GiffGaff

[CardiffKid]

Do anyone use the mobile network giffgaff?

I'm tempted to switch but have heard and found very mixed reviews online?

I'm also concerned that accessing data abroad seems to be horrendously expensive.

Anyone got any experience?
Thanks

 

[najaB]

Anyone got any experience?
Thanks

You might know this already, but in case you don't - they sit on the O2 network so if you've got O2 or Tesco Mobile currently reception will be about the same.

 

[pdq]

I've been using them for a few years and have had no problems at all. I don't use data abroad though and they will admit that they are not competitive if that's a priority for you.
Three are good for that as data use abroad comes out of yoyr UK allowance.

 

[Barn]

Do anyone use the mobile network giffgaff?

I'm tempted to switch but have heard and found very mixed reviews online?

I'm also concerned that accessing data abroad seems to be horrendously expensive.

Anyone got any experience?
Thanks

I use Giffgaff. No problem with calls and no problem with 4G data speeds in central London. Overall the O2 network isn't known for having the best 4G infrastructure but I have never experienced a problem in central London and often use it to stream video at high quality for my commute. Your mileage may vary across the country but at least you're not committing to a long contract so you can try it out. The back-end systems used for billing, etc, seem to work fine too.

You are correct that it is not competitive for data roaming. If you travel frequently and this is a major concern for you, I would suggest that you look elsewhere.

 

[HLE]

Been with them for years. You can vary your package each month, and unlike a contract you can stop immediately.

Every time I walk into a phone shop they pounce on you - the moment you mention giffgaff you will be told how your data speeds are reduced by 02 blah blah....only reason they say things like that is they cannot match most of the packages on offer!

Good network, much better than a few years back.

 

[Merseysider]

I used them for about 6 months (in Gorton, Manchester) and gave up because the reception was crap and the '4G' virtually nonexistent. Tethering was difficult too. These problems were however probably down to O2 (whose network giffgaff piggybacks on) and not giffgaff. The 'unlimited' internet has a soft cap of 6GB and data speeds thereafter were uselessly slow. That said, £20/m was fairly good value (SIM only).

Then I popped into the 3 store and was offered an almost identical deal for £12/m, including roaming, if I took out a 12 month plan

And yes, data abroad was horrifically expensive. It was something like £6 per MB in Morocco, Canada and the USA and IIRC £2 per MB in Iceland. 3 wins there, hands down.

 

[ld0595]

I've been with them for about 7 years now and had no major problem with them. Yes, their network coverage (O2 as others have said) isn't the best, but I can't complain considering the price. I managed to change my number from Vodafone to them pretty quickly and on the rare occasion I've had to use their customer service, they have responded quickly.

I don't really use any data when abroad, but on the few occasions I have, I've found the price to be pretty reasonable.

 

[RichmondCommu]

My three youngest children all use Giffgaff; £10 a month for 500 free minutes, unlimited text and 2GB is pretty good I'd say.

 

[Harpers Tate]

If use abroad is important then, depending on the "where abroad" you mean - you should look at the three network instead. They offer "free" roaming in an increasing number of overseas locations. See http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home

 

[alxndr]

They're perhaps not as competitive as they were 3 years ago when I switched to them, but I've no other complaints. I find it really useful being able to change "goodybags" each month if I wish, or start a new one a couple of days early if I ever run out, which generally works out cheaper than buying extra data would with anyone else. Switching to them was painless as well.

I don't find any difference between them and standard O2, and use both.

 

[jon0844]

Giffgaff is part owned by Telefónica, which owns O2, but it has a much lower network priority than O2 or Tesco Mobile. Data speeds can be positively crippled in congested areas, so this is something to be aware of.

O2 is slowly building out a pretty good network for data, but has a lot of catching up to do.

It's great for voice.

Sent from my VTR-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[Puffing Devil]

We have three SIMs in the family now on 3 - two on contract and one on PAYG. All is good and the prices excellent - 4Gb data, unlimited texts and calls for £9/month. No roaming on this tariff.

If you roam a lot in the "3 at home" countries you'll pay £15 for an 8GB package, which also includes tethering.

Should your roaming only be for one or two holidays, look at getting a local SIM or a PAYG SIM from 3 topped up with an inclusive bundle.

 

[jon0844]

Tethering on Three isn't allowed abroad, unless you're on a mobile broadband plan. Maybe not an issue for most, but worth mentioning.

It's also 3G only when roaming, with heavy throttling of certain services, unlike others that give full 4G access. Again, worth mentioning so nobody thinks Feel at Home is the equivalent to roaming on other networks.

For Facebook, Twitter and so on, Feel at Home is excellent - especially if you're going to Australia, Hong Kong, USA etc.

 

[me123]

^In fairness, for everyday use I've found "feel at home" to be exceptional value. Whilst it may have some limitations compared to the roaming with other networks, that's more than offset by the severe cost penalties for using data abroad with the other carriers. You may have issues streaming videos, but even streaming music works perfectly well for me. One of the many reasons I'm very happy being a "3" customer.

 

[jon0844]

Streaming, tethering and VPN usage is crippled. Music streaming may work, but video likely won't - or shouldn't. Three now at least says this, which it didn't before.

It's fine as long as you know what you're looking to use it for.

Other networks now offer EU roaming on most plans. This might be access to all your data for no extra cost, a small daily fee, or a more limited allowance. Vodafone and EE all offer EU roaming for calls, texts and data on all but the most basic plans.

Likewise, Three has removed Feel at Home on its cheapest plans.

I really dislike 3G, as cell breathing causes congested networks to fall to bits. 4G is vastly superior. It's not about raw speed, rather resilience to a range of issues and lower latency.

I really don't get why Three hasn't sorted out 4G roaming yet. By 2020 many 3G networks will be getting switched off! All Vodafone networks should be 2G and 4G only by then.