Poor 3G coverage with new SIM

[#1]

Hello,

Last week I had my phone stolen.   I called Plusnet who issued me with a new SIM.  I bought the same phone model that I had before which is an Alcatel Pixi 4, 4". 

My house/area has very poor 3G signal, so I always had the option 'use 2g only' set, which gave me much better reception within the house.  With the new chip, I can't get any bars, and when I do, they vanish quickly.   My son has the Alcatel Pixi 4 (5) with Plusnet (a SIM at least a year old), and he is able to select '2g only'.

The main issue being is that the option within the phone settings to 'switch to 2g only' is no longer there (even though this is the same model phone).  I can only assume, something is different with this SIM, compared to the last one?  The only option I have is for 3G.

is there anyway I can get this back to '2g only' as it works much better for me?

[#2]

Hi @dockleaf50

Sorry that you're having issues with 3G coverage.

Unfortunately I don't believe there is a way we can toggle between 3G or 2G on our side and from what you've said it sounds like it may be that your SIM is newer than your son's.

Having said that, I've e-mailed our mobile operations team with this to see if they've got any ideas.

Will let you know when I receive a reply back which should be within 5 working days.

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Hi dockleaf50,

You can force 2G only by entering developer mode on android phones or using the radio switcher app.

There is a guide on the Giffgaff community.

https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Tips-Guides/Enabling-missing-2G-ONLY-mode-on-Android/td-p/10871397

Regards

Richard

[#4]

Hello again.

Thank you all for your replies.  

I got my son to look at the option you put forward, @RichardB.  My phone is now in 2g mode, I now have full bar signal in most rooms within the house, and all is back to how it was before my phone got stolen.  Thank you very much for your help.

[#5]

That's good to see and thanks for letting us know that resolved the problem. I've bookmarked @RichardB's reply for future reference for me.