coming from voda to giff gaff why is the signal rubbish

[#1]

Hi I have been using giff gaff for a couple of weeks now on my iphone 3g and the first thing that struck me is the signal bar dropped like a rock I have spoken to a few friends at work who have iphones and all have had to jailbreak to use voda chips because the o2 signal is so poor (maybe its just my area wednesbury west midlands) second thing that i have noticed is my phone has frozen three times upon answering calls(never did it with voda) I just end up with a black screen, so as it stands at the minute I may get rid of giffgaff as I am not overly impressed so just wanted to see if anyone else was in the same position, or if I am missing something in the settings.

ps I have downloaded the auto settings for the iphone but that doesnt seem to help.

thanks in advance for any help

pps battery life of iphone is now shocking obvioulsly working harder to find signal

[#2]

There are no auto settings for the iPhone but if you visit this page, it will give you handy step by step instructions on how to set up your iPhone to work on giffgaff.

Sorry to hear about the poor signal. giffgaff actually runs on the o2 network, therefore it should have great signal. Have you tried running the o2 signal checker? It may also be worth comparing indoor and outdoor signal. I have perfect outdoor signal but indoors is a little flakey, but this can fluctuate due to different environmental factors.

[#3]

That why then; due to the poor o2 signal in your area. To make sure this is the case Google search "o2 coverage map" and enter your postcode.

[#4]

Vodafone and O2 - which Giffgaff runs on - maintain their own equipment. That means that when you have your Giffgaff sim in your phone it is connecting to a completely different mast - which may be further away. Your phone may well be having trouble handling the lower signal.

O2 have been upgrading their equipment nationwide so it may get better but for now i think you've encountered a limitation of the o2 hardware in your area.

[#5]

sorry when I said auto settings meant what your suggesting

I have tried the signal checker says it should be fine,thanks

[#6]

I was on o2 before I switched and always had a perfect signal. I still do now I'm on giff gaff. The vodafone signal here is beyond rubbish. I guess it's a geographical issue and there's little you can do about that.