I’m on Vodafone. Great in the cities, rubbish elsewhere
Motorola also suggested trying a different SIM, but as I don’t have one at this size, was unable to do so - hence my visit to the 02 shop.
My older phone (non smart like its owner) is on Virgin. I’ve been with them since they started, mainly because they were cheap to run, but also had great coverage - even in those early days.
I’ve dropped them a line to ask for advice on their 2G/3G coverage in my area.
I have to say that I basically stopped using Virgin after they ignored several technical questions from me (they used to have great customer support - over & above most C.Supports) & needed two numbers - one for personal & one for general use (one on Virgin & one on 02 - actually it was Vodafone when I started but somehow it got shifted over to 02. I assumed at the time, that 02 had bought out Vodafone.
I’m not really expecting a reply to my quest !
I turned on my Data service yesterday, but nothing showed up in the display. I turned it off again.
Should data be enabled for Waze (& other sat-nav) systems to work ?
If so, I may as well stick with the built-in version - which also uses satellite/photograph images.
My Son was with 3 for about 3 years, with an expensive contract. When he came to cancel it (went to Oz - didn't need it) all hell was let loose. They carried on taking money from his bank, then demanded more. He received threatening letters from several Collection Agencies, who were obviously passing the case down the line. As an ex dealer, I checked his contract over & know that he did everything right - he didn't want to leave problems behind when he left.
They might have a good system, but if the C.Support stinks, is it worth it ?
Is EE only 4G ? My phone is only 3G - when I can get the damned thing,
Baz
In the day job I work for a construction company where our staff are increasingly needing connectivity in out of the way locations. The company has a deal with Vodafone but we we were increasingly discovering that there were large areas with only 2G coverage including several large towns in the central belt of Scotland.
We now roll out Three MiFi units to startup sites if they have coverage because every one of their masts is 3G. Even in areas where both Vodafone and Three have a signal Three is always faster, and significantly so.
Strange, I’ve got nothing but praise for Three’s customer support. I might add though that for the last 3-4 years I have been SIM only and I don’t ever intend to get a multi month/year contact again.
EE, T-Mobile and Orange are all the same company. You can only get 4G on EE but for most of the country that doesn’t have 4G it reverts to 3G (and probably GPRS/EDGE).
Thanks Dave,
I’m afraid I have no idea what GPRS or EDGE is.
As my Moto is only 3G (when/if I can get it), I’d better not over tax my smart brain ?!
Not sure if it's still the same, but Virgin used to piggy-back on T-Mobile system.Think 2G …
It still does.
2G and 2.5G… 
NI AM L5
Hi,
I got rid of o2 or linked sims and now have 2 three ones. Free “roaming” in Ireland and Italy is useful for me too!
You do get areas/spots with limited coverage, but they are not easy to find.
And for £12 pm you get unlimited data, 5000 texts and 200 minutes. Excellent on a budget!
I will never use orange/ee ever again after they “stole” a 6 month old sony phone from me. They are thieves. End of. (and before some anxious admin deletes this post - I am quite willing to say the same and prove this in any legal court).
Des. . .
Thanks for the update folks,
The reason I am on payg, is that I probably only spend about £2 per week - if that. Being disabled, I do have to rely on my stuff - so have to strike a happy medium (she hates it !), between a cheapish system & a reliable system. If I were still working, it wouldn’t matter.
I’m still looking for confirmation, that I HAVE to have ‘data’ enabled (as per the 02 shop kid), to use sat-nav type apps.
If that’s true, I may as well stick to the built-in one, which does use data.
In my case, the whole idea of seeking free sat-nav, is to get around using data.
Nothing from 02 or Virgin yet ?!?!
[i]hope you're all having a nice weekend[/i]Hi Holzereck.
I’m sorry to hear about your limited budget, it sounds like a tough challenge.
You don’t need data to use a Sat Nav, but you do need to use a downloaded Sat Nav that has a built in map. This will require a large data download (maybe over 500MB) when initially installed and again when updated. However you could do this while connected to Wi-Fi somewhere - hopefully somewhere free.
The best self-contained FREE Sat Navs I know of are Co-Pilot and Nav Free. As I said, download and update using free WiFi, then turn your data connection off.
Good luck!
That’s what I thought.
I used the in-built thing when the phone was 2 days old & I travelled up Country - when I could have really used it. I won’t bore you with the whole story, but on the way home, it kept cutting out of signal. This surprised me as I was on a motorway most of the way, and expected full signal, of 02 at least.
It also kept popping up with “oi mate - we want another quid for the data use”. I guess I got 15/20 mins of use, before it popped up again, & again.
That’s when I decided to look for a free app. When I say free, I don’t necessarily mean free to buy, but free to run.
The first one I tried was free CoPilot. This seemed to fit the bill - initially - even with Data turned off.
I think it was about that time I upgraded to Kitkat. It may be a coincidence, but it seems to have changed around that time, to keep losing signal.
I have also tried Nav-Free.
CoPilot, Nav-free & Waze - and their own maps, were downloaded at home, via my B.Band/Wifi.
I have seen an app for satellite signal strength - any good ?
cheers
Just to clarify, you really do need data for Waze as although it can cache maps from previous routes, it does rely on a data connection to keep the maps current and IT NEEDS a data connection to communicate with the routing server and for traffic jam avoidance.
There are a number of SIM only no commitment products that are good for Wazers:
GiffGaff (on O2) do several goody-bags £7.50 (250Mb data, 200 mins) £10 (1GB data, 500 Mins) -£12 (Unlimited data, 250 mins) all with unlimited texts.
Three have their PAYG 321 tarif (3p per min calls, 2p text, or 1p per Mb data) or for £12.90 PCM you can have unlimited data, 5k texts and 200 mins)
T-Mobile have a £20 for six months data add-on (500MB per month)
Any more??? (might have to split this thread)
Until recently I was on the Giffgaff unlimited tariff, but could bear O2 crappy network no longer so moved to the unlimited package on three.