Crap O2 / GiffGaff

[Raven]

I'm on O2 and quite enjoyed the peace and quiet for a day.

 

[Poag]

When the fuck are they going to standardise the freakin connection technology, my phone spends all day hunting between 2G, 3G and HSDPA, the amount of times I get it out of my pocket and it's sat in 3G mode with no bars and I have go into settings to force it into GSM and then I get a shed load of missed call alerts.

It should do that by itself. Whats your phone/carrier?

 

[old.user4556]

Still fecked for me.

 

[DaGaffer]

Well thats hoe they do it on landlines and you are still attached to your original provider when it comes to own network free calls, so hes at least mostly right, possibly totally correct

Loada bollocks. That would only happen if you switched to a reseller (e.g. from BT to someone using BT Wholesale; and even then it would be a mistake). If you switched from say, BT to Virgin, the number ports onto a completely separate network infrastructure.

 

[Gray]

They're saying now it's the 3G that's messed up, but if you switch your phone to 2G you should regain access to the network.

 

[eksdee]

They're saying now it's the 3G that's messed up, but if you switch your phone to 2G you should regain access to the network.

Yep, confirmed. My phone is working fine after reinserting the sim card, but if that doesn't work just go to 2G.

 

[Job]

Loada bollocks. That would only happen if you switched to a reseller (e.g. from BT to someone using BT Wholesale; and even then it would be a mistake). If you switched from say, BT to Virgin, the number ports onto a completely separate network infrastructure.

Bollaks you say, well as an ex network data manager for BT I can tell you that when someone ports from say Orange to 02 and you dial them from a landline the call gets routed to Orange because they own the original number block, Orange then bounce back that it's gone to o2, the call drops back and reroutes to 02.
Now if Oranges whole network was down, not just the towers, then the call would fail even if o2 was ok.
It's all a bit complicated and constantly updating, but a lot of the mobile carriers extensively use BT's network to transfer calls and if the call meets such an arrangement it would fail.
You may well have ported over your PUK to let the towers recognise your phone, but the routing for calls still mostly goes via the old operator, though they are working to reduce that.
It's called number portability and was fricking nightmare to understand, only the brave messed with it.

 

[DaGaffer]

Bollaks you say, well as an ex network data manager for BT I can tell you that when someone ports from say Orange to 02 and you dial them from a landline the call gets routed to Orange because they own the original number block, Orange then bounce back that it's gone to o2, the call drops back and reroutes to 02.
Now if Oranges whole network was down, not just the towers, then the call would fail even if o2 was ok.
It's all a bit complicated and constantly updating, but a lot of the mobile carriers extensively use BT's network to transfer calls and if the call meets such an arrangement it would fail.
You may well have ported over your PUK to let the towers recognise your phone, but the routing for calls still mostly goes via the old operator, though they are working to reduce that.
It's called number portability and was fricking nightmare to understand, only the brave messed with it.

Your post was talking about landlines...

 

[Job]

It's the same thing for landline operators.
Your ported to Virgin BT number is still in the BT part of the network decode and has to be dropped back and started again, so a problem at BT can effect your Virgin number.
On a side note Virgin (originally Telewest) and BT use the same system x exchanges, when they put he tender out for the next gen network Marconi had it all built and running and had served BT for 20 years from their huge factory in liverpool.
Fujitsu and Huwai said they could do it for half the price, so they dropped Marconi and everyone lost their jobs, were talking thousands.
Six months down the line Fujitsu and Huwai admitted they hadn't built a thing, didn't know how and slid through clauses to double the price and now BT have no competing supplier.
Fucking genius.

 

[Lamp]

Phone was working all last night, till about midnight, no problems. Great, I thought. Went to bed. Woke up with no service. Bugger. Turned the damn thing off. Then midday, heard on radio O2 had fixed a large percentage of the network, took battery & SIM out, put em back in, turned fone on, all working. Fingers crossed no more cock-ups....

 

[sayward]

And I stupidly picked yesterday to ring O2 about a new phone!

 

[Aada]

I left O2 years ago went to T mobile and haven't looked back.

 

[eksdee]

Interesting, it's like a running joke in the mobile industry (I work for a mobile phone magazine) that T-Mobile is always down.

 

[Aada]

I never had a signal problem with them at all.

 

[Jeros]

I too get the issue of no signal/very weak signal on 3G and have to force 2G on O2.

But Edinburgh's stone buildings are not a help.

 

[Job]

t-mobile used to be the poor cousin of the big boys, but they never let me down now and I can use Orange's signal as well...sweet.

 

[cHodAX]

Orange is horrible on my side of Manchester, very good most other places though, it's frustrating.

 

[Raven]

Orange is crap where I live too. No signal in my house, no signal in the pub...not a lot of point in it really. Vodafone are hardly much better.

O2 is good round here though, rarely get a loss of signal.

 

[Job]

There's a fundamental difference between the carriers, voda and o2 are on 900mhz, t-mob and Orange are 1800mhz, the lower freq 900mhz goes around corners and pentrates buildings better, the 1800mz needs more towers but can handle more ccts. Vodafone still has the best out of town network cos 900mhz sweeps over the hills better.

 

[Zenith]

Been on vacation in Sweden for three months. The O2 connected iphone have been off for the entirely of the time. Money was in the English bankaccount, expecting 20 quid a month, normal fee. The last three phonebills have been 106, 102 and 430 pounds respectively. What the FUCK have they done now!



This aint even my first problem during my relatively short stay with them. December last year they disconnected my phone and put on a some Corporate account. Which crumbled up to two months of my phone not working, and several landline calls on my side. Fucking DISGUSTING

 

[Lamp]

My Dad's on orange and has a VERY old Nokia phone (he's old enough & grumpy enough not to give two shiny shites about smartphones ) and he's always got a good signal and never has to worry about no internet. And his battery lasts a week, lol. I guess you don't miss what you've never had. I quite like that

 

[old.user4556]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Se...ext-and-3G-data-issue-03-09-2012/td-p/5824140

 

[Lamp]

O2 are down again

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19928507

Maybe back up by 9pm this evening, but hopefully before Monday morning!

O2 seem to have more outages than any other network. Never had service problems with Vodafone, but I ditched Vodafone as their tariffs took the piss.

 

[Gwadien]

O2 are down again

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19928507

Maybe back up by 9pm this evening, but hopefully before Monday morning!

O2 seem to have more outages than any other network. Never had service problems with Vodafone, but I ditched Vodafone as their tariffs took the piss.

I'm on a Wildfire S (Bottom Market smart-phone) with unlimted texts 500 interwebz 300 minutes, £10 a year! - bargain if you ask me

 

[Lamp]

O2 back up, at 9:01pm. Pretty much when they said it would be. First thing I get: an email from Ezteq

 

[Appollo]

Don't recall ever having a prob with vodafone

 

[Lamp]

Don't recall ever having a prob with vodafone

Signal wise, me neither. But I was on one of their PAYG schemes, and phone calls were costing me a bloody fortune. Data? Forget about it. Thats why I went to GG when I got a smartphone. £10 (soon to be 12) a month and unlimited data texts and more calling time then I need

 

[Appollo]

I'm on a business tariff (company pays) but I only get 750mb of data usage

 

[rynnor]

My phones still not working for voice calls.

 

[old.user4556]

No regrets moving to Vodafone, when I saw the O2 thing I rolled my eyes and said "what a shocker".