Samsung Galaxy S3

[JigarPatel2]

Hello,

Need some help from Vodafone Team -

I have recently moved from Tmobile to Vodafone and also got S3. I am facing network reception issues (at home indoor as well on road).I never faced reception or internet issue with T mobile before.

Question - Is there any known reception issue with S3 on vodafone in London? 

My signal strength hover around 0 asu to 8 asu (signal strength option in phone). Not able to access internet. Youtube take ages to load at work on (3rd floor -EC1R). Only few times I see 18 or 24 ASU strength and H+ internet sign, otherwise it always stay in GPRS or EDGE (network type)

Please help.

Thanks,

JP

[Andy]

Hi JigarPatel2,

To rule out any network issues, can you please try the steps in our Network Troubleshooting thread.

If you are still experiencing the issue having completed these steps, post the template with your answers here and I'll have a member of the team get back to you ASAP.

Thanks

Andy
Moderator

[JSK73]

Can't answer your office problem but it may be that if your reception is that bad at home that you should look at the Sure Signal box, I have one and they are fantastic. (If you can get 2 then put one in your office and you're sorted!)

[JigarPatel2]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your quick response. I tried the options mentioned in troubleshooting, but looks like there is some other issue.

1). Does the issue happen in just one location?

 No, it happens at home, at office, outside on the road and at Farringdon railway (national rail) station. ( i mean everywhere between office and work)

 
2). Does the issue occur if you try your SIM card in a different phone?

 I got microsim, couldn't try on any other phone

 
3). Can you check your coverage here? Please bear in mind that this is only a guideline and can never be 100% accurate, particularly for indoor coverage.

checked, everythings looks okay (CR7 6JR, EC1R 3DA)
 
4). Can you check our Faults Board, which contains all the mast issues we’re aware of?
 nothing over there

5). Does this issue happen on 2G/3G or both? To check this, you can amend your phone's network settings. Our Help Centre contains all the instructions - just select your model of phone and then select "network".

I think, there is limited 2G network and 3G only outside at some places
 
6). What is the full postcode of where the issue occurs? If you’re uncomfortable with this appearing on the forum, then please add it to your profile by clicking “My eForum Settings” on the front page and then selecting “Personal Information”.

CR7 6JR , EC1r 3DA
 
7). How far you have to travel to regain service?

at home - outside my room/in garden i get full 2g service, but limited 3G/H

 
8). Do you get any error messages/tones if you’re having problems with calling/texting? No

Please help - I can't use the feature of latest powerful phone with good 3G coverage, but even not getting proper 2G reception. 

Many Thanks,

JP

[itsbirt]

JP

I have basically the same issue, vodafone signal throughout London is just shockingly poor unless youre on 2G

They say H/H+ is all 3G but it just obviously isnt - this is quite clear by the battery drain indicator graph. If H+ was 3G it would show signal as a green bar and not constantly looking for a better signal

Out of interest - where do you find the signal strength option on the phone?

Cheers
Birt

[ado28]

We shouldn't need to PAY for a sure box in order to get a decent reception. You can't lug a sure box about with you outside now can you? VF need to invest in their antenna's or whatever makes the signals.....

[JigarPatel2]

Birt - In all Android phone - if you goto "About Device" or About Phone(last menu item under Settings) and than select "Status" - you would be able to see network name, signal strength along with IMEI and IP/Mac Address:

Ado28 - As you mentioned we really do not need to buy Sure Signal. I understand in some special circumtance it would be helpful and required.

( I wonder how O2, 3  & T mobile network customer are surviving without Sure signal inside their home/indoor)

-JP

[itsbirt]

awesome thanks for the tip JP

[James]

Hi All,

Looking at the postcodes provided I can see the following;

CR7 6JR – this is a bit of a patchy 3G area and although there is coverage it can be restricted when indoors due to it being in a densely built and populated area.

At the moment all of the sites in this area are running fine.

EC1R 3DA – This area is covered by excellent 3G coverage and you shouldn’t have any issues however, there are currently optimisation works being carried out over theLondonarea.

Can you confirm if it is only these areas that you are having signal issues?

Also, do you know if there is anyone else having the same issue with 3G in the area?

If you change your network settings to WCDMA Only, does the issue remain?

Does deactivating WIFI make a difference?

If the other users in this thread can let us know of any other postcodes where this happens we can get this checked to see if it is network or handset related.

James

[saabirsa]

Hello,

I have recently moved from 3 to Vodafone and have noticed that I am experiencing the same sort of issues as JP above; only getting one bar of signal in the CR7 6BF postcode area. I am using the Samsung Galaxy S3, and due to the poor coverage, I have noticed that the phone is draining the battery significantly whilst trying to find better coverage.

I can only assume that this is a network issue, as I was temporally on the 3 network whilst my port was completed, with full coverage and no network problems. At first, I thought it may be an issue with the phone, but this was ruled out after I requested a replacement in order to resolve the battery drain issue. Disabling Wi-Fi seems to have no effect, and there does not seem to be a setting to lock the phone onto WCDMA only, only options to lock the phone onto UTMS, HSDPA or HSDPA+HSUPA. My other family members are on 3 and T-Mobile respectively, both with reasonable 3G coverage.

Although I understand that I could buy a Sure Signal unit, again, like the members above, I feel that I should not have to do so in order to get reasonable coverage.

Would the Tech Team be able to advise?

Many thanks.

[thesoupdragon]

---

saabirsa wrote:

 ... there does not seem to be a setting to lock the phone onto WCDMA only, only options to lock the phone onto UTMS, HSDPA or HSDPA+HSUPA.

---

Go to... Settings > More Settings > Mobile Networks > Network Mode - Select the option you require.

GSM/WCDMA (Auto Mode)

GSM Only

WCDMA Only

[saabirsa]

Thanks - Android's and their complexities eh?

[Dave]

Hi saabirsa,

As James mentioned, the CR7 area is one with patches of lower coverage. Looking at the coverage checker which we provide as an online guide, this specific postcode is right in one of these weaker patches, both for 2G and 3G signal. 

I have submitted a feedback form to this postcode to request both 2G and 3G improvements on your behalf. These allow our network planners to see where the demand lies for future updates, so the more requests they get the better.

As a user myself, I really would recommend the Sure Signal for providing an improved service at home. We cannot guarantee indoor signal from the network at all locations due to the nature of the technology, the effects of certain building materials and so on, but the Sure Signal box provides a Femto cell in your own home using your existing wired broadband connection.

Dave

.