How do I know if I've got a bad signal?

[andyg1]

This might sound like a stupid question, but every single person I phone says that I have a bad line. I can hear them perfectly, so it doesn't bother me on my end.

I have a Sure Signal - one of the early ones. I have a signal checker on my phone, which reports my signal at about -60 (whatever units).

It's not the microphone because I've checked this on the Voice Recorder app, and it sounds good.

What is a way to test if I've got a bad signal? It's not like I can ring myself! This has become so disruptive that I either text people or use my landline instead.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

The best way I've found in the past is to hand your phone to someone you know and you call your own phone from an alternative phone i.e. The other persons to see if you can then understand what's being told to you. 

Can you try your Sim Card in another phone as a process of elimination to rule out the phone or sim card that may be at fault.

Try another Sim in your phone. If necessary any Vodafone Shop can replace the Sim Card via a Sim Swap. 

Regarding your phone check that no debris is in its ports / mice and that no case or screen shield is hindering its ports / mic. 

Has no drops or water damage occurred. Check where your water sensors are to see if they have tripped which is usually a Red Colour. 

Does this quality of call happen only at home or everywhere you go ? Just ruling out if it's masts issues. Try turning off 4G and 3G to force 2G in your phone which can help and clear up calls. 

Link -> Vodafone Network Checker.

To add it could be the other persons phone, SIM card or quality of signal they have. 

[andyg1]

I made a call outside my house today, a few streets away, and the other person said there were no issues. I don't think it's the phone. Like I said, the microphone seems good because I did a voice recording as a test and it was fine.

When I'm in the house (well, when I'm in the same room as the Sure Signal) it says I'm connected, but I'm still getting people tell me that I have a bad line.

Signal is terrible around here, yet I'm 10 mins from Sheffield City Centre. It's embarassing that in 2017 you can't get a signal in your house in a major city.

When you go on the signal checker map it'll tell you are fine for your postcode, so Vodafone won't do anything about it. I'll happily invite any of their employees to spend a working day around here and try to make purposeful phone calls and see how they feel.

I'd argue that it's so untenable that it should invalidate the contract of the phone, so I can get out of it and get on a network where there is reliable signal. But Vodafone will never buy that....

[BandOfBrothers]

Ok that does point towards the phone and SIM card being ok.

You mention that you are using an early Sure Signal. 

It may also be worth trying a different power supply with the SureSignal (Version 1 & 2 ), as there have been some reports of replacement power supplies solving the issues. Even if lights / power are showing. They are available on eBay for around £10.

From member cineriv "But firstly, have a look around for a suitable unit with a 12 Volt output @ around 1.5Amp capacity that you could 'borrow' to prove the fault. Suitable units can be found on external hard drives, monitors, printers, routers etc.etc."

[andyg1]

My housemate just came home. He's on Vodafone too. He tells me he's had similar issues with people complaining when he is on the phone to them.

We were both connected to the Sure Signal, started a call, spoke to each other, then swapped phones. The lines were as bad as each other and were crappy. Like being in a goldfish bowl or speaking from far away.

On the issue of the Sure Signal, why should I pay for a new power supply? I would think that it is Vodafone's responsibility to ensure that I can reliably use the network in my own home. Last year I ungraded to Unlimited Fibre Broadband because they told me my older broadband wasn't good enough to give my Sure Signal a reliable signal. So I'm dropping 50 quid a month on that now, on top of a phone contract I can't make calls on.

[BandOfBrothers]

Glad the idea of swapping phones with someone else helped. 

It's just a suggestion regarding the power supply. Typically a person has such a power cord they can try. Its obviously up to you if you wish to try this or not. 

Vodafone are obligated to provide a person with signal in order to use the allowances they pay for each month. This unfortunately does not always mean a signal where a person resides. 

Every Network in the Uk has Not-Spots and fringe coverage unfortunately.

Personally I'm Payg so if needed Swap SIM cards around. I appreciate this isn't something for everyone, it's just my way of staying connected. 

Vodafone have provided a specific Self Help Thread that holds Initial Checks and a Template that asks certain questions that will Help us and the Tech Team to ascertain what's possibly going wrong in your area.

Please would you re post the template with your answers.

Link : http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Network-queries/Network-issues-initial-checks-and-template/td-p/18566...

[AnnS]

Hi @andyg1

If call clarity is not clear using the Sure Signal at your location , a phone roboot should solve the problem but is is recommended to leave the phones off for a short time.

If you still have issues with call quality tomorrow morning, it may be an idea to do a trace route from the link below under issue not listed, this will give the Tech Team something to work on.

Sure Signal Troubleshooting

[andyg1]

I am always being told by the people I phone that they can't hear me. I can hear them ok. My housemate and I are both on Vodafone and have made calls to each other, and swapped phones. It does, indeed, sound terrible, and this rules out the handset. Outside the house people don't complain about the quality. I really need to get this right because I am making more calls at home these days, and I am turning to my landline to make them, which is expensive, especially seeing as I have inclusive minutes.

Answers to template questions:

- Normal lights i.e. one on all the time, the second one is on when the phone is connected

- Speed results. On wifi from my laptop and the phone are very similar, around 26mbps down and 9.3mbps up. But, when the phone is off wifi and connected to the Sure Signal it is 7.8mbps down and only 1.9mbps up. (I tested it last night and it was only 1mbps up!) Is this the main issue here?? That what the info says about the person not hearing me being an upload speed problem.

- IP 86.177.58.141

- serial 40120245218

- traceroute

1  bthomehub (192.168.1.254)  3.652 ms  4.594 ms  1.614 ms
 2  * * *
 3  * * *
 4  31.55.185.184 (31.55.185.184)  15.774 ms  15.087 ms  12.502 ms
 5  195.99.127.116 (195.99.127.116)  20.426 ms
    195.99.127.112 (195.99.127.112)  11.211 ms
    core1-hu0-19-0-1.colindale.ukcore.bt.net (195.99.127.138)  13.493 ms
 6  peer6-hu0-1-0-1.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net (195.99.127.25)  11.837 ms
    195.99.127.87 (195.99.127.87)  13.288 ms
    peer6-hu0-1-0-1.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net (195.99.127.25)  11.851 ms
 7  t2c3-et-3-3-0-0.uk-lon1.eu.bt.net (166.49.211.238)  16.838 ms
    t2c3-et-7-3-0-0.uk-lon1.eu.bt.net (166.49.211.230)  12.369 ms  11.876 ms
 8  166-49-211-254.eu.bt.net (166.49.211.254)  11.172 ms  11.517 ms  11.595 ms
 9  * * *
10  * * *
11  * * *
12  * * *
13  * * *
14  * * *
15  * * *
16  * * *
17  * * *
18  * * *
19  * * *
20  * * *
21  * * *
22  * * *
23  * * *

[Colleen]

@andyg1 Thanks for sending over this information. 

Can you please tell us how long you've noticed this happening? Has it always been a problem or just something that has started recently? 

Are you aware of any changes to your property or within your local area which may have made a difference?

I'd advise to try a few different things, to see if we can achieve a better connection. 

Please reboot your router to help refresh your Internet connection. Once you've done this, reset your Sure Signal. You can find how to do this here.

If you're still experiencing issues, please try your Sure Signal in a different location, then try to make a call. Please let us know if you notice a change and how you get on. 

[andyg1]

How long? Basically... forever.

The Sure Signal was pretty much unusable until I went from normal broadband to Fibre. Since then I often get complaints from people I am phoning, but not all the time. I am noticing it more (hence this thread) because I am using my phone in the house a lot more these days, whereas before I didn't - for example, I had to do a phone interview the other day and it was completely unworkable. Lovely!!

Router resets and Sure Signal resets do not improve the situation. It's in the same room as me. 10ft away.

From what I've read, other things going on in the house can affect the Sure Signal strength, because of the impact on internet speed. In the house there are two laptops, two mobile phones and internet streaming services such as an Amazon Fire Stick and an XBox. What am I supposed to do? Turn off all the other devices in the house just so I can make a phone call???

Why is it that over wifi I can upload speeds close to 10mbps, yet when connected to the Sure Signal it can be as low as 1mbps?