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

[Timeweasel]

I've been contacting on Facebook as requested. To receive an email today crowing about how great the connection is seems like a slap in the face. 

[Lee_Paul]

Thought I'd provide another update again so everyone knows how appalling the service is on Vodafone. I am now posting following my most recent bank holiday break in Great Yarmouth where I once again suffered a complete loss of data during the peak times each day. The pattern on all 3 days went like this... Arrived at the beach around 10am with a full 4G signal and fast data connection. By 12pm the sea front had become very busy and my phone was now showing an exclamation mark next to the 4G with no data connection (calls worked fine). I restarted phone and tried several manual roams but as expected there was no data throughput at all. By 5 or 6pm the beach was quietening down and all of a sudden the exclamation mark disappeared and a fast data connection came back.

This has now happened at all 4 of my recent places I've visited where there has been large crowds of people. Basically the network is not able to handle large amounts of people they have signed up. 

I won't be raising this with the social team (I don't use it anyway) as me and my partner have had enough and are retuning to our previous network as soon as we are out of this scam contract. I completely regret recommending Vodafone to many friends and family now as they keep moaning to me for signing them up to a network that can't provide the basics as they've had the same issues around the country.

Luckily I have a dual sim phone and having to purchase a pay as you go data bundle each month on my old network for when Vodafone is unable to provide me data which is happening on a regular basis. 

Finally, before the team reply and ask the basic 'have you checked the online network tool for any problems in the area', Yes I have and yes I did at the other locations it stopped working during peak hours.

To conclude, Vodafone data doesn't work in the following areas on a normal busy day:

Chatsworth (Derbyshire)

Bourton on the water (Gloucestershire)

Bicester Village (Oxfordshire)

Great Yarmouth (Norfolk)

All the best, 

Lee 

[Despair21]

Hi, you have summed up exactly how I feel about Vodafone and replicated the scenario I'm experiencing in Manchester. If you ring the customer care call centre they immediately say "everything is OK in your area". Then they proceed to offer you a new sim card, which in my experience does not resolve the underlying issue; contention on the line (bandwidth).

I'm confident, people higher up on the food chain at Vodafone will be more than aware of this issue affecting their customers but seem to have chosen not to acknowledge or rectify the issue. In my experience, it seems to be getting far worse week by week, and now the data service is virtually non accessible at peak periods. I don't see this being resolved anytime soon, especially with their focus on further acquisitions....

All the best

Mike

[Lee_Paul]

Hi @Despair21 (Mike),

Yes seems like you are having exactly the same problem. Speaking of Manchester, I went to the Manchester Christmas Market last December and had no data from when I arrived until when I left. Granted it was absolutely packed but you do feel like feel a smartphone is completely wasted alot of the time as you can only do basic features such as call and text.

We travelled to Skegness this morning for the last few days of our break and throughout the day had a mix of no data at times (now expected) and very slow data (1-2mbps) . As we arrived around 9am, I decided to go into the Vodafone store to see if I could get any technical reasoning behind this poor service we are receiving. The staff were very polite on arrival and very apologetic after letting off some steam on the issue we've been having. However, as expected we was absolutely spot on. They are aware of the network not being able to cope during peak times and in crowded places when lots of people are connected to the same mast. I was told it has definitely been made worse now the people who would have been on 3G will now have replaced their phone etc and now also be on 4G. Basically there isn't enough capacity now for everyone to connect to a 4G service. I was reassured that the 5G rollout is still ongoing and they are targeting these busy built up areas that are struggling the most. They claim that the 5G masts can handle more connections and also provide a lot more bandwidth too along with the fact that when available the users will be spread over 4G and 5G rather than just 4G.

Unfortunately for now it seems Vodafone can't do anything but ask us to wait patiently for the 5G rollout to improve and eventually fix this frustrating issue. 

On a positive note, I do live in a 5G area and it is really fast and reliable. Just need them to speed up this rollout since they've been rolling it out for years already lol. 

All the best 

Lee

[Lucy_F]

It's disappointing to hear this feedback @Lee_Paul and @Despair21 and how you've been left feeling. This isn't the experience we want to be providing customers and are sorry you're facing such trouble. We can look into raising network issues as cases to our Networking Teams for investigation. We'd need to carry out certain troubleshooting beforehand. We are contactable via our Social Channels here to carry out this troubleshooting and raise network issues. Please feel free to message us and we'll get things looked into.

[Timeweasel]

No. No you are not. I, and by the sound of it many others, have tried to contact you in the way you describe, and never get a response. At all. I'm fed up of being told to try the same thing repeatedly, despite me saying it doesn't work, rather than anyone trying to actually solve the issue.

Classic modern approach to customer service. Frustrate the customer so much that they eventually go away.

[Lucy_F]

Sorry you're facing trouble reaching us @Timeweasel. If you send us a private message via Facebook, X or Instagram, a member of our Social Media Team will respond and discuss your concerns. If you're first presented with a BOT select the option 'Asked to DM' and you'll be handed on over to a member of the team. 

[Timeweasel]

I'm trying to do it via facebook and there is no such option. I don't have an X or Instagram account. I receive no response.

I will be leaving Vodafone and going to a network that can provide me with data coverage anywhere but my own home as soon as my contract is up. Or that provides a response to a support query other than "contact us another way that we'll never respond to".

[JAMESORCHARD]

[Removed]

[MOD EDIT: This post has been edited to remove off topic/personal information/inappropriate content please see Community Guidelines]

[dmahen]

Exact same issue here in Newcastle! As far as I can tell, it seems to happen when reconnecting to a tower or moving from one to the other. For example I just had full 4G bars in my house (as there should be), but after I toggled on airplane mode and back off, my iPhone 12 can no longer get back on 4G, it stays on “No Service” and then can only get on “EDGE” no matter how many times I turn on/off network to get it to reconnect. Same thing happens when I’m out and about and the network is either almost always on No Service or EDGE. Pretty much guaranteed to be unusable without Wifi whenever I go out. I find it hard to believe that this is a coverage issue as Vodafone’s 4G coverage shows full coverage all over my area..so what’s the issue here?

I know my phone has no issues because I’ve used the same phone in multiple countries with no issues. I’ve had great signal in remote parts of Thailand & Cambodia. Almost never have I seen my phone go to EDGE before getting on Vodafone…