Vodafone mobile coverage / signal strength Wellington

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timmmay

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#240027 16-Aug-2018 07:21

I just had my workplace switch from Spark to Vodafone mobile. Previously at home (inner Wellington suburbs) and work (Wellington inner city close to parliament) I consistently got 4-5 bars on my Huawei P9 just about wherever I went in the country, home, work, etc. With Vodafone I get 1-2 bars at work and at home, occasionally rising to 3-4 bars, dropping to zero bars in some parts of my house.

I checked out the Vodafone Coverage Map but when I hit the buttons for 3G/4G nothing changed on the map.

Is this pretty standard? I expected the second biggest telco in NZ to have good coverage of these well populated locations. Work would give me a Sure Signal but in central Wellington that seems ridiculous, plus I don't want more devices running in the house if I can avoid it.

sbiddle

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#2074276 16-Aug-2018 07:37

You realise signal bars on your phone actually mean very little in the grand scheme of things?

Vodafone haven't extensively deployed 700MHz LTE in urban areas like Spark have done, so overall signal levels can appear less than Spark due to the higher frequency. I can still exceed 100Mbps on LTE at home with a single bar and -110dBm on Vodafone.

timmmay

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#2074283 16-Aug-2018 08:15

That's interesting, thanks.

I just ran a speed test from work and got 55Mbps down 8Mbps up, compared with wifi which was 22/14 on a corporate public WiFi.

timmmay

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#2074533 16-Aug-2018 15:35

At home I get 23Mbps down and 1.6Mbps up on 4G when I use the Wellington server. The first test I ran was on 3G to a Palmerston North server and got 6 Mbps down and 2Mbps up. Third test was from another part of the house, it dropped to 3G and got 5Mbps down and 2Mbps up, jitter of 1178ms - though I did walk from the front to the back of the house so maybe it changed cells or something in the mittle. A final test was 14/4 with 4ms jitter on 3G to Spark Wellington server.

All in all I don't find that very impressive, for a fairly central Wellington suburb with no hills or anything nearby. It also suggests sig

Linux

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#2074538 16-Aug-2018 15:44

Did you get a VodafoneNZ supplied handset?

John

timmmay

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#2074568 16-Aug-2018 17:14

Linux:

Did you get a VodafoneNZ supplied handset?

John

Nope, just a new SIM. The Vodafone website says the Huawei EVA-L09 is 100% compatible with Vodafone.

Linux

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#2074579 16-Aug-2018 17:29

timmmay:
Linux:

Did you get a VodafoneNZ supplied handset?

John

Nope, just a new SIM. The Vodafone website says the Huawei EVA-L09 is 100% compatible with Vodafone.

Does not mean it's going to support all network features and carrier aggregation on VodafoneNZ bands

John

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#2074587 16-Aug-2018 18:12

Sounds like you may have a few edge case sections through the denser parts of the house, i'd recommend just sticking in a sure signal honestly...

Alternatively, Line the roof with something reflective... tinfoil?.. works great, in my testing i get twice the bars!

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timmmay

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#2074604 16-Aug-2018 19:56

Given you would expect two blocks from Lambton Quay to have good coverage, and the inner suburbs, not being fully compatible is a reasonably explanation. I guess I either get a sure signal or tell work to get me a separate phone and take my number back to Spark.

Linux

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#2074607 16-Aug-2018 20:05

Read above going off bars is 100% pointless you still have coverage

John

timmmay

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#2074613 16-Aug-2018 20:09

Linux: Read above going off bars is 100% pointless you still have coverage

John

Sure, but the speed test results also suggest coverage isn't very good at home. 10Mbps down and 2Mbps up is much lower than it gets near Lambton Quay.

Aredwood

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#2075958 20-Aug-2018 01:17

Is there a Vodafone firmware version available for your phone?

Instead of buying a Shure Signal. Why not just upgrade your WiFi instead? Who cares what speed mobile data is at home. When you can just use WiFi. Lower ping rates and IPv6 as well on WiFi (compared to mobile data).

timmmay

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#2075963 20-Aug-2018 05:37

Aredwood: Is there a Vodafone firmware version available for your phone?

Instead of buying a Shure Signal. Why not just upgrade your WiFi instead? Who cares what speed mobile data is at home. When you can just use WiFi. Lower ping rates and IPv6 as well on WiFi (compared to mobile data).

I don't know if the p9 has a Vodafone firmware. I had a heck of a job getting this phone's firmware upgraded, I'm not sure if I'm game to mess with it again. Interesting suggestion, thanks.