course.

PVisitors · Nov 23, 2012, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmo20

I managed to get Three to send me a Home Signal. I played the ignorant one on the phone and showed great surprise when the guy mentioned the home signal box

)

I'll be here on Monday.

As for 2G, I think they should request Ofcom to be allowed to use 2G. Same happened in Spain a while ago, first when everything was 900mhz GSM there were just two carriers, Vodafone and Telefonica Movistar, then came Amena (now Orange) who was assigned the 1800mhz GSM band. A few years later they allowed Orange to operate in the 900mhz band as well.

Then Yoigo only had licence for 3G UMTS but was later allowed to use GSM on their alloted frequencies, and all 900mhz carreiers were allowed to use that frequence for 3G as well.

Just like Ofcom allowed EE to use their 3G frequencies for LTE, they should allow Three to have some sort of baseline 2G network. But i'm nto sure they would be at all interested, of course.

I'm curious whether it would be worthwhile for Three to pay for the licensing to get the 2G though; Three have notoriously not made much profit. I think the first time sinch launch they turned over a profit was in 2011.

With the rise of internet browsing and their LTE rolling out in Sept 2013, I'd expect that to change. The problem with Three is that the whole "internet data" was irrelevant when they first launched. It's only really late 2009 where it has really started to take off. Coincidentally this is the start of the other major networks cutting back on their unlimited data plans and beginning to block tethering. Three are in a perfect place to take advantage of this IMO.

jmmo20 · Nov 23, 2012, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PVisitors

I'm curious whether it would be worthwhile for Three to pay for the licensing to get the 2G though; Three have notoriously not made much profit. I think the first time sinch launch they turned over a profit was in 2011.

With the rise of internet browsing and their LTE rolling out in Sept 2013, I'd expect that to change. The problem with Three is that the whole "internet data" was irrelevant when they first launched. It's only really late 2009 where it has really started to take off. Coincidentally this is the start of the other major networks cutting back on their unlimited data plans and beginning to block tethering. Three are in a perfect place to take advantage of this IMO.

I agree!!
I wasn't aware Three was planning LTE roll out.. their 3G network really is fast enough as far as I'm concerned. I was getting 15mbps speeds last night inside a cinema where O2, Voda, and EE only get 1 bar on 2G.

but their 3G network still needs to improve as LTE still requires the 3G infrastructure for calls and sms.

A.D.J. · Nov 23, 2012, 10:41 AM

I've just switched from O2 to 3. I travel around a lot and found with O2 that as soon as you leave urban areas their 3G coverage is terrible. At home I had at best 2 bars on 2G only, no 3G. Switched to three and at home I get 3 bar on 3G at between 8 and 15mbps. When travelling around I have 3G signal just about all the time. Couldn't be happier.

jmmo20 · Nov 23, 2012, 11:14 AM

I think they must have done something on the mast near my home.
Whereas I had no signal at all at the ground level, now after all the calls and being offered the Home Signal Box, i'm perplexed to see 3 bars of signal where before there was none.
I suspect it's 2G though, as there's no internet access, just phone calls (iphone doesn't show anything, no GPRS dot, edge E, 3G or anything else).

Update: ok, forget it, it's now gone

back to "no signal" now.

sonymactony · Nov 23, 2012, 12:20 PM

I switched to 3 from Orange (now EE) for the unlimited data on the iPhone 5. I live just outside Portsmouth and the 3G signal is great, much quicker than Orange, who i've been with for 4 years. I take my little boy to football alot around Hampshire & the signal is good wherever we go.Been to Cobham, Surrey a few times, again great signal. Travelled up to Doncaster by train 2 weeks ago and had a brilliant signal everywhere, bar the usual dropouts you get on a train journey. For ME 3 has been top notch

Grayburn · Nov 23, 2012, 04:06 PM

Got my Home Signal box today and after setting it up I still see no change.
Green light is meant to stop flashing when connected but it's still flashing away after several hours and numerous resets.

I've heard I may need to open ports on my router, not got a clue what that means!

jmmo20 · Nov 26, 2012, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayburn

Got my Home Signal box today and after setting it up I still see no change.
Green light is meant to stop flashing when connected but it's still flashing away after several hours and numerous resets.

I've heard I may need to open ports on my router, not got a clue what that means!

did you fix your problem? I just received my home signal box and it's doing the same.. flashing quickly for 20+ minutes :/

Grayburn · Nov 26, 2012, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmo20

did you fix your problem? I just received my home signal box and it's doing the same.. flashing quickly for 20+ minutes :/

I had to open up various ports in my router settings. But, after doing this it still didn't work so i phoned Three and they said that there is a problem and it might not be fixed for 72 hours, this was on Saturday evening.

I reset the box before going to bed last night and i noticed that once in bed that i had 5 bars. I went to check it and the light was on and not flashing which means it's connected.

jmmo20 · Nov 26, 2012, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayburn

I had to open up various ports in my router settings. But, after doing this it still didn't work so i phoned Three and they said that there is a problem and it might not be fixed for 72 hours, this was on Saturday evening.

I reset the box before going to bed last night and i noticed that once in bed that i had 5 bars. I went to check it and the light was on and not flashing which means it's connected.

whta number did you call??

Grayburn · Nov 26, 2012, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmo20

whta number did you call??

0800 358 4828

jmmo20 · Nov 26, 2012, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayburn

0800 358 4828

thanks

Grayburn · Nov 26, 2012, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmo20

thanks

No probs mate, hope you get it sorted.

jmmo20 · Nov 26, 2012, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayburn

No probs mate, hope you get it sorted.

Should have had a look at the guide

it shows the number.
Anyways I gave them a call and the problem was that the box had NOT been activated on my account. The guy did activate it and asked me to reset the unit. The startup was very fast and got the solid green light during the call.

I'm now amazed at the full bar coverage on my iphone 5

Sound quality on calls seems to be exactly the same than when you use standard three coverage... it'd now be interesting to see how is the quality affected when my adsl is being heavily used.

Grayburn · Nov 27, 2012, 02:54 AM

I think these boxes are gonna wind me up more then do any good. My one was offline this morning for some reason or other

Nov 27, 2012, 02:54 AM	#43
Grayburn macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London/Essex, UK	I think these boxes are gonna wind me up more then do any good. My one was offline this morning for some reason or other __________________ iPhne 5 64GB
	0

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Nov 22, 2012, 01:03 PM	#26
Furifo macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2010	Sorry you guys are having issues. I was on Three for 2 years and I was loving their 3G speeds with the iPhone 5 (consistently 10+ in the east midlands - was hitting between 12-18 most nights). Signal was really poor indoors and where I really needed it as well as randomly dropping out in supermarkets. I switched to O2 and have had no problems at all - signal has been brilliant allowing for more consistent but slower 3G speeds. 3 is awesome in the North though. In and around Manchester, I had brilliant signal. Its just that I'm in the midlands for most of the year and signal isn't the best in the places I usually am.
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 09:33 AM	#27
Damolee macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2012	In areas where 3 believe they have great coverage, they have completely dropped 2G back up. Where I use to live, I never had any signal whatsoever where as my other half had 4 bars of 2G with T-Mobile. It took months, but I eventually got my contract revoked and got out without penalty. Now im in the East Midlands, the signal is good everywhere on T Mobile except for work. Which is annoying. Ive had to take out a seperate sim only deal just for work.
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 10:02 AM	#28
PVisitors macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2011	Been really happy with Three so far. Was gutted at first because the first weekend I was back at home I was getting 1 bar and no service despite their signal checker saying it was 'very good' in my area. Anyway, came back home last week and I was shocked to see I've been getting consistent 3-4 bars in all rooms of my house; with 3G speeds of 17mbps+ consistently. Pretty neat. One assumes they must have been doing maintenance on the mast when I was there as I was pretty stumped as they piggy back on the T-Mobile Mast which was my previous carrier and had no issues at home with them. Back at uni it's even better. I have 5 bars despite being on the 7th floor of a big modern student accommodation block. Speeds of at least 10mbps+. Likewise I haven't seen my network connection drop below 4 bars once whilst in Newcastle. Edit: Though I do think that Three no longer use Orange's 2G network. I've never yet seen Three with an edge logo or the little dot on my iPhone. It's either 3G or for the rare cases, just no service. I will admit that they do not have the same coverage range as T-Mobile and Orange [EE], but I would expect that given they're now by far the biggest carrier after merging their networks together, for example with EE I could get 3G even in the lift shaft or in a deep basement etc, however their 3G is definitely worse and patchier. Nonetheless signal has never been an issue for me with Three.
	1

Nov 23, 2012, 10:05 AM	#29
jmmo20 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2006	I managed to get Three to send me a Home Signal. I played the ignorant one on the phone and showed great surprise when the guy mentioned the home signal box ) I'll be here on Monday. As for 2G, I think they should request Ofcom to be allowed to use 2G. Same happened in Spain a while ago, first when everything was 900mhz GSM there were just two carriers, Vodafone and Telefonica Movistar, then came Amena (now Orange) who was assigned the 1800mhz GSM band. A few years later they allowed Orange to operate in the 900mhz band as well. Then Yoigo only had licence for 3G UMTS but was later allowed to use GSM on their alloted frequencies, and all 900mhz carreiers were allowed to use that frequence for 3G as well. Just like Ofcom allowed EE to use their 3G frequencies for LTE, they should allow Three to have some sort of baseline 2G network. But i'm nto sure they would be at all interested, of course.
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 10:41 AM	#32
A.D.J. macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2012	I've just switched from O2 to 3. I travel around a lot and found with O2 that as soon as you leave urban areas their 3G coverage is terrible. At home I had at best 2 bars on 2G only, no 3G. Switched to three and at home I get 3 bar on 3G at between 8 and 15mbps. When travelling around I have 3G signal just about all the time. Couldn't be happier.
	1

Nov 23, 2012, 11:14 AM	#33
jmmo20 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2006	I think they must have done something on the mast near my home. Whereas I had no signal at all at the ground level, now after all the calls and being offered the Home Signal Box, i'm perplexed to see 3 bars of signal where before there was none. I suspect it's 2G though, as there's no internet access, just phone calls (iphone doesn't show anything, no GPRS dot, edge E, 3G or anything else). Update: ok, forget it, it's now gone back to "no signal" now.
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 12:20 PM	#34
sonymactony macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Gosport, Hants.	I switched to 3 from Orange (now EE) for the unlimited data on the iPhone 5. I live just outside Portsmouth and the 3G signal is great, much quicker than Orange, who i've been with for 4 years. I take my little boy to football alot around Hampshire & the signal is good wherever we go.Been to Cobham, Surrey a few times, again great signal. Travelled up to Doncaster by train 2 weeks ago and had a brilliant signal everywhere, bar the usual dropouts you get on a train journey. For ME 3 has been top notch
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 04:06 PM	#35
Grayburn macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London/Essex, UK	Got my Home Signal box today and after setting it up I still see no change. Green light is meant to stop flashing when connected but it's still flashing away after several hours and numerous resets. I've heard I may need to open ports on my router, not got a clue what that means!
	0