Idea Prepaid in Gurgaon

[Sushubh]

I got myself a test Idea SIM to check out 3G coverage around my house. Airtel has been a mess and most of the time I have either zero connectivity or crappy EDGE connectivity. The SIM is expected to take 2 days to activate 😕

Anyways. Wanted feedback on how to activate 3G on it and other tips and tricks. They do not seem to have any plan between 300MB and 1GB on 3G?

 

[rj27]

Idea do have plan for 300 MB for 102rs and 600 MB for 198 rs while the 1 GB plan comes for 249 rs all with 30 days validity. Check Paytm for recharge options.

For the last 2 months I am getting 1 GB plus 500 MB promotional data on 249 recharge effectively 1.5 GB. Idea uses Vodafone towers for its 3G at most places and airtel for few areas where Voda don't have one. Speeds I have experienced in Gurgaon are between 3-6 mbps in most areas, but your experience will depend on your local BTS.

Overall Idea has the best 3G coverage in haryana with coverage even in almost all villages with significant population. Hell I am getting 9.5 mbps to 10 mbps most time of the day when tethering via phone while 12-13 mbps via dongle in my village. I haven't seen such speed even in Delhi except a few places.

 

[Sushubh]

Cool. So I should port out from Airtel or use the test connection for a few days? I have put the sim in the older Galaxy Nexus. Battery life on this device is a mess. Would need to buy a new battery to properly use it.

 

[rj27]

Using as a test connection will be a safer bet.

 

[Sushubh]

Right. Idea is pretty strange in my area. People have open counters in my local market where they are selling idea SIM cards. I avoided them and went to their mini store which recently opened. They did not even took my signature on any form of the photocopied IDs. Just took a photo and an address proof and gave me the SIM. 😕 God knows what scam is being run by them and how many connections are they going to open on my name 😕

 

[x720]

Just an fyi, Idea uses Vodafone Delhi for 3G.

Idea Haryana has its own 3G network.

 

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[Sushubh]

The guy was telling something similar to some other customer while I was in the store.

So here in Gurgaon, I would need to connect to Vodafone network? 😕

 

[x720]

For now Vodafone for 3G. But, once they launch 3G in their 900Mhz spectrum, recently won in the auction, it should be pretty awesome!

Idea Haryana has its own 3G network.

You should've signed at least! Not that its foolproof, but they don't usually bother with proofs that are already signed, at least that's what the local sim retailer says..

 

[Sushubh]

I asked if I was required to sign on the form... Nope they said 😕

 

[rj27]

Right Idea Haryana has it's own 3G network, here Airtel and Vodafone uses Idea towers.

Most of the SIM retailers are douchebags, they just ask for a photogarh and id proof and that's it. Then they'll insist that all things will be taken care of, no need of signature, or filling up of the form in front of the customer. I had to force my local retailers to do all in front of me and take a signature while taking a Airtel SIM some time back.

 

[Sushubh]

🙁

And this was at an official idea mini store and not a random store.

 

[x720]

In any case. I feel, you can expect to get better 2G on Vodafone, coverage wise, because of the 900Mhz band.

What does the network scan while on 3G show?

To test. Dial *#*#4636#*#* on the nexus.
Go to phone info, scroll down and select wcdma only. Then run a manual network scan and see which network shows up. Should give a rough idea.

 

[Sushubh]

abhi chalu nahi hua hai. 😕

 

[x720]

Not talking about the new Sim.

In general on the nexus 5 with airtel at home.

 

[Sushubh]

Bada slow phone hai 😕