Due to the failure of the Globalsimcard GeoSIM service I decided to
order a phone from 3, since their call charges in EU are much the same
as the global SIM card service anyway (okay, there is a 10p/min charge
to receive calls, while with the global SIM they were free, but that
is not that big a deal.) Before ordering, I did check at three.co.uk
that there was coverage at my home location (Cockermouth, Cumbria.)
The phone works some of the time, but other times it is reported as
"unavailable" even though it is switched on. The signal strength is up
and down like a whore's drawers. Some of the time the display shows
"3" and some times "Emerg calls only". The curious thing is that the
signal strength is often very good when the "Emerg" message is shown.
I tried calling 333 from the phone and after a wait, the "Emerg"
message appears again. This is a monthly paid account so it's not a
case of PAYG running out of credit.
I know stuff all about mobiles, so my guess that the 3 signal is poor
and it is roaming on to another network that provides emergency
service only is probably wide of the mark. Is there any way to find
out where the local 3 transmitter mast is, so I can determine for
myself why the signal strength is not dependable?
An email sent from the My3 website has so far gone unanswered.
"techpro" <spambucket@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote in message
news:0ead1a44-cbf9-4fdc-94e7-04eaeba90e9c@d21g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Due to the failure of the Globalsimcard GeoSIM service I decided to
> order a phone from 3, since their call charges in EU are much the same
> as the global SIM card service anyway (okay, there is a 10p/min charge
> to receive calls, while with the global SIM they were free, but that
> is not that big a deal.) Before ordering, I did check at three.co.uk
> that there was coverage at my home location (Cockermouth, Cumbria.)
>
> The phone works some of the time, but other times it is reported as
> "unavailable" even though it is switched on. The signal strength is up
> and down like a whore's drawers. Some of the time the display shows
> "3" and some times "Emerg calls only". The curious thing is that the
> signal strength is often very good when the "Emerg" message is shown.
> I tried calling 333 from the phone and after a wait, the "Emerg"
> message appears again. This is a monthly paid account so it's not a
> case of PAYG running out of credit.
>
> I know stuff all about mobiles, so my guess that the 3 signal is poor
> and it is roaming on to another network that provides emergency
> service only is probably wide of the mark. Is there any way to find
> out where the local 3 transmitter mast is, so I can determine for
> myself why the signal strength is not dependable?
>
> An email sent from the My3 website has so far gone unanswered.
Outside of Three's own 3G coverage area you should roam on to Orange. I am
assuming you've got a 3G phone your using this SIM with, otherwise your
probably already using Orange and their coverage is poor (although the
phone's network display will still probably show the network as being '3').
If you are using a 2G phone, be careful as you might find that Three get
upset when they see the IMEI of a GSM only phone being used on their
network.
On 14 Dec, 17:35, "Neil" <nob...@nospam.net> wrote:
>
> Outside of Three's own 3G coverage area you should roam on to Orange. I am
> assuming you've got a 3G phone your using this SIM with, otherwise your
> probably already using Orange and their coverage is poor (although the
> phone's network display will still probably show the network as being '3').
> If you are using a 2G phone, be careful as you might find that Three get
> upset when they see the IMEI of a GSM only phone being used on their
> network.
The complete package, phone and SIM, was obtained from 3. I know
Orange coverage isn't great here - my wife has my old Orange phone -
but other networks are better and 3's coverage maps suggested theirs
would be as well.
"techpro" <spambucket@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1316337a-88bb-41b8-83ed-538b85c57796@s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> On 14 Dec, 17:35, "Neil" <nob...@nospam.net> wrote:
>>
>> Outside of Three's own 3G coverage area you should roam on to Orange. I
>> am
>> assuming you've got a 3G phone your using this SIM with, otherwise your
>> probably already using Orange and their coverage is poor (although the
>> phone's network display will still probably show the network as being
>> '3').
>> If you are using a 2G phone, be careful as you might find that Three get
>> upset when they see the IMEI of a GSM only phone being used on their
>> network.
>
> The complete package, phone and SIM, was obtained from 3. I know
> Orange coverage isn't great here - my wife has my old Orange phone -
> but other networks are better and 3's coverage maps suggested theirs
> would be as well.
They used to roam onto O2, which is a dual band network and has better
coverage in the sticks.
Treat anything 3 tells you with advisement, even if it is written.
On 14 Dec, 15:57, techpro <spambuc...@tech-pro.co.uk> wrote:
> I know stuff all about mobiles, so my guess that the 3 signal is poor
> and it is roaming on to another network that provides emergency
> service only is probably wide of the mark. Is there any way to find
> out where the local 3 transmitter mast is, so I can determine for
> myself why the signal strength is not dependable?
They have a coverage checker on their website. Anywhere it says 2G you
will be on Orange.
When I got my phone from 3 t took them a week or two, and a couple of
calls to technical support, to get the Orange roaming working
properly. It sounds very much as if it isn't working for you. So I'd
suggest (from experience)
1) Try selecting the network manually from your phone. You should see
all the available networks. Orange will actually appear as Three, so
in a 3G area with full network you'll see something like Three /
Three / O2 / Vodafone UK / T-Mobile and ina 2G area you'll hope to see
a Three there. If it is, try selecting it.
2) Call their customers services and explain the problem. I was quite
impressed when I did - the first level people reported it as a fault,
and the fault people called me back promptly to discuss it.
On 15 Dec, 23:57, Ian <ian.gro...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> 1) Try selecting the network manually from your phone. You should see
> all the available networks. Orange will actually appear as Three, so
> in a 3G area with full network you'll see something like Three /
> Three / O2 / Vodafone UK / T-Mobile and ina 2G area you'll hope to see
> a Three there. If it is, try selecting it.
I am seeing two 3s, with slightly different icons although my eyesight
is not good enough to see what the difference might signify.
Thanks to the sitefinder website I now know where the 3 mast is. I
know where the Orange mast is - it's quite famous, as it was the first
in the country to be disguised to look like a tree. Except the person
who designed it had obviously never seen a real tree.
The funny thing is we couldn't find it today when we went for a walk.
Usually it sticks out like, well, a mobile phone mast badly disguised
as a tree. So I'm wondering whether they moved the mast, or replaced
it with one that looks more like a real tree. It's still shown on the
sitefinder website in its original position. I can't believe we just
failed to see it.
I assume you must be somewhere around Windermere or Ambleside as Three's own
coverage only extends that far in to the Lakes. I know Vodafone have a GSM
BTS on Wray Castle which covers Ambleside, Orange may also have one there.
3 network coverage in Cumbria 
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