topic Re: 5G Broadband dropouts in Broadband

5G Broadband dropouts

MacDavidson — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:28:19 GMT

Hi folks,

So I got Three’s 5G broadband and get great speeds, with great coverage around the house. But at various times each day (for no apparent reason), it just disappears from being available as a wifi device for around 10 minutes, or until reset. The Mac connected by CAT7 cable is unaffected, and all lights remain as they should.

I’ve positioned the router in various places, tried changing the APN from 3internet to three.co.uk, and reset several times.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I have 2.4 and 5 GHz on at the same time? 2.4 GHz is slower, but I need that for the smart gadgets in the house, but speed is what it’s all about…

Thanks in advance for your time

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

TC64 — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 11:03:27 GMT

Hello MacDavidson,

It's nothing you have done. I am having the same problem. I think it's due to recent router firmware update to version ending B12. Mine updated 19 October and had the intermittent problem since then. Around 2 to 5 times a day the router stops receiving download data ,but continues to send upload data, so effectively loses the internet for around 10 minutes unless you restart it sooner.

My wired devices and WiFi lose the internet.

My past experience tells me their is not much point talking to tech support, like banging your head against the wall in frustration, but forums like this eventually show them what's happening and things get fixed.

I found the three.co.uk apn had less issues in this problem. Support will blame mast maintenance until they have more information.

Don't stress over this issue.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

JonathanB — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 11:53:13 GMT

Hey @MacDavidson, @TC64,

Welcome to the Three Community.

I'm keen to help with this, and I appreciate it can be really frustrating to deal with seemingly random disruption to the service.

Are you able to both confirm which of the 5G router models you have with us?

If you have Three phones or unlocked ones can you confirm the issue is only with your Broadband services? A good test would be swapping the two SIMs i.e Broadband SIM into a phone, and phone SIM into the router. This will help narrow down where the issue is originating from.

The best first step here is isolating whether the issue seems to be network, device, or SIM, then I'll have a better idea of how and who to investigate this with.

Thanks,
JonathanB

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

TC64 — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 11:54:56 GMT

Thank you. I called support today. They should be investigating hopefully.

My router is standard three supplied ZTE mc801a on 5g broadband. My mobile is on the three 5g coverage with id mobile and works when the router stops. I have done a factory reset and set up again. But still loses internet randomly around 5 times a day for around 10 minutes then starts working again. Router firmware upgraded on the 19 October and noticed the issue from the 20 October and still doing it. Last issue was 45 minutes ago at 10.50 am.

Not practical to swap Sims sorry due to random time it takes to occur.

Thank you.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

JonathanB — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 14:01:31 GMT

Hi @TC64,

Great let me know what you hear back from the Tech Team, hopefully they can solve this, and if not narrow down the cause more.

Thanks for confirming you've tested your mobile on Three 5G signal too, I'll pass on feedback around the firmware angle to see if that can be investigated further.

JonathanB

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

Dazzar — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 06:01:58 GMT

@JonathanB

I am having the same issue but on top of that it will run at a good speed and literally slow down to nothing in front of me and freeze , I also have the ZTE and have completed all the same steps , it’s not a mast issue as the checker states so.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

JonathanB — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 12:37:48 GMT

Hi @MacDavidson, @Dazzar, @TC64,

Thanks for getting in touch about these issues. We're not aware of an issue with the last firmware update for the MC801a but we're keen to look into this further. I'll private message you each to request some more info to support this investigation.

JonathanB

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

28900br — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 17:28:48 GMT

Same issue here since Three upgraded the ZTE firmware to B12. Unexplainable drop outs and much slower speeds, and I have a strong 5G signal. I've already tried all the steps. Reset the router multiple times and swapped out the SIM card.

Another issue, is that Three deactivated the external antenna ports in the B12 firmware. This contradicts their manual guide point 6.

I'm on a monthly contract. So might just have to cancel unfortunately.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

JonathanB — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 14:51:42 GMT

Hi @28900br,

Thanks for letting us know you're also running into this issue. I've sent a private message to your community account so that we can get this checked out further behind the scenes.

I'll add this question about the external antenna too when I pass on the info.

JonathanB

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

Walkertron — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 11:07:22 GMT

Exact same issue here since Three upgraded the ZTE firmware to B12. Unexplainable drop outs which are massively effecting ability to WFH and dropping out mid call. I too have a strong 5G signal. I've already tried all the steps. Reset the router multiple times and swapped out the SIM card with my 3 5g mobile. Still happens.

Considering cancelling my contract as it is unworkable for me.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

SteppyB — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 08:48:31 GMT

I seem to be having similar issues but with a different hub.

I have been using 3 5G broadband since March this year and had a couple of instances of a similar problem to this for the first few weeks but then they resolved themselves without any firmware changes.

I have the Sercomm LTE2122GR and recently it'll just pretty much lose connection. It doesn't actually lose it, but becomes so slow that even trying to search for something on Google gives a timeout page.

Unfortunately I can't try swapping the SIM cards between my phone and hub because they straight up don't work at all if I do - I tried this in my original troubleshooting in March/April. However I can confidently say that using my phone's 5G connection with it directly next to where I have the hub I'll continue to get the great speeds I'd expect.

Restarting the hub either by power cycling or through the app will fix the problem until it occurs again later at a random point. Yesterday evening it was consistently happening every 20 minutes or so but today it's only happened once in 3 hours.

If there's a firmware update for this hub then I have no idea how to install it, or if it installed itself automatically (which I have issues with it that is the case precisely because of scenarios like this.)

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

TC64 — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 13:38:01 GMT

Hello Jonathan,

I see more users are reporting the same issue, which is what I was hoping. Intermittent issues are the trickiest to fix. Not heard anything back yet from three support and the issue is still occuring. I'm just happy it automatically reconnects after around 10 minutes. Annoying in the middle of streaming, but not greatly disruptive. As mentioned before, all signal LEDs and interface show full signal, but no download data, only upload is being transmitted.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

techsavvy — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 21:37:26 GMT

Hi,
Same problem here with the ZTE modem.
At least once and sometimes twice a day I get a network dropout.
The connection and speed I get on 5G is excellent, but these dropouts are really very frustrating.
I can understand how it must be for Walkertron above WFH.
I even set the modem to reboot every day at 4:30, but this hasn't solved the problem.
I now have a laptop permanently connected to the router purely for diagnostics.
Even when the network is down, it doesn't show any errors on the diagnostics.
It normally takes a reboot to start working again - and it works almost immediately, suggesting it isn't actually a true outage - at least so far it doesn't appear to be.
Whilst I am happy with the strong signal on 5G, I've actually had more disconnections in my first month of use than the previous 12 years on Virgin.
Someone needs to figure this out.
If anyone at Three needs a test subject, I'd be happy to help.
Incidentally, my router is running in bridge mode and I have the wireless disabled on the router, since I have a mesh wireless setup from my TP-Link router.
Just in case anyone jumps to conclusions, this has worked with my old Virgin router in bridge mode for at least the last 2 years.
Let's hope the Three engineers can sort this, because as Wlakertron said - it's unusable as a work connection

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

JonathanB — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 15:54:04 GMT

Hi @SteppyB,

I'm sorry to hear that you're also having intermittent connection issues on your Sercomm router. I can't recall seeing other posts on the community describing this issue with that particular device but I'll do my best to help.

It doesn't sound like this will be a network issue if it's specifically the router and you're not having this issue with a Three phone at the same location. Usually swapping SIMs between the devices should work so that's really odd to hear.

It may be a faulty router or SIM card, have you already spoken to customer services and the technical team? If so, have they tried replacing either of these?

Thanks,
JonathanB

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

JonathanB — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:00:18 GMT

Hi @techsavvy, @Walkertron,

Thanks for highlighting that you're also experiencing these issues. I've sent a private message to your community accounts to ask for some info to help with investigating this further.

Thanks,
JonathanB

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

feersum_endjinn — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 00:44:52 GMT

Hi there,

Thanks for posting this as I've been having this same issue and I was starting to think I was imagining it all! I also have a mobile phone with a Three 5G connection and when this happens the phone's connection is fine, which tells me the issue is with the router.

I am loathe to call Three tech support as they seem utterly clueless. When I called previously about a different issue they didn't know about the ZTE router and kept insisting the IP was 192.168.0.8 (why 8!? 8 seems an odd choice for the default gateway).

The firmware was last updated on 29 Sept 2022 and it's on BD_UKH3GMC801AV1.0.0B12.

@JonathanB what's the latest update? It's great that you're passing these messages on to... someone but is there a suggested fix? The drop outs are really really frustrating as they happen at least 3 times a day. This isn't great for someone who works from home.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

bethanrex — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 17:14:20 GMT

Hi, I have exactly the same issue. Been happening probably for the last 1-2 months.

Each time the WiFi icon still appears as though it's connected but I'm unable to access anything online on any device. Sometimes it returns to normal after 5 or 10 minutes but often it seems to just get stuck and I have to manually reset the router

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

itsmygame — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 01:46:55 GMT

I have the same issue with the frequent drop off of internet connection on both of my 5G ZTE MC801A situated at different post codes at different part of London, the issue is even noticeable after the most recent firmware update(BD UKH3GMC801AV1.0.0B12). The disconnection would occur at random time, at most 7-8 times a day. The trouble is the disconnection is permanent unless you reboot the device. I have been calling the support, and was given cell tower fault, the usual stuff. It is unworkable for me and I am really consider leaving Three.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

Hovertree — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 14:03:38 GMT

Hi, I'm having the same issue as well...

I have a ZTE MC801A supplied by Three, which was upgraded to firmware version BD_UKH3GMC801AV1.0.0B12 on 11 Oct 22. I have started experiencing dropouts where I can connect over WiFi to the router configuration page, but downloads from the Internet stop completely. Rebooting the router resolves the issue until the next dropout. This has been somewhat problematic when working from home.

Re: 5G Broadband dropouts

Joemac99 — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 13:11:02 GMT

I am also received the same issue with dropouts multiple times a day since the B12 update which is fixed after a reboot.

Strange this is that all the devices will stay connected and when I go to the router management page it shows that I am still able to upload but my download speed it 0b/s.

Happy to provide any further information if needed.