Drop In 3g Reception?

[drunk1]

Hi,

Been using a contract 3G dongle for roughly 8-9 months now in 1 location and have been getting 4/5 3G reception for the whole time, although over the past couple of days the best I'm getting is 1 bar 3G with it usually being a 5 bar GPRS signal I am recieving.

This is no good at all, I am having to use my iPhone to get things done but Safari isn't the best browser for what I need the connection for.

But I have heard rumours that the Vodafone 3G network will struggle due to now having the iPhone on its network and hence 3G usage will take a massive jump on Vodafone.

Have also checked the coverage map to see if there are any engineering works etc that would affect my signal at this time but everything seems ok, well, the website says so anyway.

So not happy at paying £25 p/month for a GPRS signal.

Any help would be excellent.

Thank you.

[Retired-Jon_V]

Hi Cyndy_Hughes,

The coverage map on our website is not a "live" representation of the coverage you will get. It does not take into account site faults or maintanence works. So that we can investigate this for you, please confirm the full postcode where you are having problems, and we'll look into it for you

Jon

eForum Team

[drunk1]

Hi Cyndy_Hughes,

The coverage map on our website is not a "live" representation of the coverage you will get. It does not take into account site faults or maintanence works. So that we can investigate this for you, please confirm the full postcode where you are having problems, and we'll look into it for you

Jon

eForum Team

Thank you.

Postcode is G15 7QE.

[Retired-Jon_V]

Hi Cyndy,

There is an acknowledged fault on one of your local 3G cell sites, that was raised on the 10th of January. The reference for this is 1955120.

At present, we need replacement parts (something to do with a 20m false tree?) which have been ordered, and should arrive within the next 3 to 5 weeks. Further to this, because the access to the site is across two golf-course fairways, and we'll be transporting rather large peices of equipment across it - the owners of the golf course have asked us to wait until the ground has dried, as even with a specialist trackway in place, we will cause damage to the fairways.

As you can see, it will unfortunately be very difficult to pin down an exact date for a fix for you, as it would appear to depend on the weather over the next few weeks.

Jon

eForum Team

[treacle]

Vodaphone should at least not charge anything until and while the mast is repaired and working?!

[drunk1]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the explanation as to why there has been a sudden drop in coverage. The weather has been quitebad around here and we just got a fresh layer of snow today so after what you have said, my area is not going to dry for quite sometime I imagine.

As for the golf course, that'll be the one right next to me, quite a fancy private members club at that so I don't expect them anytime soon to let you on to destroy their pristine course anytime soon.

So now this is the case, my dongle is pretty much useless untill it's sorted. Now, I'm
not unreasonable enough to say this is not good enough etc as I know it's a difficult situation to fix on your behalf. But, from my point of view, with a GPRS signal, there is mo chance I will get anywhere near my monthly 5GB limit. I pay £25 per month for a 3G signal, not GPRS, so as a goodwill gesture or whatever else you want to call it, I would like something done with my bill untill the situation is rectified. Whether it be credit or whatever, as a customer, this is not an unreasonable request in my opinion.

As a point, I have posted this via my iPhone, the dongle couldn't do it.

Worth £25 per month? No chance.

Ball is in your court.

Yours,

Cyndy.

[Retired-Wayne]

Hi Cyndy

Thanks for your post. I completely appreciate your frustration with this and I'm sure this will be sorted as soon as possible.

The contract you have is for a connection to the network not a specified speed (2G or 3G) so as you still have a connection (Albeit 2G) we wouldn't be able to credit anything to your account. However, if I were you I would give customer services a call and log the fact that the site in your area is down. Then, once the site is back up and running you can then give them a call and ask about the possibility of a good will gesture for the time period that you were having problems.

Please let me know how you get on and if you have any more questions just give me a shout

Thanks

Wayne

eForum Team

[treacle]

I don't believe the short sightedness and lack of customer loyalty that VF can show, i have talked at least 4 people out of signing contracts on dongles from you because of this attitude.

[Retired-Reidar]

Hello Treacle

I understand where you are coming from, I really do, however as pointed out by Wayne once the service/site is back up and running there may be the option of looking at how this has affected usage or coverage on a specific account.

In the meantime we are working hard at resolving all issues and remain available to provide further support and advice,

Thanks

Reidar

eForum Team

[justin_d]

Hi,

Not sure if I should start a new topic, but my issue is exactly the same, just different location (Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London, EC2V 7HH).

I've been using the dongle for months at this location without problems but this week it's been horrendous - down to just GPRS, which is basically useless - basically can't surf & can't send emails (unless they're small, plain text with no attachments!).

Just very suspicious that this coincides with the Vodafone iPhone launch. I have one still on O2 and used the speedtest.net app to check O2's connectivity and was surprised to see 2.3Mbps. Wonder if their problems are just now being spread around?!

Anyways, could the location be investigated, in case it's a cell problem?

Thanks,
Justin