Should I switch to 3?

af_thefragile

I recently got an iphone and because I'm currently on meteor and their mobile internet is super expensive, I currently have the cellular data on my iphone switched off. I don't spend more than 20eur a month either so bill pay options aren't going to work for me as well, I don't want to spend more than 20eur a month on my mobile.

But I'ld like to be able to use mobile internet on my iphone for light usage such as checking email, browsing few websites and using skype.

I heard skype is free on 3 network which makes me tempted to switch over.

So well, I'ld like to know if it'll be better for me to switch over to 3 network on prepay and if anyone know if there's any limit on the free skype. Like would it charge me if I make calls on skype or is it all free?

Thanks.

marathonic

Is the iPhone under contract? You are correct that bill pay options are pretty expensive for iPhone plans.

Would you not consider selling the iPhone and going for an Android bill pay phone? With Meteor, you'd get a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc or HTC Desire S on their Smart €30 contract which is an 18 month contract costing €25 per month.

For this, you'd get 200 minutes, 200 texts and 1GB data.

Quazzie

Simple answer: No.


Long Answer: No, seriously.... don't even consider it!

Nonoperational

I find 3 really excellent and the price is unbeatable. And I'm fussy about these things!

ftm2008

what is so free about 3's Skype as compared to any other?? skype don't charge for the calls unless you call a non-skype user such as a mobile,, plus if you use it off your wifi you will need a data plan - mobile internet.

whats the point in an iphone without mobile internet??

u could go for vodafone simply 100texts + 100mins + 250MB = 25 per month
u may get similar from other providers but if u have an iPhone you wll have to get some data bundle

Kenny Logins

af_thefragile wrote: »

I recently got an iphone and because I'm currently on meteor and their mobile internet is super expensive, I currently have the cellular data on my iphone switched off. I don't spend more than 20eur a month either so bill pay options aren't going to work for me as well, I don't want to spend more than 20eur a month on my mobile.

But I'ld like to be able to use mobile internet on my iphone for light usage such as checking email, browsing few websites and using skype.

I heard skype is free on 3 network which makes me tempted to switch over.

So well, I'ld like to know if it'll be better for me to switch over to 3 network on prepay and if anyone know if there's any limit on the free skype. Like would it charge me if I make calls on skype or is it all free?

Thanks.

Tesco is cheap as chips, 1gig is only €6.99 and plenty for light use. Double top-ups too.

Skype is a different story, it will need a healthy data allowance or WiFi.

af_thefragile

marathonic wrote: »

Is the iPhone under contract? You are correct that bill pay options are pretty expensive for iPhone plans.

Would you not consider selling the iPhone and going for an Android bill pay phone? With Meteor, you'd get a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc or HTC Desire S on their Smart €30 contract which is an 18 month contract costing €25 per month.

For this, you'd get 200 minutes, 200 texts and 1GB data.

I got the iPhone from my sis after she upgraded to a new phone so its unlocked on no contract.

I wouldn't wanna sell the iphone and get a new phone cuz I don't really have the money for it and its the old iPhone 3GS so I doubt I can much if I sell it.

I'ld like to stay on a prepay service which wouldn't cost me much more than 20eur a month.

It says on 3's website you get free skype on their prepay/3pay plan along with free texts, free weekend calls and such. So I presume it has to be the mobile internet skype. I use the phone at home on wifi connection anyway but I've only got wifi at home so it'ld be nice to have a cheap mobile internet data plan or something as such too...

Here: http://www.three.ie/terms/skype_terms.html

Like free skype sounds tempting to me cuz I have a good few friends on skype and it'll be cool if I can talk to them even when I don't have a wifi connection.

drunkmonkey

ftm2008 wrote: »

what is so free about 3's Skype as compared to any other??

3 transfer the skype call to the mobile network when it's placed allowing you to make a call on 3G but still retain the call when you go to a 2G area.
None of the other networks support skype that's the difference.

Mimikyu

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af_thefragile

Captain Morgan wrote: »

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That's a good idea. Instead of switching over, I'll just get a 3pay sim and try it out for a month and see what their service is like. If I like it, I'll keep it if not stick with my meteor...

drunkmonkey

af_thefragile wrote: »

That's a good idea. Instead of switching over, I'll just get a 3pay sim and try it out for a month and see what their service is like. If I like it, I'll keep it if not stick with my meteor...

You'll need a 3G type phone, you'll also need to set up the internet apn's so you can use the internet and access planet 3. You won't be able to get skype to work properly unless it's a 3 Phone or one they had in their range. You also have to take into account that the phone your "testing" it on may not have been approved on 3 for various reasons.
Getting a sim for testing is a bit of a false economy on 3 as your not going to get the proper experience without a 3 phone. They have talk text and internet coverage everywhere so the testing is not really necessary.

Kensington

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Getting a sim for testing is a bit of a false economy on 3 as your not going to get the proper experience without a 3 phone. They have talk text and internet coverage everywhere so the testing is not really necessary.

Theoretically, yes.

Realistically, I know of two different cells, one in Dublin, one in the midlands, where you can sit on perfect 3G coverage but internet just times out and most of the time you can't make or take calls due to sheer congestion within the cell. The phone should hop over to Vodafone, in which case you could at least call, but it doesn't, because it sees perfect 3G signal so no reason to switch away.

johndoe99

you should have a glance over at all the horror threads on the "Talk to 3" forum

drunkmonkey

Kensington wrote: »

Theoretically, yes.

Realistically, I know of two different cells, one in Dublin, one in the midlands, where you can sit on perfect 3G coverage but internet just times out and most of the time you can't make or take calls due to sheer congestion within the cell. The phone should hop over to Vodafone, in which case you could at least call, but it doesn't, because it sees perfect 3G signal so no reason to switch away.

3 are the largest isp after eircom so there are going to isolated bottle necks from time to time until capacity is increased in those areas. Once a certain capacity cell is reached they add more bandwidth, there also upgrading most of their cells to a fiber backhaul from radio for the launch of nationwide 21mb in the next few months.
It's a long time since i've been unable to make a call on 3G, never had a problem in dublin or down the country in a few years.
My only gripe with 3 at the moment is vodafone are moving from GRPS to Edge which is causing a few problems when driving around the country in certain places but it's only temporary as some of the places I was having problems are ok now.

Kristopherus

af_thefragile wrote: »

That's a good idea. Instead of switching over, I'll just get a 3pay sim and try it out for a month and see what their service is like. If I like it, I'll keep it if not stick with my meteor...

If you are satisfied with the 3 service, you can get a sim only plan for your iphone with 3. It costs €30 per month on a 30-day contract. For that you get 350 units + All the Data you can Eat + a freebie. If you pick the Text All freebie, you will get unlimited texts to all networks and you can use your 350 units to give yourself 350 mins of calls. You can also use 50% of your call time to ring UK landlines or mobiles. And you still have the free data. None of the other networks can come near that value and I'll be off to them as soon as my contract with Meteor is up in 4 months time. I've been with 3 before and found them excellent in every way. That said, there is a whole forum with moaners about 3 who will disagree with me.

Mimikyu

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drunkmonkey

Captain Morgan wrote: »

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There not all to far off it now. I'd say more than 99% of people will have coverage regardless of what sim they put in their phone. The average phone user has no idea how to test for signal strength and speed.
You can't stick a 3 sim in any phone and it will work correctly, hence I said it's a false economy unless the person knows what there doing. Putting a 3 sim in a 6300 will work, shows good signal, tells you absolutely nothing though.

Quazzie

drunkmonkey wrote: »

There not all to far off it now. I'd say more than 99% of people will have coverage regardless of what sim they put in their phone. The average phone user has no idea how to test for signal strength and speed.
You can't stick a 3 sim in any phone and it will work correctly, hence I said it's a false economy unless the person knows what there doing. Putting a 3 sim in a 6300 will work, shows good signal, tells you absolutely nothing though.

What I have found with three is that their coverage for calls is superb, probably even better than my old provider O2, but their data coverage is nowhere near as good.

gizmo555

ftm2008 wrote: »

what is so free about 3's Skype as compared to any other??

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Skype is a different story, it will need a healthy data allowance or WiFi.

The data used by Skype on Three doesn't count against your data allowance, that's what makes it "free".

Kenny Logins

gizmo555 wrote: »

The data used by Skype on Three doesn't count against your data allowance, that's what makes it "free".

Ah, didn't realise that.

Kensington

Kristopherus wrote: »

If you are satisfied with the 3 service, you can get a sim only plan for your iphone with 3. It costs €30 per month on a 30-day contract. For that you get 350 units + All the Data you can Eat + a freebie. If you pick the Text All freebie, you will get unlimited texts to all networks and you can use your 350 units to give yourself 350 mins of calls. You can also use 50% of your call time to ring UK landlines or mobiles. And you still have the free data. None of the other networks can come near that value and I'll be off to them as soon as my contract with Meteor is up in 4 months time. I've been with 3 before and found them excellent in every way. That said, there is a whole forum with moaners about 3 who will disagree with me.

Text All add-on gives you 150 texts to ROI networks, it's not unlimited.

Kensington

drunkmonkey wrote: »

3 are the largest isp after eircom so there are going to isolated bottle necks from time to time until capacity is increased in those areas. Once a certain capacity cell is reached they add more bandwidth, there also upgrading most of their cells to a fiber backhaul from radio for the launch of nationwide 21mb in the next few months.
It's a long time since i've been unable to make a call on 3G, never had a problem in dublin or down the country in a few years.
My only gripe with 3 at the moment is vodafone are moving from GRPS to Edge which is causing a few problems when driving around the country in certain places but it's only temporary as some of the places I was having problems are ok now.

Three's UMTS bandwidth allocation is limited. They can throw as much backhaul as they want at it, if their cell is physically maxed out it won't make an ounce of difference. Three's problem is that their cells are stretched over a wide area so gives rise to the potential for a lot of subscribers fighting for limited RF space.

As for Vodafone, I don't know what's going on with their network at the moment. It seems to be incredibly unstable, particularly if you've an iPhone 4.

srsly78

gizmo555 wrote: »

The data used by Skype on Three doesn't count against your data allowance, that's what makes it "free".

ONLY on a handset with a custom 3 rom. If you use your own handset, or flash a rom, you will lose the free Skype. This was the case last time I checked anyway....

The big delay in 3 rolling out roms is because they have to put their own special Skype on it. So... it's a pointless feature, because noone wants to use 3's lousy roms anyway

angel01

srsly78 wrote: »

ONLY on a handset with a custom 3 rom. If you use your own handset, or flash a rom, you will lose the free Skype. This was the case last time I checked anyway....

The big delay in 3 rolling out roms is because they have to put their own special Skype on it. So... it's a pointless feature, because noone wants to use 3's lousy roms anyway

I wouldn't say that, I am quite happy to use 3's Roms, not everyone is into putting roms on.

srsly78

Suit yourself. 3 are ****, it's not like you can actually use internet anyway

amdaley28

I was tempted to join 3 but after reading threads on here I decided against it.The one thing that stood out seemed to be their poor customer service. I know some might say that its the same with all providers & that some 3 customers were just unlucky.Maybe true but there seemed to be an awful lot of unlucky customers with 3.:)
If at the end of the day you decide to go with 3 don't get an Iphone as the vast majority of 3's problems seem to be with the Iphone. Tale a Galaxy S2 instead.

Tazz T

3 are good on price.

Make sure you're in an area with a very good signal before signing up.

Don't sign up if you want customer service. You might as well ask your local priest what's wrong with your 3 router than phoning the 'technical support' people in Mumbai.

number_1

srsly78 wrote: »

ONLY on a handset with a custom 3 rom. If you use your own handset, or flash a rom, you will lose the free Skype. This was the case last time I checked anyway....

That is incorrect.

To use Skype for free, you simply need to download the "Skype on 3" app from Planet 3. This is a seperate app from the standard Skype app, I have the two apps side by side on my phone as the two of them have different advantages depending on location, availability of WiFi, etc.

I do not have a 3 rom, I bought my Android phone from Orange in the UK and simply put my 3 Ireland sim card in it. All I needed to do was visit Planet 3 (mobile.3ireland.ie), click "Email & IM" (if you can't find the link just go to the sitemap), click Skype and download the app. Since I bought my phone I even flashed my phone to get a newer Android version and it made no difference to the availability of "Skype on 3".

gizmo555

srsly78 wrote: »

So... it's a pointless feature, because noone wants to use 3's lousy roms anyway

srsly78 wrote: »

Suit yourself. 3 are ****, it's not like you can actually use internet anyway

Unfounded sweeping generalisation much? I've been using Skype and Internet on Three for several years, both perfectly satisfactorily.

af_thefragile

Hmm...

Wouldn't the skype/internet on 3 work on an unlocked iPhone 3GS?

I might still go ahead and get a sim from them and see what their internet and skype service is like and how much its going to cost me more than I'm currently paying for meteor.

If I don't have much trouble with the internet/skype and their network coverage, I might switch over... I don't really make lots of calls and such. Just send good amount of texts and it'ld be nice to have skype and internet "on the go" on my iPhone...

srsly78

Ah ok I stand corrected. This "skype on 3" must be new, certainly wasn't available last year. If they have this available why do they still bother to modify all the roms?

number_1

srsly78 wrote: »

This "skype on 3" must be new, certainly wasn't available last year.

Yes it was. It has been available since I joined Three 18 months ago. I can't say whether it was available before that for most phones, but this link suggests it has been available since late 2008 - http://www.three.ie/shop/features/skype.html#pricing

srsly78

Wasn't generally available. Might have been available for a specific model maybe... Deffo was no "free data" skype for android when I was with 3 (early 2010), they didn't even sell android phones then

number_1

I downloaded the "Skype on 3" app to a Nokia (Symbian) phone in January 2010. I downloaded the "Skype on 3" app to an Android phone in June 2010. It wasn't confined to specific models. It was generally available.

Slutmonkey57b

I joined 3 in 2009 and their version of the skype app was an automatic download then. No idea why it wouldn't have been for yours.

srsly78

Because they only started supporting android in summer 2010.

number_1

When you visited Planet 3 (mobile.3ireland.ie), clicked "Email & IM", clicked Skype and downloaded the app, what error message did you get which leads you to believe that it wasn't supported by Android handsets?

srsly78

I am talking about march 2010. 3 did not sell or support android then (I had my own phone with simonly contract).

Can you still use the regular android skype for video chat on 3? Or are you limited to their special version?

number_1

When with 3, did you look for the Skype on 3 app? Did you download the app? Did you try to install the app?

It works fine alongside the normal Skype app.

srsly78

There was no 3 skype app in march 2010.... Go check for yourself, they didn't even offer android phones then (maybe because the skype app wasn't ready).

And yes I was pissed off because the guy in shop etc was giving it loads about free skype, when in reality they didn't offer that on android at all. I left 3 after 2 months because of the "toggle airplane mode" no internet rubbish. The same problem that many people still have problems with today, as evidenced on the 3 forum. Worst mobile network in Ireland, and making no effort to improve either by the looks of things (complaints on forum).


You didn't answer the question btw: can you use video chat with your Skype? Am pretty sure you can't because 3 are so slow at releasing rom updates and video needs android 2.3.4. It works very well for me on vodafone nexus s.

number_1

srsly78 wrote: »

There was no 3 skype app in march 2010...

Yes there was. As I mentioned above I downloaded Skype on 3 in January 2010. Would you care to answer my questions? When with 3, did you look for the Skype on 3 app? Did you download the app? Did you try to install the app?

This the third time I've asked this. In the absence of an answer I'll just assume that the answer is that you didn't even look for the app, didn't download it, and didn't try to install it.

srsly78 wrote: »

You didn't answer the question btw: can you use video chat with your Skype? Am pretty sure you can't because 3 are so slow at releasing rom updates and video needs android 2.3.4. It works very well for me on vodafone nexus s.

My phone runs Android 2.2. I did answer the question, I am not limited to just the Skype on 3 app, I have the bog standard Skype app on my phone alongside the Skype on 3 app. Both work perfectly.

Now if you please, answer my questions instead of throwing in all the diversionary statements and questions.

srsly78

Again: there was no android app. How would there be when 3 did not sell Android phones? You just confirmed it yourself, you had nokia skype in january, android skype in june. I honestly don't know why you are so confused :P edit: Ah I said "3 skype app" above when I should have said "3 android skype app". Should have been obvious anyway...

I DID look for the app!!! I wanted to have free skype calls etc. Could not find it because it didn't exist. Guy in 3 shop even confirmed it for me: "oh they are workin on it, will be out soon" (ofc when I first signed up they didn't mention this).

2.2 is ancient btw... do you have a phone with no updates (like original sony ericcson android)? 2.3 is such a big improvement.

number_1

srsly78 wrote: »

I DID look for the app!!!

Why didn't you just say that the first time?

Now the question is where on Planet 3 did you look for it? Did you click "Email & IM" and then click "Skype"?

Even if there is no version of Skype suitable to the platform of your phone, these links still appear regardless of when you visit the page. There is no version of Windows Live Messenger there which works for Android. Yet when I visit the relevant part of Planet 3, the link is nevertheless there for me to download a Java version of it. Ergo, it would have been possible for you to download a non-Android Skype file and get an error message upon attempting to install it.

So as you've finally admitted that you couldn't find it, we've got to the bottom of the situation. You looked for it, you couldn't find it, so you assumed it didn't exist.

Unless you downloaded a non-Android file from the Skype area of Planet 3 and received an error message on installation, you cannot keep coming out with these broad sweeping statements that you cannot back up.

srsly78

Yeah, I'm so stupid, I should have tried to install the nokia version on my android. You got me.

/bangs head off desk repeatedly.

Back on topic:
Here are some links evidencing why people should not switch to 3.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1367 -> 3 forum with loads of complaints.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055970262 -> Apple forum, 3 complaint megathread.
There are probably a few more complaint megathreads around too.

Number1 did you sign up to boards JUST to defend 3? Hilarious.