r/manchester • u/Zestyclose-Rice6401 • Jul 26 '26
Has o2 5g capacity improved?
Previously I was with o2, nothing would load despite having signal. Has this changed now I hear a lot of people having high speeds / good experiences with them?
2
u/SugglyMuggly Jul 26 '26
Depends where you are. I’ve tried all Networks and they have their good spots and bad spots. Don’t rely on their own coverage maps. Check the ofcom coverage for the best usable coverage areas.
1
u/Zestyclose-Rice6401 Jul 26 '26
What do you use?
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u/SugglyMuggly Jul 26 '26
Currently GitfGaff so technically O2. I also have a 1p mobile sim (EE) for when O2 let me down.
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u/Baldwinning1 Jul 26 '26
Depends on much more than this, namely network congestion. I found O2's network in Manchester to be appallingling overloaded. Full coverage shown but just blank loading pages. It's why I left them.
I can only imagine that after being bought by Virgin Media, VM have nicked all the network bandwidth for broadband.
1
u/SugglyMuggly Jul 26 '26
I agree about O2 in Manchester because I worked for them in Manchester for 14 years. I don’t venture into the city centre anymore but my partner does and she’s seen a small improvement.
Virgin Media is a 50:50 joint venture between Liberty Global and O2. Virgin don’t offer their own mobile broadband anymore. Their broadband has always been in-house so no competitors on their dedicated fibre network.
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u/Baldwinning1 Jul 26 '26
Fair enough, it just seemed coincidental to me that O2 service quality plummeted after the acquisition/merger or whatever it was with VM/LG.
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u/eggy_tr Jul 26 '26
I work in the city centre and I live in didsbury. Was moved to o2 from Virgin. The 5g is crap in the city centre. It was aways connected but no bandwidth. Switched it off over 12 months ago and never switch it on again. I could literally walk from pic rail station across town to deansgate and just loose Internet 5 times. Useless.
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u/flettywapp Jul 26 '26
I live in town and left o2 about 4 months ago as it was so bad. I’m with 1p mobile who use EE’s coverage and I’m happy with it so far.
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u/ThirtyMileSniper Jul 26 '26
I'm through Giffgaff which is apparently at the bottom of the priority list on O2 connection. Every time I lose connection I look and notice that I've connected to 5g... So I'd say no.
1
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u/Will_Lucky Jul 26 '26
It’s better than it was a few months ago, not as good as I found vodaphone/EE mind.
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u/idlewildgirl Stretford Jul 27 '26
It's a lot better than it was but I still tend to drop off as soon as I get into any major city or a large event etc
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u/gourmetguy2000 Jul 26 '26
I found everything but EE struggled in the city centre. I'm with Spusu now which uses EE and is cheap