I hear a lot of bad comments about 3, but I also hear about people who have had no trouble at all. Is it worth the risk because they do have some good deals.

My dad is with 3 and has never had any problems.

In terms of signal/coverage he nearly always has full signal and full 3g wherever he goes, which is far better than I get with Vodafone.

But this very much depends on the area you live, if you talk to 3 they will be able to tell you whether or not you will get good coverage.

I've found 3 great in and around Cardiff/south wales over the past 3 years, found the customer service helpful too.

They beat all with my renewal too, free iPhone 5 on a £36/month contract!

+1 on the above. Myself, SWMBO and both kids are all on 3. Only problem SWMBO has had is in trying to cancel her last sim only contract. Apart from that no problems at all, get the odd blackspot but that's true of any network I guess. Talking to other 3 phones costs nothing/doesn't use up your normal 'minutes'. They tend to ring up and offer you or your family 'special offers' once you're with them to try and increase customer numbers, which can work in your favour if someone else in your family wants a new phone on contract.

I live in a Faraday cage it seems. Step outside my house and it's fine on most networks, but dead inside.

I'm on 3 and pretty happy with them. Great signal at uni (we have a tower on site though!) and reasonable signal in towns/cities when I need it. Works well enough for the Navigation to work flawlessly on andriod, which relies on data as you're driving about too.

£10 a month for 1gb data, 3,000 (or unlimited texts) and 300 (or 600) minutes (can't remember which it is).

GiffGaff are also worth a look. Some awesome deals and using the 02 network.

http://giffgaff.com/goodybags/10pound-goodybag

Edited 12 January, 201313 yr by TriggerFish

Thanks for them replies. I'm after a note 2 with a lot of data. Contracts I can find are a little expensive but 3 is quite good with unlimited internet. My other option was to buy one sim free then get a gif gaf sim.

I hear a lot of bad comments about 3, but I also hear about people who have had no trouble at all. Is it worth the risk because they do have some good deals.

I think it depends where you live...i work in telecoms the general consensus is if you live in coverage they have the highest data rates...if not the same if worst than the rest....Orange total pants err Vodafone terrible since i left :-)

Br

JeZ

I`v tried a fair few networks and have been on 3 for a good 2 years or so now. The only place that I had issue with reception was my mates house (also on 3). They sent him a box thing to plug into his router and hey presto full signal all the time now. Decent value packages, good value. Years ago when they first started they were fair naff, but they have come a long way now. Yes, phoning India when you need to speak to someone is a pain but tbh apart from porting my number I`v not had to call them much.

Both of my children are on 3, unlimited internet, texts and a few hundred minutes for only a few quid a month, they are also the only provider that does cap the usage, if they use all talk time up then no surprise bill, kids can't call out until the following month.

Coverage is ok, like any mobile network, 3 has coverage when my vodafone does't and vice versa, customer service is ok albeit in india and selfcare on the web is also ok.

We are on our second lot of 2 year contracts.

My company was on re-branded 3 contract a couple of years ago, since then we have had Vodafone and o2.

I found 3 miles better than Vodafone and on par with o2, i'm all over the country with work so it's not just "3 are the best at my house" either.

The only problem I had was trying to leave 3 for a mobile broadband I had and didn't need any more, it took a few phone calls to convince them I was leaving.

3 becomes a problem when you live on the edge of 3G connection. Calls constantly drop as it jumps between 2G and 3G. If you mostly stay built up areas it'll be fine. They also make it hard to unlock phones so if you plan on selling when you upgrade having a 3 phone is a bit like selling a beat up Vauxhall. No one really wants them.

I've been with 3 for a few years now. There are a few black spots when you drive cross country but generally it is very good.

My main reason was the 'All you can eat data' which means my bill only fluctuates by a few quid here and there and I do well over 2GB a month.

They used to use Orange as their backup 2G network when the 3G network wasn't available. Since 2010 they have been pulling the plug in parts of the country, not sure how far along they are with it though. Might explain why I see 'black holes' in the reception where I once didn't.

I recently moved from O2 to three after being with O2 for a long time.

Im very happy with three's signal.. its much better than i expected and i get a good and fast 3g signal everywhere ive needed it. its not as good as O2 in big buildings (o2 have 3g900 so get better coverage in buildings) - but ive found three faster and much cheaper.

I dont hesitate in using the all you can eat data either - just last night i had my laptop teatherd to my Galaxy S3 for 5+ hours using RDP into work and it didnt once drop the connection.. that was about 400mb in total.

I moved onto a 12 month sim-only tarriff with unlimited net, 600 minutes and 5000 that was £12.50 a month - and got £100 quidco cashback

Only downsides to three are well documented - their support and callcentres are all overseas - and they do tend to do marketing calls too.

My reccomendation is get a free three sim and stick a tenner on it - see how you get on with speed and reception. this is what i did.

I've been on three since they started almost, I live in the country (lake district, Cumbria) and have never had any problems with signal, I pay £36 per month for the one plan which basically has unlimited Internet, calls and texts with mobile tethering and a iPhone 5. No other network can come anywhere close to that price.

Forgot to mention the tethering thing. The iPhone wifi hotspot is great and connects to my netbook and iPad when out and about with no problems at all.

And yes, the One plan has basically unlimited everything except the usual 0800/0845/0345 etc numbers and media messaging.

Their marketing can be a major pain but I altered my contact preferences in my 3 account and the marketing silliness stopped. I haven't had a call, text or anything else for about 9 months now.

I've never used them but I know a guy that had such a horrific time dealing with the customer services that he had to get trading standards involved.

Very pleased with them.

Been on Three for years and years now.

Unlimited data is awesome as I can easily chew through a few GBs in a month.

Phil

I found a good deal on 3 via Quidco. I foolishly assumed that all mobile networks worked equally well everywhere these days ( I live near Leicester). Anyway, once I got the SIM I found i could only make calls by walking round the corner from my house.

I had to get a full refund from 3, which took about 4 hours of being bounced around various Indian call centres before speaking to a nice Scottish lady and finally getting a full refund cancellation.

Isn't it amazing how many Indians in call centres are called James or George? My Indian friends in the area are called things like Raj or Dilip.....

I have been on 3 for a year now, no issues or problems at all and for me the one plan is perfect as I use a lot of data tethered.

17GB in December tethered, not a peep out of 3. Coverage has been fine to, and I work everywhere from Cardiff out to Shetland (where it is a bit patchy). I had a 3g signal at the bottom of Glencoe a few weeks ago whilst parked up taking a few pictures.

Indian call centres are less than useless, but overall, 3 get's my vote, I'm out of contract now, and not looking anywhere else.

I moved to them and like Neo_Vr says the data, calls and reception i've found to be far better than o2 (Especially internet speed) while the call centres are in India i've found them not too bad and while maybe a little slow on the phone at sorting things out they do get it done first time. I'd really recommend them in the age of smart phones its a real joy not to worry about getting a massive data bill, i'll often A2DP stream a podcast im downloading on the go or stream internet radio to the car and in the South wales area i get very little to no drop out.

I've been with them for about 5 years now. Can't fault the service, customer service isn't great but I haven't had to ring them for anything other than upgrading.

Just upgraded this week to iPhone 5. Had iPhone 4 for two years and never had any issues. Both phones were on "The One Plan" which has unrivalled usage for the money IMO.

Also unlike most other networks, the "All You Can Eat Data" actually includes tethering.

Also used it abroad this year and the charges even then are very respectable.

Me & my wife have both been with them during that time. And I don't think she has any complaints either.

She is also on "The One Plan" but has put a block on it so she never overspends.

HTH.

Both of my children are on 3, unlimited internet, texts and a few hundred minutes for only a few quid a month, they are also the only provider that does cap the usage, if they use all talk time up then no surprise bill, kids can't call out until the following month.

Coverage is ok, like any mobile network, 3 has coverage when my vodafone does't and vice versa, customer service is ok albeit in india and selfcare on the web is also ok.

We are on our second lot of 2 year contracts.

Tesco and tmobile do capped plans

Depends where you need reception - some providers are better in some locations than others - particularly in rural areas. Doesn't make much odds where I live - their all pants!

There's a coverage app that'll give you an idea

There's a coverage app that'll give you an idea

yeap, they all say limited coverage!