3G Issues in Cheltenham/Gloucester Area

[spacecadet7]

Since 26th January my mobile dongle keeps looses 3G connection and goes to 2G. When I went to the Vodafone store in Cheltenham I was told 80% of the customers in the store that Saturday were complaining about the same issue and Vodafone had been informed. Is there a problem in the Cheltenham area? My postcode is GL3 2NX. 3G used to be brilliant, but now its very erratic.

[DPH]

Are you getting 3G signal and connection but it will drop back to 2G at regular intervals or is it spending more time on 2G than 3G?

[spacecadet7]

Are you getting 3G signal and connection but it will drop back to 2G at regular intervals or is it spending more time on 2G than 3G?

Sometimes it won't connect. Other times it connects to 3G and then keeps going back to 2G. I can see the dongle light going from light blue to darker blue and then back again. Sometimes it disconnects. The strength indicator is 2 bars - but it was like that before the 26th Jan and it was really fast and reliable. I've tried changing the setting to 3G only, but then it often won't connect. 3G Preferred is what it is set to now.

[Retired-George]

Hi spacecadet7,

Firstly, if no-one's done so already, then I'd like to welcome you to the eForum .

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing 3G issues. I know how frustrating a slower than anticipated internet connection can be, so I'm eager to help you out .

Having looked at your postcode, I can't see any faults with any of the 3G masts around your area. I can see that you're in an area that is right on the border of an area of relatively poor 3G coverage, which might explain why this only works intermittently for you. When a lot of users connect to the same 3G cell then something called "cell breathing" occurs. To put it simply, when more people connect, the radius of the signal shrinks, which can mean that if you're right on the border of an area of 3G coverage then the signal may come and go.

Let me know if you are still having major issues.

George
eForum Team

[myreflection10]

There are loads of problems with 3g at the moment - all over the country it seems, by the amount of people complaining on the forum! I have a 3g problem on my phone....when it's connected I can't phone anyone or text anyone....and no one can phone or text me. Very useful! I've had to switch to 2g just to get the phone to function as a phone....
According to my local Vodafone store there's a problem with masts in my area...and they can't pinpoint the fault. My increasing suspicion from looking on the forum is that there is a nationwide 3g problem but, as you would expect, they don't want to admit it!
I was told to 'persevere'. Luckily my mobile broadband is with Orange :rolleyes:

[enzo.matrix]

Hi,

I am having an issue with my Vodafone dongle, which I believe is related to this issue. I'm in Wood Green, North London N22 6UZ and my dongle was working perfectly for the last 2 months, had about 2 bars of 3G/3G+ signal and got speeds of around 2mbps, however at the end of January, I believe Vodafone have been carrying out nationwide mast upgrades as 3G coverage was completely dropped for about a day, and when 3G signal is not available instead of having a GPRS logo on my phone, I have an EDGE logo; since Vodafone is well known for not having an EDGE network I hazard a guess that Vodafone are rolling out an EDGE network in all London areas. I have to say that since doing so, the quality and reliability of the Vodafone network has dropped steeply.

Now, with my dongle; first problems were speed, I went from having on a regular basis 1.5 - 2 mbps which was fantastic and then it started dragging its heels to about 200-300kbps during the EDGE appearance (EVEN THOUGH IT WAS CONNECTED TO 3G!?)

And now that the dust has settled, my dongle was getting back up to speeds of 2-3mbps (happy days!) and now during this last week, when I load the Vodafone Connect utility for my MacBook Pro it just says 'Searching for Network' for about 10mins then it tries connecting to the EDGE network, however it gets to the 'setting up TCP/IP' and just hangs for a bit before flipping back to 'searching for network'.

I would also like to point out I get 3G on my phone, and when connected to the internet on my phone it usually decides to bump upto 3G+, why it drops 3G+ when its idle I don't know, I'm guessing its a Vodafone trick to save idle bandwidth. So why my dongle can't find the 3G network anymore I don't know...


Ashley

[Retired-Daz_V]

Hi Ashley Brown,

This does sound odd, especially if your phone is picking up 3G+ HSDPA without issue

Can I suggest trying to swap SIMs between your Jet and Modem? Does this result in any difference?

Also, can you try a short USB extension cable between the Modem and your Mac? This may reduce any interference issues that may be plagueing your connection - it's rare but can sometimes happen.

Also, how's your connection speed outside of your home/building? It might be worth noting if different rooms affect your connection.

The reason why it bumps up or down to a different connection bandwidth is because the modem detects stronger connection signal with the band and transfers to it - this will result in a short pause whilst the modem adjusts.

I've checked your area and it appears that you're next to a 3G site - have you noticed if specific times of day are affected in particular? It may be the cell, and with some furth info we'll be able to hone in on the specifics of the problem!

Hope to hear back from you soon,


Daz

eForum Team