Wing and a prayer:
Its Called 3 for a reason. Its how many seconds you get before you lose the signal whilst making a call.
Another driver I speak with is on 3 and our calls last the longest by far, another is on O2 and we are lucky if the call lasts 30 minutes 
I was on 3 for 18 months, I live in Bristol but tried using the network all over the country, their network is utter crap and their customer services are crap too. I’ll never use them again. I’m on Virgin for the last 9 months and their connection is a dream compared to 3.
Been with 3 for about 6 years, wouldn’t change for anything.
Never had a problem with signal other than in places where nobody can get signal.
I’ve got all you can eat data, the only network i think that actually gives you truly unlimited data. I use my phone as a wifi hotspot sometimes and can use up to 10gb a month.
Some thing that is over looked is the phone, some perform better than others.
3 is ok no probs, im on 3 business same network, don’t forget they have an arrangement with 16 countries , so when abroad you can use your phone as if you were at home, I have a Samsung note 2 its brill with the great big screen, ive just used it in Italy and france, I have thousands of minutes and have 460,000 megabytes which is 460 gig so I can let others nearby use my phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, how phones have come on its unreal, first had one in 1986 it was a fixed cab phone when I was on night trunk with onward transport it was on talkland network which later became Vodafone, it was a nokia of course ,I think they were the first, royhebb
Three based their operation around 3g. Hence the name. They were the first to bring 3g services to a level that made video communications possible.
I’ve been with three for 6 years, and in all that time I have only found one place that I don’t get a 3g service. (Coleford near Radstock) but because three are 2g partnered with Orange (Now EE), when there is no three signal, you will connect to the EE network on 2g so you should always have call and text capability.
As others have said, their data charges are the best value out of all the networks.
As an aside, recently I have had connectivity issues at home. But this is not down to the network, it is down to the roadworks near the local transmitter. (Converting the A350 in Chippenham to Dual carriageway. The transmitter is right beside the roadworks.) but other than this, I’ve had no problems.
im on the one plan with 3 unlimited data.went in to upgrade my phone to a s5 samsumg only to be told if i did that id have to take a new contract out as the one plan is being fazed out due to many people downloading well over a 100gb a month on it.where as im lucky if i do 7/8 a month with my laptop connected to it.only way im may keep the contract is saying ok no upgrade ill stay with what i got and buy myself a new phone when i see it at the right price.also called in virgin and they say they no longer do unlimited date so u can tether in ur laptop.and any plans that do it are very highly price and still have limits on them.
I would stay clear of 3 network.
I’ve been with giff gaff for the last 3 years and I’ve been very happy with them.
About a year ago decided to give 3 network a try, ordered their most expensive sim for 1 month trial, paid 20 quid, as there was some promotion, that was supposed to be with all calls, texts, and unlimited internet, used it for 1 month and in addition to that 20 quid I paid for it, a bill for over 40 quid arrived.
When I called 3 asking what that additional payment was all about, I was told apparently I called some premium numbers.
All numbers I called were regular mobile numbers which were supposed to be included in that 20 quid deal, but no, they said these numbers I rung were premium numbers and that’s what the extra charge was for.
I said I didn’t want to be with them any more, than, they said I had to give them one month notice to quit, despite me buying a one month trial sim.
I’ve never had any extra charges in my 3 years of using giffgaff, despite calling any mobile number I wanted.
I will never switch to 3, they are all bloody thiefs.
hkloss1:
I would stay clear of 3 network.
I’ve been with giff gaff for the last 3 years and I’ve been very happy with them.
About a year ago decided to give 3 network a try, ordered their most expensive sim for 1 month trial, paid 20 quid, as there was some promotion, that was supposed to be with all calls, texts, and unlimited internet, used it for 1 month and in addition to that 20 quid I paid for it, a bill for over 40 quid arrived.
When I called 3 asking what that additional payment was all about, I was told apparently I called some premium numbers.
All numbers I called were regular mobile numbers which were supposed to be included in that 20 quid deal, but no, they said these numbers I rung were premium numbers and that’s what the extra charge was for.
I said I didn’t want to be with them any more, than, they said I had to give them one month notice to quit, despite me buying a one month trial sim.
I’ve never had any extra charges in my 3 years of using giffgaff, despite calling any mobile number I wanted.
I will never switch to 3, they are all bloody thiefs.
just goes to show everybody has different experiences with 3 mobile, I cant fault them, unlimited data when I say unlimited I mean unlimited most people think 10gb is unlimited its not, I have 460,000 mb which is 460 gb you cant get much more than that, I have two phones thousands of free minutes thousands of free texts, free upgrade every two years, I could actually use my phone for broadband in the house, but that’s no good when im away,i only pay £52 pm including vat knock off the vat im only paying £43, if I had any gripe it would be the moving of the call centre from Scotland to india,
There is no such thing as unlimited internet that you can use for tethering with 3 network. Not anymore at least.
Their pricing guide says, for tethering you can use only 2000 units , which is 2GB per month, and that’s when you have their most expensive 37 quid per month contract, and believe me when using your laptop 2GB goes very fast.
Here is their guide, take a look at page 5, which lists all numbers that are not included in their free minutes, take a look at those , what looks like regular mobile numbers, and how many different numbers are there, which you need to be aware of before calling , what to you looks like a regular mobile number, otherwise you get stung by a massive bill.
three.co.uk/ThreePortal/Sate … inary=true
So, now, good luck with that, if you are someone who before making any mobile call likes checking the number against that massive list of numbers, 3 network is for you, I’ve learned my lesson and I’m not prepared to waste my time looking up the number I’m calling, stressing myself I might be calling a number that is on 3 network premium numbers list.
I’m happy with my giffgaff, have my own phone, buy sim cards every month, don’t have to even buy every month, and my phone is still active, can receive calls even if I haven’t paid for the next month on time, can cancel absolutely anytime, don’t have to give any notice if I wanted to quit, my number is being transferred as soon as I decide to leave giffgaff.
Clear, fair, easy to understand system, and a company that doesn’t treat me like a fool, trying to come up with excuses for how to keep me for longer and charge me for things I was never aware of I could be charged.
With giffgaff I get free calls to all 0800 numbers, and can get a very cheap top up, when I want to call abroad, that is cheaper per minute (no other charges) than any other international phone card I have ever used.
The only thing from three I would ever consider would be their dongle 1 year contract ( if it hasn’t changed) of 15 GB, but would never use their sims ( data and minutes).
People on original unlimited data contracts keep the truly unlimited limits, i’m already over 6gb this month but new contracts have a cap even if on the unlimted tariff. They cant change the older contracts unless you change the tariff, they cant force you to unless they buy you out of the remaining term.
nickyboy:
People on original unlimited data contracts keep the truly unlimited limits, i’m already over 6gb this month but new contracts have a cap even if on the unlimted tariff. They cant change the older contracts unless you change the tariff, they cant force you to unless they buy you out of the remaining term.
New sim only are still unlimited tethering as well
Used a payg 3 sim (with £10 credit converted to an add on) when travelling to the USA recently, as Voda would have crippled me with data & call charges. Total cost for calls and data while in USA, just that £10. Decent internet speeds too.
Check out Feel at home on Three
How much are you lot on 3 paying for your data plans?
Iv been buying 1G PAYG sims from Currys at £2.99 but they have recently gone up to £8.00 although still appear to be cheaper than the equivalent contracts
Ive been with 3 for a LONG time, as others have said, good value, awesome internet DIRE call’s and customer services. (heres a tip for customer services on 3, send them a tweet… you’ll communicate with someone in the uk, and if the problem is bad enough a UK person will ring you back eventually!)
the lack of calls/texts coverage is REALLY getting on my wick now, and im considering going to EE with the wife!
BUT it’ll all boil down to price ATEOTD, if I cant find the same value, ill just upgrade with 3!
HTH
B…
hkloss1:
There is no such thing as unlimited internet that you can use for tethering with 3 network. Not anymore at least.
Their pricing guide says, for tethering you can use only 2000 units , which is 2GB per month, and that’s when you have their most expensive 37 quid per month contract, and believe me when using your laptop 2GB goes very fast.Here is their guide, take a look at page 5, which lists all numbers that are not included in their free minutes, take a look at those , what looks like regular mobile numbers, and how many different numbers are there, which you need to be aware of before calling , what to you looks like a regular mobile number, otherwise you get stung by a massive bill.
three.co.uk/ThreePortal/Sate … inary=true
So, now, good luck with that, if you are someone who before making any mobile call likes checking the number against that massive list of numbers, 3 network is for you, I’ve learned my lesson and I’m not prepared to waste my time looking up the number I’m calling, stressing myself I might be calling a number that is on 3 network premium numbers list.
I’m happy with my giffgaff, have my own phone, buy sim cards every month, don’t have to even buy every month, and my phone is still active, can receive calls even if I haven’t paid for the next month on time, can cancel absolutely anytime, don’t have to give any notice if I wanted to quit, my number is being transferred as soon as I decide to leave giffgaff.
Clear, fair, easy to understand system, and a company that doesn’t treat me like a fool, trying to come up with excuses for how to keep me for longer and charge me for things I was never aware of I could be charged.
With giffgaff I get free calls to all 0800 numbers, and can get a very cheap top up, when I want to call abroad, that is cheaper per minute (no other charges) than any other international phone card I have ever used.
The only thing from three I would ever consider would be their dongle 1 year contract ( if it hasn’t changed) of 15 GB, but would never use their sims ( data and minutes).
sorry but got to disagree, I have 460,000 mb of data and I also run a minibus, and my passengers use my data through tethering, last month I used 5gb its a small drip off my 460 gb a month, ive been doing it for months and no extra charge whatsoever
None of the networks will have 100% coverage all of the time…where some have coverage, some will not and vice versa. Yeah yeah, they can talk to blokes on the moon or the ISS… That’s because there’s nothing blocking the signal out…unless they go round the other side of the moon!! I’ve tried many networks over the years, Vodafone were pricey and coverage was very hit & miss, Orange was ■■■■, O2 was good but then got real bad, real quick, had a One to no-one sim for a few days…crap. I’m no 3 fanboy by any means but I can honestly say, when I need to use the phone, it’s got signal…whether it does or not when it’s in my pocket is another thing! Incidentally, we were out shopping earlier and the signal in the coffee shop which was in a shopping centre was 1 bar…AHHAA…log into the free wifi and make a call, just to try the 3 wifi app out…call clarity was, I gotta say, unbelievably good, I’d say better than a normal call…maybe that was lucky but first impressions and all that! I like my unlimited tethering and as long as I keep this contract, hopefully, that won’t change.
I’ve been on three for years, coverage seems to be fine in most places. Internet pretty fast and like others have said they have the in touch app for when you have no signal. Their call centres can be a pain sometimes calling a few times a day with special offers for second contracts, family members etc but they always call from very similar numbers s. Got told the other day it is possible to switch off phone marketing in their online account section so going to try that. Apart from that I’m fairly pleased with them…always happy to reduce prices when to threaten to leave as well.
hmmm
been with 3 for almost 2 years now and the signal is on and off where ever u go around the country. The tinternet with them is ok but not the best unless u are by a mass even then its not great.
I have a mass 100Meters birds eye view to my house , and still don’t get full signal strength, I go sit as close as I can to the mass (approx. 5 meters away ) and I still don’t get full speed H+ internet, and the signal drops and sometimes switches back to “E” (edge) then goes back to H or H+.
Sat on at bournmouth beach by the BIC centre and was topping out at 30Mbps down with over 100Mbps upload speed?? 
3 don’t transmit at full power as other carriers do, or are capable of. Carriers also share the same mass 90% of the time.
heres a few handy hints ive found usefull for the 3 network internet wise.
They don’t offer unlimited tethering no more as only 3 months ago I wanted it, but was told its £5 for 1gb, so politely told them where to go. So to setup the best way to unlimited tether is…
1st. setup a mobile hotspot on your phone, with the choice of your own SSID ( hotspot name ) and password. -
2nd, when that’s done then turn off the tethering on your mobile and download the app in the link I provided.
3rd, when installed click on it once it should bring up your pre setup hotspot settings - just say yes or confirm - then that new app will use your pre defined settings.
4th, u only need to tap the app once to turn it on and it will run in the background, if no device is connected via your mobile then it will turn it self off.
Doing it this way the app will bypass the 3 settings for tethering and u will be able to browse the net on your mobile and on any device u choose to connect to it wirelessly.
I have been tethering this way now for 3 months and my bill remains at £28 as per my price plan, so I can accurately say 3 don’t notice. I also play games like this via the laptop through the mobile hotspot
YOU MUST HAVE UNLIMITED DATA ON YOUR 3 PLAN IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO THIS!!!
Hope this helps you and fellow 3 members… + don’t forget now, its free to roam in any EU country now on 3 as with any other network BY LAW !!
Three are in talks to buy O2 out and merge good news for three users such as myself I can easily use over 200 gig on free net tethering