New mobile contract any way to tell best 1's for rural/remote areas?

[countrryboy]

Alright

Just as the title says is there any way of checking which phone/network providers really do give u a signal in more rural/remote areas (i'm based sw scotland)
I have just googled signal maps but they all just claim to be great everywhere.

Was on a pretty bleak hillside the last few weeks and never had a signal all day, yet another lad was on the net on his phone most of the time over the last few weeks.

The more folk i speak to/ask the more confussed i get??? Does the actual handset make much difference??

I have only ever used my phone for calls/texts


Been with O2 for a long time now (the buggers keep phoning u up 6 months into an 18 month contract to tie u in again)
And O2 is generally reguarded as prety good in my area but over the last 2 years i've really struggled for a signal quite often with calls cutting out and texts arriving days late

Is there any handsets that are paticulary good at getting a signal?? Thinking of going back to a 'normal' rubber phone again that u don't have to charge every night (even when u've left it in the haag land al day and never used it)

 

[Alantoo]

I found O2 was the best coverage in the valleys around here by simply doing a manual network search in various places like home, work, stalking ground, beating areas, etc.

Just do a few manual searches and see which of the networks are available in most places...

Alan

 

[VSS]

And O2 is generally reguarded as prety good in my area but over the last 2 years i've really struggled for a signal quite often with calls cutting out and texts arriving days late

Interesting that you should say that. I've been with O2 since long before it became O2 (I haven't changed mobile phone company since 1993, but the company itself has changed names a few times in that period) and up until about 2 years ago never had any bother. Now signal is crap, and texts sometimes take days to send / receive.

 

[countrryboy]

Thing is with my work alan i could end up almost anywhere in southern scot/northern eng usually forestry work as well as hill/forest fencing so generally the a**e end of nowhere.

Must admit i have been throu a few handsets in the last few years too so wasn't sure if that was the issue.
At moment my O2 signal is very patchy often going from 4 bars to 0 and back to 4 in a few seconds after its cut ur call off, and when i'm really out in sticks its non existant quite often.

 

[Alantoo]

Next time you lose the O2 signal, just do a manual search and see if any of the other networks are available. We used to have an excellent signal from T-mobile at the forge but when they merged with Orange they evidently used the Orange transmitter which was useless. I could get an O2 signal more often than Vodafone which was the next best in the area.

Every now and then text messages get delayed on my iPhone...I presumed it was a function of the phone or systems getting confused because some messages are sent over the phone system and some over the internet, and if they can't be delivered immediately for some reason they are not re-sent frequently enough.

I guess your only certain option for remoter areas would be a satellite phone...dont know anything about them though.

A friend/friend's son paddled down the Yukon last year and took a Garmin (?) GPS unit with him that enabled him to send messages to his family I gather, that might be an option for you to explore.

Alan

 

[david1]

Alright

Just as the title says is there any way of checking which phone/network providers really do give u a signal in more rural/remote areas (i'm based sw scotland)
I have just googled signal maps but they all just claim to be great everywhere.

Was on a pretty bleak hillside the last few weeks and never had a signal all day, yet another lad was on the net on his phone most of the time over the last few weeks.

The more folk i speak to/ask the more confussed i get??? Does the actual handset make much difference??

I have only ever used my phone for calls/texts


Been with O2 for a long time now (the buggers keep phoning u up 6 months into an 18 month contract to tie u in again)
And O2 is generally reguarded as prety good in my area but over the last 2 years i've really struggled for a signal quite often with calls cutting out and texts arriving days late

Is there any handsets that are paticulary good at getting a signal?? Thinking of going back to a 'normal' rubber phone again that u don't have to charge every night (even when u've left it in the haag land al day and never used it)

Morning, in rural Scotland, my choice is a dual sim phone, I have a contract on 3 mobile, which has relatively good coverage and run a Vodafone pay as you go card to, which has outstanding coverage, I nearly never dont have a mobile signal and Vodafone, has better coverage in rural areas. I never miss calls as I have 3 mobile diverted to the Vodafone when coverage is lost.

 

[McKenzie]

Apparently EE have the contract for the emergency services in Scotland so you'd like to think that they would have one of the better coverages.

I've always used Vodafone but I've certainly found gaps in their coverage & noticed others still able to use their phones in some areas where I can't, noticably Glenshee where I've had to resort to walkie-talkies. Very annoying when you're trying to meet up with other people.

 

[Overlay]

I struggle with Vodafone in Norfolk in some areas, I have a 02 phone and real time they are about the same. Jumping in and out of signal

What does help is the iPhone via a internet connection, the first time ever I could take and receive a phone call in deepest Norfolk - but it’s a loooooong process and you have to turn it off when you are in a normal area or it shuts down to loss of wi fi

I take pot luck keep em fully charged and see what happens phone wise

Sometimes I’m phone less for days in Norfolk unless you drive to civilisation, Sussex and Cumbria are the same

Good luck

 

[Cottis]

The signal maps that the companies provide can be surprisingly accurate. We have a large hill out the back which I shoot over. You can sit on one side and happily use the internet and make calls yet move round to the other side or even on top and coverage vanishes. I once checked EE's map and it suggested this was how it would be. It literally had black spots on little bits of the hill and patches of reception in other places. It was weirdly accurate.

Best way to figure out what network is best is to go in to a local shop or pub as close as poss to where you want to use a phone and ask them. Locals always know the best networks in rural areas.

I used to be on Vodafone having been with them forever. I would go away with a mate a few times a year and he was always getting reception in far and way places when I would suffer. He was on EE. I changed to plusnet (they use the EE network) and now just pay £8 per month for more calls and data than I can get through and get reception way more than before.

If you can get 4G for example, you do not need actual telephone signal, you could make a call or send a text via Whatsapp. So it is worth bearing in mind that standard reception is not the B all and end all. Data coverage can be just as handy.

 

[kenbro]

Morning, in rural Scotland, my choice is a dual sim phone, I have a contract on 3 mobile, which has relatively good coverage and run a Vodafone pay as you go card to, which has outstanding coverage, I nearly never dont have a mobile signal and Vodafone, has better coverage in rural areas. I never miss calls as I have 3 mobile diverted to the Vodafone when coverage is lost.

I too use a dual sim phone and it’s very good.
Ken.

 

[kenbro]

Apparently EE have the contract for the emergency services in Scotland so you'd like to think that they would have one of the better coverages.

I've always used Vodafone but I've certainly found gaps in their coverage & noticed others still able to use their phones in some areas where I can't, noticably Glenshee where I've had to resort to walkie-talkies. Very annoying when you're trying to meet up with other people.

I wonder if that situation gets reversed sometimes, and you can get a signal when someone on a different network can’t?
Ken.

 

[Woodsmoke]

We're pretty rural. My wife's with EE and struggles with a signal at home (PH12 postcode) I'm with O2 and get really good coverage, including 4G

 

[Cyres]

I have vodafone, and its v poor in rural Devon, Northumberland and Shropshire. Complained again about it again last Thursday.

D

 

[Swedish]

Dual SIM is probably your best bet. Another option would be to purchase a SIM from someone like Manx Telecom, this SIM would roam on the UK mainland which will give you coverage almost anywhere but its an expensive option, especially if you're going to be using data.

 

[Mossypaw]

Up here, NW Scotland, most providers are pretty poor, but in the hills you will generally get a signal with Vodafone if it’s an emergency call. They will use whatever signal is available for emergency calls even when the phone is not showing any signal. Lesson learnt from the mountain rescue, thankfully never had to use it. MR use Vodafone for they’re radios, the same as the police and ambulance service, but this will change to EE in a couple of years.

 

[John Gryphon]

The missus gets reception here with her phone, she is on it all the frign time too..what a yapper! I scrubbed mine as I couldn't get one ounce of any sort of signal. I don't have a mobile in service and it is only a storage bin for photos atm.
Mine would only work if I jumped on the bike and rode a kilometre up onto a hill from home to get a bit of "line of sight' to the tower 15 k`s away,yet hers works day in day out.

 

[Ray7756]

Once you get an idea who you think might be good in your area, get a couple of pay as you go sim cards for diferent companies and try out the cards before you get a contract
Cheers
Ray

 

[gonzo]

The coverage from the bases will be very subjective in built up areas. So coverage maps are going to only tell part of the story. On open ground, you will probably see that your coverage is closer to the published coverage maps.
The operators also can have different services at diferent bases. So you may be getting GSM coverage in one area, 3g elsewhere and 4g somewhere else. So having a phone that can cover the various services would be an advantage.

GSM bases have a fixed 32km coverage. But 4G sites will 'breath'. So that the coverage area decreases when traffic is high. So 4g coverage may change at different times of day. Usually they expect that other bases will then cover the users that are further away. But that isn't much help if it's your only base. So be aware of coverage changing o ver time. What works when you do a test at sunrise, and everyone is in bed, may not work at sunset when they are all streaming TV to their phones. So if tesing for coverage (or looking at someone elses phone to see what they are getting) note the service it is showing on teh screen.

As said already, EE has the emegrency services contract. And with that comes some government assistance to cover non profitable areas. So they were my choice. (And having a friend working for them able to share a friends and family discount!)

And for emergency 999 calls, your phone should still divert to any available network.

Also, have a look at the 999 text message support.
It is really intended for deaf users, but there are no checks. And it could get you out of trouble on the hills, when you can't get enough service for a 999 voice call, but you may just get a text through.
"Users register for the system in advance by sending the word "register" in a text to 999 and replying "yes" to the response, which will include information about the service"
It is slower to respond that a voice call, but if I were in need, I'd live with that!

 

[FISH BOY]

I do believe that what phone you have makes a huge difference as I have found my work iphone on O2 is very poor compared to my 10 year old Nokia N95 on Vodafone. Been in deepest Wales and Scotland and the iphone had nothing compared to a good signal on the old school Nokia.

Do think that the Iphone is more of a small tablet than a phone...

 

[Broadarrow]

why not order some free SIM cards from each network...pop then into a phone and try them in your area....I did that after having loads of issues with o2 ...moved to Vodafone in etc end and they supplied a box which plugs into our internet so we get a full signal in the house too.

Or buy a Roaming SIM card...slighty more expensive but very very good if you need to have cover in emergencies These are the SIM cards that are used in alarms / tracker / wildlife cams and all always have a signal.