Three coverage in the UK: Do good things come with 3?

October 30, 2011 1:50 PM

Three network coverage in the UK. Is it as bad as the internet suggests?

I've been looking at getting a new phone on a contract with the 3 network in the UK. I have previously heard bad things about the quality of both the service and the customer care but I don't know true this is and how much of the negative feedback is a hangover from a few years ago when they first started as a provider and were pretty awful.

Does anyone on here have experience of using 3 in the South West of England, especially around the Bristol area? I'm concerned about decent coverage and whether a lack of it would make an iphone useless.

I have had a look on several forums and they seem to be filled with very angry people complaining about the service. I have been with Orange for years now and have never had a problem, yet the forums regarding Orange service are also full of upset people, so I am reluctant to take too much from them.

I have checked the coverage maps of 3's service and it appears to be reasonable for all the places I expect to be going.

So, does anyone have any experience of 3, and would they recommend them.

Thank you

posted by v.barboni to Shopping (10 answers total)

I use them. Reception is very patchy in Scotland, and pretty great in London. Much happier with them than I was with O2.

Only caveat: If you travel abroad, the data roaming charges are larcenous. And there's no Orange-esque deal to make that cheaper.
posted by fightorflight at 2:10 PM on October 30, 2011

I'm on three, and I don't find the coverage to be great in comparison to other networks - friends on other networks tend to have signals when I do not. There is a caveat in that the majority of the time I've been on three, I've been using a Nokia N97 which I suspect to have pretty shitty reception. YMMV if you are using another phone.
posted by Jakey at 2:42 PM on October 30, 2011

Best answer: I switched to three and couldn't stand it; I left the network after a few months. The reception was truly terrible. I'd strongly recommend against them.

(I think part of the problem may be that there is no 2G network to drop down to on three. That is, if you don't get 3G signal you don't get anything.)
posted by katrielalex at 4:04 PM on October 30, 2011

I was on O2 before and it was perfect: strong signal anywhere. I only changed for a better contract because O2's aren't great.
posted by katrielalex at 4:05 PM on October 30, 2011

I'm on three and live in Scotland, but travel a lot around the uk. I haven't had many problems apart from areas others have problems in. I'm pretty sure it is just negative press.
posted by adventureloop at 4:41 PM on October 30, 2011

Get a pay as you go SIM to find out yourself for sure before making a switch to contract. Shouldn't run you more than a couple quid and you can check for the coverage specifically in your area. I live in Edinburgh and they are atrocious in some parts of the town. In the North it's even worse.

I would recommend using giffgaff, they are a pre pay reseller that runs off of the O2 backbone, unlimited texts and data plus 250 minutes for 10 GBP a month. Just pop one of their free SIMs in your phone and your good to go! Although I always purchase a phone separately as when you tie into a contract and get a subsidised handset you always end up paying more (this applies even with the latest phones - I am the proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy 2!). If you must go contract then this might not be for you.
posted by camerasforeyes at 2:16 AM on October 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I am on 3 and much happier with them than I was on Orange. Orange customer care was ludicrously, hilariously bad (for me) - 3 have been much better. In terms of coverage, I've not been anywhere south west since I got my iPhone but when travelling between London and Manchester I had no shortage of signal anywhere along the way.
posted by Ziggy500 at 3:04 AM on October 31, 2011

I'm with Three and find them much better than O2, at least in the centre of Oxford. Despite the horror stories about customer support, I can't really fault it, from my experience.
posted by salmacis at 6:38 AM on October 31, 2011

Oh yes, that's a good point: the human customer support is completely dreadful and hapless. Thankfully, you can do 95% of what you need via their web site.
posted by fightorflight at 10:32 AM on October 31, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks!
posted by v.barboni at 3:15 PM on October 31, 2011