So I swapped to 2degrees...

So I recently made the big mistake of switching from Vodafone to 2degrees.

My best mate lives in Aussie so 2degrees' roll over data plan that includes texts and calls to Australia really appealed to me.

And I always ran out of data so I thought until Vodafone comes up with some new combos, I might as well make the jump. And what a stupid idea that was.

At first I thought it was my phone. Then I thought it was because I was up north and there's no coverage in nowhereville anyway. Then I drove down to Cambridge and I couldn't get any reception until I arrived in Cambridge. Lucky there are signs because if I got lost, my crappy phone would not have been able to help me and I would be stuck in the Waikato.

Besides the lack of coverage, there isn't much to complain about. 2degrees does not send me as many annoying texts as Vodafone did, they don't send me something like 17 texts every time I top up my phone, they actually allow me to sign in to their app without a hassle (I still to this day never managed to use the Vodafone app because of some persistent error), and the reception in Auckland (or any major town/city) is actually fine.

So I did some research into the reception/coverage business. And by research I mean I googled "2degrees mobile reception is shit".  While I was driving or when I was up north, there was absolutely no coverage for 2degrees but a strong Vodafone signal.

It was like Vodafone was laughing at me, saying, "haha that's what you get for leaving me". Rebooting my phone, removing and replacing the battery, trying to force the phone to register with 2degrees, all had no effect.

Apparently "users can seamlessly roam onto Vodafone's network in places where 2degrees has no cell towers." I wasn't aware of this at the time. But, in saying that, 2degrees roaming on Vodafone is only where 2degrees service is not officially available.

Perhaps there isn't enough coverage in that specific spot, but if that area falls under the 2degrees official coverage area then Vodafone is not required to provide the service. This is not helpful.

Either way, at the end of the month I will be switching back. Or maybe I will try Telecom. Having rollover minutes I can't use on my way to Cambridge is pointless. Do you know how boring it is to be a passenger who is unable to use their phone? Very, very boring.

I know there are probably some things I am completely unaware of or something that I am overlooking that would make this problem of mine go away, but I just want a phone that works when and where I want it to, without having to do anything fancy. It's 2014 people; no signal?? Seriously??

I wonder if 2degrees will give me my five dollars back when I swapped sim cards. Hmm.