Apple

[laurennareed]

Hi,

I've had my iphone for a year now.  I've been using the Vodafone sim card out of my Nokia since I got it - with no problems at all. 

Yesterday I kept trying to dial out and it would ring once and then say call failed.  It has been happening all today and my daughter has just come home and said she can't dial out either on her iphone.  When someone tries to phone me the phone doesn't ring but I just get a missed call message.  I can send and receive texts no problem and have a full signal.

I phoned the vodafone CS and they went through all the resetting network, 3G on and off, wireless settings, sure signal reset etc but she did say there had been a few other calls in my area about the same problem even though there was no known problem.  She put me through to 2nd line? and they said its because I took the sim out of my old phone and used it in the iphone and need a new sim card.  Its worked for a year without any problems so why has this happened now?

Incidentally, I haven't done any updates on my phone but my daughter has and we are both having the same problem.

A friend of mine has said she was told the same thing and changed her sim card but she is still having problems.  As I work with disabled people and am on call 24 hours to emergency cases, how am I supported to be contacted.  I'm feeling really stressed as its coming up to the weekend and I'm praying vodafone doesn't let me down.

Any ideas anyone?

[George]

Hi laurennareed,

Thank you for posting, I can understand how frustrating this issue must be, I'm confident a solution can be found though .

From the sound of your post, I'm assuming this issue only happens when you're at home, is that definitely the case? If so, I notice you mention that you've done a Sure Signal reset. Have you tried unplugging the Sure Signal temporarily, to see if the issue happens over the normal network as well? If it is just over the Sure Signal, then you may be affected by the Sure Signal SAC issue, take a look at thread I've linked to for further info.

If this is happening over the normal network then it could be due to a site recently being decomissioned in your area (site 674). I've emailed a contact in the network team so will be able to provide more information once I have a response if this is the case.

George

eForum Team

[laurennareed]

Hi George,

Thanks for your answer.

I have read the thread you linked to and I'm pretty confident it is the sure signal thats at fault.  My daughter and I can make calls ok when outside the house but not inside the house.  I tried unplugging the sure signal box and - low and behold - I could make calls!.  I plugged the box back in and I get 'call failed' again.  The only problem is that if I leave the sure signal box unplugged we only get intermittent signal.

I called into the Vodafone shop nearest to my house yesterday and the man said to ignore the advice from the helpline as its got nothing to do with the sim card at all.  He checked my settings and account and said they were all ok but he did mention that he's had 5 other people in that day from my area complaining about the same problem as me and it was only 10am!  Apparently there is a cell mast problem.

Do you know if is getting fixed and is it worth me deregistering my sure signal box and re-registering it?

Thanks

[jakems]

Hi,

I have been having the same problem - i had a new iphone contract upgrade friday 28th from day one I kept getting call failed which progressively got worse, I did all the resets advised and told to do, but nothing helped until last friday I gave up and phoned vodafone who decided the phone was faulty! (after1 1/2 hours trying to get through to them!)

I have recieved my replacement this morning and guess what call failed - i have to keep turning on and off the airplane mode before it will make a call? what am i doing wrong? - I love the phone but I am now getting a little diasapointed as it will do everything else except make a phone call!!! HELP before i go mad as i can now see this one going back too!! I am running the latest software on the handset. I am not sure what this sure signal is? it also happens at home or when I am out but it is worse at home! 

Please if someone can advise before madness and insanity creeps in i would be greatful!

[teamlivi]

Hi tech team,

My partner and I are having the same problem...chatting away then beep beep call failure! It happens at least once ot twice  per attempted call and its really starting ti annoys us. My partner lives 40 miles awayin Airdrie and is a taxi driver so the phone is sometimes our only link and safety net. I have phoned Vodafone whose remedy was to switch both phones on and off! Helpful...not!

We both have the most upto date software and have reset both phones, please help!!!

Mandy

Edinburgh

[tommyjay1978]

Hi

My wife and I have been having the same problems. We used to get a perfect reception at home but this week (14th May onwards) whenever we get home or in the local area the signal disappears totally. Even when the signal comes back it only lasts a short while and then disappears again. When I have a signal I'm still unable to make calls, it's very frustrating! I know it's not my phone or simcard because at work I'm able to make calls and send texts although the signal still isn't great. It seems to be the whole Vodafone network is a bit sketchy at the moment because enroute home I lose signal at places where I didn't used to. When I've spoken to Vodafone they just check the local masts and say that's all they can do. Surely the signal doesn't just go away after 2 years without any problems.

I've attached a Jpeg to illustrate the signal coming and going quickly and also the 'call 'failed' message even when I have a full reception.

Please help asap.

Regards

Tom

[Lee]

Hello teamlivi,

Thanks for your post about signal.

I've checked your profile postcode and can see you're in Edinburgh.

We're currently investigating reports of a loss of signal in that area. Have a look at this thread as I think it's probably where you're best posting

Hey tommyjay1978,

Thanks for your post too.

Your profile postcode isn't for the same area so I expect the issue is the same, though the cause is likely to be different.

 We're currently investigating a site that's not performing well and we've listed it here. Please subscribe to the linked thread to be notified of any changes to the status of the site.

Cheers to you both,

Lee

[wallywalts]

I'm having exactly the same problem. I can pretty much rule out the phone (iPhone 4S) because I've had it since October with a Three sim card and never had a call fail on me. Since I've switched over to Vodafone last month I would say nearly 50% of my calls have failed calls. This happens to me at work and at home and is intermittent. Sometimes after 3 mins, sometimes after 20 mins. Sometime it will just fail and then change to "Searching" and other times I watch the reception go from full to 1 bar. 

I thought Vodafone was supposed to be the best..  I even own shares in them, but to be honest Three had a much better 3G signal and never dropped out. wish I'd never left them now

[wallywalts]

After some googling I think I've probably discovered the problem. The Three network only provides a 3G connection where as Vodafone likes to switch to Edge / GPRS depending on the reception.. and thats before we've thrown WiFi into the mix. 

My guess is that the 3G data signal is used to enhance call quality and every now and again the signal will change to Edge/GPRS.. thus causing a call drop.. as Three never had to switch to Edge/GPRS this problem didnt occur.

If I manually disable 3G during a call it won't actually disable the 3G till the call ends, but when it does the reception completely goes away before reconnecting as Edge..same happens when enabling 3G during a call.

It looks like Vodafone / iPhone don't play too well together during the switching process as my friend has a HTC phone on Vodafone and never has this problem.

[jeffkinn]

I have an iPhone4 with Vodafone and I have never experienced this problem. I always have 3G enabled and when it moves into an edge or GPRS area the call continues uninterrupted. So the theory that Vodafone and the iphone don't mix is a red herring. However, it does seem from what you say that the problem has occurred when switching from 3 to Vodafone. I would try the normal troubleshooting procedures to cure the problem Reset Restore via iTunes Restore as new The restore from iTunes might well work as it will re-load the carrier settings on to the phone. Good luck

[wallywalts]

I wiped the phone and now doing a restore via iCloud.. fingers crossed this is going to work. Do you know the main difference between doing iCloud restore vs iTunes restore? I'm assuming they're both the same just one stores the backup file locally the other in the cloud?

[jeffkinn]

I'm not sure about a restore from iCloud - I'd be interested to know how it works for you. It does of course depend on that you have elected to save to iCloud but I don't think it will bring back text messages for instance. 

And music will have to be re-loaded from iTunes, and apps as well I suppose.

[kids]

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wallywalts wrote:

I wiped the phone and now doing a restore via iCloud.. fingers crossed this is going to work. Do you know the main difference between doing iCloud restore vs iTunes restore? I'm assuming they're both the same just one stores the backup file locally the other in the cloud?

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Page 173 0f the User guide:

Backing up with iCloud

iCloud automatically backs up to iPhone daily over Wi-Fi, when it’s connected to a power source and is locked. The date and time of the last backup is listed at the bottom of the Storage & Backup screen. iCloud backs up your:

Purchased music, TV shows, apps, and books

Photos and videos in your Camera Roll

iPhone settings

App data

Home screen and app organization

Messages (iMessage, SMS, and MMS)

Ringtones

On thing I always do is to back up using iTunes on my PC and also do a backup using iCloud.

This way if you need to do a remote backup you have it in iCloud and if your prefer the iTunes method it is stored locally. doing it this way keeps both backups, one does not erase the other.

[wallywalts]

iCloud backup seems to be pretty amazing actually. Restored my phone exactly back to how I had it before.. Text messages included.

Once restored I plugged it into iTunes which automatically copied across any apps that arent available anymore through the app store.

I'll post back if I have another dropped call but havent been able to properly test it yet.

[jeffkinn]

Perfect and I've learnt something new as well. I hope is stays stable for you.

[wallywalts]

looks like i spoke too soon. First phone call after the full reset and another call failed. I quickly turned off wifi and 3G and rang them back and 8 mins later another call failed.. I'm out of ideas. Annoyingly I have a telephone interview for a job overseas and I need a working phone for this.. tempted to just buy a pay as you go phone and get them to call that instead.. pretty sure I won't get call failed.

[wallywalts]

Ok just got another call failed.. turned off data completely this time and boom call failed after 15 mins

[wallywalts]

I'm trying the full reset via iTunes now.. this seems to be a bit more involved than the simple reset via the phone / iCloud restore as iTunes downloads the full firmware from Apple. Will post back with results in the next few days.

[wallywalts]

Full iTunes restore and call failed after 11 mins..

[kids]

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wallywalts wrote:
Full iTunes restore and call failed after 11 mins..

Going back to the most simplistic of possible solutions:  Although you have only recently joined Vodafone have you been into a Vodafone store and asked them for a new sim?

Often a dodgy sim will cause all sorts of problems with intermittent failure to pick up the signal leading to calls dropping out.

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