6680 Rubbish call quality!?!

In the past few days i have been experiencing terrible call quality and many calls have been routed direct to my voice mail even though my handset displays a full signal strength.

Is my handset a dead or can anyone help? I'm on orange and tried to call 350 but the reception was so bad i couldn't hear what they suggested to do...LOL

By the way if anyone has the land line for oranges 350 (3G helpline) i would be grateful.

Thanks

Spoke to Orange, apparently its an on going problem with the network. The reason, so im told, is that the 3g signal is not strong enough and tries to switch to 2g mode but the network cant always detect 2g so continues the call in 3g with a poor signal.
In the meantime the only solution is to manually change between 3g & 3g. bit of a pain really.

[Ben]

So you have poor 2G signal where you are... and poor 3G? Sounds the same as for me, except my call quality is excellent and my calls don't drop even when I'm down to 1 bar of signal. In-call handover is seamless...

It sounds a lot like they're fobbing you off, bangers!

No i think i have good 2g but a poor 3g signal, and according to Orange the phone/network has trouble switching between 3g and 2g during a call hence them suggesting i keep it on 2g and manually switch to 3g when needed. Being a new 3g user does this seem like a load of tosh then?

How can you test the signal strength of 2g and 3g, is it possible?

[Ben]

It's absolute tosh - 3G-2G handover is seamless on Orange, it's one of the major features of their integrated network!

Signal strength is graphically represented by the bars on the handset, as you will know. If your handset is displaying full signal strength then either the handset is duff or Orange are having network problems in your area. On my handset calls start in 3G and are then seamlessly transferred to 2G while I'm talking - it works fine, every time.

Has this always happened or has it just started? Don't stand for it!

[3g-g]

Where abouts are you in the world bangers? If you PM your postcode, or you know you're local serving site is from sitefinder then I can have a look...

No matter what if you're in a poor 3G but a good 2G as soon as a call is initiated the network realises you've got poor RSLs and hands you off onto 2G. Don't let CSRs fob you off if you're not happy. The number to call from a landline to get through to 350 should be: 07973 100 350, similar to if you're calling normal CS on a landline which is: 07973 100 150

"It's absolute tosh - 3G-2G handover is seamless on Orange, it's one of the major features of their integrated network!"

Well being new to 3g i didnt know any better so took the Orange reps word for it. He did say they were working on the 'problem'

So looking at my signal bars on the hand set: it has 6 bars but no '3' symbol, just an umbrella like arial signal to the left of the bars, i assume that means i have good 2g but zero 3g reception(?)....and when i do get 3g the signal is poor and hence the calls break up....although they shouldnt do because it should switch to 2g 'seamlessly'...?? Perhaps my handset is a dud?

I live in the KT10 area if that helps

[3g-g]

I dont think the handset is a dud, you're just right on the fringe of 3G coverage, just every so often you'll be picking up a 3G signal. And because the handset is trying to get on 3G every so often it'll be what's causing the "straight to answephone" problem, you'll probably find that it's draining you're battery really badly. The best thing to do if you're at home is manually stick to GSM, then when you're away from that location move back into dual mode. If there's at least a little 3G coverage near you expect it to be expanded as the months go on.

Thanks for the advice. Out of interest is there a website to see the coverage in detail of the 3g network?

[Ben]

Hey,

You can use the 'standard' coverage checkers from these links. Your best bet for getting 'detailed' information is either by calling 350, or better still getting one of the superdooper Orange guys here to have a look for you.

[3g-g]

Bangers, whats your 3G coverage like once you're out and about? I've checked all the sites around that postcode and they're all 3G enabled with all cells working.

If your coverage is good once you're out the house then I'm afraid it's just the build of the building you're in or the lay of the land around you. If the coverage doesn't improve when you're out the house then it has to be a HS problem, that part of London is swamped in 3G coverage.