Mobile Broadband

[Tim_H]

Hi guys,

I've posted an updated regarding this specific throughput issue here: http://community.vodafone.com.au/t5/Mobile-Broadband/Mobile-Broadband-Connection-Issue-North-Melbour...

Feel free to post any further questions there for discussion, Alexei, jwk87, thanks for your information and patience so far. We appreciate it and will update with more information as soon as I come across it.

Tim

[bindieblue]

hey.....i am having the same problem.i changed to the pocket wifi just over a month ago and for the first month it was great,now suddenly i am unable to open any pages at all.I also noticed that it is the same as others,when it changes to H nothing opens etc.It is becoming a real pain in the u know what.I have put the pocket wifi in different locations in house as instructed and nothing happens.Half the time i dont even get any bars on modem,no signal at all.My daughter came today and i got her to try and connect her phone,she could connect but once she tried to connect through my pc she didnt get anything.Reading up on device i came across a 30 connection trial u have,so of course it is going to work great for the first month.It suxs big time and it is making it really hard for any school projects etc my son needs pc for.

[innercitymelb]

I'm having exactly the same problem - full strenth of signal on the Pocket Wifi but it constantly switches between 3G and H and when it goes to H pages won't load. I've tried on different computers and locations so the problem is definitely Vodafone. I'm in the centre of Melbourne where the coverage should be fine.

[Stephen]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone posting in this thread, I'm feeling very frustrated with the pocketwifi/service and keen to know other peoples experiences. I'm having the same exact problems as written about here. It shows 3G for a while then skips to H, and back again, frequently freezing and dropping out all today. I'm finding it SO frustrating, literally waiting for an hour for a page to load ! Similar story, for the first month or so it was great and now just terrible. I wasn't sure if it was the device or the network, so i took my pocketwifi back to the vodafone store where i bought it and discussed the issues. They took mine away to be fixed and gave me a replacment too use, the leant pocketwifi did the same, and now trying to use the replacement (not fixed) device I picked up toda..the same problem!

I have trouble shooted...

Had the sim card replaced in store, went back as the service was still rubbish.

New pocket wifi, service still the same.

Moved the device around my home, and tried it in different suburbs...I'm currently living in Newtown, Sydney

Mde sure that it was not overloaded with paired devices, and only connected one at a time to test.

Begged it.

Question, Vodaphone...what should I/we do? I am not happy paying for a service that does not deliver.

[DaDoc83]

Hello all,

I too have been having the same issue as everyone.  I have had my Pocket wifi for aprox 8 mths now.  Only in the last 2 or so months have these issues been happening.  I have lost count of the number of times i have phoned Vodafone (India) about this problem and now know how to reset the modem blindfolded with my little toe.  My last communitation with India was a phone call saying that the LOCAL Tech. department have tested the local area and there is nothing wrong with the network.  And yet still 2 weeks later im having the same problem.  I'm not sure if the issue has something to do with the merge with the 3 Customers onto the voda network or the new "850" network???

****Temp. Solution****

I have found a way to get a fairly stable conection. Let me know if this works for you.

When you finally load a webpage go to youtube, then open a video (pref. something long like a documentary).  Now when the page loads let the video play for a couple of seconds then hit pause.  Now try opening a new webpage.  You should get stable connection as long as the youtube video is loading.  **THE ONLY DOWNSIDE TO THIS IS YOU WILL BE USING LOTS OF DATA AS YOU WILL BE DOWNLOADING THE VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE**  But it works for me when i need internet.

It seems that the connection is stable when you have a constant demand from the network(eg downloading, streaming videos ect.) but when it is intermittent the newtwork won't recognise the request from your modem.  I am no IT expert, i just work in construction, but to me thats what seems to be happening.

Hope this helps someone cause i know we all feel help-less.  I guess, we'er all Vodafone customers, what did we expect???

Regards,

DaDoc83

[lists]

same as the above. worked OK for over a year and I could do my work remotely. Then for the past couple months flip flop wait...

I would suggest that the 'improvement' to the network that is supposedly happening is a major factor. The devices obviously need an update or something to the connection firmware to get is stable again. 

If it does not get resoved I will have to take my business elseware. Shame after being with Vodafone for the past 15 years so so 

Setting "3g only" seems to work so far [the past  hour, we shall see]

sd

[Jess]

---

lists wrote:

same as the above. worked OK for over a year and I could do my work remotely. Then for the past couple months flip flop wait...

I would suggest that the 'improvement' to the network that is supposedly happening is a major factor. The devices obviously need an update or something to the connection firmware to get is stable again. 

If it does not get resoved I will have to take my business elseware. Shame after being with Vodafone for the past 15 years so so 

Setting "3g only" seems to work so far [the past  hour, we shall see]

sd

---

Hi sd,

Thanks for your feedback.
What I would like to do is go through some troubleshooting with you.

Please follow the link "Here" for our troubleshooting questions.

Can I get you to copy and paste the answers to the troubleshooting questions in a reply here for me.

Thanks
Jess

[lists]

Troubleshooting FAQ - I, II and III

o    Check the network status here: There could be a temporary outage affecting you. 
[Spoke with engineers several times and there was no network issues reported in the area]

o    Switch your mobile off and remove the battery and SIM if possible

o    Check coverage maps here to make sure you are within our coverage zones, and whether your mobile is compatible with coverage in the area.
[DONE. Was working for about a year since we got the device. Also works via tethered Vodafone phone]

o    Try moving somewhere else if you can. The next room, another floor, outside the building. It's not a permanent move but it may get you working again.
[still no joy]

Part II

Options

on 11-04-2011 03:42 PM

Still facing problems? It's time for some more troubleshooting.

o    Perform an isolation test. In other words swap your SIM into someone else’s mobile or MBB device. To see if problems persist. Use the table below to make a note of whether problems persist with each device and SIM combo.
Make a note of the results in case you need to talk to us further.


[tried in different geography same sime, tried in same location with different SIM. Still no change]

o    Reset your device.  Try resetting both network settings and/or a full factory default
[done. No joy]

o    Update your device. New software versions can often improve network performance, and/or remove any bugs or glitches from older versions.
[can not find any firmware updates for this device Pocket WiFi]

o    Check with any other users if possible. If other Vodafone users aren't facing the same issue as you, you may need to consider having your mobile repaired.
[many others have experienced the same issue all starting about the same time after working OK for quite a while. NO geographic similarities to say it’s isolated to a region
http://community.vodafone.com.au/t5/Mobile-Broadband/Pocket-Wifi-keeps-going-to-H-network-and-when-i... ]

Part III

Part A: 

Postcode: 2256 and tried 2037

Suburb: pearl beach and Glebe NSW

Service difficulties (Call drops, Unable to send SMS, slow data speeds, No signal ETC): [network connection stability]

Time of day (AM/PM, times , be specific): [any time]

How long has it been occurring: [past 3 or 4 months]

Any other Vodafone users identified the same issues?:  [yes see link in previous section]

Part B:

Mobile Device in use: [pocket WiFi]

Device used for isolation test: [blackberry torch]

How long have you had the device? : [about a year]

[Nige]

---

lists wrote:

Troubleshooting FAQ - I, II and III

o    Check the network status here: There could be a temporary outage affecting you. 
[Spoke with engineers several times and there was no network issues reported in the area]

o    Switch your mobile off and remove the battery and SIM if possible

o    Check coverage maps here to make sure you are within our coverage zones, and whether your mobile is compatible with coverage in the area.
[DONE. Was working for about a year since we got the device. Also works via tethered Vodafone phone]

o    Try moving somewhere else if you can. The next room, another floor, outside the building. It's not a permanent move but it may get you working again.
[still no joy]

Part II

Options

on 11-04-2011 03:42 PM

Still facing problems? It's time for some more troubleshooting.

o    Perform an isolation test. In other words swap your SIM into someone else’s mobile or MBB device. To see if problems persist. Use the table below to make a note of whether problems persist with each device and SIM combo.
Make a note of the results in case you need to talk to us further.


[tried in different geography same sime, tried in same location with different SIM. Still no change]

o    Reset your device.  Try resetting both network settings and/or a full factory default
[done. No joy]

o    Update your device. New software versions can often improve network performance, and/or remove any bugs or glitches from older versions.
[can not find any firmware updates for this device Pocket WiFi]

o    Check with any other users if possible. If other Vodafone users aren't facing the same issue as you, you may need to consider having your mobile repaired.
[many others have experienced the same issue all starting about the same time after working OK for quite a while. NO geographic similarities to say it’s isolated to a region
http://community.vodafone.com.au/t5/Mobile-Broadband/Pocket-Wifi-keeps-going-to-H-network-and-when-i... ]

Part III

Part A: 

Postcode: 2256 and tried 2037

Suburb: pearl beach and Glebe NSW

Service difficulties (Call drops, Unable to send SMS, slow data speeds, No signal ETC): [network connection stability]

Time of day (AM/PM, times , be specific): [any time]

How long has it been occurring: [past 3 or 4 months]

Any other Vodafone users identified the same issues?:  [yes see link in previous section]

Part B:

Mobile Device in use: [pocket WiFi]

Device used for isolation test: [blackberry torch]

How long have you had the device? : [about a year]

---

Hi sd,

Thank you for going to the effort of doing all that trouble shooting and posting the results on the Community for us. It certainly looks like what you are experiencing is a known issue which our engineers have identified and found a resolution for.

The fix is being rolled out as we speak, with completion expected around the middle of September.

For more information have a look at Tim_H's post here. 

Hope this helps, and of you have any further questions regarding this just ask.

Thanks,

Nige

[lists]

Thanks,

it appears the reference link in the previous reply doesn't work for  me.

Also is there such a thing as a Pocket WiFi 2 [seen some references] or a firmware update for the Pocket WiFi?

sd