I can' get a signal at home

[Guest]

Hi,

I like the SPV a lot, it could be better but it does all I need it to do.

BUT (and it is a big BUT), I have just moved home and I am in a black hole as far as reception is concerned.

I have just taken over a village pub and the regulars have told me that it is almost impossible to get a signal on most networks, especially Orange.

I rang Orange a couple of weeks back and was told "Oh there are some transmitters down and they will be all up in a few days". I waited and waited and still no signal. I rang back on Tuesday and was told "Oh there is a transmitter down and it will be up on Friday". I pointed out that it is a black hole and it has always been like that, but I was told "There is a transmitter down and it will be back up on Friday".

Being the mild mannered sort of person that I am I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. I am convinced that it will make no difference but I am prepared to give it a try.

If I cannot get a signal at home then what is the point of having a phone? I want to terminate my contract (it is of no use to me), any idea of where I stand on this? Anyone had similar problems? Any suggestions?

My ideal solution is to keep my SPV and for Orange to do something about the signal, but if they don't I would want to try Vodafone etc. (as some of these actually do manage to get a signal through to my home).

Cheers

Steve B :)

[Guest Hax]

I think that in order to terminate your contract, you will need to pay Orange for the outstanding months (up to the initial 12 that you signed up for) at a rate of about £15 per month - or at least that's what they quoted me when I asked about switching to the "Virgin EQ" no line rental plan.

As for using another provider, that is no problem, there are detailed instructions on this forum about how to SIM unlock your phone.

EDIT: Have a look here for details on SIM unlocking your SPV.

HTH,

Hax

[Guest]

Thanks,

I realise that I can pay the remainder and cancel it but I don't see why I should when it is because of Orange that the phone is useless when I am at home. Surely the contract is for them to provide a service and they are not providing it and so they have broken that contract.

Cheers

Steve Birchall

[Guest Hax]

Problem is, they don't claim 100% coverage for the UK so you'll be hard pushed to make this stick. And besides, it's a mobile phone so there's no reason why you can't use it elsewhere :)

Hax

[Guest]

I agree they don't claim 100% coverage everywhere, but they do claim to have coverage in the area that I live in (heathrow airport area).

There is also a standard legal right for an item you have purchased to be fit for use, it is quite reasonable to expect to be able to use your phone at home in an area that they claim to cover. If not then the item is not fit for the purpose it was purchased for. A tenuous legal argument perhaps but one worth pursuing.

Regardless of the legal situation, I would have hoped (naively I suppose) that they would have seen this as a customer satisfaction situation and understand that I am quite rightly unhappy with the service they are (or in this case - are not) providing and stop fobbing me off with "there is a transmitter down in your area it will be fine soon".

Or am I just expecting too much?

[Guest mattat]

I think this is why they have (I think they still do) a 14 day no quibble return on new contracts - the idea being you can take it home and within 14 days return it. It makes sense, but you are in a problem when you move home - however I'm pretty sure legally that you will be stuck into the contract as the terms are bound to have worded this out - they probably only offer to provide services within their coverage area, which they explicity make no representations about.

If I get some more time I might go and have a look, but I wouldn't think you had much chance from a legal persepective.

[Guest Hax]

There is also a standard legal right for an item you have purchased to be fit for use, it is quite reasonable to expect to be able to use your phone  at home in an area that they claim to cover. If not then the item is not fit for the purpose it was purchased for. A tenuous legal argument perhaps but one worth pursuing.

I suspect that Orange (and other mobile phone manufacturers) will have clauses stating that the fabric of buildings may also effect the signal level, therefore meaning that mobile phone signals are reduced when the mobile phone is used indoors.

As for being fit for use, the phone itself is fit for use. I think that the key point that your arguement might fall down on is the fact that you have bought a *mobile* phone - technically, the phone itself works fine and is mobile! :) The problem that you have is with the service that Orange provide. I very much doubt that you'd have much luck convincing them to cancel your contract because you have a poor reception at home.

One thing you might want to consider is the call forwarding that Orange provide so that if you are unable to receive a call on your mobile, the call is forwarded to your landline (assuming you have one of course!)

Hax

[Guest]

Hi,

Poor reception I can accept, but I have been here three weeks and not had a single bar or received a single call (not even voicemail)

As for redirecting of course that would work fine but the cost of the redirection is very high, you have to pay for the redirection at the rate of the phone call even though people are ringing me.

thanks for your thoughts

Steve Birchall

[Guest Hax]

Have a look at this site which gives details on using Orange's Everyphone service.

I've found this to be most useful when getting a new mobile from Orange on a new contract as it allows me to forward calls to my old number to my new number without any charge to me! :)

It might help you a little.....

You say you've ot received a single call or had a single bar of reception. Is this restricted to when you are in/around your home or is this the case for say a radius of 1/2 mile to a mile around your home?

There was a problem with the initial version of software supplied with the SPV's in that they reported signal level as always being low to non-existant. If you are finding that you're not getting any signal outside the immediate vacinnity of your home, it might be worth checking that you have the latest version of software. You can check this by going to: Programs->Settigs->About and having a look at the "Operator" field - this should be something like 1.3.5.6 (IIRC!) If your version reads earlier than this, then it may be worthwhile for you to download the UK update and update the softrware on your phone.

Hax

[Guest mattat]

If it's any consolation I can't get any reception at all where I live at home either - so I either have to use a landline, or drive to where I get a signal. I tend to just use my mobile when I'm out of the house.

[Guest]

Hi,

I have just been in touch with Orange again as the other transmitter started on Friday and no change in the signal. This guy was more helpful and stated that even with it down there are others that I should have been able to use (talking sense unlike the others). I explained that it is not just my handset as others can't get an Orange sugnal in the premises either. He said that he wanted the Orange technical department to just check out the equipment and finished off by saying "If they confirm that it is a signal problem and not a handset problem then he will talk to me about terminating the contract as they have failed to provide a service".

I won't count my chickens just yet, but it does look like I was right in the fact that the contract is not binding if I cannot use my phone at home in an area that Orange claim that they cover.

I will let you know what happens.

Cheers

Steve Birchall

[Guest Hax]

Sounds promising - thanks for keeping us all updated - it's nice to know where we all stand with such issues

Hax

[Guest]

I have now heard from Orange and they agree that it is a blackspot but (surprise, surprise) they tell me that this is no reason to cancel the contract and I will have to pay the balance to get out of it. The guy on the phone agreed that this seemed unfair but he was told that there was no option. He kindly arranged for me to switch to the lowest possible tarrif and so I have 6 months left at £13 per month (which is better than nothing) in the meantime I will just get a cheap Vodaphone phone (free hopefully) and try the sim in the SPV with the settings from elsewhere in this site and then use a redirection of calls from my current mobile to the new one so that I can then finally use a mobile phone at home.

Shame but better than nothing and with a bit of luck I will still have my SPV and all it's wonderful features? Please correct me if I am wrong about my assumption that I can use a vodaphone sim (when the SPV has been unlocked) and still get all of the features working (MMS/GPRS etc.)

Thanks for the help guys (as usual)