topic Why does phone lag when talking to business in Network

Why does phone lag when talking to business

trevorhill1959 — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 12:15:40 GMT

I have a relatively new Samsung phone on 3 network. Whenever I call a business phone number there is a lag in the phone/network responding so that the first few sounds that I make (first few letters or numbers) are not heard by the person at the other end of the call. Everything works fine when calling other mobile numbers.
I had wondered if it was a characteristic of my phone. But today I was talking with a British Gas agent and he said that the same thing happens to him, also on 3, with a different model of phone.
It is very frustrating to have to keep repeating myself because the network can't keep up.
Does anyone have an explanation and solution for this please?

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

techbloke — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 19:03:20 GMT

@trevorhill1959

I'd expect that Three/Samsung would have picked up and corrected this issue at some point so my first advice would be to check for and apply any software updates to your phone as these may well include updated baseband code (the baseband controls the phone's interaction with networks, including the mobile network)

Directions are here https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-to-update-latest-software-for-your-galaxy-mobile-device/ (best to use wi-fi as the update files can be large, phone will be unavailable for about 10 minutes)

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

digitaltoast — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:42:25 GMT

I've been getting these lags since about August 2023. It happens when I'm in other locations so it's not my local mast or wifi calling.

It doesn't happen to all calls, and the first 3-5 minutes are usually OK, but it soon becomes clear there's a lag of around 5 seconds.

It makes no difference if the call was incoming or outgoing, nor whether the other person is a business or private, or has a mobile, landline or VOIP system. But it doesn't happen if the call is via landline at my end.

I have a Pixel 6a (up to date) but I've tried a different phone and it's the same. I am using the stock dialler, and I don't have any apps like call recorders which would interfere with the call.

Would really appreciate any ideas before I go through the two hour customer service hell of being told to wipe my SIM with a soft cloth and then being sold an upgrade 😜

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

JonathanB — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:26:18 GMT

Hey @digitaltoast,

We never heard back from the OP on this thread unfortunately so I don't know if a root cause for this was established. I'll give a couple of suggestions though. Is there any patterns at all other than the issue starting on some calls lasting over 5 minutes?

Are you always in roughly the same postcode or general area when this happens? (Does our Network Status Checker show any issues if so)

Before trying a call to customer services you could also pop into a Three store with photo ID, and get your number swapped over to a new SIM.

Let me know on the above and I'll check if I can do anything to point you in the direction of some more help.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

digitaltoast — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:41:40 GMT

Thanks - no, it can be anywhere in the UK, but thinking back, it definitely happens more when talking to businesses or organisations with a VOIP connection.

I'd really rather not change a SIM especially after long periods of being cut off when previously having done similar with three. And I can't see how the SIM itself would affect things - after all, all the SIM does it identify the phone on the network, it's not actually involved in processing the call / data itself.

As far as the network status checker goes, it says the same thing as it does 95% of the time for the last few years, which is the thing about how they're working on masts nearby, something about the big network build etc, but that seems to be the same message for everyone else all the time too!

Just wondering if there's anything else I can do to diagnose it?

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

digitaltoast — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 15:45:11 GMT

Hi @JonathanB - sorry, clicked "reply" in the wrong place, have answered your questions a bit further down!

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

JohnM — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 17:27:17 GMT

Hey @digitaltoast,

We are sorry to see you are still having issues with connection lets get this looked at!

I have sent you a PM with a direct link to our team who will investigate this.

To view your private messages on the community, click on your avatar image in the top right of any community page, then "Messages".

John M

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

JLB1990 — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 20:45:52 GMT

Hi John, I am having the exact same issue as the OP, is there a way for me to contact you to get this resolved?

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

JonathanB — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:52:19 GMT

Hi @JLB1990,

I'll PM you the same details to get you in touch with the team John mentioned.

To view your private messages on the community, click on your avatar image in the top right of any community page, then "Messages".

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

JulieTaylor — Sat, 09 Dec 2023 10:56:05 GMT

I have the same problem.

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

ThreeRuss — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 13:06:50 GMT

I've got the same issue as well. This happens when I call my mum on her landline. I call most days for 30 minutes or more. I would say that around 50% of the time, a delay of 3 or so seconds comes onto the call after 20 minutes or so.

This has been happening for over a year. I'm sometimes walking round a small local area and sometimes just sat in the house.

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Shah954 — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 13:19:04 GMT

I'm having the same issue. Three customer service have asked to send my phone back to Samsung when I done previously. When I spoke to Samsung, they done all the updates and found no issue. Can we cancel the contract due to the service not being provided?

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Remushowl — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:50:24 GMT

Hi John, I also have this problem and it is driving me mad quite frankly. Could you please let me have the details I need to contact the right person to sort this out? Thanks, Ian

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Mayonaishe — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 16:09:03 GMT

This is exactly the same as with me, after about 20 mins on a call to my mums landline I start getting a lag of around 3 - 5 seconds and we have to end the call and re-call otherwise we are talking over each other and have long silences. I have also changed from the S22 Ultra to the S24 Ultra just and it is still happening.

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Mayonaishe — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 16:09:34 GMT

I am honestly thinking of changing to another network because of it

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Crimsonben — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:53:19 GMT

Hi Jonathan

I'm having this exact same problem with two phones, where after been on a call for a few moments, they both experience a delay.

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Rachy333 — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 18:16:56 GMT

This has been happening to me. The people I'm speaking to often get so frustrated and have at times hung up which is awful for me as I've normally been waiting on hold for ages!

So now that my contract is up I need to know how to resolve this with three or which network to switch to. Any advice would be appreciated!

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Rachy333 — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 18:21:14 GMT

Hi John, please could you contact me direct also to see we I can resolve this. It happens pretty much every phone call to a business. Particularly annoying or even impossible when giving phone or emails. This is the main sticking point making me consider leaving three in 2 weeks time so please let me know if there is a solution ASAP. Thank you!

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

Rachy333 — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 18:23:09 GMT

Probably the only solution. Sounds like three network issues. Me too.

Re: Why does phone lag when talking to business

digitaltoast — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 14:00:42 GMT

This is getting ridiculous now - it's started happening even quicker now, after only about 10 minutes. And the delay is always around 5 seconds.

As far as I know, it ONLY affects calls to businesses, ie: people with a VOIP system. Which makes me wonder if there is some kind of peering/codec problem between the networks. And just to confirm once again, it makes no difference whether the phone is connected to WIFI and using wifi calling, or just connected straight to the 4G network.

It also doesn't seem like the delay builds up over time - it just suddenly kicks in.