I’m looking to nail down a contract at either one of the two mobile networks EE or Vodafone (or other networks) and I’m just not sure of what would be better value for money. I’ve been trialing both networks on different devices just to make sure that it wasn’t my phone that was being the bottleneck or dodgy and I’m looking at both speed and signal.
Currently I’m using VOXI which uses Vodafone’s signal and I’ve found the quality of signal to be excellent, but in the long term as they’re only 30 day rolling contract I find that you won’t be able to negotiate lower contract prices in the future and it’s better off having a contract if you’re looking to save money. I’ve looked online for comparisons but all I keep seeing is everyone glorifying EE for how fast they are and how much coverage they have, but in reality its really not that great at home or at work for me in London . Of course I understand that for everyone in different areas that signal and speed will vary and its all down to opinion but I’d love to see what people think before I make my choice.
I deal with the mobile contracts at work (office in London) and after looking at both EE and Voda in the past I can say that Voda wins hands down on coverage and reliability. This I’m sure could be different for others as it really does depend on the places that you actually live/visit but from my experience, Voda is the better of the two.
We also had a stint on o2 a few years back as they push a very good offer on to us but this proved to be a bad move, we had so many dead spots in the country and a lot of the users struggled (we have around 60 connections) so I would not recommend them at all but as above, others may have different stories based on their experience.
If Voxi works for you, why change? You mention not being able to negotiate prices, but they’re already very cheap, especially if you use their ‘social’ sites (which seem to include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, which aren’t really social). Definitely worth considering whether you really would save money on a contract. Personally, I’m ditching contracts and going to a PAYG sim as I rarely use much of my data allowance and can pay to buy my phone outright so I find that works out cheaper.
I’m on Vodafone but would switch to Voxi if I wasn’t over the age limit (which itself is ridiculous).
Don’t get me wrong, Voxi is overall a service I fundamentally disagree with. It spits in the face of the concept of net neutrality by promoting major social media companies.
That said, I’d benefit a lot from it as that’s most of my data usage!
On the other hand, out of morals, I’ve been tempted to leave Vodafone over the very existence of Voxi. Net neutrality is something we need to respect before we lose it entirely.
This is your best asset, don’t throw it away. Those shitty companies use contracts as a workaround instead of providing a working product and customer service - don’t fall for it. A 30 day plan means you can leave at any time if things go bad and try your luck somewhere else.
As far as EE vs Vodafone is concerned, I haven’t tried Voda but EE customer service seems UK based, if that’s of any help. Unfortunately they’re still a garbage legacy company when it comes to stupid & useless processes so even though the CS reps sound like they want to help there’s little they can do once you ask for something outside of their script.
I found this with Vodafone, I had been with them around 15 years and they didn’t care less when I left. Multiple CS agents just told me to find a friend in a public service to get VED discount.
I’m surprised I didn’t get them trying to drag me back either. Sky TV will give you everything for under £10 a month when you leave and they get desperate to keep you…
Which plan are you on? Do you find that you use all of the data up?
Well, I’ve been on their 2gb £10 a month plan, but to access Spotify, Apple music, Netflix etc its an additional ‘pass’ that you need to pay for which is £5 + £7 and eventually that cost builds up - currently they’re giving 6 months free which is nice, but what happens after is a different story - I’ve used up the additional data which is out of the ‘social’ apps so its not really enough for me and it turns out to be more expensive once the 6 months are up,
I’m with Three and love it, their customer service is spot on and if they mess up for whatever reason they’re really generous with credits. I travel pretty frequently and I’m from Singapore so their Feel at Home plan is really good for when I’m overseas. There was once I didn’t realise South Korea wasn’t included and racked up a data bill of £50+, which they discounted 50% off when I panicked and contacted them.
I’m paying £10 for 8GB (monthly rolling) because of a friend discount and I’m loathe to ever change it, I doubt I’d get a better price elsewhere. I can’t really vouch for how strong the connections are in comparison to the rest but it’s definitely better than GiffGaff (O2).
I was with O2 for 8 years, but switched to EE last year as their coverage and service has gradually degraded in London to the point I was just happy to ditch them. EE’s LTE+ is amazing and the only place the signal is not as strong is ironically at work (indoors) but even with 2 bars, internet speed is decent. Also I presume all the operators have crap coverage in City of London due to probably overcrowding and old buildings built to block signals
I struggle in Devon sometimes with Three, on my parents side of town I just can’t get a signal. I can with any of the 2G networks though (GiffGaff included).
Not sure if Three or O2 provide Wifi Calling for the Pixel.
Generally with Android, you have to install the carriers edit of the OS for Wifi calling to work nicely. This means we need them to have sold the phone in the first place.
Google phones only tend to come out via 1 or 2 carriers these days so that’s what I’m limited to
Anarchist
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I had 60 Mbbs download once on EE 4G. Is the fastest download speed I’ve ever had (even including fixed line broadband)
I switched from ee to Vodafone a couple of years ago. ee had some notspots near my work and home which got annoying after a while. Vodafone is flawless in these, even if the headline speeds aren’t quite as fast.
Vodafone also has excellent roaming options, far beyond just the EU which everyone offers nowadays. Roamed across India earlier this year without having to swap sims for £6/extra/day.
Used to be on o2 but switched to Vodafone recently. o2 are just uncompetitive in terms of retention.
Generally the signal for both in Edinburgh is pretty good, think 4G speeds are slightly faster on Vodafone.
Real test is when you head north into the highlands. o2 I could get a 4G signal, on top of a hill, vodafone used to be terrible, but I did manage to get 4G at lower levels, but need to retest when I go back to visit my folks.
EE/BT are useless up there. Haven’t heard how Three are, but using a PAYG sim and one of their bundles, worked brilliantly in New York, so would consider them as well (especially if you travel outside of the EU).
I’m on their medium plan for £10/month including VAT, which gives me 4GB of data. At the moment I’m unemployed so I’m usually at home connected to wifi. I use only half that atm but I have days where I’m traveling for job interviews in London and will just eat through my data (and battery).
. Of course I understand that for everyone in different areas that signal and speed will vary and its all down to opinion but I’d love to see what people think before I make my choice.
