3 Mobile Broadband
Review
In a nutshell: 3 Mobile offer the cheapest mobile broadband
service in the UK, starting at £7.50 per month, and offering
5GB
for just £15 per month (enough for 7 hours of web
browsing per day.) Maximum speeds are now 7.2 Mbps. The USB modem
is now available free on all except the 1 month contract. Download
speeds are faster than T-Mobile,
and similar to Vodafone. The
HSDPA network covers 91% of the UK population and is easy to use.
3 are currently offering a range of free
laptops when you take out a mobile broadband contract.
Best buy: Broadband
Lite 1GB (£7.50 per month); or 5GB
Broadband (£15 per month) with free modem.
3
Mobile Broadband is the most popular mobile broadband in the UK.
The 3 network has the longest established 3G network in the UK,
and so is a natural supplier of mobile broadband services. The service
is very easy to set up and use: you simply plug a modem (or "dongle")
into your computer's USB port, and you can then access the 3 broadband
network from home, work or on the move. You can choose between Pay
Monthly and Pay
As You Go options. The Pay as you Go option offers data at the
same cost as Pay Monthly, although you have to buy a modem, which
currently costs 19.99. On Pay Monthly the modem is free, except
on the cheapest 1 month tariff, where it costs £9.99. Sign
up for 18 months, or take out a more expensive tariff and the modem
is free. You can choose a data allowance of between 1GB and 15GB
per month.
| Price Plan |
Cost
|
Price
per month
|
Free
gifts
|
| 1GB (18 months) |
-
|
£7.50
|
-
|
| 1GB (24 months) |
-
|
£7.50
|
-
|
| 1GB (24 months) |
-
|
£17.50
|
|
| 5GB (24 months) |
-
|
£15
|
-
|
| 5GB (18 months) |
-
|
£30
|
|
| 5GB (18 months) |
-
|
£35
|
|
The
speed that you experience will depend on whether you are in an area
with "excellent coverage" (i.e within HSDPA coverage),
"good coverage" (i.e. within 3G coverage) or "marginal
coverage" (i.e. on the edge of the 3G coverage region. 3's
HSDPA coverage region currently covers 91% of the UK population
(data correct in February 2009) and offers download speeds of up
to of up to 2.8 Mpbs. 3 now offers 7.2 Mbps coverage across the
UK. You can check
coverage by postcode on the 3 website. If you find that the
service is not as good as you expected, you can return your 3 USB
Modem within 3 days of purchase. If you purchased it at a distance
(via telesales or online), you can return your 3 USB Modem within
14 days of receipt provided you have not used your 3 USB Modem for
more than 3 consecutive days. You'll also have to return the original
boxed accessories and documentation "as new". 3 claim
that most people on the HSDPA network can expect a speed ranging
from 1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps.
The
3 broadband modems are very compact, and are available in a choice
of colours: white or black. They can even be personalised using
"skins".
By
the way, if anyone is experiencing slow speeds with 3 Mobile Broadband,
one of our users, Paul Tait offers the following advice: right click
on the network icon (two little flashing computers in the bottom
right hand corner of your screen) and click on connect to a network.
Click on the 3 usb modem but with the second button and click on
properties. In the window that pops up, click the configure button
and another window will pop up showing the maximum speed. Sometimes
the maximum speed has been set to the default value of 115200 which
will cause your modem to be slow. If this is the case change it
to 921600 and click OK. If this works for you, please let everyone
know by submitting a review below. And thanks to Paul! [Reply by
Pauline on 20th May 2009: Followed instructions re changing to faster
speed and it has worked brilliantly. Have had my 3 mobile broadband
for around 5 months now and it gives excellent service.] [Reply
by mark from england on 24th Oct 2009: With Paul's tip 3 is now
pretty quick! still not as good as Voda or O2 but a vast improvement!]

3 Mobile Broadband
Consumer Reviews
Love your mobile network? Hate it? Please share your experiences
to help other people choose the mobile broadband network that's
best for them. Please do not review this network if you have not
used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just
ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive language,
and please, no advertising!
Average
rating from 174 reviews: 
Reviewed by FED UP from UK on
14th Mar 2010
I have been using the 3 mobile prepaid dongle since January, so
far the highest speed I have obtained (when I can get a connection)
is .5 Mbps despite having a transmitter around the corner. When
it does work it only works for about 10 mins at a time, but to be
fair once it worked for 55 mins. I cannot understand why Ofcom lets
3 mobile get away with it (maybe they did some kind of deal). My
mate has T-Mobile his speed is an average of 1.6 Mbps and he rarely
gets disconnected. When you complain to 3 mobile they say they are
doing upgrades in my area (the upgrades have been going on for the
last 3 years I have learnt from other users). Come on Ofcom get
your act together and show us you are not as spineless as your actions
suggest.
Rating: 
Reviewed by steve smith from england
on 13th Mar 2010
got 3 mobile broadband and i have had no problem with it and its
very fast
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ste from UK on 11th
Mar 2010
I've had 3 BB for about a year and its been ok. it hardly ever dropped
out, until about 3 weeks ago. Now it hardly ever stays connected.
I can't understand how it has gone from one extreme to another.
Rating: 
Reviewed by james from england on
9th Mar 2010
good as a doorstopper, or a paper weight, not so good at connecting
to the internet. Utter rubbish. Don't get one, I live in a city,
and like everyone else had good data rate til 3 months ago and now
it barely works, keeps disconnecting, every minute, will be cancelling
next month. 3G are a disgrace.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Dave Austen from England
on 8th Mar 2010
I have a great deal with three (15gb /month for £15/month) and when
it came to renewal i really didn't know what to do. My three USB
dongle was problematic, i could not get a signal in my house and
the service was pretty poor - but from what i read, this seems to
apply to other networks too. After much deliberation i eventually
renewed my contract and got a MiFi - now this is the best move i
could have made. I now can get mobile BB everywhere in my house
and best of all my speeds are around 2-3 Mb/s down and 1.5Mb/s up
- sometimes hitting 4MB/s down! Really looking forward to using
this when we go camping as i can connect all my wireless devices
to it. I think the improvement is pretty good - to the point i have
actually done a windows update using it and experienced no issues
at all. Well done Three, nice to see the improvement and for once
it's nice to have some good words to say about your service.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Marc from Wales on
7th Mar 2010
3 mobile broadband are a disgrace. I spend 90% of my internet time
conecting and disconecting. Im gutted i gave it one star because
its not even worth that.
Rating: 
Reviewed by annoyed from wales on
6th Mar 2010
I have found 3 mobile broadband absolutely useless. I got it as
part of a "free" laptop contract which was a very expensive mistake.
The coverage is terrible, and slow and unreliable once you do get
a signal. Customer service is terrible.I would not recommend it
to anyone.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Des from uk on 3rd
Mar 2010
got sweet talked in2 a 24month contract with 3.has 2 b the worst
thing i have ever said yes 2.my dongle has not worked properly since
i got it 2 weeks ago.indian call centre was a waste of time.pc world
an the 3 mobile shop in my town all a waste of time.they all talk
2 me as if its me with the problem.rely on mobile broadband 4 my
job.have lost a lot money already.i now have 2 spend 5 hours a nite
using my sky broadband 2 finish my working day.if u want ur life
ruined then go with 3,they r the best at it.shame i have 2 give
it 1 star.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Darryl Owen from England
on 3rd Mar 2010
Why is it when i first connect my modem to the internet that i get
transfer rates around 500kbps or even a cool 1500kbps(if i'm extremely
lucky) then within minuets it reduces to such low transfer rates
that i may as well get on public transport and visit the shop personally
(PC World). The fact is that the rates fluctuate so much that it
is becoming unbarable to logon to the internet. To me i am wasting
my money. I have been a loyal customer and am currently in my second
mobile internet contyract but losing patience fast with 3. Excuses
which always point to coverage areas, although as i type this email(losing
connection from time to time)I am suppose to be in a good, No Very
Good coverage area (Aldershot)but that does not seem to be the case.
stopped typing frustrations nearly out!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ash Robertson from UK on
2nd Mar 2010
i am appalled at the service i have received from three and it has
resulted in them having to pay bank charges for because of countless
mistakes that they have made. and this rubbish about hdspa covering
91% of the uk is a load of tosh. it is slow and unreliable. and
even tho ive put one star i had no choice but i wouldnt even give
it that
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve Ralph from UK on
1st Mar 2010
Well I am surprised to see so many negative comments. I started
off on the 7Gb 24month contract which worked superbly. Now I have
upgraded to the 15Gb 24month and honestly it is faultless. It is
used mostly in the Kent area, but have used it all over the country
without any problems. Download speeds peak to about 2.8Megabit and
not had any issues watching TV services such as SeeSaw, TVCatchup
etc. I have a Huawei D100g wifi router to share my dongle allowance
with colleagues while at work and I tend to stream lots of internet
radio via it. Most I have ever managed to use in a month was 8Gb
of my 15Gb allowance and that was really using it heavily. I love
the service and cannot recommend it enough..truly outstanding.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Michael Robinson from UK
on 1st Mar 2010
3G connection with 3 bars at 10pm a night sounds reasonable. However
download speed is max 21KIBs might as well use dial up!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Rod from Scotland on
1st Mar 2010
Very unhappy with three. It is totally unreliable, speeds resemble
a 1990s modem, disconnections occurs every two or three minutes,
cannot listen to iPlayer radio as it is just too choppy. This morning
I have managed to get about 5MB of traffic with a peak bandwidth
of 68kb. That means that for most of the time I am left sitting
and waiting. Plus to top it off, they take ages to answer an email
and when they do call they want to know if the computer and modem
are turned on. Cheez, I didn't know I had to turn the thing on.
I would like to give a zero star rating but 1 seems to be the lowest.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Paul from United Kingdom
on 27th Feb 2010
Have been very happy with 3pay service but not so happy with it
being as unpredictable as it is,always probs with many networks
but usually resolved where as three loses connection way too often,will
be suprized if even this sends. When three works it is actually
quite good,really a shame being so unreliable,i'm glad i tested
before going contract.
Rating: 
Reviewed by james from England on
25th Feb 2010
I think if we all wrote to TRADING STANDARDS instead of this site
we might see a result. False advertising. Not fit for purpose. The
amount of money I have lost at poker due to disconnection is beyond
the joke. Imagine a car company advertising a car capable of doing
300mph when in reality it averages 30mph. Well sir if you push it
out of the back of a plane at 50000 feet it should be doing 300
before it hits the ground. Not what I had in mind. 3 throttle their
connections, I use a little peice of software called netmeter which
monitors network traffic which will give you a idea of whats going
on with your connection. It also monitors your usage, which you
can reset every month to see what you using. I highly recommend
this program. Netmeter has shown me that 3 throttle my connection
back to 15kbs at random times, 3 times dial up speed, not quite
broadband is it. As for the disconnections I believe this is due
to 3's network infastructure, everytime you connect you are given
a dynamic IP address, which is different everytime you connect.
I think but can't prove that 3 cannot handle the demand, and when
someone tries to connect, that that network block may be full, so
they kick someone to make room, basically juggling people around
otherwise you would have to wait for someone to disconnect before
you could, which would result in no connection at all until a IP
was free. You would have to que for an IP number. I often disconnect
and reconnect a couple of times to get the best bandwidth, which
I can see using netmeter, if I connect and the page is not loading
up I can see why. I knew that cisco course would come in handy one
day. Anyway, not good at all.
Rating: 
Reviewed by jon from uk on 23rd
Feb 2010
I can't talk for the rest of the uk but in wales , 3 is the fastest
by a good 40%. i have used vodafone, 3, o2, and orange dongles on
a range of laptops and pc's . (coverage varies from poor to bad.)
0.97 mbs wireless connection to my rooter, best dongle can only
manage 345 kps( but 150kps at best in reality)
3 6/10 can stream you tube (70%)
vod 3/10 can stream you tube (40%)
02 1/10 you tube 3/6 Min's per 1 min
orange 1/10 email at best
But to be honest get ADSL(wired) or buy a blackberry !!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Philip from England on
22nd Feb 2010
Bought a one year contract in May 2009 and always get a very strong
signal here in Taunton. Set usb maximum speed correctly and generally
tuned the network. Performance was always slow, but 'adequate' for
emails and BBC iPlayer out of peak times until Christmas 2009. Since
then connection drops out every few minutes in normal working hours
and at week ends. After about 22:00 hours connection is more reliable.
Maximum download speed is about 0.35 Mbits/sec, i.e. a tenth of
the quoted maximum. I assume this a local BTS station bottleneck.
It does not matter which 3 server I try to connect to, it is never
better or much worse. A recent upgrade to the dongle at the local
3 shop has made no change. This is the worst IT purchase I have
ever made. Will not renew my contract - even if it were free.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve McGill from UK on
19th Feb 2010
Got the dongle 3 months ago after giving up my previous T Mobile
Dongle for being unreliable. I was told that 3 was the best by far
and more reliable than T mobile. I was impressed with his spiel
and signed up to a 24 month contract. After spending at least two
days trying to connect after receiving it a having no luck I finally
got connected. I noticed that the connection speed was exactly the
same as T Mobiles (so no super fast connection then?), after a few
weeks the speeds got slower and slower (I am right in the centre
of Newcastle upon tyne and am supposed to have a very good signal)
until it took 5 minutes or so just to load a page. It seemed to
sure itself after a while and I was back on the road so to speak.
Last week however, a new problem has reared it's ugly head, this
is in the form of constant freezing and disconnecting along with
fluctuating signal strengths. Phoned tech and they were quite helpful,
didnt solve the problem though and Im back to square one. ...
Rating: 
Reviewed by James from UK on
19th Feb 2010
The reason the Three MBB download speed is rubbish is because you'll
be sharing the mast with X number of other people. If you wished
to use your connection at say, 2.37am I bet the download speed would
be more than acceptable. Three, as with many other MBB companies
have just been very clever....at getting our money. If they spent
more on cell bandwidth and less marketing bods, the service may
be acceptable. 7.2mbps - modem capability only. If the network doesn't
/ can't support higher download speeds you're screwed. Just marketing
hype.... Three claim if you're getting 200kbps that's acceptable
(to them). Great UK coverage - very true. The main issue isn't signal
strength, availability or coverage. Even with 5 bars (100%) I still
get no more than 150kbps during peak hours (10am - 4pm). Living
in rural areas - actually very good, because you'll be sharing your
cell mast with fewer users. Forget any decent download speeds in
built up areas, towns and cities. As Three sell more subscriptions
expect download speeds to reduce further. It's a massive problem
that ain't going to get any better, and Three will suffer the most
because of their cheap contracts attracting more users. As soon
as my contract comes to an end I'm off. Not sure where to yet, but
it won't be Three!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Nathan from UK on
17th Feb 2010
I cant believe im now stuck with this draining me of £15 a month
for 18 months... Im now on my 3rd dongle with two having slowly
died over about 3 months each - the first was repaired when i accosted
the local 3 store, the second was suddenly found to have 'water
damage' - funny as i have a desktop with it plugged in the back
of that so how have i damaged it with water... I argue my case over
the phone (which costs a fortune if your not on 3 mobile) for the
nice asian gentleman to get irate and say its not his problem...
Then there is the connection which is ok at best and non existant
the rest of the time. Forget youtube, forget anything involving
a moving image - buy a carrier pidgeon and some crayons for your
instant messaging... Finally there is the choosy website blocking.
Since ive had the 3 connection i cant look at facebook (doesnt load)
several forums (dont load) my university website (doesnt load) or
my yahoo email (you get the picture) - 3s response... nothing...
please reply - or are you replying to my yahoo account??? 0.000000000000001
stars from me...
Rating: 
Reviewed by Livid from UK on
17th Feb 2010
Completely pants!!! For ages I had massive issues connecting - I
think 3 decided they were going to improve their network or something.
Now I can connect but it's usually so painfully slow that I give
up trying and stick pencils in my eyes because that's less painful
than trying to surf the Net at dial-up speeds. Their call-centre
staff are useless too. When I phoned to top up my account and asked
how much data I'd get for £10, the guy I spoke to had no idea. I
can't believe I'm paying for this!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Alison from UK on
16th Feb 2010
3g mobile "broadband" was truelly the worst thing i have ever subscribed
to in my life. i really believe mobile phone companies providing
mobile internet are actually illegally marketing the service as
it should not be called broadband at all. it is worse than the old
dial up. it cannot stream video or even load pictures. it is painfully
excruciating slow it does not work in a lot of locations where the
site coverage map says it should. i hated this service within days
but stuck with it. however i consider it unfit for purpose and dispute
why i should have to pay for something which is utter utter rubbish.
i have never had anything so rubbish and un like what it is advertised
as in my life. i asked for my contract to be cancelled due the fact
that it is so awful horrible and dire. i am quite prepared to stand
up for my rights as a consumer to not have a service unfit for purpose
and advertised as something it is not foisted upon me.
Rating: 
Reviewed by azievio from uk on
15th Feb 2010
i've had the mobile dongle since it first came out and i paid £100.
sometimes it's slow but normaly it's realy fast as my ps3 is connected
to my pc to use for on-line play. it all depends how many people
are using theres in your area at the time to determine speeds. 8
out of 10.
Rating: 
Reviewed by maria from uk on
14th Feb 2010
I happened to just find this site by chance and was horrified to
read the reviews for 3 mobile broadband most being with horrific
experiences. I am not an employee or anything to do with the 3 mobile
company just a subscriber. having just signed up in december for
a £15 for 15gb pay monthly contract, which was recommended by pc
world bristol, when I purchased a hp laptop from them. I had just
started experiencing a decline in my connection, disconnecting etc
but tried to use the reviews in a positive way. thanks to a review
by jordon in uk 18th oct 09 on this website. I returned to pc world
and told them of the disconnection problem and they agreed that
this seemed a problem many were encountering. so if they sell 3`s
products why don`t they tell people and 3 hutchinson`s and if it`s
so bad why sell there products. going back to the advice of jordon`s
comments. I asked them for a usb-usb extension to alleviate the
problem and place dongle outside. I was taken to the shelf where
these were but they only had a 3 mtre extension which wsn`t long
enough. I was told that there were 5 mtre but they were not in stock.
I was told to try maplins, cribbs ,bristol. It was the best half
hour`s experience I have spent. I explained to an indian tech guy
there my problem. he took me to the shelf and told me to try a 5
mtre usb -usb extension with amplification built in. it`s made by
a company called nikkai and has gold plated connections. I purchased
this for £20.99. pc world wanted £23.99 for a 3 metre without amplification.
I went home and connected my 3 dongle put it in a tupperware box
and placed it outside on the windowsill {it was raining] and the
other end obviously into my usb on my laptop and I have to say I
have been amazed at the difference this has made to my connection
and speed. I can honestly say I have not dropped my connection once.I
am more than happy with my 3 experience. on you tube and sky the
connection is a lot stronger and whilst it does have to buffer on
occasion when demand is greater at peak times,it is a lot more acceptable
and very satisfactory. obviously mobile broadband is a newer tec-knowledgy
and I think people`s expectations are far greater because of the
hype all these mobile companies use to do the hard sell of there
products. the consesus of opinion from computer experts is britain
is way behind in this technical age and mobile companies are selling
a product that there masts and equipment can`t support because of
the demand. 3 is run by a company called hutchinson`s. if it`s the
same company my husband had a mobile phone with them over 20 years
ago and alway`s received good service from them. let`s hope 3`s
chief ex is reading some of these commments and let`s hope with
all subscriptions, they are improving there tecknowlegy and the
service improves, which there customer service team have told me
they are doing when I have rung to speak with them. sadly not in
this country, but I have found if you can stay polite which is extremely
difficult to do no matter how frustrated these problems are you
do achieve a better outcome. you also have to be persistent and
firm and ask for names and agent no`s who you have spoken too and
keep a note of all this. so that if things end up in a claims court
you can produce as much info as possible. I have also noted the
free phone no 08003586795 which I have also taken from these reviews.
customer support by all these mobile companies is far to expensive
in my experience especially if your on a limited income which I
am. as a last point people should also look up a website www.saynoto0870.com
and type in the company your looking for in most cases this can
give you free no`s to most of the mobile companies and other`s.
I hope my maplins experience can help other`s and thanks to them
have hopefully resoved my problems for good.
Rating: 
Reviewed by jc from england on
14th Feb 2010
i have pay as you go three dongal and it works fine and gets signal
but whenever i try to download anthing big it speeds through the
1st 3/4 and then just drops out, its stupid though cus the rest
of the web continues to work SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!
Rating: 
Reviewed by daniel lewis from england
on 12th Feb 2010
I have been contacting 3 as regards to connection issues since the
3rd of dec 09 and yet all i get is 'it has been escalated one of
our technicians will contact you'.I have tried to gain a contact
number for these so called technicians but as yet cannot as they
use witheld numbers and if you miss their one and only call they
disregard your problem.The times i have spoken with the technicians
all they say is 'we are resolving this issue' and if you question
them some more they put you on hold and mysteriously the call gets
cut off ! (this has happened 8-9 times) If i knew back then what
the 3 company was like i would have gone elsewhere DO NOT WASTE
YOUR MONEY ,THE COMPANY AND SERVICE IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE !.i had
to pick 1 star i would have preferred to use 0 stars thats how i
feel about this company
Rating: 
Reviewed by big john from england on
10th Feb 2010
3 mobile dongle simply does not work wasted 30 pounds live in midlands
no reception do not buy
Rating: 
Reviewed by k from uk on 10th
Feb 2010
why when it wants to download something from the internet my transfer
upon a time falls to zero? in the evening also can not connect to
the internet, why? what if I pay so I can not use? waiting for reply?
Rating: 
Reviewed by Richard Kelly from United
Kingdom on 9th Feb 2010
It's wrong but true that people rarely post on these sites when
things are good! They usually search for this type of review because
they have a problem! For me the 3 Mifi dongle is great, I get between
2 and 2.5mbps download and usually just over 1mbps upload, great
product much better than my home wired broadband. All I can say
is check 3 out it's not all bad Ric ps I live in the middle of nowhere
not a city centre
Rating: 
Reviewed by Tracy from Wales UK on
9th Feb 2010
signed with 3g in november on the £15 for 15g a month contract for
18 months and all was working fantastically up untill about a month
ago and now keep losing internet connection up to 30 times a day.
there is no work going on anywhere near my area so there is no explanation
when i phone them and yet they can not explain this. there is obviously
nothing wrong with my laptop as i had been up and running just fine
for 3 months before this. am a single mum and sick of having to
pay for a service i can not get. wish they would fix it or stop
charging us when times are hard enough as it is.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Carl from UK on 9th
Feb 2010
I bought a 3 pay as you go dongle because it offered a cheap solution
to mobile broadband. Unfortunately it didn't offer decent coverage.
I travel quite a lot within the UK and have rarely been able to
get a signal. Even when I check the signal coverage map and am supposed
to be in a good area, the system is slow. I am just gald I only
wasted £30 for the dongle rather than enter a contract. I 've since
used a Vodaphone dongle which is much much better.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Shubham from United Kingdom
on 7th Feb 2010
Horrible!!!!I got a mobile boradband from 3 and live in a area which
is in a good network coverage and still get a flipping 2kbps download
speed. The netowrk disconnects after a few minutes and have to reconnect
again.Sometimes the Software stops responding!! DO NOT GET 3 Mobile
broadband.
Rating: 
Reviewed by tony from england on
6th Feb 2010
My gf has a 3 network dongle and got a wonderful samsung laptop
free with it, the laptop is top spec top of the range with blu-ray
dvd player buckets of hard drive and a tank full of memory, absolute
cracking deal until you try to use the 3 network usb dongle, what
a load of rubish this is, my self i run on t-mobiles old white thing
with no problems at all apart from the normal you have used up your
allowance for this month now your on restricted browsing from 4
pm till 12pm, now hang on one sec t-mobile you didnt give a monkeys
until 3 netwoks started using your network and their devices dont
work anyway so why slow me down hmmmm, anyway my view from an outsiders
point of view about 3 network AVOID LIKE A PLAGUE, i wont ever forget
that i once had a 3 phone payg i didnt use it for 1 week and they
still took credit off it and when i asked them where it was a hard
to understand indian voice said we dont know but we cant give it
you back, if 3 were the only phone company in the world ide use
tin cans on a string, your more than useless your a money taking
no service giving phone company
Rating: 
Reviewed by Martyn from UK (S. Wales)
on 6th Feb 2010
Most of the time, ok. Although, as stated on 3's website, at peak
times connection can be slow due to amount of users. I find the
service quite reliable. Although, as yet it can't be used to replace
broadband via a landline. Location is very important when choosing
mobile broadband. I had noted that a couple of people wrote reviews
that said, even though the 3 website says they should have network
coverage, it turned out they didn't. What I found useful was to
buy a PAYG dongle before commiting myself to a long term contract.
I found on PAYG that I had decent speeds of around 1MBPS so thought
why not and signed up.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Dave from Blackpool (U.K.)
on 6th Feb 2010
When suffering connection probs, data limit is soon used when having
to refresh/reload etc. When I complained, they took my modem for
investigation (despite me voicing my suspicion was 'further down
the line'). Needless to say, the modem came back 'cleared 'OK' and
I had to forfeit the 5o-odd quid (oh yeah - soon ate my pennies
@ £1 per MEG!). Despite a few months with few probs, the situation
has returned with a vengeance - 'NO SERVICE' once device scanned...
Same in Bradford I hear too - AVOID! When my contract ends...
Rating: 
Reviewed by adam from england on
4th Feb 2010
ok so this is the worst company ever thought up their phone reception
and customer service is a disgrace and mobile broadband aint no
better . DO NOT GET ANYTHING TO DO WITH 3 you will be regretting
it absolute rubbish ,
Rating: 
Reviewed by Rob from UK on 3rd
Feb 2010
Absolute Rubbish... I live in central London - SW1 and the service
has not been available to me for 5 days. I phoned up customer services
2nd time (first time I spoke to an arrogant tech support guy who
told me I need to top as my balance 833 MB was not enough to connect
to a web page - what an IDIOT!!) They then told me that the service
is not working - !! and that they have no idea when it would be
back up!!! Multiply this event by 6 in the last 6 months and you
will see my pain…… How can a company operate like this
- they should be pulled to task by the communications watchdog -
AVOID LIKE THE PLAUGE
Rating: 
Reviewed by al from UK on 3rd
Feb 2010
I'll try to keep this brief...It's slow...It cuts off randomly...I
live in Hull- you would expect a major city like that to be very
well covered...according to the 3 website it is...but believe me-
it ISN'T!! I have had the contract nearly 8 months now- and now
it's February...I've suddenly stopped getting my monthly 15 GB data
allowance...I've contacted customer services by email (as I've heard
3 use a call centre overseas which I know would cost me too much
time and money as I had enough sense to get my phone with O2) and
they've told me it will take 5-10 days for them to get back to me...so
nearly a half of the month will have gone by then- which is pretty
shoddy customer service. To anyone who's thinking about getting
a 3 'dongle'....don't! JUST DON'T!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Anon from N. Ireland on
2nd Feb 2010
3 has to be the most inconsistant broadband available, i've lost
more money and time due to there fluxuating signal than I care to
mention. I have visited the 3 shop numerous times only to be fobed
off by a manager that has no idea what im talking about, i've also
contacted the company by phone over 50 times and have been hooked
up with someone else who has no idea what they are doing or talking
about. I then proceeded to cancel my 2 contracts of £15 a month
and was plaged a a debt collection agency called westcott for unpaid
services. I would not reccomend this company to anyone, I live in
the middle of a city beside the mast which belongs to 3G and it
makes no diference. If you decide to go with this company do so
at your peril, I am in the process of taking legal procedings for
the unprovided service and for the treats recieved from Westcott
there debt collection branch.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mike from UK on 1st
Feb 2010
I am based in London and have been with 3 now for just over a year,
and am now on my second dongle with them - this being on account
that in recent months it has become almost impossible to get on
line for more than a few minutes at a time without getting cut off.
Just as I thought things could not possibly get any worse, on December
22nd 2009 my connection died and I have not been able to get on
line with them since. After umpteen phone calls to Mumbai, 3 admitted
that they had a problem with their mast in my area and that due
to the snow it was impossible to fix. I found this excuse incredible
as you can erect a new mast and have it operational within five
days. Now here we are almost six weeks later and it is still down1!!
Out of frustration I have gone with O2 and their service has been
excellent with no problems what so ever. Do yourself a great favour
avoid 3.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Paul from UK on 31st
Jan 2010
3 mobile broadband what a load of rubbish!!! Dont waste your money
by going into a contract with them you will just get rubbish download
speeds. It said on there website they where not offering 3 mobile
broadband to new customers in my area so why did they sign me up
before I knew this? Am now in 18 month contract for 15GB @ £20 a
month. TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Simon McCabe from England
on 31st Jan 2010
We have been using the 3 dongle on and off for a few months and
no matter what we try speeds are slow and unpredictable. Web pages
dont load and sometimes you need to do a full restart just to get
it working. Whenever the dongle tried to auto update it would cut
out and become useless the only way to get it working again was
to delete the feature and I discovered the trick suggested above
on the day I bought it and no matter what it is set to it's still
horrendous and customer well basically there isn't any. So why don't
we try a different provider... Well I don't really want to waste
money on another couiple of dongles and top-ups just to find out
that they are useless. I wish 3 would take notice of some of the
reviews out there and get it sorted.
Rating: 
Reviewed by delboy from uk on
30th Jan 2010
3 used to be pretty good on my laptop with modem.............but
over last 3 months service speed and quality have become intolerable.
the people at 3 tell me its because they have SO MANY MORE USERS
NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So that is their answer !!!!!!!!!!! So the
more users they con into buyiing the service the worse it becomes.
Now its common that 3 or 4 time s an hour I will just get cut off
completely. So the service is now useless. I would advise anyone
to use any other service than 3 until they learn the lesson.......stop
taking on new customers until your network can support them !!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Amjad Iqbal from Pakistan
on 30th Jan 2010
Hi dear, In Nov 2009, my 3-Broadband expired, and I was appointed
my representative for cancellation because, but now 3-staff are
not cancellation of my contract and told to my representative, the
owner should have do it, now i am in pakistan and charges of call
too much how it possible. what do u think its customer services?
where is customer rights in this modern society? do you think its
rip off? If I am not use it why should I pay? Please give me suggestion
Rating: 
Reviewed by Nick Britchford from UK
on 28th Jan 2010
3 Mobile Broadband, very good reliable, we have cancelled our landline
as much more reliable using mobile. We live in rural Norfolk and
have surprisingly fast and reliable connection. I have ( as has
my wife ) used the mobile broadband in many different places. Occasioanlly
no signal or poor signal but generally in citys towns pretty good.
Rating: 
Reviewed by RCL from UK on 27th
Jan 2010
I have had both a 3 mobile and mobile contract since April 2008.
This was a 18 month contract and in October 2009 I phoned up to
cancel the account as I had moved house and the broadband would
not pick up in the house. They told me that they would send me a
new dongle free of charge to try out and see if it picked up signal
and I could therefore keep the account. The new dongle made no difference
so I phoned up to cancel my contract. A few days later I decided
that my brother could use my broadband instead (as it picked up
where he lived and it was a good price per month). I phoned 3 back
and asked to continue my broadband instead (I assumed they would
of taken this as continue using the dongle and also the sim card
- account). This month (January), I have been charged £25.99 for
the dongle. I have been on the phone to them for 1 hour and 30something
minutes, and they are refusing to refund me the money for my "free"
dongle. Their reason: I phoned up to continue my "contract" , but
I did not say I wanted to keep the dongle! Obviously I would need
the dongle to keep the contract! Had I phoned up and said I want
to keep my contract and dongle, I would not of been charged for
the dongle. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I am having no
luck in getting a refund on my "free" dongle and I offered to return
the dongle, but they said I would not get a refund.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Daniel from UK on
27th Jan 2010
I am suprised at the level of negative reviews about 3's mobile
broadband. Im about to finish an 18 month contract as so far it
has done exactly what I want it to do. Ive had none of this disconecting
issue that alot of people report and the speeds are fast at consistant...even
in areas that are not built up or well populated. The only issue
I have had so far is that my sim got locked, after a call to CS
they are sending out a replacement FOC. Those that complain about
the price of exceeding their limit, well surely there is an obvious
answer there isnt there?
Rating: 
Reviewed by David Heathcote from England
on 27th Jan 2010
why is crooks 3g network in durham so bad only 2 bars need more
as it keeps cutting me off all the time
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 26th
Jan 2010
I get a decent connection (HSDPA) and amazing download speeds. I
have only a choice of 3 as my postcode isn't served by any other
providers. Seriously thinking of binning my landline broadband (max
512Kb given how far from exchange) and going for £15 / 15GB.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Duncan from England on
26th Jan 2010
I'm in Newcastle upon Tyne and my signal / connection has gone really
bad over the past couple of weeks, when before it was always pretty
good? Anyone else experiencing any similar issues??
Rating: 
Reviewed by trevo from england on
25th Jan 2010
3 broadband is terrible. Even with a good signal you get cut off
from the site and must re start. Dont bother complaining, they just
fob you off. At least Im not on contract. No more topups for me,
please someone report them to bbc watch dog or take em to court.
a cowboy company.
Rating: 
Reviewed by trevor from england on
25th Jan 2010
rubbish pathetic rubbish
Rating: 
Reviewed by Debbie Swanson from England
on 25th Jan 2010
£ Mobile Broardband!!!!! what a load of rubbish had it for 2 years
and the service is rubbish, to say the least. They reckon that we
should have a goog coverage for our area, i dont think so!!!! Dont
trust any of the sites that check the area as i think they are all
rubbish. Also have fun trying to cancel any contract with 3 as they
will try anything to stop you from canceling, and then wont let
you talk. so my advise is dont do it.
Rating: 
Reviewed by mick connolly from England
on 22nd Jan 2010
Same problems as most others ie disconnecting at least 20 to 30
times a day, unreliable, unhelpful technical staff (call centre
in India)broadband down for more than 4 days on at least 3 occasions
and they treat you like you have no understanding of the basics
of internet connections, talking you through a basic diagnostics
even though you tell them that you have tried the obvious(very annoying)and
last but not least, not accepting that the fault is at there end,(contractual
reasons no doubt) It would be more helpful if "three" had a more
honest approach to customers care,accepted there shortcomings and
acknowledged some of the constructive feedback on this site so that
they can improve the service, of which they are failing to deliver.
mickconnolly@hotmail.com
Rating: 
Reviewed by james daddy from uk, hull
on 22nd Jan 2010
hi there i am ticked off with three to be honist i asked for a laptop
and dongle deal and got the dongle but no laptop they just keep
fobing me off saying they will be in touch. so for customer service
3/10 for the dongle however 8/10 because it came with in days of
asing for it but the laptop still has not arived i would not advise
people to use three as its been a bad experience for me.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Anonymous from N.Ireland
on 21st Jan 2010
I have always been able to get the HSDPA coverage with a lot of
trouble, I have to use a usb extension and with what might only
be described as more difficult than walking a high wire you eventually
get the dongle at a angle that gives a light blue light. According
to the reading most HSDPA customers get about 1 to 1.5 mb which
has never happened in my experience. The service was running about
512k with a hell of a lot of luck normally but now after 3 network
updates, (jan 2010) the service is actually slower and its like
being back to the days of Dial up. The prices also seem a bit rich
to me, £25 for 7gb is a bit of a joke. Some of my friends could
download that in a day if your into movies or games and music.
Rating: 
Reviewed by dan harty from uk on
19th Jan 2010
found this page as i surfed to find out how to cancel a 3 mobile
contract mid term - useless in every way
Rating: 
Reviewed by thomas clowes from england
on 19th Jan 2010
regards 3 mobile b/band,i had the same problem,no signal unless
i travelled 4 miles,they would not admit they had a problem,dont
pay them another penny,fight them all the way,a contract works both
ways,they are not following their terms and conditions if they as
they say cannot supply you with mobile b/band reception,i did this
and my contract is now cancelled,never again will i use 3 or recommend
it to anyone ,their service is shocking to say the least
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve from England on
17th Jan 2010
I got a three dongle, I didn't realize it was for two years. Total
rip off, two years of paying for an unusable service. Contract is
at an end and I am still trying to cancel it. They want to keep
billing me even though the two years is up and I gave them over
30 days notice of cancellation. Rude and abusive staff at their
'cancellation centre'. A very rude and unhelpful company.
Rating: 
Reviewed by luke from uk on 17th
Jan 2010
i tell you what i agree with all of this below!! i been on 3 dongle
for 23 months now and 2 months ago my dongle broke so i talked to
3 and they gave me a new £20 dongle which i had to pay for! on top
of my 15 pounds a month but now i have had terrible connection the
dongles say its connected but really it doesn't w.t.f? i was told
that i should be getting 6gb download speed and at 5 till 8/9 about
4 but i get 1.5gb!!! and between 5 and 9 1.2gb so people don't use
them they a so rubbish what ever the offer.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Jamie from Barnsley on
17th Jan 2010
no problems at all with regards to network connection, however when
i took out the 24 month contract in oct '08 i passed the usual checks
but had to pay a £75 deposit which i was told i would get back after
a years service, needless to say, after ringing in every week since
october to claim this back and been assured by every member of their
staff that it has been sent i have still not received my money.
I dont understand why they have to send a cheque when they have
my bank details. Does anyone know how to claim this back? I cannot
wait for this contract to finish, 9 months and counting.....
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mark from Uk on 15th
Jan 2010
Can anyone give me any advice on the best way to get out of my contract
with 3? I have no service at all right now and even when I do I
might as well be connected to the Internet via plastic cups and
string. But the customer service is clearly under instruction to
cancel no contract under any circumstances. Is it best to take the
court route?
Rating: 
Reviewed by Luke Thurston from England
on 14th Jan 2010
Please dont give 3 mobile another penny, they are the worst network
around, they recieve awful signal, i can never get a connection
in my own home or college, and they ripped off my mum to pay a £12
a month contract which is worth around £3 compared with the deals
my friends get on other networks, such as O2 and orange.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Keith from UK london on
13th Jan 2010
Sorry, I dont work for three or related to anyone that does. BUT
my dongle works fine at home and in London. It has disconnected
once or twice I'll admit - but nothing serious. My down speed is
2823kbs up is 345kbs at 5:30 pm. I have 3 bars on the signal strength
so must have something to do with it. £39.99 for dongle and 3Gb
for 3 months - all I need really.
Rating: 
Reviewed by jamie from sheffield on
13th Jan 2010
15x24=360pound. I have just been robbed in the center on town by
the man who works in the Three shop.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Aaron from UK, south wales
on 12th Jan 2010
I think that 3 mobile broadband is useless to be honest. At first
it was really slow but now it seems to be going rather fast but
i recently paid for a £15 (3gb) top up voucher and it only let me
top up by 1gb. This is a rip off. Do not buy a 3 internet dongle.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve from England on
12th Jan 2010
The network was OK until they did some "upgrades". Now at peak times
it is unusable. From midnight it is fine. This is I believe due
to Traffic Shaping which they have been doing since November and
which appears to affect Huawei dongles and MiFis but not mobile
phones(at least it doesn't affect my phone when used as a modem).
They need to sort it out urgently.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Karen from Manc ,England
on 10th Jan 2010
Same as every1 right now. Crashes every 2 mins. 2 bars reception.
Total garbage. About to try paul taits advice and will report back
the outcome.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mark P from UK on
10th Jan 2010
Good companies who provide a good service attract predominantly
good reviews. Poor companies who provide a poor service attract
predominantly poor reviews. Then there are reviews of Three mobile
broadband which are predominantly scathing. Why is this? It's because
Three mobile broadband and the company who provide it are both awful.
For me personally, Three are the worst company I have ever encountered
at any time and in any industry. I'm 41. The first thing I think
of when I see a positive review is that it was written by a Three
employee. If you one of the few who haven't caught on yet as to
how bad Three are, read the reviews here and on other sites. You'll
soon get the picture. And if you're stuck in a contract and not
getting the service you should be, all the advice you need is on
these review sites, plus there is CAB and the small claims court.
You don't have to stand for the service, or lack of it, that they
provide. Get out of your contract, quickly and legitimately. Don't
give them any more of your cash! Just as with mobile phones, stick
to the leading networks. They're way ahead of this bunch of inept
amateurs. Avoid. Avoid. AVOID!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Matt182 from uk on
10th Jan 2010
i have a mobile phone contract and a internet connection with them,
signal was ok when i lived in town but since moving it has been
rubbish. they wont cancel my contacts or help me in any way. i am
paying for services that dont work. NEVER GO WITH 3, WORSE COMPANY
EVER AND ALL THE HELP LINES ARE FOREIGNERS.
Rating: 
Reviewed by James from uk on
8th Jan 2010
3 what can i say.. terrible connection terrible customer service..
terrible policy..
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ian4c from UK on
7th Jan 2010
I have read many of these reviews and have to say I am surprised.
Having said that,I purchased a a Mi Fi unit in October 09 on a monthly
contract. In the first weeks it was terrible. I could connect but
the download speed was as sloe as an old telephone modem. I was
about to return the unit. Then there was no service at all on this
particular day. I tried to connect in the late afternoon and was
surprised to find that the connection speed was very fast indeed.
UP and down. Down 1 - 3.8 and the same up. Apparently Three were
updating my local transmitter. It has been very good now since the
update. At peak times it can be slow but rarely below 1mb/s down.
5GB in not enough so I am actually thinking of taking a 15GB contract
for 24 months. But I am a little worried just incase the service
degrades in the future. 24 months is a long time to be tied.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Christian from UK on
7th Jan 2010
I have 3 mobile broadband in my laptop and it is just rubbish! it
lost the coverage network everytime
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve from England on
6th Jan 2010
Ive had Three Mobile Broadband since Sept 2007, firstly on the 3GB
plan on a 2 year contract then i switched to the £15 for 15GB/month
plan a few months ago which is an excellent offer. The connection
itself is very reliable. There is rarely a time when it won't connect.
About a year ago i was experiencing some disconnections but in recent
months it has been fine. Im currently using the Huawei E1750 modem.
The speeds are very good also. Video streaming sites such as BBC
iplayer, YouTube, etc... work fine. It does pause sometimes on BBC
iplayer when buffering but not to often. I even use it for online
gaming on my PS3 and don't get much lag, some Fifa 10 online matches
are as smooth as playing an offline match which is impressive for
a mobile network considering many people say the latency isn't good
enough for online gaming with this sort of connection. Despite the
quality of the service, Three's Customer Service is very poor. When
i came to the end of my 2 year contract, Three sent me a modem for
a new contract i took out but the sim card wasn't even activated
3 days after i recieved the modem despite them telling me it would
be actived within 48hrs from being dispatched from the warehouse.
When phoning Three's CS, i was then recommended to cancel the contract
by the cancellation department as the modem i was sent was a ZTE
MF627 which aren't very good, i then agreed to cancel it but then
i found Three had taken payments out my bank account for the contract
i cancelled. It took about 4 phone calls to CS for me to resolve
the problem plus i had to contact my bank to get a refund for the
payments. They also put me on 3 insurance cover for the modem when
i said i didn't want it which i then had to cancel. If you do have
to contact Three, call their 0800 Customer Services number so your
not paying for the call. the number is 0800 3586795
Rating: 
Reviewed by Roger from UK on
4th Jan 2010
Yes I doubled my 3 broadband, using my nokia 6120 as a dongle to
921.6 Kbps. excellent tip and very easy.
Rating: 
Reviewed by steve-o from u.k on
4th Jan 2010
Ive had 3's 15Gb package for 10 months now, and like a lot of comments
worked fine at first.Ive had to uninstall it twice,taking ages for
the updated version to download as it had lost files and would'nt
exe through the 3connect icon or the windows network.Poor download
speeds at peak times which we will get.Disconnects when it likes,especially
when your doing something inportant.Never had a problem with YouTube
though.Getting hardlined in instead.If this was a car i WOULD be
smacking that salesman.
Rating: 
Reviewed by maddylondon from UK on
4th Jan 2010
At last I've come to the end of my 18 month contract and rang 3
to cancel. The young man at the other end of the phone really tried
hard to persuade me to keep it on, even though I told him it was
rubbish, just because it was such a good price (£7.50 a month!).
Full marks for trying!! Thanks, but no thanks. Heartily glad I now
have landline and broadband and would never recommend 3 to anyone.
Rating: 
Reviewed by moonflower from u.k on
2nd Jan 2010
I received my free virgin netbook on December 19th with a dongle
. I could not get an internet connection. called tec. support, I
was talked through using the dongle still no connection, so I was
sent another dongle..still no connection. so I am paying for a subscription
that I can not use.
Rating: 
Reviewed by P Andy from UK on
1st Jan 2010
I have had the set up for about 8 months, I pay £15 pm for 15 gig
24 month contract. I had a free wireless router to plug the dongle
in ( a useful piece of kit )The speeds I was experiencing were 0.3
to about 1.5 meg mostly at the lower end an average of 0.25 meg.
As I did not want to install a land line, I lived with it some times
it was quite irritating slow others albeit not too often OK. Then
low and behold I thought this is a bit quick today.... I did a spped
test to find 3 meg plus :) It has been this way now for about 4
weeks..... I just hope this is how it will be from now 3 meg for
me is fine. But until then I would describe it as well below everyones
expectations. But now I am more than happy with it
Rating: 
Reviewed by Shrewy from UK on
1st Jan 2010
Was good. Now it disconnects every... 30 seconds? 3 just fail. A
fish with a radar is more useful than this dongle.
Rating: 
Reviewed by jason gallaway from uk on
29th Dec 2009
3's mobile broadband service is just rubbish. I live in a so called
Turbo area and I bearly get dial up speeds. These contracts are
unfair and I think theft because they do not give you what they
promise, I can see these contracts being the next thing for solicitors
to claim money back on for you.......3 don't even deserve 1 star
Rating: 
Reviewed by jeff from uk on 29th
Dec 2009
Not happy at all, customer service (like most unfortunately) is
rubbish Go over your limits and you need deep pockets to be able
to pay the extortionate costs Keeps disconneecting All The Time.
Speeds are as nowhere near like they claim, no good for video sites
as such ok for checking emails and casual surfing but other than
that rubbbish, mind you I expect the others to be not much different,
my next hopeless task of finding a decent mobile dongle will be
with t-mobile at least that does not charge you extortionate rates
for going over, still no substitute for real connected broadband
Rating: 
Reviewed by dave from uk on 26th
Dec 2009
Like most things three mobile is ok when its working. Problem is
mines not and the tech department close for christmas ( why when
its obviously in India ! )Usual thing though once youve signed up
even though it dosnt work you cannot cancel. CAN THIS BE LEGAL ?
Rating: 
Reviewed by L.Lee from Chesterfield
uk on 20th Dec 2009
Ive been on 3 ever since it was launched.And had their mobile broadband
for 6 months,and I haven't had any problems.Eventually,when 3's
consollidation with T-mobile is complete,and the network has been
upgraded people should find it a lot better...Just hang in there...
Rating: 
Reviewed by James from UK on
12th Dec 2009
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY A 3 MOBILE BROADBAND DONGLE!!!!
I have had nothing but problems, even though according to tech support
in mumbai I live within 1/2 kilometre of 4 towers... Cannot get
a strong signal that stays on HSPDA network, when the dongle is
on 3G network you are lucky to get 0.3 MBPS not the 3.6MBPS that
is advertised and that you pay for... For the last 4 months I have
had ongoing problems, which start to get better then get alot worse...
Customer services are useless, and if you ask to speak to someone
in the UK, 3 just ignore it... 3 Stores are only interested in signing
you up to as many contracts as possible... AVOID THIS SHYSTER COMPANY
AT ALL COSTS!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by E Van Speed from Barlinnie
HMP on 11th Dec 2009
Well fancy that!... have had the 3 Mobile dongle for well over a
year now... and only today realise it's not set to it's max speed
(Thanks to Paul Tait tho). Anyway, could I be right in thinking
that virus protection software can interfere with the download spead...???...
and isn't there some issue where windows vista actually disconnects
the dongle when It's not used for a period of time..???.. Could
some expert please shed some light these events. Btw me too getting
that 'can't connect' when the icon shows it should be connected.
[Editor's comment: Yes, anti-virus software is notorious for messing
up all kinds of internet-related stuff.]
Rating: 
Reviewed by ant from england on
10th Dec 2009
DO NOT GET A 3 MOBILE DONGLE WHATEVER YOU DO! I've only just got
out of a 24month contract at £15 month! No reception. Slow. Turns
itself off. Poor customer service when you can understand them!
Even when I rang to end contract they tried to sell me another contract!!!
Absolute waste of money!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by natalie from uk on
9th Dec 2009
absolutely terrible, worked well in eastbourne, did not work at
all in christchurch or bicester both where it was particularly needed.
very hard to cancel once my contract was up as the advisors kept
insisting that I should hold onto it for a possible smaller fee.
Rating: 
Reviewed by R.Powell from UK on
8th Dec 2009
I foolishly believed all the hype about mobile broadband-bought
a 12 month package on 3 Mobile-- ABSOLUTE WASTE OF GOOD MONEY unable
to get refund/satisfaction from 3 Mobile--have now thrown it away--BE
VERY WARY BEFORE DEPARTING WITH YOUR MONEY!!!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Matthew from UK on
8th Dec 2009
Ive had 3GB mobile broadband from 3 for almost 2 years now. Good
Points... It can work well for long periods of time and sometimes
gives very fast downloads. Sais 3gb gives you 30 hours of surfing
a month, it doesnt it gives you around 118-120 hours. Bad Points...
The network can go down at random times after periods of working
totaly fine.mine was working fine for 16 months then decided not
to get a signal for 6 weeks. it can go from fine to bad at the drop
of a hat,its strange. My usage renews on the 18th of every month
i check to see its renewed avidly so i dont go over my limit,but
even though my usage is renwed for the first 2 hours or so of usage
on the 18th of each month it will charge me for no reason at all
raging from £3 to £7 despite saying my new usage is full and ready
to use,it charges me as if ive run out of usage and gone over my
3gb limit. Im almost at the end of a 24 month contract ( 2 months
to go) i asked if i could upgrade to a new 15gb package and cancel
my 3gb package and they told me no or id have to buy the new 15gb
package and still keep paying my old 3gb contract aswell, so i told
them id finish my last 2 months contract with them and instead of
taking a new 24 month contract out with them id start a new 24 month
contract with VODAFONE. lmao so there not a very intelligent bunch
at 3,they could of had my money for another 24 months for the sake
of canceling my last 2 months of contract gaining 22 months of money,now
they shall get no more from me. Sometimes the software can slow
things down when its present on the screen despite my pc being current
and high spec,but minimising it makes that problem go away. last
but not least the worst thing about it is trying to find a spot
to actualy get a signal its extremly sensative just moving it 1cm
this way or 1cm that way and it will cut off with no signal. Id
advise anyone who gets a dongle NOT to get the USB dongle as it
doesnt allow much freedom. ive one of the older better dongles wich
connects to a USB lead wich gives you alot more feedom to find that
better signal. Overall.... when its connected its fine,use mine
almost everyday and it can be perfectly ok for hours and hours,but
the bad points do out weigh the good points.
Rating: 
Reviewed by jamie from peterborough
uk on 6th Dec 2009
ive had 3 pay as you go dongol for a while now and havnt realy had
any probs and i say it defo it the best network 2 have cheaper than
all the others alot cheaper i say buy one 2day
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ann from England on
5th Dec 2009
I have had trouble getting a reception and tried to get a refund
they totally refused to pay. After many phones call to them, they
just said that it would be repairs so my voucher is now out of date
and i cannot use it. Needless to say i will not be useing them again.
i could not get intouch with them via e mail either.
Rating: 
Reviewed by James from UK on
4th Dec 2009
It is a complete waste of time. It is the worst. Customer service
is really bad and Please kindly think "three" times before you go
for it.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Bhawna from United Kingdom
on 3rd Dec 2009
I had 3 broadband monthly contract for 15GB. When I bought it, it
didn't work and instead of taking it back to the shop I thought
it must work at some point(not very smart thinking of course) and
by the time I realised that it is never going to work it was too
late to take it back to the shop (14 days is the warranty time),
I called customer service hoping they'd fix it, they couldn't. I
had to pay for it every month and it never worked, they wouldn't
take it back!
Rating: 
Reviewed by cook from england on
3rd Dec 2009
why is there no service most of the time
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ade Ajani from UK, London
on 2nd Dec 2009
Please anyone thinking of getting 3 Broadband, DON'T, not to even
imagin about getting it. When you first sign up I will be the best
service you could have but you just wait for 4 - 6 weeks then problems
start. You will connect but you will get an error message on your
browser stating you are not connected to the internet. I tried to
cancel my contract with 3 in Septemper '09 but stupid me decided
to extend my contract as i was told the problem was with the dongle
and they gave me a new one which i was promised will work fine.
it was ok for 6 weeks than problems started started again. Made
a complaint and was told its the dongle that had a problem, was
issued with a new on but which now works fantastic, decided to check
and reconnect with the previous dongle and it also works fine. I
think the problem is from 3, where they will get you stuck on their
contract and make your life a misery. I WISH I HAD DONE MY RESEARCH,
I NOW FEEL LIKE HANGING MYSELF, THANK YOU 3 FOR MAKING MY LIFE SO
MISERABLE !!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Helen from UK, South Wales
on 2nd Dec 2009
Trying to get out of a (consistently poor or nonexistent) service
contract. To say I feel frustratingly powerless is an understatement.
I have almost been reduced to tears (by the blatant unfairness of
Threes attitude) I have yet to receive a single PROMISED call back,
have been charged when told they won't bill me for the time this
is taking to resolve and have been appalled at the non customer-centric
ethos demonstrated by their inability to accept their product/ service
does not work as described in their sales literature. I am considering
legal action.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mika from Wales on
2nd Dec 2009
3 BROADBAND IS REALLY DISAPOINTING, THE STAFFFS WERE RUDE WHEN I
WAS COMPLAINING AND HE GAVE ME FAKE EMAIL TO MAKE A COMPLAIN!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mark from Manchester on
1st Dec 2009
It's fab but I consider myself to be a mobile broadband expert now
after having tried all of the networks since January 2008. Using
a 3 'dongle' I was achieving 0.9MB download speed and 0.3MB upload.
With the same computer (Advent 4213) and using a built-in 3G modem,
which doesn't use the 3 software, I am achieving speeds of 3.5MB
download and 1.2MB upload !!! I didn't change anything except the
modem and connection method. The experiment was carried out 1 minute
after using the dongle without moving the computer other than to
slot the sim card in the PC sim slot. This suggests a number of
possibilities or combination of them: 1. 3's software slows down
the connection. 2. There are USB voltage issues. 3. The dongle is
not receiving the 3G signal effectively. My advice is: 1. Check
your signal strength using a 3 phone or preferably somebody elses
3 dongle. 2. Don't sign for anything more than a 30 day contract
with 3 - You can always upgrade later if it's right for you and
3 now sell 30 day contracts for £15 per month. 3. Use a 3 dongle
if you haven't got an embeded 3G modem but don't use 3's software
to connect -Use the Windows Network and Sharing Centre to create
your own dial-up connection to 3. It's quite simple and you can
find out how by doing an internet search.
Rating: 
Reviewed by ben from UK on 1st
Dec 2009
HAD 3 FOR 15 MONTHS NOW ...COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY AND SPACE I AM
IN LONDON WHERE IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE COVERED PROPERLY BUT IT IS
DIAL UP SPEEDS ..LOTS OF CUTS OFF... NOT USING IT AT ALL NOW COZ
IT JUST NOT WORTH IT .....DEFINITLY BOT RENEWING IT
Rating: 
Reviewed by Brian from United States
on 1st Dec 2009
I used 3 Mobile's Australian service. If they use the same proprietary
computer program for their UK counterparts, I'd suggest you stay
away from 3 Mobile. The speeds are often very slow, particularly
during peak usage hours, and the company itself is a bit misleading
in how they set up the data monitoring. How, you ask? The program
that comes with the modem has a feature called "Statistics" that
charts your data usage. It ticks upwards in real time as you use
your modem. Underneath all of the figures, however, it says that
you should log in to their website to get accurate data usage. That
would be great--except for the fact that they only update this every
48 hours. Because of this deceptive practise, I ran up an extra
$100 on my account. When I confronted them about the logical flaw
in their setup, they tried to tell me that it's because most of
their customers use the company for more than one service (i.e.,
cell and mobile broadband), and that's why they suggest that they
do it. But frankly, I think it's deceptive. Also, their customer
service speak english so poorly that they are nigh impossible to
understand--and when I tried to call them and cancel my account,
they claimed that their systems were "down" and that they couldn't
process it. Strange, considering that they could look up everything
else. Bottom line? I'd stay away. Vodaphone was much more helpful
as a company.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Douglas Hinton from Denmark
on 1st Dec 2009
Tried MobilityPass this last Summer. Found it incredibly expensive.
About 7 quid a minute. They took the money direct from my bank account
without even giving me an invoice. They also "topped up" my user
account, although I didn't want them to. They refused to refund
the money in my user account when I tried to close my account. They
are a rip off firm and should be avoided by everyone.
Rating: 
Reviewed by mike from uk on 30th
Nov 2009
terrible service waste of money
Rating: 
Reviewed by Lizzi from UK on
24th Nov 2009
I recently started a Mobile Broadband contract with 3 and at first
was quite impressed. It's a £15 per month 15GB contract that worked
perfectly fine to begin with (although not for gaming, but I was
told this, and no wireless is fast enough anyway). Over the past
month however I have been getting very very angry with it, it connects
at no more than 2 bars every time (which it says is 'Fastest') and
disconnects every five minutes. It's a pain because I play a lot
of browser based games and get thrown off because I'm not connected
yet again. In fact just now, it nearly disconnected. I think it's
all a stupid con, that works at first so that you don't cancel the
contract within 30 days, and then after that starts to deteriorate.
I also have a phone with 3 because I've had one before and I must
say they are always good with phones. Although one complaint about
my phone I have is that it was a special offer contract of £19.20
per month, supposed to be £27 for a Sony Ericsson mobile, however
I always get charged around £23. Is this legal? I never go over
my allowed minutes, I have 1100 Mix and Match every single month,
seriously I couldn't go over that!! I never use them all up, yet
the price isn't what it said it was. To be honest I can't be bothered
ringing them up because it's never helpful and I can never tell
what the foreign person on the phone is saying, no offence.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Daniela from UK on
24th Nov 2009
I have got a 3 mobile broadband and it has been anything but a nightmare.
The dongle is temperamental, it says is connected but when you try
to open a browser the message pop up to say you haven't got internet
connection. Plus if it eventually decide to connect then it takes
up to 10-15 minutes to load a page and if you want to click on anything
else is coming out with the same message again. I have been in touch
with 3 on so many occasions and i have spend a fortune on my mobile
phone and i have send letters still no success. I have spoken with
a girl from their call center who promises to ring me back and guess
what no phonecall or even apology or anything. But you very often
get a phone call asking how you like our service. I have been so
let down and i will most certainly will not be recommending to anybody
in a right frame of mind. When i got the dongle i was told that
i am in a very good area for network coverage what a big lie that
is. Please please whatever you do do not sign up a contract with
them or do any kind of business with them. I have cancelled my DD
and now i know i will get a phonecall from them.
Rating: 
Reviewed by ricky walker from uk on
24th Nov 2009
3 mobile broadband is totaly rubbish i can hardly use mine it always
crashes n i will be leaving them as soon as my contract is up
Rating: 
Reviewed by bod from uk on 22nd
Nov 2009
i am using the 3 broadband on contract and am very unhappy about
it, all i can say is DO NOT TAKE A CONTRACT OUT WITH THEM, you dont
get broadband you get rubberband. connection speed it rubbish 60kbs
on a good day if your lucky avg is 10kbs. i live in one of there
best areas for connection in gloucester and i have a telecomunications
tower about 2 minuits walk down the road from my flat. i would recomend
you save your money and go to a diffrent network. avoid like the
plage. connection 1/10 download speed 0.5/10 upload speed 2.2/10
avg page load time 10 seconds
Rating: 
Reviewed by 1 from 1 on 21st
Nov 2009
Just something that I found that might help some of you. My 3 USB
mobile modem kept disconnecting repeatedly whenever I tried downloading
things like videos or music files at full speed. Surfing regular
websites was generally fine. I tried updating service packs and
other things etc but it didn't stop. It was only when I disconnected
all USB devices linked to the computer including the mouse and put
the 3 USB modem into another USB port that suddenly it all worked.
I was able to use the mouse pad to surf and download files with
full speed. Later I put my mouse into another port and things still
worked. My conclusion is that it could be a USB voltage problem.
I think the different USB devices were all drawing voltage and probably
the modem was trying to draw even higher voltage when having to
go to full speed to get the bigger files and this might have caused
a voltage drop out which caused the disconnections. Just a guess.
My computer is XP and over 5 years old. So perhaps some of you having
disconnection problems might like to look into the USB voltage issue
and perhaps getting an external powered USB hub might help you.
Almost tore all my hair out trying to solve this thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Al from UK on 20th
Nov 2009
I purchased a 3 mobile Pay as you go USB modem stick 2 days ago
(18 NOV 2009)from a Comet electrical shop to attach to my laptop.
It frequently disconnects. Especially when I use iTunes or Youtube.
I feel cheated. However thinking about it all I can see what is
going on here. I had a similar problem with Virgin Broadband who
used traffic management policies to curb users. It was horrible
at the time but it got better. I think 3 is unable to cope with
users downloading huge files at high speed. They will have to curb
the traffic but they are doing it in a very damaging way that could
destroy their reputation with customers forever. They should hurry
up and tell customers what is going on via their website. Customers
have every right to be very aggrieved at this current problem and
3 should inform them what they can and cannot expect from the service
immediately. Also they should get sales staff at shops in the UK
to tell new customers what they will and will not get wi th their
purchase of a USB modem. They have just expanded too far too fast
by taking on so many new customers, they should serve their current
customers with good service first before taking on new customers.
Failure to do this will be fatal to their reputation I think. As
a customer of any mobile broadband service I would be prepared to
limit the amount of downloading I do for a set period of time as
long as they told me that things would improve to a decent standard
in a reasonably short period of time. If the company would only
TALK to its customers in a respectful way and inform them what is
going on, and for how long it is likely to be, then it would reduce
the number of angry customers. I think 3 will have to do a similar
traffic management system to Virgin Broadband where customers can
download as much as they want as long as they do it in non-peak
hours. Like telling customers to schedule large downloads to take
place late at night or over night. Also asking customers to limit
their downloads to a maximum of anywhere from 250MB to 1 GB during
the peak hours of the day. With a bit of respect and give and take
perhaps 3 can get it right but they must act fast. And their tech
support staff MUST be trained to be very polite no matter how tense
a call can get. Shouting and lashing out is disastrous to the company.
3 must treat the customers it has like gold dust, talk to them nicely,
keep them informed and offer them incentives. It mustn't take on
new customers in my opinion until it has made the ones it has happy.
Then it can have a good reputation for looking after customers that
will attract more customers in the long run. That's my view. I personall
y have no problem with Indian tech support teams provided they are
considerate and properly trained to handle customers who are likely
to be frustrated with one of the most irritating things in life....an
uncooperative computer. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be happening
based on what's written on this webpage. 3 has the ball in its court
and must act fast as I said before otherwise its competitors will
get their traffic management systems to an acceptable level for
customers and attract 3's customers away to themselves because they
will not have negative reputation issues. I think a company can
mess up once but in order to be forgiven it must quickly repair
all damage. Al
Rating: 
Reviewed by kamal from UK on
20th Nov 2009
Regret going to 3network, real LAG network as lately line always
down every few minutes (most of other times its lag badly, i tried
online MMO game which look interesting when i saw my friend playing
and being student and mobile i opt the dongle 24 months contract
which looks cheap (based on download per month) i died every few
minutes whenever i play the game even tho the game is hosted in
germany which is just a stone throw away, imagine the frustration
i m getting. Now at over 5 months into contract the line getting
worse day by day, they keep signing up people with cheap contracts
but neglect the line demand. Is there anyway i can complain about
extreme poor service and get compensation back or get my contract
cancelled without any further charges on me?
Rating: 
Reviewed by Daniel from UK on
19th Nov 2009
Tried that tip of increasing the default speed of the modem - worked
wonders! I really don't understand why it is getting so many negative
reviews... I wouldn't go near a contract but for the price, the
pay as you go dongle is great for when out and about. I've been
up and down the country and it works fine yeah now and then it can
be annoying with disconnections I certainly wouldn't reccommend
it as a replacement for a landline connection but for what it is,
in my opinion, its great.
Rating: 
Reviewed by J W from sheffield,uk on
18th Nov 2009
i had a 3 dongle for about a year & it got slower & slower until
it wouldn't connect anymore so i binned it. but i was talking to
a bloke in the pub the other night,who works in a 3 shop,& he told
me that 3 has been upgrading it entire network & that many of it's
older type of dongle's are no longer fully compatible with the new
system,but 3 won't admit this because they may have to pay compensation
or replace thousands of older useless dongles. anyone else heard
about this?.
Rating: 
Reviewed by rachel from uk on
18th Nov 2009
horrendous - it says it is connected but IT ISNT. have called about
5 times and just get transferred to a call centre in India - was
sent a replacement dongle which again did not work. useless network
- do not get.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steven B from England on
18th Nov 2009
Having mobile broadband with 3 was tantamount to pulling teeth.
I had a 12 month contract which ended in August. For the first couple
of weeks the service seemed fine. Then it kept disconnecting for
no reason, and since then it got increasingly worse right until
the end of the contract. I phoned their pitiful excuse of a customer
service line, and spoke to various people from either New Delhi
or the far reaches of Scotland. Their excuse each nd every time
was that they were "updating their masts", and that the problem
should be sorted within a few days. I first heard this pack of lies
in January, and when phoning to end my contract in July, they gave
the same excuse. Having had enough of their terrible service, I
ended my contract as soon as the period was over, and was on the
phone (at my costly expense) for over 10 minutes (which comprised
of them persuading me to consider their other deals, which I was
having none of) to end it. They said that after 30 days the service
would be cut off and 10 days after that, the final payment would
be taken. They did indeed cut the service off on the date they stated,
but never bothered debiting the payment 10 days afterwards. Then,
when I thought my business with them was done and dusted, I received
a not so friendly letter from them in the middle of October, saying
that the account was closed, and then demanding the money. Furious
at their temerity and incompetence, I wrote them a letter (figuring
it would be cheaper and more efficient than wasting hours on the
phone to them). I told them that they had either made some sort
of mistake, or they had lied to me on the phone.I also said that
if they persisted in threatening me with debt enforcement and potential
legal action, I would be taking my own course of action. A week
later I received a response, and from it I deemed that they hadn't
bothered reading my letter properly, as they said the exact opposite
of what I explained happened (they said I should have contacted
customer services over the poor coverage, when I specifically stated
in my letter that I had done this numerous times). Not only that,
but they said that they would stop the debt enforcement, and would
be prepared to accept a discounted sum as a goodwill gesture. Still
unsatisfied I wrote another letter, but before I sent it I received
another threatening letter from them demanding the full sum of money,
and saying that charges would be applied and that I would be taken
to court if I didn't pay. This angered me even further and my letter
wasn't in such a friendly tone, like theirs. I have threatened them
with taking the matter to OTELO, and Trading Standards, and am currently
waiting for a response. I only hope that they will be as intimidated
as they hoped I would be after their bullying tactics. So to clarify,
even if you are desperate for mobile broadband and have a vendetta
against every other possible company that provides it, DO NOT go
for Three. They'll bleed you of your money and give you months of
stress and pain on top of it.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Jemma from UK on
16th Nov 2009
DONT SIGN UP!!!! 3 Mobile broadbad is terrible and a complete waste
of time and money. It disconnects every 2 mins or so and they dont
offer any customer service. I've had mine about 5 months now. First
two months were excellent, never disconnected and was fast etc.
Then without doing anything, switched laptop on one day and it disconnected
over and over again. This went on for about a week so I took it
back to the shop. The guy was so rude, refused to do anything about
it but handed me the phone to call India. They were equally as useless.
Replaced my modem for me but this was no use and they threatened
to charge me for another if they couldnt find fault with the old
one. Thankfully they didnt charge me. However I have just learned
to put up with it now as still have another 19 months to go!!!!
Has anyone else had any luck? I dont want to keep paying for this
piece of you know what!!!! DONT GET ONE!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by J9 from U.K. on 16th
Nov 2009
Absolutely disgusted with their service, I am a new customer, ordered
my new laptop and modem 7th November, specified delivery for Monday
10th November, the modem didn't turn up until Tuesday 11th November,
I am still waiting for my laptop (today is 16th November), I have
14 day free trial from the day the Modem was delivered, called Customer
Services today to be told they have a system error and I am to send
the Modem back to the them and that I wont be receiving the laptop,
if I still wish to have this contract I have to place a brand new
order (apparently they cant just order a new one for me) and I'm
to cancel my direct debit to make sure they dont start taking payments
away from me, considering I am a brand new customer this is disgraceful
service and they obviously do not want new business that much !
Rating: 
Reviewed by Lucy from UK on 15th
Nov 2009
THANK GOD my 24 month contract has finally come to an end. I am
fed up with seeing 'internet explorer can not display web page'!!!
I live in central London. My reception is disgusting. I have constantly
had to reload pages time and time again to do simple things like
email. Videos -you tube etc FORGET it! It will NEVER happen. I had
to download an update for my blu ray player on my laptop. Told it
should take 20 mins or so. My estimated time to download the same
update was over 130 HOURS using the rubbish three broadband! I got
so mad I could've smashed my laptop that day- I managed to calm
myself down and ordered BT! I was told my reception would be fantastic
--- RUBBISH! NEVER order three broadband unless: *You WANT to throw
money down the drain *You want to deal with rude call centre staff
- and it's true that you can't understand them. They even have the
cheek to get annoyed with YOU for not understanding them! * You
actually like the thought of seeing 'internet page can not be displayed'
EVERY time you try to load a page. * Pictures on argos/ ebay etc
never show I never have ANY bars just the ariel shaped thing. Most
times I have to press connect over and over again until it goes
on. And as someone else said when you finally load the page to do
an email or whatever you have to make sure you copy it as the stupid
thing constantly loses reception and you could lose things that
you've typed out. Filling out forms will get you mad as you can't
copy everything and you will have to fill it out again and again
and again.... You have been warned! Try another network if you must.
Even then I would only suggest payg. My experience has been sooo
bad with three that I wouldn't even trust another network. I will
NEVER get anything from three again!!! Can't wait until I get BT
as I will take out all my frustrations over the last 24 months on
this stupid dongle when I smash it to bits!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by tiger lily from cornwall
on 15th Nov 2009
DONT DO DONGLE WITH Network 3 IT KEEPS DISCONNECTING. DONT DO DONGLE
WITH Network 3 IT IS SO FRUSTRATING PHONED FOR HELP TO INDIA NO-ONE
COULD UNDERSTAND ME DROVE 20 MILES TO NETWORK SHOP, THAT WAS NOT
MUCH HELP THEY SAID THAT IT WAS WORKING FINE BUT PLEASE BELIEVE
IT'S NOT BACK HOME I TRY A THOUSAND TIMES IT KEEPS DISCONNECTING
DONT DO DONGLE WITH NETWORK 3 YOU'LL NEVER GET IT WORKING!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ash from United Kingdom
on 13th Nov 2009
Well since i have bought my three pay as you go dongle the service
that i have received has been absolutely useless. I have speeds
well below broadband speeds so they may as well call the service
three dial up. also my signal is really bad and three say that i
have excellent coverage when that is clearly not the case since
i have received a signal of about 2 bars and it frequently disconnects.
Rating: 
Reviewed by keith from UK on
13th Nov 2009
Have they gone Bust?.... 5 Bars on my mobile phone and i cant make
a call. Aparently Internet is conected at 3.6 Mb Cant download a
thing speed is riciously slow. Had 3 for about 4 months Nothing
But a Pain in the Haris !. Stay away from 3 90+% coverdge Bull.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Fay from UK on 12th
Nov 2009
I an word...'RUBBISH'
Rating: 
Reviewed by Giles from United Kingdom
on 12th Nov 2009
Well, it started out good. We live in an area with slow landline
broadband, (long way from exchange) and my 3 dongle gave me faster
internet connection than the landline. For about a week. The signal
has gotten worse and worse. In the same place, I no longer get the
HSDPA signal, but just 1 or 2 bars (about 6% according to 3 connect)
of the UMTS signal. The speed is atrocious, and how on earth I am
supposed to use 15GB per month I don't know, but I don't think it
is possible. At the moment my plan is to phone them up, tell them
I've had enough (I have a 24 month contract), post them the dongle
back and cancel the direct debit. I've had it for about 3 months
now, and they tell me I can't do this. Funny, because I am going
to do it anyway. They are not providing me with the service they
said they could, so I won't provide them with the custom I said
I would. I'd be a lot cheaper if I paid them in fits and bursts,
a lot at first but less and less, that might better reflect the
connection.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Laura from London UK on
11th Nov 2009
Complete and absolute RUBBISH. I have traveled the world, and used
many different internet connections from Dial Up to Broadband, and
the 3 Network (especially in the UK) is by FAR the BIGGEST telecommunications
scam i have ever come across. At present, I am using the 3 Network
in Central London, and I have 1 star with NON EXISTENT speeds, with
little to NO connection. I have had to reload THIS page over 8 times
just to post my thoughts. FURIOUS!!! I have even had to cut and
paste this review in the even that i loose my connection before
getting to post it. Hell no! I plan on joining this review network
with everyone else to WARN YOU AND GET YOU FAR AWAY from the 3 Network.
If there is a SINGLE 5/4 start post here - it is most certainly
a person who works for the 3 Network and needs to be met in a dark
alley somewhere to have their oh-so-honest opinion "rectified".
The 3 Network is a TOTAL and utter SCAM. There are people on this
site suggesting that if you are not legally getting a passable standard
of product eg: a product which is not working, faulty or poor performing
(in most cases, it is ALL of us!) then, simply bar the 3 Network
from taking out payments from your bank account - and STOP Payments
on a faulty product. Well, It seems smart in the first 5 seconds......
but then, you have to understand, if it is NOT an agreed "end/or
cancellation of contact" then the 3 Network Debt Recovery Department
will simply put a strike against your credit rating. So - just simply
STOPPING payment and "waiting" for them to come after them, so you
can pursuit it in court wont really HELP your credit rating. So
- it comes down to LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES AND EXPERIENCES!!!
and DON'T ever use the 3 Network again. Tell all your friends and
family. Post it on your face book page (if you can get on it!) and
help to damage the reputation of the 3 Network!!! This unethical
and highly unprofessional level of business trade and conduct is
UTTERLY UNACCEPTABLE. My final thoughts in regards to the 3 Network.
Customer service: The 3 Network Customer Care is in INDIA!!!! I
am sorry, and this is NOT a racial issue. This is despicable! 3
Network "out-sourcing" to India to keep their business overheads
low. God knows we can all see the reasoning behind it. Cheap-sweat-shop
labor. Why run a 3 Network customer service call centre in the UK
- with UK based citizens... when you can out-source to India, pay
seriously less wages combined with people who are prepared to work
all night long. The biggest problem faced with not only myself but
many others is many things. 1. With such THICK Indian accents, I
cannot understand a WORD many of these representatives are saying.
Nor should i have to.. I am an English paying customer, purchasing
the product in England. I expect customer service phone/internet
support in my country of residence. 2. The customer service representatives
in INDIA are absolutely USELESS. They have been utter failures at
troubleshooting any of my problems, not to mention sexist attitudes
when dealing with Indian-Male representatives. Truly, a BIG clash
of "cultural difference", as in the UK, women are generally NOT
spoken down to, or patronized for being a woman. NOT happy at all,
and i am a very patient and understanding person, and that is totally
unacceptable. My final comment in regards to the 3 Network "support"
in INDIA, is (and it has been mentioned on a few occasions on this
site): Are they reading from a Script? are they robots? I KNOW they
are trained to remain patient and placid at all costs, but ... If
i hear, "yes Mame" "No Mame", "I am sorry Sir" "Please wait on hold
Sir", or told to: 1. Hang my laptop out of a window for better coverage
2. Sit outside in 5 degree UK winter temperate for better coverage
(don't worry about freezing to death). 3. Get in your car/or train
and travel to another area of the UK to check coverage 4. Get a
new computer or try someone Else's. I am going to EXPLODE. This
service should be ILLEGAL Outsourcing to another country - should
be illegal. I did NOT sign a contract with 3 Network, INDIA. Why
are we as paying customers NOT PROTECTED by the Trade Descriptions
Act of 1978 as well as the Provision of Goods And Services Act 1982??
PLEASE - if you are reading this review and are considering the
3 Network... PLEASE think again! It will be the biggest financial
and emotional mistake of your life. P.S: On my 8th try to post this
review here is what my computer said: “The network link was
interrupted while negotiating a connection. Please try again.”
Rating: 
Reviewed by constantine from uk on
9th Nov 2009
Its worked most of the time so thats pretty good, but like someone
mentioned on here the thing drops off during peak times which is
annoying,especially i live right next to a transmitter(full bars
constantly).I dont use it for multimedia as it doesnt work, as my
son found out. only for emails and university site which it struggles
with at the best of time(maybe its a secure site).Have to use REAL
BROADBAND(land line) to access these. Given the choice I should
off bought the PAYG dongle instead of the £40 contract for 24 months(had
it 13 months already) because its impossible to use more than 1GB
a month.(im on the net almost 7 hours everyday browsing, never bothered
to download after 1st experience as it takes forever). So if you
consider buying any sort of mobile broad band DONT get CONTRACTS
as its a rip off.Go on PAYG so if you dont like it you aint lumbered
with it.If you want real broadband get LANDLINE and have the real
thing.lol.
Rating: 
Reviewed by D Hayward from UK on
8th Nov 2009
Iv had a few mobile broadband connections from various networks
and find they all seem to do the same, 1st month seem fast and reliable
then a slow downward spiral to zilch!!! Has anyone ever thought
it may be the actual dongles that are at fault??? They do seem to
get quite hot when hammered!!! Ill agree 3 are actually Gormless
Robots! No matter what the problem is its 'on hold' for a few mins
then they have to keep repeating them selves because we cant understand
what they are saying resulting in a call charge more than the actual
monthly Tarrif!!! Iv cancelled both my broadband and mobile 2 yr
contracts, told them im not getting what im paying for and will
not pay another penny until I do!!! 3 months later, not heard a
dickie bird and not been charged!!! I just hope they are eventually
going to start court proceedings as im pretty sure im in the right!
If I was hired to paint a wall red and I suddenly changed it to
pink halfway through, would I still get Paid??? Think Not!!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ryan from uk on 7th
Nov 2009
Have used 3 mobile broadband for about 6 months now and I can say
I'm not impressed. Like Steve, I live in the south and the connection
just dies during peak hours. You phone them up to complain and you
get directed to a call center where the people cant understand you,
and you cannot understand them. During the hours of 00:00 - 11:00hrs
the connection is fine and great, but thats panse really considering
most people are asleep for the majority of the time. Swap to another
broadband if I were you.
Rating: 
Reviewed by mr g from n.ireland on
5th Nov 2009
3 is terrible, they wont take back their dongle either - I can't
get a refund. I keep getting redirected/passed around an India based
call centre (this isn't a whole load of funtimes folks). Has cost
me 30£ in calls already. I've put the darn thing in the bin, using
02 instead, much better.
Rating: 
Reviewed by graham from uk on
5th Nov 2009
I bought a dongle when they first came out in 06 on 3 on a 24 month
contract.Ive just renewed my contract with 3,as they provide a good
service cant fault.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ed from UK on 4th
Nov 2009
Absolutely atrocious. Slow and continually disconnects.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Simon from UK on
31st Oct 2009
It works fine for me, Paul's tip is good as mine was set to half
speed instead of full speed so everyone should check that until
3 can manage to configure them for max speed for point of sale.
I nearly kicked the dongle out of the side of the laptop and had
to bend the USB connector back and decided to use a USB-USB extension,
only one about a foot long of twisted wire, but it seems a fair
bit faster still now, I'm wondering if that is working as a sort
of aerial extension? Anyway, it works fine and though it's annoying
the usage don't rollover, 50p a day for usable access up to 3 gig
is value in my opinion.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ian from UK on 30th
Oct 2009
To answer Robert's question below: you are one of many people to
have had a problem with the 3 dongle dropping the connection for
no obvious reason. As for fixing the problem, demanding a refund
is the best option. My dongle was returned for this reason.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve from UK on
27th Oct 2009
Had this miserable product for 18 months and cannot describe how
awful it is. Used it all over the South-East and on different laptops
and it's always the same, slow, particuarly at peak hours when everyone
else is trying to use it. It just grinds to a halt. Even off-peak
it is slow, but even worse, the network becomes unavailable, probably
while (much needed) maintenance is carried out. This means if you
need to work late at night/early morning it can be down for hours.
I don't agree with the poster that only negative people reply to
forums if it was good I would be singing it's praises, but it's
not it's awful and I hear this from many other people using 3 Mobile
Broadband. I suspect many of the good reviews on this forum are
from 3 representatives talking up their book. Seriously, avoid this
awful prodcut.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Robert from England on
27th Oct 2009
I've been having the problem of my internet connection stops receiving
data which means I have to disconnect then connect again for it
to work, it's really annoying, does anyone know why this is? or
if there's a way of fixing it?
Rating: 
Reviewed by roger from England on
25th Oct 2009
I normally get around 1 meg speed but every month or so it goes
rubbish for about a week.Its the unreliability that i hate and it
keeps disconnecting in the middle of my poker game costing me money.i
would not reccomend this rubbish to anyone
Rating: 
Reviewed by Tony Phillips from England
on 19th Oct 2009
Ive had a bad connection now for a month, I have been told from
3 india call center that it was a 24 hour maintence issue, in fact
they tell me that every time i ring. There is no one with helpful
information, they just run through a script like a robot when the
problem is obviously a problem with the server in my area. I can
connect in other post codes but not where i live, 1 month ago i
could. Its a simple problem but the bad customer service cant solve
it and there's no way out of the 2 year contract. 3 might be cheap
but if anything goes wrong you will pay the price as the customer
service based in india will not put you first and treat you as stupid.
Please choose a network with customer service in the UK where you
will get someone who can understand your problem even if its more
money. Remember if it goes wrong on a 2 year contract it will cost
you over £380.
Rating: 
Reviewed by dave from UK on 19th
Oct 2009
Followed Paul's tip to improve speed, seems to have improved slightly.
Had 3 mobile broadband 2yrs, no complaints, it does the job.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Hannah from wales on
19th Oct 2009
My 3 mobile broadband connection has been terrible for about a week.
Just went into my local 3 shop and they told me that this is a general
problem and the connection should be back to normal in about 3 days
time cos they're doing some kind of maintenance. Guess i'll just
take their word for it! The connection I had before was fairly good
so i'm hoping it's just temporary!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Jordan from England on
18th Oct 2009
*CAN BE USED FOR ONLINE GAMING* I see a lot of negative reviews,
but I'm using a mobile broadband dongle and it's outstanding. Don't
be put off from purchasing one, get a signal check for your area
and ask to try it out before you get a contract. At first it was
pretty slow, with latency up to 5000 ms, but then I got some usb
extension cables and have the dongle hooked up out my window, and
I'm getting latency as low as 100ms - perfect for online gaming.
I kid you not, it's more than 2x as fast as my LAN connection with
tiscali, I'm using the dongle for access when I experience lag during
gaming, usually in the evening because that's a peak time and tiscali
are a terrible, terrible ISP that chuck you in with a line SHARED
with up to 100 other people, I'm paying for 8MB and I'm getting
less than 1MB, or 100 kbps, usually 50kbps, which is no faster than
DIAL UP! Anyway just make sure you get a good signal, highest I
got is 2 bars but I'm getting an amazing connection that is more
than suitable for online gaming. And DO NOT let it just sit in the
back of your pc indoors, in my experience it NEEDS to be hooked
up outdoors for a perfect connection.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Matt from England on
19th Oct 2009
The problem with myThree being unavailable can normally be fixed
by closing & reopening your browser. For some reason the website
will not let you connect to it twice in the same session. I'm guessing
major cookie problems, which isn't a very good advert for the website.
As for connection, mine has been dire the last 4 or 5 days. It'll
connect for roughly a minute then just die. I have to disconnect/reconnect
2 or 3 times to get it to work (for another minute), then repeat
the whole process etc etc. When it works it is very good, fast enough
for browsing, & downloading a 30mb app takes only a minute or so.
When it isn't working it is a pain in the backside. I'm hoping the
current connection problems are down to them upgrading something...
Rating: 
Reviewed by Ben from Hinckley, Leicestershire
on 16th Oct 2009
I purchased the 5Gb package on an 18 month contract and have had
nothing but problems from the very beginning. To start with the
signal was aweful both inside and outside the house. Three insisted
that my area was an exceptional coverage zone and I was expected
to believe this?? Google (if the dongle actually connects) takes
40 minutes to load! I've written to them about this and asked them
to write back under the T's and C's of the Supply of Goods and Services
Act and they haven't even bothered replying, instead they keep calling
my mobile and have left 232 voicemails to date (in past 4 months).
I wasn't going to write this as to be honest I'm not into forums
but I feel that people need to be aware of this. They may cause
you hastle you didn't expect, my advice is to take advantage of
the Wireless hotspots in the cities nearby or simply go with a provider
like BT or Virgin as you are almost always guaranteed a continuous
connection. I would recommend the cable services as they are generally
more modern, but I think the real issue for the UK is that we are
so far behind on a universal front in terms of speed etc.
Rating: 
Reviewed by michael from bristol on
14th Oct 2009
had 3 for a few weeks.. laptop took a week to arrive but had better
processor than advertised so not complaining.. apart from one or
two lapses in signal been very reliable as much as could be expected
from mobile broadband esp when reading other company reviews.. 'high'
quality streaming from youtube.. no complaints.. dont be put off
from purchasing it.. is generally the people with issues that bother
posting!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Chris from England on
14th Oct 2009
i brought a ZTE dongle ages ago, and that was ok but not brilliant.
the USB connection on the card actually broke so i was forced to
buy another, so i got the huawie e220. the software that it uses
to connect is unreliable, because sometimes it will connect, but
not recieve any data so i need to disconnect and reconect. also,
it will frequently stop transfering data after any given time. this
can be really annoying when your having a full blown convo on msn
or downloading, as you need to start again. another problem was
threes website. the past couple of months i havent been able to
top up online because the service for topping up is always unavailable.
the first time this happend and i tried again, my bank account got
frozen because i had £60 "earmarked" to be paid to three. i was
not happy tbh. the staff in store and on the phone arent very usefull
either. also, the my3 website is pretty much always "temporarily
unavailable", so bear this in mind when choosing. i do however get
fast speeds at my home, but everywhere else i go i get terrible
signal. i guess im lucky that i dont travel round so much because
ive hardly ever gotten signal elsewhere. im looking to change provider.
three is the cheapest out their, but it costs a whole lot more in
time, patience and money to use their service. i also agree with
a lot of the low rating reviews below. it gets two stars because
of my speeds at home.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Steve I from England on
13th Oct 2009
I totally agree with all the negative comments below. It's been
a nightmare from the beginning. I advise you NOT to take out a contract
with them as you will be wasting your money as well as giving yourself
an ulcer from the stress. Guess it's cheap for a reason huh?
Rating: 
Reviewed by eric from scotland on
12th Oct 2009
no problems always on 3g or hsdpa even plays video clips no problem
non of the others work very well on the scottish borders
Rating: 
Reviewed by Rob from UK on 8th
Oct 2009
The speeds pretty slow even in central london but for £5/month for
a 1gig limit i can live with that as i only use it on my travels.
Whats rubbish is the software that runs 3 broadband, it completely
throttles my netbook. The main problem seems to be a process called
AutoUpdateSrv.exe that uses up all my processing capacity. It even
slows my machine when 3 broadband is disconnected. Only fix is to
uninstall 3 broadband.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Jason from England on
7th Oct 2009
I do not recommend Mobile broadband if 3 is typical of what is on
offer. I get a lovely connection during the day until around 4pm,
and then after midnight. The rest of the time, I may be showing
as been connected, but I do not have a data connection - MSN will
not connect, no Email service, and no web browsing. In the area
that I use it, there are a lot of students, So I assume that the
amount of people connecting to phone home to loved ones is taking
away the available bandwidth. IF SO, then why do 3 not do something
about this? And the problem is not just confined to this geographic
position - I travel around a lot with work, and see this symptom
all of the time. Wake up 3, and pull your finger out, and fix the
problem. Unless this is remedied soon, I will not be renewing with
them.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Derek from UK on
7th Oct 2009
I bought a 5gb contract dongle for a new laptop on dec29th 2008.
Initially it worked well, perhaps for 2 weeks or so. The remaining
time has been painful. I live in the strongest coverage area almost
in Manchester city centre. I have nothing obstructing my home. In
fact i live approx 200 feet up. I am in 2 minds whether to cancel
the contract and stand my ground with the aftermath. It is 100%
pure frustration and I would recommend it to nobody. I cannot find
an email address for 3 customer services and refuse to waste any
more money talking to their call centre.
Rating: 
Reviewed by sarah from UK on
7th Oct 2009
I am fixing a laptop for my friend who uses 3. N omg it is d problem
as to why his laptop will not run. when i remove the software it
works fine, the min a put it back on it slows the whole system down
and as for the internet connection wel it is jus pure clean useless.
please for the love of god do not use this service, its cat!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by manie from Uk on
4th Oct 2009
Guys my 3 dongle was rubbish until I got rid of my norton 360 it
is now working fine I also agree that thier call centre is rubbish
but swear at them and thier staff submit
Rating: 
Reviewed by studentinthecity from Scotland
on 30th Sep 2009
USELESS!! 3 are awful-i've learnt this over the past 12 months locked
into a contract where day in day out i experience problems connecting
to the internet-went over the usuage limit once and was stung for
20 quid--more than i pay a month-in just a few days. customer service
i agree doesn't exist-either a hard sell or a call centre overseas
who keep putting you on hold...making calls last forever yet never
solving any problems.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Sara from United Kingdom
on 30th Sep 2009
I am disgusted with the product and the company selling it. My boyfriend
purchased it as a present but since it was delivered later than
expected I couldn't test it until a week later. Despite their website
says my postcode is covered both indoor and outdoor I can't open
a single webpage and can't establish properly a connection. I have
called their callcenter who was just the worst I've had to deal
with so far (no IKEA's was) and they were totally unhelpful despite
the delivery problem was due to 3 chosen partner and the information
given on their website was fraud. I will never have anything to
do with this company again. Companies running a business the way
3 does don't even deserve to survive in the market.
Rating: 
Reviewed by 24 month contract from UK
on 30th Sep 2009
Have been using PAYG and now on contract for over a year now. At
first it was generally OK - apart from the odd day or two when it
was useless - but over the last few weeks it's been out of action
for several hours most days, either because there's no signal or
there's a good signal but it just won't do anything for hours on
end despite retaining the connection - every attempt to load a page
is timed out. And often when it's working well it disconnects. When
it's working well it's fantastic, but it's totally unreliable, and
my contact with 3 thus far hasn't shed any light on things, except
that it might be related to overloading at peak times. Most of yesterday
evening it was connecting OK but wouldn't load anything, now it's
great in the early hours, but it's not necessarily a traffic problem
because on other time in the early hours it's been totally useless.
Having read through some of the comments, there definitely seems
to be a pattern of problems during the last few weeks or the month
of September or thereabouts.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Sarah from UK on
29th Sep 2009
As most people have mentioned, they are appalling. The customer
service is none existant. Their answer to most connection problems
is the entire network is down. They lie about what they say and
do. The connection is terrible, half the time is says we have a
full siganl but it takes forever for pages to load or they dont
load at all and the entire laptop has to be restarted to kick the
modem into action. They claim we downloaded over 5gb of data in
two days with no proof, now have a complaint in with otelo and hoping
that might get something done. Companies like this should be not
be allowed to operate but alas bad CS seems standard for most companies
now adays. Maybe the law needs to be changed and the supply of goods
and services act should include a section on providing decent CS.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Sarah from UK on
29th Sep 2009
As most people have mentioned, they are appalling. The customer
service is none existant. Their answer to most connection problems
is the entire network is down. They lie about what they say and
do. The connection is terrible, half the time is says we have a
full siganl but it takes forever for pages to load or they dont
load at all and the entire laptop has to be restarted to kick the
modem into action. They claim we downloaded over 5gb of data in
two days with no proof, now have a complaint in with otelo and hoping
that might get something done. Companies like this should be not
be allowed to operate but alas bad CS seems standard for most companies
now adays. Maybe the law needs to be changed and the supply of goods
and services act should include a section on providing decent CS.
Rating: 
Reviewed by paul from UK on 29th
Sep 2009
Ive used the 3 PAYG broadband dongle for over 18 months now, I usually
top up £15 a month as i found i was hitting the 1GB limit too often
previously. Generally the service is pretty dire, the connection
drops constantly (Even though i have a good signal). Im currently
sitting here unable to connect at all, this happens quite reguarly
and its very irritating. Avoid 3 like the plague, ok its cheap but
you do get what you pay for!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Eddy from UK on 28th
Sep 2009
I would not wish 3 mobile on my worst enemy, coverage in Britains
second largest city is dismal
Rating: 
Reviewed by CT129 from UK on
28th Sep 2009
I have had 3 mobile broadband since May 09 and have had one problem
after another. The Customer Service I have received has been nothing
less than appalling and some phone calls to their 'off shore' call
centres has been over an hour long. I have tried to raise a formal
complaint in writing with no response and have recently been sent
a bill for £19.99 for a replacement dongle as they said I damaged
the first one!!! It never worked in the first place. NEVER NEVER
again will I buy anything from 3 and would suggest that no-one else
does. I am stuck in an 18 month contract. I am rating this as 1
star (poor) but don't feel it really qualifies for that however
you don't provide an 'appalling' category.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Brian from UK on
26th Sep 2009
You guys need to complaint to OTELO otelo.org.uk/membercompanies.php
the communications overseer. The are the people that scare them
into action.
Rating: 
Reviewed by dingdang from UK on
26th Sep 2009
3 mobile broadband is a pathetic! slow like.. i dont know.. anything
slower than amputated snail maybe..
Rating: 
Reviewed by robert from UK on
25th Sep 2009
DO NOT BUY 3 mobile broadband!! you are wasting your money and time
(including getting bills fixed). The line is slow. Customer support
is bad as they are not helping at all. Be careful with your bill
as you might be charged unnecessarily. My3 site to check data usage
real time is not showing what is recorded in their system. I don't
think 3 deserves even 1 star here. 0 star would be appropriate!
Again, DO NOT BUY 3 mobile broadband or you will regret it like
many others.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Mick from UK on 24th
Sep 2009
I have had a 3usb dongle on contract for approx 18 months at least
and to start off the service wasn't too bad, but things have gone
downhill from there, everytime I try to use it, it connects but
then refuses to load any other page after my browser, if I am really
lucky it might let me view 5 or 6 pages and then disconnect's itself,
all in all an extreemly frustrating piece of crap, it has got to
the point that I want to make an official complaint and hopefully
try and get some of my money back, £15 a month for what?, so I can
sit screaming at my computer, because it doesn't do what it is supposed
to, namely connect to the internet. If anyone has any ideas about
the best way to start a complaint please put up a post, because
it's pointless going to a 3 store because the staff tend to treat
you like morons " Are you sure its switched on Sir ", and other
pieces of wisdom. My advice steer clear of 3usb modems.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Glenn from UK on
22nd Sep 2009
Had mine for over a year and had no problems with it for a while,
used it as my main internet topping it up £15 a month was ok. Moved
house and gone with bt landline fibre optic but its down at the
mo so had to dig the dongle out again. And all i get now is 19/20
times i try to connect is local only, whats the point, so frustrating
having no internet. If it keeps at it i will bin it.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Gary from England on
21st Sep 2009
I came off Virgin because the 3 package looked good, i can only
advise anyone who is thinking the same not to bother! It is the
biggest waste of money i have ever seen, it never works always disconnects
itself and is slower than dial up was 10 years ago. If you service
your getting is good dont move! My actual rating would be minus
40 but unfortunately this rating system only goes down to 1.
Rating: 
Reviewed by jason from U.K on
21st Sep 2009
3 mobile is useless. I was told that in my area i should get 2.8
speeds. I am lucky if i get 400 kbps.
Rating: 
Reviewed by emma from england on
21st Sep 2009
i got my 3g dongle on a 2yr pay monthly tariff. what a big mistake!!
The slightest bit of bad weather and it just knocks off every 5
mins or goes very slow.. cant watch video's on you tube or facebook,
takes ages to upload pictures. After 12 months of having it it stopped
working,this was in march 09. the foreign call centre staff do not
help, they just tell you the same old thing, try this and try that,
non of it works, i was also told it was a bad signal area and thats
why it wouldnt work! well why was i told it was good signal area
when i bought it and why has it worked for the last 12 months then?
i had it sent back for repair after endless phone calls, came back
and still did not work, took another load of phone calls before
they would take it away again fo repair, still didnt work! after
all the money i had wasted on phone calls trying to sort it out,
it was then august 09 so thats 6 months of no internet and wasted
money on calls! i cancelled my direct debit in june as i was not
going to pay for something that would not work, i have had debt
collection letters from them and will not be paying them another
penny!! they told me they would investigate the problem and get
back to me and if no solution then they wud cancel it, still waiting
for the phone call back after 4 months.. i am now told i cannot
end the contract and have to pay the remaining money which is £180
to end the contract! absolutely no chance! 3G completely useless!!
never ever again would i use them!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Blue from United Kingdom
on 20th Sep 2009
While 3 are claiming to revolutionising the mobile phone they are
doing quite the opposite with their USB modem. When I first got
my USB modem I was quite impressed with it - apart from not being
able to watch HD movies on YouTube. I didn't mind too much as I
didn't see the attraction... Anyway, a couple of months down the
line I started to experience terribly slow speeds and frequent loss
of connection. I called 3's "Technical" department on several occaisions
only to be told the same thing over and over: "Adjust my browser
settings..." So I got fed up! I sent 3 an email informing them that
I would terminate the contract if they were unable to provide the
service as advertised. As there was no improvement I stopped the
direct debit on my account to 3. This resulted in 3 sending a debt
collector after me. I held firm due to what I had experienced. So
the debt collector firm gave up. 3 then apologized for the inconvenience
via a letter saying something along the lines of: "We are sorry
that you couldn't get on the internet between March and July...
We hope we can resolve the issue, so we'll give you back your money
for that period..." Are 3 crazy? I am just going to sit there at
my laptop for a few months until 3 get their act together... Absolutely
not! Now they are still pushing for me to pay for a service that
I had terminated due to the fact that 3 failed to deliver the service
as advertised. Once again, they are threatening to give me bad debt
to affect my credit rating. Needless to say that I am furious. I
am going to make a complaint to BBC's Watchdog program. I want 3
to be held accountable for their failure to provide a broadband
service and bullying tactics, which I won't give in to. 3 broadband?
Uh-uh...
Rating: 
Reviewed by richard from UK on
20th Sep 2009
hi, 3 mobile broadband is the best mobile pay&go broadband service
in the uk as it has better coverage than every other company and
it's getting better very soon too three have just anounced its mobile
wi-fi service (works just like wifi but u can take ur network anywere
u want its got all the speeds u get with normal wi-fi but on the
move so mobile broadband is the way to go if you dont mind the download
limits
Rating: 
Reviewed by ken from UK on 20th
Sep 2009
I purchased a 3g dongle about 10 months ago, mainly for when I am
away from home, so far its behaved very well for basic use, so I
am pleased where 3g coverage exists. But for video streaming and
fast down loads, its a waste of time. I feel mobile broadband is
purely for general browsing and email use when at home or on the
moveaway. Never rely on it as a primary service. Standard adsl or
cable is the only way to go for home use if one is take advantage
of all services. Unfortunately my adsl line is not much better due
to network congestion regardless of ISP supplier. very annoying
as I cannot take advantage of BBCi and the channel 4 service due
to re buffering problems, tiscali, aol BT tried them all, UK lags
behind in this area. Even gone back to a ethernet connection far
to many wifi hubs in the area causing problems (not enough channels)
a neighbors wireless linked cctv knocked out the wifi hub as the
cctv uses same 2.5ghz band. What a country we live in, mass marketing
slowly killing off the industry. Otherwise I like 3g, just don't
expect to much. I also use o2 phone as a modem linked to my netbook,
I get a 450k connection only but for email its ok. o2 handy if 3g
out of range. (pay as you go) customer, never never have a contract
unless the phone is to expensive HI. From a long term frustrated
internet user from the dial modem days and we appear to be back
at that level at times, OH SO SLOW.
Rating: 
Reviewed by sid from mansfield on
18th Sep 2009
3 (so called broadband) is absolutely atrocious,it can take me as
much as 30 attempts to get connected, and when it does it disconnects
after about 10 mins or about 2 MB of data transfer. 3 customer "care"
don't seem to be at all interested.so i've lobbed my 3 dongle in
the bin & got a much better vodafone dongle.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Reza from Stafford, West
Midland, UK on 16th Sep 2009
I have got 3 mobile broadband for 5-6 months. At the beginning it
was ok except on and off disconnections. Since last 4 weeks these
disconnections are almost every 2 minutes. It is so frequent which
I can not open my e-mails. I have spoken to customer service several
times. They sent me a new dongle. But the problem is the same. I
don't know even if I can send this message now. My advice would
be: DO NOT GO FOR 3 BROADBAND......
Rating: 
Reviewed by Kate Naughton from Epsom,
Surrey, UK on 16th Sep 2009
I have had three mobile broadband for about 7 months and it has
been one drama after another. It has been at its worst over the
past month, especially at peak times. My internet is now only allowing
local access intermittently, there seems to be nothing i can do
about it, whatever i do will not re-connect to full internet service.
The system will just re-connect when it feels like it and then disconnect
again... this happens all the time and is so frustrating!! I have
contacted three numerous times and spoken to 'customer support'
who are useless! Obviously, them not being based in the UK is no
help either as i am spending my phone bill ringing them, repeating
over and over again what the problem is. I have done everything
they have suggested and their final solution was that i should contact
the manufacturers of my laptop (2 different ones that i use in my
house!) as it must be their problem!! I wish they would take responsibility
for their appalling service!
Rating: 
Reviewed by jonm from scarboro on
15th Sep 2009
i bought 3gb broadband payg from the local shop, and got the assistant
to check on thier system the coverage for my area, this is a better
system than the one n thier web site. got home and so far ive had
between 1mb and 2.4md downlaod speeds so things are looking good.
ive still to decide wether to get a 15gb contract..FREE LAPTOP HAHAHAHAHAHA
we need to complain to consumer standards about false advertising....
why cant i use th mob broad band on my home network any ideas??
Rating: 
Reviewed by mandi from uk on
15th Sep 2009
i have had 2 weeks of hell all i get is limited connectivity or
local only constantly sats no page to display. spent 40 pounds on
phone to customer services cannot end contract! they swear its my
pc ive tried the dongle on 3 diff laptops same problem! sent me
a new dongle after me screaming down the phone at these goons i
actually cried with frustration cannot understand anything some
of the "helpline" people say there dialect is so bad they say the
same thing over and over again. My pc has been checked by a technician
who said there is nothing wrong with it! had so many problems! so
frustrated. DO NOT USE THREE ABSOLUTLEY APPALLING SERVICE!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Helen from UK on
14th Sep 2009
I have had 3 mobile broadband for now 22 months. Bought 24 month
contract £15 for 3GB/month. Of course there are much better deals
out there now and more companies to choose from. I was one of the
first to have this because I needed something for travel. I had
the horror of a £40 bill when I went over the limit one month by
a few MB. Since then, they now send warnings if you are approaching
your limit. Extremely slow in London (and other UK locations). At
peak times are bad to the point of unable to load pages. I have
been unable to e.g. load hotmail because it is so slow, e.g. current
speed typically less than 50kbps. Occasional peaks of 170kbps. Bear
in mind that it should be upto 3.6Mb, the service I am getting is
over 20 times slower. However, being very patient, I can access
text based pages easily. I don't even try to load pages with many
pictures and certainly not streaming video as one reviewer manages.
It was quite funny when 3 introduced online billing but the connection
was so slow I was unable to get access to their own webpages. I
resolved then to quit 3 mobile as soon as my contract was up. However,
I have yet to see better service from other networks. I will end
this contract since £15 for 3GB is really bad these days. The connection
only cuts out after say 3 hours, which I think I have set myself.
I have now seen Paul's suggestion and changed the maximum connection
speed to 921600 from 115200 so I will see how this goes. Telephone
helpline when looking for drivers for my MAC were not very helpful.
The online webpage kept leading me to a dead link and I eventually
managed to find how to connect to a MAC using Google. It depends
on your needs, I can't say I can particularly recommend it, but
if you need access to the net (slow) for text based pages, then
this maybe good enough for you.
Rating:
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