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No 4G

caravanj
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Re: No 4G


@drj wrote:

@caravanj wrote:

@drj

P.S. If you put your office postcode into the OpenSignal coverage checker it may give you an answer as there could be someone in your building whose phone is linked to their site.

https://opensignal.com/


 

That shows (even when set to 4G) a fairly solid green signal - but I can't get it.

Are we concluding I've got a hopeless phone?


Not really. If you get a good signal outside the building & no signal in your office it could be the whole building but if someone else in the building gets a signal then it indicates just your part of the building.

 

 

drj
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Re: No 4G

... but I'm not getting a good signal outside either - albeit it's a little better - but still not 4G

drj
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Re: No 4G


@custos wrote:

If you use the mastdata site look for Orange and T-Mobile sites as they are EE of course. There are plenty in Gloucester. However the data is not complete or up to date and some recently erected masts close to me are not shown.



But are they all connected to the PlusNet Mobile service?

 

I can actually see an Orange mast from my house on the toher side of a couple of fields - but still can't get a decent connection.

 

There are 5 Orange/T Mobile transmitters about 600m from the office.

 

 

custos
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Re: No 4G

There is no easy way of knowing what service (2G 3G or 4G) is available from each mast although the the Network Cell Info App will identify which mast you are using.

caravanj
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Re: No 4G


@drj wrote:

@custos wrote:

If you use the mastdata site look for Orange and T-Mobile sites as they are EE of course. There are plenty in Gloucester. However the data is not complete or up to date and some recently erected masts close to me are not shown.


But are they all connected to the PlusNet Mobile service?


I can actually see an Orange mast from my house on the toher side of a couple of fields - but still can't get a decent connection.

There are 5 Orange/T Mobile transmitters about 600m from the office.

 

Our house is 465 metres line-of-sight from an Orange mast which is transmitting on the EE network & which gives me a full 4G signal when parked next to it.

The 4G signal is present until I get about 6 houses away from ours so if we'd bought the first house we looked at we'd have 4G.

The most annoying thing is that it's illegal to use a signal booster which would probably solve the problem.

Story of my life lol Funny

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Quote fixed.

drj
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Re: No 4G

Right - the results of today's testing:

 

I had a meeting in Cheltenham this afternoon and since I was a passenger, I was able to monitor the signal all the way there - 12 miles. At no time did I see 4G on the screen - the rest of the time was split fairly evenly between 2G and 3G.

 

This evening when I got home I went down to the end of the garden nearest the Orange mast - still 2G. I then returned to the house and popped the PlusNet SIM into my Windows Phone (which has a contract SIM with Tesco) - no change - just 2G anywhere on the property.

 

I then walked around to get as close as I could to the mast. Hey presto! 4G - the first time I've seen it!. It was also 4G most of the way back but when I got to my house it was down to 2G again. I walked across the road to the back garden of the house opposite - 4G again. And what speed! Speedtest.net returned 12Mbps download 16(!)Mbps upload! (I get about 4.5Mbps at home on Plusnet Broadband)

 

But back at home it was 2G again - so I put the PlusNet SIM back in my Android phone and went across the road again - this time I managed a 3G signal. But it was back to 2G when I returned to my house.

 

It seems I potentially have both a problem actually getting a 4G signal at my house and I'm using in a phone that isn't as good as my Windows Phone at picking up a signal.

 

I bought the pre-release U/U/4GB offer at £10 primarily so my Android phone could have a decent data service (it's on PAYG at present so I usually only use it on wifi - I have my Windows Phone for out'n'about activities and phoning) and as an emergency internet facility should my home broadband go down.

 

Clearly it's not performing either of those tasks to the level I would wish (the second not at all) so it seems I have no option but to return it. I'm not presently looking to upgrade my Android phone but even if I did how would I know whether it would perform better or worse at picking up a signal compared to my present one?

HangTen
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Re: No 4G

I got a new phone a couple of weeks ago and it's my first 4G capable phone; so I'm still getting to know the system, but I discovered today that on my phone (Honor 5C), if Wi-Fi is switched on, then I get no 4G signal - switched off Wi-Fi and immediately got good 4G registering at -65 db
I don't know if this is phone model-specific, but I wasn't aware of it; so others may not be .... at least it's something to check for if you cannot get a 4G signal.

drj
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Re: No 4G

Thanks - just tried that - doesn't make any difference on my phone (Medion E5004).

 

That's fortunate since I've just cancelled via Live Chat!

caravanj
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Re: No 4G

@HangTen

Bluetooth can affect it too & Bluetooth can wipe out wifi reception.

@drj

I've been doing some tests as well.

2 bar 2G downstairs & some 2 bar 3G upstairs but as soon as I went into the loft, bingo, 3 bar 4G, with high speed,

virtually all over the loft.

I now know that a good 4G signal is reaching the house & that the signal is strong eough to enter the house as 4G at roof level but not at upper & ground floor level.

I'll go to the site office & ask what type of dry lining board has been used in the house.

 

 

HangTen
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Re: No 4G


@caravanj wrote:

@HangTen

Bluetooth can affect it too & Bluetooth can wipe out wifi reception.




Something else I wasn't aware of, thanks Thumbs_Up

caravanj
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Re: No 4G

@HangTen

I found out about Bluetooth when my Windows 10 tablet download speed dropped to 0.5 Mbps on a 50 Mbps service.

At first I spent hours thinking it was a router problem.

As soon I turned off Bluetooth it shot up to 48 Mbps.

I tested it numerous times & got the same difference in readings every time.

SpendLessTime
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Re: No 4G

Bluetooth and WiFi use the same frequencies in the 2.4Ghz band.

 

Bluetooth uses 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz (source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2.4_GHz_radio_use#Bluetooth )

 

Wifi 2.4 Ghz ranges by channel (source http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/wireless/wi-fi/80211-channels-number-frequencies-bandwidth.php )

2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channel frequencies

The table given below provides the frequencies for the total of fourteen 802.11 Wi-Fi channels that are available around the globe. Not all of these channels are available for use in all countries.

CHANNEL NUMBER LOWER FREQUENCY
MHZ
CENTER FREQUENCY
MHZ
UPPER FREQUENCY
MHZ
1 2401 2412 2423
2 2406 2417 2428
3 2411 2422 2433
4 2416 2427 2438
5 2421 2432 2443
6 2426 2437 2448
7 2431 2442 2453
8 2436 2447 2458
9 2441 2452 2463
10 2446 2457 2468
11 2451 2462 2473
12 2456 2467 2478
13 2461 2472 2483
14 2473 2484 2495

 

 

Ex - Plusnet Customer (2009 - 2023) now with BT
custos
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Re: No 4G

As I have said before, modern buildings are very effectively screened by foil backed wall insulation so expect a huge drop in signal compared with outdoors. It's like putting your phone in a metal box!

caravanj
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Re: No 4G

We don't appear to have foil backed dry lining but the nearest mast is one of those that's on a street mounted pole the height of a lamp post so the mast can 'see' the roof of our house but there's a lot of stuff in the way lower down.

caravanj
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Re: No 4G

4G problem solved.

I've checked our plasterboard myself & it does have a foil backing as, presumably, do the houses that are between us & the mast.

We've stuck an antenna in the loft, connected to a 4G router & we get 2 bars of 4G just as a test.

On a permanent basis we're installing a 7 dbi external antenna which will give us 4 bars.

We might eventually fit a higher dbi antenna to give us a constant 5 bars.

It's a real faff having to swap the sim between the router & the phone so we'll probably only use it as a backup for if the broadband fails.