Which UK networks are supported for roaming?

[NFH]

I have always found that I can roam in the UK only on 3 UK and O2 UK, and not on Vodafone UK or EE.

I recently had a technical issue when roaming on O2 UK, and Three customer services asked me what happened if I manually selected Vodafone UK or EE. I replied that I have never been able to roam on these two networks, as my iPhone always displays "No Service" when I manually select them. He responded that Three Ireland has four roaming partners in the UK, including Vodafone UK and EE.

Is this true? Should I be able to roam also on Vodafone UK and EE? If so, why have I never been able to do so?

[Three_Niall]

The reason that we would recommend that you leave the network settings on Automatic is because as previously advised the device will connect you to the best available network, if you set this to manual then you would be able to test the networks that appear on your device however as these are networks in another nation we cannot guarantee that you can connect to every network. If you are unable to connect to any network we would then raise a case with the technical team to investigate further. 

If you are looking to use or need to use another network other than the automatic selection then the only other option would be to use another sim card from this network however if the Three UK network is being automatically selected I would recommend staying on this network as this has won awards in the Uk similar to awards for coverage that Three Ireland has won here.

[NFH]

How do you explain the following symptoms, which have been consistent for many years?

• Despite my iPhone 15 Pro connecting to EE with maximum 3G, 4G and 5G signal strengh using an EE eSIM, the same iPhone in the same location shows "No Service" on EE with my Three Ireland eSIM.
• Despite my iPhone 15 Pro connecting to Vodafone UK with maximum 3G, 4G and 5G signal strengh using a Vodafone nano-SIM, the same iPhone in the same location shows "No Service" on Vodafone UK with my Three Ireland eSIM.

This is not about coverage and I'm not looking for guarantees. So far, the only plausible explanation is that Three Ireland deliberately turns off the ability to roam on Vodafone UK and EE because it pays lower wholesale prices to Three UK and O2 UK, the latter probably being a legacy of O2 Ireland's relationship with O2 UK. Is there an alternative plausible explanation?

[Three_Niall]

Hey @NFH the reason that you are automatically able to connect to both EE and Vodafone when you are using these SIMs is that these eSIMs would be configured to connect to these networks similar to how Three Ireland eSIMs would be automatically configured to connect to the Three Ireland network when you are in the Republic of Ireland. 

We recommend that you have your network selection set to automatic when you are roaming because this will redirect your sim to connect to the best available connection while you are abroad. As you were previously in PM here with me discussing a query I was able to check the account and I can confirm that we would have the option here on our systems to Bar Roaming, normally this would only be asked for if a customer was roaming somewhere without allowances, however, we don't have the option to bar a specific network. 

When you have your device set to manual selection your device will show you the list of networks that it has found in the area so this would explain why you can view the listed networks while you are in that country however this doesn't guarantee that you can connect to these networks. If it is the case that you are unable to connect to any network while you are abroad then we would raise this with the technical team to investigate this further.

[NFH]

@Three_Niall First I would like to thank you publicly for fixing the separate account-specific issue whereby I was getting only 3G or no data connectivity while roaming. You and your colleagues on the social media team always impress me with your customer-focussed approach.

Unfortunately you appear to have misunderstood the point I am making on this wider issue.

I am not questioning why I can connect to EE and Vodafone UK using SIMs issued by these UK networks; I mentioned my ability to do so only to demonstrate that I have strong coverage from both of these networks. I am questioning only why the same iPhone with a Three Ireland eSIM cannot connect to these two UK networks in the same location with the same strong coverage.

As for automatic vs manual network selection, I do indeed use automatic network selection for the reasons you gave. However, I use manual network selection only as a diagnostic tool to establish that roaming with a Three Ireland eSIM is impossible on EE and Vodafone UK.

This issue affects not only me, but apparently all Three Ireland customers roaming in the UK, which is why I am raising the issue publicly.

[NFH]

I disagree that "when you are roaming the reason we recommend leaving the network selection on automatic rather than manual is because the device will automatically connect to the best available network using the settings on your device without the need for you to troubleshoot within the settings to receive a connection".

I was in Malta last weekend, where there are three networks:

• go mobile (5G)
• epic (4G)
• Melita Mobile (5G)

Although Three Ireland roams on epic only on 4G, this is the network that a Three Ireland eSIM tries first to connect to, for example after restarting the phone or when first arriving in Malta. The only way to get a 5G signal is to select go mobile or Melita Mobile manually. Manually selecting a network gives the same coverage experience as a direct customer of the selected network.

[Three_Niall]

Hey @NFH, when you are abroad and you are roaming you have the availability to manually select the networks that appear available and to troubleshoot however because these are foreign networks we wouldn't be able to guarantee that you can connect to all of the networks. Leaving the phone in automatic mode means that the phone will automatically connect to a network in the country but you have the option to troubleshoot with networks that appear in a manual search.

[Mark_02052]

Interesting thread this. It seems that 3 Ireland will answer all the questions except the one which might actually explain the roaming problem. I recently spend a number of days in Jersey, Channel Islands, and during the entirety of the visit, I was unable to receive phone calls, everyone who tried to ring me got an engaged tone. I could make calls, send texts and use 4G. Despite changing all my settings and going back and forth with 3 who told me there was no issue, the fact is, there was a problem unresolved. Many business users particularly in finance regularly do business on the island of Jersey. It’s worth keeping in mind how amateur it will appear that in 2024, you are unable to receive calls while roaming there. No one has explained why the calls aren’t coming through, and no message notification of missed calls. There is possibly an issue with the network providers in Jersey, but perhaps 3 Ireland could look into that rather than just telling us there’s no issue. States of Jereey take note.