Three - best prepay plan for €20'ish

leck

I currently have the plan "BeFree Talk" from Three. I top up by €20/month - €10 goes to that plan (unlimited minutes anytime to mobile or landlines), then use €5 for text bundle (100 texts, plenty for me) and €5 for Internet 500MB/mo.
That has worked well until now, but my mother is now in a nursing home where there is no free wifi. I spend a lot of time there and figure I'll quickly use up the data allowance. Last month I got a SIM for a spare phone and put €20 on there to tether to my laptop. Speed was slow but better than nothing.

I see this plan on their website, but T&Cs not clear what if any voicecalls are covered:

BeFree Internet - Don't worry about data on your phone eating into you credit. Stay online anytime, with 7.5 GB data. And get 350 texts too. All for €10 credit from each top up of €20 or more in one go for up to 30 days. Simply click 'Accept offer' to switch your plan.

Wondering what my best option is while staying with three. My plan has just expired tonight so need to top up soon.

Any suggestions?

NATLOR

leck wrote: »

I currently have the plan "BeFree Talk" from Three. I top up by €20/month - €10 goes to that plan (unlimited minutes anytime to mobile or landlines), then use €5 for text bundle (100 texts, plenty for me) and €5 for Internet 500MB/mo.
That has worked well until now, but my mother is now in a nursing home where there is no free wifi. I spend a lot of time there and figure I'll quickly use up the data allowance. Last month I got a SIM for a spare phone and put €20 on there to tether to my laptop. Speed was slow but better than nothing.

I see this plan on their website, but T&Cs not clear what if any voicecalls are covered:
Wondering what my best option is while staying with three. My plan has just expired tonight so need to top up soon.

Any suggestions?

Why dont you get their sim only deal

€20 top up gives you unlimited 4g data,unlimited any network texts,free 3 to 3 calls all week and free any network calls at weekends.You also get to keep your €20
Im not on this yet but plan to switch when my current 48 monthly plan expires. Its a no brainer for me

LINK to details

DopeTech

NATLOR wrote: »

Why dont you get their sim only deal

€20 top up gives you unlimited 4g data,unlimited any network texts,free 3 to 3 calls all week and free any network calls at weekends.You also get to keep your €20
Im not on this yet but plan to switch when my current 48 monthly plan expires. Its a no brainer for me

LINK to details

No need to go sim-only, they have that deal on their site for pay as you go customers too.

http://www.three.ie/eShop/phone-plans/prepay/

Might need to call them and ask how you can be switched over to it. Or ask in the "talk to three" forum on here.

NATLOR

I had seen the pre pay option alright,whats the difference between sim only and payg?

They both offer the same deal and require you to top up by the same amount every 30 days,is there a benefit of choosing one over the other

DopeTech

NATLOR wrote: »

I had seen the pre pay option alright,whats the difference between sim only and payg?

They both offer the same deal and require you to top up by the same amount every 30 days,is there a benefit of choosing one over the other

Sim only is a 30 day bill pay contract so it comes from your bank account instead of you having to top up. Once you've been on Sim only over 30 days you can leave whenever you want.

leck

NATLOR wrote: »

Why dont you get their sim only deal

€20 top up gives you unlimited 4g data,unlimited any network texts,free 3 to 3 calls all week and free any network calls at weekends.You also get to keep your €20
Im not on this yet but plan to switch when my current 48 monthly plan expires. Its a no brainer for me

LINK to details

What does SIM-only mean? Does it mean just using the smart part (data and text) but with no or limited phone service? Up til now, I don't need to think whether I'm calling someone on three or another network or landline and what time of day it is. Having only 3->3 calls free during week sounds very restrictive. How much would I pay for others? And is there an easy way to tell if the number is 3 or another network?

FrostyJim wrote: »

No need to go sim-only, they have that deal on their site for pay as you go customers too.

http://www.three.ie/eShop/phone-plans/prepay/

Might need to call them and ask how you can be switched over to it. Or ask in the "talk to three" forum on here.

I'm very stupid about this mobile stuff. I find the internet sluggish when I tethered the other phone a few times last month. That plan promises Free 4G Access. Are all phones capable of availing of that and does it mean faster or more reliable or both? Mine is a Windows phone - Nokia Lumia 630.

The way I read it, that plan offers unlimited data and texts. What I need to be concerned with is that the €20 would be enough to cover any out-of-network and landline calls I make.

And if I switch, I wonder could I switch back if not happy? I'm a legacy customer from O2 so maybe I couldn't have my existing plan back once I switched over?

DopeTech

leck wrote: »

What does SIM-only mean? Does it mean just using the smart part (data and text) but with no or limited phone service? Up til now, I don't need to think whether I'm calling someone on three or another network or landline and what time of day it is. Having only 3->3 calls free during week sounds very restrictive. How much would I pay for others? And is there an easy way to tell if the number is 3 or another network?

I'm very stupid about this mobile stuff. I find the internet sluggish when I tethered the other phone a few times last month. That plan promises Free 4G Access. Are all phones capable of availing of that and does it mean faster or more reliable or both? Mine is a Windows phone - Nokia Lumia 630.

The way I read it, that plan offers unlimited data and texts. What I need to be concerned with is that the €20 would be enough to cover any out-of-network and landline calls I make.

And if I switch, I wonder could I switch back if not happy? I'm a legacy customer from O2 so maybe I couldn't have my existing plan back once I switched over?

Your phone is not 4g capable so having 4g won't make any difference. Your phone is 3g capable though which should be reasonably fast depending on your coverage/signal strength is like.

If you switch to a new plan you won't be able to switch back to an old plan that's not available anymore.

Get Real

Sorry if you only want to stick to 3 op, but if you're willing to switch, for 25 a month, Tesco mobile do unlimited everything. Thats everything and the internet is a huge 15gb a month. I constantly have data in use.

Have never had an issue with them and you can keep your current number too.

leck

Get Real wrote: »

Sorry if you only want to stick to 3 op, but if you're willing to switch, for 25 a month, Tesco mobile do unlimited everything. Thats everything and the internet is a huge 15gb a month. I constantly have data in use.

Have never had an issue with them.

I will look at that later. For the moment, I need to buy a top-up so will stick with 3 for this month.

Would switching to Tesco Mobile mean a new phone number?

leck

FrostyJim wrote: »

Your phone is not 4g capable so having 4g won't make any difference. Your phone is 3g capable though which should be reasonably fast depending on your coverage/signal strength is like.

If you switch to a new plan you won't be able to switch back to an old plan that's not available anymore.

I looked at the coverage map for 4G and it looks spotty in this area and available outdoors at best.

NATLOR

48.ie do a decent €20 plan too

All providers allow you to keep your existing number

DopeTech

leck wrote: »

I will look at that later. For the moment, I need to buy a top-up so will stick with 3 for this month.

Would switching to Tesco Mobile mean a new phone number?

Tesco use the ex-02 part of the 3 network that you are currently on so signal should be the exact same.

leck

I took all your advice on board and then went to the local Carphone Warehouse. Unusually quiet, I was the only customer to three staff. One said that it would be foolish to give up legacy plan with 02 as they are good value for money and if I give it up, then I can't have it back.

Discussed the All You Can Eat data plan with 3. All good, but they reckoned the €20 credit wouldn't go very far to cover phone calls during the week.

Then looked at iD "build your own" - said I could keep own number (which NATLOR confirms you can do with any network), they could give me a 4G capable SIM, move existing info to that (any caution required there?) but were suggesting iD payment by direct debit of €23/mo to get this:

500 minutes (any network, anytime)
100 texts (any network
20GB data
Total €23

When I use those figures at http://www.idmobile.ie/shop/phones-plans/build-your-plan, it comes to €25 and €2 credit. Does this mean amount due is €23 or are you forced to take the credit, which is probably unusable?

Also told that for this price, would need to pay by direct debit, would need IBAN, photo ID, etc. Said I'd come back later.

NATLOR

leck wrote: »

I took all your advice on board and then went to the local Carphone Warehouse. Unusually quiet, I was the only customer to three staff. One said that it would be foolish to give up legacy plan with 02 as they are good value for money and if I give it up, then I can't have it back.

Discussed the All You Can Eat data plan with 3. All good, but they reckoned the €20 credit wouldn't go very far to cover phone calls during the week.

Then looked at iD "build your own" - said I could keep own number (which NATLOR confirms you can do with any network), they could give me a 4G capable SIM, move existing info to that (any caution required there?) but were suggesting iD payment by direct debit of €23/mo to get this:

500 minutes (any network, anytime)
100 texts (any network
20GB data
Total €23

When I use those figures at http://www.idmobile.ie/shop/phones-plans/build-your-plan, it comes to €25 and €2 credit. Does this mean amount due is €23 or are you forced to take the credit, which is probably unusable?

Also told that for this price, would need to pay by direct debit, would need IBAN, photo ID, etc. Said I'd come back later.

There is no point staying on your current plan if its not suiting your needs anymore. There are plenty of competitive deals available it just a matter of choosing what suits you.

Also be aware as was mentioned to you earlier that your phone isn't 4g compatible so you obviously wont receive 4g coverage unless you intend to change your phone

DopeTech

leck wrote: »

I took all your advice on board and then went to the local Carphone Warehouse. Unusually quiet, I was the only customer to three staff. One said that it would be foolish to give up legacy plan with 02 as they are good value for money and if I give it up, then I can't have it back.

Discussed the All You Can Eat data plan with 3. All good, but they reckoned the €20 credit wouldn't go very far to cover phone calls during the week.

Then looked at iD "build your own" - said I could keep own number (which NATLOR confirms you can do with any network), they could give me a 4G capable SIM, move existing info to that (any caution required there?) but were suggesting iD payment by direct debit of €23/mo to get this:

500 minutes (any network, anytime)
100 texts (any network
20GB data
Total €23

When I use those figures at http://www.idmobile.ie/shop/phones-plans/build-your-plan, it comes to €25 and €2 credit. Does this mean amount due is €23 or are you forced to take the credit, which is probably unusable?

Also told that for this price, would need to pay by direct debit, would need IBAN, photo ID, etc. Said I'd come back later.

That id plan is pay as you go according to their site, you top up €25, and for that you get €2 credit, 100 any network texts , 500 any network minutes and 20GB of data. No direct debit required. The guy who told you that is probably on commission and was pushing an id contract as they are owned by cpw. If I was going to pay 25 a month I'd switch to tesco. Unlimited everything for the same price and better customer service/website.

leck

NATLOR wrote: »

There is no point staying on your current plan if its not suiting your needs anymore. There are plenty of competitive deals available it just a matter of choosing what suits you.

Also be aware as was mentioned to you earlier that your phone isn't 4g compatible so you obviously wont receive 4g coverage unless you intend to change your phone

The guy at CPW said I just needed to change SIM in my current phone. Yet the Nokia Lumia 630 is not listed with their 4G-capable phones.

FrostyJim wrote: »

That id plan is pay as you go according to their site, you top up €25, and for that you get €2 credit, 100 any network texts , 500 any network minutes and 20GB of data. No direct debit required. The guy who told you that is probably on commission and was pushing an id contract as they are owned by cpw. If I was going to pay 25 a month I'd switch to tesco. Unlimited everything for the same price and better customer service/website.

Thanks. Will go to Tesco. Is this the plan you suggest?

€25 SIM Only 30day UNLIMITED
Unlimited minutes
Unlimited texts
15GB data

DopeTech

leck wrote: »

The guy at CPW said I just needed to change SIM in my current phone. Yet the Nokia Lumia 630 is not listed with their 4G-capable phones.
Thanks. Will go to Tesco. Is this the plan you suggest?

Yeah most people working in phone shops no little about them or even when they do they will always try and steer you towards a plan they will get most commission for.

Yeah that's the one. And add your tesco clubcard to your account after you sign up and earn double clubcard points on your monthly charge.

quad_red

NATLOR wrote: »

Why dont you get their sim only deal

€20 top up gives you unlimited 4g data,unlimited any network texts,free 3 to 3 calls all week and free any network calls at weekends.You also get to keep your €20
Im not on this yet but plan to switch when my current 48 monthly plan expires. Its a no brainer for me

LINK to details

+1 on Tesco.

You can get the sim only plan as discussed above.

Or go pay as you go. Top up by €15 and get free unlimited calls to any network for a month. The €15 is then available for you to use as you please. Buy a 5 GB data add-on for a €10 and then you have €5 left over for texts.

If you want more than 5GB of data go for the €25 pm sim only plan.

bugfreebob

leck wrote: »

The guy at CPW said I just needed to change SIM in my current phone. Yet the Nokia Lumia 630 is not listed with their 4G-capable phones.
Thanks. Will go to Tesco. Is this the plan you suggest?

Go with the €20pm PAYG plan from Meteor. Unlimited any-network voice calls, 15GB data and 400 free webtexts. On Android & IOS you can use the webtexts with the MyMeteor app, which is as easy as using the native text apps. However, if you insist on staying with your legacy Windows phone, then you will have to use the browser to Webtext. The 400 free webtexts include 100 international. Meteor also allow tethering, has good 4G and PAYG has free incoming roaming throughout Europe (Bill-pay has free outgoing roaming and 1GB roaming data). Avoid Three and all their re-sellers - the networks are plagued with problems since the botched merger. Vodafone works but is outside your budget.

david75

Id call that last post or any recommendation of Meteor, utter b*ll*x..


3's 20€ pay as you go deal is unbeatable and the best deal out there..and i've never had or heard of any signal issues for anyone.

Unlimited data
free texts to all networks all the time
free 3 to 3 calls all the time
free calls to all networks at weekends
and €10 free credit each month once your credit starts to run out..which it rarely will tbh unless youre on the phone to other networks a lot.

avoid meteor at all costs. The very worst misleading deals coupled with the worst customer service imaginable..they simply want to bleed their customers, thats why people are leaving them in droves.

bugfreebob

david75 wrote: »

Id call that last post or any recommendation of Meteor, utter b*ll*x..


3's 20€ pay as you go deal is unbeatable and the best deal out there..and i've never had or heard of any signal issues for anyone.

Unlimited data
free texts to all networks all the time
free 3 to 3 calls all the time
free calls to all networks at weekends
and €10 free credit each month once your credit starts to run out..which it rarely will tbh unless youre on the phone to other networks a lot.

avoid meteor at all costs. The very worst misleading deals coupled with the worst customer service imaginable..they simply want to bleed their customers, thats why people are leaving them in droves.

It sounds like you are describing Three! Three forbid tethering, but are extremely vague about how they punish users who tether. The Tallk-to-Three forum is full of users who have been hit for charges on tethering and who have sought clarification on this. Three also have published charges which are non-compliant with EU roaming rules, and again have avoided giving clear answers on Talk-to-Three. Meteor are extremely clear - tethering always permitted and not charged. Roaming rules are very clear and they are ahead of the minimum requirements for EU roaming. Bill-pay users already get free roaming - exceeding the May 2017 EU requirements more than 1 year early. I can't speak for your comments on customer care - the network works - I have never had to resort to using customer care. Regarding "All you can eat" - this is a fudge by Three - they have a Fair usage policy but are vague about how and when it gets implemented. In any case, their network is overloaded because they don't consistently impose reasonable limits on heavy users. You may not have experienced this, but most Three users have.

david75

tethering is why most people go to three..there is no block on tethering. at all.

Get Real

leck wrote: »

I will look at that later. For the moment, I need to buy a top-up so will stick with 3 for this month.

Would switching to Tesco Mobile mean a new phone number?

Sorry for the late reply OP. No, you wouldn't have to switch number:) so thats unlimited calls, texts and a massive 15gb for 25. was with three myself months back, but it was more expensive and the coverage wasn't reliable. No issues at all with Tesco. Customer service are really helpful re switching too!

steirishrover

Get Real wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply OP. No, you wouldn't have to switch number:) so thats unlimited calls, texts and a massive 15gb for 25. was with three myself months back, but it was more expensive and the coverage wasn't reliable. No issues at all with Tesco. Customer service are really helpful re switching too!

Is it not unlimited everything for 25 a month with tesco? Seriously considering tesco 25 euro plan if it is

leck

quad_red wrote: »

+1 on Tesco.

You can get the sim only plan as discussed above.

Or go pay as you go. Top up by €15 and get free unlimited calls to any network for a month. The €15 is then available for you to use as you please. Buy a 5 GB data add-on for a €10 and then you have €5 left over for texts.

If you want more than 5GB of data go for the €25 pm sim only plan.

I went into Tesco store yesterday with the intention of buying the €25 SIM-only plan to find that they don't sell it in store and also misunderstood earlier posts and thought it was PAYG.

Instead I bought a €15 top-up with free SIM. Found my Windows phone was unlocked so just put SIM in and away I go. I used €5 of the credit for a 1GB data add-on and since I don't text much will just pay as I go for texts (14c each). I transferred the number from my 3 SIM this afternoon.

Nono Toure

leck wrote: »

I went into Tesco store yesterday with the intention of buying the €25 SIM-only plan to find that they don't sell it in store and also misunderstood earlier posts and thought it was PAYG.

Instead I bought a €15 top-up with free SIM. Found my Windows phone was unlocked so just put SIM in and away I go. I used €5 of the credit for a 1GB data add-on and since I don't text much will just pay as I go for texts (14c each). I transferred the number from my 3 SIM this afternoon.

I'm with Tesco for around 4 months now. Coverage for calls is OK but 3G is non-existant. Best I can get is E, which is beyond useless. I'm only letting you know in case you are relying on the 3G working on your phone if you're out & about.

I'm in the west of the Country. (Roscommon, Mayo & Galway most of the time)

leck

Nono Toure wrote: »

I'm with Tesco for around 4 months now. Coverage for calls is OK but 3G is non-existant. Best I can get is E, which is beyond useless. I'm only letting you know in case you are relying on the 3G working on your phone if you're out & about.

I'm in the west of the Country. (Roscommon, Mayo & Galway most of the time)

I was with 3, so presumed I would be getting similar coverage with TescoMobile. How can you tell if your data is using 3G or E?

Nono Toure

leck wrote: »

I was with 3, so presumed I would be getting similar coverage with TescoMobile. How can you tell if your data is using 3G or E?

At the top pf your screen where the symbol for the phone coverage is, beside that symbol it should hopefully say either 3G or H. But if it says E like mine always does, then you won't have any internet coverage.

If your phone doesn't have any letter at the top of the screen best way to find out is to test it by going onto the internet and seeing if it'll work.

leck

Nono Toure wrote: »

At the top pf your screen where the symbol for the phone coverage is, beside that symbol it should hopefully say either 3G or H. But if it says E like mine always does, then you won't have any internet coverage.

If your phone doesn't have any letter at the top of the screen best way to find out is to test it by going onto the internet and seeing if it'll work.

I see six symbols at the top of the screen
bars - only one bar out of five - bah!
triangle - roaming
wifi connection - stronger as I get closer to modem
notifications
battery
clock

No 3G or E or H

I'm at home at the moment so it's automatically connecting to home wifi. I turned that off and couldn't get anywhere on IE. However, yesterday I was definitely getting Internet when out and about.

Nono Toure

leck wrote: »

I see six symbols at the top of the screen
bars - only one bar out of five - bah!
triangle - roaming
wifi connection - stronger as I get closer to modem
notifications
battery
clock

No 3G or E or H

I'm at home at the moment so it's automatically connecting to home wifi. I turned that off and couldn't get anywhere on IE. However, yesterday I was definitely getting Internet when out and about.

Yeah the E or 3g or H symbol won't show if you're connected to Wifi. Well it doesn't on my phone anyways. But if I turn off the wifi on my phone then the E appears.

Technocentral

Get Real wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply OP. No, you wouldn't have to switch number:) so thats unlimited calls, texts and a massive 15gb for 25. was with three myself months back, but it was more expensive and the coverage wasn't reliable. No issues at all with Tesco. Customer service are really helpful re switching too!

Hi, I'm on Tesco prepay can I just top up by 25 and get the 15GB plan? Doesn't make sense that I have to get a new sim delivered?