Mobile internet dropping out continuously

[Seadrex]

The last fortnight or so (possibly slightly longer but I don't think so) my mobile internet has gone from pretty much perfect to a nightmare. In areas where I would usually have 4g and perfect signal, I now find the internet either disappears completely or displays the E symbol, the VoLTE symbol flashes on and off like it's available then unavailable multiple times a second, and my actual phone signal is tanked while this is happening.

I only noticed this start after I installed the latest security update although I have been searching for days and can't find anyone else having a problem with the update so I suspect it's sheer coincidence,  but I mention it just in case.

I've tried checking for updates, clearing the cache of various apps mentioned in posts with similar problems, resetting the network connections as advised in other posts, turning off 2g and 5g in network options, turning off the developer option to keep the mobile data constantly on... Nothing.

I've only noticed it happening with I'm on mobile data, and then only when I'm outside of the house. I can't call customer services because I have a toddler and a phone call that could last 5 minutes or several hours simply isn't on the cards for me, live chat doesn't seem to exist on my help section in the app, and my nearest EE shop is over a half hour away by car which isn't an option for me at the moment.

Twitter just says to check the network in my area but when I try I get an error message (I'm not the only one who's having that issue so I suspect the problem is the network checker rather than the network itself)

I'm using an up-to-date Moto G54 5g (android 14) and I'm on pay as you go with a subscription pack )I can't see that mattering because the phone is almost a year old and the subscription pack is even older but you never know.)

So, does anyone have idea what the heck is going on? I don't have another phone I can put my SIM into, but the SIM is only as old as the phone so I can't see how it could be either of them that's at fault, especially as a friend has the same phone (locked to a different network) and isn't having problems (I have taken out, wiped, and reinserted in the SIM just in case, although the phone hasn't been banged or dropped so I didn't expect it to help)

Sorry for the wall of text, being annoyed makes me blabber

[jpwuk]

Hi, I have same issue with same phone Moto G54 5g on EE subscription pack. Noticed it happening from yesterday 04/10/24. If you turn 'Vo5G' setting off and on again it appears to reset the issue for a short while, but comes back hour or so later.

[Seadrex]

Yeah, I've noticed if I toggle airplane mode on and off it 'resets' for want of a better word and everything works again, but the time it lasts seems to vary between over an hour and literally less than ten seconds. Even if I turn mobile data off, the signal stays down. It's absurd. Can't get an answer from customer services (waited for over hour on hold today to see if they could put my account on to a new SIM but ended up having to end the call) and the team on twitter is no use at all

[jpwuk]

Good to know someone else with the issue and isn't a fault just with just  my G54  mobile or EE SIM. Last Motorola firmware update for my G54 was 25/09/24. Sure I would have noticed sooner if this is the root cause? Chrome browser updated on 01/10/24, not sure if this likely to be related?

[Seadrex]

I'm sorry you're having this problem too, but, yeah, I was starting to feel like I was going mad so it's nice to see I'm not alone lol. Gotta be honest, I miss the good old days of fixing phones by yanking the battery for 30 seconds.

I even wondered if it was a thinkshield issue, seeing as there was a security update recently too, but I can't find any way of controlling or interacting with that 

[bristolian]

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@Seadrex wrote:

The last fortnight or so (possibly slightly longer but I don't think so) my mobile internet has gone from pretty much perfect to a nightmare. In areas where I would usually have 4g and perfect signal, I now find the internet either disappears completely or displays the E symbol, the VoLTE symbol flashes on and off like it's available then unavailable multiple times a second, and my actual phone signal is tanked while this is happening.

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Sorry I've not read the entirety of your post, but E indicates a 2G connection which explains the lack of mobile data.

If toggling flight mode restores 4G, that suggests the "idle reselection" criteria are not set correctly on one/several sites. Dropping from 4G > 2G during an active data session should only be happening if you lose 4G coverage but still have 2G. - this itself should be pretty rare these days!

[Seadrex]

I do love being a curiosity lol!

I've been speaking to a friend who pointed out that, despite a 5g mast being at the end of the street, we've never seen 5g on our phones. Which made me wonder if the 5g signal is there but unusable for whatever reason and, instead of dropping back to 4g, my phone is getting stuck trying to connect to the 5g.

I've been poking around in the APN settings and found bearer was set to unspecified. I've changed that to LTE in the hopes of forcing a 4g connection (assuming I've correctly remembered what the various letters mean!) but I wont be out of the house until tomorrow afternoon now to try it (my mobile data works perfectly at home because of course it does lol)

[bristolian]

Arguably, there's no such thing as a "5G mast" - all EE sites are multi-technology and carry combinations of 2G, 4G & 5G. 4G is nationally the base coverage layer, reselection of 5G also depends on whether SA is enabled on it and/or neighbouring sites.

[Seadrex]

Oh hey, I learnt something today! Thank you!

According to the map 5g is definitely active on 'my' mast, but I didn't think to check any others in the area.

I've got my fingers crossed for tomorrow, I'm at my wits end

[Seadrex]

Didn't actually get to leave the house yesterday so I had to wait til this morning to check out my signal. I've altered the APN like I said, turned voice over 5g back on and turned the use 2g for voice calls back on too. 

I'm going out again later and I'm going to keep an eye on it then too, but this morning I haven't had one occurrence of the signal crapping out.

Fingers crossed for later I guess. If it holds steady this afternoon too then I'll mark this as the solution