3G Data Roaming with three?

Re: 3G Roaming with three?

LadyInBed said:
A friend pointed me to these Three data sim offers
http://store.three.co.uk/view/searc...&manufacturerName&payGPriceForTariff=0to49.99
I think they are different from the 'All you can eat' offers.
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He has sent me an update of his experience so far with 3 data sim offer:

I thought you might be interested in my experience of 'three'. The short version is I don't recommend it other than as a standby option.


The longer version. I have found:


+ no problem getting a service/connection
+ no problem with emails and messaging apps
+ an service for weather apps, weather web sites, can be slow
+ an okay service for most web browsing, can be slow


- no tethering, unless used in a mifi
- streaming of anything typically just doesn't work.
Occasionally if your patient, it might do a few secs then stop. Unusable. So:
- no Skype video
- I suspect no Skype at all
- no Iplayer
- no radio
- no Spotify or other music streaming
- no video in anything, including BBC news, Facebook, YouTube etc


I suppose on reflection, the big thing I want is the music. I really miss not having the radio or Spotify. For the rest, I would wait for marina or bar wifi anyway.
 
Re: 3G Roaming with three?

LadyInBed said:
- no tethering, unless used in a mifi
- streaming of anything typically just doesn't work.
Occasionally if your patient, it might do a few secs then stop. Unusable. So:
- no Skype video
- I suspect no Skype at all
Click to expand...

I've had no problem at all using Skype over Three (using the Android client), but I haven't tried video. I get excellent download speeds on the Clyde, and I have used both the phone and the mifi for Youtube.

However .... I now have a phone with dual SIM cards, which lets me compare Three with O2, and it has brought home to me how rubbish Three is in many places. The big issue I have in SW Scotland is that Three is supposed to roam to Orange/EE when their own network is unavailable, but they have VERY optimistic ideas of where their mast give a usable signal. So, for example, my nearest town has a barely usable Three signal in some places on good days, but they count it as covered and so the Orange fallback doesn't happen.

Basically, Three is a either excellent or terrible - in my experience - and rarely just OK.
 
Re: 3G Roaming with three?

JumbleDuck said:
Two issues, I think. Three SIMs are either for phones or for tablets/dongles/mifis and they have started enforcing this. I had a Three PAYG SIM in my tablet which worked fine for a year and then stopped and had to be replaced with a data SIM.

Although tethering is not allowed on my phone contract, I have had no problem in getting it to work, either wirelessly or over USB. However, that was connecting to the Android tablet or Ubuntu linux laptops. It refuses to work with Windows or Mac laptops, so I suspect it's sniffing the user agent string of the browser and getting umpty if it detects something it thinks runs on a computer.
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I can tether a Windows 7 PC & a Hudl II to my 3 PAYG sim (Xperia Z2 phone) in the UK without problems, though I'm not 'allowed' by my contract. Can't tether in feel at home destinations though, so they must be able to tell. Might try it with my older HTC when next abroad.
 
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Re: 3G Roaming with three?

SWMBO has an old iPhone 4s with a three SIM, we can tether a pair or three of iPads to it and all merrily slurp up the data like milkshake up a straw, cracking set up. Not quite as good as my three mifi but still good.
 
Re: 3G Roaming with three?

Tethering works for me, on an ipad data sim. Used it in Italy, France and Spain in the last few weeks. Great speeds. Tethering not officially allowed, but it works
 
Re: 3G Roaming with three?

LadyInBed said:
Sorry, should have said, he's cruising N Spain at the moment.
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Your mates experience is much the same as mine, the week before last, in Spain (and France too on the way through) using a 12GB 3 SIM in a mifi. Basic stuff works but anything approaching streaming didnt - managed to use 800MB one day, still no idea on what. Contrast with using Spanish SIMs last year when streaming mostly worked though rarely fast enough for TV.
 
Re: 3G Roaming with three?

Colvic Watson said:
Ah I see the problem, you're all talking about PAYG or month by month plan sim's, I took out a 12 month contract sim and the T&C's are different.
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I have a 12 month contract phone SIM, unlimited data and 200 minutes £20 pcm. Free 3 to 3 calls - its a great package.
But tethering overseas is definitely not allowed
 
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