Rangiora Coverage - unable to use VF network??

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Rangiora Coverage - unable to use VF network??

nellyt

34 posts

Geek

#83890 23-May-2011 12:41

Wife and I have identical phones Nokia 6230 from UK.
We used to be able to get a 2D signal in Rangiora, we can no longer pick up anything, anywhere in town for months. Phones work fine in ChCh.

2D support are adamant the netowrk is fine, and say there are two transmitters in Rangiora.

I thought this may be because these were UK triband phones missing the correct antenna.

Wife now has a 2D Ideos 8150, two weeks old. Still no reception in Rangiora.

Stranded in Rnagiora at weekend with flat battery I decided on my final experiment - a Vodafone SIM.
Inside NL shop, my phone was on zero signal, insert VF SIM gives full bars. So it is not that I am missing an antenna.

Same thing happens on wife's new phone, put in the VF SIM and she gets a signal in Rangiora.

So what is going on. Its like something is stopping me from roaming onto the VF network?

2D phone support just tell me to take out the battery and put it back in.

johnr

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#472918 23-May-2011 12:44

Have you tried a manual network selection when using the 2degrees SIM in Rangiora?

If you get ' access denied ' 2Degrees will need to contact Vodafone NZ

Thanks John

2degreesCare

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#472935 23-May-2011 13:13

Hi there,

Sounds like there could be a problem with the SIM if it's happening on both phones.

If you pop into the Warehouse Stationery at Papanui or 2degrees store at Riccarton Mall they'll give you a blank SIM. When call us on 0800 022022 to have the number and credit swapped over. More stores info - http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/storelocator.

Before you do that, double check with a fresh network search on Automatic to check if you can get a reception as there's no known issues.

Cheers
^POB

nellyt

34 posts

Geek

#472944 23-May-2011 13:25

But both my and my wife's SIM show the same problem.?
So could they both be bad?

I assume a fresh network search would of happened when we put the SIM in her new Ideos 8150 ?

2degreesCare

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#472987 23-May-2011 14:34

nellyt: But both my and my wife's SIM show the same problem.?
So could they both be bad?

I assume a fresh network search would of happened when we put the SIM in her new Ideos 8150 ?

Yes, just check that it's set to 'Automatic' search and 'Data Roaming' is 'on'. If it's still not picking up a signal please can you PM your 2degrees numbers, contact number and location.

Thanks
^POB

TeWharau

35 posts

Geek

#473229 23-May-2011 23:16

We have a similar problem at home in Charteris Bay (Lyttelton Harbour). The 2d signal is very weak & we have to put our iPhones on a North-facing window sill to send & receive SMS txts. In Lincoln, the phone roams nicely on VF, but at home it won't, even without a 2d signal.

petrus44

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#474296 26-May-2011 11:05

Just changed from 2degrees to vodafone prepay as the service near Rangiora was well below average. Sure 2degrees is cheap and cheerful but not much good if you can't use it.

To stop any flames, I've re-setup my mobile with settings imported/requested from SIM card, from 2degrees web, and manually from info in these forums. I've tried everything, including a different mobiles (nokia, android and SE) and only had average results. 2degrees may be great for the metropolitan areas but once outside these areas and roaming it's average to crap.

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#474325 26-May-2011 11:47

petrus44: Just changed from 2degrees to vodafone prepay as the service near Rangiora was well below average. Sure 2degrees is cheap and cheerful but not much good if you can't use it.

To stop any flames, I've re-setup my mobile with settings imported/requested from SIM card, from 2degrees web, and manually from info in these forums. I've tried everything, including a different mobiles (nokia, android and SE) and only had average results. 2degrees may be great for the metropolitan areas but once outside these areas and roaming it's average to crap.

Please try a manual search and selecting the found network to see if you can get a signal and then switching back to Automatic. Let me know if that makes a difference.

If not can you PM your 2D number, handset make/model and exact location where you're not getting coverage.

Thanks
^POB

nellyt

34 posts

Geek

#474363 26-May-2011 12:44

The experiment I did the other day...

in Rangiora no signal
Select manual network, choose VF
Gives full signal
Switch back to automatic.
Drive home out of rangiora area (to another antenna).
Drive back to Rangiora in monring
Phone now appears to work and pick up full signal in exactly the same place

What I want to know is why has this apparently fixed the issue and am I going to have to repeat this exercise every single time visit a new area.

I'd also like a technical explanation of why this now appears to work.

I did PM my phone number to 2d as requested above so remain to be convinced that it is entirely something I have done by the above exercise or if they have 'enabled me' via some sort of database.

minigopher17

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#474381 26-May-2011 13:15

When I used to visit friends in Prebbleton (which by the maps on the 2degrees website is on the fringe of 2degrees coverage) I would have a similar issue - facing one way I would get a very weak 2degrees signal, but if I was facing the other way I would get full reception via a Vodafone tower.

It's like the phone tries to keep hold of a 2degrees signal even if a nearer Vodafone signal is a lot better. I don't know if that's the phone's problem, or 2degrees' problem.

At home in Rolleston I had no issue with signal as it can only use Vodafone's towers there.

nellyt

34 posts

Geek

#476641 1-Jun-2011 11:42

My wife's Ideos 8150 has behaved in the same way as my Nokia6230

Her phone contains a 2D SIM, when she goes to Rangiora she gets zero signal strength.
This weekend when there, we did a manual selection, selected 2D and get full signal strength (on a VF cell).
Switch back to Automatic
Drive out of coverage and back again and the phone correctly picks up the VF tower and gives full signal.

So what is going on?
Why does a 2D SIM in a 2D phone not work?
Why do I have to manually select a network?
Will I ever have to do this again in Rangiora?
Will I have to do this again anywhere else in the country?
Will I forever be thinking - 'oh dear no signal, better go and do a manual search'?

n4

959 posts

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#476663 1-Jun-2011 12:46

nellyt: My wife's Ideos 8150 has behaved in the same way as my Nokia6230

Her phone contains a 2D SIM, when she goes to Rangiora she gets zero signal strength.
This weekend when there, we did a manual selection, selected 2D and get full signal strength (on a VF cell).
Switch back to Automatic
Drive out of coverage and back again and the phone correctly picks up the VF tower and gives full signal.

So what is going on?
Why does a 2D SIM in a 2D phone not work?
Why do I have to manually select a network?
Will I ever have to do this again in Rangiora?
Will I have to do this again anywhere else in the country?
Will I forever be thinking - 'oh dear no signal, better go and do a manual search'?

The SIM maintains a list of 'forbidden' networks. Normally of course, VFNZ should not be on this list because roaming is allowed. However, I am guessing that somehow (maybe when you went to a part of Chrsitchurch where roaming is not allowed) VFNZ got onto your SIM 'forbidden' list. It shouldn't happen but who knows. In this case, manually selecting VFNZ forced it to try the network, which would have cleared it off the forbidden network list, so that when it was on automatic, it is now open to using VFNZ if available. If this theory is true then it should not happen again (under normal circumstances). The forbidden list also explains why it stays the same across different handsets. Just a theory though...

Samsung Note20 Ultra, on 2degrees

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#476733 1-Jun-2011 16:37

Thanks for the PM Nellyt, we'll look further into this. Following your first post we sent out a drive team to Rangiora to try to replicate your initial issue with different SIMs and handsets but did not find any problem connecting to the other network.

As N4 says I doubt if this happens again with these SIMs.

Cheers
^POB