Recently moved to Raumati South...little to no Vodafone coverage in my house! Would moving to 2degrees help any?

Forums › Vodafone New Zealand › Recently moved to Raumati South...little to no Vodafone coverage in my house! Would moving to 2degrees help any?

gwennie

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Topic # 111664 10-Nov-2012 15:59
Hey there, My husband and I recently moved to Raumati South, and have found that I have no mobile coverage inside our new house. Our house is below the road level a bit, in a land pocket if you will. I had a Nokia n97mini, and thought it was just my particular phone, because my husband has a $50 nokia phone and he gets enough coverage (usually) to send/receive txts and calls inside the house. My work has just supplied me with a company phone (iPhone3GS) and I'm having the same issues. Not receiving txts or calls (or any notifications) much of the time while in my house. If I walk to the top of my driveway I get coverage. My work will be adding my current number to their 2degrees plan soon -- will this help any with the coverage I'm getting? Is there anything I can do to boost the signal within my house so I won't miss calls from work while at home? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

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Reply # 715204 10-Nov-2012 16:11
There's a new 2degrees tower in Raumati Road and that should make a massive difference to coverage. Its just outside the Village Inn on the junction of Raumati and Rosetta Road

NonprayingMantis

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Reply # 715210 10-Nov-2012 16:30
Simplest way to check is to buy a 2degrees sim for 5 bucks and try it out.

johnr

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Reply # 715216 10-Nov-2012 16:49
You could try Sure Signal the homeline broadband needs to be on Vodafone

Zeon

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Reply # 715222 10-Nov-2012 17:10
If they are going to be moving your number then why not wait for that to happen and see how it goes? It's a coverage area for 2degrees' own network which should make a difference.

sbiddle

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Reply # 715226 10-Nov-2012 17:19
There are a number of Vodafone 900 3G sites on the Kapiti Coast and the 3GS being a very old phone doesn't support this band. 2d are also deploying 900 3G now as well, so there are no guarantees that either will deliver better signal as the issue could be a handset one. A phone that supports the 900Mhz 3G band could deliver better coverage.

johnr

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Reply # 715243 10-Nov-2012 17:31
Also check your address on the vodafone coverage map Orange is 3G on 900Mhz and Red 3G 2100Mhz

gwennie

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Wannabe Geek

Reply # 715250 10-Nov-2012 18:02
That's what I get when I search my address on the Vodafone. Super frustrating that iPhone 3GS doesn't support 900mghz, as I don't think work will want to spend any money on a newer phone when this one is just out of the box. I wish I'd thought to ask around before they bought it (I didn't get to choose the handset unfortunately). Oddly enough though, my old phone's specs (Nokia n97 mini) look like it should've worked fine, unless I'm missing something? Tried to post link to them but because I'm new, I'm not allowed. Not sure if is just a handset issue, as my husband pointed out one night where he was home and I was texting/calling him from Wellington and he received no notifications whatsoever until hours later. All my calls went straight to voicemail, so I thought his phone was off, but it was on and next to him the entire time in our house. Thanks very much for the replies! Will see how it goes once they move my number over.

johnr

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Reply # 715267 10-Nov-2012 18:38
That coverage will be approx and not in door coverage but up on the road,

gwennie

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Reply # 715422 11-Nov-2012 11:11
Considering I don't live, work, and play on the road, that's pretty disappointing still ;) I appreciate the information though.

sbiddle

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Reply # 715424 11-Nov-2012 11:21
gwennie: Considering I don't live, work, and play on the road, that's pretty disappointing still ;) I appreciate the information though. Networks have no way of showing what signal strength will be like in your house. They drive test streets with equipment which is how coverage maps are done (along with radio propagration modelling). Radio waves are blocked by building materials, with different frequencies affected in different ways. Typically speaking radio waves will travel through glass very well, unless it's tinted where it can easily cause a 10dB to 15dB drop in signal strength. Radio waves will always be affected when you are indoors, to what extend depends entirely on the construction methods and building materials your house is made of.

quickymart

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Reply # 715458 11-Nov-2012 15:19
Indeed, as a sort of analogy, someone who lives (and uses their cellphone) inside a tent will get a much better signal than someone living in a brick house in the exact same location. The networks can't check what every single house is made of and adjust the map accordingly - it's a guide for outdoors coverage.

2degreesCare

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Reply # 715686 12-Nov-2012 10:46
Hi gwennie You might want to check our coverage map to see what coverage 'should' be like at your home - http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/mobilebroadband/broadbandzones As Steve says we have 3G on 900MHz and this has been deployed in our Tier 2 build out in that area. Hopefully the Business plan your work is signing up to gets you a new phone! ;) Cheers ^POB

gwennie

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Reply # 715727 12-Nov-2012 11:30
2DegreesCare: Hi gwennie You might want to check our coverage map to see what coverage 'should' be like at your home - http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/mobilebroadband/broadbandzones As Steve says we have 3G on 900MHz and this has been deployed in our Tier 2 build out in that area. Hopefully the Business plan your work is signing up to gets you a new phone! ;) Cheers ^POB As my number is being added to an existing plan, I'm not eligible to get the Samsung Galaxy III that's being currently offered to new business plan customers on your website. Checked my address on the 2degrees coverage map you linked to -- it shows the lightest colour of coverage on the scale for my address. I tried a 2degrees SIM card (I have a mobile broadband usb modem from 2degrees) in my phone, and got only a slight difference in coverage inside my house, but still seems to be a bit better than Vodafone. I can't use the mobile broadband inside my house at all unfortunately.

Jaxson

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Reply # 715730 12-Nov-2012 11:34
As above, I went through something similar with Johnr a year or so back and found switching to a 900Mhz capable phone a major part of the equation.

1eStar

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Reply # 716046 12-Nov-2012 20:02
iPhone 3GS was designed for 850MHz umts networks. Switch to Telecom or Skinny, which run on 850MHz and also incidentally has superior indoor coverage.

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