Hi all

I have really been struggling with getting even a basic level of reliable service from 2Degrees because of reception (of whom I am a big fan otherwise) and I'm at a loss about what to do.

My problems are these:

I get very poor reception in my house (in Waterview / Avondale - hardly rural).

I get about 2 bars and cannot receive or make phone calls reliably using 3G/4G - I have to use wifi calling when I am at home to be able to use my phone.

If I don't, any time I make a call it will get cut off after about 3 minutes. For a while I thought this was my iPhone - because there were so many reports of calls dropping on iPhone XR - but Apple could find nothing wrong and I even got a new iPhone (12mini) and the problem remains.

So, I have to remember to turn wifi calling on and and off every time I leave the house, which is really not cool. I am missing calls all the time when I am out.


Now, I am getting people reporting to me that they cannot get through to my phone at all - whether I am at home or out, and some have sent me evidence of all the times they called, but there are no missed calls recording on my phone. People can try to call me, my phone is sitting right next to me, and it doesn't ring.

Now, some people are reporting they are getting the 'this number is disconnected' message when they try to call me! This is a nightmare for my business. My partner is also on 2Degrees, he experiences same poor reception and a friend said they got the same 'disconnected' message when calling him the other day too. So it's not just me.

I recently tried to move to Spark because a) they promised I would have better reception, and b) I really need (not just want) a new cellular Apple watch to help me with aspects of my life, and I can't get this on 2Degrees.

The reception in Spark was just as bad, and to my horror I realised I couldn't have wifi calling at all with Spark, so I had to change back! Has all been a massive drama and now things seem to just be getting worse and worse.

I can't believe I can't get reliable phone service in Auckland Central!

I have tried to talk to 2Degrees about it but they want me to 'prove' my issues, which is pretty hard if I don't know who is trying to call me and can't. I also have been on hold for more than 30 mins in the last few days and can't even get through for help.


I don't know if it's related, but I have also been getting the most incredible amount of phone spam, all from NZ mobile numbers, so bad I have had to silence my phone to unknown numbers, I can't understand how all these calls are getting through (there is never anything but silence on the other end) but my friends and business contacts can't call me :-( 

What are my options people? I have looked into expensive signal boosting equipment - will have to choose which network it is optimised, for, this matters because of the wifi calling vs. Apple watch dilemma.