Nokia 105 (unlocked) and 3 SIM

A question about : Nokia 105 (unlocked) and 3 SIM

Hi,

I have bought a Nokia 105 for my son who is fast approaching 11. We wanted to get a basic phone for him to call and message us if needed (he starts secondary school this year).
I wanted a SIM PAYG that I could top up, when needed, and not one where I had to top up every 30 days. I found the perfect SIM (or, so I thought) with the 3 network. I put Ј10 on the SIM and have tried the phone out sending a couple of messages (worked ok in the house).
I have read though that he will struggle to get a signal due to the 3 SIM using 3G and the phone is 2G. What is that about?
Have I wasted my Ј10? I have seen another contract deal (E2Save) that comes with the same phone for 99p per month (it's a redemption deal).
Will things be ok with the Nokia 105 and the '3' SIM?

Best answers:

• 3 is a 3G network, that has a (now..very) limited agreement to use orange as its fallback 2g network where 3G either doesn't exist or is very weak. These 'not spots' are becoming very limited, and as 3 patch the holes, they also switch off the fallback service.
  In the past, 3 had a very bad coverage reputation, and to compensate they used to offer some exceptional deals. People used to use 3G capable phones, but lock the signal down to 2g to ensure coverage. 3 quickly spotted this, as they have to pay Orange (EE) for the time spent that people 'roam' with them. When they identified people using 2g all the time, they suspended their network coverage.
  Part of your agreement with 3 is (or it always was..) that you would use a 3G handset.
  You might be lucky, but for the sake of spending a few quid to get your son a better phone with 3G capability, do you really want to take the risk of his phone service being suspended, when he actually might need to use it?
• the Nokia 105 will struggle as its a 2G phone.
  you can pick up 3G capability handsets from supermarkets for Ј10 to Ј30
• Already answered in your duplicate post on the Phones board
• Hi,
  Thanks for the replies.
  I will look at getting him a 3G phone as I really want to use the '3' SIM that has no time limit. I will probably keep the Nokia 105 for myself as a spare (handy for work on-call). Has anyone got any ideas if there is another 'no time limit' SIM that will work on 2G? I don't want to pay Ј10 a month for a top up on a basic phone that won't be used much.
• Giffgaff goodiebags have no time limit, but after the 30 days you will start paying their standard rates
  https://giffgaff.com/goodybags-3g
  https://giffgaff.com/goodybags-4g
  most providers are geared up for 3G and will struggle with 2G
  here are their PAYG prices after you have used your allotted allowances
  https://giffgaff.com/compare-pay-as-you-go-tariffs
• There is no time limit on PAYG unless you buy a 30 day bundle, so if the phone is hardly to be used then just put the minimum on it and top up as necessary. The per minute/text rate will be higher, but that won't matter with such low usage.
  All you must do is remember to make a chargeable call or text every 6 months (or whatever the cut off period) to avoid the number being recycled.
  All SIM's except Three ones will work on a 2G handset-but, given their near-universality these days, why not get a 3G handset and future-proof a bit? You can then use the 3-2-1 SIM in both.