NG14 5HR - Why is the signal so bad all of a sudden???

[Suze510]

I've used a dongle with Vodafone for the past 3-4 years now and generally have never had an issue with signal.  My laptop hasn't changed during this time, nor has the position i generally sit with the laptop.  I'd say that since June of this year, I've had MASSIVE connecting/signal issues.  If i try to use my connection during the day, usually between 12-8pm, I can probably use it for max 10-15mins before the it drops to 0bps where i then have to constantly disconnect and reconnect which to be frank, is a pain in the you know where and extremely frustrating.  (I will probably have to copy and paste this message as i expect when I come to press 'post' the conenction will have been lost) I've called customer services and since had a new sim and it's really no better whatsoever.  I only seem to only be able to use the connection, without it dropping too frequently after midnight which might indicate a traffic problem however, if this is the case, this isn't ideal and to be honest, I'd describe the dongle, as no longer fit for purpose as I've never had this problem in the past.  Can someone please tell me if there are any issues around this area?  I know there are circa 3 masts near me of which one, is less than half a mile away and can be seen from my front window!

[Retired-BenJ]

Hi Suze510

Welcome to the eForum!

Hmm I can see where you’re coming from with this. Looking at your local cell (6606) I can see there are a fair few data failures which could be the cause of your current disconnection issue. I am raising this with an engineer to have a look into to see if there is an issue with this site, as soon as I have a response back I shall let you know.

Thanks

BenJ

eForum Team 

[Retired-BenJ]

Hi Suze510

Can you confirm if this is on 2G or 3G that your experiencing this?

Thanks

BenJ
eForum Team

[Suze510]

Hi, Thanks for the replies and sorry for the delay...connection again is dire. It's 3G.

Regards

Suzanne

[Retired-Lee]

Hey Suze510,

Many thanks for the update. I've just taken a look at the serving site, as per Ben's reply, and can see there have been no drops in data traffic over either 2G or 3G in the last hour or so.

Further to this, I've checked the same site for any notes on that site and there's nothing since July. Have you seen an improvement in service since your last post?

Cheers,

Lee

eForum Team

[Suze510]

Hi Lee, 

Thanks for the response.  I logged on last night at around 10pm-ish and I never lost my connection once for a couple of hours but, I hate to say it's back to me having to disconnect and connect almost 5 times just to send this reply this evening.  I tried twice around 5pm but gave up after seeing it constantly hang once connected.  Is there anything that can interfere with these masts dotted around here?  So frustrating, when I can see it from my window!

Thanks

[Retired-BenJ]

Hi Suze510

I've spoken to our engineer regarding this issue. We suspect that looking at where you suffering from cell breathing issue.

When you get disconnected, do you loose signal?

Depending on if your located east or west of the sewage works you may be affected by the local cell, which looks like its taking quite a bit of traffic from the local town of Carlton.  You’re on the boundary of the local 3G cell that you can see and I suspect not actually using that cell at all I can see the last time you connected was on a cell further away however this would be quite congested due to the amount of users it’s currently servicing.

I have fed back the coverage issues in this area for you.

Thanks

BenJ
eForum Team 

[Suze510]

Hi BenJ,

Thanks for the reply and apologies for the delay.  Same thing is still happening and is constantly a hit and miss every time I log on.  I've had a couple of days where I've not had a problem at all then days like today, where i've lost it 4-5 times.  I certainly don't log on as much as I used to because of this and am having to spend time at one of the nearby bars that offers free wifi if I want no interruption in connection.

When I get disconnected or it just hangs, it does indeed lose all signal. Also, I'm at the east of the sewage works, literally no more than a 10min walk.

Do you know if any improvements are to be made locally, maybe another mast perhaps or is it just a case of pot luck each time when I connect? I've not much knowledge to these things! All I do know is that I'm a little begrudged paying for a bill every month for something that at least 60-70% of the time is always disconnecting.  As before, after midnight is fine as most folk are in bed and not using their sticks!

Cheers

[LeeJS]

Hi Suze510,

Thanks for coming back to us.

From checking our coverage map I can see that there are some planned enhancements for the area.  However, please note that these can take up to around six months to be fully implemented.

As such, I suspect that you're unlikely to see any noticeable improvement in the immediate future.

With this in mind I'll send you an email so we can take a closer look at things for you.  Just reply with your details and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Best wishes,

Lee