Vodafone 4G dropping connection overnight

[kbrownuk]

Hi 

I am based in Devon and use 4G for working from home as the BT Connection is so poor in my area. It has been working fine for many months and had fantastic download speeds in excess of 70mbps at most times however I am  finding that the connection drops overnight after midnight and needs to be rebooted in the morning (sometimes more than once ) to get restored. I am using an external antenna and have been in contact with the manufacturers to look into the issue but they are saying the problem is with the vodafone network.

If the router is not rebooted in the morning it does sometimes return on its own without any intervention.

Vodafone network status is not showing any issues but I am convinced this is some sort of bandwidth management or energy saving attempt on the mast outside of peak times. 

I use multiple sites and have seen this at most locations.

Is anyone else seeing this problem recently from about november 22 onwards?

[Davidch]

As I said, this is how the network operates. Band sleeping, as it is called, it isn’t a fault, it is an energy-saving  feature and there is nothing the “social team” at Vodafone can do about it. They don’t know how their network operates so won’t tell you, although it is common knowledge to anyone who has researched the matter. They will, however, in their amiable way, waste as much of your time as you are prepared to spend asking you to send them speed tests which you will have repeat multiple times a day because a different person picks up the job each time you message them and they cannot be bothered to read the preceding chain. Eventually you will give up, having not progressed one millimetre and support will close the ticket which is, of course, the nirvana to which all helpdesks aspire. If I turn out to be too pessimistic and you do get somewhere, please come back and let us know!

[tiptaptoe]

Yep they just gave me the contacts etc but I replied saying I understood it was a waste of my time. I might pop on the chat at some point depending on how long I have to use them. Thankfully I'm only on the 30 day contract. But I'd like a token partial refund for the annoyance.. again if I can be bothered.

[Basketballnut]

I’m usually awake at midnight so I can usually reset mine no problem.  But I was wondering, is there a plug in timer or something that could automatically switch the router off and back on again at a set time every night, ie 1205 am?  I don’t see why we should have to do this or pay for it, but it could solve our problem. Any ideas anyone?

[Kate31cook]

Hi all frustrated Vodafone mobile users,

i am sorry to say i never found a solution to my problem, which i know you all shared.  My service continued to regularly cut out completely at midnight.  Over the past few months, my broadband speed was dropping to <1mbps each evening, which is not enough to load a webpage let alone provide an adequate broadband service to my entire house.  So i have spent hours on the phone to vodafone support, rebooted my router countless times, done an account refresh a SIM replace, a network refresh...the list goes on.  Nothing worked and my conclusion was Vodafone really had no idea why and were just grappling at straws to try to restore some resemblance of an acceptable service.  I wont bore you with more detail, but in short, i have cancelled my DD to Vodafone as they were clearly not fulfilling their side of the contract.  i have purchased a Starlink satellite (currently reduced price from John Lewis) and cant recommend it enough to you all.  I get reliable speeds of 70-150mpbs at all hours.  Its super super easy to set up (typical Elon Musk) and yes, its more expensive but worth every penny.  

Vodafone - if you read this, you should take your customers more seriously.  We have tried to engage you, and you have failed to help.  If you want to get a proper foothold in the broadband world, you are going to have to do much much better.  

[Basketballnut]

Hi, this exact problem happens to me too. The only way I’ve found to solve it, is to log into my router and reboot it. 99% of the time it will reconnect. Its not ideal but does prevent hours of outage. If anyone finds a better solution please let me know

[ARH1950]

I've been away rather a lot - or not using the internet very much when I've been at home - but the same old problem arose the other night.  The internet signal on the Scalloway 4G mast dropped just after midnight and came back at around 0230.

Vodafone's team had previously said, in this thread, that they had detected some anomalous behaviour on some of their cells.  Well, it appears to be continuing, and I can't understand why their engineers can't investigate this further and identify the cause of the problem.  And (to pick up on previous posts) it shouldn't be necessary for us to start a new conversation on social media for this to happen.  The problem clearly exists and needs sorting out.

[Davidch]

Hi, perhaps your problem is different and there is a genuine fault, but I suspect it is exactly the same matter that I have explained earlier (including in a reply to one of your earlier posts.) Band sleeping at night is a universal feature of how modern telecoms companies operate their networks. It is a feature, not a bug - albeit a feature most of us in rural areas would rather not have. 

[ARH1950]

I'm sorry if - as it seems - I've forgotten or missed your previous reply.  I don't recall the 'band sleeping' explanation but thank you, and apologies.  Vodafone's various responses didn't acknowledge that possibility.

But it's certainly not a desirable feature - there are all sorts of reasons why people may need connectivity in the wee small hours.

Thanks again.

[Davidch]

No prob. The helpdesk wouldn’t have mentioned it because it would require some knowledge of how their network operates, which they lack. One of them even posted in this thread to assure us all that all their masts operate at full power 24/7, which is about as far from the truth as it is possible to get. The programmed response to all contact is to ask you to do another speed test, regardless of how many times you have already done so and, at least in my experience, you will eventually give up in frustration without advancing an inch. YMMV.

[Leese]

I'm having this problem every night & am just about to tell them where to shove their broadband, ive tried EVERYTHING under the sun, even got a WiFi booster from them which I cant connect as even the Vodafone app on my fone doesn't work, it drives me crazy....