4G often claims to be on but doesnt work

[Heisenberg912]

As the title says really. I find very often my phone shows as connected to 4G but when you try to use anything on the Internet (browsers, apps, speed tests etc) they just don't work. 

I first noticed this at my work where coverage seems to come in and out. But just recently I went on holiday to north Wales and the issue was ubiquitous, I just found the coverage to be extremely unreliable. I've also been travelling around the lake district in the last week (around where I live) as I've been off work and again the same issue. Much more often than not my phone says it has 4G but you try it and it doesn't work. 

This is very frustrating as I'm paying for mobile data but like I say most of the time it doesn't work.

When I first noticed the issue at work I ordered a new SIM card to rule that out. And I've done all sorts of reboots, aeroplane mode off and on, delete settings etc.

But like I say this is all over the country. I also have to travel around the Northwest a bit for work and i checked it a lot when driving from the lake district to Wales, similar story. Indeed in my home town it will cut in and out as I move through town. One street it works fine, a few streets over nothing.

Why does my phone say it has 4G when it doesn't? Is there anything I can do? I just want reliable 4G. I've been with Three for a long time now but the coverage seems to be much worse for me than it has ever been. Ironically the only place I find it works always is at home, where I don't need it thanks to WiFi....

Can anyone help?!

[LeaveThree]

Whilst on Wednesday 24th September, the signal was great even in Skarfskerry (near Thurso), the following day, and now Friday, the signal for most of the UK was been almost non-existent.

I'm now south of Manchester, suffering with bad 2G signal. No 4G coverage at all, of course 3G is switched off. And during yesterday, there was little signal in Wick, Elgin and Huntly, albeit patchy with no signal in Inverness, Aberdeen, most of Glasgow, Carlisle, and much of the way down the M6 until Manchester. I was trying to use Google Maps (thankfully my car has maps (although many years out of date)), and the amount of times 3 completely lost everything was ridiculous.

Thankfully I'm out of contract and month to month, so I can leave whenever. Goodbye to a service that would be atrocious in the more extreme rural regions of Mongolia.

I have to ask though, why an excellent signal one day, then almost nothing the next?!

[PeteG]

Hello there. 

It's disappointing to hear you're having issues with signal. It sounds more like a device or SIM issue more than anything else. You mentioned it worked good for 1 day then dropped off after that, which could indicate a local issue, but you've gone on to confirm those same issues are present in all those places. If those areas all had the same issue, Three would be inundated with reports of problems from hundreds of thousands of users. 

I'm unsure if something happened to your phone on that first day, something that might now be impacting the signal, but it sounds like it would be best to check that out. You can try using a different phone to see how the SIM performs in there. You could also try replacing the current SIM to see how a new one performs as well. It might also be worth completing a reset of the network settings within your phones reset menu. 

Pete.

[ShaunV]

I have this issue all the time with Three. If I have 5G things are fine. If its 4G… forget it. No internet. This seems to be the case across the country, at any time of day and night. It’s infuriating and I will not be renewing my Three contract. 

[PeteG]

Hello, Shaun. 

That doesn't sound like a network issue, but perhaps a SIM or device issue. Our 4G coverage is present in all areas where our 5G is present, and 4G generally has the furthest range and ability to penetrate walls. In most cases this means you should be able to get connected on 4G. 

Since you're having the issue on 4G in all locations across the country, all of the time, which would mean you're having issues in areas where other people are using 4G just fine, it just leaves the device and SIM as the possible cause for the issue. 

You can try requesting a replacement SIM, or switch to eSIM, as that's the easiest thing to test. You can also try a different device if you have access to one, but if not, you might want to contact the manufacturer for advice. 

Pete. 

[ShaunV]

I disagree. Im using a brand new iphone 16 and 4G on Three is still as useless as ever. If I’m not in a 5G signal area I may as well not bother. 

[PeteG]

The age and brand of your phone don't prevent the possibility of there being a problem with it, same goes for the SIM. In your message, you said the issue was happening across the country, so you'd be having issues in areas where other people are not having issues, so that's why I suggested it could be the phone or SIM. 

It is just a suggestion though and of course you can disagree with it. Hopefully another cause for the issue becomes apparent soon so that you can get it sorted.

Pete. 

[Ormchancer]

I won’t be using three again, the 4g/5g signal seems to bare no resemblance to the actual coverage, it’s awful everywhere, I travel a lot for work, it only works well when I’m abroad on other networks.

Whats the point of a mobile phone if it only works well when I’m at home!!!

[PeteG]

Hello. 

It sounds like a frustrating issue to be having. I'm not sure what would be causing you to have issues everywhere you go, but it seems unlikely that it would be an issue related to the network side of things since everyone would be experiencing that same issue. 

I'd recommend using the reset option in your phone to complete a reset of the network settings to see if that helps things. It might also be worth trying a different phone to test and see if that works any better.

Pete. 

[REDNED]

I have exactly the same problem with G4, and the issues are accelerating. I am now unable in some locations to even make telephone calls. If you try and use Three’s support service you enter some kind of purgatory that seems specifically designed to prepare one for a descent to hell. Looking more and more like I shall be forced to upgrade and go to G5.