Vodafone RBI issues / outages in Golden Bay?.. it's gone from just workable to bloody hopeless today

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Vodafone RBI issues / outages in Golden Bay?.. it's gone from just workable to bloody hopeless today

mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#288949 3-Aug-2021 00:04

Howdy.. first post, wondering if anyone can help with any info on why Vodafone RBI has pretty much dropped right off for me today?.. I live at Farewell Spit / the very top of the South Island where I can only just hook into Vodafone 3g network / RBI via external antenna to start with - so any drop in quality of reception / coverage is really noticable for me .. over time I've got pretty good at tweaking not just the antenna but any settings in the modem that enable us to stay online, and generally speaking we consistently get 3 bars of 3g which is fine (occasionally it might drop off to 2g for a few seconds)

Today from the morning it's been pretty much offline - 2g down to one bat or none at all, and like that all day.

I realise Vodafone is apparently doing some upgrades nationally but there doesn't seem to be anything listed locally that would affect me, just some cell sites over the other side of the bay in Nelson.

Our signal cones from My Burnett above Collingwood.

Does anyone know if there's been any changes locally to the Vodafone sites, particularly up Mt Burnett??.. I've had to manually force my modem onto 3g only and I'm only getting 1 bar and often none / dropping out totally.. I'm not even sure whether I can get this flare up / post this!

If this is the result Vodafone 'upgrading' their coverage locally and therefore a permanent 'fix' then my goose is cooked and I'm dead in the water.

Other neighbours that also rely on already weak Vodafone 3g reception for mobile / cellphone / internet are also seeing their reception plunge off the cliff.

"Houston we're breaking up!"

Thanks in advance, really just after anyone that can explain the change, not so much technical help (although open to anything that could help mindyou!)

sWeetBix (not)
Matty

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meow
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#2754154 3-Aug-2021 00:25

It sounds like there must be a better solution for you. Gone on the Starlink waiting list or investigated other providers like Kiwiwifi who look to be live around your area? http://www.kiwiwifi.nz/

The main thing I recommend doing is logging a fault with Vodafone. There is always network work going on especially at this time of the night. They publish the majority of it here: https://www.vodafone.co.nz/help/network-status/planned-upgrades-outages/

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wratterus

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#2754228 3-Aug-2021 09:02

Not sure exactly where you are, but by any chance are you within range of the RCG tower at Pakawau?

Below is the rough coverage area. If you are, that will blow the Vodafone speeds etc out of the water. Can even get Spark Unplan on RCG towers now.

mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#2754517 3-Aug-2021 14:56

Hey thanks for your time and thoughts - I hadn't heard of Kiwilink so that was interesting, just had a chat to them and turns out they are hoping to get a site up this year which should cover us and the neighbours, so that's encouraging at least & cheers for thst info!

Had a look at Starlink, thanks again.. pretty expensive when they're up and running but worth a look..

mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#2754524 3-Aug-2021 15:10

thanks for that.. nah we are in the shadow of pretty much all networks, trying to upload an image to show where I am

I can get that Pakawau signal (4g?) down the beachfront but I am at 183 wharariki road inland and in the shadow of that and all coverage - I get no cellohone reception in my mobile device at all and only get RBI thru Vodafone by snaggling it at the top of an external antenna - in fact our 3g signal bounces OFF the bluffs north of us (you can see a concave signal coverage even on the coverage map) so we actually aim our antenna towards the bluffs / away from the actual crllsite at My Burnett believe it it not!

UPDATE: our signal STILL at 1 bar 3g / pretty hopeless.. I only get that by forcing 3g manually thru Network Search on Modem, it I use auto it jumps to 2g 1 - 2 Bars which is unuseable..

wratterus

1687 posts

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#2754526 3-Aug-2021 15:12

Starlink is very good value per month when you consider the data cap (none) and the speeds (by all accounts very good). Just the initial setup is a bit, but again when you work it out monthly, it's a pretty competitive option.

backfiah

219 posts

Master Geek

#2754533 3-Aug-2021 15:20

Does your modem support 4g (and is your antenna wideband?). Looks like Vodafone has 700MHz 4G...the lower frequency might make a difference (vs 900MHz 3G) if you can lock onto it.

EDIT: Looks like these guys cover Pupogna (just). Could have a chat with them too? https://www.tpnet.nz/check-your-coverage/

michaelmurfy

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#2754535 3-Aug-2021 15:27

I'd strongly recommend talking to the guys at http://www.kiwiwifi.nz/

They've told me that this area is quite easy to cover and being a Wireless ISP may be able to work out something for you and your neighbors.

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mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#2754559 3-Aug-2021 16:15

Yup true story - its not so bad once you've got the Starlink gear, and hey - just having solid internizzle would be bloody priceless!

mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#2754561 3-Aug-2021 16:18

michaelmurfy:

I'd strongly recommend talking to the guys at http://www.kiwiwifi.nz/

They've told me that this area is quite easy to cover and being a Wireless ISP may be able to work out something for you and your neighbors.

Yup had a talk to them / answered that below - sorry, still working out how to reply directly to an answer visually on the forum..

mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#2754974 4-Aug-2021 12:05

backfiah:

Does your modem support 4g (and is your antenna wideband?). Looks like Vodafone has 700MHz 4G...the lower frequency might make a difference (vs 900MHz 3G) if you can lock onto it.

EDIT: Looks like these guys cover Pupogna (just). Could have a chat with them too? https://www.tpnet.nz/check-your-coverage/

thanks again, wasn't aware of Tpnet but they reckon we out of coverage at 183 wharariki road / here..

regarding our Antenna - we had it given to us so not sure but I think it's wide / multiband as it does pick up multiple providers when I do a manual network search and sometimes picks up Vodafone 4g but always fails to register and / or never shows 4g on the Modem Homepage / reception & network bars.. 4g I'm pretty sure comes from Mt Burnett above Collingwood along with the other Vodafone frequencies -i can get it on my phone down the Puponga beachfront like (the local access point!)as it's line of site... up the valley here wein the shadows little to much.

*Reception STILL horrendous today, nothing at all last night.. this is looking to be a permanent problem!

mattybaba

11 posts

Geek

#2755032 4-Aug-2021 12:49

*So I just been talking to other neighbours on Wharariki Road here in Puponga and everyone else is having issues with Vodafone coverage having gone from a just workable signal to either none at all to sporadically barely operable like me.

Anyone have a direct link to complaints/faults with Vodafone network, or even better a direct phone line to relevant department?

('yeah right, good luck with the second one - I think Vodafone have cloned a guy called Tobi coz that's all I ever seem to get hold of lad!')

Rikkitic

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#2755036 4-Aug-2021 13:03

I went through something very similar to you a few years ago. I was on RBI with a provider reselling Vodafone. Not in the back of beyond but surrounded by hills in a rural black hole outside Hastings. The only mast I could connect to worked well at first, but got steadily worse over time due to major congestion issues. I kept waiting but it never got better. Finally it became pretty much unusable. By then a local WISP had started up and I was able to get a connection to it. Since then things have been pretty good. Speed is around 30 Mbps down, which meets most of my needs, and streaming is generally reliable with occasional buffering at peak times. All in all, a big improvement over how it used to be. If you can connect to a WISP, I recommend it over RBI.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos