BT21 network coverage

[Donaghadee944]

1) Does the issue happen in just one location? If so, how far do you have to travel to regain service? I have to travel about 1/2 mile to get workable data and about 1/4 mile to get workable voice calls.

2) BT21 0DT

3) Not SIM related or device related, impacts my wife on iPhone, my brother in law on  Huawei and myself on a Samsung. 

4) Voice calls drop or fail to set up. Data very slow to intermittently not available. Fluctuates between 0 and 1 bar and often shows emergency calls only and EDGE as the data service on the device.

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

6) When did you first notice this issue? Moved into the house today but I understand from others it has been poor for a while ie not a recent fault but network power optimisation related.

7) Issue permanent. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @Donaghadee944 

While you await for the reply to your template I thought I'd take a look at your postcode in the Vodafone status-checker. 

No current issues reported for local or surrounding masts but looks to be patchy coverage indoors.

 

What would not show on the map is mast congestion which can be an issue if the cells are being used extensively by people working from home etc. Weather conditions and situations like new builds, population growth and even foliage on trees can cause issues.

“ Moved into the house today but I understand from others it has been poor for a while ie not a recent fault but network power optimisation related. ”

I assume you've asked  neighbours if there experiencing issues if there on Vodafone too ?

Sometimes adjusting the network connection to 2G in the phone can help with calls but that would also impact on data connection.

On a side note when someone is thinking of moving address I always suggest to try out signal and data speeds when looking around the area and property to see what they receive.

I wish you all the best with this. 

[Andy]

Hi @Donaghadee944 👋 I have taken a closer look at the area and the mast we would expect you to connect to, the mast itself is running normally and no faults have been detected, looking along the coastline the coverage we are able to provide is quite patchy and I would expect you to have some issues especially indoors, does the signal improve at all when you go outside or is it still the same? We are always looking at improving our coverage across the UK especially in areas where the signal is not as strong so I would hope that this will improve in the future alongside the new 5G rollouts.

[Donaghadee944]

Thanks Andy, best description is patchy outside and extremely patchy inside. it does appear that all operators are in the same position. So there is opportunity for the first one that improves it! If you want to put a micro cell in my loft to plug the hole in coverage. very happy to discuss options.

[Evie]

Hey @Donaghadee944 There was an outage on the 16th of Feb on your closest mast (32477) but it was resolved the same day 👍 It might be worth running through some settings on your devices to refresh you on the network.

iPhone: Settings > Mobile Data > Network Selection > Untick Automatic > Select any network for a minute or two, then go back onto Vodafone UK network

Samsung: Settings > Connections > Mobile Networks > Network Operators > Search Networks > Choose a different network for a couple of minutes, then reconnect to the Vodafone network.

Huawei: Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile Network > Carrier > Untick 'Choose Automatically > Take OK > Select any other network for a few minutes > Then reconnect to the Vodafone Network.

[Donaghadee944]

Thank you, I have done a full manual roam on the Samsung; sim out and back in too. no change.

I have also bought sims for all the networks and so far O2 and VF are tied in a very poor 1st ( I guess infrastructure sharing) then 3 then EE. 

If you can crack this then I suspect you will get a full towns worth of customers!

In the meantime if you can get the engineering team to drive test and attempt to optimise that would be great! 

Many thanks

D944 

[Evie]

Thank you for trying that @Donaghadee944 - Along Warren Road (passing Warren Avenue and Alexandra Road, then coming into New Road) the service is very patchy and considered 'good outdoors' only.

Seeing as currently the service there is performing as it shows on our systems we wouldn't be able to raise a network case to the network engineer. But we are always looking to improve our network so if you wanted to set yourself up for alerts on your postcode just head to the network status checker > My Alerts > enter you mobile number and/or email and you'll be updated on any planned improvements or works in the area.

[Donaghadee944]

Thank you, I am already signed up for alerts

Could I just challenge back on your comment please: 

'Seeing as currently the service there is performing as it shows on our systems we wouldn't be able to raise a network case to the network engineer.'

I read that as the network performing as per the predictions and tools but not what the customer needs you so you cannot raise the case to an engineer to look at?

So my challenge back is - how do we as customers inform (and track) the future development plans of the network if not by this process? I have no idea if this area is on the list to be looked at, and the only advice is to sit and  wait for an alert?   

Surely a better customer experience would be; received the complaint, done all our checks, network team looked at it and it has put it into the improvement plan, or it is already in the improvement plan or really sorry not in the forecast so nothing until 2022 or similar. 

[Tash]

Hi @Donaghadee944, thanks for getting back to us here. I'll be happy to help with your questions 😊 As your site (32477) is performing correctly and with no known issues, the experience you're having would be due to general coverage rather than a network fault.

As @Evie has mentioned, we're always working to improve our coverage across the UK with investing billions into our mobile network for future improvements. We also offer Wi-Fi Calling to help with calls and texts in areas where you may usually struggle to get reception. I advise switching to Airplane Mode if you find your phone tries to connect to the network when in the area, as this can cause drop outs for example. 

I've checked on your site and while at the moment we don't have any planned upgrades for the area, you'll receive a notification through our status checker alerts to let you know when this happens.

[Donaghadee944]

@Evie, thank you, very clear! 

Would love to use Wi-Fi calling, but Wi-Fi installation is 3 weeks away (a different provider story)  and my device does not support it anyway.