Confused about 4G on PAYG

[saguaro]

I recently bought my first 4G-capable phone, SIM-free from a well-known department store, and popped in my existing SIM, which dates back to April 2014. The 'It looks like you swapped your SIM' text duly arrived, and I installed the settings. I'm definitely in a 4G area, but I'm not seeing  4G on my signal indicator icon -- just H or H+.

The information about 4G on PAYG is confusing. I found a page on the Vodafone site that suggested I'd need to buy a £20 Big Value Bundle, which I'm not interested in doing -- alternating the Text&Web Freebie with Extra Data suits my needs quite well, as I make very few calls.  However, for the last year my £5 Extra Data has been arriving with a text saying I've been given '500MB of UK data (with 4G) for 30 days', and I have one active at the moment.

So do I have 4G or not? If I should have it, do I need a more modern SIM, or to tweak the settings on my phone somehow? (It's a Moto G4 running Android 6.) If I would really need to spend a lot more money to get access to 4G, then I'll have to do without, but it would be nice to know what's going on.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi

all tariffs are 4g now. 

Is 4g turned on in your phones settings. 

A sim swap may help due to the age of the SIM card if your not getting 4g anywhere ie away from your local area. 

The Vodafone Network Checker gives an indication only and not is a guarantee of signal / speeds. 

Can you try your sim in another phone and if possible another sim in your phone. 

[saguaro]

Thanks.

I have 'Preferred network type' set to 4G in the 'Mobile network settings' -- is there somewhere else I should be looking?

I don't have a spare 4G phone or SIM lying around, but I'm visiting family tomorrow (in a different area that also claims to have 4G) who might let me experiment.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi

No the settings you mention should be right. 4g should be toggled on in mobile data settings in the phone. Just to ask which phone is it please. 

Yes that's an idea if your family can help or any Vodafone high street store can too.

As I mentioned a sim swap can't hurt especially if your family's sim card in your phone produces 4g. Also customer service on 191 or Live Chat can help you by checking your account.

[saguaro]

Mystery solved, maybe? I popped into the Vodafone shop in town this afternoon. They poked at the phone for a while and eventually told me that the problem is my Text and Web Freebee -- I can't have 4G without giving that up, which I'm not prepared to do. (On the other hand, they had me convinced that 'It's all Big Value Bundles now' and until I checked the website I was afraid that meant the Data Freebie had gone away too, which it hasn't  (yet?) . I absolutely refuse to be pushed onto a Big Value Bundle -- avoiding that was mostly the point of buying a third-party phone in the first place.

It's a Moto G4 -- the dual-sim version, which does give me options for experimenting with other carriers. I might still see if I can borrow my nephew's GiffGaff sim or something tomorrow, just to check.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

Did the staff point towards anything in connection to the tariff your on not being 4G ?

As I mentioned I thought all tariffs have 4G data. 

Vodafone Payg Tariffs.

[saguaro]

Maybe all current tariffs? The Text&Web has been obsolete for about three years, after all. What they said was, more or less verbatim, "It's not the SIM, it's the plan it was originally set up with -- you can't have 4G on that."

I suppose I could swap to the Data Freebie, but that would cost me a few extra pounds every year in out-of-bundle texts, and I don't need 4G that badly -- it's perfectly possible to get through 500mb in a month on 3G.

It would be fair to ask why I have a smartphone at all when my regular phone usage is so low, but the answer is that I like having a pocket-sized camera/e-reader/music-player/organizer/web appliance, and the way things work these days a smartphone is the handiest way to get all that in one package. A small tablet with a data sim and a dumbphone would do the job almost as well, but then I'd have two things to charge and top up.

[BandOfBrothers]

Certainly sounds like to be the case. 

If 3G gives you what you need then that's fair enough.

I agree carrying around a smartphone provides nearly everything in one device. 

I usually burn through approximately 5gb a month. 

[Annie_N · Accepted solution]

@saguaro

I too have the old Text and Web Freebie on my main number, and, on the rare occasions when I'm in an area with 4G, I get beautiful, high-speed 4G - it's an absolute revelation!

So, whatever the problem, it isn't the Freebie, and on no account should you agree to opt out of it, as you won't be able to get back in. Although the T&WF was withdrawn for new opt-ins in early 2014, it continues to be a valid product for those opted in to it. Unfortunately, because the only place you're likely to see details of the product is in an account that still has it, most Vodafone staff are totally unaware of it. My suspicion is that most of them are unaware of the current Freebies and Extras as well - wall to wall Big Value Bundles seems to be the picture!

When I bought my first smartphone in 2012, the store informed me that the SmartStep plan which I was on was incompatible with data access, and therefore I'd need to switch to the Simply plan in order to make proper use of my shiny new phone. Subsequently I realised that the advice was so much hooey, and it still rankles that I gave up a plan that suited me far better.

[saguaro]

Curiouser and curiouser -- thanks for the data point! I certainly got the impression the store staff didn't have much of a clue about the Freebies, let alone the good old T&W. I can understand why they'd be trained to push the BVB, but I'm glad the Freebies are still there for us less-lucrative customers.

I didn't manage to try the familial sim swap, unfortunately.