[fu510n]

Just a quick one guys...

Is Orange a reliable network with good customer service and reception?

The reason I ask is because my gf is in her final month of an 18 month O2 contract and the current selection of phones and tariff's is quite frankly appalling! They appear to have the attitude of - "Want an iPhone? No? Bye then!"

So she has settled on the Nokia N97 (I say "settled", but "fallen madly in love with" is more accurate, lol!)

Unfortunately O2 are showing no signs of stocking it so she has been forced to consider other networks. Which is a real shame considering the reception and customer service at O2 has always been exceptional. 3 and T-Mobile didn't even get considered so it was between Orange and Vodafone, both of whom have some cracking deals on the N97.

Orange has been declared the winner but there is the obvious worry of if they are any good with regards to customer service and reception........ considering its £40pm for the next 24 months I don't blame her!


So what's everyone's opinion?

Many thanks as usual Guys 'n' Gals

[Steven]

Reception will obviously differ if you reside in say the peak district rather than a major city. If you do not want to give your location away then you should use the checkers online that operators provide for coverage. Note that you should not use it as anything definitive; see the sticky which I wrote

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

Reception will obviously differ if you reside in say the peak district rather than a major city. If you do not want to give your location away then you should use the checkers online that operators provide for coverage. Note that you should not use it as anything definitive; see the sticky which I wrote

We live in a well populated are so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, its just that from past experiences I have found network check tools to be grossly inaccurate, lol!

[invisiblekid]

Originally Posted by fu510n

We live in a well populated are so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, its just that from past experiences I have found network check tools to be grossly inaccurate, lol!

My Mum used Orange for ages and was very happy with them . Good customer service and good coverage, though not the strongest signal.

Phones are locked to Orange though, so just in case she leaves Orange but wants to keep the phone she'll need to get it unlocked.


P.S. Saw Metallica at LG Arena earlier this year. Front row so was just 4 feet from stage! Awesome show, though strangely I prefer the new songs from DM in studio mode. Everything else sounds better as live.

[Uzeless]

And don't forget about Orange Wednesdays!!!!

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by invisiblekid

My Mum used Orange for ages and was very happy with them . Good customer service and good coverage, though not the strongest signal.

Phones are locked to Orange though, so just in case she leaves Orange but wants to keep the phone she'll need to get it unlocked.


P.S. Saw Metallica at LG Arena earlier this year. Front row so was just 4 feet from stage! Awesome show, though strangely I prefer the new songs from DM in studio mode. Everything else sounds better as live.

That's good to hear, although the signal thing is a bit of a worry

RE: Metallica - I saw them at Sheffield Arena on Feb 28th and they were phenomenal, amazing set list! Funny thing is that the weakest song on that set list somehow got the best crowd participation.... The Memory Remains! The the whole crowd was going for ages

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by Uzeless

And don't forget about Orange Wednesdays!!!!

Haha! Yeah thats always a bonus

[mitchellsx]

Ive been with orange for 2 years now, good customer service.. Ive also just taken an n97 on orange £40 24m, the phone is unlocked and also you get something called orange premiere customer service. This is where people that pay £40 per month get a quicker service than people that pay less, much easier to get through etc. hope that help

[apolloa]

I was with Orange for about 8 or 9 years I think until last week (Brought an iPhone )
Anyway, I have always found them pretty good, very good customer service and reception is not too bad but that depends on where you live of course. They did go through a pretty bad spell not long ago for 2 or 3 years with lots of horror story's on the net etc but I believe they fired the CEO and hired a new one to turn things back around as Orange were famous for excellent customer service wining that JD Power survey thing a fair few times, hopefully they'll get back on top again soon but like I said I never had any problems with them.

Orange retention's are also pretty good, my friend just got a free W995 on 15 pounds a month with free browsing and 3000 text a month, only 1 or 200 mins as he's a texter lol.

Having said this, since coming to O2 so far I have been similarly impressed with them as well.

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by mitchellsx

Ive been with orange for 2 years now, good customer service.. Ive also just taken an n97 on orange £40 24m, the phone is unlocked and also you get something called orange premiere customer service. This is where people that pay £40 per month get a quicker service than people that pay less, much easier to get through etc. hope that help

Originally Posted by apolloa

I was with Orange for about 8 or 9 years I think until last week (Brought an iPhone )
Anyway, I have always found them pretty good, very good customer service and reception is not too bad but that depends on where you live of course. They did go through a pretty bad spell not long ago for 2 or 3 years with lots of horror story's on the net etc but I believe they fired the CEO and hired a new one to turn things back around as Orange were famous for excellent customer service wining that JD Power survey thing a fair few times, hopefully they'll get back on top again soon but like I said I never had any problems with them.

Orange retention's are also pretty good, my friend just got a free W995 on 15 pounds a month with free browsing and 3000 text a month, only 1 or 200 mins as he's a texter lol.

Having said this, since coming to O2 so far I have been similarly impressed with them as well.

Thanks guys, that's really reassuring to hear

I think her mind is prettymuch made up now

One thing though, ive heard of rumours that Orange recalled the N97 due to some alleged "software faults", however they have now "sorted it" and it should be ready to re-launch within a couple of weeks........... with their own software modifications..........

If they have completely screwed up the software on it will it void the warranty to flash/restore the proper Nokia software?

[RobM]

Originally Posted by fu510n

If they have completely screwed up the software on it will it void the warranty to flash/restore the proper Nokia software?

Yes, it does.

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by RobM83

Yes, it does.

Would they know though?

I.e. if I was to flash it with the proper Nokia ROM (not even sure im using the correct terminology XD) would they be able to find out? And if it developed a problem and had to be sent back could I re-restore the Orange ROM so they would never know?

Just don't wanna have a top-end phone that has been crippled with Orange gumph

[mitchellsx]

just get one from phones4u or carphone warehouse they sell them unlocked with none of the orange garbage u get with an orange handset.. But I will admit the phone is far from complete lots of faults people are experiencing and the update from nokia is taking its time reaching the Uk, everywhere else has got it except UK I think now.

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by mitchellsx

just get one from phones4u or carphone warehouse they sell them unlocked with none of the orange garbage u get with an orange handset.. But I will admit the phone is far from complete lots of faults people are experiencing and the update from nokia is taking its time reaching the Uk, everywhere else has got it except UK I think now.

But there are other downfalls with going with a 3rd party as opposed to going direct

Plus like you say - there is lots of faults with the N97 aswell....


We're both starting to think its all a bit too much hassle now with all of the unreliable stuff from the phone itself to the networks carrying it....

[PewPew]

i work for orange but belive me im bias in now way. I would recommend if u wanna get a N97 ur gonna have to go 3rd party i work in direct sales / web sales channel of orange and ever since the N95 they seem to activly discourage sale of these handsets and we are always grossly over priced by coming direct.

There are several reasons for this that i can see, these phones are always going faulty , partly id blame this on the orange software but partly with nokia too and the amount we have to replace due to the unit cost makes it a real big cost. Secondly they were a firm favorite of the id fraudsters due to their high resell value , we got hit really bad back when the N95 came out and we did it free on dolp 35 so now they are really warry of sending it out.

Now back to the N97 i know we havent got it in stock as all of the ones from nokia failed testing so our direct launch has been put back but i expect them to overpriced once we get them. This phone is getting a lot of bad press as well and although on paper looks good the one ive been playing with doesnt feel very good quality at all.

As far as network goes I find orange these days pretty much the same as o2 and voda. Singal wise it always comes down to where u are but im on voda and orange have zero singal voda full singal orange. But at the moment theres a heavy investment in HSDPA masts and upgrades. Customer service can be crap with all the networks ive had my issues with o2 and voda and even orange. Its all depends who u speak to being on a contract ur less likely to get someone off shore on the phone but it does still happen for the basic stuff and they are generally rubbish.

hope this helps

[fu510n]

PewPew

So you would recommend going through someone like Carphone Warehouse for the N97 on Orange?

Also, do you have any idea what the N97 failed testing on? Ive heard it was purely down to the software that Orange wanted to mess with but couldn't ...


The problem is that its for my gf, if it was me I would've just thought "sod it, ill get an iPhone", even though I despise the thought of playing into O2's hands with the appalling way they are treating their customers*.

She doesn't really like the iPhone though and is unhappy with the way they are doing things now so a Network switch is almost inevitable. Orange seems to be leading the way but there is hesitancy with all of the N97 bugs we keep hearing about and the fact that Orange will be charging an arm and a leg when they properly release it




[* that said, Im gonna be getting the iPhone as my 2nd contract soon, its really won me over alately ]

[PewPew]

Originally Posted by fu510n

PewPew

So you would recommend going through someone like Carphone Warehouse for the N97 on Orange?

Also, do you have any idea what the N97 failed testing on? Ive heard it was purely down to the software that Orange wanted to mess with but couldn't ...


The problem is that its for my gf, if it was me I would've just thought "sod it, ill get an iPhone", even though I despise the thought of playing into O2's hands with the appalling way they are treating their customers*.

She doesn't really like the iPhone though and is unhappy with the way they are doing things now so a Network switch is almost inevitable. Orange seems to be leading the way but there is hesitancy with all of the N97 bugs we keep hearing about and the fact that Orange will be charging an arm and a leg when they properly release it




[* that said, Im gonna be getting the iPhone as my 2nd contract soon, its really won me over alately ]

id defo go down the carphonewarehouse route. The testing that failed at bambury isnt usually that stringent just a case of unloading the batch ,putting a dummy sim in and checking everything works as it should.

personally i wouldnt touch another nokia ever again but thats really down to personal preference.

Oh and as for the cost put it this way the N96 is in the system on DOLPHIN 35 and they want 215 for the handset lol madness i can only imagine what they are gonna ask for the N97

Don't touch the N97 every single N Series Nokia has had fault after fault after fault
N70/N73/N80/N82/N95/N96 All have had the following issues
Dropping calls
Dropping signal
Locking up and freezing on a call
Turning off unprompted
Resetting screensaver/ringtone to default
Freezing and rebooting for no reason
Battery life is a joke

I work for Orange and believe me i try my best to talk customers out of a N series Nokia. After dealing with these phones.
There was a time when you'd buy a Nokia and know if it stopped working it was because you had broken it by dropping it and running over it with a tank.
Nokia phones are only good for churchs where they can be praised as the new bible cause Nokia's software is so holely.
The only have decent N series is the N85 doesn't seem to have the faults stated earlier in my post.
As the poster before me stated about Banbury and testing i can only guess what type of testing they do.
However looking around the net and reported faults with the N97 there are people on Vodafone who seem to be having issues mainly with the camera

[dr no]

Why rule out T-Mobile?

They've been good for me over the last 15 years or so.
I've also had a Nokia N80, N73 in the past. Both good phones esp. the N73.

I have just returned back to Nokia with an N97 in the post. So I'll see how that fares.

[trice1921]

Originally Posted by Skylynx

Don't touch the N97 every single N Series Nokia has had fault after fault after fault
N70/N73/N80/N82/N95/N96 All have had the following issues
Dropping calls
Dropping signal
Locking up and freezing on a call
Turning off unprompted
Resetting screensaver/ringtone to default
Freezing and rebooting for no reason
Battery life is a joke

I work for Orange and believe me i try my best to talk customers out of a N series Nokia. After dealing with these phones.
There was a time when you'd buy a Nokia and know if it stopped working it was because you had broken it by dropping it and running over it with a tank.
Nokia phones are only good for churchs where they can be praised as the new bible cause Nokia's software is so holely.
The only have decent N series is the N85 doesn't seem to have the faults stated earlier in my post.
As the poster before me stated about Banbury and testing i can only guess what type of testing they do.
However looking around the net and reported faults with the N97 there are people on Vodafone who seem to be having issues mainly with the camera

I had a Nokia N82 for over a year and never had a single fault with it. Before that i had an N73, which had faults up until i got rid of the 3 firmware then it was fault free. To say every single N series has faults is untrue. I believe most of the faults on phones are due to the networks tinkering with the firmware. Phones i've had from vodafone seem to be messed so much by their firmware compared to the non-branded alternatives.

I probably am biased towards these phones as working in CS and dealing with H/S faults all you get to see is the bad side of the device.
It is personal option and maybe i should have stated that,
I have spoken direct to Nokia and made a comment about the N95 to them and joked that the 8gb version was the working version which the guy i was speaking to pretty much laughed in embassed agreed about.
The N70/N73/N80/N95 Non-8gb are terrible devices running on the original installed software.
Never in 7 years of using a Samsung phone have i ever had to download addtional patches to make the phone more stable. Using i900 Onmia at present and never has it let me down.

Ive got an N97 on Orange

Phone is great, but one of the reasons I wanted it, and moved from 02 was so I could get Sky Mobile TV on the3.5" screen

Orange DO support Sky Mobile TV, but their CS says they just DONT support it on the N97 - after Id bought it

Another really annoying thing about Orange - they dont let you go through the Sky App for 24/7 football or for any of the Sky Mobile content on the phones they do support, you have to go through Orange World - which is pants

So I think - N97 Great , Orange crap. Id go Vodafone or 3UK either of which allow BBC I player to stream over their network (orange dont) and full Sky Mobile inc data for a flat £5 p/m

Wish Id have known that before!

If anyone who works for Orange can advise if they ever will support Sky Mobile TV on the N97 that would be appreciated!

[fluffy999]

Orange have the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I bought a BlackBerry Pearl for them on Sunday. It doesn't work properly and they say they won't refund or exchange it. One salesperson admitted it was faulty and the manager said it wasn't and refuses to help me. If I phone customer services they say unless I bought online then they can't help either - if I bought it instore then it's up to them to deal with it and if they won't then too bad.

I've phoned consumer direct and trading standards and they say I'm in the right but legally all I can do is write to Orange and ask them to reconsider, if they won't then my only option is to take them to court which will cost me more than I paid for the phone so what's the point?

12 years I've been a customer and have today phoned Orange to request my PAC code as I want to leave. They tried to talk my round by offering me £20 free credit and I told them to stick it - just like they told me to stick it yesterday when they didn't want to exchange my £125 phone for one that works.
Buying from Orange? WATCH OUT!

[RobM]

Fluffy999 - What fault does your phone have that could justify those comments?

[fluffy999]

The Bluetooth doesn't work at all and despite subscribing to Blackberry mms servicing that doesn't work either. Everyone at Orange has a different opinion on the problem One person says it's faulty, 2 say it might be faulty and some staff deny there's a problem at all. It's a nightmare.
I've just been and bought a new Sony Ericsson C510 from the Carphone Warehouse this afternoon for half the price and the staff were brilliant - and even better, the phone works - and even better again - it's NOT on Orange!
Yay!

[james_uk9]

Originally Posted by Skylynx

The N70/N73/N80/N95 Non-8gb are terrible devices running on the original installed software.
.

The N95 and N95 8GB have sold in excess of 15 million units since launch and are widely regarded as the best smartphones ever. Where Nokia fall down is releasing new handsets with poor firmware and then use their customers as beta testers. Now that the N95 handsets are on v3 (3*) firmware they are reliable, and work exactly as they should.

At Nokiaworld last week they demonstrated the v2 f/ware for the N97 which includes kinetic scrolling, transitions and many bug fixes, although the f/ware won't be released until around October. They also recently aknowledged (sp?) that there is an inherant fault in the camera lens cover and some units are self harming causing scratches on the lens when the cover is opened and closed. They will be fixing affected units at Nokia service centres, and are also looking into reported problems of intermittant signal loss with the GPS unit.

I wouldn't write off the N97 at this stage as it will only get better, the N95 was also a complete shambles at launch, Nokia are notorious for it.

[Mad-HatterSCFC]

I'm in Manchester and cant get a 3g signal on Orange anywhere, not sure if its them or my N73.

[apolloa]

Originally Posted by fu510n

Just a quick one guys...

Is Orange a reliable network with good customer service and reception?
:

I was with Orange for YEARS, I am now on O2 cause I got an iPhone anyway I have ALWAY'S found the customer service to be excellent, but then again I had very few occasions to call them. They did go through a bad patch though and then appointed a new MD to sort it out and get the company back on track which it is. I even remember the clever automated assistant they had, can't remember what it was called? Fire something?

As for a reliable network, meh, same as everyone else I think really but I live in Dorset so plenty of hills and 3G is reserved for towns only on ANY network lol.

[analogueaddict]

Hello,

Both my wife and I were customers of Orange for 6 years, I was on contract and my wife was on PAYG. When I left it was because they were unable to supply suitable hardware for my needs, so I went with T-Mobile. My wife stayed with Orange until last year but has grown increasingly unhappy with customer services and the standard of staff in the Orange retail stores.

Last year I had the unhappy experience of dealing with Orange's business sales, and following their unhelpful, arrogant attitude toward the company I was working with, and the increasing problems of their retail customer services having real problems with understanding the English language (given that every time my wife has called CS they were in India or Bangladesh and seemed to speak English as a fifth or sixth language), not to mention the staff in their stores having less brain power than a snail and being singularly unhelpful, I would stay as far away from the Orange network as possible.

My heart sank earlier this week when I heard that T-Mobile and Orange were merging, I fear that the quality of customer service we have been enjoying on that network is about to go South at a high rate of knots. Given the absolute horror stories I've heard about Vodaphone, and the terrible coverage and reliability of 3, it's quickly looking like the only decent mobile network to bet on right now is O2. I deal with O2 through work and acknowledge that their business CS is absolutely first rate, their tech support people are very competent (much like the ones at T-Mobile), and they are very helpful with any query you may have. I would seriously look at the O2 network instead of Orange right now, and I will have to hope that Orange learn from T-Mobile when the merger happens, and not the other way around. Given that everything in this country is gravitating to the lowest common denominator, I am not hopeful.

I would also STRONGLY advise against doing any business with Carphone Warehouse, they are, in my experience, dishonest, deceitful, staffed by the lowest of the low who have zero regard for customer service, have no product knowledge, other than trying to foist worthless extended warranty contracts onto customers which cover nothing, and trying to rip cusotmers off at the checkout (not honouring the price displayed is something which has very recently happened to me, and the manager said he legally had to honour the advertised price, but exercised his right to refuse to serve me to avoid having to meet that obligation, and he blatantly said he used this get out to avoid having to honour the first regulation and protect his store). Given the kind of absolute contempt this store has for customers, I would almost advise doing business with any mobile phone store but these imbeciles. Needless to say I am going to be taking this issue further with trading standards.

I hope this helps to prevent you or your girlfriend making a very costly mistake.

Regards,

Dave