written by ballababy on 10/06/2007
I wouldn't recommend using three.
It is GREAT for the price plan, but you get a really bad phone that doesn't work very well. It is difficult to text without a space button or an abc2 button.. and I can't add phone numbers with a 2 in my phone without asking the other person to miss call me first... irritating? yes.
I like it for the price so I am, happy with the fact I only pay 15 pounds, plus a bit more for what I get.. however next time I would rather pay more and get a good service, a better phone and a phone that actually work :)
I am happy to stay on 3 and don't resent or regret getting my phone but I would say DO NOT GET A THREE PHONE they are doing badly for a reason.
My brother had one and for the last 6 months of his contract he could not use his phone because it was broken and 3 would not even do anything about it after the 12 months is up... so you pay for nothing, so balancing it out, it is probably better to pay like 35pounds a month, for the same sort of minutes/texts, better service, real phone for just 12 months contract not 18, yes all 3 contracts are for 18 months. Don't do it. No matter how much you look after your phone.. if it breaks 3 will leave you on your own.
Hope this review was helpful!!! Sorry to go on so much!
p.s. I would recommend Nokia or phones4u xxx
written by spectrelives on 27/04/2007
You get offshore Customer Service from people who have no idea about their own policies or plans. They constantly provide conflicting information -- if you don't like what you are told, hang up and call back -- chances are you'll get some completely new person who will say the opposite thing.
My problem is this: if I sign a contract for 24 months, I expect the phone they give me to be working and do what it was sold to me to do. I've been with them for over a year now, and it has taken me 12 months with 4 "refurbished" replacement phones before my current Nokia 6288 doesn't have any bugs.
Fair policy should be, if the phone doesn't work as it should, I want a NEW phone. Not a refurbished phone, a NEW phone.
Read this closely: Refurbished phones are 3's way of saving money on not having to dump dud mobiles. They put a new case on it, do a software re-flash, and give it out again. They are NOT repaired phones, they are software re-flashed. It would cost them too much to repair all their phones, and way too much to hand out that many new phones. They recycle their phones in a never-ending loop of "hopefully the next software upgrade will fix it, when and if it ever comes out."
Why do 3 have so many dud phones? The same reason they get new phones first - they sign deals with Nokia and Sony Erricson to get phones when they are barely out of TESTING stages.
By the time the other networks get the phones, they have had 4 or 5 software upgrades and are much more stable phones. BEAR THIS IN MIND when you join a provider who is boasting about a new phone before anyone else. There is a good reason no one else has it yet.
written by ChrisfromLondon on 04/12/2005
After being with O2 for many years, I decided to go with Three last year on the basis that I was getting a lot more X-net minutes for less money than I had with O2 (a very expensive provider IMHO).
13-14 months down the road I am leaving 3 because I have had enough of my calls not going through, and having a poor and unstable signal, even around London.
My phone was the Nokia 7600, so maybe some of the problems were more due to the phone than to the network itself, but I have had enough. I use my phone 50% business/50% personal and I need something reliable.
One negative point I feel strongly about are the call centres in India where staff speak no, or poor, English.
written by xtcnrg on 26/06/2005
I bought a "Three" phone A835 approx 2 years ago, then upgraded to NEC e616 (bought off line). The phones always run out of battery power, the connection to services is un-reliable, the call clarity was intermittent and you could never be sure you would even be able to connect to the number you were dialling.
When I cancelled my contract after 12 months, they subsequently charged me for line rental (by direct debit) for a further 2 months, then sent me a confirmation bill of 2 months line rental refund and never bloody paid it!!! The customer service call centre might as well be on the moon let alone India (I always asked to be transferred to Scotland) and the staff in India are obviously not trained in the overall workings of their company, it's like speaking to someone who only knows 3 phrases of English.
The network itself is "walled garden" so you cannot visit urls outside of "Three's" domain, and you cannot easily upload content via your pc.
However you do get a ridiculous amount of inclusive minutes (although you can never connect to use them!!!) and the cheapest football downloads (but only the Premiership).
I am now with Orange, who are vastly more hi-tech, the staff are infinitely more knowledgeable and , get this, I now have a phone that you can actually make reliable calls on!!!(Also it's a p910i, "Three" customers won't see a phone like this in their lifetimes!!!)
Avoid "three" like the plague.
written by danielli211 on 08/06/2005
I got rid of 3 after being with them for 2 years. I live in South East London in Zone 4 and generally travel from Zone 4 to Zone 1 in London. The signal strength has improved over my time with 3 (after upgrading to the LG U 8110) but I have weak spots near my home where the network switches to 2G. Its not so much the signal strength that is the problem it is the call reliability. I'm sure that at least once in a day I will have to call a number more than once for the call to go through. On a bad day you have to switch your phone off then on and you can end up dialing 5-10 times to actually get your phone to go through.
Customer Services is in India and you have to speak slowly and clearly to speak to them. When you have a problem they just read from their script in an attempt to placate you which is really annoying. The whole Customer service experience is painful and requires a lot of patience.
Now the Good points:
I subscribed to the original kit service which gives you 1,000 free minutes and 150 text messages and free content for £60 a month. I loved the video clips and used ITN news and MTV music videos. I didn't use video calling much as my friends stopped using it.
The main reason that I stuck with 3 for so long is that it is cheap I can control my costs without having to worry about who I'm calling and how many minutes I have left (I generally use 800 a month) other providers equivalent services are more expensive but of course the service is better. I am leaving 3 now because I am willing to pay a bit more for service reliability. The only thing I will really miss is the content.
written by bigyin2002 on 17/05/2005
Had a three phone for a year, at end of contract cancelled my direct debit and wanted to pay final bill...after two calls was told couldn't take payment using credit card! OK first time for everything!...after being passed from operator to operator, finally managed to pay using credit card... or at least I hope I have, wait and see I guess!... Got to be the worst netwrok I have ever been with, virgin mobile is so much better!! :)
written by djc on 06/12/2004
I have been with the 3 Network for 2 months now, which has been enough time to try the network and handset in a variety of locations and also to get to know the features.
Indeed, the phone is very feature rich. If you like games, surfing web pages, downloading music videos and instant access to information, then the 3 Network would be great.
However, at present 3G coverage is limited and the services available become very limited when outside of a 3G service area - in fact it becomes quite slow and cumbersome to surf for information or download anything at all, and it is usually not worth bothering.
Luckily, for voice calls, the handset will switch to a standard voice network, so that, in theory, you should be able to make a voice call despite limited 3G coverage. In practice, however, this can be problematic and often the call will drop, or the phone, despite showing signal, will not allow you to make a call and inform you that the service is "unavailable."
Also, in the two months that I have been with the network, the network has been completely down twice. Quite often, when I catch up with friends or family they will inform me that they tried to call a few times, but were unable to make a connection - and the phone does not necessarily even register this.
The handsets supplied struggle with the technology and often the internal software will crash, forcing you to take the battery out and replace it again in order to make the phone function. A friend of mine, also on the 3 Network, has had a similar experiences and you will quite often catch us both pulling our phones apart in order to just make a simple call.
The customer contact centre is a little bewildering, although the standard advice given by the agents is to take the battery out and put it back in again - no science there then. If you are happy to work all the features out for yourself and to go on a bit of a voyage of discovery, then this is the phone and network for you. If, on the other hand, you want something that is easy to use and reliable, then it would be better perhaps to stick with the other operators for a few more months yet, while the 3 Network get themselves and the technology a bit more consumer-friendly.
Lovers of gimmicks, enjoy!
Written on: 19/09/2006
We are going through that hell at the moment. At least he would not reconmend it to people. Wish us luck on this voyage. Although the phones are not made by 3 so you can not fault them within the same lines as the 3 company. Although they are useless at repairing them and believe changing the battery will fix all problems. Or if you are lucky you will get another persons broken reconditioned replacement phone. Oh yeah don't forget the letter that comes back with it each time saying it is fixed.
written by Kharg on 07/11/2004
In summary it is what it says, a 3/10 Network, the Network has no incentive to improve and will only do so once subscribers start exerting themselves and using Unfair terms/Conditions of Contract to get these 12month contract scams annuled. 3 are only interested in getting your details for direct debit and sitting back as the cash flows in, why should they improve when they can get the same revenue stream, for doing a bad job as they would a good one?
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Craigbeck's Response to djc's Review
Written on: 16/12/2004
This reviewer obviously has not been through the hell we have!