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5G ZTE MC801A router dropping connection 4-5 times a day

GIWEBB
Regular

I got this 5G router back at the end of November 2022 on a 1 month rolling contract and from day one it drops the connection 4-5 times a day when i'm working, on all devices, and I have to browse to the router web page, disconnect and then reconnect to get it going again.  With working from home this is a constant nuisance as you can be mid-call with someone.  Reported the issue in December and was told to reset router, made no difference, left it as I was off work over Christmas and it was no big deal, I could reset it from my phone when netflix went down on the TV.  Rang support again there today and they said it sounds like a faulty router, but since I am on a rolling contract they can't send me a new one, is this correct, seems bizarre?  Also, any support pages here don;t list this router, all huawai routers.

28 REPLIES 28
GIWEBB
Regular

On with phone support again, I told them what was mentioned here by @JonathanB , eventually they budged, cancelled my cancellation and are sending the new router.  Was like pulling teeth though, took nearly 40 minutes on phone to get it sorted.  First they wouldn't do it, then when they finally said they would they were going to send me the same router, seems the new router they are sending uses a bigger sim card so they are replacing the sim too.

GIWEBB
Regular

Oh the joys of three customer service.  After receiving the different model router and having several days joy of no drops, I woke on Sunday morning to find no internet.  Turns out they cancelled my contract - they forgot to cancel the initial cancellation request from 5th january.  So, after much back and forth on online chat, they couldn;t do anything and i had to travel to the nearest Three store and purchase a new contract - guess which router they gave me?  only the original ZTE one that I had issues with.  After them reassuring me in the shop that both the staff used that one at home and had no issues and I just had one from a bad batch, I took it.  Lo and behold, the drops are happening again, so back to square one.  Couldn't make it up,  I'm selling the rights to this comedy to Netflix.

crypt0ninja
Established

If they are replacing it with another MC801A I suspect you will probably have the same issue as its suspected to be firmware related (but only affecting certain people, not everyone).

Odd that the new router uses a bigger sim unless there are different variations of MC801A out there...

Let us know how it goes with the replacement and if it is the same model etc.

GIWEBB
Regular

They have told me i need to cancel this contract, persevere with the crappy router for 30 days then start a new one and order the NR router, why they couldn;t just send me the NR router, they said it's all because of this one month rolling contract.

crypt0ninja
Established

What firmware version is your MC801A currently running?

GIWEBB
Regular

one ending in 0B12

Gagandeep
Active

Another user with a B12 firmware problem. Welcome to the club. This issue appears to be experienced by quite a few people (https://community.three.co.uk/t5/Broadband/5G-Broadband-dropouts/td-p/6687/page/8)

Posting here to see if you get any useful advice/highlight the problem to mods.

 

crypt0ninja
Established

Pretty sure there's an issue being investigated atm that sounds very similar to this if you are on the current B12 firmware? (I don't personally use the MC801A I have the NR5103E)

Maybe @JonathanB can confirm as I know he was requesting info from some users to help investigate a problem users started to experience after the B12 update.

Regarding what you were told about not being able to replace your router due to being on a rolling contract that's not true at all. The hardware is owned and covered by Three regardless of the rolling, 12 month or 24 month contracts.

If you do wish to seek a replacement for peace of mind then I would advise to call up and escalate the issue as you should be offered a replacement if Three have told you it sounds like a faulty router.

Hopefully the mods can assist you.

Dazzar
Established

@JonathanB @Having the same problem is there any update yet on what is happening g same 801a router