SO23 - Winchester

[highpriest]

Anyone else in SO22/SO23 Winchester experiencing extremely poor 4G speeds? I've been struggling for months with poor 4G speeds in Winchester (in the city centre mainly). Contacted Vodafone via Twitter - no help at all. Contacted CS and I've gone through every single troubleshooting technique (reset network settings, change APN, re-register sim with network, etc. etc.) in the book and nothing has helped.

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

SO22 (home) less affected, SO23 (work) is particularly bad. If I move outside of Winchester City Centre (even just a few miles), 4G data speeds can jump to as much as 50 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up.

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

SO23 8US

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

Yes.

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

Phone shows full 4G signal. Calls are unaffected but data speeds are extremely poor. There's quite a bit of variation, but speeds could be as low as 250 Kbps and sometimes between 1-2 Mbps. Upload speeds are not affected to the same degree. Speed tests show 4 or 5 Mbps upload.

Sometimes it is so bad that the speed test app will fail to even locate a server to run a speed test against and just give up.

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

Not tried 2G or 3G (and don't ask me to). Problem is with 4G.

6) When did you first notice this issue?

A few months ago (Q3 2017).

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

Permanent. Data speeds range from non-existent to ultra-slow. Everything buffers constantly or just times out and gives up.

I use an iPhone 8 Plus.

[highpriest]

Have there been any engineering works carried out in Winchester to improve the specific issues raised in this thread? If not, the situation is not likely to have changed in the slightest.

The coverage checker is pointless. It will always show, correctly, that there is good 4G signal. What it doesn’t show is the congestion issues that plague Winchester resulting in very poor 4G data speeds.

I know you are constantly trying to improve the network. What I’m interested in is confirmation that the specific improvement measures have been implemented.

[PedroC1999]

I can't find any evidence the South Vendor Swap has happened yet in Winchester.

The area will get improvements...the question is when not if.

[highpriest]

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@PedroC1999 wrote:

I can't find any evidence the South Vendor Swap has happened yet in Winchester.

The area will get improvements...the question is when not if.

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This. The “when” is what I’m after. Thanks.

[sappercaptain]

Agree with the latest comment, you promised updates on 06 Nov 18....it is more than 2 weeks on and I still can’t even get 1mb/s in central Winchester.

at what point will Vodafone start issuing credits to Winchester customers?

[Gemma]

@PedroC1999 @sappercaptain The previous fault we raised for the location @highpriest gave, was looked into and we were expecting some improvements to 4G in August. If anyone would like us to take a closer look, we’ll need to know specific postcodes. We can then check what serving sites are being used in the locations where you’re facing issues. Please get back to us with the below: 

1) Does the issue happen in just one location? If so, how far do you have to travel to regain service and what’s the full postcode?

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

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

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

5) When did you first notice this issue?

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

[PedroC1999]

Hi Gemma,

I have not personally surveyed Winchester but the data I have points towards the South Vendor Swap not having happened.

South Vendor Swap will add L21 (4T4R), most likely L26 (4T4R) and of course rebuild for frequencies carried forward.

With such a deployment, I would not expect such customer experiences as are described in this thread which further cements that the major upgrade has not happened yet. 

I cannot comment about the improvement work that is said to have happened already. However, I have confidence networks have investigated and optimised to get the best performance for the time being until they can go in and perform the ultimate upgrade.

[sappercaptain]

Hi Gemma,

thanks for your post.  I don’t intend to re-list exactly what has been said by others.  The staff in the Winchester store are aware and are experiencing the same issues as us poor users.

Please revert to your own store staff if you need incident numbers. I can tell you that 1mb/s for 4g Data in the middle of Winchester town centre during the Christmas market when thousands of visitors are in town (and don’t for a second leap to the conclusion it is network congestion as the slow data issue has run for months) is not exactly a great advert for either Vodafone or Winchester.

Please would you provide the update that you promised @highpriest and preferably not one that tells us we need to wait until August 2019 to join the 21st Century.

Thanks for your help.

[Gemma]

@sappercaptain - Sorry, my previous post should have said August 2018. We’ll need to re-investiate any ongoing issues. For anyone who would like us to do this, please complete the template from my previous post. 

[highpriest]

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@Gemma wrote:

@sappercaptain - Sorry, my previous post should have said August 2018. We’ll need to re-investiate any ongoing issues. For anyone who would like us to do this, please complete the template from my previous post. 

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Not the template again. Sorry to say this, but does it serve any purpose other than making it appear as if you are doing something? You have all the information already. Why ask again? This is so insulting.

We have gone well past basic troubleshooting and "turning things off and on again". All of central Winchester (it is a tiny city) is affected with extremely poor 4G speeds with Vodafone.

What Winchester needs is a network survey carrying out by Vodafone engineers and fixes/upgrades/engineering work done to improve and upgrade the network so your customers don't have to put up with dial-up level speeds.

And yes, I know these things are neither easy nor cheap. I'm also aware that there are upgrades planned in the south region. What will be appreciated is if you can give us some sort of timescales. Even an estimate as wide as a YEAR will be helpful (as I've been complaining since 2016).

[Colleen]

@highpriest I’ve taken a look at the postcode originally provided (SO23 8US), to see if there’s been any recent updates.

Another mast you connect to in this area 22065, is performing as expected with no errors currently being reported. There does look to be some form of planned maintenance due in the near future.

A nearby mast 88199, is experiencing an issue that’s taking longer to resolve than originally thought. It’s possible that the problems with this mast are having a knock on effect to the masts you connect to. The slower speeds and congestion could be a result of this.

For us to raise a new case for your site and postcode, we’d have to begin the process again, as the original one is now closed. The answers to the questions are required by our Network Engineers, to ensure a specific and thorough investigation is carried out. To do this, they need up to date details and recent examples of speedtest results.

The work currently being completed and coming up, should help improve the 4G speeds in your area. As we’ve mentioned, our network status checker will give you up to date information on this.

If you’d like us to see if a new case can be opened, please answer the questions @Gemma asked in her previous post.