Mobile Broadband

[lzcool]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am using Three mobile broadband using usb sticker (E160G). After I changed the setting which using roaming on vodafone 3g network, the speed is very slow especially ebay. To open this page takes 5 minutes already.

I spent 1.5 hours on the phone :-

1. call vodafone and since it is Three, transferred to Three support

2. a lady from Three seems there is not a fix on it, suggest might be better to use same company sim and modem would be better and I am eligible for the upgrade, so she suggest that transfer to vodafone to see if I can bring the plan over.

3. voda support checked my plan and see I am eligible on the upgrade but they cant bring my current discount plan to voda as discount to much? so I asked to transfer back to Three

4. Three support checked that there is little to do so offer a credit for my next bill, but I told them and I am now paying little already and I just need a working network, then he said transfer to network support team

5. A guy pick up the phone and ask me to plug in the modem and then he checked my speed, although the ebay still slow, he said the speed is normal so he cant do anythinng from here, 

then I politly say thank you and hang up.

So in the end, I get nothing fixed and still the same. Is there a way to fix the speed issue asap?

Thanks & Best Regards,

Simon

{Mobile Number Removed} 

[JD28]

I have been having the same problems as you mate. (I am on the Gold Coast, 4216)

Had to 'involuntarily' switch over from 3 to Voda the other day, and have nothing but crap coverage and signal dropouts ever since, which i have NEVER had in the past!

Even when i have 5 bars up on the signal (which i can only get ANY signal, fullstop, when i am using the International Roaming mode!!??), it takes forever to load and now I can only use the internet from ONE particular room in my house! (and even that has dropouts etc) 

So not only am i getting extemely slow and painful download speeds and crap reception, i am also getting charged at international rates for the privilege!

It's like WTF...and i'm over it! As soon as my current prepaid account is used up or close to the use by date (which ever comes 1st), i am outa here, going to erase any connections to 3/Vodaphone that my pc has, and find another more efficient and reliable ISP!!!

You may find, in similar posts, that people are advising how to eliminate the above problems, but i think they are just BS and the only way to fix the problem is to leave and disconnect from VodaFAIL, and go elsewhere!!!

Good Luck and Cheers, JD. 

[Nick]

Hey Simon,

lzcool wrote:

 I am using Three mobile broadband using usb sticker (E160G). After I changed the setting which using roaming on vodafone 3g network, the speed is very slow especially ebay.

Just to clarify, you switched your settings over, it works, but your speeds are slow. Is that correct?

There could be a number of reason for this and I'd like to explore those with you, and work out a solution.

Firstly, could you please let me know whereabouts you're located? A postcode would be great. I'd like to check the status of the network on our Coverage Checker, here, and see if there are any other known issues on the Postcode Checker, here.

You also mention speed tests. Did you run some speed tests when you were on the phone with our tech support? I'm wondering if you could post those results here so we could also have a look at them. The more information we have the faster we can sort this out.

Please let us know so we can help you find a solution.

Thanks,

Nick

[Nick]

Hi JD,

JD28 wrote:

I have been having the same problems as you mate. (I am on the Gold Coast, 4216)

I would like to look into this with you.

To help me work out what's going on, can you please let me know what model of modem you are using? Some modems work better in certain areas, due to compatibility with or 850MHz or 2100MHz networks. In some areas 850 is strongest, in other areas 2100 is better. I want to make sure you have the right modem for your location.

You may benefit from using a different model of modem.

JD28 wrote:

So not only am i getting extemely slow and painful download speeds and crap reception, i am also getting charged at international rates for the privilege!

Just because international roaming is switched on, does not mean that you are being charged international roaming rates. In fact, you will only be charged international roaming rates if you are using your service whilst overseas.

Switching on international roaming can help your modem to pick up the Vodafone Australia network, which is why it's recommended in certain circumstances.

Please let us know how you go. We're keen to work out what's causing this, and provide a solution.

Thanks,
Nick

[666DAN]

Nick,

would you like to confirm for everyone that the 2100MHz actually does not exist anymore, it was shut off on the 13th. So everyone that had a 24 month contract with equipment compatible with 2100MHz have been left with no connection as they require new equipment/firmware allowing them to receive 850MHz. Time to send out some new modems and handset I feel?

[JD28]

Hello Nick.

True, i agree with you re: international roaming, but i have hardly been on, or even been able to get online, and my credit seems to be getting sucked up at an alarming rate!???

Also, on one particular gaming site i go to occasionally, a horse racing game, the race loads up (very slowly) and is ready to run/race, but then that's as far as it gets. It does not totally complete loading and i cannot see the race run. All i can do is wait for it to finish, and then i can gets the race results on a seperate page. This kinda defeats the purpose of been able to see your horse run and is very annoying!

No, i am not on this site all the time, so this is not the reason my mb's are being used up. ie heavy download rate.

I had approx 1380mb's when i checked when i could FINALLY log on, then within an hour, and with minimal and slow and a nearly non-existent signal, it had gone down to only 730mb's!!???

I never had this problem until the last week or so, when we all had to change our settings for vodaphone!

I have the same USB stick as Izcool, a 160, which is why i put my reply in this particular thread.

As stated, i live on the Gold Coast, postcode 4216.

Once again i agree with 666DAN, and feel an update of equipment may be necessary to solve the situation???

Yours, JD.

[Bruno]

Hi 666DAN,

666DAN wrote:

would you like to confirm for everyone that the 2100MHz actually does not exist anymore, it was shut off on the 13th. So everyone that had a 24 month contract with equipment compatible with 2100MHz have been left with no connection as they require new equipment/firmware allowing them to receive 850MHz. 

The 2100mhz network certainly does exist and is still very much active all over Australia. You can check this by using our online coverage tool.

Our coverage checker will show you what coverage is available in your area across all of our network layers (850, 900, 2100 and 2G). You can get to it by clicking here.

If you're having issues with coverage in your area, I'd really like to take a look into them for you. Can you please let me know a little about what you're experiencing? If you let me know your suburb and post code as well, I can check to see if there are any works or outages that may be affecting your service.

I'm looking forward to your reply so that I can get this sorted out for you. In the meantime, please let me know if there's anything else that I can help you with.

Cheers,

-Bruno.

[ctsintat]

I have also found the same problem on North Adelaide 5006, after the network maintance finished on 18 Aug, the stability and performance on the tower seems to be degraded. Dropping out happens more often before the maintance, the overall speed also seems to run much slower before the maintance, also it falls back from DC-HSPA+ to HSPA+ quite often.

Location: Stanley street, North Adelaide 5006 SA
Equipment: ZTE MF821
Signal strength: -58~ -69 dbm

[Bruno]

Hi JD28,

 impacting

JD28 wrote:

True, i agree with you re: international roaming, but i have hardly been on, or even been able to get online, and my credit seems to be getting sucked up at an alarming rate!???

There are a couple of things that can really impact the rate that data is consumed through your device, so I'd really like to get some more information about how your service is set up. This will help me to identify what is most likely to be causing the spike in data usage and get it sorted out for you.

Can you please let me know what operating system (and version) you are using your device with?

Can I also please get you to double check that you are using the correct settings for your modem on Vodafone? You can see the correct settings and the process to update them, by clicking here.

JD28 wrote:

Also, on one particular gaming site i go to occasionally, a horse racing game, the race loads up (very slowly) and is ready to run/race, but then that's as far as it gets. It does not totally complete loading and i cannot see the race run. All i can do is wait for it to finish, and then i can gets the race results on a seperate page. This kinda defeats the purpose of been able to see your horse run and is very annoying!

Looking at the coverage available in your area, your network will vary depending on where exactly you are in your post code 4216. For example, while there is strong 850 coverage across the whole post code, customers using a 2100 device will not be able to get 3G performance in Coombabah and Paradise Point as there is only 2G and 3G 850 coverage there. Having said that, there is strong 2100 coverage indicated across the rest of the post code.

You can get a better indication of the coverage that is available in your exact location, by using our coverage checker here.

JD28 wrote:

I never had this problem until the last week or so, when we all had to change our settings for vodaphone!

I have the same USB stick as Izcool, a 160, which is why i put my reply in this particular thread.

As stated, i live on the Gold Coast, postcode 4216.

As the E160G is not an 850 compatible device, this may be why you have noticed a significant change in your data performance.  If you let me know specifically which suburb you are in, I can get a much more detailed idea of the available coverage and what may be impacting your data performance.

I'd really like to take a look at your usage in more detail for you, so that I can find out why your data is being chewed up so quickly. I'll need to get some more specific information to do this for you, so I've sent you a private message with my contact details.

You can get to your private messages by clicking here.

Once I've received your email, I will be able to look at the usage type for you (download/upload) which will really help me to narrow down the possible causes of the data spikes. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any other questions or if there is anything else that I can help you with.

Cheers,

-Bruno.

[Bruno]

Hi ctsintat,

ctsintat wrote:

I have also found the same problem on North Adelaide 5006, after the network maintance finished on 18 Aug, the stability and performance on the tower seems to be degraded. Dropping out happens more often before the maintance, the overall speed also seems to run much slower before the maintance, also it falls back from DC-HSPA+ to HSPA+ quite often.

Location: Stanley street, North Adelaide 5006 SA
Equipment: ZTE MF821
Signal strength: -58~ -69 dbm

Slow data speeds can certainly make getting things done, much more challenging, so I'm keen to get this sorted out for you as quickly as I can.

There is currently an ongoing outage in North Adelaide, which is most likely to be the cause of the drop in data performance that you are experiencing. This outage is impacting 2G & 3G services, resulting in data sessions/calls dropping and a decline in data speeds.

This has been raised for the outage and work is currently under way to have it resolved. While we are doing everything that we can to have this outage fixed as quickly as possible, right now I don't have an estimated time-frame for this to be completed for you.

What kind of speeds are you currently getting through your device and what speeds were you getting prior? 

I'm looking forward to your reply and I will be sure to update you with any additional information about the completion of work to repair the outage as it becomes available. In the meantime, please keep me posted on what is happening with your service and if you have any other questions.

Cheers,

-Bruno.