Signal boost fluctuates & is often inadequate

[JohnCl8]

Without a Sure Signal I get 0-1 bars of the 5 bars on my Iphone 3GS

With the S-Sig I get 2-3 bars but it often falls off to 1 bar (or even no bars) leading to the call being inaudible or cutting.

The Sure Signal is in the attic of our bungalow and so I am effectively immediately below it only about 15' away (in a direct line).

Our Sure Signal is believed to be Version 1 as it has 4 lights           [Manufacturer SAGEM]

1. Any ideas on how to fix this problem?
2. Alternatively, can the signal boosting be increased with this Sure Signal?
3. Are there any other devices or software/apps that would do this?

[JohnCl8]

I'm using an iPhone 3GS and the only relevant settings that I can adjust on it are (as far as I'm aware):

1. Settings
2. General
3. Mobile Data
4. Mobile Data ON/OFF   &   Enable 3G ON/OFF

Is there anything else that I should be changing?

When I turn off 3G I get "No Service" on the phone, FYI.

[Mark]

@JohnCl8

So to look into this issue further for you we will need to take some live diagnostic with you.

Please call our Customers services on 191 form a Vodafone phone or 03333040191 from any other handset and speak to our technical support team who’ll be happy to help with this issue.

[JohnCl8]

Don [of the Sure Signal Dept in Egypt] advised as follows during our 50minute phone conversation just now:

The problems could be as follows:

1.  SURE SIGNAL CONFIGURATION

It was set to 'ground floor' before.  It is now set to 'first floor' which gives a slightly different configuration and may fix it.

2. SIM CARD PROBLEM

Try sim card in another phone and see if the same problems reoccur.

3. INTERNET PROBLEM

Try setting it up on a friend's internet line (it takes a couple of hours to set up) and see if the same problems reoccur.

It may be worth trying another Factory Reset to rule out this option too.

Only the SURE SIGNAL Version 3 is available now and this is something that may help with this problem.  

Don thinks that the Sure Signal box:

a) has to be plugged direct into the router

b) probably won't work if the S-Sig is plugged into a phone extension socket)

c) he's not sure if the router will work if plugged into a phone extension socket

[JohnCl8]

Don also texted me the following info:

Dear customer;

Vodafone sure signal device is designed to be plug and play device for most of the internet routers makes and models in market , in some rare cases internet routers block Vodafone sure signal connection due to firewall settings  then a manual settings will need to be applied.

Kindly contact your Internet Service Provider to apply the below settings on your internet router:

1.        Vodafone sure signal Service is only guaranteed on a PPPoA internet connection type.

2.        Required internet specs of: download speed 1 Mbps, upload speed 0.35 Mbps (300 Kbps) , You can test your internet speed and confirm it using speedtest.net            

3.        Ensure that your Sure Signal device is assigned to an internal permanent static IP address on your router?s settings and that IP address should be assigned to Sure Signal device?s MAC address (the sure signal MAC address is written on the back of the sure signal device)

4.        The maximum connection MTU size to guarantee the connection is 1500

5.        The below is a list of ports required to be forwarded with their proper protocol types:

?ç8 TCP UDP

?ç50 TCP UDP

?ç53 TCP UDP

?ç67  UDP

?ç68  UDP

?ç123  UDP

?ç500  UDP

?ç1723 TCP UDP

?ç4500  UDP

?ç33434 - 33445  UDP

6.        Finally to allow all ports on the firewall settings on the internet router.

7.     To read more about VSS please visit out Vodafone website

Regards,

Vodafone Technical Customer Services

[JohnCl8]

Don also texted me the following info:

PROCEDURE TO DO A 'FACTORY RESET'

Vss1

?çConnect device to internet & power supply

?çPress & hold down reset button ? located near the internet port ? until end of the process which will be indicated

?çRemove the power cable at back of the unit & wait for 5 seconds

?çReconnect the power cable back to device

?çWait for the LED sequence to flash from top to bottom & back to top

?çWait for 5 seconds

?çRelease the reset button

?çWithin 10 minutes, all the 4 LEDs will start to flash in sequence ? 1st & 3rd then 2nd & 4th then 1st & 3rd ? with the sequence repeated. This sequence indicates the start of the factory reset procedure.

[grolschuk]

Hi JohnCI8

My experience with these things and to answer a few of your questions above.

Firstly - the fact that your device is working (although not great) rules out most of the first set of points you were sent... they help if it is not connecting at all...

... Although off the back of that, who is your internet provider, and is the main phone socket in the attaic, or is that an extension from elsewhere in the house?

The second message you got about the reset, not really much use, but never bad to try to iron out niggles.

How warm is the attic? If the device is surrounded by thick insulation, hot water pipes, and the current outdoor temps being insulated and keept in, that may not be the best location for it... Electronics don't like being warm, and degrade if they are.

Moving elsewhere in the house... it has to be connected to the router, but if you have 'network' sockets distributed around the place then that would work.

You can't plug directly into a BT extension as the plug is different, and the suresignal does not create it's own internet connection (thus needing the link to the router)... you can get long network leads (up to 100m!) but that is excessive if the router and suresignal could be stretched at a push to try a differnet location on the current wires.

There are currently no other apps that can help with the signal... although all mobile operators are trying to get wifi calling as a stable offering, so watch this space... although a iPhone 3 is getting on a bit so may not support any new innovations (although there is no saying it will not)

[JohnCl8]

Great advice -thank you!

The attic does get uncomfortably warm in summer so maybe this is making the problems more prevalent nowadays.

When I'm up in that attic the Sure Signal seems to give a strong and consistent signal, but when I go down to the ground floor below the problems occur (even though the 'line of sight' distance from mobile phone to Sure Signal is only about 10-15').

As such, I can only conclude that it is the aluminium foil facings on both sides of the attic floor's insulation boards that is sapping the signal -we are using this stuff:

http://www.xtratherm.com/products/thin-r/xt-uf-underfloor

I am now going to try our 2nd Sure Signal (the Version 2) downstairs on a 50' internet cable (connected to the main router in the attic). My wife tried this a while back but couldn't get it to work so fingers crossed!