Extremely slow mobile data speeds

[EffThis]

I am on talkmobile & use 4g most of the time. My area allegedly has excellent coverage indoors & out for Vodafone 4g yet my data speeds are less than 2Mbps. That's TWO Mbps. It is painfully slow. Yesterday it took several minutes to download & install a 5mb app update.

The contract states the speed limit is "as much as the phone allows" - well I have had EE & O2 on this same phone with fast 4g. It is Samsung Galaxy A71 on Android 13.

I have called twice & they have me fiddle with the network settings but nothing changes. What they don't do is explain to me why this is happening. How can the speeds be this low? Thankfully I am on a 30 day contract.

[Mark]

As you're with another provider for your service @EffThis, you'd need to reach out to them directly for any queries regarding your account. But while you're here, have you checked out our Network query FAQ's? It contains some helpful tips on getting the best from your service and a few troubleshooting steps you can take if things go wrong.

[EffThis]

They use Vodafone don't they?

[Mark]

They piggy back off our network yes, but we have no access to their customers accounts. For any queries of any sort you'd need to reach out to them directly.

[japitts]

When you use an MVNO provider, your point of contact is that provider - you are a customer of them, not whichever network they are currently using to provide their radio coverage.

[EffThis]

right, yet when Talkmobile call me it comes up on my phone as Vodafone & they keep telling me to check Vodafone's network coverage checker/status

[EffThis]

I just want to know what could possibly be causing it - they claim it can't be the sim because the sim is too new, I know it's not my phone because I had no issues with EE or o2 on this phone & get slow speeds with the sim in a different phone, I'm supposed to have excellent indoor/outdoor coverage but don't & there are no issues/work in the area. My latest speed is 770Kbps!!! I've done everything, nothing changes & in fact someone from Vodafone (it came up on my phone as that) called me back, had me play with the settings again & now it's even worse.

[japitts]

The indicated signal strength is a guide to the quality of the received coverage. Data speeds are dictated by the amount of spectrum/capacity available. You could have poor coverage but excellent speeds - if signal strength is poor but there's plenty of spare capacity and/or high-capacity carriers available. Equally you could have strong indicated coverage if, to use an extreme example, there is only low-capacity carriers available and high amounts of usage. Some operators have much more consistent data speeds, in general, than others.

[Mark]

We'd need to know the affected postcode to check your local coverage @EffThis. As we wouldn't advise providing this information publicly, please pop us a private message via one of our social channels. Alternatively, you can also check the coverage we'd expect our customers to get in any area of the UK via our Network Status Checker.

[WelshPaul]

Both TalkMobile and Voxi not only piggy back of the Vodafone network but they are owned by, run by and maintained by Vodafone. 

• TalkMobile - Copyright © 2024 Talkmobile Limited, Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2FN. Registered Company Number 04154716
• Voxi - © 2024 Vodafone Limited, trading as VOXI is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for consumer credit*(Financial Services Registry No.712210). Registered in England, Registered No.1471587 Registered office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2FN.