topic Re: London Waterloo Network Congestion ? in Mobile Network discussions

London Waterloo Network Congestion ?

milnber — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 05:05:12 GMT

I regularly travel into or from London Waterloo during peak travel times in the morning and afternoon and I listen to streaming radio.

What I have noticed over a period of months is that consistently, despite my phone showing full signal strength, internet connectivity times out and I am unable to make / receive calls. This is both on the platform, as well as waiting inside a train for it to depart.

This usually lasts until I reach Vauxhall train station, at which point connectivity is restored,

I have raised this previously with the EE network team, however no issues are reported in the area.

is there some sort of known network congestion issue at London Waterloo? (Oddly enough the EE WiFi network also rarely allows me to connect - again - related to what I suspect is congestion?)

Re: London Waterloo Network Congestion ?

Northerner — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 08:48:22 GMT

Hi @milnber

Are you connected to the WiFi or the mobile network. I have noticed the EE WiFi needs you to manually connect as the automatic connect doesn't seem to work. Seems to be the same on the underground.

I will be in Wimbledon next Saturday and will check as I normally get the train from Waterloo. Never had any issues in station.

You can check the service here: https://ee.co.uk/help/service-status

Thanks

Re: London Waterloo Network Congestion ?

bristolian — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:30:19 GMT

I've no direct experience of this area, but reduced data speeds where coverage is good - is certainly a reliable indicator of congestion. It shouldn't affect voice calls though, VoLTE & VoNR is prioritised above data for precisely this reason.

WiFi & 4G/5G mobile are completely different technologies.

The station itself has a couple of multi-high-band (B1, B3 & B7) macro cells covering, and quite a few street-level microcells in the surrounding roads.

Re: London Waterloo Network Congestion ?

milnber — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:08:08 GMT

Hi. It is the mobile network.

My reference to the WiFi is normally when I wait for the Waterloo and City line in the morning during rush hour - where (perhaps due to the number of people) I can never get a connection. Specifically, my phone connects to the WiFi network, but it doesn’t get an IP address assigned (it is always stuck on self-assigned address)

Re: London Waterloo Network Congestion ?

Peter_W — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:59:50 GMT

Welcome to the Community, @milnber.

Busy locations like train stations and stadiums can often see greater network congestion at peak times.

It's worth giving enabling and disabling flight mode a try when here, as this helps establish a fresh connection on the network.

When it comes to WiFi, what network is it you're trying to connect to?

The inclusive Underground option is 'EE WiFi auto', whilst 'EE WiFi' is a separate service that requires a paid pass or EE / BT broadband login to use.

Peter

Re: London Waterloo Network Congestion ?

bristolian — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:44:23 GMT

@Peter_W wrote:
It's worth giving enabling and disabling flight mode a try when here, as this helps establish a fresh connection on the network.

Whilst toggling flight mode is valid advice in any case of "I've lost coverage", the value is much more limited in this sort of situation.

If coverage is shown & data is moving, then a network attachment is inplace and the radio layer will be managing resources to best serve all users, as a matter of course.

If there is zero data throughput, then trying various internet-based functions (to perhaps prod a rogue system app) or toggling mobile data off/on can often achieve the same effect.