Mobile phone coverage on East Coast

[DanTribe]

Any recommendations for good coverage for East coast sailing areas?
I use O2 on my Android and find it almost useless much of the time, but am locked in for another few months.
Wife also O2 on an I-phone is able to change. I've told her not to stay with O2, but which one is any better?

 

[photodog]

Im getting a better o2 signal right now in shotley than bleeding orange...

My experience in marginal areas is that generally vodaphone is best.... But thats just me.

 

[MoodySabre]

Google: mobile phone coverage maps

Then you get these and more
O2
Orange

It depends where you are. Orange is good around the Orwell but not good on the Crouch - or Bradwell at low water cos the nearest mast is in W. Mersea.

When you've checked them all ot let us know

 

[Leighb]

Orange is good around the Orwell

I can't agree with that I'm afraid, I have Orange and it is pretty bad on the Shotley peninsula.

I have zero signal here at home, and even up on the main road it is very patchy. Generally better out on the river though.

 

[tillergirl]

Orange does not work on the Buxey Sands! Pretty flakey around Heybridge at times although you can find a spot.

 

[swatchways]

O2 works well in the Walton Backwaters

Surprisingly, so does 3 - which is unusual as generally they're not stunning - but mine seems not to struggle on the boat at all, wherever we are.

 

[PaulGooch]

Vodafone works well in and around Shotley, along the Stour and Orwell and offshore around Gunfleet, The Towers, etc pretty well too. Used to use it in Shotley for internet access before they improved the wifi.

If the phone isn't locked to O2, try a cheap PAYG card to see if it's OK for you. If it's locked and you don't have access to an unlocked one to try, you should be able to pick something up on Ebay for pence.

 

[MoodySabre]

I can't agree with that I'm afraid, I have Orange and it is pretty bad on the Shotley peninsula.

I have zero signal here at home, and even up on the main road it is very patchy. Generally better out on the river though.

Their map shows excellent at Shotley/Harwich but poor further up towards Pin Mill. Very patchy.

 

[Tradewinds]

I've got Vodafone on my mobile which is so-so at SYH & 3 on my ipad which seems to constantly outperform it. Could be the aerial configuration on the mobile & ipad though that creates the difference.

There - that started off well, but ended up being no help at all!!

 

[DipperToo]

I can't agree with that I'm afraid, I have Orange and it is pretty bad on the Shotley peninsula.

I have zero signal here at home, and even up on the main road it is very patchy. Generally better out on the river though.

To those of you on Orange, do you also use the T-Mobile signal? I have no issue at Shotley (t-mobile) and like others used to use it for internet access before the wifi improved.

Where I live, Vodafone has no signal whereas Orange is very good. The coverage maps do sometimes leave a bit to be desired as they are sometimes a bit optimistic!

I believe that all new t-mobile phones (and Orange) will automatically now log onto each others network if signal quality is poor. Older phones might need setting up to use both signals (last year I had to register on the t-mobile site and then my phone got an update SMS).

UPDATED - this link shows how to use t-mobile signals if you are an Orange customer http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/520821


However, depending on 'the deal' you get, it is sometimes worth having the odd black spot to get a good package (or keep a good one if you already have it). I managed to sign up to t-mobile a couple of years ago at £15 pm for a windows 6 HTC phone with 300 mins, unlimited landline and 750MB data. just got a new android phone as free upgrade and managed to keep old contract. I also had my old phone unlocked so I could use any local SIM or alternative network provider should the need arise.

However, t-mobile are no good when outside the EU as their calling rates are eye watering (£1 a minute to receive calls in Switzerland), but EU is OK and you can buy roaming packages (plus from July all mobile operators have to reduce their EU roaming charges anyway).

I am not sure about other network operators, but T-mobile do not seem to have objected to my setting up the phone as a wifi hotspot (keeping an eye on data traffic of course!)

 

[wingdiver]

I have Voda on my Android.
SWMBO uses her mobile for her community job (NHS) and had to have Voda for the South Suffolk area including Shotley peninsula as the other providers had very patchy coverage.

 

[ex-Gladys]

To those of you on Orange, do you also use the T-Mobile signal? I have no issue at Shotley (t-mobile) and like others used to use it for internet access before the wifi improved.

+1 for the "everything everywhere" joining up. HAs vastly improved my life as an Orange customer on East Coast

 

[Koeketiene]

Any recommendations for good coverage for East coast sailing areas?
I use O2 on my Android and find it almost useless much of the time, but am locked in for another few months.
Wife also O2 on an I-phone is able to change. I've told her not to stay with O2, but which one is any better?

Wife's on T-Mobile: coverage in the Orwell area is pants.
Am on Vodafone: whilst not exactly brilliant, coverage is a lot better than T-Mobile.

 

[ianc1200]

I'm on Vodafone for the phone & 3 for the mobile dongle at Titchmarsh, both seem to work well there.

 

[DipperToo]

Wife's on T-Mobile: coverage in the Orwell area is pants.
Am on Vodafone: whilst not exactly brilliant, coverage is a lot better than T-Mobile.

Have you tried using the Orange signal yet? It can be a bit disconcerting when your t-mobile phone logs onto Orange as it sometime tells you that you are going to incur roaming charges!

 

[DanTribe]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Looking at the coverage maps, it appears that Voda is favourite, but still patchy.
It does go someway to explaining why we get a good O2 signal out by the Gunfleet wind farm but none in Burnham.

 

[mikeavery]

3 on my MiFi consistently outperforms O2 on my phone around the Crouch. Perhaps I should try swapping the sims to see if that makes a difference

 

[Cantata]

On our website we have been collating user experience with network coverage on the East Coast, just reporting what people tell us that they find. It is aimed at coverage for internet but anyway it may help as regards voice coverage too. It's accessed via the reference at the foot of our home page or a direct link is here.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Another vote for '3' - Using a dongle on a laptop the only East Coast haven I can think of that I couldn't get useable signal was when on the moorings at Orford.

 

[sailorman]

Another vote for '3' - Using a dongle on a laptop the only East Coast haven I can think of that I couldn't get useable signal was when on the moorings at Orford.

3 works for me & i can now tether the mobi too