HTC Desire series

[TreborMint]

Hi

I am having massive 3G access problems with my Desire HD.  Vodafone support have been no use, despite many communications, so thought I would try here.

I get very sporadic 3G data acess.  My phone is connected to the 3G network most of the time, but for most of the day will not allow any data access (web, email, market, etc).

It's possible it's network congestion as it tends to be ok late at night or early morning.  I am in Newcastle Upon Tyne city centre.  However, other Vodafone user's seem ok when I cannot access data.  If I change the phone to only work with 2G then data works fine.

I have searched the internet and can see lots of other Desire HD owners with similar problems on Vodafone and other networks, so perhaps it is the phone??

I have checked my APN settings and note they refer to the wap.vodafone.co.uk settings and not the internet settings, but when I change the APN to internet with web as the username and password I still have the same problem.

Can anyone shed any light on this because at the moment this phone and/or Vodafone are next to useless.

Thanks

Dave

[Dave]

Hi TreborMint, welcome to the eForum!

We've now created a Network issues troubleshooting thread designed to guide you through a few checks and if necessary to help with reporting any issues to us by getting the correct information. If you haven't yet, can you please have a look at that thread for me?

I do know from previous queries that Newcastle-Upon-Tyne city centre is scheduled to get a number of additional 3G cells in the next few months as part of our nationwide network improvements, so the general signal in the area will be boosted by these, however that doesn't mean there isn't an issue right now so if you can check that thread we can double-check now if needed.

Dave

eForum Team

[TreborMint]

Hello Dave.  Thanks for the response and hope you're having a good day .

I can confirm I have been through all the steps in your link and am now at step 6.  Four your information with regards step 5, there are similar threads here about Newcastle and other areas, but no solution.

In answer to the step 6 questions:

* The problem only accurs on 3G, 2G is fine

* Please use NE1 1BB as a reference post code

* I get a signal and 3G data connection all the time, but no data most of the time.  I have not noticed the problem in any other area.

* I do get reliability issues with voice calls, where they tend to drop after a while

I can also confirm I have just had a conversation with another Android user on Vodafone in Newcastle and he reports exactly the same problems.

Regards,

Dave

[TreborMint]

In order to demonstrate how bad the data connection is at the moment, I have been running a constant ping from my phone to a web server of mine that responds to ping and has a high quality internet connection.  A typical portion of the result I get is:

Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
x.x.x.x response time: 276ms
Timed out waiting for responses.
x.x.x.x response time: 192ms
x.x.x.x response time: 203ms
x.x.x.x response time: 145ms
x.x.x.x response time: 1345ms
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
x.x.x.x response time: 2199ms
x.x.x.x response time: 1200ms
x.x.x.x response time: 200ms
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.
Timed out waiting for responses.

That's a very poor connection, but does show I have a data connection.  The packet loss and ping times are horrible though.  It shows I have a very intermittent data connection.

As a comparison, I ran this ping test to the same server from the same phone, but with it connected to my 3 WiFi dongle....

x.x.x.x response time: 107ms
x.x.x.x response time: 116ms
x.x.x.x response time: 102ms
x.x.x.x response time: 198ms
x.x.x.x response time: 115ms
x.x.x.x response time: 154ms
x.x.x.x response time: 123ms
x.x.x.x response time: 122ms
x.x.x.x response time: 158ms
x.x.x.x response time: 144ms
x.x.x.x response time: 99.2ms
x.x.x.x response time: 105ms
x.x.x.x response time: 162ms
x.x.x.x response time: 113ms
x.x.x.x response time: 147ms
x.x.x.x response time: 111ms
x.x.x.x response time: 151ms
x.x.x.x response time: 92.0ms
x.x.x.x response time: 91.7ms
x.x.x.x response time: 112ms
x.x.x.x response time: 134ms
x.x.x.x response time: 102ms
x.x.x.x response time: 109ms
x.x.x.x response time: 124ms
x.x.x.x response time: 116ms

A world of difference!!  Whilst it's not a direct comparison as one goes across the 3G interface on my phone and the other across my WiFi interface, I believe the problem is on the Vodafone network.  If so, it shows 3's network in my area is performing massively better than Vodafone's.

I'll do some more tests to compare the network performance with more compariable connections and concentrate on the local mobile networks too.

[TreborMint]

Well I have just put my 3 SIM into my Desire HD and ran the same ping tests as I did with the Vodafone SIM.  I get zero packet loss and good response times as in the test above.

Both Vodafone and 3 connections from my phone show full signals and HSDPA data connections.

Surely this is enough evidence to show that the Vodafone 3G network in one of the UK's major cities just is not up to scratch??

I spend 90% of my time here with one of the world's most advanced smart phones, but am unable to make the most of the phone and the service I pay Vodafone for most of the time.

Can someone please advise?

[TreborMint]

Since reponding to the moderator's request for more information, no moderators have replied.  Please can someone update this thread?

[Woody]

Hi TreborMint,

We are aware of the situation in Newcastle at the moment and we are working on some major improvements at the moment. There are multiple sites planned for the next couple of months, which will have a major affect on the situation. We don't have an exact timescale at the present, but as soon as we have any more news, we will let you know.

Woody

eForum Team

[TreborMint]

Thanks Woody, that's fantastic news.

Can you tell me how I can make use of the phone and the service I pay you for in the meantime?

[RiGoRmOrTiS]

Same problem here and I would also like to know what I'm supposed to do in the meantime. I phoned and was told there is nothing wrong with 3G Performance in Newcastle City Centre. I was also told there are no plans for additional masts to fix the issue because there isn't an issue.
I beg to differ >

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMI_MmIB60

its like this all day...  Also apparantly because my account shows 400mb of use last month thats enough proof there are no problems.. pretty shakey logic there.

I'm at a loss of what to do; Vodafone has refused to help me in anyway..  Can Vodafone honestly say their service is acceptable after watching the video I posted above?

[acrobson]

An update on the poor Vodafone 3G service in the Newcastle NE1 City Centre area is available at the below links -

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Network/Unacceptable-3G-Newcastle-City-Centre/td-p/667555/page/5

http://www.forhacsec.com/2011/04/21/update-vodafone-unusable-3g-coverage-newcastle-ne1/

http://www.forhacsec.com/2011/03/17/adequate-3g-is-yet-to-reach-the-north/

[RiGoRmOrTiS]

Any update on the network issues in .Newcastle? A year on and absolutely no improvement and still get denial from Vodafone customer services that there is anything wrong.

[Wayne]

Hi RiGoRmOrTiS

Can you tell me what the full postcode of the affected area is? I’ll then take a look to see if there are any potential sites in the area that may alleviate the congestion issue.

Thanks

Wayne