Reviewing my mobile contract

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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I am a 3 customer currently, having been with O2.

I am out of contract and looking at the various options.

I am a light user of the phone. Occasional calls, occasional texts, almost no web browsing or apps.

First of all, is any network better than another?

I am tempted to stay with 3 as it's working fine for me. Some people tell me things like "I moved to Vodaphone but it doesn't have coverage in Stillorgan". I don't know if that is true or whether there are other issues.

I don't even know what various networks are available. I gather that Tesco runs over 3, so I presume its coverage is the same.

If they are all pretty much the same, should I choose on the basis of the best package?
I see various Tesco offers recommended in other posts.

Reasons for not moving
I don't have any problems at the moment.
I am a light user anyway, so cost is not an issue.
The 3 online seems to work well, and I have my contacts set up there for webtexting.

My phone is slow to charge and overheating.
I am assuming that this can be fixed without changing the handset.

If not, I will probably buy the handset rather than sign up for a contract.
 
Hi Brendan,

I am with Vodafone and find them very good to deal with now as compared to some years back. I find their coverage very good and from what I can gather a lot better than other providers especially in country areas.

I have heard from friends that once you don't have to contact 3s call centre things are ok but if you do they are not great.

Any overheating problem with a phone needs to be addressed asap in my opinion :eek: I like Carphone Warehouse to view and possibly buy handsets.
 
Sue Ellen said:
I have heard from friends that once you don't have to contact 3s call centre things are ok but if you do they are not great.
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Thanks

That was my experience today ok. It was all over the place. Multiple, multiple, multiple choice options, before getting to speak to someone who said that the "loyalty team was very busy" and would call me back. But they have not done so yet.

I might try Carphone Warehouse, but when I used them before, they added my name to their mailing list, despite specifically telling them not to.
 
I think at this stage I've been with every provider at least once. I have to say that I have ended back up with Vodafone. My parents are with them and so is my wife. I'm now a firm believer in if you are happy with your provider, don't move. Too many issues with coverage with different providers. Once there isnt a big difference I'd be staying put.
 
Tesco Mobile - 15 euro a month topup for all calls to landlines and mobiles, and you can buy data with the same 15 euro credit. It's a virtual network that runs on the 3 (and O2) network.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
First of all, is any network better than another?

IME they are much of a muchness. They all seem poor in low-population areas with difficult terrain (hills, trees)

If they are all pretty much the same, should I choose on the basis of the best package?

I am a Tescomobile customer and they offer a range of packages with 30-day contracts. I pay €25/month sim-only for unlimited calls to Irish operators, unlimited texts and 5GB data per month, plus 200 free web-texts per month and 50 free international web-texts. I would regard myself as a moderate to heavy private user (calls, texts, web, messaging, photos) and have never managed to exceed my limit. I'd suggest maybe €15 / month sim-only 30-day contract with Tesco or even PAYG, but I don't know what you currently pay.

Reasons for not moving
I don't have any problems at the moment.
I am a light user anyway, so cost is not an issue.
The 3 online seems to work well, and I have my contacts set up there for webtexting.

All good reasons not to move.

My phone is slow to charge and overheating.

It will probably mean changing the battery at least, if that's still possible, as the phone (battery really) may be a fire hazard. Are you use a 3rd party mains charger? Do you use a 3rd-party charger in the car? Do you leave the phone on overnight charge? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes" the battery may be shot or at end-of-life and need changing. If it's a cheap handset, buy another one.
Click to expand...

Another advantage to using Tescomobile is you can use your loyalty card bonus to pay your phone bill at a conversion rate of 3:1. €5 of loyalty card vouchers = €15 phone credit or €15 off your monthly bill. Very handy.
 
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Was O2 for years and was handy as parents etc same network, so was free to call and text them all. With Three now due to the changeover and its the same free calls and texts to family and now to wife. I never had any problems with O2 coverage, living in Dublin and also on holiday abroad. I don't notice any difference since the changeover.

If you are happy with your monthly cost and coverage at the moment, maybe wait a bit before considering a change. Long-term O2 customers like myself had loyalty to O2. How many O2 customers leave Three will determine their product offerings and the big Christmas mobile campaign is just 6 months away anyway.
 
48months is by far and away the best value mobile option in Ireland. E10 per month for all texts, 300 any network mobile mins, 1GB data and 60 min landlines. Alternatively, E20 for all calls, all texts, 5GB data and 60mins landlines. Coverage is not an issue - on O2 network. I moved over two years ago and have enjoyed saving E35 per month from my previous E45/month Vodafone bill.
 
Another vote for 48months. I only pay a tenner a month now in comparison to the €50 I used to pay 3.
 
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that if Brendan's handset was originally from O2 then it's highly likely that it's locked to O2/Three and needs to be unlocked before he can use it on another network. When you are out of contract then the carrier in question will often provide you with the required unlock code for free on request. If you are a prepay customer and have spent a specific amount on credit in the previous months then they may also do this. Otherwise they may charge a fee, or you can get it unlocked "unofficially". For some phones you can get unlock codes online for free or for a small fee (always try to get them from a reliable/reputable seller) or you can get them unlocked in one of the many bricks and mortar phone shops.
 
ClubMan said:
When you are out of contract then the carrier in question will often provide you with the required unlock code for free on request. If you are a prepay customer and have spent a specific amount on credit in the previous months then they may also do this.
Click to expand...
In the case of 3, you can do this yourself online — see their requirements [broken link removed]. No need to deal with helplines.

Same is true of some other networks, see this guide from the 48 website (my current provider; no complaints so far).
 
I had not heard of "48" before. http://www.48months.ie/who-is-48

"the 48 website (my current provider; no complaints so far)."

48 is Ireland's first online mobile network exclusively for 18-22 year olds.

What is the relevance of the 18-22 year olds? If I sign up, would there be a lot of noise on my phone?

Brendan
 
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DrMoriarty said:
In the case of 3, you can do this yourself online — see their requirements [broken link removed]. No need to deal with helplines.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dr M.

I have requested the unlock code. They ask questions about which network one is moving to. I presume it was ok to unlock it anyway, whether I move or not?

Brendan
 
48 is part of Three!


We're not for everybody
If you are between your 18th and your 22nd birthday, we're your kind of network. ... If you're not, I'm afraid we're not for you but there are other offers out there for you.

How can we do this?
We've kept things simple and kept our costs down. We've no 48 shops or expensive customer care call centres. But don't panic; we're using the Three network, so you'll get the exact same coverage and quality as their customers.


Who are we?
For those who are interested in where we have come from, we are independent but we are part of the overall Hutchison Whampoa Group.

48 is a trading name of Three Ireland Services (Hutchison) Limited
 
Hi Brendan, sorry I didn't see this earlier.

No, absolutely no harm in unlocking your phone — it just means that it will work with any network's SIM card. The question is presumably just so that they can see who they're losing the customer to.

48, when they first appeared, marketed themselves very directly at that age group and their website and advertising is full of palsy "youthspeak" and slightly tedious attempts at wacky humour. Everything is, like, amazeballs! But the thing about having to be 18-22 is just a joke (obviously it would be impossible to impose or police such a restriction). I removed a few decades when filling in my form, but others have put their real age and noone said nay...

The main drawback for oldies, I suppose, is the absence of a phone line for customer support. If you have an issue, you have to raise a ticket in writing, via the website, and they get back to you within a few hours. But on the very few occasions I've needed them, the response has been quick, courteous and far more professional than the countless hours I used to spend ringing Meteor. And I've seldom had any technical issues with coverage, etc. (bar once last year when the 02/Three network, which it piggybacks on, went down for a day and a half, sparking a major humanitarian crisis among the youth). Before raising a ticket you can often resolve issues by reading their FAQ and/or searching the discussion forums.

I find them pretty OK, and the numerous mobile phones around the house now only cost me €10/month to fund, instead of the €20 I used to pay Meteor. Once your phone's unlocked, you could always try them out, and walk away if you're not happy — there's no contract.
 
Hi Dr M

That is a great review.

What about webtext which I use a lot?

I probably would put my proper age on the form and leave it up to them to decide what to do with it.

Brendan
 
Webtexts are one other downside I'd forgotten about — there are none, since they're a virtual carrier and don't have their own network. But if you have an Android smartphone there are various free apps that can be used to send regular SMS texts from your PC (I do this a lot, too, since I far prefer typing on a keyboard to using a touchscreen). The one I use is called Mightytext; I'm sure there's an iOS equivalent, if you have an iPhone. It also allows you to do other things like send photos or other files (<10Mb) directly to your phone, or make it ring if you can't remember which jacket pocket you left it in, that sort of thing.

Are you really going to put 29 on the form? ;)
 
+1 in relation to 48months... customer service is very very courteous, quick & helpful... I'm emmm "just above" the so called age cut off, but didn't seem to affect my application...

It's quick, easy, hassle free to switch over - loads of FAQs on the web site to help also.
 
Excellent info here folks! This 48 package appears on the face of it to be a great deal. I suppose they may an exception for us over 30's!!!!
 
I signed up for the 48 plan earlier this year, it wouldn't allow me sign-up until I had entered a dob that put me in the 18-22 age range.
 
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