ZTE MC888 router stuck in 4G

[tomolatov]

Hello,

I signed up for Three Broadband as I live in an area with no FTTC capabilities and need faster internet for working from home. For the last month, I've had fairly solid 5G signal, good downspeeds of around 300mbps to lows of about 50mbps.

For the last two weeks, my router has been stuck on 4G with downspeeds of about 0.7mbps, which is essentially unusable. 

I have checked sites like DownDetector, etc all which do not report an issue in my area. I've tried a number of fixes, hard reset on my router, testing 5G with my phone in different positions (which is equally as slow)

I've contacted Three support and they had said that it is an issue with the mast that will be fixed within 7 days. Despite this being a fairly stock answer given by the Customer Support, I do think in my case this is likely the problem.

Does anyone know of any other ways to verify whether this is a mast issue or an issue with my router? Is there a more definitive site with information on mast issues, or 5G outages? Is there anyway of setting the router up better to "tune" to one mast over another?

Anyone had similar experiences with this, how long I can expect it to go on?

Thanks!

[JonathanB]

Hi @tomolatov,

Sorry to hear the network has been letting you down lately, this sounds like it's causing a lot of disruption. You won't get much more detail on the mast issue, but you can confirm if there's a known issue in your area with our Network Status Checker.

To help check if the issue is down to the local network or router fault, you could try swapping your router SIM into a 5G phone, and/or inserting a Three phone SIM into the router if these options are available to you. These tests can help eliminate if the problem seems to be with a specific SIM, device, or seems to be the local Three signal in general.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[tomolatov]

Hi Jonathan, thanks so much for your reply and considerate suggestions.

The network status for my area always reads as 5G available (or more specifically "In most cases, you can use our 5G network for mobile internet, calls, and texts.") This has been the case from the previous month when I was getting 5G perfectly fine up till now, when I'm stuck with very bad 4G.

My phone, which is also on Three, also seems to be suffering from incredibly bad reception (Not just at home, but at various points, including when I'm standing right next to a mast) so I'm inclined to think the problem is general.

Do you have any recommendations on how to proceed with this? I've spoken to Three customer service who mentioned there "was an issue in the area" but this is not reflected in the status checker. Is there any way I can find out more detailed information about what's going on? Any thoughts on what to do if this issue goes on for weeks and weeks?

Thanks again for all your help

Tom 

[MichaelP]

Hey @tomolatov 

We're sorry to hear this. I'm going to send you a PM to request a little more information regarding this. 

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

Thanks,
Michael

[RevolvingEnergy]

Hi, I have the same device and issue. Constant 5G signal loses without any reason. Tested everything. Reset, sim card in phone works. Tried other positions - no result. It is a recent problem, before these switches between 4G and 5G were not common. Spoke with customer service - no result. Either the device needs to be changed or it needs a software update because apparently the device is the problem.

[MichaelP]

Hi @RevolvingEnergy 

We're sorry to hear that you're experiencing the same issue. Could you please share some more info on what was advised when you spoke with customer services? Were they able to confirm what the issue was?

Thanks,
Michael

[RevolvingEnergy]

Hi @MichaelP ,

Your technical team was advising me the same thing - reset, restart, try another sim, try the sim in another device, compare the signal with a phone signal etc... Phone signal is still better and it is able to keep the 5G service more. The router is not. Customer service were able to identify the issue and they promised me again to send me a new device. Its been almost a week and I haven't received anything - lies lies lies. I already raised a complaint againts Three via the Communications Ombudsman because you are just taking a piss. 🙂 Unless you have anything else to suggest please do so, I will be patiently waiting for any positive progress from both sides and a working resolution. 🙂 But please feel free to suggest further. 

[JonathanB]

Hi @RevolvingEnergy,

I'm sorry to hear that our support teams haven't been able to help solve this issue. I've sent you a PM now to get you in touch with some colleagues who can check into this further and look for a solution.

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