Hi All,

I've had this issue for months and I'm tearing my hair out.

Basically I work in a very low signal area, but I do get signal... just. Now often the phone will lose signal but will get back on to signal, that's fine. However, what also happens, probably around once every two days, but it's random - is the phone will drop off the network, and never get back on, even if I then drive to a place with known good 3G coverage. The only way to consistently get my phone working again on the network is to reboot it (airplane mode sometimes works). Oddly, you can use mobile data, just can't make or receive phone calls.

This has happened on (two different) iPhone 5's and a Nexus 5, although they both display the issue differently - on an iPhone 5 it shows empty circles (but not no service), and on a Nexus 5 it shows the signal strength fine, but when making a phone call it says the Mobile Network is not available. This has also happened on 3 and T-Mobile (although at work 3 uses the T-Mobile/Orange/EE mast) and through various SIM cards. I've tried everything, even dumping my number and starting afresh with a new PAYG account with T-Mobile, but eventually the problem returns. 3 didn't really want to know, and so I switched to T-mobile, who keep repeating the line we can't help you as we see you are in a weak signal area at work and so lack of signal is by design - completely ignoring the fact that the problem isn't the lack of signal, it's the fact that the phones, when they fall off the network, require a reboot to get them back on the network.

At this point I think the problem is with the mast that covers me at work which is shared by T-Mobile and 3. The obvious solution is to move to a different network unrelated to T-Mobile and 3, but the only other options are Vodafone and O2. I'll order a free Vodafone SIM (got nothing to lose), their coverage checker shows the area as fairly decent, but I've been avoiding them as a colleague has been having loads of issues with them around my Home area/Work, and O2/GiffGaff while they have excellent 2G coverage around my Home and Work (and I like the GiffGaff packages), they have absolutely no 3G coverage, which is ridiculous in 2014.

In case anyone is interested the area I'm mostly concerned with is Ludlow, Shropshire.

Has anyone else had a similar problem to me? Does it sound like I've tried everything possible?

Thanks

Raise an actual complaint with EE. Not sure if how much will happen seeing your on PAYG. Get other EE users to complain. Try even contacting MBNL direct. They are not really customer facing but people have seen strange quirks fix by informing them of them direct.

It could be a misconfigured mast, a local fault or just congestion reducing the mast coverage/booting handsets off it where sometimes a reboot can temporally resolve.

I used to get really good reception in my house with Orange / Tmobile but for the last couple of months it's been dreadful. Looking online it seems to be a common problem.

I've been having a peculiar thing happen over the last week or so at home. My house is covered by 3 masts [Sometimes can connect to a 4th]. But normally I am only ever using 2 masts. One I am connected to nearly all the time and works perfectly fine for calls and texts but as soon as I use data it switches to the other mast and than after it is finished using data switches back to the first mast is that normal or not. I know it sounds only a small thing and that's because honestly it really is but It's just something I've noticed not sure if it's a fault or not.

Weird thing is the first mast is actually further away than the data mast.

Old mast or backhaul & congested likely..

Should I report it then you think or just leave it be?

Thanks for advice.

I have a contract with T-mobile which I've just cancelled for a brand new PAYG number from them (at first I had no problems until I ported my number over so I assumed something went wrong there).

How do I raise a complaint with EE or MBNL? Whenever I ring T-mobile they give me the same spiel that "you're not supposed to get signal there anyway" they seem to think it's perfectly normal for my phone to be booted off their network every other day and require a reboot to get back on, even if I move location.

Thanks