Mobile Broadband - Problems recieving 3G would up-date to 4G be any better

[lofty1000]

Hi, my current dongle has stopped working and I am interested in upgrading as I struggle to pick up a signal with 3G. I am wondering if I might fair any better with 4G, or would I still have the same problem? On the 3G the performance is very slow almost like dial up. Thanks for your help

[karasu]

HI everyone since this post is closely related to my problem I think its best that I put my query here. I'm using a k4505 for almost two weeks now and had no problem with the signal and speed until four days ago when I notice that the connection drastically slowed. my connection was 3g/3g+ (having 3-4 bars and the light blue indicator on the dongle) yet it was really slow as if it was like a gprs connection. I've check the status bar from the menu of the VMC and it was showing that I'm getting about 5-20 kbps download and 17- 30 kbps upload even with the 3g/3g+ signal. I hope somebody could help me. Tnx in advance.

[jarviser]

HI everyone since this post is closely related to my problem I think its best that I put my query here. I'm using a k4505 for almost two weeks now and had no problem with the signal and speed until four days ago when I notice that the connection drastically slowed. my connection was 3g/3g+ (having 3-4 bars and the light blue indicator on the dongle) yet it was really slow as if it was like a gprs connection. I've check the status bar from the menu of the VMC and it was showing that I'm getting about 5-20 kbps download and 17- 30 kbps upload even with the 3g/3g+ signal. I hope somebody could help me. Tnx in advance.

Call 191 and find out if the mast is at fault. Moving to 4G (even if it yet existed) will not help if the mast or the base-station is busted. Within 1/4 mile of a good mast you should get 500 - 3000 kbps. If you don't mind a bit of Sherlocking, find another good Vodafone mast and try a laptop near that one.

[lofty1000]

Moving to 4G (even if it yet existed) will not help if the mast or the base-station is busted.

Thanks, it seems that 4G is available, as it is being sold. I was wondering if as it presumably has a stronger receiver it would scoop up more signal than the 3G; as it only costs a couple of quid more than 3G it might have been worth it if that was the case.

How do you go about locating masts?

[Retired-Lee]

Hey lofty1000,

Thanks for your post, shame it's not under better circumstances really.

I gather from your initial post that you're able to connect, just that speeds are really slow? If this is the case, then I can confirm that your profile postcode is in an area of variable coverage and this may well be accounting for your speeds, or lack of.

The site that serves your area is reference 01649 and it's situated just to the North West of you at the corner of Central Avenue and Rearbrook Road. You can find neighbouring sites, planned coverage enhancements and also any maintenance all from the online coverage checker. We also have a faults board that is updated twice daily.

I've checked site stats and everything seems to be working as normal so the advice from jarviser about testing in another location may bear fruit.

Cheers,

LeeH
eForum Team

Hi karasu,

I've checked your profile and can't see a postcode so I'm unable to check local sites for you. However as above, please try the dongle elsewhere to see if the problem you are experiencing is site specific. Another great check is to try the dongle in another machine.

If you'd like to check for yourself, use the online coverage checker as per my link above, or if you'd prefer us to check, then either let us know your postcode, or update your profile so we can run the necessary checks.

Cheers,

LeeH
eForum Team

[lofty1000]

Hey lofty1000,

I've checked site stats and everything seems to be working as normal so the advice from jarviser about testing in another location may bear fruit.

Cheers,

LeeH
eForum Team

Hi, I am confused, how would this help me? I use my laptop at home, not sat out in the streets - (don't really want to be mugged).

[Retired-George]

Hi lofty1000,

Thank you for your reply. Having checked your postcode, I can confirm that the 3G coverage in that location is quite poor, which will explain why you're struggling for connection speeds. I think the suggestion of trying it in a different location was to help establish whether the problem lies with your location or with the modem/laptop.

It may be worth setting VMC (Vodafone Mobile Connect) so that it only connects via 2G (GPRS/EDGE), even though is normally much slower than 3G, you may find an improvement in speed as your 3G coverage is so poor. This can be done by going to Manage Devices > Edit > Connection Type.

I can also confirm that 4G, also known as LTE (Long Term Evolution) hasn't been rolled out by any network anywhere yet, so you definitely won't be able to pick this up.

Give that a go and let me know how you get on .

George
eForum Team