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Here's a question for the UK members...

D

Dan14

macrumors regular
Original poster
Hi all,

I have been on O2 for a while now and am considering the other networks now the iPhone is open to all, but in your opinion, what is the best network to be on with an iPhone in terms of call quality, signal, 3G signal and speed?

Many thanks!

Dan.
 
I have only experience with o2 personally but my girlfriend has just switched from orange to o2 (she has a blackberry) because her signal was so poor all the time
 
it depends where you are. so it's better to ask people around you. where i work (central cambridge) i get a better signal on O2 than orange. 3G is available most of the time too.
 
molala said:
it depends where you are. so it's better to ask people around you. where i work (central cambridge) i get a better signal on O2 than orange. 3G is available most of the time too.
Click to expand...

I work in Ipswich and the signal is great, but I live in Norwich and it's very hit and miss, I just wondered if any of the other networks had a more stable signal?
 
Dan14 said:
I work in Ipswich and the signal is great, but I live in Norwich and it's very hit and miss, I just wondered if any of the other networks had a more stable signal?
Click to expand...
I live in Norwich too. O2 is pretty dire so I switched to Orange when I unlocked. Orange is way better where I live (Unthank Road area) and pretty good in other parts too. I'm on a monthly contract and thinking of giving Vodafone a go though...
 
allonym said:
I live in Norwich too. O2 is pretty dire so I switched to Orange when I unlocked. Orange is way better where I live (Unthank Road area) and pretty good in other parts too. I'm on a monthly contract and thinking of giving Vodafone a go though...
Click to expand...

Great, thanks for the advice, I was thinking of switching to either of those two. Do you tether on Orange? If so, what is it like?
 
Overall I have found O2 to be the best. Although it's certainly true that in certain areas one of the other networks can get better signal strength. In some parts of the countryside I get no O2 coverage at all.
 
Dan14 said:
Great, thanks for the advice, I was thinking of switching to either of those two. Do you tether on Orange? If so, what is it like?
Click to expand...
No sorry. I did stump up for tethering for month on O2 when I was away from home over the summer. It worked very well (I was in a good 3G area) but hit the battery pretty hard. Good for email and basic web browsing but you won't be watching iPlayer I think.

Edit. Stupid me. I seem to recall that iPlayer is Wifi only. Hopefully you get the idea!
 
i'm on Vodafone with mine and so far they've actually been brilliant, i rarely get lower than full reception and 3g is pretty much everywhere i go. the only thing i don't like is that they automatically put a content control on the web and charge you to have it removed.
 
allonym said:
Edit. Stupid me. I seem to recall that iPlayer is Wifi only. Hopefully you get the idea!
Click to expand...

iPlayer is wifi only on O2, but works over 3G on Three and Vodaphone.

That said, I'm not terribly convinced a 3G network can be made that volume of traffic, and I've seen some reports that Vodaphone's perfomance has collapsed since they started offering the iPhone.

Phazer
 
For me orange, vodafone and o2 all say that i live in a 3g area. but with orange i fail to get any siginal around my home. So i dont suggest believing the online coverage checkers.

What i suggest is getting a free payg sim from vodafone, orange and o2. (if you ring and ask, they will send one for free). And then try each one out for signal and coverage where you go and see which is the best.

Then get the contract / whatever you want.

ps. for me o2 is the best. fastest and most coverage.
 
Im with O2 at the moment have super fast connection in Swansea where i currently live anything from 1.5mbps to 2.5mbps.

Only problem im moving to the country and the signal there is really bad.

So I'm having to move to Orange from June, on a sim only contract for starters to make sure everything works and i'm happy with the signal then I'll upgrade to the new iPhone whenever it comes out.

Has anyone had any problems with Orange's unlitmited internet (750mb's) Cap?

I use a lot of Data daily sometimes up to 4-5GB a month.

Do you think this would be a problem??

It's never been a problem with O2.
 
I was concidering switching to orange as I used to be a customer of there for some 10+ years and liked certain features but and it's a big but, there unlimited Internet for the iPhone has a fair usage policy of 750mb which I could hit easily in a day.
 
I'm on orange and considering a switch just for the simple fact the phone is cheaper on O2 and vodafone and at no extra cost they give me unlimited texts.

If I stick with Orange I would have to put up with their poor signal in my area, if I go downstairs I get no service and when I'm upstairs I tend to lose 3G signal and end up on gprs and have to keep using airplane mode to refresh the signal. I also would have to put up with a 24 month contract if I wanted unlimited texts and an iPhone which is not very appealing to me
 
The only way you can get a mobile signal where I live is to be on O2. Everyone else has to stand in the magic spot in the kitchen or go down the garden.

:apple:
 
I have problems with 02 and reception the past couple of years, but I think they're the best of the bunch..
 
I'm in Norwich too...

I live in the Newmarket Road area and, despite having an O2 mast just down the road, get virtually no signal in the house, and poor outside - tree-lined road to blame, I think. I'm wanting to switch to one of the others, but they've both told me that there's no guarantee of signal at home and that even if I state that it's a condition of sale, they won't take the contract back if my phone doesn't work at home. So I'm probably going to go for Vodafone, as they supply (for £50) a Femtocell (creates a local 3g signal and sends it back via broadband), which guarantees full coverage in the house.

However, having read a previous post, I might get them to send me a free SIM to test coverage in my house.

The only issue with switching is that my O2 contract isn't up until August, and if that ends up being even 6/8 weeks after the new iPhone is launched, I'm not sure I can wait that long to upgrade from my woefully slow 3g. I'm also a fan of visual voicemail, which I don't think the other networks do(?).

TT
 
steezy1337 said:
i'm on Vodafone with mine and so far they've actually been brilliant, i rarely get lower than full reception and 3g is pretty much everywhere i go. the only thing i don't like is that they automatically put a content control on the web and charge you to have it removed.
Click to expand...

They didn't charge me to remove the content control.

I've found my experience on Vodafone to be pretty much the same as it was on O2 in central London, but I'll be sticking with Vodafone because where I live in Kent they have far better coverage than O2 and Orange.
 
i'm on vodafone. was originally an o2 phone but its unlocked. have very good network weather i go including 3G. very happy with them tbh.

even when i lost my phone the people who found it managed to rack up over £150 pounds worth of calls before i managed to block the sim. i phoned vodafone up and they refunded all the calls which they really didnt have to do. so the customer service gets a thumbs up from me. was on o2 before that and they were shocking for customer service
 
The Phazer said:
iPlayer is wifi only on O2, but works over 3G on Three and Vodaphone.

That said, I'm not terribly convinced a 3G network can be made that volume of traffic, and I've seen some reports that Vodaphone's perfomance has collapsed since they started offering the iPhone.

Phazer
Click to expand...
Thanks. It doesn't work with Orange either. I just tried it and got the message 'Streaming BBC iPlayer programmes on a 3G connection is currently only available to users on the 3 network and contract users on the Vodafone network.'
 
🙄
n terms of pricing the iPhone 3GS costs more or less the same on both networks and recent concerns about data caps for the Orange iPhone have been dismissed. What might be different though is Orange's 3G service. In a recent ad campaign Orange claims it has the 'UK's biggest 3G network' and we know several iPhone owners in the capital who have complained about network issues.:apple:
 
I have a terrible signal at home with O2, and also, from experience with friends and relatives, they get bad signal at my house on most of the networks.

My solution is...

...switch to Vodafone. Buy a 'Vodafone SureSignal' (AKA femtocell) [£50]. It plugs straight into your broadband router and hey presto - your very own mobile phone aerial for your home or office. Plus it's 3G.

Link

My O2 contract ran out in February, so I am just waiting for the new iPhone, then I'll make my move to Vodafone!
 
tombarnes said:
...switch to Vodafone. Buy a 'Vodafone SureSignal' (AKA femtocell) [£50]. It plugs straight into your broadband router and hey presto - your very own mobile phone aerial for your home or office. Plus it's 3G.
Click to expand...

This whole femtocell thing makes me laugh.... Leaving a bad network for another bad network and then paying them extra money so its not so bad...

If you're thinking of doing it ... call them up and see if they'll 'throw one in' to a deal for you ...

Regarding the other networks too - they still don't have visual voicemail, so if you're the kind of person that gets a lot of voicemail it's another consideration
 
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