Crazily inconsistent 3G/4G speeds

[MarkS]

My speeds are driving me cracked - today alone I got speed tests varying from 50mb + to 0.1mb

While this might be an extreme example the effect is the same - sometimes I’ve say 5-20mb and then for no obvious reason it’ll drop below 1mb - then back and forth for the day.

Lower speeds are more common than higher.

I’m using an iPhone XR or 7 if that makes any difference

[markbate]

i have exactly the same issue we have mobile broadband and pretty much every evening as the mast we connect to gets congested you guys throttle the speed down so low that quite often it show up as zero internet. I can get speed upto 30MB when i wake up in the morning. There is one thing about fair usage and sharing but its very very clear that the capacity on these masts has been totally overloaded and Three need todo something about it as you are charging people for a service that you are not providing for a large proportion of the time. 

[LauraH]

@markbate Hello there, tell me when did you notice this beginning? Is it recent? Increased traffic at peak times, like in the evenings, can affect your speeds. Let me know your general area so I can check on the masts there👌 Also, let me know any troubleshooting steps you've tried and the make and model of your modem. 

[MarkS]

Did you get any info / help for me?

[markbate]

 sent you a PM with the model/make and phone number... and comments ... this is common problem that a lot of your customers are experiencing... your masts are over subscribed its as simple as that... your not providing the service that I am paying for and I will cancel if it continues!!!

[LauraH]

@MarkS How did you get on changing between 3G and 4G over the weekend, did you grab those screenshots for me? If so, pop them onto me in our PM conversation 👍

@markbate I see your PM so I'll pop back to you over there 👌

[MarkS]

Hi Laur ,

I have tried to PM you details, but I am being shown an error and being told that I have reached my limit of private message.  You are the only one I am messaging.

I may well be wrong, but the way I understand things, checking 3G only makes no sense - if I can't get 4g signal, my phone will auto revert to the next strongest signal = 3G.  Is this correct?

So when I look at my speedtest data - and I see 3G downt he left hand side, this is where 4G was unavailable, so my phone went looking for 3G - or am I missing something?

Regards<
Mark

[LauraH]

@MarkS Yes, you're right that the lack of one signal will push your phone to look for another. I should have been clearer and asked you to switch off 4G completely, leaving it switched on will encourage your phone to 'look' for 4G. Are you using your hotspot feature when you notice the dips? Have you done a settings reset? What sort of phone does your son have?

[MarkS]

Hi Laur

In all fairness Laur, that makes even less sense - you want me to turn off my 4G on my phone so it is not encouraged to look for 4G.  On 3G which I have had for years around here I will get maybe a max of 2mb, with an average of less than 1mb at a guess.

I am using a new iphone XR, I am fairly sure that will all the technology apple have created their phones will pick up 4G when and where it is available and 3G when it is not.  

I have reset my phones previously, plus my current phone is less than a week in use and the symptoms have not changed.  This is at least the 3rd separate phone that I have had this issue with.  So the issue is either is with Apple Iphones or Three reception, given that Apple are one of the biggest phone sellers in the world, I am sure we would have heard a lot more about their incompatibility with Three.  So I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the issue is with Three reception.

Have your tech people come back with anything or any note or even a possible cause - that does not include my phones (which seem to work unhindered in more urban areas).

On occasions I use hotspot, but you're hardly suggesting that my speed is dropping from 90 or even 30mb to less than 1mb because I am browsing on my laptop.

Plus for most of my speedtests I would not be hotspotting.

Regards,

Mark

[LauraH]

@MarkS I get your frustration Mark, these things are troubleshooting steps that need to be completed during an investigation like this. The tech team are waiting on those screenshots Mark, can you log out and back in and try PM me then? 

[MarkS]

HI Laur

any word from your tech team?