How bad is your mobile phone signal?

[teuchter]

These speed test results don't really answer the question... I can often get very fast speeds too, but 5 minutes later or two streets away it's a different matter.

I just tested where I am now and got 200 or so, but then a few minutes later its flip-flopping between LTE and 5g with only one bar showing.

What seems to have changed in the last year or so is that the signal seems to be very inconsistent and all over the shop, even if your location isn't changing. And if you are on the move, it will go from fine to nonexistent in a quite unpredictable way that doesn't really seem to be related to how close or directly visible the nearest mast is.

 

[Saul Goodman]

These speed test results don't really answer the question... I can often get very fast speeds too, but 5 minutes later or two streets away it's a different matter.

I just tested where I am now and got 200 or so, but then a few minutes later its flip-flopping between LTE and 5g with only one bar showing.

What seems to have changed in the last year or so is that the signal seems to be very inconsistent and all over the shop, even if your location isn't changing. And if you are on the move, it will go from fine to nonexistent in a quite unpredictable way that doesn't really seem to be related to how close or directly visible the nearest mast is.

The mast you're seeing might not be used by your provider.

 

[teuchter]

The mast you're seeing might not be used by your provider.

You don't say.

 

[Chilli.s]

Coverage and quality seems to have dropped round my way too

 

[2hats]

The mast you're seeing might not be used by your provider.

Also, you may not actually be inside the optimal beam pattern for the mast concerned (at the frequency of use).

 

[pesh]

O2’s data has gone from being useable pretty much everywhere I went a year or 2 back to now being so unreliable I’ve added a second PAYG sim from EE just to get online when I really need to, between the 2 of them I get maybe 80% chance of success which is shite tbh

 

[Saul Goodman]

You don't say.

I do, because you seem confused.

And if you are on the move, it will go from fine to nonexistent in a quite unpredictable way that doesn't really seem to be related to how close or directly visible the nearest mast is.

Just because a mast is visible doesn't mean it will have any bearing on the strength of your phone signal, because, you know...

 

[skyscraper101]

Currently I have two bars of 5G in central London. on EE. Rubbish speeds. Take ages even just to load up Speedtest. If I switch off 5G, and just use 4G it goes up to full signal I get over three times the download speed and over ten times the upload speed.

What's the point in even switching on 5G. I may as well save the battery and get better speeds.

Look at this. Two minutes apart.

 

[Maltin]

Speed test says my internet speed is fine!

 

[Saul Goodman]

Speed test says my internet speed is fine!View attachment 440092

It is, if you're living in 1999.

 

[teuchter]

Just because a mast is visible doesn't mean it will have any bearing on the strength of your phone signal, because, you know...

Until relatively recently, when I had bad or no signal, there was usually some relatively obvious reason for it.

In rural areas, it would be that I was out of a direct line of sight from a mast that carried my provider's signal. In certain locations that I visit often, I know exactly which masts carry the signal and I generally know where there's a direct line of sight. So I'd know roughly where I'd need to go to to get a good (or any) signal.

In urban areas, if the signal was bad it would very often be that I'd be in some location with tall buildings all around. In those cases I wouldn't know the exact location of masts but I'd know that if I moved somewhere a bit less enclosed, then generally the signal would improve.

What's changed, is that the causes of bad signal have become much less obvious. Moving my physical location doesn't reliably improve things, like it usually would in the past. Why the signal is sometimes good and sometimes bad has become much more of a mystery.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I can't get any network signal at my house any more, stopped on all networks about six months ago. They said a mast was down.

I hop on to next door's WiFi (cheers to them) and roam with Giffgaff on the O2 network I think, but it's an expensive way to just go and walk away from home with me mobile.

Something is going on anyway, that's my deep summise.

We are with Giffgaff, £6.00 a month unlimited calls and texts.

They went unlimited the first month of lockdown, Mary used 960 minutes. I used zero.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I have a dual SIM phone so I can keep my UK number live, only really use it for two-factor stuff. Have to remember to text occasionally as it's giffgaff and would lapse.

Set up your Giffgaff for the £6.00 a month option, automatically renewing. There are months where I don't make any calls. (Giffgaff to Giffgaff doesn't count).

 

[JimW]

Set up your Giffgaff for the £6.00 a month option, automatically renewing. There are months where I don't make any calls. (Giffgaff to Giffgaff doesn't count).

I don't even need that; stuck a tenner on a couple of years ago and that's lasted with the occasional text to keep it live, then a goody bag to cover a visit home.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

These speed test results don't really answer the question... I can often get very fast speeds too, but 5 minutes later or two streets away it's a different matter.

That's inevitable within a built up area though.

When I'm out and about I never get my phone out the rucksack so I have no idea what signal strength is like while I'm on the move. Walking around using a phone is dangerous anyway - you could get run over by not paying attention, or amuse passers by when you walk into a lamppost.

 

[Saul Goodman]

What's changed, is that the causes of bad signal have become much less obvious. Moving my physical location doesn't reliably improve things, like it usually would in the past. Why the signal is sometimes good and sometimes bad has become much more of a mystery.

 

[cupid_stunt]

When I'm out and about I never get my phone out the rucksack...

That's because you're paranoid that a seagull will nick it out of your hand, the anti-social psychotic airborne scumbags.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

That's because you're paranoid that a seagull will nick it out of your hand, the anti-social psychotic airborne scumbags.

No, it's because I'm not a sad phone-addicted teenager like teuchter

(He's obviously over 100 years old, so not an actual teenager, obviously)

 

[2hats]

What's changed, is that the causes of bad signal have become much less obvious. Moving my physical location doesn't reliably improve things, like it usually would in the past. Why the signal is sometimes good and sometimes bad has become much more of a mystery.

Not really. I've already dropped a hint. You can't just look at a mast and assume that you should get a great signal.

What has changed is 4G/LTE and 5G. They use beamforming and MIMO to dynamically adapt the beam pattern (and thus signal strength at the handset) on the fly. This will be driven by subscriber demand (and class) and, consequently as that grows towards the hardware limit, be further modulated by traffic management policies.

 

[teuchter]

You can't just look at a mast and assume that you should get a great signal.

To me, that means that the whole thing would inevitably become somewhat more mysterious from the point of view of the phone user. Which is exactly what seems to be happening in practice.

 

[muscovyduck]

It's been so bad I bought a new phone thinking that was the problem, and then obviously found out it wasn't. Going to bite the bullet and reinstall a landline when I have the time

 

[skyscraper101]

Good article here on how bad it is....

Is the UK’s 5G signal really getting worse and is Liz Truss to blame?

Social media users have complained recently about unreliable 5G services which cut out at awkward moments, or slow speeds delivered over 5G.

uk.news.yahoo.com

At present, British networks are rolling out 5G hardware on top of existing 4G installations, and are using mid-band frequencies which are not as fast as other countries, says Liz Parry, CEO of telecoms service support company LifeCycle Software.

The process of replacing Huawei equipment with those from other vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia is time-consuming and costly, Parry says.

Andy Aitken, co-founder and CEO of UK telecoms network Honest, says, "The reason 5G speeds aren't living up to the hype yet is because the networks needed for it just aren’t fully up and running. The big telecom companies still need to expand their infrastructure, which will cost billions.

 

[MrCurry]

I visited family in the uk recently, was like going back in time ten years as mobile data network was so slow

I just ran a Speedtest on my 5G connection here. As I might have mentioned once or a millionty & two times on various threads, I’m in Sweden

 

[Saul Goodman]

I visited family in the uk recently, was like going back in time ten years as mobile data network was so slow

I just ran a Speedtest on my 5G connection here. As I might have mentioned once or a millionty & two times on various threads, I’m in Sweden
View attachment 440272

I remember when our networks were that slow.

 

[teuchter]

Who'll be laughing once we're all at war with China, though?

 

[Winot]

This sounds interesting - an eSim that automatically switches between every network to ensure data coverage. Only in beta with a waiting list:

Beta Smart SIM - Unbeatable signal and hassle-free roaming

join.honestmobile.com

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I remember when our networks were that slow.

View attachment 440307

Arent you in the sticks? I'm far more like to get results like those when not in a city.

 

[Winot]

This sounds interesting - an eSim that automatically switches between every network to ensure data coverage. Only in beta with a waiting list:

Beta Smart SIM - Unbeatable signal and hassle-free roaming

join.honestmobile.com

Sign up link here if anyone's interested (pushes me up waiting list):

Join the Smart SIM waiting list

 

[Saul Goodman]

Arent you in the sticks? I'm far more like to get results like those when not in a city.

That was in the town centre. Granted, the town centre is only Carrick on Shannon, so it isn't exactly a sprawling metropolis, but there are a few people there

 

[UnderOpenSky]

That was in the town centre. Granted, the town centre is only Carrick on Shannon, so it isn't exactly a sprawling metropolis, but there are a few people there

Big enough to have modern infrastructure. Not big enough to satuarte it.