Tesco 3g only??

jongood

jongood

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I've switched my phone from Sky to Tesco solely because of Sky's new roaming cost. I assumed that as they both use O2 that the service would be the same but I'm noticing really patchy internet in places where it wasnt previously a problem. I contacted Tesco helpline and they suggested that I changed settings from 3G/LTE ( auto) to 3G only, which solves the problem but doesnt give me 4G when available. Is anyone else having this problem?
 
I’ve said this several times, unfortunately not all data services are equal, as in your issue could be the commercial shaping of data which means you do not necessarily get the full bandwidth potential you could geographically enjoy. Potentially seems the roaming agreement between Tesco and the network you are on is not conducive to unthrottled data.

MVNO services such as Tesco may well be on lower priority settings on the HLR, meaning the priority given to you as an in roamer in a cell is not the same as others.
 
Carpmart said:
I’ve said this several times, unfortunately not all data services are equal, as in your issue could be the commercial shaping of data which means you do not necessarily get the full bandwidth potential you could geographically enjoy. Potentially seems the roaming agreement between Tesco and the network you are on is not conducive to unthrottled data.

MVNO services such as Tesco may well be on lower priority settings on the HLR, meaning the priority given to you as an in roamer in a cell is not the same as others.
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Thanks for info. Is there a way I can tell what this is as Ive also been looking at other options?

EE smart benefits looks like it might fit but the only way to try it is to sign up for 24 months which I'm reluctant to do because there has always some underhand trick with previous cellular contracts, O2 like adding spurious extras, Three and Vodafone dont work where we live.
 
jongood said:
Thanks for info. Is there a way I can tell what this is as Ive also been looking at other options?

EE smart benefits looks like it might fit but the only way to try it is to sign up for 24 months which I'm reluctant to do because there has always some underhand trick with previous cellular contracts, O2 like adding spurious extras, Three and Vodafone dont work where we live.
Click to expand...
We have the EE smart benefits sim package, Apple Music when in U.K., when abroad we switch it to free roaming (subject to fair use of course, but it’s enough for us) we have two phones on it and a data only sim in the motorhome WiFi, which is great and we can gift data from our phones to the WiFi unit when needed.👍
Edit I m having problems accessing the app that I can switch benefits and view my usage!! Looks like a phone call later🙄🙄
 
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jongood said:
Thanks for info. Is there a way I can tell what this is as Ive also been looking at other options?

EE smart benefits looks like it might fit but the only way to try it is to sign up for 24 months which I'm reluctant to do because there has always some underhand trick with previous cellular contracts, O2 like adding spurious extras, Three and Vodafone dont work where we live.
Click to expand...

So, it’s complex and somewhat opaque BUT what you need to find is a 150G down phone SIM service. Note that Phone sims in MiFis are spotted by networks very easily now days and they dump the QoS and shape you if detected.

You need to then check that that data service element of the phone sim package very clearly states that it is full 4G (just looking at this at the moment not 5G) and provides speed of up to 150 Gigabytes download speed. Even on data only sims there are throttles, so it’s really important to find the ones that don’t throttle, shape or restrict QoS.

Obviously many factors affect the real world service one receives, topography, cell density and type of hardware, the operators edge network and fibre, the demand in the cell for service (number of users) etc etc etc. BUT with the starting point of an up to 150G service package, you stand the best chance of getting decent download speed.

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I've been running my phone and Huawei van router on Tesco for a couple of years now, used it in UK and Europe without ANY issues re 4G or speed.

Cheers
Red
 
jongood said:
ChrisL

I cannot get my tesco sim card to work in my mifi
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Have you changed the APN to the Tesco one? It defaults to O2 but that won't work you need to change to the Tesco one.
Mine is still working okay, I'm back in France also did you set it up in the UK first?

Edit: sorry I just woke up and answered without reading the whole post, I've not experienced any issues with 4G to speak of, a couple of times in Spain i got low speeds but i put that down to location or network on one occasion i had to manually select a network which improved things a lot, I only used it in the UK for a couple of days whilst at Canterbury ccc and it was just as fast as my Vodafone sim.
 
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ChrisL said:
Have you changed the APN to the Tesco one? It defaults to O2 but that won't work you need to change to the Tesco one.
Mine is still working okay, I'm back in France also did you set it up in the UK first?

Edit: sorry I just woke up and answered without reading the whole post, I've not experienced any issues with 4G to speak of, a couple of times in Spain i got low speeds but i put that down to location or network on one occasion i had to manually select a network which improved things a lot, I only used it in the UK for a couple of days whilst at Canterbury ccc and it was just as fast as my Vodafone sim.
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Turned the LTE off and away to go. so again won't work on 4G so presumably a network issue as I didnt have this problem with Sky.
 
jongood said:
Turned the LTE off and away to go. so again won't work on 4G so presumably a network issue as I didnt have this problem with Sky.
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Are you testing it in just one place or are you travelling and experiencing the same issue in various locations? Another thing you might look at is has the network got any issues at your location. Vodafone sent me an email apologising for recent network issues, i'm not sure if O2 had any as well.

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ChrisL said:
Are you testing it in just one place or are you travelling and experiencing the same issue in various locations? Another thing you might look at is has the network got any issues at your location. Vodafone sent me an email apologising for recent network issues, i'm not sure if O2 had any as well.
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Just at home presently but helpline reckon i should be getting 4g. going away for a few days so going to test it different places then.
 
I've now tried this in a couple of different places away from home. My phone on Tesco will only work on 3g, my wife's phone on Sky is on 4g. Both phones are identical both networks are on O2.

So I'm thinking either Tesco's advertised 4g is available in fewer places than Sky or they are too far down the hierarchy?

The lack of 4g is probably not such an issue while roaming because you can choose whicever network you like although you may still have the hierarchy issue.

Unless anyone has any better suggestions I think I'm headed for o2 for phones with the Carpmart solution for mifi/router
 
Is the sky sim still in it? Did tesco just take over the contract?

We are with tesco and upgraded from 12gb to 30gb on both at xmas, after about 2 weeks they both dropped to h+ signal at best, rarely 4g
After many live chats ,and a helpful in store man who tried my sim in a brand new phone, we finally spoke to someone at tesco who said we needed new sims.
She told me it's quite common for the sims to just lose the 4g (or 5g) capability when they just flick a switch their end, new sims came in 48 hours and have worked fine since.
 
Re: networks detecting phone sims in mifi units.
FYI. EE don’t care what you use you sim in, it’s your data you can use it how you want.
I have a phone sim in my netgear m2 mifi which my account shows as the device.
 
Off da Grid said:
Re: networks detecting phone sims in mifi units.
FYI. EE don’t care what you use you sim in, it’s your data you can use it how you want.
I have a phone sim in my netgear m2 mifi which my account shows as the device.
Click to expand...

Of course it will work… the issue is you may (will) get traffic shaping as a consequence of it not being a dedicated data SIM.

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busbuddy said:
Is the sky sim still in it? Did tesco just take over the contract?

We are with tesco and upgraded from 12gb to 30gb on both at xmas, after about 2 weeks they both dropped to h+ signal at best, rarely 4g
After many live chats ,and a helpful in store man who tried my sim in a brand new phone, we finally spoke to someone at tesco who said we needed new sims.
She told me it's quite common for the sims to just lose the 4g (or 5g) capability when they just flick a switch their end, new sims came in 48 hours and have worked fine since.
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No I swapped sim cards, so its a Tesco sim in it.
We're currently in Southport, and I'm having to use my wife's phone which is still on sky as the Tesco signal is barely usable. I've been onto tesco a few times and no suggestion of duff sim. Im also struggling to get otp codes to come through.
 
Installed the Tesco SIM a few weeks ago and no problems with 4G 02 in my Huawei MIFI anywhere around Norfolk and Lincolnshire?
 
No shaping what so ever, twice as fast as my phone.
The sim is on the cheapest contract they do.
My phone contract has more than enough data which I divy out to the mifi and wify’s phone at the beginning of the month.
Even works in Dorset where my phone barely gets a signal.
Great for areas with no or bad signal.
 
I'm back in France now, Tesco sim still working well, over 2 months out of the UK now and no texts or emails about fair usage touch wood, should be back in the UK by the end of next week so hopefully all will be good.
 
Rolling monthly deals no longer available.

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PhilandMena said:
Rolling monthly deals no longer available.
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Have you asked in store? It wasn't an option on line, the choice was given to me when I went in to speak to them, £25 2 year contract, £30 1 year contract, £35 rolling 30 day contract.
 
Just changed from sky to Tesco due to roaming. Got told by Tesco that my new unlimited SIM will not work in mifi only mobile.(02 said same) Now in Spain and phone call will only last 5 minutes before cutting off every time. No problems with reception though.
 
I was in the store on Friday. No one month rolling contracts available only option now is 12 or 24 month contract.
 
daveclare said:
Just changed from sky to Tesco due to roaming. Got told by Tesco that my new unlimited SIM will not work in mifi only mobile.(02 said same) Now in Spain and phone call will only last 5 minutes before cutting off every time. No problems with reception though.
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Interesting, i'm using mine in a mifi with no problems at all, looking on the Tesco mobile website it says you can use your Tesco Mobile unlimited data for personal use in mobile devices. You can't use it in a home router for home broadband. Mifi is a mobile device, have you tried it in one?

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When I asked Tesco the question on chat, I was told it could be used in a mifi, but I know O2 have disconneted people using phone sim in a router.
 
Amazing how many different stories we're told by Tesco. I rang them up to ask why my SIM wasn't working in my Huawei mifi and the chap said it wouldn't work in them. So I cancelled without charge. But interesting is working in yours Chris. What mifi do in you have and have you changed any settings? I' m now using a SIM bought in Spain and an manually selecting best network.
 
daveclare said:
Amazing how many different stories we're told by Tesco. I rang them up to ask why my SIM wasn't working in my Huawei mifi and the chap said it wouldn't work in them. So I cancelled without charge. But interesting is working in yours Chris. What mifi do in you have and have you changed any settings? I' m now using a SIM bought in Spain and an manually selecting best network.
Click to expand...
My mifi is a Huawei E5783B-230 the only thing I needed to change was the APN, it defaults to O2 which won't work, you need to use the Tesco mobile one, if you do a search on here for Tesco mobile APN there are a couple of links to the settings.
20220424_112119.jpg
 
Thanks I'll try one of my other two Tesco Sims and then contact Tesco if they work.
 
Just an update for anyone interested, I arrived back in the UK this evening having left the UK on the 13th Feb, the Tesco Sim has worked really well throughout France and Spain with no serious issues to speak of, so i've been away 2 1/2 months, no unfair usage texts or emails and no throttling as far as I can tell, so it's worked well for me, thank you Tesco.

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