Convert Three's "3-2-1" to "Data Reward"?

[Pamela]

Can you convert a Three PAYG plan (formerly "3-2-1") to a Three "Data
Reward" plan?

I believe the Data Reward plan supports voice and its charges are the
same as the old 3-2-1 prices.

[Theo]

I doubt it, but you could ask them.

The alternative would be to get a Data Reward SIM, but you would then have
to port your number out to another network before you can port back to that
SIM.

Theo

[Pamela]

I want this SIM as an emergency backup when O2/Giffgaff is out of range,
so keeping the number doesn't matter.

I was once stuck outdoors in heavy rain with no service for a couple of
hours to let me order an Uber, phone a friend, or get info from Google
Maps. Don't know if it was the heavy rain or Three Mobile's flaky service
but I want to be ready next time.

(1) Maybe I could simply get a new Data Reward SIM (if they're still
available) after my existing 3-2-1 credit runs out.

(2) On the other hand, Vodafone's PAYG might be better as it gives
unlimited voice and 50MB for a day for £1 and that would be enough to
get out of some place.

(3) As I look further, Asda PAYG now uses Vodafone and charges only
4p/min, 4p/text, 4p/MB which is a bit more gentle that £1 immediately.

My info is from here:
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/best-payg-sim-for-low-usage

[notya...@gmail.com]

I did and they won't.

When the 321 SIMs run out (much sooner than anticipated) then I will change them for data reward (assuming Three still do them of course).

Very annoying, I naively assumed that with just £10 at stake notoriously customer hostile Three could not rip me off, but alas I was wrong and Three devalued my credit by 80%.

[Woody]

On Wed 26/05/2021 16:19, Pamela wrote:
> On 21:53 25 May 2021, Theo said:
>> Pamela <pamela.priv...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Can you convert a Three PAYG plan (formerly "3-2-1") to a Three
>>> "Data Reward" plan?
>>>
>>> I believe the Data Reward plan supports voice and its charges are
>>> the same as the old 3-2-1 prices.
>>
>> I doubt it, but you could ask them.
>>
>> The alternative would be to get a Data Reward SIM, but you would
>> then have to port your number out to another network before you can
>> port back to that SIM.
>>
>> Theo
>
> I want this SIM as an emergency backup when O2/Giffgaff is out of range,
> so keeping the number doesn't matter.
>
> I was once stuck outdoors in heavy rain with no service for a couple of
> hours to let me order an Uber, phone a friend, or get info from Google
> Maps. Don't know if it was the heavy rain or Three Mobile's flaky service
> but I want to be ready next time.
>
> (1) Maybe I could simply get a new Data Reward SIM (if they're still
> available) after my existing 3-2-1 credit runs out.
>
> (2) On the other hand, Vodafone's PAYG might be better as it gives

> unlimited voice and 50MB for a day for Ł1 and that would be enough to

> get out of some place.
>
> (3) As I look further, Asda PAYG now uses Vodafone and charges only

> 4p/min, 4p/text, 4p/MB which is a bit more gentle that Ł1 immediately.

>
> My info is from here:
> https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/best-payg-sim-for-low-usage
>

However, do remember that under the Cornerstone project many VF and O2
sites are now shared as under the project they use common distribution,
so if you loose O2 you will likely also loose VF.

Similarly the MBNL operation which was established back in 2007 provides
common distribution for 3 and T-Mobile and as far as I am aware it is
still in use under the EE banner, so again if you loose 3 you may also
loose EE.

In addition to Asda having moved to VF in March, Virgin were due to move
from EE to VF as well early next year. However OfCom have just approved
Telefonica and Liberty Global merging their mobile operations, i.e. O2
and Virgin, so that might also have effects.

The one (and probably only) good thing about 3 is that on PAYG you need
to make a chargeable event every ?? (six?) months, and if you don't they
don't eat your credit, just bar call making and will reinstate for the
sake of a phone call. In fact they do boast that they never cut anyone
off which I can vouch for as I pulled out an old phone on 3 a few weeks
back that hadn't seen the light of day for probably two years and it
still worked and told me how much credit I still had!

[Theo]

Pamela <pamela.priv...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I want this SIM as an emergency backup when O2/Giffgaff is out of range,
> so keeping the number doesn't matter.
>

> (1) Maybe I could simply get a new Data Reward SIM (if they're still
> available) after my existing 3-2-1 credit runs out.

You could get a Data Reward SIM now, put £2 on it (minimum online topup),
and then keep it until your 321 credit runs out (sending a keepalive text
every 6 months if it takes longer).

Theo

[notya...@gmail.com]

Thanks - I thought the minimum top up was £10.

[Pamela]

On 16:46 26 May 2021, Woody said:

> On Wed 26/05/2021 16:19, Pamela wrote:
>> On 21:53 25 May 2021, Theo said:
>>> Pamela <pamela.priv...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Can you convert a Three PAYG plan (formerly "3-2-1") to a Three
>>>> "Data Reward" plan?
>>>>
>>>> I believe the Data Reward plan supports voice and its charges are
>>>> the same as the old 3-2-1 prices.
>>>
>>> I doubt it, but you could ask them.
>>>
>>> The alternative would be to get a Data Reward SIM, but you would
>>> then have to port your number out to another network before you
>>> can port back to that SIM.
>>>
>>> Theo
>>
>> I want this SIM as an emergency backup when O2/Giffgaff is out of
>> range, so keeping the number doesn't matter.
>>
>> I was once stuck outdoors in heavy rain with no service for a
>> couple of hours to let me order an Uber, phone a friend, or get
>> info from Google Maps. Don't know if it was the heavy rain or Three
>> Mobile's flaky service but I want to be ready next time.
>>
>> (1) Maybe I could simply get a new Data Reward SIM (if they're
>> still available) after my existing 3-2-1 credit runs out.
>>
>> (2) On the other hand, Vodafone's PAYG might be better as it gives

>> unlimited voice and 50MB for a day for £1 and that would be enough

>> to get out of some place.
>>
>> (3) As I look further, Asda PAYG now uses Vodafone and charges only

>> 4p/min, 4p/text, 4p/MB which is a bit more gentle that £1

>> immediately.
>>
>> My info is from here:
>> https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/best-payg-sim-for-low-usage
>>
>
> However, do remember that under the Cornerstone project many VF and
> O2 sites are now shared as under the project they use common
> distribution, so if you loose O2 you will likely also loose VF.
>
> Similarly the MBNL operation which was established back in 2007
> provides common distribution for 3 and T-Mobile and as far as I am
> aware it is still in use under the EE banner, so again if you loose
> 3 you may also loose EE.
>
> In addition to Asda having moved to VF in March, Virgin were due to
> move from EE to VF as well early next year. However OfCom have just
> approved Telefonica and Liberty Global merging their mobile
> operations, i.e. O2 and Virgin, so that might also have effects.

Thanks for some useful useful points.

I'm never sure if Vodafone and O2 share the same aerials on the masts
because their coverage maps are extremely similar yet never exactly the
same.

Perhaps a Three SIM would make a good backup for my O2/Giffgaff after
all, especially as EE's PAYG tariffs are not much better than Three's
3-2-1.

[Pamela]

That sounds interesting. Are new Data Reward SIMs still being issued by
Three? Amazon sells a Data Reward SIM with no prepaid credit for £1.90,
which sounds reasonable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Data-Reward/dp/B01D1KQNBU/

[Pete Forman]

If you are looking for a backup for emergency use then the rates are
less important. As others have said O2 and VF do some site sharing. EE
generally has better coverage than 3. So perhaps an MVNO such as Co-op
which is 8p/min - 4p/SMS - 10p/MB or RWG at 5p - 10p - 2p.

--
Pete Forman
https://payg.pythonanywhere.com/

[Abandoned_Trolley]

>>> Similarly the MBNL operation which was established back in 2007
>>> provides common distribution for 3 and T-Mobile and as far as I am
>>> aware it is still in use under the EE banner, so again if you loose
>>> 3 you may also loose EE.
>>>

> EE generally has better coverage than 3.

There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the 2 statements above -
unless the subject of 2g roaming partners is a factor ?




--
random signature text inserted here

[Fox]

You can top up the 3 Data Reward SIM online from £2. Scroll down the top
up page to see the lower amounts.

[Pamela]

Thank you.

A Three customer on 3-2-1 isn't permitted to change their tariff to
Three Data Rewards but could they buy a new Data Rewards SIM and port
their old number to it?

That would solve a lot but does Three allow number porting between
their own tariffs?

[Pamela]

On 07:57 28 May 2021, Pete Forman said:

Is EE really as good as some coverage surveys say? It wins top spot
from Root Metrics and SIM Sherpa, including reception indoors.

There's always some jockeying between networks for position but
Ofcom's indoor coverage maps mostly shows EE and Three much poorer
than O2 or Vodafone.

[Theo]

Pamela <pamela.priv...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you.
>
> A Three customer on 3-2-1 isn't permitted to change their tariff to
> Three Data Rewards but could they buy a new Data Rewards SIM and port
> their old number to it?
>
> That would solve a lot but does Three allow number porting between
> their own tariffs?

In general not, although I can't speak for any Three specifics. However
what you can do is get a PAYG SIM from another network, port your number
there, and then port your number to a Data Reward SIM back at Three.

This used to be a common trick - I forget the exact reason, but something
like networks wouldn't allow you to switch from contract to PAYG and this
was a way around it.

Theo

[Woody]

3 no longer have a 2G roaming partner - it is now 3G or nothing.

EE have the contract to provide infrastructure for the replacement for
the Airwave emergency services digital comms system. I have not seen
anything that indicates whether the new system will be 4G or 5G, but I
do know that to give the geographic coverage that the emergency services
require EE had to install something like 384 (or was it 348?) new sites
largely in Wales, Scotland and the North of England.

[Woody]

Its apples and pears I'm afraid. 3 uses 2110MHz and EE uses around
1800MHz by default, whereas the majority of O2 and VF is 900MHz which
will always get further distance especially as they run significantly
higher transmitter powers than EE or 3.

[notya...@gmail.com]

BT EE also have [4G] bandwidth in the 800MHz band filched off broadcast TV as do the other MNO's, so BT EE, VF and O2 all do get around 99% coverage. You will need a phone [and a provider] that does VoLTE to make calls on 4G though.

VF and BTC (now O2) started on 900MHz and still have a lot of it. O2 run 2G & 3G on 900MHz, 2G & 4G on 1800MHz and 3G & 4G on 2100MHz. Others vary slightly, but no 2G from 3.

[Theo]

The bands are a lot more complicated than they used to be:
https://pedroc.co.uk/content/uk-commercial-mobile-spectrum

There's 700, 800, 900, 1500, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2600, 3400 MHz for mobiles,
although some of them have only been auctioned recently so aren't fully
deployed. Many of the bands are mixed, with 2G and 3G being squeezed into
parts of bands with the rest refarmed for 4G.

That site has lots of info on masts and spectrum if you're interested.

Theo

[Mark]

On 26/05/2021 19:12, Pamela wrote:
> On 17:38 26 May 2021, Theo said:
>
>> Pamela <pamela.priv...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I want this SIM as an emergency backup when O2/Giffgaff is out of
>>> range, so keeping the number doesn't matter.
>>>
>>> (1) Maybe I could simply get a new Data Reward SIM (if they're
>>> still available) after my existing 3-2-1 credit runs out.
>>

>> You could get a Data Reward SIM now, put Ł2 on it (minimum online

>> topup), and then keep it until your 321 credit runs out (sending a
>> keepalive text every 6 months if it takes longer).
>>
>> Theo
>
> That sounds interesting. Are new Data Reward SIMs still being issued by

> Three? Amazon sells a Data Reward SIM with no prepaid credit for Ł1.90,

> which sounds reasonable.
>
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Data-Reward/dp/B01D1KQNBU/
>

The SIMs were still available as of about 2 months ago.

However the activation process is invariably broken at the first,
second, third... attempt - Google for more detail.

Persistence usually pays off. If/when all else fails, get into a CSR
chat session and they eventually sort it out.

[Woody]

Whilst EE have an allocation in the 800MHz band, much of their 4G AIUI
is still in the 1800MHz band. They started there with OfCom agreement
basically to steal a march on the O2 and VF who were not then read with 4G.