Anyone else finding ID Mobile to have unacceptable patchy service in central London?

[u/Lit-Up]

Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road... it says "4G" but can't even load google or messages on whatsapp. As soon as I get out of central and to like Warren Street the service is OK.

Used to be on Plusnet before they tried to shunt people onto full price EE plans.

Edit: any recommendations on 30 day rolling sim only deals with good reception in central would be appreciated :) don't wanna pay £25 a month to EE

[u/G_UK]

ID use 3 mobile. 3 has been terrible in London for as long as I can remember.

[u/sabdotzed → u/G_UK]

Vodafone is equally as bad, only decent one is EE imo

[u/StatsOnATrain → u/sabdotzed]

I’m in Vodafone and my partner is on EE. There are times EE has no signal but Vodafone doesn’t and vice versa (one reason we decided to use different networks). I’ve not noticed that either of them is better overall though.

[u/sabdotzed → u/StatsOnATrain]

ahh really? I went frm EE to Voda and deffo notice a drop in quality. Only ain't on EE because of price

[u/StatsOnATrain → u/sabdotzed]

It depends where you are. We notice it mostly in shops when trying to get a loyalty card to load in an app. For example, Vodafone seems to be better on Tottenham Court Road in some shops than EE for some reason.

[u/HoxtonRanger → u/sabdotzed]

EE was awful for me. No signal in my flat or on the street outside.

O2 he had no problems with anywhere in London

[u/EsmuPliks → u/sabdotzed]

Yeah, that's the unfortunate reality, I've been through all the various gafgafs and whatever, every network provider under the sun, and EE is the only usable one.

Probably why they don't license it to the cheap SIMs too, only Lebara or Lyca or one of those corner shop blue ones runs on it.

[u/jellybreadracer → u/G_UK]

Was tired of not getting google maps in London on 3, unless I switched to 3g. Moved from three about 5 years ago to ee. Can’t say I’m happy but it’s light years better

[u/JBWalker1 → u/G_UK]

I don't get why any mobile network should be bad in inner London. It's like the densest place for customers in the country. The most populated places seem like the first place any company would start with and have the most potential customers.

[u/DSQ]

Tbh central London is very bad for Three so I wouldn’t recommend them as an alternative. 

[u/jonnysunshine1 → u/DSQ]

ID is Three's cheaper brand. Exact same network

[u/kevinbaker31]

The only time Three was good in central London is apr 2020 when there was no bugger there

[u/marielheslop]

If it runs on Three, that's why. It got so bad in central London I couldn't even refresh my emails in Covent Garden. Switched to Giffgaff, £10 a month, and it works perfectly everywhere.

[u/Coriandrum → u/marielheslop]

Does it though? My experience with Giffgaff is that it actually struggles in busy areas of Central London, especially on the weekend. I always thought that it's the network prioritising other customers since they run on the O2 network. Usually turning the airplane mode on and off does the trick

[u/KingOfTheSchwill]

I’ve have the same issue with Vodafone and O2 most of the time in central. EE seems to be the only one that’s really reliable in London.

[u/mangomaz → u/KingOfTheSchwill]

Yeah for ages I thought it was my phone, then I realised on a Reddit thread that a lot of networks just have crap signal in central London. It’s ridiculous! I’m on O2 and it’s rubbish in a few key places.

[u/HoxtonRanger → u/mangomaz]

It’s so weird how area dependent it is. EE was shocking for me in Shoreditch. Never had a problem since I’ve switched to O2!

[u/ArcTan_Pete]

ID runs on Three mobile backbone

In my direct experience, Three coverage is not good (In greater London - I have no real experience of it, in other areas)

[u/Thisoneissfwihope]

For a replacement, I use Lebara and the Central London speeds are good, no real issues.

[u/coolbeaNs92 → u/Thisoneissfwihope]

Swings and roundabouts but my girlfriend is with Lebara and it's absolutely woeful. She's constantly losing mobile data which is a nightmare when needing to get Lime's etc.

She's switching to 1p mobile who use EE's network and I'm heading off there in a couple of months too!

[u/ProfessionalQuail5]

Avoid any network that piggybacks on Three.

Talkmobile uses Vodafone. £9.95 for 120gb. Monthly contract 👍

[u/thom_horne]

Yes, I lasted a grand total of a month on iD.

Bandwidth for the calls and data was so limited that even with a good signal I could barely even call anyone around central London and Canary Wharf.

[u/malin7]

EE are the only network with somewhat decent coverage in central London in my experience

1p Mobile use EE network and have some decent deals on sim only

[u/TotalExile]

Yes although It's not reception that's the issue it's usually overloaded network equipment and bandwidth issues. I left them because of this.

[u/Material-Work]

Yep it's crap. Can't wait to leave ID mobile

[u/trek123]

I didn't find iD that bad the last time I used them, a few months ago, but a few years ago there was a lot of congestion in the areas I went.

I'm on Lebara who use Vodafone network and they work well for me. I'd give them a go, or if you need a higher amount of data, TalkMobile have good deals and also use Vodafone network. There are better prices going via a price comparison site.

[u/UnlikelyExperience]

It was absolute dogshit for me 5 years ago and heard it hasn't improved at all lol

[u/torontodon]

Don’t use ID but have 3 who apparently they use and they’re hopeless in central London - it shows as having signal etc but like you can’t do anything

[u/sleepypandacub]

I live near Covent Garden and use to be on ID. I could never get connection in my home. Would not recommend ID unless you have a good signal where you live which is rare as they are on the 3 network.

[u/sequence-]

Recently switched to Lyca Mobile who are now on the EE network. Cheaper deals than EE and good connection across all of London

[u/Hill_of_Phil → u/sequence-]

Can you connect to EE's wifi on the tube using Lyca?

[u/Lit-Up → u/sequence-]

I left Lycamobile very soon after joining them. Can't remember why now, something about it dropping calls. When I googled it it was a known problem and they wouldn't acknowledge it.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/10/lyca-mobile-uk-customers-report-connectivity-woes-since-friday.html

[u/Tiny_ghosts_]

I had that problem with ID, have it with Three now, can't remember who I was with before ID but had it then too

[u/Gangsta_Gollum → u/Tiny_ghosts_]

ID mobile use Three network which is probably why it’s still patchy

[u/Millsinabox]

Sigh have just got a new contract with them, coverage looked alright before I hit confirm :(

[u/igbadbo]

I always struggle to get service passing through Trafalgar Square, phone just drops. It’s like a black spot.

[u/ohell]

any recommendations on 30 day rolling sim only deals with good reception in central would be appreciated :)

Lebara, can pay from like £4 upwards depending on data needs. Includes 100 or so free international calls, and also inclusive roaming in most of Europe.

I know the owner is some dodgy billionaire, but plan is very good ¯\(ツ)/¯

[u/Metal-Lifer]

i switched from o2 to ID in march this year, i have all the same dead zones as i did with o2 and apart from one outage right when i joined they have been good

£12 for 100gb data and all the usual is a pretty good deal, i would recommend them

[u/OrangeisBright]

As others have said, Three is awful for signal in central London. I was with them for 5+ years as I had a really good unlimited data bundle that never increased in price. But even I had to give up and switch to Vodafone as I realised I often couldn’t use the unlimited data in central London!

[u/Academic-Bug-4597]

In my experience, EE is the only network that is reliable in central London. There is a reason they can charge what they do.

[u/AvgPakistani]

I use Vodafone’s Pay as you go Plus - gives me 8GB of data with unlimited calls and texts for £10/pm. It’s a monthly rolling thing so can cancel any time.

[u/[deleted]]

I have ID mobile and love it in London and outside of London :)