Phones and data home and abroad. (1 Viewer)

[Mr porky]

I'm sure this has been covered a lot as the providers of data and phone sims keep moving the goal posts when it comes to travelling abroad.

We currently have in my Samsung tablet a smarty unlimited sim which works very well for us to stream TV whilst in the uk but drops to 12gb when in mainland europe.
We both have a phone with RWG we use for uk and abroad and have had very little issues however now they have dropped our allowance from 200gb then to 100gb then to to 20gb a month in Europe, so its pointless staying with RWG.
We do usually end up in mainland Europe up to 3 months at time.

We use esims if travelling to Asia as it works perfect over there but Europe doesn't seem to have cost effective esims.

So do we go back to a mainstream provider or is there an independent company that works in giving decent service at home and abroad.

Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations you have.

 

[Speve]

I agree the Tiekom SIM is good with great service but it’s only 400GB whilst in Spain, when you return to the UK you only get 200GB which would be the same price as for example the RWG SIM - I know you could use one for 3 months in Spain and then put it on hold for a few euros per month - probably more attractive since RWG have reduced their roaming to just 20GB which is really disappointing

We don’t use it in UK but will research a sim for use when travelling in UK

 

[Millcourt]

In post number 24 above, I said I would email IQ about the 3 month in any 12 roaming restriction, which contradicts what they say on their website.

The roaming “Fair Use Policy” is clearly more restrictive than I had presumed. I am copying below my email to IQ and the reply I received, which I hope will help others decide if this is a suitable SIM/data/roaming deal for their own needs.

My email to IQ……..

Good morning,

As a member of the UK’s largest Motorhome Group, I have been actively promoting IQ GO since I bought my first SIM and data package from you a few weeks ago and have found it to work without any problems in my onboard router (Netgear) installed in my motorhome, both in the UK and in Spain.

I need my router to be active all year, both for travel in the UK and EU, as well as when left in UK storage for my onboard video monitoring/security systems. So, IQ GO seemed a very attractive option for me…..but….

My normal travel in my motorhome to Europe is (post-Brexit and with the Schengen constraint of 90-in-180 days entry) two trips a year. The first in late Spring of around 7-8 weeks, the second in the Autumn of similar duration…..perhaps a total of up to 16 weeks or so.

Your website says:

DATA COVERS UK AND EU
We do not have a "Fair use policy" when abroad which is pretty unique. If you order 100GB, you get 100GB in UK or EU. We do however state we can't permit more than 3 months IN A ROW EU usage without use in the UK breaking it up.

So, my reasonable presumption is that my intended use both in the UK and EU is compliant with your “Fair Use Policy”.

However, I am now seeing reports on social media stating that you are stipulating that the TOTAL roaming data usage must not exceed 3 months in any 12 month rolling period and other motor-homers are advising that the motorhome community should avoid your offering if the total usage required exceeds 3 months per year.

Surely this can not be correct and I shall be glad of your confirmation that both my intended usage for roaming is compliant and that your statement on your website is correct and not misleading.

Kind regards.

XXXXX.

The email reply I received yesterday…….

Hi XXXXX,

Thanks for your email, and we absolutely understand your concerns. We are in the process of updating the website to reflect the correct wording i.e. it is 3 months in 12 EU use abroad in a rolling year.

The 3 months consecutive wording is a bit misleading, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused this is being updated imminently.

However, the usage you have stated below is quite appealing to us, the limitations we face from our Upstream provider (EE) is trying to ensure that EU use only with no UK use is causing an in-balance across our total user base (this isn’t your concern, but we’re being an open book by sharing).

We do not want to withdraw the IQ Go service as it is providing a great service for niche customers within motorhome community, and we wish to continue servicing this market.

What we do need though, is UK users too. So, where you are aiming to have the SIM in use all year round on top of your EU travel this is ideal for us and something we can support permanently. We are far more lenient in this scenario, so you are part of the small number of users that balance usage here and there which is fine.

We are about to start an initiative to contact IQ Go customers to see if people would bring their personal mobiles over to IQ Mobile, so we see some UK usage on their day-to-day SIMs to help balance the 100% EU only usage which will help, we are looking into a refer a friend model too.

For any customer that has EU only usage with no other supplementary UK usage or additional personal SIMs with IQ mobile, then the 90 days in 12-month rule needs to remain in place, and the website will shortly reflect that.

Customers that have monthly direct debits, have it all year round and have UK and EU usage or their personal mobile with us too. Then these customers will continue to gain the benefits and will be able to use more than the 90 days without penalty.

I hope that helps. And explains our situation.

You’ll likely see more from us in the coming months as we expand our position and contact our IQ Go travel customers.

All the best

Frazer
IQ Customer Support
01225588101

 

[daventess]

In post number 24 above, I said I would email IQ about the 3 month in any 12 roaming restriction, which contradicts what they say on their website.

The roaming “Fair Use Policy” is clearly more restrictive than I had presumed. I am copying below my email to IQ and the reply I received, which I hope will help others decide if this is a suitable SIM/data/roaming deal for their own needs.

My email to IQ……..

Good morning,

As a member of the UK’s largest Motorhome Group, I have been actively promoting IQ GO since I bought my first SIM and data package from you a few weeks ago and have found it to work without any problems in my onboard router (Netgear) installed in my motorhome, both in the UK and in Spain.

I need my router to be active all year, both for travel in the UK and EU, as well as when left in UK storage for my onboard video monitoring/security systems. So, IQ GO seemed a very attractive option for me…..but….

My normal travel in my motorhome to Europe is (post-Brexit and with the Schengen constraint of 90-in-180 days entry) two trips a year. The first in late Spring of around 7-8 weeks, the second in the Autumn of similar duration…..perhaps a total of up to 16 weeks or so.

Your website says:

DATA COVERS UK AND EU
We do not have a "Fair use policy" when abroad which is pretty unique. If you order 100GB, you get 100GB in UK or EU. We do however state we can't permit more than 3 months IN A ROW EU usage without use in the UK breaking it up.

So, my reasonable presumption is that my intended use both in the UK and EU is compliant with your “Fair Use Policy”.

However, I am now seeing reports on social media stating that you are stipulating that the TOTAL roaming data usage must not exceed 3 months in any 12 month rolling period and other motor-homers are advising that the motorhome community should avoid your offering if the total usage required exceeds 3 months per year.

Surely this can not be correct and I shall be glad of your confirmation that both my intended usage for roaming is compliant and that your statement on your website is correct and not misleading.

Kind regards.

XXXXX.

The email reply I received yesterday…….

Hi XXXXX,

Thanks for your email, and we absolutely understand your concerns. We are in the process of updating the website to reflect the correct wording i.e. it is 3 months in 12 EU use abroad in a rolling year.

The 3 months consecutive wording is a bit misleading, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused this is being updated imminently.

However, the usage you have stated below is quite appealing to us, the limitations we face from our Upstream provider (EE) is trying to ensure that EU use only with no UK use is causing an in-balance across our total user base (this isn’t your concern, but we’re being an open book by sharing).

We do not want to withdraw the IQ Go service as it is providing a great service for niche customers within motorhome community, and we wish to continue servicing this market.

What we do need though, is UK users too. So, where you are aiming to have the SIM in use all year round on top of your EU travel this is ideal for us and something we can support permanently. We are far more lenient in this scenario, so you are part of the small number of users that balance usage here and there which is fine.

We are about to start an initiative to contact IQ Go customers to see if people would bring their personal mobiles over to IQ Mobile, so we see some UK usage on their day-to-day SIMs to help balance the 100% EU only usage which will help, we are looking into a refer a friend model too.

For any customer that has EU only usage with no other supplementary UK usage or additional personal SIMs with IQ mobile, then the 90 days in 12-month rule needs to remain in place, and the website will shortly reflect that.

Customers that have monthly direct debits, have it all year round and have UK and EU usage or their personal mobile with us too. Then these customers will continue to gain the benefits and will be able to use more than the 90 days without penalty.

I hope that helps. And explains our situation.

You’ll likely see more from us in the coming months as we expand our position and contact our IQ Go travel customers.

All the best

Frazer
IQ Customer Support
01225588101

Blimey, you don't often see replies of that detail from a mobile company....

 

[Eyeballmike]

I'm using the RWG 200gb GLOBAL data sim in a router, if that ends I'll move over to tiekom. We fulltime so its different requirements for us, as the fair use policy of all uk sims rules us out.

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[Sideshow Bob]

I'm using the RWG 200gb GLOBAL data sim in a router, if that ends I'll move over to tiekom. We fulltime so its different requirements for us, as the fair use policy of all uk sims rules us out.

So now you only get 20GB now when roaming?

 

[Eyeballmike]

No The global data sim is 200gb every month, but I can use it outside the EU also, I don't think you can get it now, that's why I will renew until they say I can't

 

[Sideshow Bob]

No The global data sim is 200gb every month, but I can use it outside the EU also, I don't think you can get it now, that's why I will renew until they say I can't

Good idea

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

Do most people want or need a proper data service? I would suggest the majority just want to stream some tv, read emails and surf the web, if you need to download or upload large files for work then you need a proper data service, otherwise a phone sim in your mifi device will do the job, as I mentioned earlier my Tesco mobile sim worked flawlessly in a cat6 mifi device without external antennas streaming tv in hd and and general Internet access throughout France and Spain.

I've just renewed with Tesco. My conundrum was I barely touched the "unlimited data " on my old contract whilst in the UK. Based on this at renewal I downgraded my contract. It saves me £10 a month, but now without unlimited data. I reasoned [rightly or wrongly] that for when were in Europe I can an add on a one of data bundle for one month at about £10.00, with no rolling renewal. We don't use a huge amount of data as I load the phone up with iPlayer stuff then mirrocast it on to the Cello TV. If we have site wifi, I'll use the Firestick.
I might have dropped a clanger, I'll let you know when we're next back from France We have the cards, and other games if need be,neither of us follow any soaps.
Mike.

 

[RV-AL]

Not exactly. Tesco’s “Home from Home” roaming is currently being promoted as being available up to 2025. They also have a “Fair Use” policy for data when roaming, although this seems less rigorous than some other service providers. Details at…… https://www.tescomobile.com/content...sco-mobile-fair-usage-policy-january-2021.pdf

It’s a monthly contract so if they change it in 2025 you can change to someone else. In the meantime £30 per month for first sim and the £10 per month for subsequent ones, all unlimited data is a no-brainier for us. We have one each and the Mifi has its own as well. Only downside is if you go outside Europe you need an eSim, but that was easy for us in Asia and Australia for the last couple of months.

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[Mr porky]

We are on rwg 200gb in UK then they reduced it to 100gb and its now stating on the website its only 20gb whilst abroad. I've used 19gb and don't renew till the 1st May. We shall see if they switch my data off in maybe 2 more days.

 

[dunnah01]

Not exactly. Tesco’s “Home from Home” roaming is currently being promoted as being available up to 2025. They also have a “Fair Use” policy for data when roaming, although this seems less rigorous than some other service providers. Details at…… https://www.tescomobile.com/content...sco-mobile-fair-usage-policy-january-2021.pdf

Extended our Tesco Unlimited contract a few weeks ago. At £17.50/month it allows us to run all our devices (about 10 last count) through the vans MIFI router in both the UK and EU. Spent 3 weeks around the EU last month and used about 200Gb with no problems so great news if it can last until 2025

 

[Sideshow Bob]

It’s a monthly contract so if they change it in 2025 you can change to someone else. In the meantime £30 per month for first sim and the £10 per month for subsequent ones, all unlimited data is a no-brainier for us. We have one each and the Mifi has its own as well. Only downside is if you go outside Europe you need an eSim, but that was easy for us in Asia and Australia for the last couple of months.

I purchased this exact same deal because I thought it would be good for both UK and roaming
Unfortunately I had to cancel it after a week as the SIM wouldn’t work in my Haewei router

 

[Jewellbags]

ID unlimited contract phone which we hot spot . £18 a month

 

[BrochMike]

In post number 24 above, I said I would email IQ about the 3 month in any 12 roaming restriction, which contradicts what they say on their website.

The roaming “Fair Use Policy” is clearly more restrictive than I had presumed. I am copying below my email to IQ and the reply I received, which I hope will help others decide if this is a suitable SIM/data/roaming deal for their own needs.

My email to IQ……..

Good morning,

As a member of the UK’s largest Motorhome Group, I have been actively promoting IQ GO since I bought my first SIM and data package from you a few weeks ago and have found it to work without any problems in my onboard router (Netgear) installed in my motorhome, both in the UK and in Spain.

I need my router to be active all year, both for travel in the UK and EU, as well as when left in UK storage for my onboard video monitoring/security systems. So, IQ GO seemed a very attractive option for me…..but….

My normal travel in my motorhome to Europe is (post-Brexit and with the Schengen constraint of 90-in-180 days entry) two trips a year. The first in late Spring of around 7-8 weeks, the second in the Autumn of similar duration…..perhaps a total of up to 16 weeks or so.

Your website says:

DATA COVERS UK AND EU
We do not have a "Fair use policy" when abroad which is pretty unique. If you order 100GB, you get 100GB in UK or EU. We do however state we can't permit more than 3 months IN A ROW EU usage without use in the UK breaking it up.

So, my reasonable presumption is that my intended use both in the UK and EU is compliant with your “Fair Use Policy”.

However, I am now seeing reports on social media stating that you are stipulating that the TOTAL roaming data usage must not exceed 3 months in any 12 month rolling period and other motor-homers are advising that the motorhome community should avoid your offering if the total usage required exceeds 3 months per year.

Surely this can not be correct and I shall be glad of your confirmation that both my intended usage for roaming is compliant and that your statement on your website is correct and not misleading.

Kind regards.

XXXXX.

The email reply I received yesterday…….

Hi XXXXX,

Thanks for your email, and we absolutely understand your concerns. We are in the process of updating the website to reflect the correct wording i.e. it is 3 months in 12 EU use abroad in a rolling year.

The 3 months consecutive wording is a bit misleading, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused this is being updated imminently.

However, the usage you have stated below is quite appealing to us, the limitations we face from our Upstream provider (EE) is trying to ensure that EU use only with no UK use is causing an in-balance across our total user base (this isn’t your concern, but we’re being an open book by sharing).

We do not want to withdraw the IQ Go service as it is providing a great service for niche customers within motorhome community, and we wish to continue servicing this market.

What we do need though, is UK users too. So, where you are aiming to have the SIM in use all year round on top of your EU travel this is ideal for us and something we can support permanently. We are far more lenient in this scenario, so you are part of the small number of users that balance usage here and there which is fine.

We are about to start an initiative to contact IQ Go customers to see if people would bring their personal mobiles over to IQ Mobile, so we see some UK usage on their day-to-day SIMs to help balance the 100% EU only usage which will help, we are looking into a refer a friend model too.

For any customer that has EU only usage with no other supplementary UK usage or additional personal SIMs with IQ mobile, then the 90 days in 12-month rule needs to remain in place, and the website will shortly reflect that.

Customers that have monthly direct debits, have it all year round and have UK and EU usage or their personal mobile with us too. Then these customers will continue to gain the benefits and will be able to use more than the 90 days without penalty.

I hope that helps. And explains our situation.

You’ll likely see more from us in the coming months as we expand our position and contact our IQ Go travel customers.

All the best

Frazer
IQ Customer Support
01225588101

Clearly still some lack of clarity.
I've just been told 2*2 month trips "will be fine"

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[ChrisL]

I had to cancel it after a week as the SIM wouldn’t work in my Haewei router

Did you manually add the Tesco APN? If not that is the reason it didn't work. It works fine in my Huawei mifi both in the UK and the EU but you must use the correct APN.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

Did you manually add the Tesco APN? If not that is the reason it didn't work. It works fine in my Huawei mifi both in the UK and the EU but you must use the correct APN.

Yes I entered the correct APN numerous times, I was so disappointed that it didn’t work, there is another thread on this forum with all the detail and other people saying that they couldn’t get the Tesco SIM to work in a router

Thread 'APN Settings Tesco Mobile SIM in Haewei 535-333 Router?'
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...o-mobile-sim-in-haewei-535-333-router.293576/

 

[Richard n Ann]

I've been trying iD Mobile (three) for the past 2 months. Had enough now, going back to Labara (Vodaphone)
Very slow Internet speeds anywhere, sometimes it just stops. Call quality in the house let's just say I have to stand at the window also app doesn't work very well. Not tried abroad but ordered a 12gb preloaded Three sim for the phone's sim 2 slot with included roaming.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

Has anybody got any experience of the Lebara unlimited SIM in a Haewei B535 router please?
Currently this SIM is £25 a month and it’s on the Vodafone network which should work well in the UK and suit our usage

The reason I ask is that as per previous posts I bought a Tesco unlimited SIM but it wouldn’t work in the Haewei B535 router and I had to send it back however all the other SIMs I have used like EE, RWG, and Tiekom have worked well in the router

 

[starquake]

Has anybody got any experience of the Lebara unlimited SIM in a Haewei B535 router please?
Currently this SIM is £25 a month and it’s on the Vodafone network which should work well in the UK and suit our usage

The reason I ask is that as per previous posts I bought a Tesco unlimited SIM but it wouldn’t work in the Haewei B535 router and I had to send it back however all the other SIMs I have used like EE, RWG, and Tiekom have worked well in the router

It's because Tesco is not a data sim it's a phone, as includes calls, so the data is using technically a "phone grade" path. (When you use your iphone as a hotspot, under hood it's using a different APN ususally).

If Lebara includes phone calls, it is unlikely to work for same reason, if it's just data, it should work is my experierence on sims as a whole.

It's why for van we only buy data only products for same reason.

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[Bolti]

Has anybody got any experience of the Lebara unlimited SIM in a Haewei B535 router please?
Currently this SIM is £25 a month and it’s on the Vodafone network which should work well in the UK and suit our usage

The reason I ask is that as per previous posts I bought a Tesco unlimited SIM but it wouldn’t work in the Haewei B535 router and I had to send it back however all the other SIMs I have used like EE, RWG, and Tiekom have worked well in the router

yes I have a lebara sim in my huawei 535 router at home and it works perfectly, put the sim in a phone first to activate as they send some sms's.

 

[starquake]

or the past 2 months. Had enough now, going back to Labara (Vodaphone)
Very slow Internet speeds anywhere, sometimes it just stops. Call quality in the house let's just say I have to stand at the window also app doesn't work very well. Not tried abroad but ordered a 12gb preloaded Three sim for the

What device are you using, and do you have an antenna for the van. Three is a wierd network, as it has mutliple frequency bands which are not supported by all devices -> if you using an older cat4 router for example some of the frequencies (B28/9 - 700mhz - which go furthest of ALL of their frequencies) don't work at all, yet Three have B28/9 on more than a few of their cell sites now (a lot more it seems than cellmapper shows!). My phone (iphone but not latest gen - iphone 12 I think it is) didn't support (or maybe couldn't use these) but I found to my surprise that it DID work on our vans ZTE device 2 weekends ago, and in fact it was bonding B32 with B29. As such phone had 0 signal (also on Three) but the van had 80Mbit ... A very odd situation for sure.

So far in a year of motorhoming we are yet to find a site we've failed to get over 10Mbit on the Three sim we have with the mohowifi antenna + ZTE device. Sometimes (rarely) it requires forcing to 3g only mode via the ZTE app (as this is less busy these days) where trhe B28/29 coverage has not been enabled yet. I can say three is not that good if just relying on B20/B3 coverage as a cat4 device does...

 

[Soycd]

Had iD sim for last few months. Unlimited data in UK, 30Gb roaming in 50 countries. £15 a month. It's not data only, unlimited UK calls as well as texts. I seem to get a better signal in Europe than here where we live!

 

[Richard n Ann]

What device are you using, and do you have an antenna for the van. Three is a wierd network, as it has mutliple frequency bands which are not supported by all devices -> if you using an older cat4 router for example some of the frequencies (B28/9 - 700mhz - which go furthest of ALL of their frequencies) don't work at all, yet Three have B28/9 on more than a few of their cell sites now (a lot more it seems than cellmapper shows!). My phone (iphone but not latest gen - iphone 12 I think it is) didn't support (or maybe couldn't use these) but I found to my surprise that it DID work on our vans ZTE device 2 weekends ago, and in fact it was bonding B32 with B29. As such phone had 0 signal (also on Three) but the van had 80Mbit ... A very odd situation for sure.

So far in a year of motorhoming we are yet to find a site we've failed to get over 10Mbit on the Three sim we have with the mohowifi antenna + ZTE device. Sometimes (rarely) it requires forcing to 3g only mode via the ZTE app (as this is less busy these days) where trhe B28/29 coverage has not been enabled yet. I can say three is not that good if just relying on B20/B3 coverage as a cat4 device does...

Samsung A54 5G
No van router or aerial

It's a dual sim phone so it will have the Lebara as sim 1 and Three data sim as 2

 

[starquake]

Samsung A54 5G
No van router or aerial

It's a dual sim phone so it will have the Lebara as sim 1 and Three data sim as 2

Yeah a quick google on frequencies supported indicates it's missing B28, which is one I was working on at a rural campsite 2 weekends ago, same as my phone in fact!

What I googled suggests for that device::
5G+*: n77 C-Band, n77 3.45GHz
5G**: n2, n5, n30, n38, n41, n66, n77, n78
4G LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 20, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48, 66
UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100
GSM/GPRS/EDGE***: 850, 900, 1800, 1900

It's also missing B32 on 4G LTE suppport, so it's (potentially) missing 2 of the major deployed frequencies for 4g that Three use today on most of the rural towers (if I'm right). B32 is probably hurting you more than anything, as thats WIDELY deployed from my experience. However it doesn't travel well through so wouldn't work well in a van (where B28/29 are low frequencies and do therefore go through metal better).

If you go North Norfolk I'd really reccomend a exterior ariel over anything, as our phones can get 0 signal there like we had in East Yorks last weekend, but the roof antenna manages 2-3 bar on the mifi device connected to it, and 80ish Mbit. It will make zero difference and may in fact be worse in high signal, but get a clip on ideally and run out window if nothing else.

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[Richard n Ann]

Yeah a quick google on frequencies supported indicates it's missing B28, which is one I was working on at a rural campsite 2 weekends ago, same as my phone in fact!

What I googled suggests for that device::
5G+*: n77 C-Band, n77 3.45GHz
5G**: n2, n5, n30, n38, n41, n66, n77, n78
4G LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 20, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48, 66
UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100
GSM/GPRS/EDGE***: 850, 900, 1800, 1900

It's also missing B32 on 4G LTE suppport, so it's (potentially) missing 2 of the major deployed frequencies for 4g that Three use today on most of the rural towers (if I'm right). B32 is probably hurting you more than anything, as thats WIDELY deployed from my experience. However it doesn't travel well through so wouldn't work well in a van (where B28/29 are low frequencies and do therefore go through metal better).

If you go North Norfolk I'd really reccomend a exterior ariel over anything, as our phones can get 0 signal there like we had in East Yorks last weekend, but the roof antenna manages 2-3 bar on the mifi device connected to it, and 80ish Mbit. It will make zero difference and may in fact be worse in high signal, but get a clip on ideally and run out window if nothing else.

What do Three's roaming partners use? More normal frequencies hopefully

 

[starquake]

What do Three's roaming partners use? More normal frequencies hopefully

It's what the underlying networks use. B28/29 is probably the furthest range so MOST useful in rural use. B32 is high frequency for use in a congested city like Cambridge, London, but even Driffield in east yorks has Band 32!

Band support is key, as your device (if cat6 or higher, which a phone usually is) can join 2 frequencies together for faster throughput. A cat6 device can usually bond 2 frequencies, a cat18 usually 4... But the key piece is how congested those frequencies, and how wide the allocation.

In general in UK EE has the largest frequency allocation (widest on each band), Three has once of the better 4/5g allocations.

https://pedroc.co.uk/content/uk-commercial-mobile-spectrum is a good visualisation, and in fact in UK all except Voda the UK networks have B28 frequencies, and EE and Three and O2 have abonut the same, where Vodafone have none! B32 is used by both Vodafone AND Three only for additional data download, so in a way your "device" is causing a performance issue, given it has zero B32 support -> 20mhz is potentially 300-600Mbit of capacity per cell tower you are unable to use.

So my summary is maybe get a new device supporting B32, as with the sims you plan to use, both make HEAVY use of 2 bands you are currently unable to use. My experience is at least 50%+ of Three cell towers offer B32 coverage. On my ZTE device I can use the status screen to see which bands it's using and bonding ... (it's hidden on the Advanced, infotmation dialog on the full PC version of the interface, not avialable on the mobile version).

 

[Richard n Ann]

It's what the underlying networks use. B28/29 is probably the furthest range so MOST useful in rural use. B32 is high frequency for use in a congested city like Cambridge, London, but even Driffield in east yorks has Band 32!

Band support is key, as your device (if cat6 or higher, which a phone usually is) can join 2 frequencies together for faster throughput. A cat6 device can usually bond 2 frequencies, a cat18 usually 4... But the key piece is how congested those frequencies, and how wide the allocation.

In general in UK EE has the largest frequency allocation (widest on each band), Three has once of the better 4/5g allocations.

https://pedroc.co.uk/content/uk-commercial-mobile-spectrum is a good visualisation, and in fact in UK all except Voda the UK networks have B28 frequencies, and EE and Three and O2 have abonut the same, where Vodafone have none! B32 is used by both Vodafone AND Three only for additional data download, so in a way your "device" is causing a performance issue, given it has zero B32 support -> 20mhz is potentially 300-600Mbit of capacity per cell tower you are unable to use.

So my summary is maybe get a new device supporting B32, as with the sims you plan to use, both make HEAVY use of 2 bands you are currently unable to use. My experience is at least 50%+ of Three cell towers offer B32 coverage. On my ZTE device I can use the status screen to see which bands it's using and bonding ... (it's hidden on the Advanced, infotmation dialog on the full PC version of the interface, not avialable on the mobile version).

Wow what a hash up they've made of it. You'd think one of the latest (2023)samsung phones would be 100% compatible with the networks, I could understand if it was a cheapo Chinese thing

PS my phone seems to work well on Lebara

 

[Lenny HB]

I've been trying iD Mobile (three) for the past 2 months. Had enough now, going back to Labara (Vodaphone)
Very slow Internet speeds anywhere, sometimes it just stops. Call quality in the house let's just say I have to stand at the window also app doesn't work very well. Not tried abroad but ordered a 12gb preloaded Three sim for the phone's sim 2 slot with included roaming.

Been using ID for about 8 months not had any problems. It works better than any other 3 sim I have had when roaming shame about the 30GB limit when roaming.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Been using ID for about 8 months not had any problems. It works better than any other 3 sim I have had when roaming shame about the 30GB limit when roaming.

Lebara is 30GB too, plenty for me. If Vodafone can manage without B28 that actually suits my phone

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[starquake]

Wow what a hash up they've made of it. You'd think one of the latest (2023)samsung phones would be 100% compatible with the networks, I could understand if it was a cheapo Chinese thing

PS my phone seems to work well on Lebara

It's why when people claim they get rubbish performance on sites, when I know I'm sitting happily watching Netflix/NowTV in evenings when it's cold ; it's often equipment not the network.

Working in IT, in Networks, everyone always blamed the network, the reality was quite common it was something else! There's actually another reason too, as the chips to support all the bands, some require some payments to the patent holders, and some manufacturers do not do this. In general we've found for data use ZTE/Huawei and iphones are usually best, but as said, even a relatively "recent" iphone (ours is a 2021 model I think) also doesn't support the B28 at least in our experience.

I think personally a reccomendation that you upgrade your "modem" for wifi every 2-3 years is probably best, and using a seperate device would allow this to be potentially quite reasonably priced but it's a wierd postion at moment, the upgrade version of the 4G/3G ZTE I have now loses the band 32 support I've been using at rural campsites recently.... so it may be WORSE in performance... if 5g not deployed there yet! (It's why I've been monitoring the bands in use!). It does however support Band 28 at least!

I've been googling around and It seems a common "5g" chipset used by many manufacturers seems to drop Band 32 when they add 5g... So a 4g device able to do B28/32 is quite rare, but may also be using a frequency that most devices cannot touch today, making why people with devices that can use it having decent performance in areas others don't...

The device I'm using at moment is

ZTE MF986D LTE CAT 12​

For others visiting this thead, thats a device I can reccoment personally for 4G, and does support both B28 and 32, in addition to the "normal" 4g bands, so as such will give better performance rurally on Three, paricularly if on an enxternal antenna (when they support those bands on the cell tower). They are also only £100 ish. It is 4g only, but as mentioned it does NOT do 5g, but I'm still rarely seeing 5g rurally.
Should add as a cat12 device it ALSO is significantly better than the cat4 devices a lot of people reccomend here (it supports per second, around 4 times the peak data rates possible on a cat4 device). Cat4 devices are also similarly priced so buyer beware..