Are Three Really That Bad?

ArklowHoop

I've been let out of my contract with out penalty by Meteor,once i send my 4S back,

So ive been looking around for the best deal with the 5.

Three seem to be the best offer wise,but everyone seems to have bad things to say about them?

are they really that bad?

Zhane

I wouldnt recommend 3. Their 3G coverage is sketchy, and doesnt flick between 3G and Edge properly. I had an awful experience during my contract. Including being outright lied to by 2 different people. If you looking for others providers, Id go with Meteor or Tesco mobile. Both have good coverage.

Kristopherus

Try Lyacmobile. They're about the only network that has not bee complained about.:rolleyes:

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

bullmccabe2010

Made the switch from O2 to Three last year. Worst move I ever made. Service is terrible both from the coverage and customer care. No tethering, no online texts and they restrict certain websites which they deem to be dodgy. And it doesn't have to be 'adult' to be restricted!

naasrd

bullmccabe2010 wrote: »

Made the switch from O2 to Three last year. Worst move I ever made. Service is terrible both from the coverage and customer care. No tethering, no online texts and they restrict certain websites which they deem to be dodgy. And it doesn't have to be 'adult' to be restricted!

Not true about online texts, you get 333 a month inc international texts. I've never had a problem in 3 years with three, honestly. Three Like Home is a great extra too, I'm off to Italy this week and will have free all I can eat data at no cost at all. Will be able to text at no cost too via jellysms and iMessage.

Elessar

bullmccabe2010 wrote: »

Made the switch from O2 to Three last year. Worst move I ever made. Service is terrible both from the coverage and customer care. No tethering, no online texts and they restrict certain websites which they deem to be dodgy. And it doesn't have to be 'adult' to be restricted!

I was with three up to last year and I had tethering, there were 333 online texts (honestly who still uses those anyway?!) and the internet filter is easily lifted with a call to customer service.

I actually found their customer service to be fairly good overall. They are good value too, but I switched to Meteor when their €15/month offer came up. Coverage was good overall, I couldn't complain. Though the iPhone did take ages to switch from 2G to 3G - a problem I don't have with Meteor with the iPhone 5 (I'm not sure if this is a carrier or handset problem though).

Overall I would recommend them!

srsly78

Elessar wrote: »

Though the iPhone did take ages to switch from 2G to 3G - a problem I don't have with Meteor with the iPhone 5 (I'm not sure if this is a carrier or handset problem though).

Definitely carrier related problem. Happens with loads of phones, not just the iphone. They seem to have no interest in fixing it.

Pacing Mule

ArklowHoop wrote: »

I've been let out of my contract with out penalty by Meteor,once i send my 4S back,

So ive been looking around for the best deal with the 5.

Three seem to be the best offer wise,but everyone seems to have bad things to say about them?

are they really that bad?

Yes !

elgriff

Find them pretty decent

miralize

Anyone have anything good to say about 3?

gafarrell

Absolute discrace of a network. Honestly dont even consider it. Worst company i ever had the privilage of dealing with.

mfceiling

With them 7 or 8 years now.

Find them good....bills of 70 - 80 a month and I'm a fairly heavy user for work.

No bother with customer care either.

1huge1

Been with them for 7 years since they started here in 2005, besides the odd hitch or two, have no complaints, found them to be good value which of great use when I was living in Austria and was able to use my internet, minutes and texts just like being at home.

Know that has not been everyone's experience, I don't personally find customer service to be all that great but I never really have to ring them.

meoklmrk91

I find them good in fairness, they are seriously cheap and their 3G is great in comparison to Meteor. I will happily stay with them when my contract runs out. The all you can eat data and the tethering is what does it for me, if they don't allow tethering again by the time my contract is up in December 2013 I will be moving as I use tethering every single day.

meoklmrk91

I find them good in fairness, they are seriously cheap and their 3G is great in comparison to Meteor. I will happily stay with them when my contract runs out. The all you can eat data and the tethering is what does it for me, if they don't allow tethering again by the time my contract is up in December 2013 I will be moving as I use tethering every single day.

I would recommend them over Meteor and Vodafone anyway. Never had any bother with customer service where as with meteor I did and I find Vodafone very expensive.

jenno86

Im with Three on prepay for a while now and I dont have any bother with them really. They prepay offer is brilliant.

For €20 every 30 days you get:

- All you can Eat data.
- Unlimited Texts to any network
- Free calls to all networks at the weekend
- Free 3 to 3 calls

I'm with them for the internet. Its great. I have been with Meteor and Vodafone and I found my credit ran out a lot quicker with them.

Jev/N

You'll always hear the bad stories before the good ones, and ten times as many too.

I've had very little issues with Three TBH and I've found them very good - All you can eat data, units as opposed to minutes and texts (I hate texting), free add ons on certain plans and Three Like Home (the best if you're heading to UK, Austria and some other European countries a lot).

You can take what you want from the above posters complaining about the network but keep in mind that I've seen numerous posts on Boards about Meteor, O2 and Vodafone as well. The only ones that aren't seen so often are the smaller networks and branch-offs and that's for obvious reasons, amount of users.

You'll find plenty of people absolutely ripping it out of networks when they have terrible experiences - fair enough. But TBH that happens with most mobile, broadband and TV providers.

I've been with UPC, Magnet, Meteor, Vodafone and Three and never had anything more than a minor issue yet I've heard terrible stories relating to most if not all - it comes down to a good portion of luck at the end of the day

whiterebel

Have a look through some of the threads on the Three forum and make up your own mind. Get a 3Pay sim first and try out the network.

vandriver

I got through 3 gigs of data,about 100 minutes to UK mobiles and hours to my wife last month for just over 40 euro.I'm a fan

And as for no 3g signal,mmmmmm

sumo12

No I'd avoid 3 if you can. I'm with them since they started in Ireland, but switching as soon as contract up. Customer service crap, all you can eat data is a joke cos they have almost no 3G coverage. They tell you one thing on the phone and its another thing in practice. I can go on, but you get the gist! Avoid avoid avoid.

Sumo

bohsfan

In my experience Three are currently an excellent operator. I was with them for a year about 5 years ago and the experience wasn't great. The service was patchy etc. I moved to Vodafone and they weren't much better to be honest.

I moved back to Three about 18 months ago and the experience so far has been good. I signed up to the €40 a month iPhone contract. My bills would hardly ever go over €45 a month. The all you can eat data is great value and the speed is pretty good.

I have never experienced the 'dropping 3G signal' issues that others have, so perhaps I'm just lucky. Or maybe Dublin City has better coverage than elsewhere.

I'd give them a thumbs up!

Ur[s]uS

miralize wrote: »

Anyone have anything good to say about 3?

Yes. Two things.

1. Free roaming in the UK (and Italy, Denmark, Australia, i.e., anywhere there's a sister 3 network). Your domestic bundle is used up, same as if you are at home in Ireland. That's great if you travel to any of those places more than a few times a year.

2. All you can eat data.

3. Some very fast network speeds (e.g., up to 4/5Mbps in Yeats country in Sligo ... more commonly >1Mbps in Dublin City).

There are downsides. Network speed is good, but 3G is far from nationwide. I use it on the train to Belfast, Cork, Galway etc. and 3G is only strong around built up areas. You'll get signal (in effect piggybacking on Vodafone GPRS) at other places, that will allow calls, sms, but not worthwhile data. Also, deep building penetration is not always great (goes for many networks).

The only annoying thing is that it drops iPhone from 3G to GPRS/EDGE quite often. If you airplane mode on/off, you'll reconnect to 3G and get faster speeds, but it's annoying to have to do that. I am almost embarrassed to say I am now immune to the inconvenience of that clunky workaround.

srsly78

Ur[s]uS wrote: »

I am almost embarrassed to say I am now immune to the inconvenience of that clunky workaround.

Your phone does not have an "always on" connection because of this. Thus you lose a big chunk of functionality on your smartphone by not being able to receive internet calls without manual intervention..

CarMe

Worst company I've ever dealt with.

baby and crumble

I've had an iPhone 4 and 4s with three (been with them for 4 years) and I have to say I rarely have any problems, and I live in the arse ed of nowhere. Yes, you'll get faster speeds in built up areas, but that's true of every network.

I will admit I was never too keen with their customer service when I was on a bill, but since I've moved to prepay I couldn't be happier. The €20 a month deal is amazing, and the three like home is awesome for when you're in the uk or elsewhere.

I'd happily recommend three as a network for the iPhone, with no real hesitation.

whiterebel

Ur[s]uS wrote: »

Yes. Two things.

1. Free roaming in the UK (and Italy, Denmark, Australia, i.e., anywhere there's a sister 3 network). Your domestic bundle is used up, same as if you are at home in Ireland. That's great if you travel to any of those places more than a few times a year.

2. All you can eat data.

3. Some very fast network speeds (e.g., up to 4/5Mbps in Yeats country in Sligo ... more commonly >1Mbps in Dublin City).

There are downsides. Network speed is good, but 3G is far from nationwide. I use it on the train to Belfast, Cork, Galway etc. and 3G is only strong around built up areas. You'll get signal (in effect piggybacking on Vodafone GPRS) at other places, that will allow calls, sms, but not worthwhile data. Also, deep building penetration is not always great (goes for many networks).

The only annoying thing is that it drops iPhone from 3G to GPRS/EDGE quite often. If you airplane mode on/off, you'll reconnect to 3G and get faster speeds, but it's annoying to have to do that. I am almost embarrassed to say I am now immune to the inconvenience of that clunky workaround.

I think Australia is gone now for new customers?

faceman

sumo12 wrote: »

No I'd avoid 3 if you can. I'm with them since they started in Ireland, but switching as soon as contract up.

Er, Three are in Ireland since 2005 - did you take out a 7+year contract??

I switched from O2 bill pay to 3 bill pay earlier this year and haven't looked back. Im a heavy mobile user. I just found O2 becoming less and less competitive and the level of customer service dramatically dropping

I did have a few hitches with 3 on switching but nothing worth losing sleep over. What I like about 3:

* All you can eat data
* no issues with coverage in the areas i frequent in ireland. (Some areas have better reception than O2)
* The 'units' allowance is far more customer friendly than a block of minutes and a block of texts. (Other providers text allowance is pants)
* Three's policy of "Three like Home" is fantastic. I can use my mobile in the UK and Italy including data at no extra charge! I dont think anyone else offers this.

in the past, there might be the odd delay when you move from a non 3G area into a 3G area before the phone catches up but its no longer an issue for me since i moved to iPhone 5.

What i dont like about 3 is having to contact a call centre in India for support. If its not in their script, its a nighmare. That being said, 3 have a dedicated forum on boards.ie and a twitter account which is staffed by Dublin based people.

miralize

I use tethering quite a lot. Is that available on any sub-35 packages? Looking at the 20 p/m for data alone..

ArtOfEscape

I've had a really good experience since switching in February. Their 3Pay €20 a month deal is perfect for me, no more issues with coverage than I've had with other networks (Dundalk and Dublin city centre areas), and customer service have been fine the odd time I've needed them.

dmcg90

Sketchy 3G coverage that doesn't switch back to 3G when it drops to Edge/GPRS unless you turn flight mode on/off.

Inconsistent customer service, some channels are fantastic, some are terrible.

Inconsistent story in some issues, shops say one thing, stores say another, online says another.

The way the iPhone 5 was handled.

I'd stay clear!

whiteandlight

Absolutely no issues with three. Bought my iPhone 4S outright and on the 20e a month tariff prepay-even has tethering. I only went above my 20 in phone calls one month when I was in hospital and was ringing a lot. Everything else suits me!

whiterebel

Musicmental85 wrote: »

Absolutely no issues with three. Bought my iPhone 4S outright and on the 20e a month tariff prepay-even has tethering. I only went above my 20 in phone calls one month when I was in hospital and was ringing a lot. Everything else suits me!

Tethering is against their T&CS on 3pay

whiteandlight

whiterebel wrote: »

Musicmental85 wrote: »

Absolutely no issues with three. Bought my iPhone 4S outright and on the 20e a month tariff prepay-even has tethering. I only went above my 20 in phone calls one month when I was in hospital and was ringing a lot. Everything else suits me!

Tethering is against their T&CS on 3pay

Signed up before they banned it entirely so it's useable and the guy in the shop actually told me when selling it I could use it. Tbh I don't use if very often anyways!

ToadVine

gafarrell wrote: »

Absolute discrace of a network. Honestly dont even consider it. Worst company i ever had the privilage of dealing with.

Absolute disgrace of an network. Absolute disgrace of a company

Stay well clear.

Kensington

Musicmental85 wrote: »

Signed up before they banned it entirely so it's useable and the guy in the shop actually told me when selling it I could use it. Tbh I don't use if very often anyways!

It wasn never permitted on prepay to start with.
They just haven't actively blocked it. Yet.

Noble Automaton

I have been with Vodafone, Meteor, O2 and I switched to 3 in July. I have no complaints so far and their €20 a month 3Pay suits me perfectly. When I was with O2, my main cost was the data add-on I needed(€5 for 200mb or €10 for 700mb :O ). The Meteor reception in my area is terrible so I only stayed with them for about a year and a half. I didn't have many problems with Vodafone but I left them around 2005-2007 so I'm not sure what they are like now.

I also use 3 for my broadband package(Only provider in the area) and that's the only thing that I have a problem with. When you need customer support they forward you to a call centre in India and put you onto someone who has no idea what they are doing, can have a very strong accent and it seems at times they are just following a script on their screen. Many companies do this so I wouldn't use it as an excuse to not go with them.

Blazer

find them very good overall.
I pay €45 a month and I never get near my limit plus I have unlimited data which is a godsend.
3 coverage is a bit sketchy in my home area but not too pushed really about it.

Vodafone on the other hand..their bloody price plans are ridiculous.
GF went in to day to get a new phone and even though she specified she only wanted to pay at most €20-30 a month the guy had her down for a €46 a month contract for 2 years...luckily enough I spotted it and stopped her right at the last minute before she signed.
But for that price she was getting 100 mins to other networks and unlimited texts and a whopping 500mb of data :rolleyes:
With 3 I get 350 units (have tethering on my existing contract) and all I can eat data so I can't see myself switching from them soon.

nazoil

mfceiling wrote: »

With them 7 or 8 years now.

Find them good....bills of 70 - 80 a month and I'm a fairly heavy user for work.

No bother with customer care either.

Why is anyone paying 70 to 80 pm when there are sub 35 / month unlimited calls, texts and 15gb data offers available?

sham69

With them a month now and no issues with service.
First phone I got was damaged and was a bit of hassle getting it replaced but got there in the end.
From a coverage point of view, no issues, calls clear, data perfect on my commute to work in the morning.
I had issues with vodafone and emobile data in a blackspot on the way to work but its fine on 3.
Speeds are pretty decent.
I have been with all the providers over the years, they are all pretty much the same, if everything works you will have no issues.
If you need any sort of support they are a nightmare, 3 are no different with the added headache of the indian call centre.
It is extremely difficult and frustrating to talk to customer support.
As with anyone who asks me, I would suggest trying a ready to go sim to test coverage etc.
I am luck as I am fairly central in both home and work.

dudara

I'm a pretty satisfied customer with 3 BillPay

- I like the idea of FlexUnits, I don't have the patience to evaluate texts/calls packages
- Three Like Home is an excellent idea
- Good value and All You Can Eat Data is always welcome. They are competitive on price and more innovative than the other networks
- No issues with customer service, always had any issues resolved pretty quickly (bar one... below)

The only negative I have is the 3G/Edge issue experienced by many users. It continues to be a problem 2 years after moving to them. Having said that, I've just renewed for the next 2 years, so that tells you how happy I am overall.