Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Virgin Mobile network quality and other recommendations

Options
  • 21-10-2018 1:50am
    #1
    pj12332
    Registered Users Posts: 321 ✭✭


    Hi guys,

    Recently finished up two year contract with Eir. Switched to Virgin as it's 3 months for free and can cancel month by month so it's worth a go.
    So far I've noticed a few things,

    1) takes a lot longer to connect on a call. When it connects it rings and then once ringing it makes the sound that usually occurs before it rings. Just a bit strange.

    2) when using mobile data And then I take a call, it takes about 30 seconds for the mobile data to kick back in once phone call is done. This was immediate with Eir.

    3) Coverage is poor in places in Dublin i.e. shopping centres. Had absolutely no coverage i.e. couldnt text or make a call when in the square today.

    4) loudspeaker is just awful can't have a decent conversation.

    Myself and my partner both have new phones and both switched to Virgin at the same time so we know it's not the phones as none of these problems existed with Eir.

    All in all its pretty disappointing, might stick with it for a while as it's costing nothing but will definitely go back to one of the big 3 soon.

    Looking for lots of data and unlimited calls. Texts not as important. At the moment have the unlimited everything plan with Virgin. Will be 25 per month after the first three months free. I have always gone with the 30 day rolling contracts when not locked into a plan. Can anyone recommend Vodafone three or back to eir maybe??

    Also noticed not many good prepay offers at the minute. Would be willing to go with one of them too. I'm also a student so open to student deals too. Any suggestions/ recommendations/ recent experiences with providers welcome.

    Thanks in advance


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    babelfish1990
    Registered Users Posts: 639 ✭✭✭babelfish1990


    Virgin Media use the Three network.

    Eir have a much more advanced network with better capacity and coverage than Three and features such as HD Voice and WiFi calling. The voice quality issues you describe may be due to the fact that you became accustomed to HD Voice while with Eir? It is also possible that Three are using poorer voice codecs because they have an older legacy network which is chronically short of capacity.

    The call setup times can be much faster with Eir if the receiving party is using WiFi calling. This means that the mobile network knows precisely where to route the call and doesnt have to go through the lengthy process of paging the entire network and waiting for a response. Eir also use IMS for voice calls which is faster at switching than the legacy TDM technology used in older networks.

    You are fortunate that you have chosen a 30 day contract and can escape easily. Lots of people only discover the issues with Three when they are locked into 24 month contracts.


  • Options
    #3
    DopeTech
    Registered Users Posts: 6,802 ✭✭✭DopeTech


    Don't waste your time on any of the the virtual operators such as virgin or tesco. They all have similar issues.

    I'd recommend you have a look at the Vodafone "Data user plan"

    Big thread on it here in bargain alerts.

    https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057850162/89/#post107784419

    Everything is answered in the post I have linked to but if not please have a scan of a few of the other pages as all questions have been answered in that thread a thousand times over.

    €20 will get you 15GB of 4g data and unlimited any network texts for 28 days.
    You keep the €20 credit and with that can buy add-ons if you wish.

    E.g.
    €15 unlimited any network calls add-on
    €5 100 minutes to any network
    €5 Spotify premium
    €5 100 international minutes


    * Full data allowance and add-ons are can be used in eu while roaming unlike the other networks that give you a smaller amount of data.

    Any left over credit can be kept and carried over to the next month meaning if you want you could use your credit every few months to buy add-ons instead of topping up. Depending on your usage it may suit or may not


  • Options
    #4
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    Dosser is correct.

    Postfone is a joke.

    Everyone else is on Three. Not because Three want them there but because they were forced to take em. The MVNOs run on skeletal budgets and thus simple things like LTE-3G call handoffs just don't work like they should. Shortcodes? A mess.

    3/Vod/Eir. Forget the rest.


Advertisement