[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

[caragh]

Hello, I've been with 48 for a while now and I have had no problems so far. Up until recently I have been getting 0 bars of reception on my phone but it's saying I have 3G. I have hard resetted my phone, tryed turning it of and on again and switching to airplane mode. Then out of nowhere I get my bars back again. It's really a problem for me as my phone is essential for my day to day life making phone calls. I have tried all the tricks in the book, I have looked it up online and everything. Do I have to reset internet settings or order a new sim?

[dalyer]

Did you try taking the SIM out, gently cleaning the contacts, reseating it and switching on again?

If that doesn't help then perhaps there is something faulty with the SIM and trying a new one might help.

However I would suggest that you contact 48 support first in case they can provide more specific advice for your situation.

http://www.48months.ie/help#ask-a-48-agent

No harm in making sure that your internet settings are still correct but if the problem is that the signal itself is sporadically disappearing then even that may not help here:

http://community.48months.ie/t5/Need-Help/Internet/m-p/34493#M12560

Hope this helps.

[dalyer]

Did that help at all?

[thehappyfecker]

Tech kev I read somewhere here that this has been happening all across the network at random times and you can't track down the issue for lack of 3g coverage, funnily I had very few issues with 3g until now or else ignored it and turned on the home wifi, it's now gone 95 % of the time in my area for the last week so the problem definitely isn't resolved and it's a mast/network issue not my phone.

[Anon]

I'm still having issues with making calls. In Blessington. Also 3G keeps fading in out

[dalyer]

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@terri2016 wrote:
I'm still having issues with making calls. In Blessington. Also 3G keeps fading in out

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Did you contact 48 support as I suggested here?

http://community.48months.ie/t5/Internet/My-3G-internet-won-t-work-on-my-phone/m-p/42273#M1673

Hope this helps.

[Anon]

My 3G kept dropping out but for the last 24 hours i have no phone reception anywhere in Dublin? I don't think there is an issue with my phone as it had happened in the past

[dalyer]

Is the problem specifically with internet/data access or do you mean that nothing is working - calls/texts?

Did anything change on the phone - e.g. software update/settings changes?

Can you try your SIM in another unlocked phone?

You may need to contact 48 support for more assistance:

http://www.48months.ie/help#ask-a-48-agent

Hope this helps.

[Anon]

This is not resolved for me either. My 3G keeps dropping. I live in the Blessington area and it just happened to my phone 5 mins ago. 3G just drops and comes back intermittently. Then no service appears on phone and then it comes back. Happening the last 3 weeks.
Any ideas?

[dalyer]

You'll need to contact 48 support.