Best Mobile Network on EMR service from London STP to Sheffield?

[ZAB]

Hi All,

Happy Friday and hoping everyone is doing well.

I am a daily traveller on the EMR service from Leicester to London STP and need to know which mobile network is the best for using calling/data services. There seems to be a lot of issues with my current provider TalkMobile. The signal bars are there and it shows 4G connected, however, the network connection is not stable when browsing, texting, sending whatsapp messages, watching movies.

Can someone please help me understand which connection works best so that I can switch my network?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Regards,
Zulfikar Bharmal

 

[dosxuk]

None work reliably - when the stock was being designed it wasn't predicted that in the future people would expect a reliable and high quality mobile phone signal - the glass fitted to the carriages has a metalised film which blocks heating from the sun to make the carriages easier to heat/cool, but has the side effect of also blocking radio signals.

 

[Roast Veg]

Your existing mobile network will be usable when the rolling stock is replaced over the next two years.

 

[Watershed]

Talkmobile use Vodafone as their network provider, who they don't have great signal on a lot of routes. I have a secondary eSIM for when on I'm on a train which uses the EE network; I find it gives a much more reliable signal on average. Still some "notspots" but not quite as many.

 

[12LDA28C]

Hi All,

Happy Friday and hoping everyone is doing well.

I am a daily traveller on the EMR service from Leicester to London STP and need to know which mobile network is the best for using calling/data services. There seems to be a lot of issues with my current provider TalkMobile. The signal bars are there and it shows 4G connected, however, the network connection is not stable when browsing, texting, sending whatsapp messages, watching movies.

Can someone please help me understand which connection works best so that I can switch my network?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Regards,
Zulfikar Bharmal

I have no idea who 'TalkMobile' are but you should be aware of which network provider they use of the 4 providers in the UK which are o2, Vodafone, EE and Three.

It's the service provider that will determine strength of signal / connection along the route.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

I can recommend Spusu- they work on EE, but crucially have the Band 20 frequency that other virtual mobile network providers don't always get. There are dead spots along the Midland Mainline, but EE based networks have been superior. They also seem to have more capacity - the reason you are showing as connected to 4G but not getting any use of it, is probably because the network is congested/busy.

Very good value too. Paying £12.90 for 50GB and unlimited minutes, plus roaming in Europe.

 

[signed]

TalkMobile is a subsidiary of Vodafone

 

[43066]

None work reliably - when the stock was being designed it wasn't predicted that in the future people would expect a reliable and high quality mobile phone signal - the glass fitted to the carriages has a metalised film which blocks heating from the sun to make the carriages easier to heat/cool, but has the side effect of also blocking radio signals.

Indeed. None will work reliably until the Meridians are replaced.

Albeit it works better on some than others, and (counterintuitively) can be better in the door vestibule areas, I suppose because you’re further from the windows.

The WiFi generally doesn’t work and, even if you find one that is working, is too poor to be worth bothering with in my experience.

 

[RJ]

It was better when the HSTs were around as they didn’t have this issue with blocking out the signal. Unfortunately with the Intercity services the current trains do block it out, just have to hope the new trains don’t have the same coating on the windows.

 

[InTheEastMids]

None work reliably - when the stock was being designed it wasn't predicted that in the future people would expect a reliable and high quality mobile phone signal - the glass fitted to the carriages has a metalised film which blocks heating from the sun to make the carriages easier to heat/cool, but has the side effect of also blocking radio signals.

Sure there are deadspots like Belsize Park tunnel but this is 90% of it.

It's a shame, but absolutely nobody at all could have predicted that when these trains were being procured in <checks notes> 2002, mobile phones would exist and people might want to use them on trains.

This is going to be something that future passengers (in Scotland?) will adore about them.

 

[DarloRich]

I am a daily traveller on the EMR service from Leicester to London STP and need to know which mobile network is the best for using calling/data services.

Just sit back and enjoy the journey. Don't be a corporate salaryman

if you must I find my EE service on a newish phone is tolerable if not fantastic on most railway routes. It was appalling on my old phone but that had been thrown on the floor so many times I don't think it had any ariel left!

There are some really frustrating dead spots on the UK mainline railway network. Amazing really.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

There was actually a specific deterioration of mobile signal for Vodafone users.

In 2013, East Midlands Trains installed "signal boosters" to all of the Class 222 fleet, but only for Vodafone customers. I think under this partnership, Vodafone actually paid EMT for this - presumably so they could market this USP. At the time, Vodafone was the network of choice for larger businesses.

However, these were removed / fell into disuse as 3G became legacy and 5G came along. Instead of replacing the boosters (which are essentially industrial signal repeaters) with the latest tech, it was just quietly forgotten about, mainly on the basis of cost, but it was also felt that the on board WiFi offered a better solution overall.

As I said above, I find the key to good signal outside of major cities/areas is the Band 20 / 800 MHz frequency. It's absolutely lifesaving in rural areas. Some Chinese brand phones don't have this band at all, so getting a good signal can also depend on your handset.

People think that taking a virtual mobile network is pretty much the same network as the one it runs on. However, they don't realise that access to certain bands/frequencies aren't available, so you can't just say because (say) O2 has a strong signal somewhere, that any virtual mobile network based on O2 will also have the same signal strength.

I don't know whether Talkmobile (that runs on Vodafone) has the same bands as mainstream Vodafone, and therefore whether it's a valid comparison.

 

[mrmartin]

Another option to improve signal is to on Android at least (not sure about iOS) disable the 2G/3G bands on your phone and only use 4G and 5G (netmonster on Android allows you to do this - select options then NR + LTE networks only in the huge dropdown of options).

This may be less of a problem now 3G has switched off on some networks, but on O2 (which still has 3G) it avoids the phone switching down to 3G and then never switching back. Given 3G is so slow and congested in general you're better off not having signal for 10 seconds rather than it switch to 3G and then struggle to switch back to 4G (which takes minutes/not at all for me). Will obviously be a lot worse on 2G.

Bit of a gamechanger for working on trains for me this tip.

 

[STINT47]

According to the EMR website their Intercity trains offer free WiFi so you could try this. It would also cut down on your data costs.

 

[LCC106]

EMR WiFi can be patchy and you are not supposed to stream videos etc. on them according to their terms IIRC.

 

[InTheEastMids]

but it was also felt that the on board WiFi offered a better solution overall.

According to the EMR website their Intercity trains offer free WiFi so you could try this

EMR WiFi can be patchy and you are not supposed to stream videos etc. on them according to their terms IIRC.

The EMR WiFi can be persuaded to work, just as long as you can persuade the other 60-70 people in your carriage to put their phones into aeroplane mode. It occasionally works well on very empty trains but is, in my experience, utterly hopeless. If I've been forgetful I have a panic on the platform as I frantically download podcasts before getting on the train.

WiFi is another thing that needs to be on the to-do list to make them acceptable to passengers of their next operator.

 

[rg177]

As others have said, you're largely out of luck. I've tried to get work done on my laptop between Sheffield and St Pancras and it's usually hopeless as far as Derby then very patchy all the way to London.

The effect from the window coating is such that I've often had to stand at the door in Sheffield before departure, as once you're sat down the signal goes down to 2G or disappears entirely. This is on EE, too!

 

[Bungle965]

I can recommend Spusu- they work on EE, but crucially have the Band 20 frequency that other virtual mobile network providers don't always get. There are dead spots along the Midland Mainline, but EE based networks have been superior. They also seem to have more capacity - the reason you are showing as connected to 4G but not getting any use of it, is probably because the network is congested/busy.

Very good value too. Paying £12.90 for 50GB and unlimited minutes, plus roaming in Europe.

Yet I am sitting here travelling down on the WCML, work phone with 5G on EE and personal phone on Spusu struggling with “E”

 

[RJ]

According to the EMR website their Intercity trains offer free WiFi so you could try this. It would also cut down on your data costs.

I wouldn’t stake my life on that working for much more than intermittent text browsing. I commuted on those trains for 4 years and you just make sure you don’t need to do anything requiring data or signal for the journey.

 

[BJames]

Another addition to the "that wifi just doesn't work" comments above - I too used the intercity trains for 4 years and it was a genuine shock if the Wifi was actually useable. I just downloaded music, read a book or watched the world go by. When I really needed to get work done I'd download the papers I needed to read or work on before the journey so that I would have them already saved on my local drive. I remember the first time I travelled on this route and thought I could watch a lecture back on the train! Gave up 2 minutes in to the lecture after the non-stop buffering.

 

[duffield]

I use Tesco Mobile which is provided by O2, and it's OKish on much of the MML on the 222s. I wouldn't attempt to use it for streaming videos or music, or for anything needing a constant or consistent connection, but it's alright for light browsing, particularly if you're mostly reading and occasionally clicking a link; Traksy mostly updates fairly quickly, RTT is reasonable.

I don't get much of a signal on the approach to London though, lots of tunnels and cuttings around Kentish Town, and there are a few other black-spots.

 

[ZAB]

None work reliably - when the stock was being designed it wasn't predicted that in the future people would expect a reliable and high quality mobile phone signal - the glass fitted to the carriages has a metalised film which blocks heating from the sun to make the carriages easier to heat/cool, but has the side effect of also blocking radio signals.

Thanks for the reply. I wait until the new trains are in service.

 

[ZAB]

Your existing mobile network will be usable when the rolling stock is replaced over the next two years.

Thanks for the reply. I wait until the new trains are in service.

 

[ZAB]

Talkmobile use Vodafone as their network provider, who they don't have great signal on a lot of routes. I have a secondary eSIM for when on I'm on a train which uses the EE network; I find it gives a much more reliable signal on average. Still some "notspots" but not quite as many.

Thanks for the reply. Yes indeed TalkMobile uses Vodafone network. I will Try EE network as well. Cheers.

 

[ZAB]

I have no idea who 'TalkMobile' are but you should be aware of which network provider they use of the 4 providers in the UK which are o2, Vodafone, EE and Three.

It's the service provider that will determine strength of signal / connection along the route.

Thanks for the reply. TalkMobile uses Vodafone network. Cheers.