Which mobile network?

[Franky]

Which mobile netowrk is it that runs at Glasto?

Is it Vodaphone? I am thinking of switching providers so might as well have a phone that works at Glasto,

Thanks in advance.

[dondo]

Vodafone are now the official mobile provider with it having been EE for a good many years. 

So they tend to put up extra masts etc.  

So Vodafone or any that piggyback on them (e.g. Talkmobile, Voxi) will be good. I was with Talkmobile last year and had no issues. 

EE by all accounts is still good but O2 and Three (and others like Sky, Smarty and ID that piggyback) aren't good. 

All networks run at Glastonbury as such just some are better than others. 

Edited March 22 by dondo

[Franky]

3 minutes ago, dondo said:

Vodafone are now the official mobile provider with it having been EE for a good many years. 

So they tend to put up extra masts etc.  

So Vodafone or any that piggyback on them (e.g. Talkmobile, Voxi) will be good. I was with Talkmobile last year and had no issues. 

EE by all accounts is still good but O2 and Three (and others like Sky, Smarty and ID that piggyback) aren't good. 

All networks run at Glastonbury as such just some are better than others. 

Thanks

[4AssedMonkey]

I've been on GiffGaff for many years and it was always sh*t at Glasto.  Last year I got a second sim from Lebara (who run on the Vodafone network) and it was a revelation.  Full 5G all weekend.  It's been so good back in the real world that I've permanently switched now.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

EE wasn't as reliable last year as previous years. Maybe just my phone, maybe just a coincidence.

[Franky]

O2 was non existent, although I think I was still with Virgin then until O2 bought them.

I hate O2!

[dondo]

9 minutes ago, Franky said:

O2 was non existent, although I think I was still with Virgin then until O2 bought them.

I hate O2!

Yep. An old uni mate of mine was on O2 and I didn't manage to catch up with him last year as he wasn't getting any signal.

[4AssedMonkey]

The Lebara sim only deal I'm on was 99p per month for 6 months and then went up to £5 for 5GB per month of data.  I've since signed up for a 12 month contract at 20GB per month and it's £9.  I get strong 5G pretty much everywhere and haven't had any dead spots as I've travelled round the UK.  Unlimited calls/texts and 100 minutes of international calls also included.  Transferring my old number was a doddle and the website is a piece of piss to use.  Can't recommend it enough.

[fullfathom5]

48 minutes ago, 4AssedMonkey said:

I've been on GiffGaff for many years and it was always sh*t at Glasto.  Last year I got a second sim from Lebara (who run on the Vodafone network) and it was a revelation.  Full 5G all weekend.  It's been so good back in the real world that I've permanently switched now.

I recently moved to Lebara - be nice to have some signal this year. Used to be on Vodafone years ago, got signal, then went to O2 for a few years and it's been next to useless at Glasto.

[incident]

What I'd suggest for anyone who doesn't want to switch networks just on the basis of Glastonbury - you can easily get a pay as you go sim with a few GB of data on a Vodafone or EE based network for £10 (or potentially less), and just drop it into the second sim slot in your phone. Then while you're at the festival tell the phone to use that sim, and cancel any subscription straight after.

VOXI would be good for that, as their plans don't count social media (including WhatsApp) towards the limit.

[Crazyfool01]

1 hour ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

EE wasn't as reliable last year as previous years. Maybe just my phone, maybe just a coincidence.

I had the odd bit of poor coverage whilst back at tent with EE  , so agree with that 

[Paul ™]

Less EE cells there last year 

[midlifecrisis]

1 hour ago, incident said:

What I'd suggest for anyone who doesn't want to switch networks just on the basis of Glastonbury - you can easily get a pay as you go sim with a few GB of data on a Vodafone or EE based network for £10 (or potentially less), and just drop it into the second sim slot in your phone. Then while you're at the festival tell the phone to use that sim, and cancel any subscription straight after.

VOXI would be good for that, as their plans don't count social media (including WhatsApp) towards the limit.

I was on O2 and it was non existent! I tend to spend a bit of time away from my group but was too worried about not finding them again I stuck to them like glue. 

Excuse to technophobe question but if you insert a 2nd sim and tell the phone to use that Sim I presume this doesn't use your current phone number? Would you just have to get people to add that number into our WhatsApp groups etc?

[incident]

11 minutes ago, midlifecrisis said:

Excuse to technophobe question but if you insert a 2nd sim and tell the phone to use that Sim I presume this doesn't use your current phone number? Would you just have to get people to add that number into our WhatsApp groups etc?

In terms of WhatsApp, for all the day to day stuff it's just using basic internet connectivity, so it doesn't care whether that comes through the original sim, on a different or second sim, or via wifi.

Adding a second sim to the phone just gives extra options for data. Even temporarily swapping the main sim out would be fine for most things, the only thing that'd lose access to would be standard phone calls and sms.

The only time WhatsApp ever needs to use the mobile number it's registered against is when it checks it during installation, or if it needs to re-verify for some reason.

 

Edited March 22 by incident

[clasher]

I too can recommend Lebara. I purchased a pre-paid SIM and used in in my second slot as my main SIM is European hence  useless in UK. 

Normal calls and SMS messages won't work if you disable your main SIM, but if enabling your main SIM doesn't cause a bgillion in roaming fees, you can leave both enabled and somewhere in the settings menu tell your phone which one to prioritize or use for what purpose.

[kemosabe]

Three was absolutely awful last time I went. 

I know those who are old school will sneer at this. But it was really isolating not being able to catch up with mates via text etc. I'll be getting a separate SIM as well this year I reckon. 

[Franky]

So I am stuck on this second sim in your phone thing?

I'm on an iPhone X ? Am i just to out of date for this to have a second sim?

 

[Crazyfool01]

2 minutes ago, Franky said:

So I am stuck on this second sim in your phone thing?

I'm on an iPhone X ? Am i just to out of date for this to have a second sim?

 

 

[al_coholic]

I was on o2 in 2022 and it was useless. Have moved to Talkmobile now so will hopefully enjoy a better service on site. 

[4AssedMonkey]

26 minutes ago, Franky said:

So I am stuck on this second sim in your phone thing?

I'm on an iPhone X ? Am i just to out of date for this to have a second sim?

 

iPhone don't tend to have dual sim, but can support eSim if one of the providers is compatible.  Only the larger networks tend to support eSim though.

[Neil]

ee was fabulous last year, i streamed radio all night every night last year with no drop-out.

[Helsbels]

EE has been rubbish for me the last couple of years since Vodafone took over

[Neil]

4 minutes ago, Helsbels said:

EE has been rubbish for me the last couple of years since Vodafone took over

ee has been as good as it ever has been for me, i couldn't fault it, always had a signal and always had decent internet too.

[charlierc]

7 hours ago, Franky said:

O2 was non existent, although I think I was still with Virgin then until O2 bought them.

I hate O2!

 

7 hours ago, dondo said:

Yep. An old uni mate of mine was on O2 and I didn't manage to catch up with him last year as he wasn't getting any signal.

I'm now an O2 customer having been with EE for all my phone-owning life and have noted the signal seems a bit more erratic.

And yet, here I am on their network. EE getting rid of free data roaming in the EU and an O2 contract for the phone I wanted being £15 a month cheaper helped me make the shift, which is a curio as I was happy with EE until finding both of these out.

[northernangel]

13 hours ago, Franky said:

O2 was non existent, although I think I was still with Virgin then until O2 bought them.

I hate O2!

So do I, I have 02 purely for gig priory but I can see that not a problem soon and being on the move.