Poor internet with Orange + No longer any 'good' deals on this phone :(

[AnthonyS]

I have just organised with Orange to send my HTC desire back . I found it would get really hot when trying to access the Internet, as well as switching between G, 3G, E constantly even when I was in a good 3G+ signal area (co-worker with an orange phone confirmed this). It was also generally failing to load web pages which I feel is the result of the Orange network so reluctantly I feel better cancelling the contract.

I was going to go with a new one from Three but today they have dropped there

 

[AnthonyS]

I would imagine that Three may have altered their prices to lessen the demand on their backlog of Desire orders. I am hoping in a month a more palatable deal (for me at least) will be back on the cards.

One thing I am taking away from all of this though is how much I love the phone and how it filled a hole I did not realize needed filling. Dang and blast!

 

[dionick]

Got mine from Dialaphone.Some good deals on there.I have 3 existing contracts with Orange and they couldnt even come close to the deal with Dialaphone.

 

[lekky]

the orange network has had problems over the past couple of days, so u got it at a bad time. Seems to be ok now tho.

 

[psychofox]

Buymobilephones.net have the best deals at the moment. You can get a free phone with 25 quid a month on t-mobile and 3. I paid 120 for my phone and pay 15 per month which works out as 20 per month overall. That's on t-mobile and I'm getting good internet speeds even with 2 bars.

 

[Dave L]

Just a point about buying a desire outright, I bought mine on 24th April from Pixmania for

 

[rasobey]

AnthonyS, my Desire has been doing the same even after getting it replaced. However, in an Orange shop the other day we managed to all but confirm my SIM card was faulty, so that's being swapped out now. I'm fairly confident that is going to resolve all my issues.

If you haven't already done so, maybe you could ask for a new SIM but keep the ability to cancel the contract if that doesn't help? Are you able to go to an Orange shop to swap SIMs with an employee there?

 

[AnthonyS]

the orange network has had problems over the past couple of days, so u got it at a bad time. Seems to be ok now tho.

Orange tech desk checked the areas I had problems in and there was one day potential problems however the issues I have with it not being able to select the correct mode (G,E,3G,3G+) were happening from day one.

The tech desk gave me numerouse steps to follow to 'fix' the problem which I followed religously for the last week just to squeeze an ounce of internet life out of it. However resetting the phone and popping it off and back onto the network did get tediouse.

The final nail in the coffin was when I was able to surf the net speedily using the mrs's three based nokia E63 whilst at the same time the Desire desided to load google.co.uk.

There are a few forum posts on here and other sites with the same issue being described, I send HTC a online message tonight asking to find out if this is something they are aware of / can fix however I do not expect a reply until next week and even then I expect it to be generic.

Preferably I want to get the same phone direct from a network rather than a 3rd party, I will check Buymobilephones though just incase. However I suspect my problems are possibly down to problems keeping up with demand. I am sure there are 1000's of people with no problem for those of us who do.

I think I will aim to give it one month for stock for all suppliers to refresh (I hope!) and then check the deals availible. Whilst I will keep an eye out for more of this possible problem and any working solutions which are found.

Incidentaly dial *#*#4636#*#* from the phone to get some cool diag data.

 

[AnthonyS]

AnthonyS, my Desire has been doing the same even after getting it replaced. However, in an Orange shop the other day we managed to all but confirm my SIM card was faulty, so that's being swapped out now. I'm fairly confident that is going to resolve all my issues.

If you haven't already done so, maybe you could ask for a new SIM but keep the ability to cancel the contract if that doesn't help? Are you able to go to an Orange shop to swap SIMs with an employee there?

An interesting possible solution, kudos to you my friend. I would note though that I believe most orange shops have a signal booster to 'demonstrate' 100% coverage which may be an issue there, however, I will phone Orange tomorrow / when there tech desk is next open.

Although I have already started a PAC transfer of my number and the return has been put through as 'overheating', which it does do when attempting to select the correct network mode..

 

[rasobey]

An interesting possible solution, kudos to you my friend. I would note though that I believe most orange shops have a signal booster to 'demonstrate' 100% coverage which may be an issue there, however, I will phone Orange tomorrow / when there tech desk is next open.

Although I have already started a PAC transfer of my number and the return has been put through as 'overheating', which it does do when attempting to select the correct network mode..

Yes my local O shop did have a signal booster, so when my phone only had 3 bars of signal instead of 4 we knew something had to be up. My SIM in his HTC Hero resulted in him only getting 2/4 bars! Ordered the SIM straight away.

Further issues I've had is the tendency to flick from 3G to 3G+ and back again in the course of 15 seconds without the phone moving (centre of London no less) and sometimes only GPRS where I'd normally have gotten full 3G.

I really hope the new SIM fixes the problems...I'll definitely let you know

 

[AnthonyS]

I'm off into town tomorrow to have a word in the shop. As it is an Orange phone any Orange 3G sim should work?

 

[rasobey]

Yeh should be fine. They'll know what they're doing in the shop..you'd hope so anyway

 

[Bilbo]

Does anyone know where I could get a good reasonably priced (max

 

[OFI]

Well I went direct to T-mobile as it was suggested it was easier to pass the credit checks that way.

Got 300 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited internet (3GB FUP)

 

[AnthonyS]

Just a small update - I went into an Orange shop today, they confirmed they had a signal booster within the shop and even then I had no 3G signal. They placed their known working sim in my phone and again no 3G. They places my sim in their phone and it worked with a full 3G signal.

They think it is a faulty hanset so I spoke with tech support again this afternoon and cancelled my cancel (Paradox?). They are now putting through a new replacment phone for delivery tomorrow morning - I had to triple check that with them but they assure me Sunday morning is valid.

So tomorrow I hope to receive another new Desire with a full 3G signal. I will be able to check it near work in the afternoon (assuming it comes) and know for sure if it is an Orange issue or an issue with the phone (I think...).

Fingers crossed!

 

[nx1977]

Anthony, if you do end up cancelling, make sure either porting hasnt started or has been completed otherwise you may have fun getting your number back. As in say you cancel, porting still being processed, your number will be ported to a closed acct and be released straight back into the available number pot Orange use.

It happened to a friend, which is why they usually tell you to only port once completely happy.

It can also void the14 day return with some networks.

 

[wisewood]

I wanted the phone on t-mobile for coverage reasons and t-mobile stopped making hte phone available for under

 

[AnthonyS]

I called O2 this morning to cancel the number porting, I then rechecked twice through the day and they again confirmed it was cancelled. I then checked via there online live support chat and they said it has been cancelled. So I hope those I spoke with knew what they were doing... I was concern when after cancelling the port I still received a 'your number will be ported on x' text to my porting number but they said it was all ok and cancelled... I think I will call them again tomorrow just to be sure...

 

[AnthonyS]

Today I did indeed get a brand new replacment HTC desire delivered as said. I seem to get a good GPRS signal which is a possitive change however it does not access the Orange GPRS / 3G network at all - It states "Connection Failed" or "Connection failed due to incorrect APN setting".

I contacted Orange tech desk who sent through the APN reset text and I followed their instructions but to no resolve. There is also no G / 3G / 3G+ sign on the top bar.

After tripple checking my APN settings (Which are all correct) they have had to escallate the problem to another internal tech department will call me back hopfully tomorrow.


Frustrating but progress non the less.

 

[jimbobjoylove]

I got a great deal with Virgin Mobile.

 

[lekky]

Orange still having problems it seems. When connected to 3G I can't get any network access. H is fine though.

 

[dukebarbone]

Do you know if there is any official statement/recognition on the Orange website about the problems they are having?

 

[AnthonyS]

I just called the tech desk again and there was a problem in escalating the tech call back... They have appologised and said later tonight / tomorrow someone should get back in touch. In the last 10mins I have had 2 calls from them but on a dead line...

I spoke with them yesterday about outages but they said there were none in my area of Scotland although my brother in law who works at orange said they were expecting some this week..

I wish I knew what to believe.

 

[matthew1471]

I got mine through compare htc desire 18 month mobile phone contract deals on orange, o2, three, vodafone, t-mobile and virgin - page 1 :: mobilebeep.co.uk

I love it - definitely the best phone I've owned. Mine does seem to get a bit hot if the wifi is on AND it's charging at the same time, but I've had no problems with 3g.

I had a HTC Touch HD before this, and I'm so pleased to be away from Windows Mobile.

I can't ever see myself going back to a Windows based phone!

 

[AnthonyS]

Yay! Orange had to reset some WAP settings their end and then re-send the setup SMS and I now have fully working internet on the phone. So it appears the first phone may have been a dud, but it took Orange tech 'tech' people to sort it out.