No 2degrees reception where VF signal is strong

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kiwigander

23 posts

Geek

Topic # 108597 2-Sep-2012 15:38
We are temporarily in the Claremont area of Timaru about 15 km due west of the CBD. Since we arrived here ~36 hours ago my wife has had absolutely no 2degrees reception. I've had steady 3/4 bars on Vodafone. Rebooting her phone, removing and replacing the battery, trying to force the phone to register with 2* all have had no effect. Putting my VF SIM into her Nokia E62 gives a strong VF signal that works for calling. Putting her 2* SIM into my Alcatel 918D gives no reception regardless of which slot the 2* SIM is in. Trying to force the Alcatel to register on 2, I keep getting the "Unable to register on this network at this time..." message (after the wheel spins for a couple of minutes). Other than getting her a prepay VF SIM, what can you suggest? (She was on VF prepay for years until migrating her number to 2 last year.). Thanks in advance.

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233 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 680423 2-Sep-2012 15:54
Short answer : 2degrees probably has bad coverage there :) Try walking around the place , or up the driveway to see if you get any coverage.

kiwigander

23 posts

Geek

Reply # 680425 2-Sep-2012 15:58
Update: We restored the SIMs to their owners. In the E62 settings she tried again to register manually on 2* but got the "Network not available " message. She then tried to manually register on VF, the registration went through and we're in business. Witchcraft!

johnr

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Reply # 680426 2-Sep-2012 15:59
2D coverage does not mirror image Vodafone NZ coverage John Systems Engineer Vodafone NZ http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

freitasm

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Reply # 680434 2-Sep-2012 16:14
2degrees and Vodafone are different services. They have a roaming agreement and some areas are "2degrees only" meaning a 2degrees SIM will only ever connect to 2degrees. If it just happens that a spot has low signal/no coverage, then too bad - the SIM won't roam into Vodafone because it's not allowed to, not until it reaches a non-2degrees region with roaming activated. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

Behodar

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Reply # 680436 2-Sep-2012 16:20
According to BarTender's map there are no 2D sites in Timaru so it should be using Vodafone (unless the map is out of date). My guess is that the phone had roaming disabled.

sbiddle

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Reply # 680437 2-Sep-2012 16:23
Behodar: According to BarTender's map there are no 2D sites in Timaru so it should be using Vodafone (unless the map is out of date). My guess is that the phone had roaming disabled. I'm pretty sure Timaru is in the current build out plans. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

freitasm

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Reply # 680439 2-Sep-2012 16:45
Behodar: My guess is that the phone had roaming disabled. That too... Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

johnr

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Reply # 680440 2-Sep-2012 16:53
freitasm: Behodar: My guess is that the phone had roaming disabled. That too... How do you disable roaming on a handset? You can disable data roaming Systems Engineer Vodafone NZ http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

robjg63

865 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 680450 2-Sep-2012 17:16
Noticed that 2 degrees wasnt that great around the Morgans Rd area of Timaru in June when I was down - closer to town than you are. I think there is coverage closer to the CBD but not much ouside of that. There was also an article in their local paper sometime in the last week about 2degrees going through the motions of getting resource consent/planning for something like 10 towers around Timaru. I expect it is ramping up pretty soon. Probably doesnt help you right now though... http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/7545693/Telco-gets-10-phone-towers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it it himself - A. H. Weiler

robjg63

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Reply # 680451 2-Sep-2012 17:18
johnr: freitasm: Behodar: My guess is that the phone had roaming disabled. That too... How do you disable roaming on a handset? You can disable data roaming The opposite of this for android: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycwve42BnZo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it it himself - A. H. Weiler

kiwigander

23 posts

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Reply # 680585 2-Sep-2012 22:18
Thanks to all for your advice. As per my 2nd message, we did finally manage to get the E62 up on Vodafone's network. The 2* call centre were pleasant but peculiarly unhelpful. They appear to be in Ireland, and it took some effort to make them understand where Timaru is. The bright side is, 2* were having a one-day-only sale on the LG Optimus Pro, and I was able to convince my wife that the E62 was due for retirement. Finally being able to use her 2* SIM here, she's ordered an Optimus Pro.

johnr

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Reply # 680586 2-Sep-2012 22:34
Why do you think the 2D call centre is in Ireland? Systems Engineer Vodafone NZ http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

theEd

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Reply # 680649 3-Sep-2012 09:02
The 2degrees call centre is in Auckland :) It's possible they have a new Irish hire who hasn't quite learnt all the small towns yet! I work for SnapperNet providing Tech Support for DrayTek modem/routers, Edge-core switches, Mobotix high-res IP cameras, QNAP network storage, Yeastar IP PBXs & more. Anything I say is my own opinion and not necessarily that of Snapper Network Distributors

2DegreesCare

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Reply # 680920 3-Sep-2012 15:52
Hi Kiwigander It seems like the phone was manually locked to 2degrees signal in Network Search, which is fine if you're in range of our towers but will not pick up the signal from our roaming partners. Setting it to 'Automatic' will pick up either our tower's signal or our roaming partners, whichever's stronger. We don't have our own towers in Timaru, just yet, nor a call centre in Ireland... to be sure! Good to here you taking up the 2degrees Day one day only offer of the Optimus Pro - http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/day. Sláinte ^POB

BTR

142 posts

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Reply # 680938 3-Sep-2012 16:14
kiwigander: Thanks to all for your advice. As per my 2nd message, we did finally manage to get the E62 up on Vodafone's network. The 2* call centre were pleasant but peculiarly unhelpful. They appear to be in Ireland, and it took some effort to make them understand where Timaru is. The bright side is, 2* were having a one-day-only sale on the LG Optimus Pro, and I was able to convince my wife that the E62 was due for retirement. Finally being able to use her 2* SIM here, she's ordered an Optimus Pro. 2D have a call centre an Auckland and a smaller one in CHCH.

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