RootMetrics - A Valuable Resource or More Misleading than Network Coverage Checkers?
RootMetrics provide a useful resource by opposing the main networks' coverage maps, and use what they call "real world" testing to determine whether mobile networks do in fact provide good coverage for calls, texts and data across the UK (and other countries).
They do perform some useful tests, which tend to reflect real mobile network use, but are their results actually worth anything?
From my own experience using various different networks in different locations, all I can say is that RootMetrics clearly haven't done any testing anywhere near any of the places that I have lived and worked over the last 10-15 years.
The first thing that I have to get off my chest is RootMetrics praise of EE.
EE love to tell everyone that they have the "Biggest, fastest and most reliable network".
This comes across on their homepage, when you call them and in their numerous advertisements. And, if you believe RootMetric's data, you would think that this is true.
Frankly, it is not.
I have used T-Mobile, Orange, Virgin Mobile and EE, and I have yet to find a county in Southern England where there was a reliable signal for calls on this network. As for data, forget it.
I used to work in Dorset, where Vodafone was pretty much the only mobile network that covered most of this beautiful county. Our work mobiles were on Orange, but they simply didn't work. Colleagues who inadvertently got contract T-Mobile handsets quickly discovered that T-Mobile was almost as bad, and that getting a mobile signal indoors was an impossibility.
With the merger of these two big mobile networks, EE still haven't managed to increase their coverage. All they have done is to roll out 4G and hike their prices up - Yes, you can get a decent 4G signal in most very large towns and cities now, but the overall coverage and reliability is non-existent.
RootMetrics - you need to do more testing in more locations.
Is your network coverage good enough?
After poor customer service, mobile network coverage is the most frequently complained about issue.
The one thing that customers tend to be blind to is that just because they can get the SuperSmartPhone XYZ on a tempting contract, if they find that they can barely use the phone due to poor signal, the cooling off period isn't long enough to really get a handle on how the phone will perform on the given network.
Many customers will "make do", when in actual fact they are tied in to a 2 year contract that they may struggle to get any value from.
Caveat emptor springs to mind.
A colleague of mine stoically sticks with O2, even though the O2 network around his home and work is non-existent. Why? Because O2 offer him a decent handset.
He clearly doesn't use it very much away from his home WiFi network.
- So, if you are about to take the plunge and switch networks, can you trust RootMetrics information?
The answer is yes, but for the love of God do your own testing before you sign any contract, even a rolling 30 day SIM only contract.
RootMetrics offer what is the best "average" mobile testing, but it isn't exhaustive and I have even found that some network operators' coverage maps are, amazingly, better than RootMetrics' own maps.
The best way to test out any new network is to get hold of a free PAYG SIM from your chosen network(s). Pop it in a spare mobile and see what the signal is like in varying conditions.
By this, I mean look at your signal strength in every room in your home, at different locations (no point not having a signal where you sit!). Also, test the signal at different times of day, and in different weather conditions - Dry or wet atmospheres can affect signal strengths.
Look at your signal strength indicators in all of the places that you go to regularly (family homes, the pub, shopping, work, etc.).
By now, you'll realise that you need to do some quite exhaustive signal trials, and ideally once ou have decided that the signal is good enough for your use, top up the SIM and test it out with your own real-world tests: Mobile data connections can be flaky, and call quality is still a problem for many areas, so try out your new (potential) network well, before you decide to commit.
