Everything Everywhere mobile signal? More like Nothing Nowhere from Orange

Those living in the Ventnor and Bonchurch areas who are signed up to Orange or T-Mobile (Now re-branded Everything Everywhere, or EE) for their mobile service have been severely let down over the last six weeks.

Back in September 2012, Orange mobile reception disappeared completely from many parts of the town. This meant no calls in our out, or even text messages.

Texts not arriving
Those who travelled out of town to other parts of the Island got used to hearing the consecutive bleeping of their mobile phones, with messages starting to come onto their mobiles as they made they way further away from Ventnor.

Those who had no reason to leave the town, were obviously left unaware that their phone may have contained important phone or text messages.

Angry customers
On The Wight received many calls and emails from residents angry at the weeks of lack of service.

We put got in touch with the Orange press team, and discovered that their service was just as faulty as the mobile reception in Ventnor. Many back and forths resulted in only stock replies from the press team, with customer call centre teams giving more accurate information about the outtage.

On for a week, then off again
Three to four weeks into the loss of service, suddenly the Everything Everywhere (EE) service was turned on and most had normal service return to their mobiles.

Sadly it was short lived. Within a few days the mobile service disappeared yet again and has been gone for most of the week.

Paying for a service not received
This sort of service is appalling and many feel a breach in the contract that mobile users have with the company.

Many are paying a fixed monthly cost for a service they are not receiving.

How’s your mobile reception?
We’re keen to hear from other residents who have had problems with Orange or T Mobile service in Ventnor (or other parts of the Isle of Wight).

Update: Social media reaction
We know that some readers are not Social media user, so we’ve gathered the reactions of readers on Facebook and Twitter and put them below.

You can jump straight to the On The Wight comments below.

Bad Isle of Wight mobile reception

Storified by · Fri, Nov 09 2012 05:35:17

@onthewight no Tesco signal in haylands, arreton, brading or luccombe! (Even worse with an iPhone) #wantmybrickphonebackEmily Galt
@onthewight they need to focus on solid 3G in all towns rather than attempting 4G. Once again, we’re stuck in the Stone Age!Nate D
My signal is always fine, I find most people with bad signal have a prehistoric phone. We do live on an island, I don;t see how we can expect London standard facilities when we live in a rural area! Its the same in other rural areas on the mainland, its the payoff for living somewhere beautiful. Unless you want more aerials everywhere? Eyesore and possibly bad for your health!Kerstee ʚϊɞ Holden
Have had a nightmare since Orange switched to EE, no service on Ventnor Ind Est for weeks now, is affecting my work dreadfully, and Orange/EE have done nothing whatsoever, not replied to telephone calls…..spoke to someone in the shop in Newport who said they know the mast needs replacing…..Suzie Sumpter
Why should we pay full price for a service if we don’t receive it? If there was a you-don’t-get-full-service-so-we’ll-charge-you-less tarrif, perhaps everyone would be happier ^SimonIsle of Wight News from VentnorBlog
I think the point, Kerstee, is that we DID have a perfectly good signal and it has disappeared. (And I have the latest i-phone.)Suzie Sumpter
can’t understand it then as my signal (on orange, which has recently changed to EE) is fine, and I live in an appalling signal zone. I think people expect too much personally. If you can’t get the service in your area don’t sign up. Use landlines!Kerstee ʚϊɞ Holden
And O2!Heidi Wagstaff
@onthewight I’m on Vodafone. 3G outside of Shanklin is non existent. Frustrating, and also a massive drain on the battery hunting for signalNate D
o2 ok with meNiki Richardson
I haven’t had signal where I live for a year and Im on a contract. Told O2 and they can’t do anything. It’s rubbish. I have an iPhone, so it’s not the phone!Heidi Wagstaff
and vodafone i was without signal for 4 days last week,this has been happening for months now with vodafone i am in ryde.we did have a good signal all i got was a £10 refund off my next bill.customer services are rude on phone,sent emails saying it was my phone at fault when on the phone to them they said it was the mast wanted to cancel contract but they wouldnt have any of it…Louise Watson
I live in Ryde and have issues with Vodafone. My Blackberry loses it’s signal most days for hours at a time, very frustrating as I too pay for a contract. Grrrrrr…Jo Johnson
I live on Brighstone and the only way I can get signal on my iPhone & it’s just 1 nugget on my signal is to have it propt up in the lounge window, I’m on O2 and on contract, but as usual us Brits just put up with itHazel Hyslop
I’ve always wondered why the 3G coverage is ok in Ryde , but awful in and around Newport . Why is that?Rob Hayward
my signal on my blackberry on orange comes and goes like a yo yo everyday its a problem Linda Creed Was Williams
I’m on EE/orange-t mobile… My signal fine :)Jane Kingsofleon Followill
@onthewight @natedallimore Vodafone signal everywhere is shoddy, not been back to the IoW since the EE, but orange signal was always badJosh More
I’m on o2 and most of the time its emergency calls only,can’t wait for contract to end.Their customer services are very poor also.Sue Younghusband
Sandown.. went from orange (couldnt get normal phone signal, but fast mobile internet) – to o2 (get normal signal fine, but cant get internet!).. *sigh!Paul Gerfen
no signal on orange in ventnor since 27th sep ! they keep saying its "being repaired"..Dave De Hat Bradshaw
I used orange for a long time untill i found that my inland call were going to Frace and were then bounced back into the UK so my chages were international..I switched to Vodafonei get brilliant service from them highly reccommended…i am in St Lawrence.Tony Pooley
My Orange (EE) signal is absolutely fine too. Using an Android handset. If anything it’s got slightly better.Leeroy TMofo
Its just the isle of wight. We are about 5 years behind aerial updates. Whenever i go to mainlans its fine!!Rosie Curling
I,m with Talk mobile,never had any problemsSiobhan Crutcher
We r in ryde and can only get signal on our orange (EE) contract phones if we go upstairs!!!! Have been told our address should be ok for signal but its not. Been like this since we moved in 11 months agoHelen Vernau
o2 are always ok with me!Niki Richardson
When I am inside my living room or my down stairs bedroom I have ZERO reception. When I walk 2 meters outside the front or back door (And walk anywhere upstairs) I have full reception. Its highly annoying (as anyone who has ever been in my house would know). I clearly have Nazi Gold hidden in my downstairs’ walls.jono notbono
It’s difficult to pick on particular operators, as they all have areas of good and bad coverage – and they’re all different. I’ve been trying for years to work out who is "best" on the Island.These days, coverage for actual phone calls and texts seems pretty good for all networks, so my real concern is 3G coverage. Currently I’m with Vodafone, who are excellent in Cowes, Ryde and Sandown (for instance), but who have a virtually non-existent and unusable data signal in our busy county town of Newport!Because of this I’ve gone to the expense of buying a £15-a-month ‘mobile personal hotspot’ from O2 which I use for 3G data around Newport!Matt Edmunds
So many ’emergency roamers’ above – no surprise mind.Andrew Cooper
in ventnor we have always had a crap reception.Pauline Brittan
I went with 3 for my latest contract. When I do get reception its excellent for surfing, but the coverage is so patchy its very frustrating. Nothing at the top of ryde but I do a get connection decent at home and newport.Fay Woodford