Currently with EE (~4 years), and finding that numerous places struggle for signal - many being in large towns / cities such as Chichester / Brighton / Didcot / Croydon etc. In most cases - I'm not looking for streaming etc - just enough data to do a price check etc.
I have to rely on Wi-Fi calling as often have variable signal at home, and signal in the village where I live is non-existent.
Tried Smarty (Three) and whilst signal is better in some of those spots, we noticed the phone call quality was much poorer, so are not entirely sold with 3 / MVNOs.
've not touched O2 / Vodafone for decades - but understand their networks are lagging way behind in terms of 5G coverage, and in O2's case lack Wi-Fi calling - also know from friends/family who've used Vodafone and struggled with signal in smaller villages etc.
It's a situation that's certainly got worse over time - largely down to I suspect 'upgrading' the network to newer technologies but they don't have the same reach. I used to regularly hold conversations during commutes with my partner but that's now impossible without frustrations of signal loss - data certainly become more sketchy during that time, where even if you have a 4G reception you'll be lucky to actually load anything. This is across multiple 4G/5G iPhones too.
Perhaps more a rant - but short of trawling across networks with rolling contracts to get to something more reliable - or even needing to have dual SIMs to switch between the best signal are considerations I should not really need to take...","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51793168","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Tuta"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T15:44:44.000Z","text":"If you're having issues with EE, try Vodafone. They're ranked as 2nd best and will be your best bet in coverage and quality after EE. Try a voxi SIM with a free month trial."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51794239","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"xxxSimoneBxxx"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T17:43:39.000Z","text":"RWG mobile are supposed to be launching a ‘FlexiSim’ this month, which is data only for all 4 main networks!
There is no comment as to when, or price, but might be worth holding on for that!
RWG FlexiSim"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51792856","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"001Cisco"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T15:03:25.000Z","text":"Dual sim phone + wifi calling will cover..."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51793747","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Willy_Wonka"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T16:42:24.000Z","text":"\"It feels like a dumb question to ask, and maybe I am expecting too much\"
You are asking too much. No network is going to be great wherever you go."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51793038","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"smith2001uk"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T15:29:48.000Z","text":"Odd. On my O2 WiFi calling works great."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51793095","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"googleboogle"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T15:35:15.000Z","text":"EE works fine for me, what phone you using ?"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51793432","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"_-Richie-_"},"datePublished":"2023-12-20T16:11:02.000Z","text":"There are 4 mobile networks in the UK, with multiple MVNO to choose from.
The best course of action is try a sim from each of the 4 networks, choose one that suits your needs best, everyone will have a different preference based on where they work, shop, visit, live etc
The 4 networks are:
EE
VM/o2
3 (Three)
Vodafone"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51798613","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"001Cisco"},"datePublished":"2023-12-21T09:44:55.000Z","text":"Depends on data usage, the cheapest option likely to be main SIM with SIMO Three/ idmobile/ O2. since you have iphone, you need to request eSIM
Spare sim switch between Lebara & L.y.c.a. or 1/ 2 year RWGmobile."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51798650","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"leitchyleck"},"datePublished":"2023-12-21T09:50:38.000Z","text":"you ask about reliability and mention 5g? a reliable 4g would be fine, ask local friends/neighbours who their with."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51798698","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"googleboogle"},"datePublished":"2023-12-21T09:56:58.000Z","text":"Possibly try a full size iPhone as well. The antennas are better in those. "},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/51802786","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Bigfootpete"},"datePublished":"2023-12-21T19:05:07.000Z","text":"Croydon? I used to live there and was there last weekend I got a 5G signal with EE, must be your phone.
EE have the best coverage of all the providers.
There are certain spots that are poor coverage though, but I guess you get that with any provider.
I did try O2, 3 and Vodafone but they tended to be worse for areas where there was no signal at all."}],"commentCount":27,"interactionStatistic":8,"articleSection":"Ask"}