MK18 - Buckingham

[JohanL]

1) Does the issue happen in just one location? If so, how far do you have to travel to regain service?

 - Yes, when going into town I again get a signal.

2) What is the full postcode (e.g. ST1 1AA) of where the issue occurs? If you don't want this showing on the Community, add it to your profile here.

  - Added to profile.

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

 - N/A - I am using a Pod Tracker (https://www.podtrackers.com/) which does not have a SIM.

4) What errors are seen or heard when the issue occurs?

 - No signal in local area.

5) Does this happen on 2G, 3G, 4G or all?

 - The device is 2G only, so as far as I'm aware it only affects the 2G network.

6) When did you first notice this issue?

  - 26th May, and the 2G network has been unavailable locally since then.

7) Is the issue permanent or intermittent? If intermittent, are there certain times of the day when it occurs?

 - The issue appears to be permanent.

[Tash]

@JohanL I've checked your local 2G serving site (6695) and can see that both 2G and 3G services are patchy, as you're on the fringe of coverage.

Please keep an eye on our Network Status Checker for updates.

You may benefit from a Vodafone Sure Signal.

[JohanL]

Thanks for the information. We have had good 2G coverage without any issues since September last year though, until it suddenly stopped working 26th May and we now do not have any signal at all.

Is there perhaps a problem with the local mast? When the problem first appeared I searched for it online and found some info to the effect that there was a known problem with the mast, but that it had supposedly just been fixed.

[JohanL]

Further to previous information, I have now been informed that EE/T-Mobile have just fixed a problem in our area. The Vodafone problem remains though. Could it be that a mast/mobile tower is shared where there has been some damage so the Vodafone part also has to be repaired?

[Alex]

@JohanL In order for us to look into this further, we'd need the coverage to be tested with a SIM card in a mobile device to establish how the connection is performing. 

Do you have a friend/family member in the local area that would be able to provide you with this information? 

[JohanL]

No, unfortunately I'm not aware of anyone in the local area with a Vodafone SIM card. If this is required, would you be able to provide me with a temporary SIM card for testing purposes? Alternatively, I have the IMSI number of the device I'm using in case that helps?

[Tash]

@JohanL I've taken a look at the Pod Trackers site and can see that it would require a SIM card to fully function. Looking at their terms of use, a SIM should have been included with this.

[JohanL]

The Pod Tracker does use the Vodafone 2G network, but it is a sealed unit. I had assumed the SIM technology was built in (similar to how you can get some phones with built in SIM/without a SIM slot these days), but I suppose there may be a SIM card inside. In any case, as the unit is sealed, it's not possible to get access to the SIM to use it in a phone.

To be clear though, it has worked fine with good 2G coverage since September last year, until it stopped getting any signal on (or around) 26th May. I've had technical support from Pod Tracker to factory reset it and they have confirmed (by connecting to the Pod via WiFi) that there does not appear to be a problem with the device itself.

This leads us to believe there is a problem with the local Vodafone 2G mast, so could this please be investigated/confirmed from your end?

[Tash]

@JohanL To test the network coverage in your area, you can order a free Pay as you go SIM to pop in your phone.

Please try this and let us know how you get on :smileyhappy:

[JohanL]

Many thanks for that, I've now ordered one (I actually had a look at doing that last week, but didn't notice the 'free' option :)).