topic Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage. in Archived Posts

constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 11:21:13 GMT

On October 15th 2021, there was an EE outage in my area. I couldn't make calls, or receive them for two weeks, then got that sorted, around the same time, i was sent a "network configuration" text message, from one of the EE tech's, because of said outage.

But since then, my internet connection has been awful. Sites that i used to go to, i just can't get there, it sits there for ages, then tells me, "The site took too long to respond", and I'm talking about well used tech websites, Tomshardware.com , Anandtech.com, IMDB etc. nothing nefarious. It's making my connection just about unusable, and i can get to about 30% of the sites i want. This never happened before Oct.15th. i could access any site, anywhere, and i have been with EE for over 3 years.

I have ran some trace tests on it, and it appears that maybe EE are using multiple proxies, so the authentication is being sent down one connection, and it's using another proxy for traffic, like an F5 load balancer changing the server your connecting to, from the previous connection, I can't be sure, i can't see EE's "end", but the entire thing stinks of something like that. This is further backed up, by the fact that if i keep reloading the page, i can occasionally access it, but only after getting a message telling me the site is unsafe and i should go back to safety. IMDB? back to safety? dropped authentication/token anyone?

I am on the highest tariff for mobile date, and quite frankly, it's making the connection unusable, please give me some advice, before i take my business elsewhere.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 12:10:35 GMT

it would appear your IPv6 dropdown to IPv4 is shocking, and could well be contributing to this.

I can't even get onto the Govt. website to book an Omicron booster.

pitiful.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

mikeliuk — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 12:19:40 GMT

Hi @Knightstone ,

How does the unloaded latency/ping look on fast.com and speedtest.net ?

Is this the same after multiple restart of radios (e.g. by rebooting router)?

EE is unlikely to be forcing the use of proxies as that would be a privacy and security issue.

I would recommend to check if the APN is configured for IPV4V6 and to try to add an APN configured for IPV4-only if so, just to test (revert to the original if no change).

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 12:35:16 GMT

thanks for taking the time to reply, it's appreciated.

Your proxy comment makes sense, but it has to be something similar, that is, not all traffic/authentication taking the same route, or getting through. I just got onto a page there, by dropping the connection, and reconnecting, while it was trying to navigate to the page.

This is a mobile phone, there is no router to reboot, but yes, the phone itself has been started several times.

Even before i logged the first comment, i created a new APN that was IPv4 only, no effect at all.

This was working, and was working as intended for 3 years. from Oct 15th, there was an outage, i was sent an "EE network config text", and now it's not working.

I can't get through to Speedtest to look at the latency, ironically enough.

I will keep trying.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

mikeliuk — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 14:01:42 GMT

Hi @Knightstone ,

I would recommend to configure a WiFi hotspot with the mobile and connect a laptop to debug.

If you fail to access websites, it's usually one of A) routing, or B) name resolution which is failing.

To check A) in Windows 10, open a commandline and test "ping 8.8.8.8" and "tracert 8.8.8.8

To check B) in Windows 10 commandline, test "nslookup google.com" and "nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8"

These tests are probably also possible on a mobile but I typically switch to a server to debug my home 4G LTE issues.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 14:50:19 GMT

thanks again for the reply.

i can see the testing angle your going for, i have already tried alternate DNS settings, infact, i have tried just about everything, and my last resort was this thread.

I am very doubtful of DNS though, it can find the lookup for the address no problem, and tried going there no problem, that's when it just sits there (with the URL resolved in the address bar of Chrome) it's never a DNS problem, or at least, it doesn't look that way, as the error is always "the page took too long to respond", despite actually finding it. if i disconnect the net connection, then reconnect, it will on the very rare occasion, bring up the page i want, instantly, but these instances are very few and far between. Surely if it was a DNS issue, it wouldn't be able to get there at all, as it wouldn't know where "there" is.

i know one thing. it's an EE issue

Worked everyday, spotless for over three years. Network outage, Network config text file sent. Now NOT working. i never changed any settings on the connection. i didn't have to. it worked.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

mikeliuk — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 15:32:20 GMT

Hi @Knightstone ,

I would recommend to delete any IPv4 literals if you've specified these for the DNS on your phone. So delete 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 for testing DNS lookup to fall back on EE default DNS. This is because these may interact badly if your mobile has an IPv6 address.

If you've specified a domain name for Private DNS, would be good to delete too for testing.

Do both A) and B) succeed for you?

You could manually set the APN according to online guidance.

If all the above checks out, and the problem persists, moving the SIM to another device (unlocked for EE) is a good check.

The main possibilities are A) routing timeout, B) name resolution timeout, C) server response timeout, D) other misconfiguration, E) device fault, or F) misconfiguration in the network.

Realistically, F) is the least likely at the moment as it would have high impact with many customers reporting the same for your location.

Regarding the network config text, you may wish to compare your settings to those recommended at the below APN link. For example, my Netgear MR1100 doesn't populate username and password for its APN settings although other devices seem to require these to be populated.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

bristolian — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 15:26:50 GMT

How wide a geographical area is this issue apparent?

This would provide a good indicator of where in EE's network the issue is potentially located.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:12:07 GMT

thanks for chiming in Bristolian.

"How wide a geographical area is this issue apparent?"

are you asking am i only having trouble with issues the other side of the pond? that kinda thing? hard to say, there are certainly many UK sites i can't get to.

Youtube, Facebook, BBC news i can get to no problem. Sites like Tomshardware or Anandtech, i can't .... if i just refresh, and refresh, and refresh, then one time in every twenty or so i can, but it doesn't go straight to the site, it tells me the certification for the site i am going to is invalid, and the site is unsafe, and would i like to go back to safety, it's TomsHardware, there is nothing unsafe about it, the main reason i posted a thread, is that i am not able bodied, and not able to book a booster jab, because of this.

There was an outage on Oct 15th.

i got no calls etc. for two weeks. Only alerted to this, when my social worker knocked on the door to see if i was still alive, as they couldn't call me.

I called EE.

The support guy told me "it was a known issue, caused by the outage, i am sending you a network config file as a text message. when you get it. restart your phone"

phone switched off for over an hour, to make sure i had dropped off the network.

phone switched on.

broken.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

bristolian — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:28:03 GMT

I'm asking whether your problem is specific to one area - or if you travel to another local area whether the issue persists.

Or is this problem happening regardless of where you are?

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:31:28 GMT

I am largely housebound, I am not able bodied, so don't travel much.. this is all from my armchair.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

mikeliuk — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:43:06 GMT

Hi @Knightstone ,

In your particular situation, I would recommend that you have a spare working phone in your house unlocked to work on another network if necessary (you can buy a cheap one if you don't have an old one).

I would recommend that you check the Ofcom mobile coverage checker to obtain at least a pay as you go SIM from another network for use in emergencies (you don't even require credit for emergency calls).

I think it's unacceptable that the service provider would take an action that would leave you without the possibility of being contacted in an emergency situation and might even have put you at risk of being unable to make emergency calls.

You should report the situation to EE and ask that they note the unacceptable situation on the account until it is fixed. You may need to borrow a phone to do this or ask to connect to your neighbour's WiFi.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:58:54 GMT

Sterling advice. thanks for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

O2 are doing a SIM with 100GB compared to EE's 60Gb for the same price.

It's probably alot quicker than trying to get this fixed.

thanks.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

mikeliuk — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 17:55:16 GMT

Hi @Knightstone ,

Be aware that you may get buyer's remorse if you throw too much money at the problem to fix it.

If you obtained your current device from EE, it may be locked to their network so would be less useful in an emergency if you have another network's SIM. Best to unlock all phones as soon as practical (unless VoLTE or VoWIFI are relied on).

Once you have a spare phone, or if you try your EE SIM in an old unlocked phone, you may find the problem disappears entirely so may again get buyer's remorse. Generally, I feel it's better to buy a device outright than via a service provider (to avoid high charges and overpaying).

You may wish to consider rolling one month contacts to avoid being tied in to a long contract with another provider that may overlap with your current and thus deplete your bank account.

Once you have a reliable way to make calls, you should request a refund for any part month which you did not have service and have been put at risk. You should be careful any new network is stable before considering porting a number and beware of early termination charges.

Hope you find a way to fix things. I usually just assume that anything which can go wrong will go wrong.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Knightstone — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 18:24:15 GMT

The phone i bought new, and not tied to anyone's network.

I wouldn't be throwing money at it, the O2 SIM is free, and for the same amount i give EE every month, i would be getting 40Gb more, i take your point about unstable networks, but O2 have been doing this alot longer than EE, and i would expect their network to be without issue.

It's not just that. i have money in my EE account, from before adding my bank card details, and it's sitting there, EE tell me it's "not policy to give it back", yet they won't credit it against my monthly payment.

And i caught them telling me i was using more data than i was, once i proved it, they started throwing data at me to shut me up,

Every time i see Kevin Bacon on the TV, i want to put my boot through it.

The only buyers remorse, is that i went with EE and stuck through it this long.

enough is enough

thanks

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

mikeliuk — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 19:29:40 GMT

Hi @Knightstone ,

I'm sad to hear of the bad experience you've had to go through. I'm pretty sure I would be quite upset at having those things happen to me.

Hopefully the O2 SIM might immediately begin working in your phone and could reset things such that the EE SIM also begins working again.

At the moment I use a cheap £6/mth SIM on one network for calls, texts and 3GB data allowing roll over for a month. I have a dual SIM phone so I can access two networks if one has bad signal, and I use a third SIM in a 4G router so that my TV, laptop and guests can have internet. Hopefully this gives you some ideas so that you never find yourself in such a horrible situation again.

There's still time for things to improve before Christmas and I hope EE takes note and takes action!

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Leanne_T — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 07:58:14 GMT

Hi @Knightstone

Thanks for posting on the community.

Do we have any problems showing for the area on our EE Coverage and Network Status?

If you enter the postcode and select 'Check Network' this will show any reported problems. You can also, report this if nothing is showing and the network team will keep you updated.

Thanks.

Leanne.

Re: constant timeouts since October 2021 outage.

Chris_B — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 08:14:20 GMT

@mikeliuk You don’t need a SIM card to call the emergency services from

a mobile phone so why do you keep telling people they need a 2nd phone that’s unlocked for emergency services.