[Resolved - March 2014] Issue with losing 3G connection

[techie_kev]

**This issue is now resolved, please see the final update below**

Hi everyone,

We are currently experiencing an intermittent issue where some handsets appear to be losing their data service.  This is affecting a small number of customers and some of you have already raised queries about it here on the Community.

To fix this issue, please just ‘power-cycle’ your phone (turn it off, wait a few seconds and turn it on again).  This may seem like the usual solution to many technical problems like this, but it serves to completely disconnect your phone from the network and it should then re-establish itself on the network again with a working connection.

We are working hard to get to the bottom of the issue.  Unfortunately due to the intermittent nature of the issue it is difficult to pinpoint the root cause but we are confident our engineers will get to the bottom of it shortly.

If you are continuing to have issues with your data, please double-check your data settings first to ensure that your phone is still storing the correct settings.

Techie Kev

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Final update: Wednesday 19th March at 18:00

This issue is now being marked as resolved. As I mentioned before, a fix was put in place by the other operator to stop sending the disconnect data message to our handsets. In the last two weeks we have done extensive testing and we have not seen the issue re-occur. The other operator has also tested this and has seen the same positive results.

We know this issue, in particular the amount of time it took to resolve, was extremely frustrating for you all. It isn’t something we have taken lightly. The fact the cause was outside our own network and core systems meant it took longer to pinpoint the issue.

Providing you with a reliable internet service is a key priority for us. We have invested considerably in improving your internet speeds and reliability over the past 12 months.   With this issue now resolved, we hope you will now be able to continue to enjoy fast and reliable data speeds on 48.

If you do have an issue using your internet then it will be related to another issue. Please check your internet settings first, if these are correct then please ask a 48 agent who can look into this for you.

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Previous updates:

(click on "more info")

More Info

Fri 7th March at 16:35

We are confident that this issue is now resolved.  A fix has been put in place by the other operator so that they are no longer sending the disconnect data message to our handsets.  This fix has undergone extensive testing by them to ensure it works correctly for both our customers and their own. We have also completed extensive testing today and we have not seen the issue occur again.

We will continue to monitor this closely over the coming days until we are sure this is fixed before we close this issue as resolved.

Tues 4th March @ 16:52

We are confident that we have finally got to the bottom of what is causing this issue. We have discovered that another network is sending a message to our customer’s handsets to stop it from using data.

This happens when a 48 phone loses coverage and then attempts to reconnect to the network. If the other network’s signal is stronger it picks this up first. This request should simply be rejected until the phone re-connects to 48, however in this case a message is being sent to the phone to tell it to disconnect from all data, even when 48 is picked up again.

A solution is being tested by the other network and we should have more information in the coming days. We really appreciate your patience with this issue. It has been a really complicated issue to get to the bottom of, particularly as this is another network affecting our customer’s handsets. All resources will continue to work on this until it is resolved.

Please remember, if you do lose your data connection, please just ‘power-cycle’ your phone (turn it off, wait a few seconds and turn it on again) to restore the connection.

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Tues 18th Feb @ 12:00

Following a number of different changes we have implemented on our systems, we are seeing a noticeable decrease in the number of customers reporting this particular issue.  We are now closely monitoring this to see if the issue has been resolved for everyone.

You can lose your data for a number of reasons (handset issue, congestion at peak times, local signal issue, etc).  The storms over the past week have also caused disruption to signals across the country, which could also have affected your data connection. So, it can be difficult to pinpoint if a customer losing their data is related to this particular issue.

A key symptom of this issue is the E, 3G or H symbol disappearing from your phone, but you still have a signal (the signal bars) and calls/texts are working fine, it is just your data that is not working.  A restart of your phone resolves the issue and the data symbol returns to your phone.

If you are still experiencing this exact issue and the 'phone restart' fix has worked for you we really want to hear about it from you.  There are some details that would be very useful for us to have, so if you could also let us know:

• Type of phone
• What services (calls, text or data) or apps you were using at the time
• General area you were in when it happened
• Has the issue happened just once or more often?
• Did your data symbol (E, 3G, H, H+, etc) disappear while you had no data?
• Did calls and texts work while you had no data?
• What data symbol did you see before lost data (E, 3G, H, H+, etc)
• When did you notice you lost data?
• Were you on the move when it happened?         

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4th February @ 15:43

We are still actively working on resolving this issue. We made a number of further updates to our systems overnight as part of this work. We are monitoring all our systems closely today to determine if these changes have fixed the issue. In the event these changes haven’t been successful it will help us narrow the focus to other potential reasons for customers losing their data connection.

Please let us know here on this Community post if you have lost 3G internet connection again today (after 6am on Tuesday 4th February).  Also, please let us know if you have been repeatedly losing your 3G connection and it now appears to be stable again.  Your updates here will help us determine the success of these changes.

Remember, a ‘power-cycle’ of your phone will resolve the issue if it happens to you.

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Tues 28th Jan @ 17:10

Just a quick update on the investigations into this issue. Due to the ongoing nature of it a dedicated investigation team from a number of our service providers will be working on it until the issue is resolved. A number of further tests are planned overnight and tomorrow morning to get to the root cause. I will continue to provide updates here on the progress of these tests.

Please remember, if you do lose your data connection, power-cycling (turn off and on again) your phone will restore the connection

[dalyer]

Did you log a support request?

How to get help

[shannengill12]

hi,

I continuously have E for my 3G connection, Even in places i have always had 3g data in full woking order. I have tried the different options you have said but my phone still says E. It will give me notifications of things on facebook, snapchat etc. but whem i try to open them , they will not load. This has been happening for over a month now and I am still paying for the data which i cannot actually use. As this is my second month with the company i am very disappointed with this so far. 

Regards,

Shannen

[1amcn]

Hi shannengill12

You can log a 48 Help Request here:

http://help.48months.ie/requests/new

Add as much info as possible on Initial Ticket.

🙂

[Anon]

I switched to 48 yesterday....
My 3g has never worked

[dalyer]

Did you configure your internet settings?

http://tinyurl.com/kys43lv

[techie_kev]

Latest update: 4th March @ 16:52

We are confident that we have finally got to the bottom of what is causing this issue. We have discovered that another network is sending a message to our customer’s handsets to stop it from using data.

This happens when a 48 phone loses coverage and then attempts to reconnect to the network. If the other network’s signal is stronger it picks this up first. This request should simply be rejected until the phone re-connects to 48, however in this case a message is being sent to the phone to tell it to disconnect from all data, even when 48 is picked up again.

A solution is being tested by the other network and we should have more information in the coming days. We really appreciate your patience with this issue. It has been a really complicated issue to get to the bottom of, particularly as this is another network affecting our customer’s handsets. All resources will continue to work on this until it is resolved.

Please remember, if you do lose your data connection, please just ‘power-cycle’ your phone (turn it off, wait a few seconds and turn it on again) to restore the connection.

[Anon]

Very interesting.  And thanks for the update Kev ! It's the lack of knowing why that drives people crazy.  I'm sure the 48 CEO is burning up the hotline with that 'other' network 

[hazelbucks]

I wrote to ye awhile back about this same problem but its still not fixed. What happens is this;
When i turn on my phone my 3G will work fine but then when I connect to a WIFI service and diconnect of the WIFI my 3G wont work, my settings are the exact same but it just wont work.
The only way to get my 3G working again is if I turn off my phone and turn it back on again,

Please help
Hazel

[dalyer]

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@hazelbucks wrote:

I wrote to ye awhile back about this same problem but its still not fixed. What happens is this;
When i turn on my phone my 3G will work fine but then when I connect to a WIFI service and diconnect of the WIFI my 3G wont work, my settings are the exact same but it just wont work.
The only way to get my 3G working again is if I turn off my phone and turn it back on again,

Please help
Hazel

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Was this always the case with your phone?

What make/model of phone and version of the software (e.g. Android) are you using?

Sometimes stuff like this can be a problem with the phone/software and not the network itself.

Hope this helps.

[1amcn]

Cripes!

Data Blocking!

Boo the 'Other' Company...(Low Blow)

🙂