Dramatic drop in phone mobile service while in home

ElaniArtin

It has never been great, but suddenly I really cannot make phone calls and texts while at home. When I walk outside it improves slightly, and I have no problems while at friends' houses. Not having phone service at home is alarming. Also, my wifi (NOWTV)has been really slow too. I am on Giffgaff and have been really happy with this service everywhere. It's a Samsung S10 phone. Any ideas?

victor2

ElaniArtin said:

It has never been great, but suddenly I really cannot make phone calls and texts while at home. When I walk outside it improves slightly, and I have no problems while at friends' houses. Not having phone service at home is alarming. Also, my wifi (NOWTV)has been really slow too. I am on Giffgaff and have been really happy with this service everywhere. It's a Samsung S10 phone. Any ideas?

The two are not related. Giffgaff use the O2 mobile network. Maybe you also have a problem with your broadband and/or WiFi.
Giffgaff don't support calls over WiFi, so it won't be the reason.

facade

Sometimes the transmitters fail and don't get repaired, or the lease on the land runs out/parents campaign to have them removed from schools/the building they were on gets demolished etc. and you suddenly lose signal.

Sometimes new buildings are constructed that block the signal from reaching you.

If you look at https://www.cellmapper.net  and select O2 you can find where your local transmitter towers are, then you can check other providers and see if they have closer ones.

When you find what looks like a better option, you can usually get a SIM for free from the provider, then put minimum credit on it and try it in your phone.

ElaniArtin

Wow Facade- thank you!

cerebus

I'm with giff gaff and have noticed lately that their  service is not as good as it used to be , badly throttled during the day and reception is poor

My other sim is vodafone and that's much better but they are more expensive than giff gaff....

ElaniArtin

Ok Facade I'm on the map now...  I see the little lolly pops and they are bands 1, and 20 or just 20? What a map!

ElaniArtin

cerebus said:

I'm with giff gaff and have noticed lately that their  service is not as good as it used to be , badly throttled during the day and reception is poor

My other sim is vodafone and that's much better but they are more expensive than giff gaff....

been with giffgaff years and years, laughing at all that pay so much! Maybe I'll have to change. Someone suggested I need a newer phone?

facade

ElaniArtin said:

Ok Facade I'm on the map now... what am I looking for? I see the little lolly pops and they are bands 1, and 20 or just 20?

You are looking for how close the transmitter is to your house, and if there are closer ones (that should give a stronger signal) from other providers- you don't want a hill or a block of flats between you and the transmitter either.  When I look at mine EE have the closest towers, (which is my provider) The little coloured squares show how strong the signal was when someone drove past, but it is only on main roads.

I think band 20 is the main band that they all use, I'm not sure what use the other is.

Here are all the postcode checkers I could find

https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage
https://coverage.ee.co.uk/coverage/ee
https://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/network/status-checker
https://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Network/Coverage
https://www.signalchecker.co.uk/

However, the best test is to get a SIM and try it at your house.

My brother has EE and has to stand in the garden to make calls, but he has an O2 mast about 200 yards away (the nearest EE one is over 1/2 a mile away). He won't change though because EE works so well everywhere except his house....

ElaniArtin

facade said:

ElaniArtin said:

Ok Facade I'm on the map now... what am I looking for? I see the little lolly pops and they are bands 1, and 20 or just 20?

You are looking for how close the transmitter is to your house, and if there are closer ones (that should give a stronger signal) from other providers- you don't want a hill or a block of flats between you and the transmitter either.  When I look at mine EE have the closest towers, (which is my provider) The little coloured squares show how strong the signal was when someone drove past, but it is only on main roads.

I think band 20 is the main band that they all use, I'm not sure what use the other is.

Here are all the postcode checkers I could find

https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage
https://coverage.ee.co.uk/coverage/ee
https://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/network/status-checker
https://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Network/Coverage
https://www.signalchecker.co.uk/

However, the best test is to get a SIM and try it at your house.

My brother has EE and has to stand in the garden to make calls, but he has an O2 mast about 200 yards away (the nearest EE one is over 1/2 a mile away). He won't change though because EE works so well everywhere except his house....

Yes I am there with your brother. suppose I could get another phone on another service. I will do what you say- extremely helpful-Ta xx

facade

ElaniArtin said:

facade said:

ElaniArtin said:

Ok Facade I'm on the map now... what am I looking for? I see the little lolly pops and they are bands 1, and 20 or just 20?

You are looking for how close the transmitter is to your house, and if there are closer ones (that should give a stronger signal) from other providers- you don't want a hill or a block of flats between you and the transmitter either.  When I look at mine EE have the closest towers, (which is my provider) The little coloured squares show how strong the signal was when someone drove past, but it is only on main roads.

I think band 20 is the main band that they all use, I'm not sure what use the other is.

Here are all the postcode checkers I could find

https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage
https://coverage.ee.co.uk/coverage/ee
https://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/network/status-checker
https://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Network/Coverage
https://www.signalchecker.co.uk/

However, the best test is to get a SIM and try it at your house.

My brother has EE and has to stand in the garden to make calls, but he has an O2 mast about 200 yards away (the nearest EE one is over 1/2 a mile away). He won't change though because EE works so well everywhere except his house....

Yes I am there with your brother. suppose I could get another phone on another service. I will do what you say- extremely helpful-Ta xx

You don't need another phone.

Most phones nowadays can take a second SIM, I believe the S10 will.

You can receive calls on both at the same time, and choose which one to use to make a call. Then you get a cut price minutes only deal just for calls you want to make from home. (You should be able to find 200 minutes for £2 a month)

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-to-use-or-manage-dual-sim-cards/

You could just swap providers and keep your number, but then you might have signal trouble at work.....

Neil49

Your Galaxy S10 supports wifi calling so you just need to find a network that provides it.

Obviously Giffgaff don't but O2 do as do many other networks including Lebara (Vodafone network) and Three.

If you go down that route then ensure your phone is set to use WiFi calling as the default.