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SK8 - Cheadle

Anonymous
Not applicable

1) Does the issue happen in just one location? If so, how far do you have to travel to regain service?

Yes, specifically just one area within roughly half a mile.

 

2) What is the full postcode (e.g. ST1 1AA) of where the issue occurs?

See profile for full post code.

 

3) Does the issue occur if you try your SIM card in a different phone?

This is the same on two different Vodafone Pay Monthly accounts, with two different devices.

Also the physical SIM has been replaced.

 

4) What errors are seen or heard when the issue occurs?

No errors, although the SpeedTest app sometimes fails to upload.

 

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

3G data speeds are poor, which is to be expected so no complaints here.

4G upload speeds are actually worse than 3G.

5G is exactly the same as 4G.

    

6) When did you first notice this issue?

First noticed October 2021, although wasn't in this area prior to this.

 

7) Is the issue permanent or intermittent? If intermittent, are there certain times of the day when it occurs?

This is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

I am currently connected to CI 629774.

 

The 4G & 5G data upload speeds in this post code area is atrocious. The download speeds can fluctuate anywhere between 2 Mbps and 25 Mbps, which for the most part is okay. However the upload speed is anything from 0.02 Mbps to 0.5 Mbps. Quite often the SpeedTest app will also fail on the upload part of the test. This happens despite having usually good 4G & 5G signal.

 

While this might be okay for surfing the web and sending a few emails, using mobile data for internet-based call or video calls is usually impossible. As I am working from home, it's important I can make calls and video calls over Teams. Without a reliable upload speed these calls and video calls simply don't work.

 

I have contacted Vodafone customer services several times about this but they have been completely useless as it seems they only follow a predefined script and can't think outside of that script. Every single time they have insisted on checking the settings, manually selecting Vodafone network, suggesting the sim card is faulty, blaming network maintenance in area (when there is none).

 

To be clear, this is affecting two different handsets on two completely different Vodafone pay monthly accounts. This upload issue also affects other people I know using Voxi (which uses Vodafone). I have tried using an EE and O2 sim card in one of my phones and these work perfectly well. In fact, EE gave me one of the best SpeedTests I've ever seen on 4G.

 

Is there anything that can be done about this?

6 REPLIES 6

Evie
Moderator (Retired)
Moderator (Retired)

Hey there @Anonymous - I understand how important it is to have a stable connection, especially now. Thank you for filling out the network questions 😊 I've checked your postcode in our network status checker and while your local mast (no. 23246) is up and running with no maintenance, there is another mast near you (no. 79749) that is currently down due to maintenance which you could be connected. Could you confirm the make and model of your device? I'll send across some settings to connect to another mast.

Anonymous
Not applicable

VivoY72

Mark
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks for that @Anonymous. To refresh your connection to our network and help keep you connected, we'll need to complete a manual roam. To do on your phone, please follow the below steps:

- Select Settings

- Mobile Network

- Select Carrier

- Toggle Automatic Registration to off

- Wait for the search to finish and select any non-Vodafone network

- Once this selection fails, toggle Automatic Registration back to on.

 

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

@Mark, I've already done this multi times, across both devices.

Mark
Community Manager
Community Manager

I'm sorry to hear the additional traffic through your local mast is affecting the quality of your connection @Anonymous. To help keep you connected during this time, you can add WiFi Calling to your services. This free of charges service will help keep you connected whenever you have a WiFi connection. Pop your postcode into our Network Status Checker and you'll be able to keep up to date with our progress with the work being undertaken on your local mast. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

I've already tried Wifi Calling before, although this makes the call quality even worse than it currently is. The broadband upload speeds here are pretty much the same as the 4G / 5G speeds, usually maxing out around 0.4 - 0.5 Mbps. This is unsuitable for calls and video.

 

Can you please fix the network congestion in this area?

 

Until then I am forced to use the temporary EE 4G sim. Which as it happens has download speeds of between 100 - 160Mbps, and uploads between 26 - 35 Mbps, depending on the time of day. If I wasn't paying Vodafone for 2 contracts I would have already switched by now 😕