Ireland has moved

[athgen1]

As some will be aware Eire has no government at the moment but I did not realize that it was so serious that Eire has been towed out of Europe! I was staying with some friends in the west of Ireland in the middle of no where, as they describe it, where broadband/mobile do not exist. Even 2G is difficult. On arrival at Cork I got the following text from 02 Roaming:- 31 03 2016 - 16:00 "O2: Welcome to IRELAND. Keep your phone on in Europe. You're on O2 Travel so data is just £1.99 for each day that you use it (There's no upper usage limit, but data speeds will vary with usage). Plus, make and take calls for 50p, then nothing extra for the first hour (After that it'll cost normal UK out of bundle rates 35ppm). Send texts for 4.8p each and get them for free. Prices include VAT. Want to know more? Call Freephone 2266. If you need the Emergency services in Europe call 112." However on the next few hours/days I got these from 02Uk:- 31 03 2016 - 16:40 "Using the web outside Europe costs £6/MB. We won't charge you more than £40 on your current bill and you can use up to 50MB" 01 04 2016 - 11:42 "You've used 30% of your 50 MB allowance outside Europe. So far you've spent £40 on data. We won't charge you anymore on your current bill but we'll stop the data service if you go over 50MB" 02 04 2016 - 12:00 "You've nearly hit your 50MB/£40 limit. If you want to use more you'll need to increase your monthly spending limit to £120 (200MB) by texting DATALIMIT200 to 23336. For terms see o2.co.uk/terms" 03 04 2016 - 06:55 "You've now hit your 50MB/£40 limit. If you want to use more you'll need to increase your monthly spending limit to £120 (200MB) by texting DATALIMIT200 to 23336. For terms see o2.co.uk/terms" The most annoying text was the last, received at 6:55AM after a heavy and late night enjoying Irish company! Ok when got to a local town with good 2G and wifi I contacted UK customer services to be told they may have a problem and also checked that my account was only being charged £1.99 per day. Calling 2266, from the middle of no where, I was told that I was blocking the sending of my mobile number so they could not talk to me? I suppose the problem is at the limits of signals strange things happen. I was getting some data roaming signal but very intermittent and of course very slow; I basically gave up after the first day. Hopefully by my next visit they should have a government and be towed back into Europe!

[MI5]

I can only assume you roamed onto a non EU network unless of course it's just another system glitch !

[Bambino]

@athgen1 As you had so many conflicting texts I suggest you check your bill through your My 02 to make sure there aren't any surprises waiting. Should there be, call customer service. I also suggest that on your next visit, make sure your phone is unlocked and get a Three Pay & Go sim. No roaming charges in ROI. You can just use what you've paid for. I can't guarantee you'll get better coverage, though.:smileywink:

[viridis]

Any passing ferries?
If you had poor service and a nearby ferry had onboard GSM, then you would switch to the strongest signal.

[athgen1]

"I suggest you check your bill through your My 02..." I did that in Ireland and since returning home; no surprises. "Any passing ferries?.." In the middle of no where! "I can't guarantee you'll get better coverage, though." The locals just put up with poor service. Often those living on higher ground find that they have become more popular; those, like my friends, living in the shadow of a high ridge just accept that mobile is bad. Even their tv can only be reached by an aerial pointing westwards between hills to a line-of-sight mast! I wonder if even satellite would be viable with this high ridge to the south? Still as usual the break was very enjoyable and the Irish hospitality wonderful; looking forward to next time, signal or not.

[athgen1]

Why does posting remove all line feeds?

[viridis]

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@athgen1 wrote:
"Any passing ferries?.." In the middle of no where!

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Sorry, you stated Cork in your original post so I was replying using the information provided as Cork does have a ferry port which may include vessels with GSM antennas.

[PhoneDoc]

@athgen1 I'd recommend checking the 'Recent charges' section of your account as well, as charges may yet to be reflected on your bill

[athgen1]

I agree Cork has a ferry but we go north westerly from the airport, not near to the sea port.

[Bambino]

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@athgen1 wrote:

Why does posting remove all line feeds?

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@athgen1 I'm not really sure what you mean? Do you mean what's written by the previous poster? If you want to do that, or any other person's post, just click on the 'Quote' button on the upper right of your reply box, and then write your reply below.