Slow data speeds on 3 network between 3PM and 12AM

ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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Hello,

For a while now (since around new year, so it's a long long while) I've been having this problem whereby I get slow data speeds on my All-you-can-eat-data plan from Three. These slow speeds kick in instantly at 3PM and will continue for an entire 9 hours until 12PM. This is ridiculous because the speeds I am left with are just about good enough for web browsing, down from around 5-9Mbps to a consistent 0.5Mbps. This is no good for streaming anything, not even music.

I've called them, emailed then, tweeted them and send them a letter by snail-mail and receive account credits, explanations along the lines of it being down to network congestion and they tell me it will be fixed in x amount. As you can imagine x amount of times passes and I call again and am given another deadline and the loop grows bigger.

I can't move away from Three because they're the only operator who provide true unlimited data (excluding giffgaff rubbish) and am left wondering what more I can do to get them into gear. Any suggestions?

Would also be interesting to hear whether anyone is having a similar issue with Three.
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Comments

  • carguy143carguy143 Posts: 2,327
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    What plan are you on and what are you doing when you experience these slow speeds? Three use Traffic Sense between these hours to limit file sharing speeds and (arguably) tethering, too.

    Links to the exact details are at the bottom of the page.

    http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=signal,varset_subcat=3804,Case=obj(4046)

    If you're not happy it is worthwhile sourcing their CEO contact details on the complaints section of their website.
  • anonyyanonyy Posts: 3,231
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    i was reading about this 1 plan a few mins ago on another thread it seams its part of the policy to throttle during these times because of the peer2peer torrent downloaders.

    there isn't anything that can be done, i dont know what you use yours for but if its downloading or its something that can be scheduled download it overnight.

    I had considred using this plan but i wont knowing that this throttling is in effect. i'll stick to giff gaff it aint much but i'd rather not be tied into a contract with crap speeds.
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    carguy143 wrote: »
    What plan are you on and what are you doing when you experience these slow speeds? Three use Traffic Sense between these hours to limit file sharing speeds and (arguably) tethering, too.

    Links to the exact details are at the bottom of the page.

    http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=signal,varset_subcat=3804,Case=obj(4046)

    If you're not happy it is worthwhile sourcing their CEO contact details on the complaints section of their website.

    Yup, am aware of their TrafficSense and have just called them again and pointed out to them that it happens exactly between those hours. The guy I spoke to called through to another department and had them check the mast again and they insisted that the mast had been upgraded and there was no longer a capacity issue with it.

    He has now escalated it to some technical team again and says this has been done with a high priority.

    I am using the £15 PAYG add-on.
    anonyy wrote: »
    i was reading about this 1 plan a few mins ago on another thread it seams its part of the policy to throttle during these times because of the peer2peer torrent downloaders.

    there isn't anything that can be done, i dont know what you use yours for but if its downloading or its something that can be scheduled download it overnight.

    I had considred using this plan but i wont knowing that this throttling is in effect. i'll stick to giff gaff it aint much but i'd rather not be tied into a contract with crap speeds.

    I'm doing any file sharing or P2P stuff so this shouldn't be a problem. I have been trying to stream YouTube and Netflix, something that has to be done as wanted.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    Please answer the following questions-

    What tariff are you on?
    How much data have you used in the last 24 hours?
    How much data have you used in the last month?
    Do you tether?
    Do you use P2P software or downloads?
    Is it every day that you see speeds drop or is it just some days? (Be specific)
    What device do you use your SIM Card in?
    Does this happen in one area/connected to one specific mast?
    Is it exactly 3pm to midnight? Have speeds ever been faster than 0.5Mbps between those times?
    Have you tested another SIM card/someone elses speeds on Three?

    I know it's a lot of questions but if you answer them accurately i'll help you as best i can/
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    What tariff are you on?
    I am using the £15 PAYG add-on plan. http://store.three.co.uk/view/searchSimOnly?tariff=112
    How much data have you used in the last 24 hours?
    In the last 24 hours I've used around 2GB streaming some content this morning and downloading some content on iPlayer to my device in anticipation of the slow speeds tonight.
    How much data have you used in the last month?
    Last month I used around 30GB.
    Do you tether?
    No.
    Do you use P2P software or downloads?
    I don't P2P. I will do the occasional file upload or download to Dropbox, nothing major as it's only a small image file or video file.
    Is it every day that you see speeds drop or is it just some days? (Be specific)
    Pretty much every day. I'd say that once in a fortnight it will run as normal throughout the evening. There is no pattern to this though.
    What device do you use your SIM Card in?
    iPhone 4S.
    Does this happen in one area/connected to one specific mast?
    No. From Bristol to Penzance, this happens all over the place within those times.
    Is it exactly 3pm to midnight? Have speeds ever been faster than 0.5Mbps between those times?
    Yes, it's exactly between those times. I can literally run a speedtest at 14:59 and have 7Mbps down, run another at 15:00 and have 0.5Mbps. (Yes, I've done this and had this result multiple times.) I can be streaming a video and it will be streaming fine until dead-on 3PM and it starts to buffer like mad. Some days I may not be even using the phone and will take my phone out around 3PM just to do some speedtests and the same results appear. Try streaming at 11:59PM and it struggles to start and will bugger, try a minute later and it's fine.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    Thanks for that.

    Based on the above it's clear that it's your account they are throttling. It's nothing to do with congestion or anything like that. It is your actual account that Three are throttling.

    It's not the first time i've seen this happen on Pay as you go. The fact you say it runs fine once a fortnight confirms that. I've heard that before.
    I've never seen this happen on the One Plan before as Three have don't throttle contract tariffs.

    The fact that it's happening every day and with every mast is proof that is trafficsense in play here.

    Have you tried a different SIM in your phone or compared your speeds to someone else with a Three SIM.

    It sounds to me that you need to take this further. My suspicions are telling me it's because you use 30GB in a month so are considered a "high" user.
  • AxeVictimAxeVictim Posts: 3,029
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    Im also on the One plan came from AYCD and wish i had stayed on that.
    Ever since daring to use P2P one night for a 100 mb file my speeds and connection have been useless.
    I can have full signal H+ but web pages wont even load i just get a timeout error.
    I may connect once or twice to a webpage but it doesnt last and i have to switch off data then switch on again.At first i thought it was a bad sim so got a new one but still the same.I then thought it might be the phone but tried another phone with the same results.I feel like paying them off and joining another network.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    AxeVictim wrote: »
    Im also on the One plan came from AYCD and wish i had stayed on that.
    Ever since daring to use P2P one night for a 100 mb file my speeds and connection have been useless.
    I can have full signal H+ but web pages wont even load i just get a timeout error.
    I may connect once or twice to a webpage but it doesnt last and i have to switch off data then switch on again.At first i thought it was a bad sim so got a new one but still the same.I then thought it might be the phone but tried another phone with the same results.I feel like paying them off and joining another network.

    That sounds like an unrelated issue. Are you experiencing the same 3pm to 12am throttling?
  • AxeVictimAxeVictim Posts: 3,029
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    That sounds like an unrelated issue. Are you experiencing the same 3pm to 12am throttling?

    Cant say ive noticed as im only viewing webpages not downloading.
    It was horrendous all day at work 0.02mb speeds.But at home i get full signal can get speedtests of 24MB but after 2-3 web pages the data connection just stops.Of course i can use wifi but the reason i went on the One plan was for tethering if my fibre connection ever failed.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    AxeVictim wrote: »
    Cant say ive noticed as im only viewing webpages not downloading.
    It was horrendous all day at work 0.02mb speeds.But at home i get full signal can get speedtests of 24MB but after 2-3 web pages the data connection just stops.Of course i can use wifi but the reason i went on the One plan was for tethering if my fibre connection ever failed.

    That is not throttling. That is a congestion issue.
    It is unrelated to what the OP is talking about.
  • AxeVictimAxeVictim Posts: 3,029
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    It worked perfectly at home before I went on the One plan no issues at all so somethings not right.
  • Zee_BukhariZee_Bukhari Posts: 1,335
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    Three wrote: »
    Hello,

    For a while now (since around new year, so it's a long long while) I've been having this problem whereby I get slow data speeds on my All-you-can-eat-data plan from Three. These slow speeds kick in instantly at 3PM and will continue for an entire 9 hours until 12PM. This is ridiculous because the speeds I am left with are just about good enough for web browsing, down from around 5-9Mbps to a consistent 0.5Mbps. This is no good for streaming anything, not even music.

    I've called them, emailed then, tweeted them and send them a letter by snail-mail and receive account credits, explanations along the lines of it being down to network congestion and they tell me it will be fixed in x amount. As you can imagine x amount of times passes and I call again and am given another deadline and the loop grows bigger.

    I can't move away from Three because they're the only operator who provide true unlimited data (excluding giffgaff rubbish) and am left wondering what more I can do to get them into gear. Any suggestions?

    Would also be interesting to hear whether anyone is having a similar issue with Three.

    seems like your account is being throttled because I used to be on PAYG £15 add on, I then moved to The One Plan £15 per month and my speeds shot up.

    Why not just switch to The One Plan £15 per month as you said you have no plans to leave Three so what have you got to lose? nothing, you'll just get better speeds.
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    Thanks for that.

    Based on the above it's clear that it's your account they are throttling. It's nothing to do with congestion or anything like that. It is your actual account that Three are throttling.

    It's not the first time i've seen this happen on Pay as you go. The fact you say it runs fine once a fortnight confirms that. I've heard that before.
    I've never seen this happen on the One Plan before as Three have don't throttle contract tariffs.

    The fact that it's happening every day and with every mast is proof that is trafficsense in play here.

    Have you tried a different SIM in your phone or compared your speeds to someone else with a Three SIM.

    It sounds to me that you need to take this further. My suspicions are telling me it's because you use 30GB in a month so are considered a "high" user.

    I have used different SIMs in my phone at times when my Three SIM is unbearable. I've used a Vodafone chip before and have got higher speeds which are good enough for streaming.

    I've also compared my speeds to another user on Three whilst standing next to them. In this case the other user was on a standard 3-2-1 pay as you go package paying the 1p per MB rate and received speeds of around 5Mbps whilst I was getting 0.5Mbps.

    I have called them tonight and mentioned the possibility of TrafficSense interfering with my connection speeds. I don't have much confidence in them any more though as they really should have spotted this when I first called in February. Some of the call handlers are so out of their depth too, I had to explain what a megabit was to a lady a few months back.
    seems like your account is being throttled because I used to be on PAYG £15 add on, I then moved to The One Plan £15 per month and my speeds shot up.

    Why not just switch to The One Plan £15 per month as you said you have no plans to leave Three so what have you got to lose? nothing, you'll just get better speeds.

    I'm 17 at the moment and so I don't think it's possible for me to move up. Next month I'll turn 18 and see if they'll let me upgrade.

    This should work without the need for an upgrade though.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    Three wrote: »
    This should work without the need for an upgrade though.

    I agree.

    Thankfully, the plan that i am on doesn't have throttling of any kind and won't in the future if what i've been told is true.

    Basically Three are looking into changing the way trafficsense works by giving less priority to certain activities and more priority to other activities. Last i heard these changes had been delayed till next year (were meant to be December). But what i do know is that the changes were to do with tethering and giving it it's own APN and priority or something along those lines. I was also told throttling would not be a part of traffice sense. (assuming on contract).

    Bit surprised that Three are throttling PAYG users. That is certainly what is going on here.
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    I agree.

    Thankfully, the plan that i am on doesn't have throttling of any kind and won't in the future if what i've been told is true.

    Basically Three are looking into changing the way trafficsense works by giving less priority to certain activities and more priority to other activities. Last i heard these changes had been delayed till next year (were meant to be December). But what i do know is that the changes were to do with tethering and giving it it's own APN and priority or something along those lines. I was also told throttling would not be a part of traffice sense. (assuming on contract).

    Bit surprised that Three are throttling PAYG users. That is certainly what is going on here.

    What plan are you on that won't see throttling?
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    Three wrote: »
    What plan are you on that won't see throttling?

    The One Plan
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 53
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    Wish i'd come on here sooner - spent all yesterday trying to find faults on my PC and mobile. Guess it was just traffic management.

    I'm on one plan and ive just got rid of my landline. But speeds yesterday up till just after midnight were 0.2mbps :( Then it shot back up to 3mbps.

    First i was unable to tether wirelessly - as neighbours wifi signals are blocking it out. Sussed out USB tethering - but now speeds slow. Thought it was because i was unable to put phone in a better signal spot. But its fine now.

    Not a good start to a landline free life.
  • Thine WonkThine Wonk Posts: 17,190
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    TECHSPEC wrote: »
    Wish i'd come on here sooner - spent all yesterday trying to find faults on my PC and mobile. Guess it was just traffic management.

    I'm on one plan and ive just got rid of my landline. But speeds yesterday up till just after midnight were 0.2mbps :( Then it shot back up to 3mbps.

    First i was unable to tether wirelessly - as neighbours wifi signals are blocking it out. Sussed out USB tethering - but now speeds slow. Thought it was because i was unable to put phone in a better signal spot. But its fine now.

    Not a good start to a landline free life.

    How much data are you using?
  • Zee_BukhariZee_Bukhari Posts: 1,335
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    TECHSPEC wrote: »
    Wish i'd come on here sooner - spent all yesterday trying to find faults on my PC and mobile. Guess it was just traffic management.

    I'm on one plan and ive just got rid of my landline. But speeds yesterday up till just after midnight were 0.2mbps :( Then it shot back up to 3mbps.

    First i was unable to tether wirelessly - as neighbours wifi signals are blocking it out. Sussed out USB tethering - but now speeds slow. Thought it was because i was unable to put phone in a better signal spot. But its fine now.

    Not a good start to a landline free life.

    strange as you're on The One Plan which isn't throttled unless you're using P2P like uTorrent. Only PAYG users are throttled for excess usage if what I am reading is correct.
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    strange as you're on The One Plan which isn't throttled unless you're using P2P like uTorrent. Only PAYG users are throttled for excess usage if what I am reading is correct.

    What are you reading? I don't get how a user can excess on their usage whilst using an all-you-can-eat data plan.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    TECHSPEC wrote: »
    Wish i'd come on here sooner - spent all yesterday trying to find faults on my PC and mobile. Guess it was just traffic management.

    I'm on one plan and ive just got rid of my landline. But speeds yesterday up till just after midnight were 0.2mbps :( Then it shot back up to 3mbps.

    First i was unable to tether wirelessly - as neighbours wifi signals are blocking it out. Sussed out USB tethering - but now speeds slow. Thought it was because i was unable to put phone in a better signal spot. But its fine now.

    Not a good start to a landline free life.

    Doubt its the same issue as above. Especially since you just got the phone.
  • Zee_BukhariZee_Bukhari Posts: 1,335
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    Three wrote: »
    What are you reading? I don't get how a user can excess on their usage whilst using an all-you-can-eat data plan.

    I don't know how PAYG works on all-you-can-eat, but they may throttle your speeds down if you're using excess data.

    I know they don't so this with contracts as I noticed an immediate boost in speed from switching to sim only one plan from all in one 15.

    Someone else may have to confirm this
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    I don't know how PAYG works on all-you-can-eat, but they may throttle your speeds down if you're using excess data.

    I know they don't so this with contracts as I noticed an immediate boost in speed from switching to sim only one plan from all in one 15.

    Someone else may have to confirm this

    This is utterly stupid. I'm virtually the same as a contract user and would be if I was of the age to be. I pay £15 a month just like any other One Plan user would on the 12 month contract and have been with them paying month on month for over 12 months yet I am placed at the bottom of the cue when it comes to data.

    Pfttt thanks Three.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    Three wrote: »
    This is utterly stupid. I'm virtually the same as a contract user and would be if I was of the age to be. I pay £15 a month just like any other One Plan user would on the 12 month contract and have been with them paying month on month for over 12 months yet I am placed at the bottom of the cue when it comes to data.

    Pfttt thanks Three.

    I'm with you. But its a practice that most networks have adopted.

    O2 for example give payg users a lower priority than contract customers.
  • ThreeThree Posts: 1,160
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    I'm with you. But its a practice that most networks have adopted.

    O2 for example give payg users a lower priority than contract customers.

    I was always able to stream video with O2 though and others from the family are currently able to stream video with O2 all day. This with Three is ridiculous.

    Hopefully they'll be able to put it right soon. Thanks for all of the help.
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