Three Review
In a nutshell: Three is one of the "big 4" mobile
networks in the UK and operates a purely 3G service.
Three is the newest
of the "big 4" networks in the UK and is the only network to
operate a 100% 3G service.The network was launched in 2003 and upgraded
significantly in 2008 so that it now covers 97% of the UK population.
In addition to voice and data services, Three also offer mobile
broadband services including mobile wi-fi.
Three Consumer Reviews
Love your network? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the 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 29 reviews: 
Reviewed by diane from south wales on 15th May
2012
Had a phone from 3 for the last couple of months and find them great
had no issues with the signal or connection which I find is constant.
Did have a question so I used their on-line assistance and was rung
back within the hour with a friendly helpful gentleman who did have
a bit of trouble with my accent first of all but speaking slowly and
clearly got the issue sorted in no time. My experience has been a positive
one so much so that two of my colleagues have now gone with them
Rating: 
Reply
Reviewed by Alex Evans from UK on 5th May 2012
3 are very adverage when it comes to signal I don't think I ever had
full bar signal in all the time that I was with them and I live in an
area that is good for signal! Costemour servaces are very poor. Even
when trying to get my number across to them it took what seemed like
forever. It was even worce when I was trying to take my number onto
my new phone on tmobile. I was on the phone waiting for about an hour
before anyone bothered to pick up the phone and then they truest to
give me offer after offer to keep me on the network. Overall a very
poor performance from 3.
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by diane from south wales on 3rd May
2012
Have all you can eat data plan, coverage is brilliant and customer service,
when I've had to use them are helpful can't fault them on their assistance.
Much better that when i was with t mobile who over charged me twice
and more or less told me to wait for my cash to be refunded on a account
which had been closed for two months. They got told where to go in no
uncertain terms. Cant recommend three enough no problems doing that
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by struggs from UK on 17th Apr 2012
... Okay so I promised I would re-visit my revie I made last week. This
is earlier than planned as I have just stumbled across a huge chink
in the 3 mobile network... It has no GPRS network to fall back on. Now,
while this is no problem in a strong 3G signal area what happens when
you ate in between or worse completely outside of service? Apparently,
nothing!!!! You can still make and receive calls and texts but no Internet
or email!!!!!!! So not great for all smartphone users, that's iPhone
etc to you and me.
I did a quick google and discovered an article on electric pig article:
just google No Internet is better than GPRS
Although this has not turned me completely off 3 I think it is something
anyone should consider especially if you are entering into a 2 year
contract.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by struggs from UK on 15th Apr 2012
I have been a loyal Orange customer for 12 years spending £45 plus every
month. My current iPhone 4 comes out of contract in two months so thought
I would see what offers Otange retentions could make. Well it appears
that 12 years and £6500 doesn't buy much retention! I walked past the
3 mobile store and noticed their one deal; all you can eat. I decided
to sign up on a rolling 30 day deal and 'beta' test their service. Paid
for orange to unlock my phone. (£20.54) and stuck the sim in. I have
had it in now for 3 days but all I can say is... Wow, what a difference.
Average of 3.5mb down and 1.5mb up. Constant 3G and the phone calls
seam clear enough. I went on a trip to the seaside yesterday and set
up a personal hotspot in the car. Both my sons started BBC iplayer and
watched it for 1hr 20mins. It did not skip a beat! I have not had any
experience of their 'customer service' so cannot comment but up until
now the phone/3G has been fantastic.
I can't wait until I can transfer my number over from Orange.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by michelle from uk on 14th Apr 2012
i think 3 are rubbish i asked for an unlock code so i can use my old
sim card was told they will ring me in 3 days as they had to send off
for it ( yeah right ) now they rang me and said it will take 2 weeks
as they have to get it off samsung i rang them they dont even have unlock
code its 3 that hold them all
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by ste from england on 10th Apr 2012
pro's of three.
cheap, always 3g, good selection of handsets.
con's
texts fail a lot because the signal drops a lot. If they improved signal
strength three for me would be the best.
Rating: 
Reply
Reviewed by Jess from England on 17th Mar 2012
For me three suck! I barely get a signal in my house and I live in a
medium/large town not in the middle of nowhere. My phone whichis coming
to the end of it's 2 year contract started to play up so we sent it
off for repairs, its been with them for 6 weeks now and they've told
us that it was dispatched a week ago but we've never recieved it and
someone is constantly telling us something different... Last time i
sent them my phone for repairs i recieved it within 2 days of sending
it off, they're definitely slipped since gaing popularity. .. My mum
has had loads of issues with signal as well and even though as a household
we spend nearly £100 a month on our phones they are unwilling to do
anything for us, luckuly my contract ends in April and I want to move
onto Tesco Mobile as they have amazing deals and have won awards.. I
only want my phone back now so I can sell it on and make some money
from it.. HOWEVER IF you live in a city i doubt you will have issues
with network coverage for me Canterbury and London and fine but I want
to be able to use my phone at home, not just at Uni.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Tris from UK on 10th Mar 2012
More like rubbish,rubbish,rubbish. I hava a nokia lumia that died and
wouldnt charge. They sent me a replacement which rebooted all the time
and had a weak battery. I sent that for repair only to be sent one back
that was damaged on the sim card slot and scratched and was sent with
the wrong charger, I also could switch it on because it had so little
charge it switched off on boot up. I phoned customer care who offered
me £5 off my next bill (I havent made or recieved a call for over a
month with this phone due to repairs). They have offered me a fourth
lumia and refuse to give me back all my money for the time i couldnt
use my phone. I have refused 3s offer and asked for a iphone or samsung
galaxy s2 as i have had enough of this lumia thing. As of yet its been
6 days and no one has contacted me with a answer of yes or no weather
this is posible. I tried to contact 3 about a replacement and all they
say is it is being delt with. I wonder how many reviewers out there
wouls put up with that!
Rating: Reply
Reply by Tris from UK on 16th Mar
2012
Three have contacted me after 8 days and offered me a htc desire s or
an iphone 3gs. Not really on par with a lumia 800. Three have stated
they will not refund me or give me a mobile of the same value or greater.
I accepted the 4th mobile and to my horror it has soft key issues and
connection problems. I have decided to buy an iphone cash and use a
different network. i have suspended all 3 accounts and have started
to put the contracts into credit to pay them all off in a few months.
Three have contacted me to tell me that they are very sorry for all
the problems and will give me options when i cancel the contracts. There
will be no options for me. All contracts with them are going and on
to rolling contacts with vodafone. That will be the end of three for
me. And very costly it was too!!!!
Reviewed by fran donner from engaland on 9th Mar
2012
We my husband and eye have been with three for 6years now and wouldnt
change. we find it to supply a very good service.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Music Lover from UK on 4th Mar 2012
I agree with the previous comment about the 3 music store downloads,
3gp video breaks up and the so called high quality version suffers from
constant and uncorrected buffering. Their music track downloads, mp3
and 3gp, often end up as the digital version of a stuck record with
the track freezing during playback and failing to finish because the
track is incomplete.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Steve from uk on 1st Mar 2012
One of the best networks going fantastic deals especially unlimited
data.customer services are really good and make it helpful by sending.
A jiffy bag to send the phone for repairs and allway s had the phone
back within 3to4 days and they txt to remind. You about what's happening
when phone is sent off.also reception is good with 3. Wiuld not swap
3 for any other network
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Jon from UK on 17th Feb 2012
Really Great network but the customer service is still so very poor.
When closing my account for example the cs advisor said i will take
your addons off , its like closing your account. After over 30 minutes
of me telling the advisor that I just want to close the account he finally
got the message. This is just one of many many runins i have had with
three.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Brian from UK on 15th Feb 2012
diabolical customer service!Taken a year to be able to speak to someone
who will make a decision. Finally got out of the contract. Would NEVER
reccomend them EVER!!!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Daz H from England on 11th Feb 2012
I moved to Three (3) in December 2011 from being with Vodafone for 7
years. So far so good. I went with 3 as the address I moved to had poor
Vodafone reception. I get good full reception 99.9% of the time. The
deals are much better with 3. The staff in the 3 shop were very helpful
and not droids like p4u staff. Overall I'm happy but Ive had nothing
go wrong yet so when I actually have to phone customer services it might
be another story.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Simon from UK on 8th Feb 2012
I bought a £15 payg sim with all you can eat data to try out and i'm
gobsmacked !!
I'm on contract with Orange which are ok for calls and text but they
REALY suck with data connection, no better than dial up most of time
.
Where as the 3 sim downloads at about 6 meg with good connection ! I
can ACTUALLY use my phone for web browsing without battery going flat
waiting for Google page to load, music plays non stop and i can watch
a Youtube video without buffering .... buffering ... buffering ....
buffering ... like i get with Orange.
I wouldn't trust them with contract or bank details but as only Network
with truly unlimited web access without all BS about fair usage limits
/ caps you can't go wrong for that monthly money, also can put in tablet
too and completely unlimited use of net access !!
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Shree Rai from UK on 8th Feb 2012
I have been with three network for almost 5 years now. Its network coverage
has been improved but suddenly at my area it is not as it used to be
& I don't know the reason. I don't mind the customer services although
its from India but one thing I wonder with three network is: It gives
unlimited internet data allowance with 'The One Plan' in iphone contract
but you need to buy extra internet add on (£5.00) for blackberry contract
although you have 'The One Plan' to use BBM.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Sunjay from UK on 3rd Feb 2012
I purchase my Samsung Galaxy s2 from three network and I am on the one
plan with all you can eat data. The internet speed I get can between
3 to 9 meg. This is much fast then my home broadband. As my tariff allow
me to connect my playstation 3 and pc to my mobile phone, I decide to
cancel my BT landline phone line and ADSL. The speed allows me to stream
movies via lovefile/Netflix and I can even watch BBC iplayer.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Jamie from Scotland on 2nd Feb 2012
Got a refurb HTC Desire on a 24 month deal at £15p/m from 3. The phone
is terrible, the only reason I got it was because the ad promised 2
months free Spotify (turns out, if you already signed up Spotify at
anytime in the past, you didnt get it...they never advertised that fact).
I hate the phone but the shining light was I could downgrade my £15
contract to £5p/m after a year...until I went to do this and got told
"we do not do this anymore...sorry". I can't wait to leave. DO NOT DEAL
WITH 3!!!!I cant stress this enough people. Smashed my phone off a desk
this morning in rage and going in to a 3 store tonight to get it fixed...as
you can tell I'm up for a fight.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Andrew Moncur from UK on 1st Feb 2012
Dont do business with 3. Customer service is appalling beyond belief.
I handed in a faulty handset to a 3 store more than 2 months ago. I
have called many times and fobbed off with a number of differing stories.
The handset is lost, the battery is faulty, the handset cannot be repaired>
Each time I call the staff who are based near Mumbai make promises of
callbacks which never happen. I have 2 phones and a dongle and have
been with them a number of years but not for much longer.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Jack from wales on 31st Jan 2012
HATE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Scott from UK on 31st Jan 2012
Yes their call centre is in india but they are never rude like the UK
ones can be, i find them very polite if i have to call them. Never really
have reception issues and being on The One Plan i tether away on my
laptop and never have to worry about limits. I always tell my friends
to move to Three and am more than pleased with the network.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Trevor from England on 2nd Jan 2012
I have had an HTC hero on a 24 month contract with 3 for 20 months months.
I find the network coverage not upto scratch in my area, in fact the
best reception I've had outside of London has been scotland. I have
had a lot of dropped calls & it doesn't roam well. 3 attract customers
with keen pricing & decent sized bundles but I won't be sticking with
them come April.
Rating: 
Reply
Reviewed by Richard from Great Britain on 2nd
Jan 2012
I Recently downloaded tracks and music videos from the 3 music store,
the quality goes beyond just poor as to be a complete waste of your
money I advise anyone reading this NOT to buy music from this network.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by MP from England on 29th Dec 2011
I never understood all the fuss & bad comments about the '3 Network',
I always found them helpful on the phone & the network was not too bad
either, granted the coverage isn't as good as Vodafone but I don't think
it is that bad.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Chris_M1BIK from England on 29th Dec
2011
I've been using 3 in the UK now for about six months using the One Plan
sim only tariff - used with a Viewsonic Viewpad 7 (better known as a
Contiva N700 i believe). I've never had to deal with anyone to do with
3 customer services since i've had no need to contact them, so i guess
i can't comment on the 'rude/unhelpful' comments of others experiences.
However, in six months, i've had zero issues where i use the VP7 (in
and around the Medway Towns, indoors and outdoors) - the only places
(very few in fact) where i had zero coverage were obvious places (i.e.
if you know about radio communications and propagation at the frequencies
in question, you'd know those places were gonna be dead coverage wise
anyway) and likewise, even where signal quality was poor (not necessarily
to do with poor signal strength), i always had some kind of useful throughput
data-wise and call-wise. Oh, and just to emphasis on that side of things,
most of the Medway Towns is very hilly and built up, so it used to be
horrendously poor around here many years ago, but the main 3 cell coverage
is pretty good now, and adding in the fill-in provided by the roaming
partners (T-Mobile is one that i know of, and their 2G/3G coverage is
good around here) and it's hard to find (excluding the obvious places)
a reason why you'd get a rubbish signal unless you are say in car with
thermal coated tinted glass (which is reflective to RF too) or indoors
behind similar kind of coated double-glazing, or down in cellar or suchlike.
Cost wise, nothing unexpected - using 3 for cellular data coverage mostly
(the primary reason for going on 3) on the all-you-can-eat and tethered
provision. It's cost me not a bean over the fixed monthly free. I'd
say, from experience of using most of the networks and also having been
around a bit in the radio world, that the difference between a good
data performance and a lousy data performance is a balance between how
good a coverage you have in the real world, how congested the network
is in your locale/use area, and how good/bad/indifferent the transceiver(s)
are in the phones/broadband modem transceivers etc. A poor transceiver
(i.e. with poor handling characteristics and poor sensitivity) as bad
in good coverage as it is poor in poor coverage - add in network conguestion,
and things really go to pot. A really good transceiver is pretty good
in all conditions and will handle congestion quite well (as well as
can be expected, in practise). Not all cellular radios are equal, in
that department. A good example of that is my old ZTE F102 (a cheapy
cheap chinese 3G Skype phone, also on 3) which is also a pretty sharp
performer with the 3 network coverage around here. What makes both of
them both shine and do their bit in the equation, is having good transceivers
built in. Returning to the business of 3 Network - I've seen between
2.5 & 6mbps out of the VP7 in tethered use on 3G (2.5 in poor locations
that were usable) - which i attribute to the combination of coverage
and having a good transceiver and lots of capacity on the network around
here. Needless to say, i opted for the Sim Only 30-day One Plan option
because i had already bought the VP7 and played safe on the 30-day option.
Six months down the line, i'm tempted to move to a long contract, but
there's pretty much zero reason to go there (aint after a new phone)
so leaving well alone and review the situation come June 2012 (12 months
down the line). 3 Network has provided the cellular coverage (hi-speed
data and voice/messaging use) i needed for portable data use and for
on-demand data requirements the VP7's sat-nav software needs and for
when i have to use the laptop tethered and when i have to do portable
video uploads and UStream live upstreaming and pre-recorded video uploading
to UStream and Youtube. So i may be incredibly lucky (but i doubt it,
luck aint my buddy in life), but between the skype use on the ZTE on
3 for two years, two years ago, and the last six months on heavy data
use, i'm not inclined to say it was a case of luck. So, am i a happy
camper in respect of 3 network usage..?? Just picture a novels worth
of smiles and you'll get answer visually.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Wael from Glasgow on 28th Dec 2011
They shoud change the name from 3G to 0g you can't get the net work
at all . They told me ( coustomer servise I need to change my address
if I want to get better service..... Rede clues .
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Tom from England on 12th Dec 2011
I bought an iPhone 4s with 3 two weeks ago, I have no issues with the
phone itself. I rarely reach 3g speeds above 0.5 mbps and I just signed
a 24 month all you can eat data contract =[. Ive contacted customer
services on multiple occasions and they were extremely unhelpful, occasionally
rude and were adamant that the issue was with the phone and not the
network. Ive been to the apple store and they have confirmed no issue
with the phone. I also returned to my local 3 store for a refund, staff
refused to do so. - That was earlier today. Avoid 3.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by dave murchie from uk on 9th Dec 2011
Mobile network three is absolutly useless, I have had nothing but problems
with them since starting my contract, I struggle to get signal, and
I live in a town centre, the help centre seem to give false infomation
to customers and sending your phone for repair takes on average a month
before even thinking of getting your phone back, and all they do is
fill you with excuses
Rating: Reply
Links
3 website
3
reviews at RecommendedBuys UK
|
