2degrees signal issue -- phone? network?

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deadlyllama

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#215142 13-Jun-2017 20:03

I've got a 2degrees Samsung Galaxy J2, bought in Jan 2016 from Warehouse Stationery.

Over the last month I've had a number of incoming calls not come through, and text messages come through after some delay. Mostly at my house, which has poor reception.

I've forced the phone onto 3G/2G only. Now when I sit here at my desk at home (suburban Whanganui) with the phone saying it's getting -111dBm RSSI on UMTS (via Network Cell Info Mini) and the no service symbol is showing.

I've tried to use a ZTE Blade A462 (supports all NZ bands) with the same SIM card as a comparison. It seems more likely to drop down to 2G than lose signal completely.

With the Blade, in LTE/WCDMA/GSM mode, at my house, it can take ten seconds after pressing "dial" before I start to hear a ringing tone which I'm guessing is due to time taken to switch from LTE to WCDMA/GSM to make the call.

What can I do? I bought the phone from Warehouse Stationery, I'm a lowly prepay customer of 2degrees. I don't know if I should be blaming the handset or the network (or the SIM?) ... and therefore don't know who to demand to fix my problem.

Edit: here's a video of my signal wobbling up and down over a few minutes, while my phone sits on a desk at home. https://goo.gl/photos/iKfqANTYvzJvVj8N7

tardtasticx

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#1799690 13-Jun-2017 21:11

Try the following:

SIM in 2 other phones and try in other areas. All experiencing same issue? Try below. If not then issue is with handset most likely.
If issue still persists you could try a SIM swap (will cost you $5 for a blank SIM). Unlikely cause though.
Still persists after that then it's probably just bad coverage that you'll need to live with. If you're in an area that supports roaming on Vodafone still you could try manually selecting Vodafone as the network in your phone settings.

ANglEAUT

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#1799722 13-Jun-2017 23:09

tardtasticx:

Still persists after that then it's probably just bad coverage that you'll need to live with. If you're in an area that supports roaming on Vodafone still you could try manually selecting Vodafone as the network in your phone settings.

I've found that allowing the handset to roam has resolved my signal issues. Different handset, enabled data & voice roaming (as if I was travelling internationally; auto network carrier) and now experience less signal cuts.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

deadlyllama

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#1802497 17-Jun-2017 09:59

Update: Phone has been sent off for repair by Warehouse Stationery. Have some nice screenshots from my phone and my wife's identical one, sitting beside each other, hers having signal and mine not. With Network Cell Info Mini running on each with technical details.