[Q] Orange in UK - G2 and Desire Z General

Hi Guys,
just wondering, does anyone have a desire Z on orange UK? I was wondering if the phones are sent out with orange software etc rather than plain android operating system? I know the older phones orange used to brand them by not just the sticker but also their software...
Also are the phones normally simlocked?
One more thing - how has your experiance been in orange network? I have seen some complaints as to getting internet can be slow etc... Not sure if this is the right place to ask but would like to know...
I am planning to move to a desire z on orange - currently got a htc touch hd on O2.
Thanks for your help!

Orange as a network are not too bad, and are getting slowly better again.
Their phones will be sim locked, and also while locked you won't be able to install any new radio firmware on your phone (they just won't work).
They have been known to use their own launcher lately, however sense will still be installed so you can swap to htc's stock launcher, not sure on what they are doing with the Z though.
I have an unbranded unlocked z and running on orange, the signal is fantastic.

I got mine from Mobiles.co.uk and all their handsets are supposed to be unlocked and unbranded. Mine is definately unbranded but haven't tested if it's unlocked.

Do Orange even sell the DZ ? I can see the DHD on their website, so I guess there's a good chance the DZ is following behind.
Remember that coverage can vary greatly, depending on where you are. See if you can borrow a phone from someone you know who has Orange, to test the signal out in your area. Or get a free pay-as-you-go SIM from Orange to test out the signal before you commit. Orange and T-Mobile are merging, so their coverage should improve through that.
Orange is terrible where I am and Vodafone is good, but if I moved somewhere else it could easily be the other way round.

Well Orange and T-Mobile have/are merging so they will have the best coverage in the country come March.

Lennyuk said:
Well Orange and T-Mobile have/are merging so they will have the best coverage in the country come March.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if they both had dodgy coverage in a particular area, then with the merger they'll still have dodgy coverage there. So I'm not sure it's that simple ?

steviewevie said:
Well, if they both had dodgy coverage in a particular area, then with the merger they'll still have dodgy coverage there. So I'm not sure it's that simple ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how many places in the country don't get either signal though? only places right in the sticks would fail to get a signal.

Lennyuk said:
how many places in the country don't get either signal though? only places right in the sticks would fail to get a signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd be suprised. For example, in my house the Orange and T-Mobile signals are bad (had them before), but Vodafone is fine. Similarly a friend's house in a different part of the country has the same issue (Vodafone isn't that great there, but a lot better than the Orange/T-Mobile signals).

Orange vs T-Mobile
Thanks guys... well I was planning to get the phone from CPW - like mentioned it is not offered directly from orange.
T mobile has good offers for the phone as well... but have read that when getting the phone from places like CPW, they cap the speed of data which has me concerned. Otherwise their 1GB allowance is definitely more attractive to try out.
hmm anyone has got any experiance of T-mob data speeds?

Audette said:
Thanks guys... well I was planning to get the phone from CPW - like mentioned it is not offered directly from orange.
T mobile has good offers for the phone as well... but have read that when getting the phone from places like CPW, they cap the speed of data which has me concerned. Otherwise their 1GB allowance is definitely more attractive to try out.
hmm anyone has got any experiance of T-mob data speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently on ORange in Dundee with a Pro2, data and voice been fine almost anywhere in the city (3G loses a bit when I'm in the middle of my house but it IS a new build so the attic is extra thick for insulation. However I noticed that when I set up the T-Mobile/Orange roaming a few weeks ago, it picks up a strong T-Mobile signal in the places it couldn't before. Now I have taken out a Desire Z via MobilePhonesDirect.co.uk on T-Mobile and I'm still using the Orange SIM in the Desire until my contract runs out come February and it's given me no problems. Simply roams to T-Mobile in several consistent blackspots... Once the T-Mobile 3G can be used on Orange it'll be even better!

Audette said:
hmm anyone has got any experiance of T-mob data speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Multiple tests using speedtest.net app.
Down - Up
766 - 493
1455 - 503
1867 - 485
1872 - 470
1891 - 441
Wifi
Down - Up
9363 - 545
Am I getting what I should be getting?

Hello
I just happen to have upgraded to desireZ with cpw, and im on orange uk. Internet speed is fine (when u get H connection). In london though its pretty much everywhere
Whats best with orange is fact that they joined with t_mob and now the coverage is even better, although 3G will only start after Xmas :S...
Otherwise, phone is brill, but Im still getting used to android (used to be winmo for past 3 years...)
Hope this helps
sent from htc desire Z

I also upgraded via CPW, it's worth pointing out that 90% of their phones are sim unlocked and unbranded
Am currently on TMob and with the recent merge Tmob/orange you have the option to jump network when reception is crap, at the moment it's only 2g tho

Stea1thmode said:
I also upgraded via CPW, it's worth pointing out that 90% of their phones are sim unlocked and unbranded
Am currently on TMob and with the recent merge Tmob/orange you have the option to jump network when reception is crap, at the moment it's only 2g tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you think of the data speeds on T-mobile network? Do you experiance it to be slow??

wolek76 said:
Hello
I just happen to have upgraded to desireZ with cpw, and im on orange uk. Internet speed is fine (when u get H connection). In london though its pretty much everywhere
Whats best with orange is fact that they joined with t_mob and now the coverage is even better, although 3G will only start after Xmas :S...
Otherwise, phone is brill, but Im still getting used to android (used to be winmo for past 3 years...)
Hope this helps
sent from htc desire Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am gonna be moving from Win Mo as well... so not even sure how much data usage I might need per month on android!!!!
Do you find that 500MB is sufficient for your use?

Audette said:
What do you think of the data speeds on T-mobile network? Do you experiance it to be slow??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not done a speed test yet nor experienced any slowness, only when there's bad reception.
Audette said:
Am gonna be moving from Win Mo as well... so not even sure how much data usage I might need per month on android!!!!
Do you find that 500MB is sufficient for your use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest I'm not sure, am on unlimited web n talk (internet) which works out to be 3gig for an extra fiver a month. I think with these types of phones you'd be better off with unlimited if you can get it

Is 500mb enough?
Well, I used to be on 500 for 18 months, and only once went over when my landline i-net was down due to BT. But now with the upgrade Ive gone for 1gig, and Im glad I did. This market thing is so much bigger than msofts winmo! Also, fone seems so much snappier with inet, utube,msn... I will deffo go over 500/month.
Just realized I havent installed skype yet...
Is 1gig gonna be enough...???
sent from htc desire Z

wolek76 said:
Is 500mb enough?
Well, I used to be on 500 for 18 months, and only once went over when my landline i-net was down due to BT. But now with the upgrade Ive gone for 1gig, and Im glad I did. This market thing is so much bigger than msofts winmo! Also, fone seems so much snappier with inet, utube,msn... I will deffo go over 500/month.
Just realized I havent installed skype yet...
Is 1gig gonna be enough...???
sent from htc desire Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an app on market called NetCounter which shows your data usage, might be worth using that to help monitor data.

Im currently on Orange (contract now expired) and also looking to upgrade to a Desire Z with Orange (currently using HTC Touch HD).
I'm going to call Orange direct first and see what I can get. If they still don't do the Z then I might get it through Phones4U, on Orange, as they are offering the Z for free on a 24 month contract @ £25 pm which seems quite good.
Phones4U can also do upgrades so I have sent them a request to see if they can offer anything better than the £25 pm contract.

Related

Touch HD on T-Mobile 3g

Does the TOUCH HD Work on t-mobile's 3g network ? *data not phone service*
a big NO in the USA...
fyi, use this sections "sticky" for these questions instead of starting a new thread...
Yes in the UK. I'm using an unlocked Orange HD on T-Mobile UK. 3G and HSDPA data is fine.
In Austria [Europe, not the country with the Kangaroos ] 3g works fine too with T-Mobile
Works great in Holland
Anyone else have any experience of the HTC Touch HD on T-Mobiles unlimited data plan in the UK?
I might be interested in this.
chimpsinties said:
Anyone else have any experience of the HTC Touch HD on T-Mobiles unlimited data plan in the UK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have.
Been with T-Mobile for about 6 months now, really have no complaints, save for some recent confusion about the discount I get on my contract.
That's great. I just thought I remembered reading somewhere that T-Mobile only gave you GPRS for mobile web. Obviously I want 3G or HSDPA for decent speeds. If it's all good I'll just go for it next month.
I found this deal at mobilephonesdriect.co.uk on T-Mobile
200mins
200text
Unlimited internet
£24.50pm
18 month contract
£99 for phone
That's not too bad a deal.
Never ordered from that site before but I've seen them linked to a few times and their prices always seem to be good.
Personally though, I'd probably be looking at the HTC Hero/G2 that they have free on the £30/month tariff but that's just me.
edit: sorry, missed the thing about GPRS/HSDPA.
Not sure what you've been reading (it might relate to T-Mobile is the US, which uses a different network frequency, therefore making the HD incompatible with it's 3G coverage) but that's definitely not true for the UK - I get HSDPA coverage pretty much all the time, the only place I've ever struggled was my mate's flat in Manchester but everywhere else has been fine.
I like the Hero but I'm not sold 100% on android yet. You can't get TomTom for it and I really like my satnav on my WinMo phone at the moment. I've heard the satnav on the Hero is a bit naff. I also like the idea of the BIG screen on the HD. Yumyum.
Cheers for your help.
XfrostX said:
Does the TOUCH HD Work on t-mobile's 3g network ? *data not phone service*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which T-mobile network? where are you located?
I'm in Sheffield UK (if that was aimed at me)

Did you change your SIM card when you got your HD?

Hi folks,
Thought I'd pass on some information I discovered recently which might be useful...
When I got my phone a month or so ago I swapped the SIM card out of my old Orange SPV straight into the HD because the new SIM supplied with the HD didn't work and obviously needed to be registered (which I couldn't be bothered with at the time - I just wanted to play!).
Last week I signed up for a data package with Orange - £5/month for 500MB which seemed very reasonable. I started using the service and have been fairly satisfied, but I noticed that I didn't seem to be getting any changes in data reception ie. GPRS, 3G, Edge, HSDA etc, even in built up areas (never saw an H, E or 3G in the display, just G). It always seemed to be on GPRS and the data transfers were pretty slugglish.
I had read somewhere on these forums about old SIM cards restricting data transfer rates so I called Orange and they agreed that data rates ARE impeded by using an old SIM.
They registered and sure enought I have been getting HSDA/3G in my area with an appreciable increase in data speed. Now I might be in the minority, but I wouldn't mind betting there's a few more out there with this problem and hadn't realised it...
Moral of the story... register and use the new SIM !
Well, that's kinda why they give you a new SIM with your new phone...
Out of interest, where did you upgrade?
Because most places should automatically switch you across to the new SIM.
either that or check if 3g/hsdpa is enabled
Step666 said:
Well, that's kinda why they give you a new SIM with your new phone...
Out of interest, where did you upgrade?
Because most places should automatically switch you across to the new SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I upgraded via the internet which is why the SIM wasn't pre-registered...
Gisbourne said:
I upgraded via the internet which is why the SIM wasn't pre-registered...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lready knew of this issue, buts its nice that you shared it any way incase other noobs didn't know.
Its all about sharing your knowledge with the community!!
Gisbourne said:
I upgraded via the internet which is why the SIM wasn't pre-registered...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But which company?
Orange directly? Carphone Warehouse? Someone else?
Step666 said:
But which company?
Orange directly? Carphone Warehouse? Someone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh soz - Orange directly over the web...
Have a good weekend...
Fallen Spartan said:
lready knew of this issue, buts its nice that you shared it any way incase other noobs didn't know.
Its all about sharing your knowledge with the community!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed - have learnt a hell of a lot from this site...
I have had my current o2 PAYG simcard since October last year and have just bought a touch HD from Ebay. Do I need to change simcards or just swop it from my Nokia? (I won't be home in the UK for another couple of weeks as I'm currently working in Jordan, and yes the phone is unlocked to any network?
Gisbourne said:
Ahh soz - Orange directly over the web...
Have a good weekend...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See that really surprises me.
I've upgraded through Carphone Warehouse before, on an Orange contract, both in-store and over the phone/online and when I've been issued a new SIM, it's always been automatically registered/activated.
I would've thought that if a third party can do that, then the network themselves should be able to as well.
Hi,
Before I got the Touch HD i had a Nokia N95 with an unlimited data plan. Well i upgraded & used the old sim, i get all the high speed data rates, H, G etc etc. So i guess if u have a sim that caters for 3g alrdy, even if its an old sim it wont make any differance.
Tab
crewmeal said:
I have had my current o2 PAYG simcard since October last year and have just bought a touch HD from Ebay. Do I need to change simcards or just swop it from my Nokia? (I won't be home in the UK for another couple of weeks as I'm currently working in Jordan, and yes the phone is unlocked to any network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey crewmeal - you sound distinctly like airline staff (I work for BD) . After my experience I would suggest you try and obtain a new SIM to be sure... Might be worth popping into one of their shops and asking the question though...
Gisbourne see PM

[Q] Xoom on talkmobile (UK)

Has anyone got a Xoom on this? It's the carphonewarehouse Vodafone network, it's significantly cheaper but wanted to know if you get the full service as if you'd gone direct to Vodafone?
Comparisons here:
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mo...OTOROLA-XOOM-3G-PLUS-WI-FI-TABLET/MONTHLY/NEW
I've had no issues with signal compared to my 2 proper vodafone devices.
I too have my xoom on this network and find the internet experience to be equal to the true vodafone network
Sent from my MZ601 using XDA Premium App
Its good here. I may ditch orange on my desire soon too!
Another happy customer here, never heard of them before I bought the Xoom, but no problems
I went for the unlimited data plan for £25 and have to say very happy with covetage. The xoom seems to pickup a good 3g signal even when my Vodafone hand set jumps in and out. Coverage map is useless on their website though, been around south wales and all down the south coast with no signal problems.
Location by network gave me one issue by St Ives putting me 10 miles away from gps location (didn't check my phone against it). Google account sees the device on Vodafone network. Only wish I could use my vodafone sure signal with it as it covers more of my place than my wifi.
Only thing I would say is be sure you want a xoom, not tried anything else but an ipad and I'm happy, my concerns are life expectancy of the xoom over other tablets. With lack of support and information regarding updates worries me somewhat now. Don't know if I'd been better with the htc flyer or even waiting for the Sony tablet due soon.
Sent from my MZ601 using XDA Premium App
Thanks everyone - seems like it's an ok option.
Agree about deciding on the Xoom, not really an Apple person though and have been waiting too long for the new Galaxys.
Me too great service good price with talkmobile
Sent from my MZ601 using XDA App
I was very happy with Talkmobile, as I'd had no issues til a few days ago. Lost internet connection completely, yesterday my Xoom was back on the network but still no internet. Would be nice to have an explanation at least!
ive been getting fantastic hsdpa speeds of 6mb while I barely get an O2 signal on my Desire! I just wish they would hurry up and push the 3.1 update!
allnutts said:
ive been getting fantastic hsdpa speeds of 6mb while I barely get an O2 signal on my Desire! I just wish they would hurry up and push the 3.1 update!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the latest rumours are to be believed 3.1 won't hit our shores until August so don't hold your breath.....
Sent from my Xoom 3G
yes
carphones talk mobile xoom deal is great.
voda network is by far the best 3g-H in my part of the uk
FTW !
works great here on unlimited option which I use to connect to my slingbox. Habe also rooted and updated to 3.1 and over clocked tiamat kernel.
Talkmobile +/-
With talkmobile i had to pay £229 deposit.... and they asked me to fork over another £150 to remove the content lock...
I find there CS is quite pushy towards direct debits... on 8 occasions they have asked me to set one up yet I declined (ha ha), never missed a payment with any company XD
But on the other hand there CS is good at resolving queries and work a charm. The device is unlocked which is great and I can pop my 3 SIM card in there with 15 Gb access all areas internet.
What are your thoughts on this Talkmobile?
Talk Talk are gash
Perfects said:
I was very happy with Talkmobile, as I'd had no issues til a few days ago. Lost internet connection completely, yesterday my Xoom was back on the network but still no internet. Would be nice to have an explanation at least!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, phone Talk Talk now! My friend had this, and after a load of investigation it turned out that despite having an unlimited data package, talk talk were actually billing him for data, and he had a bill for £281 which in turn had led to his sim being blocked! If he hadn't phoned up they would have automatically debited him in a few days, and then probably would have had a major battle to get that cash back.
Number is 0800 049 4401 for Pay Monthly queries.

[Q] Tmobile-UK Data speed

I've recently purchased the Atrix on Tmobile here in the UK.
I'm still running the stock rom (froyo 2.2.2) and have carried out some speed tests.
Download speeds max out at ~350kbs!
This seems incredibly disappointing as my Blade on the 3 network gets much faster speeds.
My question is:
If I unlock and update to a gingerbread based rom will my data access speed improve?
i.e Have tmobile in UK crippled data transfer speeds on the stock rom?
I would be grateful for any info.
Regards
Sam
I'm on T-Mo Uk on an Atrix too and that's decent speeds for 3G/HSDPA I've tried a few different rims and radio flashes but doesn't make much if any difference, so guessing T-Mo cap the data rate. When I first got the phone in May I was lucky if I got 100 kb/s. 3 or 4 phone calls later to T-mo and they realised I was setup on the wrong data tariff, so maybe worth checking that?
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
Thanks Chaz,
I do think this is sim related rather than the network though.
My son is now using an old T-Mo G1. Ran the speed test on his phone which has a T-Mo PAYG sim in it. Results of 3 runs are:
Down Up
1541 402
1714 414
1533 344
Now this is 3-4 x faster than my contract sim I got with my Atrix (and still half the speed I'm getting on 3's network).
Why would the atrix be performing so much worse than the ageing G1?
Next I will test PAYG sim in the atrix.......
SamHanlon said:
I've recently purchased the Atrix on Tmobile here in the UK.
I'm still running the stock rom (froyo 2.2.2) and have carried out some speed tests.
Download speeds max out at ~350kbs!
This seems incredibly disappointing as my Blade on the 3 network gets much faster speeds.
My question is:
If I unlock and update to a gingerbread based rom will my data access speed improve?
i.e Have tmobile in UK crippled data transfer speeds on the stock rom?
I would be grateful for any info.
Regards
Sam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Sam
You are not on HSDPA (despite what the phone might report). You are only connecting to T-Mobile's normal 3g network which runs at around 0.4Mbps... HSDPA will run at anything up to 3.6Mbps, though more realistically 1-2Mbps.
All Android handsets bought directly from T-Mobile should come with the ability to connect to the HSDPA network (though I am of course refering to the SIM card - all Atrixs in theory can connect to HSDPA). If you bought the handset through a third party company (such as dial-a-phone) then they may supply the handset with a "none Android" tarrif SIM card.
Read about it here on the T-Mob forums... you may be able to speak with T-Mob technical support to get the ability to connect to HSDPA. Good luck!
Thanks for the info surrealjam.
I bought this from the T-Mo website and it didn't mention capped internet speeds.
Interestingly my wife recently (this month) switched to a sim only contract after 2 years and speedtest on her T-Mo G2 is stuck at 357kbs. I remember when she first got the phone that it had a faster internet connection than our landline ~ 2.5Mbs.
Looks like they have tweaked her settings too.
I'm off to phone technical support. thanks again.
.......
Having phoned technical support on 150 they have enabled HSDPA for my internet access.
Job done, thanks again surrealjam.
I reckon you should give them a phone Chaz
Regards
Sam
No problem, Sam - I love a happy ending. There's no way to say that without sounding smutty these days... shame.
SamHanlon said:
Thanks Chaz,
I do think this is sim related rather than the network though.
My son is now using an old T-Mo G1. Ran the speed test on his phone which has a T-Mo PAYG sim in it. Results of 3 runs are:
Down Up
1541 402
1714 414
1533 344
Now this is 3-4 x faster than my contract sim I got with my Atrix (and still half the speed I'm getting on 3's network).
Why would the atrix be performing so much worse than the ageing G1?
Next I will test PAYG sim in the atrix.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we had our wires crossed here I was giving speeds in kb/s and you gave kbps above ? lol
My speeds are around 1900kbps down and 400kbps up, which is around 400-450 kb/s (or 1.8-1.9mb).
As I mentioned before I was capped too and a few calls to T-Mo sorted it for me as well.
Glad you got it sorted out too

[Q] T-Mobile UK tethering Full Monty

Hey guys,
Firstly, sorry if this is in the wrong place, I'm just not entirely sure where to put it.
I'm at present looking for a new sim-only contract for my new phone (Nokia Lumia 920) and one thing that caught my eye was the T-Mobile Full Monty deal, which although doesn't allow tethering for customers after July(?) this year many seem to be able to still do so and get away with it.
So for anyone who has signed up to this offer in the last few months, are you still able to tether? and are the speeds while tethering ever throttled?
Thanks
Chris
Hi i dont personally do contracts because i get mote than enough for my miney in payg.
But 3 uk may be a better choicw because they dont have any limits or restrictions.
Speeds never get slowed down no matter how much you use and does include tethering.
Im on T-Mobile payg UK myself and more than happy with them.
Hope this helps in some way.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Nick Fury said:
Hi i dont personally do contracts because i get mote than enough for my miney in payg.
But 3 uk may be a better choicw because they dont have any limits or restrictions.
Speeds never get slowed down no matter how much you use and does include tethering.
Im on T-Mobile payg UK myself and more than happy with them.
Hope this helps in some way.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks, well, I've got 2 problems with that, first of which is for a few months my phone will be locked until EE's exclusivity period with Nokia is over (Jan/Feb)
Secondly, my house generally has poor reception with the exception of my bedroom (despite being near central Edinburgh -.-) and in my hometown not too far out I don't even get reception in my parents house, which is pretty poor, and I've heard the horror stories before from my mates with their customer service.
I know from being on Orange for the past three years their reception is good, but I've never fully taken advantage of tethering before as my data limits have always been relatively low, however I like the sound of having a data connection for my laptop and so on with me at all times (as a true student I'm constantly out in coffee shops trying to convince myself I'm doing the work)
Do you know if it is still technically possible to tether with the full monty sim-only deal?

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