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iOS 4.3 but no Personal Hotspot in U.K?

fifi77 said:
I will give it a go for a couple of months, but I'm not really amused about having to pay £7.65 a month. O2 are such money-grabbing barstewards. Roll on November so I can go with another provider.
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Well I've been with O2 since the original iPhone was released and just recently switched to Vodafone... that lasted a week and I switched again to 3. So far, it's been brilliant. Signal strength where I couldn't get any before and on their The One package, I get unlimited data and free tethering for £25 a month (sim only package).

If anyone is considering a switch to another network, PLEASE be aware that you have between 7 and 14 days cooling off period where you can switch to another network.

I ported my number from O2 to Voda and then to 3 within a period of three weeks. Don't stick with a network that's not working for you.
 
I'm thinking of switching to 3 on my iPhone, I use them for my iPad and the signal in my area is miles better than O2's.

Anyone know if they offer visual voicemail for their PAYG packages? Not really a dealbreaker, but nice to have...

Note - I would try searching for this, but "3" really is one of the most Google-unfriendly names a company could have... ;)
 
Orange UK Personal Hotspot

Phoned Orange this morning to ask about Personal Hotspot....took them a while to figure out what I was talking about the dozy twonks. The answer they gave eventually was that I have to pay for the tethering bolt-on to enable PH. To be honest it didn't sound like they understood the concept at all, so could have just fobbed me off with a stock answer while they figure out what their official policy is. Fiver extra a month for 500mb, tenner for a GB, but why should I pay extra??!!!!
 
3 UK don't offer visual voicemail, which I find really strange. They manage to do a lot of stuff well (unlimited data and so on) but not offer visual voicemail? Shame.

I'm thinking of moving to their SIM Only deal from O2 - I refuse to cough up another £7.50 to have a hotspot.
 
madmads said:
I haven't downloaded 4.3 yet cause I can't be bothered tonight, but I wanted to see how much O2 charge for tethering ie using personal hotspot but the page I found via the O2 site is not working:

http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/SRVS/CGI...ion,question=ref(User):str(Mobile),CASE=11985

The link is from that page 'iphone tethering bolt ons'. Am I even looking in the right place! lol *sighs*

I would also love to know whether I can use personal hotspot from my iphone to my wifi ipad, might start taking it out then!
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fifi77 said:
I'm on O2 and I can see the option. All I want to find out is if you're able to tether a wifi iPad to the iPhone but O2 themselves seem to have no idea :rolleyes:
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Yes, you can tether the iPad to PH on O2 (I do). It can be tethered either via WiFi or Bluetooth (if you have 4.3 on your iPad)

The way the tethering plans work on O2 is like they did before PH: You have to pay £7.50 for a tethering bolt-on which also gives you an extra 500mb. Once you have tethering enabled, all your data allowance can be used for tethering (not just the extra 500mb) and you can add further bolt-ons for extra data (which, again, is also available for tethering). Each 500mb chunk costs you £5 so effectively you are paying £2.50 to use tethering (as the other £5 covers the extra data)
 
On o2 and PH settings available but needs a bolt-on as others have said. Shame you can't use your existing data plan (mine is still unlimited!:))
 
Daveoc64 said:
That's not incorrect.

USB Tethering on Windows would require that iTunes is installed.

Calling such a short time after the official release (which is early) is bound to cause confusion with support staff who are merely reading a computer.
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It is incorrect in relation to the question I actually asked. I wasn't asking about USB tethering.

Bound to cause confusion? Perhaps. But, in my view, the 'computer' should have been updated to reflect the new status quo. Staff working in the iPhone department should be trained to answer these types of questions in advance of a new software release. That's good customer service. It's not as if they haven't known this was coming for a good while.
 
Its interesting that apple renamed tethering 'personal hotspot' and advertise it as a feature. I believe the general casual user who doesn't frequent forums will probably not realise that this is seen as 'bad' by the networks and is often not allowed in the T&C's. Three have said that tethering is not allowed on their new all you can eat payg plans (check the Three blog, they say you have to get the contract One Plan to tether) yet as they haven't actually blocked it on the phone, I think there would be a very good case to argue that you didn't realise you were doing anything wrong if they have a go at you for using it! I have no intention to tether regualrly but I like to have the option as a back up, especially now I have a nice and cheap ipad 1 wifi. I hope 3 decide to leave the option available and I will happily tether on the odd occasion I need it

I don't want to advertise Three to too many people as their network may cripple under the pressure if everyone joins but I do reckon they are the only network worth considering if data is a priority for you. Haven't got the best signal at work yet I get 3.58 mbps down, 1.45 mbps up with a ping of 186 ms. Some people can't even get that for home broadband!! And I can use as much data as I like :)
 
jaysquires said:
Vodafone customers - We automatically get charged £5 for every 500mb we use with hotspot. The information is on the website.

http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/iphone/tethering.html
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Ouch. I like their conditions, even if you've bought a stupidly expensive tethering bolt on it says they are not for making calls over the internet or sharing data files. What exactly are you allowed to do?!

I suppose for anyone on these stupid networks, jailbreak must look more and more appealing
 
im on Vodafone pay monthly. do you think the tethering pricing gets activated when you turn on personal hotspot?

From Vodafone Site.
How tethering works on your iPhone
Tethering is charged separately from the 1GB of mobile internet use that you get as part of your pay monthly price plan. As soon as you tether your laptop or netbook to the internet, you'll pay £5 for 500MB that lasts for 30 days. Use more than 500MB in that time and you'll pay £5 for each extra 500MB.
 
idrewuk said:
3 UK don't offer visual voicemail, which I find really strange. They manage to do a lot of stuff well (unlimited data and so on) but not offer visual voicemail? Shame.

I'm thinking of moving to their SIM Only deal from O2 - I refuse to cough up another £7.50 to have a hotspot.
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I think its only O2 who offer visual voicemail in the UK.
As an alternative you can use the Hullomail app though.

I'm probably going to go to Three once my Orange contract is up. The only thing worrying me is that they don't have a 2G network to fall back on, and they are starting to remove the Orange 2G backup that they use (3G coverage is often worse than 2G because of the high frequency used).
 
Personal Hotspot for Orange contract customers

Hi Guys,
Have sent the following email to CEO of Orange and orange customer services this morning. Reply eagerly awaited...

Dear Sir, Madam,

I called your support today regarding setting up the new personal hotspot feature now available in the 4.31 ios update to iphone 4 users. I was told by your second level technical support that you intend to restrict customers using this feature and will not allow them to use their data quota as they choose, unless your customers pay for a minimum of an additional 500MB of data at a cost of £5 per month.

This is totally unacceptable for a number of reasons.

  • I do not require a further 500MB of data per month and only wish to use the existing data allowance I already pay for.
  • This is not the same as the previously named "tethering" service for which you charge, however your staff do not understand the difference.
  • The ability to use my data allowance as I see fit, should be a decision for me and not restricted by orange.
  • The decision to use a phone's feature which has no cost implications for orange should not be restricted by orange.
I am extremely disappointed that once again you have failed to anticipate your customers needs in this area and have shown the foresight and industry leading vision that used to be a byword for orange.

The software features available in this ios release have been known about for months but when I spoke to your technical support they clearly had no idea what I was talking about- how can you be so poorly prepared for developments such as these- there is nothing on your website regarding the ios 4.3 release, which is completely inexcusable.

This pricing policy demonstrates an unfair restriction on phone use and If this policy has been correctly described to me by your staff, I will be referring this matter to the industry regulator ofcom.

Many thousands of users on a number of key forums are waiting for a clear explanation of orange's policy in this area and are hoping that you will give an industry lead in this area for your loyal UK customers.

I look forward to you clarifying your policy in this area for me and thousands of your other currently confused customers at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,
 
Good letter.


I wonder if somebody will challenge this legally? I mean, if you pay for 500mb of data, shouldn't you have the right to use it anyway you see fit? What they're doing now is to essentially force you to pay again for the data you already have...

Looking forward to seeing the reply you get.
 
RE: Personal Hotspot for Orange contract customers

Initial response from orange, we wait with baited breath...

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email addressed to Mr Tom Alexander, Chief Executive Officer, Everything Everywhere Ltd.

Please be assured that your correspondence is important to Tom, it has been logged and your case has been allocated to an Executive Assistant who is empowered to act on behalf of Tom. We will endeavour to contact you within the next 48 hours excluding Saturday and Sunday’s, however please do not be alarmed if it takes a little longer as the time frame can be dependant upon the complexity of the investigation involved.

Our aim is provide you with an excellent standard of service at all times.

Kind Regards

Orange Executive Office
 
PDE said:
Good letter.


I wonder if somebody will challenge this legally? I mean, if you pay for 500mb of data, shouldn't you have the right to use it anyway you see fit? What they're doing now is to essentially force you to pay again for the data you already have...

Looking forward to seeing the reply you get.
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I don't think a legal challenge would have any legs - when you sign the contract you agree to its terms. If it clearly states that any included data is for use on the device only and there are additional charges for using the device as a modem then there are no grounds for complaint
 
simon999 said:
Initial response from orange, we wait with baited breath...

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email addressed to Mr Tom Alexander, Chief Executive Officer, Everything Everywhere Ltd.

Please be assured that your correspondence is important to Tom, it has been logged and your case has been allocated to an Executive Assistant who is empowered to act on behalf of Tom. We will endeavour to contact you within the next 48 hours excluding Saturday and Sunday’s, however please do not be alarmed if it takes a little longer as the time frame can be dependant upon the complexity of the investigation involved.

Our aim is provide you with an excellent standard of service at all times.

Kind Regards

Orange Executive Office
Click to expand...


Dont expect to be treated fairly or even with the truth. I dealt with the staff at the head office & in the end, I was lied to & ended up being tied to a further 2 year contract which I DID NOT agree to but this was disputed!
 
julianna1973 said:
Dont expect to be treated fairly or even with the truth. I dealt with the staff at the head office & in the end, I was lied to & ended up being tied to a further 2 year contract which I DID NOT agree to but this was disputed!
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I'd second that. I had issues where text messages weren't arriving on my phone for days.

After MONTHS of complaining to Orange and chasing them by letter, I got a written and phone response from a senior member of staff at their head office claiming that as long as the texts were arriving, this was within their expected service standards as they don't guarantee how quickly they'll arrive.

Put me off ever using Orange again.
 
Orange has appalling customer service - I know as I'm with Orange and have been since 1999. Before 2008, I was on a monthly plan paying about £30 a month but since have been on a SIM only deal which gets me 200mins + Unlimited text for under £5 on a 30 day contract (hardly ever use even 100 mins). The tariff I'm on is the main reason why I have stayed on despite making no attempts to reward my loyalty with a decent upgrade offer on an iPhone.

I'm still waiting for the summer on the iPhone 5 announcement before getting a phone - most likely with Vodafone.

Back on topic, instead of paying Orange for the additional for PH, maybe consider a 3 MiFi? I'm considering one so I can use with my iPod Touch.
 
darrellishere said:
Three UK ROCK!!!!
I love the cheaper handset prices!!!
Cheaper call plans with more mins and free HotSpots / formally tethering!!

Why the hell dont o2, voda, etc do it without extra charges !!!!!!
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The payoff is that 3 filters websites. Ostensibly 'adult' ones so that 3 can push you towards its own ones, which you have to pay to access, but the filter traps a lot of other ones, too.
 
weckart said:
The payoff is that 3 filters websites. Ostensibly 'adult' ones so that 3 can push you towards its own ones, which you have to pay to access, but the filter traps a lot of other ones, too.
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Orange do the same, all you have to do is change your settings on your account on the website, turn the filtering off.
 
weckart said:
The payoff is that 3 filters websites. Ostensibly 'adult' ones so that 3 can push you towards its own ones, which you have to pay to access, but the filter traps a lot of other ones, too.
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And if you think Orange's customer service is bad, 3 has all Indian call centres, with the aim to sell sell sell. I tried for months to terminate my 30 day rolling mi-fi contract, i was lied to on every call i had to go to a 3 store to get the store manager to try for me, even he had to speak to the Indian call centre who tried to sell him products! Once the contract was eventually terminated i got a final bill, which i paid, then i got two more letters stating i hadn't paid and nasty phone calls from debt agencies who took my details 3 times to pay it.

I will NEVER go near three again!
 
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