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Orange UK iPhone 4 signal (not deathgrip issue)

M

Macs4u

Suspended
Original poster
Apr 19, 2008
387
352
Stoke on Trent
Hi,

Just bought an iPhone 4 on the orange uk network, on pay as you go (£480). Even though their website said the coverage was excellent at my house its far from it. Its not the death grip issue as i tried another orange phone at my house after and it was the same poor signal. Ive called orange to be told i cant take it back as they dont offer a returns policy on iphones at all and i will have to just put up with it. Yeah right!!

So , does anyone know if orange uk lock their phones or are they sim free but they just dont tell anybody? If not how much do orange charge to unlock them as i will just go to another network if needs be.

Cheers

Matt
 
Macs4u said:
Hi,

Just bought an iPhone 4 on the orange uk network, on pay as you go (£480). Even though their website said the coverage was excellent at my house its far from it. Its not the death grip issue as i tried another orange phone at my house after and it was the same poor signal. Ive called orange to be told i cant take it back as they dont offer a returns policy on iphones at all and i will have to just put up with it. Yeah right!!

So , does anyone know if orange uk lock their phones or are they sim free but they just dont tell anybody? If not how much do orange charge to unlock them as i will just go to another network if needs be.

Cheers

Matt
Click to expand...

The standard Orange procedure for unlocking involves phoning their customer services after you have had the phone for three months. It should cost £20

http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/how-to-unlock-your-iphone-from-o2-and-orange
 
Daveoc64 said:
The standard Orange procedure for unlocking involves phoning their customer services after you have had the phone for three months. It should cost £20

http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/how-to-unlock-your-iphone-from-o2-and-orange
Click to expand...

So ive been conned by their website coverage checker, cant get a refund which im sure is against uk law and even if i have to keep the phone i cant unlock it to move to a network that CAN give me good signal??

SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE!
 
If you buy it from a shop, you're all but screwed according to our law, unless they have a 'cooling off' period like O2. You do have 6 months by law though if it's faulty.
 
Macs4u said:
So ive been conned by their website coverage checker, cant get a refund which im sure is against uk law and even if i have to keep the phone i cant unlock it to move to a network that CAN give me good signal??
Click to expand...

Legally there's nothing wrong with the phone or the service they provide.

None of the mobile networks in the UK (and I'd expect anywhere in the world) guarantees that you can use your phone in any specific place.

You don't have any legal right to obtain a refund for a product that isn't faulty.
 
Sorted it!

Called apple and they do a refund now even though i bought it from Orange. They said the process takes approx 2wks and involves it being picked up and then sent back to apple. The girl said to me that 90% of their returns they are having for the iphone 4 are from Orange and she said she thinks apple are reconsidering their relationship with orange because of this.

So i gotta wait 2wks for a refund but will go straight out and buy another one on o2 instead (wanted o2 originally but couldnt find one in stock anywhere) as i adore the look of the phone.

Matt
 
People must be mental to buy an iPhone on PAYG from a carrier store.

It's £20 less to buy from the stores of Orange, O2, etc than it is to buy it unlocked from Apple direct.

Freedom, all for £20! :D

Regarding Orange and their signal, one of the women in my work has a 3GS and she can't get 3G in the City Centre most days, and never in the office.

My iPhone 4, on O2, gets 3G and three bars in the office and 3G at all times in the City Centre.

Odd.
 
I have the same problem however I've had my iPhone 4 since launch day and on a contract, so I can't cancel the contract and get a new phone without paying a hefty cancellation fee :(

Do you have a problem with receiving voicemails i.e. not receive them at all? Just wondering if its just me or and Orange thing...
 
Macs4u said:
So ive been conned by their website coverage checker, cant get a refund which im sure is against uk law and even if i have to keep the phone i cant unlock it to move to a network that CAN give me good signal??

SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE!
Click to expand...
I was in same boat as you, I check their website it says I'm in an excellent 3G area, phone CS they say the same thing and then said it could be my house absorbing part of the signal.

seems like orange have been improving their network it would seem, I can now get upstairs 3G with 2/3 bars were as before I would just have 3G 1 bar on the odd occaision and full bars gprs the rest of the time.

either hang in there or unlock and go with someone else and see if you can get better network service.
 
Hi,

Just an update. Got an o2 iphone 4 now and you know what..... FULL 3G SIGNAL!!!!!!!

Spoke to an orange manager and basically , they couldnt care less abot the customer. I vow and declare i will never spend another penny with orange uk again and will do my damnest if asked to steer people away from them.

Matt
 
Macs4u said:
Hi,

Just an update. Got an o2 iphone 4 now and you know what..... FULL 3G SIGNAL!!!!!!!

Spoke to an orange manager and basically , they couldnt care less abot the customer. I vow and declare i will never spend another penny with orange uk again and will do my damnest if asked to steer people away from them.

Matt
Click to expand...

And I've had the complete opposite experience to you and think o2 are nothing more than a pile of ****e. I've had great service from Orange and very speedy 3G.

My only complaint is that I get patchy coverage in work but that's probably from being quite high up in a building....
 
Ok, so now I have Orange T-Mobile enabled on my phone, had it enabled since wednesday and it seems like it is just killing my battery. Normally I can use my phone for about 6 hours a day (about an hour on games, the rest checking emails etc) and still have well over 50% battery left. But today for example, 4 hours usage with about 20 mins on games, and I'm down to 17%

Just wondering if its my handset messing about or there is a huge leap in the amount of power required for the phone to search for 2 network signals.

Anyone able to shed some light?
 
Orange is brilliant for me I get great coverage compared to O2. The main reason I bought from Orange is because it's cheaper and you get 12 months free data and WiFi from Orange. The merge will be good because next year your phone will switch to the best networks signal. That includes 3G as well :)
 
spikedscott said:
Ok, so now I have Orange T-Mobile enabled on my phone, had it enabled since wednesday and it seems like it is just killing my battery. Normally I can use my phone for about 6 hours a day (about an hour on games, the rest checking emails etc) and still have well over 50% battery left. But today for example, 4 hours usage with about 20 mins on games, and I'm down to 17%

Just wondering if its my handset messing about or there is a huge leap in the amount of power required for the phone to search for 2 network signals.

Anyone able to shed some light?
Click to expand...

I have opted in to the signal sharing and haven't noticed any degradation in battery. You can always opt out if you're having problems.
 
I have a friend who bought a phone from Vodaphone UK, couldn't get more than a single bar of signal in her own home. Wrote a letter to Vodaphone, they didn't think it was their problem. The next letter threatened legal action towards them as they weren't offering fair use and she got a refund pretty much straight away.
 
Similar problem happened to me... Orange coverage checker claims I should get an excellent signal.

After I bought the phone I struggle to get 1 bar in most of the house. The amount of times I try and send texts and MMS messages and fail is absurd. At work (Canary Wharf, London ... heart of the financial district I get 1 bar too!).

And to top it off... on my train to work the signal is so patchy you cant hold a conversation for more than 5 mins without being cut off.

They also refused to help... claimed my house was the problem. On an 18 month contract... its appalling.

Atleast if you were with vodafone, you have the option of the femtocell sure signal device that gives 5 bars via your internet around your home... but not on Orange. All they offer is cinema tickets !

Its so bad I have no lowered my contract fee and aim to exit the contract early. They are a joke carrier in the UK , yet get away with claiming they have the best 3G Network..... pathetic.
 
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