Vodafone Sure Signal

[jcurtis]

I have 2 Sure Signal boxes (different locations), one of them was working fine a while ago (serial 40111611451) which has stopped working, similair to the 'camping on' issue of whice there are various threads.

The box did work, no equipment changes, then it stopped accepting the registered phones.

Everything has been powered down and back up.

I have de-registered and re-registered the SS box, which shows as active on the website.

It shows power and system lights on steady, which indicate everything is normal and it's connected, the phone light doesn come on apart from a flash when the unit boots.

No 3G handsets will connect with it, tried several iPhones and an Android handset to no avail.  These have been power cycled too.

This is all whilst battling the contstant "we cannot process your reuqest" the website throws up making it almost impossible to use.

Given I use these for my business, I am wondering if I need to look at moving away from Vodafone as the website is unreliable and the SS solution is getting worse to the point of being useless.

From that SS serial number you should be able to look up my account, a call to discuss would be of use.  Please, Please, not yet another "sublit a webform" with a subject specific subject line.

[jcurtis]

An improvement, 1 of the 5 phones on the box seems to register to the SS.  The rest seem to register, in that they show a strong signal but fail to make or receive calls.

So it seems the following has resulted in a partial sucess...

throughout, use IE ONLY to access My Account, I'm a Mac user and Safari / Chrome just randomly return masses of errors.  Which means firing up a Windows 7 virtual machine each time.  As I have to do this to get a my bill each month, despite reporting it does not work on a Mac (try downloading a .pdf version of your bill on a Mac, never managed it)

Login into MyAccount

de-register of the SS

Logout and back into MyAccount (or it simply produces the "we cannot process your request" errors)

re-register the SS and not add additional numbers (doing so seems to trigger an error and the register fails).

reboot the router

reset SS to factory with button pushing

Go out for dinner

Come back and hard boot the phones

[pryland]

I sympathise. Mine is a business account, but luckily my business gets a normal signal. At home I need the SS box and it had been OK for 90% of the time but REGULARLY does not work on a Saturday.
Just had a whole weekend with no SS signal so NO mobile phone at all!
Amazing, this morning it is working again.
The system is so unreliable as to be worse than useless!
When will the networks get proper coverage in rural areas?
I am only 7 miles from Norwich, an almost flat county, yet there is no network whose signal is usable here. GRRRRR!

[James]

Hi jcurtis,

Thanks for your post here.

I have taken a look at your Sure Signal and can see that there was a location profile update that would have stopped the unit from working correct however, deregistering and re-registering the Sure Signal does look to have sorted this for you and it was all updated as of 06/08/2012 at 20:39.

Please can you confirm if you are still experiencing issues with the phones not connecting to the Sure Signal?

@ pryland, I know that there is a number of updates going through the Sure Signal service at the moment which can sometimes cause a few issues however this shouldn’t be every weekend.

In regards to your coverage I would keep an eye on our enhancement map for all future coverage updates.

James

[jcurtis]

Interesting over the location update.  I had a replacement router at one address, so my VM IP number changed.  That triggered a "your SS has moved" e-mail, but that was for the other SS I have on my account.  The e-mail doesn't say which SS the e-mail refers to and the website gives no clue either.  I did wonder if this SS box wasn't working becuase it was flagged as needing a location update, so I tried that....

Sadly, when you confirm the postcode on the system there is no 'confirm' just 'change postcode'.  So if you leave the postcode as it and follow the procedure through, you find you cannot save as there is one already with the same name, so you have to rename it.  Then, for me, the portal spews out lots of code and fails.  That leaves you with no indication at all if anything has worked or not.

There should be an option just to confirm it hasn't moved, rather than go through the re-locate procedure when it hasn't moved, which VF seem to detect by a change in the IP address the SS box is using (my ISP IP Address).  That could be via a link embedded within the notification e-mail.

I spoke at length with a VF network engineer over signal problems in this area, you can get the postcode from the SS box.  Aparantly there is a ring of 6 3G masts around the area, all producing coverage which just reaches the location in question.  As these breath to cater for demand the phones constantly try and swap between basestations and give up - even at night you cannot get a reliable 3G signal even upstairs.  The local non-3G masts are fairly low and their location puts their signal passing through an entire street of solid brick houses. Thus I needed to put in a SS box just to get even a basic phone service let alone a 3G one, unless you hang outside a rear bedroom window or walk 20 yards down the street in either direction.

So far it seems my iPad will not use the SS box for data, but when here it uses the WiFi so thats OK.  The phones link to the SS but we still get some inbound calls diverting directly to Voice Mail - but anyone with a SS gets used to that happening.

[Smiler2]

It's woeful.  A tech guy called me yesterday & surprise surprise, it was actually working.  10 minutes afterwards, my handset would not connect.

It's been like that since.  And don't get me started on the overseas call centre. 

Like a pencil with no lead..

After nearly 13 years, time to start looking for another provider.

[James]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your posts here.

@ jcurtis,  I’m pleased that your phone seems to be working again even with a few calls going straight to voicemail however this can be caused by a SIM issue and it may be worth getting this changed if the problem persists.

In relation to the iPad, this should connect although the data connection speed will be pretty slow as it will be throttled by the packet transition through the Sure Signal.

We have updated the location for the device for you, please let me know if you see any improvements.

@smiler2, Looking through your posts I can’t see your Sure Signal serial number anywhere, so that I can look at this in more detail, please can you provide this for you and I can then check the registration for you.

James

[Smiler2]

Serieal Nº 21223482296

I do'nt have a registration issue.  The tech guy told me why I could not see that handset or adminstrator as I am now the "owner."

All I really want is for the sodding thing to work.

What is the pont of having it plugged in if it never works.

I understand that a major firmware update is due soon, but really, why can't VF just come clean about the problems they have with this technology & provide their customers with a proper UK point of contact?

[Lee]

Hi there Smiler2,

Thanks for your feedback.

I can assure you there are many thousands of customers who are happy with their device and it's provided a working solution for signal blackspots up and down the country.

Please could you tell me what lights are lit up on the VSS and whether they're steady or flashing?

I've forced a resync of the unit for you. Please factory reset it as per the below instructions and let me know how you get on.

VSS Factory Reset

• Hold the reset button till all the lights come on or flash (about 30 seconds)
• Keeping the rest button held, remove and re-insert the power lead
• Once all the lights come on or flash, release the reset button
• The VSS should come online within the hour

Cheers,

LeeH

[Smiler2]

Thanks for the reply Lee.

The 1st, 2nd & 4th lights were steady.

I've just tried the re-set procedure you suggested.

Holding the button, all lights came on (3 out of 4 were already on).

I removed the power lead & re-inserted it.

All 4 lights were instantly on.

1st light ON

2nd lightON

4th light FLASHING

I'll report back later.

Is there any way to know if the SS is actually working properly when not making a call (aside from that annoying interferance with the PC sound system)?

[Smiler2]

OK, I gave it just over an hour.

The 1st, 2nd & 4th lights are steady.

My handset will not connect.

I'm not surprised.

What next?

[Smiler2]

Right, is anybondy going to actually deal with this?  The SS is still not working & the phone is next to useless as the normial signal is ######, rendering my phone unusable.

[DaveCD]

Hi Smiler2

Thank you for your post.

I can see that you connected with the Sure Signal this morning, please can you let me know if you are still experiencing difficulties?

If you are please can you try the device on a different connection such as a family memners or friends connection and advise us if you are still experiencing difficulties.

Many Thanks

DaveCD

eForum Team

[Smiler2]

Dave, what do you mean by "I can see that you connected with the Sure Signal this morning"?

Every day is the same.

The 1st, 2nd & 4th lights are on.  The handset does not connect to the SS.

Also, what does "try the device on a different connection such as a family memners or friends connection" mean?

How do I do that.

Please try to respond today as I am out of the office tomorow & on the verge of binning the SS & getting another moble provider.

I am sick of this.

[Lee]

Hi there Smiler2,

I've just replied to you in this thread.

Cheers,

Lee