4G no internet, no service and constantly on E since 3G shutdown

[Rxbski]

Ever since the 3G shutdown, I have been getting 4G no internet in most places that never before, even if I have full bars 4G or even 5G, it just doesn’t work at all! Vodafone customer service don’t care in the slightest as it’s “good” on their end, and also in areas where I used to get amazing 4G or 3G I now only get EDGE connection, no service or just 0 bars. I’ve raised the complaint with Vodafone 3 times and nothings been done to fix the faults. 
I’ve switched to E-sim, tried it on both a Samsung galaxy s23 ultra and a iPhone 14 Pro, I’ve configured all my APN settings and done the basic troubleshooting and I still get no connection it’s unbearable. My signal does work sometimes, but only in limited areas, I feel like a o2 user.
If anyone had a fix to this I would be so greatful. Thank you

[james238190]

Although it is very frustrating for all I am pleased to hear it is not just me! The connection around south London has become so awful and even visiting other cities. Friends on O2 have good 4G signal but I am stuck on EDGE half the time.  I received replacement SIM but obviously issue still remained... I don't know why customer service are still saying no issues with network... thought surely it would've been resolved by now!

[MerlinMalone]

Just spent a fruitless hour on the online chat on this subject. Before the 3G switch off we had a reasonable service in semi-rural Suffolk if phones were forced into 3G mode. When the switch off was announced I queried whether the 4G service would be improved beforehand and I was assured that we would not lose service. Here we are, not able to make or receive calls reliably and with no mobile data. Many in this rapidly growing (7000+) village have the same issue despite the coverage checker saying it's good. I can only assume it's the contention issue although the signal strength according to WiGLE is -116dBm which is on the weak side for LTE (100dBm is the threshold for good coverage). 

[152bobby]

It's now 23rd November 2024 and this issue still exists.

I have recently noticed that when my phone states 4G or 5G, the triangle next to it shows a exclamation mark and the phone is a dead brick, this happens at quite a lot of places where I have never had issues.

The dreaded EDGE is appearing on my phone more and more now, which is ridiculous in this day and age.

It happened twice today in the middle of Reading in Berkshire.  At one point I turned my phone off and on and the 5G signal came back.

All I have done differently recently is paired my Pixel 8 with my new Pixel Watch 3 with a new esim and the above issues have started happening.  I never had any issues when it was on my Pixel Watch 1.  So I am wondering if this is a Vodafone issue or a Google Pixel 8 phone issue.

I am currently collating occurrence and data before I approach both Vodafone and Google, because I know that both will blame the other.  Something somewhere had been changed by someone ! And I currently cannot find real evidence of the Google Pixel 8 having connectivity issues on the Google Pixel 8 Forum.

If it continues and I get no joy from Vodafone or Google, I be forced to change one of them or even both, because I'm not prepared to put up with this.

[Charlotte]

Hello, @152bobby. I hope you're well. 

We appreciate the importance of you having a reliable network connection, and we can certainly take a deeper look into this for you if you drop us a message on Social Media. 

[152bobby]

Thanks Charlotte, it would have to be Livechat for me, as I do not use the other methods you mention.

I'm going to get some more data together and do some more research and troubleshooting before going further, so that it will be less painful for all involved.

I just wanted to share my issue with other Forum members.

Thanks 

[152bobby]

Update; After further troubleshooting and I also popped into my local Vodafone shop, it was decided that my physical SIM card was faulty, to be honest, I'm not surprised, as it was well over 10 years old, possible very older than that.

Anyway, because my account is a SME, the shop could not issue a replacement Sim.  I had to order one via 191.  I did that first thing Monday morning and I received the replacement Sim today (Tuesday).

So far so good, fingers crossed.

[Mark]

Hey @152bobby, sorry to here you've been experiencing problems connecting to our network. As with any electrical equipment, your SIM can become worn over time, so I'd have recommended updating that before taking any further steps. Hopefully that will have sorted it and you'll have no further issues. If you do, don't hesitate to get in touch, we're always happy ot help☺️