Persistent problem in Guildford town centre (GU1)

[cinderypluto]

For at least 8 weeks (since December 2023) there has been an issue with the Vodafone service in the central Guildford area (GU1).  Despite having a strong 4G signal, myself and friends using Vodafone on various devices (iOS and Android) are unable to access the internet.

Using the Android CellMapper app, I have isolated the issue to one particular cell located at the University of Surrey on the library building. Whenever a device is connected to the 10 Mhz B20 cell 3138068 located on tower 12258, all internet services fail. As soon as the device connects to an alternative cell, the internet becomes accessible again. Further technical information and a link to the cell tower on CellMapper are provided below.

 This issue is particularly apparent when visiting Guildford town centre as this cell is the preferred cell that phones will generally connect to as it has good signal strength.  Unfortunately the cell is currently providing no connectivity and all internet services are completely dead (website, email, SpeedTest, etc.).

 Link to tower on CellMapper.net

eNB ID: 12258
Cell Identifier: 3138068
PCI: 466 (155/1)
EARFCN:  6300
Direction: S (194°)
Bandwidth: 10Mhz
Frequency Band: EU Digital Dividend (B20 FSS)

[Janey]

Hi @cinderypluto Thanks for your message, we understand how important staying connected is so sorry for any disruption you're experiencing. I've taken a look at Guildford on our Network Status Checker and it looks like there is a problem in the area. Our engineering teams are working as quickly as they can to resolve the issues and you stay up to date by popping your postcode in the checker.

In the meantime, I'd recommend setting up WiFi Calling - you'll be able to make and receive calls as normal as long you're connected to WiFi.

[cinderypluto]

Thanks @Janey . Unfortunately, it is the internet that I need, not calling - I can't even pay for parking when I'm out.

This has been going on for at least 8 weeks and still no resolution. It's taken me just 20 mins today to identify the source of the issue - an interim fix would be to turn off the affected cell. I'm not sure VF's engineering teams have even looked at this yet – I know many people in Guildford who are complaining about VF’s town centre service – it won’t take long for this to feed through to customer retention.

Is there someone I could escalate this with please?

[Lucy_F]

This issue appears to have already been escalated. As mentioned previously by JaneyR, an issue is present in the area on our Network Status Checker - meaning this is on our Network Teams radar and they'll be working on investigating and resolving. You can check on the network in this area, and register for any updates via our Network Status Checker. 

If you have further questions, or concerns. Feel free to reach out to us via the contact information here and our Social Media Team can help. 

[NeilMcauley]

Is there an update on this? Internet connection around Guildford town and particularly GU1 is very poor and, additionally frustrating, the signal shows 5G with bars.

[japitts]

Are other frequency bands from the same site, visible when you have these congestion-type issues?

The site has high-band carriers which should provide greater bandwidth when available, but are you in a location where only the low-band is visible?..

[NeilMcauley]

I don’t know how to find that information but it’s not a single location. It’s across most of GU1, in the centre of town and the close proximity. Thanks

[japitts]

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@NeilMcauley wrote:

I don’t know how to find that information but it’s not a single location. It’s across most of GU1, in the centre of town and the close proximity. Thanks

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Your OP mentioned "Whenever a device is connected to the 10 Mhz B20 cell 3138068 located on tower 12258, all internet services fail.".

Are other carriers available at these times? Cellmapper should list available bands/EARFCN on the front page.