[dave5416]

Well I finally realised this week that all my woes with 3 were due to my Motorola E1000. A number of kindly people on various forums told me so.
The E1000 just simply does not work on 3. In fact the only handset that really works is a Nokia they say. So I tied and I tried to get 3 to acknowledge this fact and failed so miserably. I have a 3 base station less than a quarter of a mile from my house and an O2 base station less than half a mile the other way, yet I start a call on 4 bars and lose the signal completely half way through the call. The number of calls I have lost because of this. The reason is that the Motorola has a problem with locking on automaticaly to the network and staying on it. It starts out on the 3 network then suddenly decides to roam to the O2 network. it does this whether your on a call or not. In fact so distressed I was with this that while working from home one day I put the dropped signal indicator on and the handset was telling me it lost and reacuired the network every 2 and a half minutes. But is this limited to the Motorola? My research says no because when my wife got home with her LG 8138 I decided to put that to the test also. Low and behold if that wasn't the same too. I contacted 3 who offered to repair my handset but were totaly lost when I told them that the LG was doing the same. I spoke to the robots in Mumbai who clearly did not have a solution down on paper to put into action. I asked for a loan handset while they repaired mine. Despite 3's own website stating that loan sets are available 3 said I could not have one as they dont do them. As this tale of woe has gone on for 5 months I decided enough is enough. I have given 3 fourteen days to release us from the contracts due to the handset and network not being of merchantable quality. (I dont expect 100% but I aint even getting 50% satisfaction from the network) or I will take court proceddings. We have gone to O2 and now experience fault free mobile calling. I cant beleive the press gave the E1000 top marks. What a load of pooh!

[3GScottishUser]

I live in almost the same proximity to a 3 cell site and exactly the same thing happens to me. I have had 5 3 handsets and they all did the same thing. You start a call and suddenly you get cut off as it roams onto 02 despite the fact that when the call was initiated on 3's network you had a decent signal.

This is one of the bizzarre aspects of 3 UK's service. Why they have this problem is a mystery. The fact is many users have problems with calls dropping even with newer Nokia handsets like the 66XX series.

Launched well before it was a reliable alternative to the others hence the massive subsidies and discounting. Short sighted nonsense that most customers will not forgive.

[Hands0n]

You have been most likely experiencing a problem with the cell in question rather than a handset problem per se. The fact that you experienced the same "fault" with your wife's LG handset indicates [to me] that it is not a handset problem per se. I am not surprised that the Mumbai Muppets could not help though. They are a topic that could fill a dozen forums!

I would have to disagree with any assertion that the E1000 does not work with 3's network. It has indeed had rave reviews all over the place, from both users and the media. But aside from anything anyone else writes about it I have had almost 8 months of practical use of the E1000 on 3's network in SE England (Kent to be precise). I can testify that its performance has been rock solid in every aspect. It has fully met its criteria. It simply does what it says on the tin.

A few examples may help explain my satisfaction with the Motorola E1000 as experiended by myself.

1. Call stability - the handset will fall back to 2G when out of 3's network coverage. If you place a call while in 2G the E1000 will remain on 2G until you finish the call, even if you meanwhile move back into a 3G area. That prevents the call dropping when falling forward to 3G. However, it is always going to be the case that a handset will drop the call when falling back from 3G to 2G in 3's case as these are two different mobile operators. The problem does not exist where there is a single op providing 2G and 3G (i.e. Orange or Vodafone).

Further to Call Stability - I have on two seperate occasions held a continuous phone call with a colleague while driving on the A2/M2/A2 from Dover and into Gravesend - a journey of some 50-odd miles and around 40 mins duration.


2. Signal Quality - The E1000 has performed in 3G mode in all but the most marginal of areas, when it has then reliably dropped to 2G/2.5G. I have a road near me that is in a valley that is blind to all the mobile ops in one place. The E1000 performed no worse, and possibly better even, than my Orange, Vodafone and easyMobile handsets before they all went completely dark.

To be fair - the 3 network in Kent does appear to be quite well established. We have had very good coverage in this area since 3 launched, and it has simply got better as they have added more masts. I have had, to date, the NEC E606, NEC E338, Motorola A835, E1000, A1000, LG U8110, U8120 and Nokia 6680 - apart from any known quirkiness of the specific handset they have all performed identically well in network terms within the area in which I live and work in Kent. Equally, on the few occasions I venture into London City, they have all behaved equally badly with call drops etc.

I know that others on this and other forums have had truly horrendous experiences with 3's network regardless of whichever handset they have chosen. 3GSU is a case in point. If I'd have had even half the problems he has had with 3's network I would have torched their headquarters. His patience is legendary on the forums.

I only wish the Mumbians had improved in the same manner as 3's network - but I don't think that they are any more capable than at 3's launch!

[cyberkid999]

Well I finally realised this week that all my woes with 3 were due to my Motorola E1000. A number of kindly people on various forums told me so.
The E1000 just simply does not work on 3. In fact the only handset that really works is a Nokia they say. So I tied and I tried to get 3 to acknowledge this fact and failed so miserably. I have a 3 base station less than a quarter of a mile from my house and an O2 base station less than half a mile the other way, yet I start a call on 4 bars and lose the signal completely half way through the call. The number of calls I have lost because of this. The reason is that the Motorola has a problem with locking on automaticaly to the network and staying on it. It starts out on the 3 network then suddenly decides to roam to the O2 network. it does this whether your on a call or not. In fact so distressed I was with this that while working from home one day I put the dropped signal indicator on and the handset was telling me it lost and reacuired the network every 2 and a half minutes. But is this limited to the Motorola? My research says no because when my wife got home with her LG 8138 I decided to put that to the test also. Low and behold if that wasn't the same too. I contacted 3 who offered to repair my handset but were totaly lost when I told them that the LG was doing the same. I spoke to the robots in Mumbai who clearly did not have a solution down on paper to put into action. I asked for a loan handset while they repaired mine. Despite 3's own website stating that loan sets are available 3 said I could not have one as they dont do them. As this tale of woe has gone on for 5 months I decided enough is enough. I have given 3 fourteen days to release us from the contracts due to the handset and network not being of merchantable quality. (I dont expect 100% but I aint even getting 50% satisfaction from the network) or I will take court proceddings. We have gone to O2 and now experience fault free mobile calling. I cant beleive the press gave the E1000 top marks. What a load of pooh!


someone been telling you a load of poo. the e1000 is a very good phone and certainly works very well on Three and thats speaking from personal experience.

[3GScottishUser]

Sadly I have friends who hae had the same call dropping problems with the e1000 and the Nokia 66XX phones on 3.

A real pity as all of those seem to work perfectly well on Vodafone.

So it's not the phones..... it's the network, but I suspect those of us who have had some longer term experience of 3 already knew that.

PS: MY old Moto a-835 is now working perfectly on 02 3G.... it was a dead loss on 3.

[Hands0n]

Its worth Dave5416 getting his E1000 unlocked and using it as a spare on his O2 account - even better, get it de-branded and make it a true Motorola again :)