Orange/EE "Early Upgrade"?

So, whilst my Orange contract (so currently with Orange) ends in August, I'm due for an upgrade in July. Yet, Orange has said if a customer has been with them for more than 6 months, then they may be eligible for an early upgrade (which automatically switches to EE).

Has anyone ever been in the process of an early upgrade? How is it?

I really want to upgrade to an iPhone 5 64GB!

Any help? Experiences?

They are upgrading you to their 4G network. You won't be on Orange anymore. You'll be paying a premium for their 4G network.

It's the worst thing to do in my opinion as EE are ripping their customers off at the moment.

Have you gone through the early upgrade before?

So, whilst my Orange contract (so currently with Orange) ends in August, I'm due for an upgrade in July. Yet, Orange has said if a customer has been with them for more than 6 months, then they may be eligible for an early upgrade (which automatically switches to EE).

Has anyone ever been in the process of an early upgrade? How is it?

I really want to upgrade to an iPhone 5 64GB!

Any help? Experiences?

I was thinking about this as well and ironically i am in the same situation like you. My contract runs out around august/september but I want to upgrade earlier...I WANTT THAT HTC ONE!!

However, i am starting to think that EE is asking to much for their contracts just because they are one of the first carriers to have 4G -__-"

Do u guys fhink ee is a rip off? Im happy with giffgaff lol

Well a lot of people get confused as to what EE is now. EE is the head company which is divided into 3.

T-Mobile: 3G contracts at cheap budget prices
Orange: 3G contracts at higher prices with perks (orange wednesdays etc...)
EE4G: 4G contracts priced at a premium.


Lucky, might be worth looking into Virgin Mobile if you don't use more than 3.5GB per month data wise. You can get a sim only from £15pm, then after the first month ring Virgin up and they should offer you a retention deal for under £10pm which is awesome.

Well a lot of people get confused as to what EE is now. EE is the head company which is divided into 3.

T-Mobile: 3G contracts at cheap budget prices
Orange: 3G contracts at higher prices with perks (orange wednesdays etc...)
EE4G: 4G contracts priced at a premium.


Lucky, might be worth looking into Virgin Mobile if you don't use more than 3.5GB per month data wise. You can get a sim only from £15pm, then after the first month ring Virgin up and they should offer you a retention deal for under £10pm which is awesome.

How much faster do you think 4G is compared to the 3G? Because right now I think it is kinda a waste of money to switch to a 4G network.

Well theoretically, 3G can reach up to speeds of 42mbps. And 4G can reach up to speeds of 100Mbps.

Now in real life you'll probably only see between 3-25mbps on 3G. Where as on 4G you'll see around 15-50Mbps. So 4G can be considerably faster, especially in low signal areas where on 3G you may struggle to get 2mbps, where as on 4G you'd still get a respectable 10-15mbps.

However, 4G coverage is not wide spread. And the download speed really won't make a difference unless you're a heavy user (streaming/downloading files). So imo it's not worth the extra £20pm. Especially when prices will fall by the end of the year.

What contract are you on at the moment? Have you thought about selling your current phone and then buying the HTC One?

If you post your current contract allowances/cost/phone here i'll see if i can recommend a good option.

Sorry for the late reply.

Currently I am on orange and I par £26 per month. I have the HTC Desire HD at the moment and I really am tempted to get the HTC One.

I don't really want to join three because I heard some bad things about them. However, three is really cheap and I might consider joining them. I am fine with paying £41 per month but if possible I would try and avoid paying that much.

Do you use data a lot? Because if you don't really heavily use data (e.g streaming/downloading big files/skype etc...) then there really is no point having 4G. Or paying a premium for it at the moment. If you are a heavy user and getting the HTC One then i would recommend going for a 4G ready contract on either EE or Three (with Three being the obvious choice due to price) so you can take full advantage when 4G does roll out to your area. (If you even will get 4G)

Here are the best prices i can think of-

500 Mins/unl texts/unl data - £26pm (T-Mobile 3G)
HTC One- £29.99
http://www.affordablemobiles.co.uk/contract-mobile-phones/t-mobile/full_monty_26/htc/one/52487405.html

500 Mins/unl texts/unl data - £31pm (Three UK 3G & 4G from September)
HTC One- FREE
http://www.affordablemobiles.co.uk/contract-mobile-phones/3/ultimate_500/htc/one/52487341.html?

UNL Mins/Texts & 3GB Data- £46pm (EE4G)
HTC One- FREE
Via P4U Online store

What negative things have you heard about Three. They've come really far in the past few years and are arguably the best network in the UK. They've gained over 2m customers in the past 2 years while EE have lost over 1.2m

Thanks for the help. I really like the T-Mobile deal, it offers a lot for that price. I am still unsure if whether I should switch from 3G to 4G, I usually use about 750MB of data per months. But that's because my phone has gone slow (2/3Years old) and the internet isn't exactly great so I don't bother using the data that much.

What I am wondering is if I do switch to 4G will I actually be using it a lot or not. I have to figure that out first haha. Regarding 3 I heard that their customer service isn't that great and that their signals isn't consistent around London in general.

So you're in london right? 4G is already there so you'll notice a difference I. Speed, but like I said, only on downloading or streaming. If its just browsing and emails then there will be no difference between the two.

If you can get a good deal off EE, such as the double data or a loyalty discount then go for it. Otherwise its just a bit overpriced in my opinion for a service that wont benefit you.

Three is good around london, but their customer service isn't great. Well its good enough, and I haven't had any issues. Tbh o2 is the best for customer service, followed by voda, then three, then EE. So according to ofcom three are a bit better than EE.

But if you want to stay on 3G then go for the t-mobile deal. Unless orange can beat it

I ended up going for the T-mobile that you posted, thank you very much.
One last question, how trust worthy is affordable mobiles? Because I heard that they have **** customer service plus that they always are out of stock but display the items as in stock?

The best thing to do is ring them up before you order and confirm whether stock is in. They should give you a good estimate on when stock will be in and shipped to you.

Customer service obviously isn't as good as other big companies but it's good enough.

Here is how it works-
Anything about your tariff (mins/texts/data) you can deal with t-mobile directly.

Anything about the phone (faults etc..) you have to deal with affordable mobiles within the first 7-28 days. They can be a bit funny about replacements but tbh i've only known one person to have hassle and he was able to sort out a replacement in the end.

Once your past the 28 day period and your phone goes faulty you can go straight to HTC direct as they'll be better than Affordable mobiles.

I'd say go for it, but there are more risks involved going through a third party. However, because this isn't a cashback deal the risk is minimal.

If you need any help just let me know.