topic Very poor signal at home in Mobile Network discussions

Very poor signal at home

Stu2502 — Wed, 31 May 2023 15:59:47 GMT

Hi I'm wondering if anyone can advise. Our mobile signal at home is terrible, rarely getting to one bar. We have had customer support assistance with this regarding our bill, but it would be more important for our phones to work as intended and paid for.

Both my wife and I have fully updated Galaxy S21s with WiFi calling enabled and have been suffering this problem since Oct 2022. When asked for a expected resolution to the problem highlighted on the network status checker there has been no response. What would anybody suggest my next steps might be we've been with Orange/EE for years so it would be a shame to go but we're paying for a service we're not getting.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Schockwave — Wed, 31 May 2023 16:55:28 GMT

Hello @Stu2502 ,

Welcome to the community,

Is the problem indoors or outside? If indoors, then EE are not responsible for the signal coming into a property, if outdoors, then checking network status checker, registering and reporting it is what you need to do.

Does anyone else in your area have problems with signal?

This is why there is wifi calling for when signal is not good, so long as you have fixed broadband and not mobile broadband.

Re: Very poor signal at home

bristolian — Wed, 31 May 2023 18:19:55 GMT

What is the issue you're having with using your phones at home? If it's lack of ability to make calls, receive calls and send/receive text messages, that's what WiFi-calling is designed for. It's near impossible for any network to provide 100% national indoor coverage, and WiFi-calling is EE's recommended mitigation for this issue, whenever & wherever it occurs.

VoWiFi (WiFi-calling) & VoLTE (4G-calling) are designed to hand calls between the two radio carriers, to allow seamless service in any location where indoor mobile coverage isn't available.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Stu2502 — Wed, 31 May 2023 20:40:03 GMT

Thank you both for your responses I can understand your explanation of the limitations of LTE signal at home however it was very good previously i.e. before October last year, better than my works Vodaphone signal. I now have missed calls at home and have dropped calls if calling swaps between WiFi and LTE. The issue is also outside the house in a radius of approximately 1.5 miles until signal gets to 2-3 bars. It means that I cannot use Android Auto until I get to this point.

During this period the network status checker has shown problems for my area, WS5, that are 'taking longer than usual to resolve'.

In response to the query about other service users experiencing issues the household all have the same issue over both Android and iOS.

Re: Very poor signal at home

bristolian — Wed, 31 May 2023 20:53:13 GMT

There's nothing wrong with "only" having a certain number of bars - they're only a rough guide, and hide some complex calculations.

If you're getting failed calls when on VoLTE or VoWiFi and/or failed handovers - potentially the same underlying issue - that's an issue which should be pushed through CS/TS channels.

I've had some similar issues myself over the past year, and have my suspicions as to the underlying reasons.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Surbian — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:36:52 GMT

We get exactly the same thing. Indoors we rarely get more than 1 bar (and usually no bars) on the signal strength indicator and when making/receiving calls people often have trouble hearing us and calls will sometimes drop out totally.

Started happening towards then end of last year (late 2022).

Anyone got any response from EE?

Re: Very poor signal at home

Stu2502 — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 12:23:57 GMT

Thanks for the response again @Brig I know that the bars are generated through a very basic attenuation measurement but it gives a rough idea of what the signal is like. My concern is that there is no improvement in sight, I've reported to CS a number of times now and nobody has given me a suitable response as to why this is happening and it's galling that they've put up prices on a service that's not being provided. I'll contact them again and see what they come back with.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Katie_B — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 12:36:47 GMT

Hello @Stu2502.

Thanks for getting back to us.

Have you been able to sign up for updates on your area using the network status checker?

When there is more information to provide you will be updated.

Did our technical care team have a rough estimate when the issues should be resolved?

Katie

Re: Very poor signal at home

Stu2502 — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 12:43:25 GMT

Hi @Katie_B thanks, yes I did sign up for notifications but there haven't been any updates since I was actively watching the problem.l which was around December time.

Nobody has been able to provide me with any details of the problem or a timescale for resolution which is something of a worry as it could suggest that there is a wider issue that is not being provided to customers.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Katie_B — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 14:09:08 GMT

Thanks for getting back to me @Stu2502.

I would recommend speaking with our technical care team again to see if there is anything else they can advise at this very moment.

Please be sure to keep us updated.

Katie

Re: Very poor signal at home

bristolian — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 15:02:48 GMT

WiFi-calling is an excellent mitigation for indoor coverage issues.

Marginal coverage changes can be within the bounds of optimisation, but should only cause concern if service issues result.

Out of interest, are you seeing 3G service where previously had 4G? That could potentially lead to dropped calls from VoWiFi.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Jayanta — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 06:32:34 GMT

Sorry to hear your plight. My problem is the same. Can't expect better service for a low price. Try to move somewhere closer to the city centre.

Re: Very poor signal at home

bristolian — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 12:44:21 GMT

@Jayanta wrote:

My problem is the same. Can't expect better service for a low price. Try to move somewhere closer to the city centre.

The advice is also the same, and it has nothing to do with being close to an urban centre - although site density is generally greater there. Poor indoor coverage can occur in urban areas just as well as excellent indoor service can be the case in remote areas.

No network will ever guarantee 100% national indoor coverage.

Re: Very poor signal at home

Kwikcat — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 09:54:41 GMT

You are not the only one! I live between Portsmouth and Southampton near the river Hamble.

I have never been able to get a good signal without it dropping out in and around my house, no signal what so ever this morning.

The only fix I can use is land line which works fine all the time.

Re: Very poor signal at home

bristolian — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:02:55 GMT

@Kwikcat wrote:

You are not the only one!

There will be many customers up & down the country with poor indoor coverage - on all networks. There is unlikely to ever be a network with 100% national indoor coverage.

WiFi-calling allows full use of your phone for voice calls & text messages without needing mobile coverage.