Review: Vodafone Broadband

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Vodafone Broadband Review

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In a nutshell: Vodafone are one of the most expensive of the mobile broadband networks, but they are also the fastest - up to double the download speeds of 3-Mobile or T-Mobile. A key advantage of the Vodafone service is the ability to roam in over 100 countries. This is our recommended option for business users. Vodafone were found to be the fastest and most reliable mobile broadband network according to independent trials carried out by LCC international, the largest independent wireless engineering company in the world (June 2008).
Best buy: Vodafone Mobile Broadband (from £15 per month).

Vodafone offer mobile broadband services via a USB modem that plugs into your PC or laptop and enables you to access the internet via Vodafone's 3G network. You will need a PC running Windows XP or Vista, or an Apple Mac running OS X Panther 10.3.9 or higher. The Vodafone service is the fastest in the UK at present, offering download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps.

Like the other mobile broadband providers, the Vodafone service is very easy to use. You simply plug the USB modem into your computer and connect to the internet.

The monthly cost is £15 for 3 GB per month or £25 for 20 GB of data per month. If you choose a 24 month contract the monthly rates are reduced to as low as £5 for the first three months.

Price Plan
Data Allowance
Price per month
Pay Monthly
3 Gbytes
£15 (7.2 Mbps)
Pay Monthly
20 Gbytes
£25 (7.2 Mbps)

One of the benefits of using the Vodafone service is that you can use it in over 100 countries, using the international Vodafone network of operators.

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Vodafone 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!

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Average rating from 135 reviews:

Reviewed by ken scott from uk on 2nd Feb 2010
I live in Central London and I can't seem to get a connection to Vodafone 3G and when I do it only lasts for a few seconds or so. The GPRS is a more reliable connection but it takes forever to do anything and my patience has usually been drained after 10 minutes or so anyway. I think I'll go back to having a home connection. Vodafone broadband is very disappointing, extremely frustrating and a complete waste of my hard-earned money. I would have given it no stars but the minimum is one so...
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Reviewed by ant from uk on 2nd Feb 2010
very slow
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Reviewed by Claire from London on 27th Jan 2010
I have exactly the same problem as harry (posted 9th Jan) I have no connection in my area and have not done for 12 days with no news of it getting fixed, spent £40 on dongle and paid £15 for net,what so now I have to spend another £55 to get a connection elsewhere! that cant be right!
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Reviewed by Carole Virgo from UK on 27th Jan 2010
I have a pay as you go dongle which I bought last year. So far I have only been able to use it once, on holiday, as there is such a problem accessing a mobile mast where I live, and it is not an isolated area!
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Reviewed by Paul from UK on 22nd Jan 2010
Ive found Vodafone PAYG broadband is useless for anything more than basic email, and pray no-one sends an attachment. Never connected to 3G, often only connects to EDGE and is so slow its not worth the effort. Cant even check the lottery results due to "content control" and have to go back into town to cancel this. Why not make turning it ON the option? Glad I didnt go for the contract option.
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Reviewed by Chris from UK on 21st Jan 2010
Vodafone 3G Network is good. As the normal 3G speed i get is like 4.8MB on my iPhone. But last time i speedtest it again and had 6.2MB. The only reson people say the service is slow becuase they are in a GPRS area and needed to be in an Vodafone 3G area. There are also good coverage in the UK as they are currenly the fastest at 14.4MB. 2010 will be upgrading to 28.8MB. They are also increasing the coverage every month.
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Reviewed by Wendy from Merseyside UK on 21st Jan 2010
Well I was duped into having the stupid BB dongle & totally mis-sold this, as I was told it wasnt a new 18 month contract, now they want £107 off me now that I've realised the lies after viewing my NEW plan online and I want to cancel. They keep saying its in the notes that I accpeted the new contract, but I know I specifically asked if it was going to be a new contract & the advisor lied. They are criminals, liars and thieves!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by RMH from UK on 20th Jan 2010
Skodafone? What an idiot 1. Vodafone are not the biggest network in the world for nothing. 323,000,000 customers don't just appear from out of the blue. 2. I don't own a Skoda but you obviously know nothing about cars. If your trying to hint that skoda cars are bad then your calling the whole Volkswagen group poor which also own Audi which also own Bugatti. KNOW YOUR FACTS BEFORE YOU SPIT YOUR TRAP...
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Reviewed by LBD from UK on 20th Jan 2010
Haven't experienced any drops at all. I took the time to check out the coverage map before I bought the dongle, and was satisfied that it would meet my requirements. It did what it said on the tin. Signal strength varies between 1 and 3 bars, but as I want to string my 1 gig allowance out as far as possible (4 months almost to the day, last top-up) I stay clear of graphically heavy sites. As a result the "slow" speed is perfectly acceptable. I never remember dial-up reaching the speeds the dongle gives me, though my home broadband blasts it out of the water. The benefit of the Vodafone pay-as-you-go MB is that your allowance doesn't expire. At any other of the big providers I would wasting money every month, so it suits me fine. The content control is big brother, though, and is the same insult to personal integrity that any kind of imposed censorship is.
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Reviewed by claire from england on 19th Jan 2010
cant stand vodafone its so slow and i can hardly get online and when i do i get cut off not long after
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Reviewed by Mike P from England on 14th Jan 2010
Skodafone- enough said.
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Reviewed by Harry from London, UK on 9th Jan 2010
To: 'customer.care@vodafone.co.uk' Subject: Complaint Vodafone Service Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to express my disappointment in the service that your company is providing. I have entered in an 18 Months contract for Vodafone Broadband, On the 27th of March, my internet has ceased to work, there is a strong signal on the dongle, but nothing is being downloaded. Now, on the 30 March, I phoned and complained about this situation. I been told that there is a problem with the Mast (network) in my area and the engineers are working on the issue. On 2nd of April, as there was still no internet connection, other than for a few minutes, now and again, I phoned again customer service, and again, been given the same reply: the engineers are looking into the matter, but no fixing date has been given. On 6 April, I phoned once again, and been told that you’re migrating the systems therefore nothing can be done at that stage. Today, 7 April, I phoned once again, and after being put through from one department to another, after 1hour and 23 minutes on the phone, I got the same message, this is 12 days later, “we are aware of the issue, our engineers will add your number to their date of base and will let you know when the issue is going to be fixed”. This is absolutely ridiculous. I am paying a service I don’t receive, and I strongly feel that you’re in breach of your contract with me. In the same conversation, I have asked to cancel my contract with Vodafone, and I have been told that I cannot cancel unless I pay the remaining of my contract. Could you please explain to me how this works? Have you conned me to get into a one side contract only, are you only protecting your interests? What about customers interests? If you cannot provide me with the service that you have promised, why are you holding me down to a useless contract? I have read through your terms and conditions and I cannot find any articles that mention the procedures that must be followed when service is not being provided. I am extremely disappointed with the service I received from Vodafone, and with the way your customer service staff deal with the customers. I would like you to look into this matter and cancel my contract, without any further payments, or I’ll have no alternative to take this matter further. Look forward to hearing from you Yours Sincerely This was sent in March 2009, now in January 2010 I cannot take their dogs of me, Debt collection company FPC has been chasing me ever since for £80, when I paid Vodafone for 12 mths of service over £460. My advice to anyone reading this: Avoid at all costs. It seems that I have no optoion left but to take them to court.
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Reviewed by Aiden from Birmingham on 8th Jan 2010
I'm a long - standing Vodafone contract customer with a mobile dongle. No connection issues, no problem disabling content control, great customer service and i get 3GB for ten quid a month. Getting rid of my Pipex landline/broadband was a good move.
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Reviewed by gregory from new zealand on 8th Jan 2010
vodafone is absolute rubbish god i would never deal with them ever why doesnt a company come along and wipe them off the playing field god there is a dam market for it
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Reviewed by LiverpoolDave from UK on 7th Jan 2010
Vodafone: Lies and Mis-selling - then they try and wriggle out of it and deny they EVER told you there was good coverage. Shop staff go from patronising to nasty and abusive if you go in and complain.
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Reviewed by andrew from australia on 5th Jan 2010
vodafone is rubbish and the only reason it gets one star is because i cant give it zero stars
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Reviewed by sarah from lincoln on 4th Jan 2010
Although vodafone bb sort of works ok. I am concerned about privacy & security. This content control thing (that other people coment on, on this site) just seems to prove that vodafone is monitering everything that we do.I will not be passing any sensetive information whilst i am accessing the internet through my vodafone dongle.I wonder if they will block me from sending this!.
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Reviewed by DONALD from SCOTLAND on 3rd Jan 2010
djt with regards to the content control on your vod payg stick go to a vodaphone shop with proof you are over 18 such as passport or driving licence and they will unlock it for you dont forget to take a note of the phone number before you go to the shop i did this and it worked without the restriction only drawback i have found is it wont download webcams properly as the speed isnt fast enough unless my flashplayer isnt working properly anyone else had this problem with trying to download music etc any help much appreciated
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Reviewed by djt2009 from uk on 2nd Jan 2010
Absolute con. For starters 1Gb costs £15.Way too expensive.Then theres the "content control".Tried to go online to disable to be told"Sorry not possible".Then tried the link to customer services and guess what?no such page exists so I'm stuck with Content Control.Absolute terrible service. Then there's the "timed out" on large files.Totally dissapointed with Vodafone and changing to another vendor who are cheaper,give 3 times the allowance and no Content Control.
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Reviewed by jim from chesterfield,uk. on 29th Dec 2009
works quite well where i live, fairly reliable & reasonable speed, but it's far too expensive for what you get & vodafone content control is very restrictive & i would only ever have any mobile broadband on pay as you go & never have a contract, at least until the cost comes down.
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Reviewed by John from UK on 26th Dec 2009
Vodafone is absolute rubbish. I was caught between glowing references for vodafone and other references which said vodafone was awful and not to touch it. Well i really needed mobile broadband and went for a Pay As Yo Go option so that I would not be tied to a contract - and am i glad i did. Vodafone mobile broadband speeds are so low and erratic that it is unusable except for anything more than the most basic of use eg email.
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Reviewed by alex broom from uk on 24th Dec 2009
i hate it its slow, keeps on cutting out and the customer service staff havnt got a clue when you phone them. dont waste your money
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Reviewed by Sean from UK on 23rd Dec 2009
I am in charge of IT for a company using 100 Vodafone Mobile Broadband Dongles, we have field based personal all over England Scotland and Wales, operating Nationally we find that the 3Gnetwork is fairly hit and miss, Vodafone did state at inception that it was only launched in 7 major cities with plans to roll out to more area's in action. As with all emerging technologies there are teething problems and one of HSDPA Mobile Broadbands biggest issues regardless of which network you choose to use is that of contention of bandwidth. Consumer uptake has outstripped demand for a service which barely meets the requirements of a modern business let alone the demanding always on socially networked streaming media whores that consumers have become. Things will get better but essentially for early adopters well, you'll just have to put up with it. :) I think Vodafones service is as good as can be expected, remember what fixed telephone broadband was like in the early days, over priced and slow, and now look at it 50MB connectivity from Virgin etc.
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Reviewed by annette from england on 17th Dec 2009
i was sold a vodafone mobile broadband 12 month contract back in september before travelling to NZ for 3 months, and was assured by the sales assistant that it would work at the same rate as it does in the UK. being a complete technophobe, I believed him. 3 weeks into my trip, it stopped working and I was faced with a £400 bill, which I haven't yet paid and keeps increasing. Numerous phonecalls and emails have gone unanswered, only one prat said i didnt read the small print. i hardly think ASKING ABOUT THE RATES is SMALL PRINT. absolute nightmare.
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Reviewed by Peter from uk on 16th Dec 2009
Vodaphone broadband is total rubbish. Incredibly slow and what the hell is this content control? I am an adult and think for myself. I changed to 3 mobile, much faster and their customer service is excellent unlike vodaphone whose customer service staff are rude and incompetent, and thats when they can be bothered to answer your call!
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Reviewed by georgie from england on 13th Dec 2009
never ever get this joke of a dongle
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Reviewed by Liam from UK on 13th Dec 2009
Aggressive selling of fastest/best coverage and a 'special 12 month deal' for students away from home. **Assured** that in the city I live it has at least 3G coverage - in fact as I type this I look sadly at the solid green light of 2G connection - never got anything better, despite all the assurances. My complaints to the shop where I bought it and to Vodafone directly have been met with nothing but rebuttals and rudeness. As I was away during the ludicrously short 7-day return period, I have no recourse despite this mis-selling and lack of fitness to purpose. And the myth of the '3G bedding in period' allows them to wriggle out if, after 7 days, it hasn't 'bedded in' and improved. Lies, misinformation and mis-selling.
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Reviewed by Sandra from Greece on 5th Dec 2009
Got mobile broadband stick after falling for their ad about how fast they were compared to the competion. Only available with contract here in Greece. Installed and worked first day, after that will not connect have called tech services everyday - no joy at all, now nearly a month and all they say is we have to wait, Wait for what I ask. Stick has been back for service butwhen returned my laptop just says "no device". Can't get any help. worst service ever, they often hang up when I call now, plus they will never connect you to a manager. I would give them no stars at all.
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Reviewed by Pierre from UK on 4th Dec 2009
I have been reading a lot of forums before I decide which mobile broadband to choose. I was desperate as I read that ALL the providers had problems. Eventually I decided to give Vodafone a try on PAYG after everybody had advised me "3". I was worried of disconnections and stability problems but so far so good (a couple of hours). It has been flawless, connecting directly to 3g+. When I was in the Vodafone shop, I specifically asked the saleman to remove the parental control which he did directly on his computer. I plugged the dongle directly in my Mac and it worked straight away. There is nothing worse than having the feeling of being swindled, I am not working for Vodafone nor having shares but I can recognise when the service is there. So far so good, I will definitely come back here if suddenly the connection is not working properly anymore...
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Reviewed by Gina from UK on 2nd Dec 2009
Vodafone are absolute CRIMINALS. My mobile broadband bill went from £15 p/m to £250 p/m with no explanation. When I phoned, all I got was a rude prat telling me that was my monthly usage. Oh. One word: EXTORTION
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Reviewed by nicky maclaren from uk on 29th Nov 2009
my dongle is so slow if i wanted to watch a video he will take ages to load it up and also other pages of the web, my mate who lives below me has a 3g dongle it is great this is what i would recommend to anybody
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Reviewed by Mark Richardson from Manchester on 21st Nov 2009
Absolutely fabulous coverage and coverage and speed in Manchester after a poor experience with 3. Regular speeds of around 3Mb download/0.8Mb upload. I never use one of their dongles as my netbook has a bulit in 3G modem. Using pay as you go at the moment but considering a £15 per month contract. Really can't fault~~Vodafone at all. The service is excellent and reliable with a good top-up online service.
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Reviewed by jw from sheffield ,uk on 21st Nov 2009
Hitler's dead, but we've still got vodafone content control,why? who do these people think they are?
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Reviewed by John from UK on 17th Nov 2009
Got to say it's done me pretty fine. It's fast enough to watch you tube anyway although as mentioned elsewhere it can be slower at peak times. My only gripe (other than the stingey £15 for 3gig) is mainly the slightly untrustworthy usage counter. Although it's reasonably accurate I've been charged for over usage when the counter clearly shows slightly under the limit, so it should only be used as a rough estimate. Oh, and also it took a couple of weeks of being very slow before it bedded in and now I get broadband speed. Maybe suggests why there's so many poor reviews...
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Reviewed by Javed from uk on 15th Nov 2009
Absolute rubbish
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Reviewed by mark par from uk on 13th Nov 2009
Vodafone !!!! more like vodaFAKE ! please just dont bother paying for this .This message is brief because signal may be lost any second.
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Reviewed by Cathy Taylor from UK on 11th Nov 2009
I have a Vodafone Mobile Connect Model K3565 provided for me by my employer (I am a contractor). Basically, I was given the device and told "use this to access our database." Not a problem to install, after I stopped it from trying to connect via telephone all of the time, it is not even very irritating to use. I have a problem because the install has changed something on my laptop and Vodafone won't talk to me because I am not their customer. I don't want to pester my new employer because I don't expect them to take responsibility for my own lap-top. So does anyone on the planet know what I have to change to make my internet access come back (Internet Explorer / Toshiba that also has wireless)? Vodafone is no good to me; I don't think I will spend any of my own money on a Vodafone (they weren't even very nice).
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Reviewed by Barbara from UK on 9th Nov 2009
Rubbish!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by shelley from scotland on 26th Oct 2009
well i bought the vodafone broadband for 45pound and top up 15pound when i need to, i have never had a problem with it i get 4bars at all times and the only thing that dosnt work is utube but i dont use that anyway, so i have no problem with it atol, its fast and reliable.
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Reviewed by Greg from UK on 21st Oct 2009
had for 4 months, pay £7.50 for 1GB allowance. Doubt i'll ever get over 5Mb per month as it's incredibly slow (at full signal). Absolute rubbish!! It may be mobile but it's not broadband!
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Reviewed by jon from UK on 21st Oct 2009
I bought the 1 year contract with 3gb per month limit. I've used the dongle in Wiltshire in an area I was assured would have good reception and also in central London where I live. Lots of dropouts and slow speeds. I had been using O2 mobile broadband and this was reliable and fast but didn't give me the coverage in Wiltshire I needed. The latest problem is that as of yesterday my Vodafone dongle won't connect [the dreaded RAS 619] and I've been told by support that because the network went down my sim is corrupted and I must take it back to the shop for an update - Vodafone need to work on their delivery because they won't be able to keep their poor service quiet for long!
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Reviewed by Matt from UK on 15th Oct 2009
Got Vodafone mobile broadband for my business laptop and it has never been a problem. Connects at the full speed of 7.2Meg in central Nottingham and London and downloads large files as fast as my 8Meg home broadband. Content filters can be easily removed by a quick call to Vodafone. They never asked me for credit card details. I called up about something completely unrelated and when they asked my date of birth for security, they asked me if I wanted the content control removed as I'm over 18. It was removed right away.....
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Reviewed by Lawrence Williams from UK - London on 14th Oct 2009
This is a joke! top10-broadband.co.uk/news/2009/08/vodafone_mobile_broadband_gets_speed_upgrade/ I have a terrible experience with the Vodafone service. I have 'ok' signal. usu 3-4 bars. I'm in an 'excellent' covrage area. Download speed 0kbps...to 200ish maybe. Often fails to connect, disconnect. I don't know HOW they can say 7mb. You can't even get half a meg! RARE to get (4am) 1meg. I could understand an advertised 'max' 7mb, but a realistic max of 5mb. Yet, NOBODY really gets even 56kbps. Dial up was FAR better. Those people putting 5 star work for Vodafone, or are joking, or clicked the wrong button by mistake. This is a CON. How do they get away with it??
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Reviewed by Chris Francis from Essex, England on 12th Oct 2009
I got mobile broadband on vodafone with the samsung nc10 netbook as I have a mobile phone contract with them with good 3g signal and since first day nothing but problems (on phone to them now while I do this to get it cancelled). When it's worked its been fine even on Youtube which I noticed some have had problems with. But then all of a sudden comes up with page not available which would then take upto a hour to sort out. They have sent me out 2 sim cards to change and a new netbook and still no joy (still waiting to talk to someone so I suspect we are not only ones) I have excuse after excuse faulty sim card, faulty netbook, poor signal and even wrong price plan???????? The mobile phone service has been brilliant even when it went down for 2 weeks when I had just joined they refuneded full month line rental but as for the broadband avoid at all costs!!!!!!!! still on phone waiting lady just said still on hold very busy probably with people wanting to cancel
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Reviewed by Andrew Brindley from Leeds, England on 11th Oct 2009
We have Vodafone business account for our mobiles and two contract mobile broadband dongles. The signal for the broadband is at best unreliable. I have just started working at home I am in the process of switching landline broadband providers. As we have two dongles thought this would be great to cover the gap as we have to go back to BT and will have no BB at home for a week. Trying to use it to connect to our vpn is joke. You sign in it says 2g or 3g or 3g+ but then the signal with go to any of these for no reason at all. I realise 3g coverage is only based on population centres but it’s not good enough for business use. Heard a debate on the new high speed rail line London to Edinburgh the other day and someone said that the money would be better spend on a super fast broadband network for the whole of the UK and I can’t agree more. The government and opposition need to wake up as what we have is stifling business. It seems to me in the world of communications we are trying to run a network without the infrastructure. It’s a bit like driving down the M1 to London from Leeds only to find the bit outside Nottingham is still a cart track and they are waiting to upgrade it to a turnpike road!! You wouldn’t put up with it in your car so why do we with our communications systems?
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Reviewed by Andrew from London, England on 7th Oct 2009
This is "broadband" only if you live in a world where words don't mean anything. I was told I'd be getting a 3g connection with download speeds up to 3.6 mbps. I know that ISPs lie as a rule and to divide their advertised download speeds by two to get a realistic idea of what you'll actually be getting, but in this case, dividing by two has proven unrealistically optimistic. I almost never connect to 3G. Maybe that's because I live in rural central London. I almost always connect to GPRS at three bars with download speeds of 5-40 kbps. At the lower end, which is where I typically am, the connection is so slow it takes 10-15 minutes, numerous clicks of the refresh button and multiple ERROR 0 messages just to load the google page. As others have noted, the connection frequently cuts out as well. On the rare occasion I connect to a 3G network, I can still forget about streaming video. Download speeds on 3G for me have been, at most, 100 kbps regardless of where I am. I have never managed to log onto my Gmail account and be able to use the chat function because bandwidth is simply to low to allow that feature to work. Even dial up would accommodate that. And just getting to my e-mail is often an exercise in futility. I elected to get wireless PAYG from vodafone because I live in a rented flat I won't be staying in for more than a few months, and I didn't want to pay a large sum of money to have a BT line put in and have to enter an expensive long term contract I'd only have to pay even more to get out of. This seemed like a cost effective solution. Instead, it turns out I've handed Vodafone £40 and gotten next to nothing in return. I'm sure I can find nothing somewhere else for less money. If this is the best mobile broadband in the UK, then the UK doesn't have mobile broadband. It barely has mobile narrow band. Don't do business with these people. They don't deserve your money. It's hard to believe they are allowed to get away with selling something they are incapable and have no intention of providing.
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Reviewed by eric from england on 6th Oct 2009
absolute rubbish slower than dile up every where i go its on one or two bars it never goes on 3g or higher
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Reviewed by gemma from norfolk on 4th Oct 2009
Me and my boyfriend signed up for vodafone broadband back in march (09) We were sold the laptop on the understanding that the connection speed would be at least 5 times faster than dial up based on the area that we live in ... we thought that this would be ok as we r only recreational internet users, but we never anticipated the poor connection that we were about to endure!! We suffered it a couple of months and even tried driving around to pick up a good signal! Put it this way, u know you have been conned when your parked up next to a vodafone mast and the damn thing still doesnt work!! You cant watch videos, or browse popular sites like facebook, because it just takes too long. After offering to hand the laptop back to the vodafone store and ringing up and complaining and writing two letters, we have still not heard anything. The only thing left to do was cancel my direct debit, since then a payment should have been made, but all they did was send a text message, (which we ignored) and since then we havent heard anything, its now been a week...... watch this space. Do not even think about buying one, the bad reviews by far outweigh the good ones. If you want broadband at home.... stick to something like BT. Ive given it 1 star, but its not even worthy of that.
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Reviewed by des from matlock ,uk on 30th Sep 2009
how stupid is vodafone content control?.i'm not that bothered about looking at porn on line,but why can't i buy a steam stripper(for stripping wallpaper)on line & why does it block anything that has the slightest hint of alcohol related to it.this is just going too far & i need to change to another service provider very soon.
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Reviewed by dogzz from preston, lancashire, uk on 29th Sep 2009
I bought my Vodafone broadband usb dongle as part of the £15 per month pay as you go deal - went through Quidco and got a further £10 off it, so for initial cost of £25 with 1 gb already charged to it, I thought it was a no brainer - especially as I've been a Vodafone contract customer for the last 7 years with no problems (phone) - Well, what can I say...... this USB broadband dongle is the biggest piece of mis-selling I have ever seen in the entire industry!!! What an absolute load of rubbish this is.... It comes up with a signal strength of 5 bars (max), then I press 'connect'..... I go to browse, or catch up with my google mail..... and it just disconnects me.......... no explanation... no warning.... the connection is gone..... I don't use this to watch videos, or download mp3's..... In fact, I'd bet my mortgage to anybody that you can't use it for that no matter how hard you try... I just want to run my ebay business remotely... (checking mails, etc) and it lets me down in spectacular fashion... My opinion is: 1) Vodafone are mis-selling this product... It does not give you mobile (3g) broadband as it states it does. Mine has only ever given me a GPRS connection! 2) The actual GPRS connection drops out with alarming regularity - NO MATTER WHAT THE SIGNAL STRENGTH IS?? 3)When I called Vodafone Tech Support, I actually encountered one guy who referred to this service as " Pay As You Groan Broadband" - ..... This pretty much says it all.... and that's from the company Vodafone itself!!! In summary... you'd be better of sending binary messages via smoke signals, or flashing a torch or mirror into the sun - this would at least give you a reliable connection.... and the speed would probably be faster. Don't buy this worthless piece of rubbish - life is too short to go down the vodafone wireless broadband route... trust me!! PS - I've been a communications consultant for a major blue chip for the last 10 years, and even I was fooled by their claims..... My only salvation is I got the pay as you go option..... I fell really sorry for the people that got this on contract.... IF THIS WAS THE US, WE'D HAVE VODAFONE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT BY NOW FOR THIS.... THINK ON!!....
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Reviewed by bella from liverpool on 27th Sep 2009
Absolutely terrible connection, even though I live in the middle of the city. I tried to get the contract for my 3G 15 pounds per month voided because I felt like the product was misrepresented when sold to me, as I was assured by the sales assistant it would be suitable for Skype and YouTube streaming. Utter rubbish! I called the 'help' line and was told I was 'stuck with it'. bad customer services, bad product.
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Reviewed by Victoria from UK on 26th Sep 2009
Vodafone sucks....signed contract and got 3G access..I am not downloading any videos or movies, not downloading music, just using for general websites such as facebook or youtube and actually speed is not so good sometimes...too busy to sit all day, but by the end of the months I get fabulous bills to pay with announcement that I went overlimit..Bullshit...Was writing to the customer services,they are extremely unhelpful, blaming me, that this is my fault that I exceeded data usage.My data usage counter on modem doesn't indicate that I have gone overlimit with data, but Vodafone service also says that sometimes it doesn't detect some extra data and indicator wouldn't show the right amount...Why should I stress everytime I start using this broadband for my needs, if I even don't know how much MB i have spent and what kind of bill they will force me to pay. These are things what I haven't been informed before I signed the contract. Is there any organisation that helps customer to deal with such companies as Vodafone and do I have a right to cancel contract due to such situation,as I am not going to pay for stuff I am not doing..What's gonna be, if I wouldn't use internet at all, but receive increased bills for usage?
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Reviewed by david from scotland on 16th Sep 2009
summary: it's unpredictable. don't sign up to a contract as you might end up with an expensive liability. I bought the £15/Gb PAYG which is the only deal suitable for low usage it is valid for 3 months. If it works for you then consider a pay-monthly option. I get moderate 3G in central Glasgow, usable for email and surfing. Not a replacement for broadband, too slow and too expensive for video.
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Reviewed by sally from sheffield on 10th Sep 2009
my new vodafone dongle works quite well & much better than my useless 3 dongle, but i do find the very restrictive content control very annoying,especially when it blocks stuff that isn't of an adult nature. does anyone know how to overcome this without giving vodafone my credit card details ?
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Reviewed by rj from england on 10th Sep 2009
a RIP OFF!!!. do not waste your money on vodafone. poor signal, terrible slow speeds. most of the time you will get GPRS speeds which is USELESS. when you try to complain they make up excuses that they have signal problem in your area. what utter rusbbish, they won't even let you cancel the contract, even if your internet does not work. RIP OFF COMPANY
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Reviewed by lee from England on 10th Sep 2009
I bought the o2 payg mobile BB as it was well priced etc..and it wasnt too bad at getting on even though the signal was bad. But then it started to suffer software probs when it updated - soo got the VF payg BB. Which surprisingly enough the signals bad on this too BUT stronger sort like. Ok.
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Reviewed by ned from england on 8th Sep 2009
it's doing it for me,no problems(so far)fast and reliable,unlike 3.
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Reviewed by JB-S from UK on 7th Sep 2009
I have experienced the last thing in downright, dreadful dongles with both the Vodaphone and the O2 mobile broadband. Dont; waste your money! you have better chance walking around searching for an unsecured network in order to connect. Caveat emptor!
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Reviewed by Chelt from UK on 5th Sep 2009
Good service. Any compressed media will have problems as the network wraps it in another layer which isn't necessary with music, video or zip flies. This can cause a delay which stutters the playback. Incidentally downloaded zip files may appear corrupt when actually they are not, using Winrar can recover them. Simply add an extra .rar extension and extract them. Vodafones DNS server is a bit patchy seems to do odd things, use an Opendns server instead. If you are getting 40kps download you are on GPRS and not 3G.
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Reviewed by stan from wales on 2nd Sep 2009
ive had a vodafone dongle for a few months now and i got to say that generally it works well.the only downside i have is that i cant play any music online it just pauses all the time which is really annoying . can anyone help? why wont the music videos work on my vodafone dongle?
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Reviewed by Theo from UK, London on 2nd Sep 2009
If you get Vodafone Broadband internet for free, than is worth having it, as is useless. If you have to pay £1 per month, is not worth the money, if you have to pay more than £1 per month, than this is a RIP OFF. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
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Reviewed by Expad from London on 1st Sep 2009
My first day as an expat in London, Bromley.. I took the 1 Gig limit, 3Mbps "TopUp and Go" deal. Just as a temporary thing for a month. What I got was a maximum 40kbps.. There is no way I can even make it to 50MB with that speed.. let alone close to the 1Gig. The age old single line ISDN line is better than this.. SpeedTest.net test: Down - 0.04Mb/s Up - 0.02Mb/s 75x times slower than advertised.
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Reviewed by Ayerbe from UK on 28th Aug 2009
Regrettably I have to agree with the majority of other reviewers about the very poor broadband service offered by Vodafone. The service is erratic at best and in most instances - despite good signal strength - it's virtually impossible to connect to the web, you may as well try Morse code!!! Forget about complaining too. Their CS will pull the wool over your eyes I guess the only solution is a mass migration to another network. It's shocking that they are allowed to get away with such poor service by the regulators, which shows how regulations in the UK are mainly devised to protect the interests of suppliers and not those of consumers.
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Reviewed by Phil from UK on 26th Aug 2009
Vodafone. K3565 from W.H. Smith etc. Absolute rubbish. Doesn't do what it promises. I've been on "broadband" (joke) for two hours just trying to get it to access sites that need authorisation. AVOID at any cost!!!
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Reviewed by Barton from UK on 26th Aug 2009
I've used my Vodafone for 18 months in and around London. It is good for emails/ surfing etc. I have had three problems; firstly getting it to work overseas (it took Vodafone several attempts before it was switched on), secondly I get little reception at home (outside London) so cant really use it there and thirdly on upgrade to Vista it stopped working. It took me ages of reading through forums to find the solution (firmware upgrade), and I don't think I should have had to work this out for myself. As a business tool to get emails on the go (on the train etc) it is great. But as the signal is always dropping when you are mobile, I wouldnt rely on it for anything more sophisticated than that. In a static location with a good 3G signal you could probably do more with it.
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Reviewed by mr julius ilori from united kingdom on 23rd Aug 2009
absolute junk DO NOT,DO NOT...BUY ONE...trust me i have had mine for about 8months,in fact i am getting rid of this SLOW SLOW piece of rubbish TOMORROW as i cant stand another day trying to use it.It really doesnt matter what time of day you log on it is DOG-SLOW.By the way mine is a plug in modem £15 per mth.JUST DONT GET ONE IF YOU LIKE SURFING THE NET AT ALL..........
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Reviewed by jay subramani from england on 20th Aug 2009
my dongle broke,got replaced,sim card replaced and still not workin.
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Reviewed by Richard from UK on 20th Aug 2009
I have monthly account and in most areas it works just fine. I had a problem recently where I needed an update for the software which was a pain extracting the info from Voda since they didn't know they had made a change to their own DNS servers! Coverage has also improved drastically over much of the country with 3G+ regularly connected and no real speed complaints. That said in my town, Leighton Buzzard, 3G has never worked and to my amazement found that 2G was also out for well over a month. Latest reports are that 2G is back up but at the expense of 3G with no date for fixing. My impression of Voda support is mixed. Many people really try hard but others are just trying. Ditto info on the forum.vodafone.co.uk which is mixed.
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Reviewed by Derek from Berks, UK on 20th Aug 2009
Disappointed so far. I bought a 3GB Mobile Stick Pro on an 18 month contract on Saturday and, although it worked fine that evening, on Sunday it defaulted to GPRS and then I wasn't able to connect to a network at all. There's also been "no device" error messages on my laptop even though the modem's clearly been plugged in and flashing. I've rung Vodafone 3 times now and, although they were always very pleasant, it's confusing to have been given three different sets of advice! First I was told to uninstall & reinstall the software. Next I was told by the Vodafone operator that there was a known conenctivity problem with this model (K3760), and she suggested I change it for a different modem. When the courier didn't come yesterday, I rang again to see where he was, and was told by No.3 that there's no need to exchange the modem, and that they'd simply talk me through the tweaks needed. Having mainly been sold on the Vodafone by the apparent simplicity of installation & use, it's been a frustrating experience.
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Reviewed by Lou from UK - South Yorkshire on 15th Aug 2009
Because the rents still haven't got round to setting up wireless broadband for my laptop I bought a Pay As You Go dongle stick with Vodafone a couple of weeks ago in Phones 4 U. With the Vodafone dongle, the connection speed isn't too bad to initially connect to the internet but it doesn't stay connected for long! I haven't tried downloading yet, just MSN messenger but it's very annoying to be cut off in the middle of something and having to keep reconnecting again, plus the connection must not be fast, as the webcam is very slow too. The signal where I live should be sufficient enough to connect but the signal report is very poor for 3G on the dongle. Even when it says 2G signal is good, it still disconnects after about 20 minutes or less. I've noticed the USB gets very hot very quickly too. I think the idea of a Pay and Go (£15) dongle is excellent, if only it worked propperly! All I can do is either give Vodafone a ring about it, or go back into Phones 4 U to see what they can do ... though I doubt it will make an ounce of diference!
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Reviewed by Pete from UK-NORTH WEST on 11th Aug 2009
Ok I bought 7.2mb per sec modem they charger me about £70 then £15 a month and it took me 1hour 40mins to download a cd album which was 142mb. my Vodafone window says ive downloaded 243.23mb!! They are lying about 3gb per month and also the speed which they claim 7.2mb per second, i did a broadband speed test free online and my download speed was 122kb per sec and upload speed of 234kb per sec. This is while im on 3G with 3 reception bars. Im not joking!!
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Reviewed by James W from UK on 11th Aug 2009
Whoever wrote the above review should be sacked on the spot for lazy journalism!! The Advertising Standards Authority had them remove their 'Light Speed' ads as the LCC trials mentioned actually showed in six out of the 10 regions of the UK tested, one of the other networks had a faster average time to download a web page than Vodafone This service is pathetic! I have not been able to use any sort of online video (youtube, iplayer, etc) for months as either the dongle continuously disconnects itself or the download speeds range from zero to a few bps, despite the blue LED saying there is a 3G connection. I'm on the £25 per month contract till the end of the year and would love to dump it right now. Also, I was mis-sold the insurance which was added onto my contract at the branch (Portsmouth) without my knowledge or consent. When I queried it at after seeing it on my bill I was told it was compulsory. It was taken off after talking to customer services directly but no refund for the amount already paid. Frankly just don't bother.
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Reviewed by This is rubbish! from England on 4th Aug 2009
I think it is 1 of the worst ever mobile broadbands my reasons are: -The price. -The speed. -and most of all the rubbish content control!! I hate it, i advise you not to get it.
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Reviewed by James from UK on 2nd Aug 2009
I hate my broadband dongle, most of the time my speeds are slower than dial up and its always disconnecting. And I signed up for a 2 year contract to get a laptop and have 18 months to go.
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Reviewed by Mal from UK on 1st Aug 2009
Excellent.. always make sure your usb stick is positioned for optimal reception. The only downside is the price Vodafone... perhaps you like to up the 3G to 5G limit for £15?
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Reviewed by Matthew from UK, Kent. on 31st Jul 2009
well seems a lot of people are all in the boat i'm in too, its a relief to see that i'm not the only disatisified person with a "broadband" modem. They say speeds of upto 7.2mps?, right.....what utter rubbish. i can understand that sometimes you get weak signal, of course it happens nothings perfect, but something that claims "super fast speeds!" is to be frowned on, and i have. I could swear i've stepped back into the stone age using this, reminds me of dial up but without the god awful connection tone. Each time i've used it it always picks up GPRS, 3G is barely nonexistant (bearing in mind i've tried it in london). needless to say i'm not topping it up and will be getting my money back. i've been a valued customer of vodafone for years and this.....well, dissapointed is an understatement!
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Reviewed by Michelle from UK on 30th Jul 2009
dont do it! When we first got this it was a rubbish 2g connection which is slower than dial up! We now get 3G but since the start of last week we can only access a handful of sites, I contacted them the girl who I spoke to wasnt aware of any issues so contacted their technical team who apparently are updating servers and it could be like this for upto 5 days (its more than 5 days and no improvement!) They gave me a month free as goodwill but I should think so since I cant do anything including getting emails or online banking! Time for another phone call I think
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Reviewed by Angie from UK on 26th Jul 2009
I got voda broadband as I refuse to pay a fortune to get a landline installed by BT, although I think a home broadband service would be much better. I also chose Voda because I have a voda mobile and have never had a problem with connection or coverage, whereas with some of the other networks I'd have to stand on the roof to get a signal. However, even though my phone shows full coverage almost all the time, I get 2 bars max with the dongle thing, which is a bit puzzling. My phone never cuts off mid call but the internet disconnects at least every 10 mins, usually when I'm trying to send or open an email, especially if it's to do with work (it must know...) As for speed, I think a dead hamster in a square wheel would be faster. Broadband? More like narrowband! At least I don't go above the usage limits, because I can't actually use it half the time, I often end up giving up and going to the library. I would not recommend this service, it's rubbish!
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Reviewed by LJ from UK on 23rd Jul 2009
Overall, I'm happy enough given that I didn't have another option (other than paying a fortune for BT to fit a landline in a flat I was renting). 90% of the time, it works fine, but does go through funny moments where it loses signal. In this sense, it's much like my experiences with a mobile phone. I've found it invaluable for work, as I can access the internet anywhere that I can get mobile reception, such as on the train, in airports, etc. My only gripe is that the picture quality on sites such as Facebook is quite low - I've tried to fix this by clicking Shift R but it makes no difference. Frankly, it's something I can live with, but it will mean that I look again for another deal once my contract is up. Overall, I'd recommend it as it's been the most cost-effective option for me.
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Reviewed by Mark P from UK on 19th Jul 2009
Utterly hopeless, despite being in central Manchester, barely a 3G signal in evidence so always connecting to GPRS. The connection speed was so slow I couldn't even complete the registration process. Fortunately a PAYG dongle so it's going straight back for a refund.
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Reviewed by Stuart from UK on 16th Jul 2009
First impression (prepaid pay as you go) - GARBAGE. Install went OK as did initial experimentation then left it for a few days. Came back last night and could not access any web sites (error 403). This morning web access OK but emails with large attachments fail with error 421. Support phone number that shows when you select help is an unobtainable number. 'View Usage' option just comes up with help narrative. When I finally get hold of customer support on phone they can't answer any queries as system is down. Pathetic. They don't deserve the business.
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Reviewed by Milano-expat from Italy on 15th Jul 2009
Using Vodafone Italy mobile "broadband" now for about 2 months. They claim speeds of up to 7.2 mbps. In reality somewhere between 20 and 100 kpbs. It is simply a waste of money and time.
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Reviewed by Geoff from UK on 14th Jul 2009
I have PAYG USB Broadband Stick and it comes with SMS software facility. Doesn't work. Spent nearly 20mins on phone to Customer support before Technical support tell them that all USB Broadband Sticks are barred from sending SMS; receive allowed only. What's that all about?
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Reviewed by David from Wales on 13th Jul 2009
I'm very much in the don't ever bother with it camp. I live in what is supposedly a good area for reception. It barely works at all!! It is slower than dial up. Very frustrating. Don't believe any hype about the possible speeds it can acheive. It is mis-sold. Possibly a breach of the trade descrtptions act. It is just rubbish! Avoid, avoid, avoid!!!!!!
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Reviewed by Ashley from England on 5th Jul 2009
rubbish do not buy this product seriously
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Reviewed by gabby from England on 2nd Jul 2009
I hate vodafone!! It soooo slow even though i live in the middle of manchester city centre and ive just got ripped off for apparently going 2mb over my 3mb limit, which i know for a fact i havent because i have a limit on it and as soon as im told ive reached it i unplug!! I hate them and their customer service sucks!! x x
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Reviewed by simeon from england on 30th Jun 2009
Fact: All these broadband companies are crooks...nothing less. The problem lies is that they are allowed to be crooks and not regulated properly (maybe ofcom got a nice payoff?) ! But another joke amongst many....as pointed out in one review below....the usage indicator! vodofone seem to use a blue bar to indicate how much you have used and hey guys.....suprise suprise ..they have designed it so it goes up in increments of 0mb, 1500mb and 3000mb. So we dont a true numeric value given to us of our usage....so they only allow you to roughly guess your usage...more money for them , more bills for us...dont tell me they cant design it to tell us the exact usage with todays technology but they know exactly how much to charge based on our exact usage!...it probably wouldnt be feasible for theyr'e profit curve to tell us the truth of our usage! Like you all ive had enough of these criminal con man industries these big companies are! Its funny how customer sales are always quick to answer your call and bend over backwards but as soon as they get your money tied up in a contract then you're are banished to the dark realms of pre-sales where no body gives a #@&* about you or your problems and quite frankly doesnt care- 'you're now a pre-sales so shut up, sit in the corner in the dark and be quiet'! Seems like these big companies are above the law with theyre payoffs and multi million pound lawyers and spin doctors!
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Reviewed by Pete from UK on 30th Jun 2009
Awful Awful coverage. Bought mine 6 months ago but did not use to much as I had a wireless network at the time. Worked great in the centre of London. I now find that although my home postcode is listed as good coverage on vodaphone website I now find that after speaking to vodaphone there is no 3G coverage in my area. Could not get 3G in Scotland, just outside stafford or anywhere I've tried for that matter. And vodaphone, just not interested. Now taking it further as a being miss sale
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Reviewed by Sw-880 from England on 28th Jun 2009
Does it work?. Yes it does. I've never had a problem connecting to the net and always have a signal of 3 more bars. Download speeds are fantastic 90% of the time with just a little lag during peak times. My one gripe is the difficulty in knowing exactly how much of my 3GB limit I've actually used. Twice now I've been charged an extra £15 because I've used 100mb more than allowed. This stems from the fact that I'm shown how much I've used per calendar month yet because I signed up on the 10th the usage indicator is way off. Add to this the fact that the indicator is a blue bar with 0mb, 1500mb and 3000mb incriments and you can only make a rough guess as to what you've really used.
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Reviewed by defroster from malta on 25th Jun 2009
Vodafone MT is the fastest network out of 3 (GO , Melita and Vodafone MT) in Malta. I love it
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Reviewed by Andy from UK on 24th Jun 2009
OK, so I'm not too sure what to make of this. I'm 2 months into my 12mth mobile internet contract. It seems to work ok (ish) as sometimes it can be dead slow even slap bang in the middle of a 3g area. So slow in fact I sometimes give up when it's opening a page for 3 mins, close my laptop and go for a walk. So it's good in that sense as it gets you out and active in the real world! But seriously, I got this because I did not want to pay BT 125 pounds to connect my landline so this is my only means of internet connection. If I did it again, considering only 1 person can use it at a time and its fairly slow during peak periods, locked in to what I consider now to be a very expensive contract (I have been charged an extra £15 for going over 3GB by a few Meg!) - I would've paid BT the connection charge and gone ADSL broadband at a no extra cost and double the speed. No questions about it.
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Reviewed by nicky lock from uk on 7th Apr 2009
i hate it,its soooooo slow,and to think i payed alot of money for this and still pay for it monthly!!! it disconnects when it wants and keep telling me to kepp refreshing the poxy page. ill be ditching it and NEVER EVER using VODAFONE AGAIN
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Reviewed by Theo from UK, London on 7th Apr 2009
In my opinion, vodafone has the worst customer service, very patronising, uninformed, even staff who lies. Should you have a problem with your service, you're in for a deep swim. For the last 12 days they claim that there is a problem with the mast(network) in the area, almost central london, and as a consequence I cannot use my USB broadband internet. I have spent serveral hours on the phone with them, and all they can say is that "they're aware of the situation, and will keep me updated as to when the issue is going to be fixed". No dates, not times, no nothing. I had requested to cancel this contract, but they're treatning to hold me liable for cancellation charges. They claim that only after 28 days of no service, I'll be able to terminate the contract earlier. Can someone reading this provide some information regardng this "28 days no service" or this is just another lie? I dont seem to find this anywhere in the terms and condiditions. This seem grosly unfair, and totaly onesided. Is anyone out there experiencing the same issues? I'll never go to vodafone again. Major dissapointment and frustration.
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Reviewed by Jared from UK - London on 7th Apr 2009
Judging by everyone's reviews it's seems the vodafone mobile broadband is below average, which is really sad considering it's supposed to be the fastest between 3-mobile and T-mobile. Are they worse?! Today my download speed was 0.54kbps and upload speed was 0.30kbps. The Average in the UK was 2.5kbps Luckily I have another 12 days to test this service and will cancel considering all these other bad comments. I get amazing speeds with the land line and it's only £15 or so. Usually we have two people surfing and downloading at a time and it's still quick. I'm going to check out some other service's.
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Reviewed by Susan Kenny from Australia on 6th Apr 2009
we have been using vodafone wireless net for about a year here, and i absolutely hate it. for a while it was fine, maybe three months, then the last nine it has been atrocious. more often than not it fails to recieve any data. if you open up the VMC software, there is an 'average upload speed' and an 'average download speed' which is a good indication of how much data you are using. however, the ADS often refuses to move from zero. i open a program such as windows live messenger and try to sign in, then switch to the VMC software - the AUS is constantly changing, getting higher as messenger tries harder to connect, and the ADS is still unresponsive. however, it is the only connection we can get where we are, which is a shame considering we are in a major housing development in one of the biggest subburbs in my area. the connection type is also constantly changing - switching from 3G to HSDPA to GPRS. this seems to have an effect on the speed and responsiveness as well - it tends to respond the best, but at an average speed, on the GPRS; whereas the speed is fantastic on HSDPA, but very rarely is the connection responsive at all. i'm fed up with it, and cannot wait to move so we can get another connection. quite frankly, i'm appalled. in these times, we should have much better internet than this.
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Reviewed by Susan Kenny from Australia on 6th Apr 2009
we have been using vodafone wireless net for about a year here, and i absolutely hate it. for a while it was fine, maybe three months, then the last nine it has been atrocious. more often than not it fails to recieve any data. if you open up the VMC software, there is an 'average upload speed' and an 'average download speed' which is a good indication of how much data you are using. however, the ADS often refuses to move from zero. i open a program such as windows live messenger and try to sign in, then switch to the VMC software - the AUS is constantly changing, getting higher as messenger tries harder to connect, and the ADS is still unresponsive. however, it is the only connection we can get where we are, which is a shame considering we are in a major housing development in one of the biggest subburbs in my area. the connection type is also constantly changing - switching from 3G to HSDPA to GPRS. this seems to have an effect on the speed and responsiveness as well - it te nds to respond the best, but at an average speed, on the GPRS; whereas the speed is fantastic on HSDPA, but very rarely is the connection responsive at all. i'm fed up with it, and cannot wait to move so we can get another connection. quite frankly, i'm appalled. in these times, we should have much better internet than this.
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Reviewed by Paul from UK on 4th Apr 2009
I signed up 6 months ago for a 12 month contract. Initially there were no problems but since Jan 09 it has become very unreliable. Repeatedly I am unable send e-mails with atttachments. Recently, I have been unable to send e-mails at all. When I phone the support desk they know of he issue but say it is under investigation. The pprobelm appears without notice and goes without notice (the e-mails appear in my Sent Box). As a small business user the service is unusable. To Vodafone's credit, they readily agreed to my request to terminate the contract.
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Reviewed by Alison Graham from UK on 3rd Apr 2009
Fantastic! & much better than T-Mobile's PAYG! I have Vodafone's PAYG & the Signal Strength anything from 3 bars to 5 (most times 4 on average) & connects on the 3G+ just about all the time. So impressed I have ceased the landline. OK so I don't use my internet for watching films et all & if I did it would be expensive, but for what I want, which is to have a bit surf, get my e-mails it's fine!
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Reviewed by Angry Al from UK on 2nd Apr 2009
For the first 6 weeks this thing was like a ferrari, regularly giving 3-4mbps speeds. Since Christmas however it has slowed by increments to the point where it can take 2-3 minutes to load a page. Last night I couldn't get speedtest to register more than 24kbps! When I switch to using my N95 8Gb as a modem over bluetooth in frustration it's much, much faster, despite both being vodafone, used within seconds of each other while sat in a hotel room. VERY shonky software and dubious hardware (should it get that hot?). I'm going to ditch the dongle and use my old N95-1 as a modem with the BB sim
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Reviewed by Stuart Rowland from England on 30th Mar 2009
I've been using Vodafones "broadband" for over a month now, I wish I hadn't bothered! Its quite possibly slower than the slowest dial up I've ever had. Simple downloads from itunes for example can take up to 2 hours or more! The page tick over ranges from 30 seconds to a few minutes, not to mention the amount of times it "loses the connection". To be perfectly honest I wish I hadnt bothered with it! I will be trying to get out of the contract and would not recommend this to anyone!
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Reviewed by ColinM from England on 25th Mar 2009
Give you an example of how bad vodafone are. Go on to there forum. It is littered with similar complaints. they have known about it for months but do nothing about it. yet if you complain they simply delete your post and then suspend you from posting. thats the extent of their customer service....complete waste of time..they are a joke. Would never recommend to anyone. things should be zero stars
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Reviewed by kirsty from uk on 25th Mar 2009
absolute rubbish. have had this for two months, worked ok for the first month and now i cant go on many major websites,even have trouble loading up my emails. i have tried it on my laptop and main computer and is rubbish on both. have just had to send it back for repair as the push button is broken so does not close properly and does not lock open. would def warn people off this, this is my only means of going online at home, am having to come to my mums to check my emails, not what i would expect. am going to see if i can get out of my contract and just sign up for normal broadband.
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Reviewed by sean from england on 24th Mar 2009
what a waste of money,slow and expensive avoid this thing like the plague im stuck with mine for another 18 months
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Reviewed by michelle from uk on 19th Mar 2009
Iy use to be good but lately my internet keeps cutting out and i have to keep connecting its got soooooooooooooooooooooooo rubbish
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Reviewed by jj from 3ngland on 18th Mar 2009
its kinda good i suppose
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Reviewed by Ted from UK on 18th Mar 2009
The service is utter garbage. Dog-slow, 7.2 Mb no way, I'd be amazed if it's 1Mb.
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Reviewed by GG from United Kingdom on 18th Mar 2009
I bought the PAYG vodafone dongle and have found it reasonably useful, although definately not a replacement for broadband. Speeds vary wildy within even a limited location (10 or 15 miles). I would not reccomend the monthly contract unless you are absolutely sure you get good coverage. As a means of checking emails, limited browsing, on the move the PAYG dongle is o.k but I would not expect too much from it.
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Reviewed by Jamstar from uk on 16th Mar 2009
Im coming to the end of my 12 months and i will not be continuing with my contract. Up nutill the star of this new year it was fine and I was very pleased with it and recomended it to several friends, but since the start of 09 it is getting dead slow and ahve to try several times to find google. How good is it when I cant even log on to their own web site to check my bill. I've been with Vodafone for near on 10 years and have 3 phones and broadband, I will not be reviewing any of my contracts. You call them these days and can be on hold from 20mins - over an hour. Customer services must be where they are loosing the 500 jobs.
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Reviewed by howie from uk on 14th Mar 2009
I got the contract at a very good price,£7.50 per month for the full contract. The speeds it works at seem to be very slow, mybe its were i live! if this is the fastest then i dont hold a lot of hope for the rest.
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Reviewed by Brandon from Australia on 13th Mar 2009
The vodafone network is completely and utterly hopeless. The signals bad if your not standing on top of your roof holding a laptop to the sky. Judging by the other hundreds of other reviews telling everyone that vodafone is bull im going with the crowd and with the people that actually thought it was good? then shame on you. Alright so no signal and bad money. DONT GET IT. save yourself. The people who wrote Outstanding are vodafone bought people of psycopathics.
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Reviewed by george from UK on 11th Mar 2009
well it seemed to work in the shop but over the last few days travelling I have experienced very slow speeds hardly registering on a speed tester. Several different areas in the UK, normally showing an OK or very good 3G+ signal. By the way PC World advertise a bundled deal with a laptop and 200 free sms per month. Vodafone say there is no such thing as free sms on a monthly contract. My dongle is PAYG, if i had taken out a contract i would be most displeased
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Reviewed by Carol from UK on 9th Mar 2009
I am very disappointed with this Vodafone service. Having just spent a lot of money on a lap top for the first time and signing up to an 18 month contract with Vodafone, I hardly get more than one hour per month surfing and the signal constantly cuts out even though the mobile phone signal seems ok. It's useless ! Might as well throw the whole lot on the rubbish tip now !!! The only plus is that the Vodafone staff sound friendly. This is a ZERO star rating.
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Reviewed by Andy from UK on 6th Mar 2009
Worst mistake ever - paid for a business account but hasn't worked at all since last Christmas. Customer support was always polite but appalling - I must have phoned 20 times and was sent around and around various tech people with no success at all. Finally pleaded for them to let me leave my contract as it was complete con. After a series of phone calls and emails (made on my home broadband!) they agreed to let me leave. Don't sign up unless you test it before hand - take your laptop in and test run it for an hour or so!
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Reviewed by cornisle from uk on 24th Feb 2009
It's ok where I live as I live on top of a hill in an urban area. Yet, it still just stops working completly at times and sssssllllooowwwssss down to unworkable speeds. It never runs at the widely advertised speeds. In fact, it is distinctly average.
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Reviewed by Helen from UK on 13th Feb 2009
Its rubbish!!! and very bad customer service
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Reviewed by paul browne from uk on 5th Feb 2009
Rubbish. My partner won't let me have broadband so I'm stuck with this. If your a heavy internet user you'll get through the 3gb in no time. If you like online video you'll find yourself limited to maybe a few minutes a day. 1 hr of BBC's iplayer will use up over a fifth of your montly allowance. The upload speeds are dreadful so online gaming, a previous hobby of mine, is an absolute no-no. At peak times you can't even get online. If your simply interested in checking your emails it's fine but as an alternative to broadband it sucks.
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Reviewed by ANOUSKA MILLARD from OLDHAM, ENGLAND on 3rd Feb 2009
IM WARNING YOU NOW DO NOT BUY A VODAFONE DONGLE THESE ARE SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW . . DOWNLOADING ON MOBILE IS QUICKER. AFTER BEING PASSED ROUND 9 DIFFERENT PEOLPE WHEN RINGING CUSTOMER SERVICES THEY ALL TOLD ME DIFFERENT TALES NO1 KNEW WHAT THEY WERE GOING ON ABOUT. ALL I CAN SAY IS STAY WELL CLEAR 3G NETWORK IS CRAP . . YOU GET 14 DAYS TO RETURN IF YOUR NOT HAPPY UPTO NOW IVE SPENT 8 ON THE PHONE TO THEM AND STILL HAVNT GOT MY CONTRACT CANCELLED
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Reviewed by Kathryn from UK on 3rd Feb 2009
I have the retractable USB K3760 and have found it excellent, event when the signal is poor it works well. It is great not having a lid to keep worrying about where you have left it. I have used it for downloading and browsing and found it very smooth. Using the mobile connect icon on the desktop you can check your usage and bill with ease. The SMS icon is also great for sending texts. All in all a great choice for mobile broadband........was using 02 which was rubbish.
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Reviewed by PaulE from UK on 2nd Feb 2009
Horrendous quality of service and disgusting attitude towards customers. Would not recommend to anyone.
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Reviewed by dan from uk on 1st Feb 2009
this is a rip off. they charge you 15GBP for each extra 1GB but there is no way to check what is your current usage so you never know when you start paying extra money and they never tell you!!!!
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Reviewed by bill from england on 30th Jan 2009
very frustrating, reminds me of the dail up days. when u could make a cuppa while waiting, for items to load, i dont understand why it uses gprs, when the 3g network it uses seems a lot faster. i dont think i will be renewing with vodaphone. possibly look to cancel the contract as it is nothing like it should be for £15.00 a month very substandard service !
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Reviewed by Colin from UK on 30th Jan 2009
Beware Vodaphone mobile broadband. There is currently major problems with it. Zero data transfer is widespeard and coomonplace - just check vodafone's own forum Vodafone are currently stonewalling customers - denying the problem. Current advice - try another company if you want a reliable service
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Reviewed by helen from england on 26th Jan 2009
i think vodafone gets the best singnal out of o2 n t-mobile :D its got good ofers n there internet is just brill ... really good :D
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Reviewed by siobhan thompson from belfast n ireland on 13th Jan 2009
Terrible coverage from vodafone network most of the time i dont even get 0.5 mb I called vodafone but they are not prepared to do anything about it. Customer service was bad .Although i dont blame staff they can only do what they are told .I will never sign another contract with them again .
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Reviewed by Tez from Uk on 7th Jan 2009
Ok have to eat my words on the vodafone dongle. Sent the monthly one back, and partner bought me a top up and go one for xmas. What can I say, I live on the outskirts of Manchester and with 1 bar of 3G signal I am get download speeds of just under 1meg, and upload speeds around 300k. Picture quality is ok, you just hist Shit+ R to improve the quality. Have found it faster than home broadband had been. Only down side is the cost £15 for 1gig allowance. Why does Top up and Go have to be more expensive than monthly contracts.
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Reviewed by Umar Choudry from UK on 31st Dec 2008
I am using vodaphone, i am completly setisify with this broadband. Speed is very fast. I think it depends wha area u living in.
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Reviewed by Terry from Uk on 19th Dec 2008
Just a quick update, After a week of calling vodafone customer services, talking to 9 different departments and wasting 4 hours on the phone have decided to send back vodafone dongle. customer services have no idea at all what they are doing. they told me to visit a store and get things sorted out, when i asked what would the store do, they didnt know,I said so you want me to trapes into town, 12 miles on the bus, go to a vodafone store to be told there is nothing they can do for me. how poor the service is beggars belief. Have now put my vodafone mobile up for sale. desserting this bunch asap.
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Reviewed by william from england on 17th Dec 2008
I don't have a land line so I thought this mobile broadband would be an excellent idea. Unfortunately even though I have four bars on the signal indicator most of the time and it really connects quickly to the internet it still seems very slow to open pages or to download anything at all, certainly no faster than the old dial up, bit disappointing really. Hmm, I wonder if this is why I had to sign up for 18 months?
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Reviewed by Terry from UK on 15th Dec 2008
Bought the vodafone dongle from cataloge as it was a £20 a month for 3gb data download deal, paid £55 for the dongle, was told no credit check required. Dongle arrived today, phoned vodafone to get it switched on and was told i had failed a credit check, told them the offer said no need for a credit check as it was a 30 day rolling plan. Was on the phone with them for 90 mins, put through to 6 different departments, even asked if they could make it a top up and go dongle. Awaiting a call back. Went to trading standards, may as well banged head against the wall.
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Reviewed by Mora from UK on 13th Dec 2008
After six WEEKS of call centre customer service hell I finally received the USB stick I wanted. I truly wished I had passed on owning the USB Stick Pro. It goes offine continuously and shuts down unexpectedly despite 3 bar reception. Poor imaging, abysmal customer service and sub standard product. The techie at Vodafone admitted there were " known problems" with this stick but no solutions as yet. Very helpful!!! Don't sign up
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Reviewed by Googler from England on 12th Dec 2008
Despite the fact that Vodafone's signal map said I should be getting about 4mbps I rarely got above 1kbps. Took it back to the shop and tried another modem and SIM but same result. Not fit for purpose. I only gave it 1 star because there's no option to give none!
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Reviewed by Steve Pearce from UK on 11th Dec 2008
As a tech support person it is sometimes necessary to be able to connect remotely and on occasions be able to test remote connections from the same locations, using a mobile broadband service should allow this.....not Vodafone's service It seldom provides greater than 25kbps speeds and even then is so slowwwwwwwwwww, a modem is 10-20 times faster. mines going back for a refund and cancellation of contract, not fit for purpose or providing anything like the service promoted and advertised. In short.....useless
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Reviewed by Fawkesey from UK on 3rd Dec 2008
I got this hoping to replace the hopeless Virgin cable broadband connection, but Vodafone firstly sent me the wrong, lower specced dongle, & then when I got the right dongle I was only able to connect at 2 bars & was then dropped off after 5 minutes of admittedly quite speedy browsing. The trouble is I live in London, zone 2, on quite a hill for the area & if I can't get a full signal here then what's the point in using it elsewhere? One other nasty surprise was the compression of all images on all pages viewed, so every image is pixelated, obviously to save time downloading but irritating as it's not mentioned anywhere in the promotional material (surprise, surprise).
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Reviewed by geoff from portugal on 1st Dec 2008
Vodafone £95 boradband abroad is pants! For £9.95 a day you get 50mb a day limit, yet if you pay contract £95 you get much less - 200mb??? So why pay £95, when you could pay £100 and get 10 x 50bm = 500mb. It does not make any sense!!!!
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Reviewed by tango from england on 23rd Nov 2008
vodafone is a rubbish newtwork
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