How long does it take to upgrade a mast?

[wishawpubs]

Just over a month ago the mast which is closest to my home went offline. According to Three's service status page upgrades were being performed. 

Following the first week the status page had reverted back to being no issues, however last week there was an issue being investigated with this week reverting back to no issues.

I had been getting speed of 70Mb up and 40Mb down. But now only getting around 20Mb down and 8Mb up on a good day. 

Is there anyway of checking how long the mast will be out of action?

Below is photo of men working at the top of the mast a month ago.

[sc1999]

According to the network status checker they have been working on my mast for 8 weeks and my service runs from 3g, h, h+, 4g and the occasional flicker of 5g. Calling 333 was of no help.

[wishawpubs]

I've had much the same experience. Jumping from H+, 4G, 4G+ and a hint of 5G if the wind blows in the right direction.  

[wishawpubs]

Up until last week 4G home broadband was being offered. This week it doesn't seem to be available. 

[StephR]

Hey @wishawpubs, welcome to Three Community.

I’m sorry your broadband experience has been a bit up and down recently. Let’s try to figure out what’s happening.

Is the network status checker still showing that there’s currently no issues?
Do you notice a drop in speeds at a certain time of day?
If you can connect your hub to your device via ethernet cable, do you notice a difference in speeds?

As for why broadband isn’t on offer in your area right now, that may well be down to the speeds you’re getting. We have a specific network checker for Home Broadband, which checks the overall performance as well as the coverage in the area. We’ll only offer packages in locations where customers should receive an optimal experience.

Let us know the answers to the above questions, and we'll recommend the best next step.

StephR

[wishawpubs]

Hi,

I'm actually using my own router (D-Link DWR-978) connected via an external antenna. I did survey various locations around the house to find the optimum position when I installed it back in January. It been working fine up until a month ago (70Mb/40Mb) - showing a full 5 bars of signal strength. Up until last Friday I was only getting 1 bar, however I did move the antenna slightly and now get 2 bars and slightly increased speeds (20Mb/8Mb) . I think the router is now connecting to a mast in the next village. 

I also have a 3 SIM in my tablet and phone both show a reduction in signal strength and data transfer speeds. In fact both struggle to get anything more than a about 3Mb/1Mb in the house were was previously I was getting similar speeds to the router (70Mb/40Mb).

If stand in sight of mast I get around 3/4 bars of signal strength (4G+)  on my phone but only get around 3Mb down when running a speed test. I suspect my phone is connecting the mast in the next town which is around 3 miles away. Previously I would have been getting full signal strength and around 80Mb down. I therefore suspect the mast is still offline.

The network status checker shows there aren't any issues, but I suspect that might be down there not being any real problems with phone calls or data connections as the other masts are taking up the slack.

It would be good to know if the mast would be online soon. According to Cell Mapper the closest postcode to the mast is ML2 8TR.

Thanks

[StephR]

Thanks so much for these further details, @wishawpubs. A quick check in the area shows work ongoing up until yesterday, but as you’ve said, no current problems.

While I’m glad things have improved a little, I understand you’re keen to see a return of your previous signal strength and speeds.

We’d like to investigate a little further, so I’ve sent you a Private Message with info on how to get in touch. 

StephR

[wishawpubs]

I've managed to local the actual mast details:

https://www.mastdata.com/portal/mast.aspx?AdID=230440

[Boabag]

Mate I've been with 3 for 12 years in IV26. With the promise every few months I phone for an update on our mast and network coverage being given any improvements.  

We don't even get 3g from a mast 3 miles away that is at the top of the hill in sight of the whole area below. H+ is what shows when using data. The mast is shared with Vodafone,  EE etc and every one of them has 5g capabilities and wider coverage also. 3 have  done absolutely nothing.  It was struck by lightning once and all networks were down. The only company who didnt have engineers on site and back running the next day was 3. 3 customers here couldn't call, text, use data etc as 3 didn't send an engineer up to reset the emergency cut off switch until 5 months later,  and kept charging customers in the area with the promise engineers are on way up and service will be returned within a few days. We were lied to for months and they played a blinder saying while the engineers were there the network would be upgraded to 4g at the same time. 

I'm paying for a 5g phone constantly seeing adverts on tv no doubt at a huge cost, bragging about the 5g roll out and uk coverage %. I have been told by 3 dozens of times that they value my loyalty and continued custom, and they have every intention of upgrading their services in this area. 5g I'm sure is wonderful, but if they are the best provider in the UK I would be willing to accept that and continue my contract without any problems being last in priority for 5g, but don't need to be constantly reminded in adverts how amazing thier 5g coverage is while I'm paying the same price as those in 5g areas without even getting 3g.

[StephR]

Hey @Boabag, welcome to Three Community.

Thanks for sharing your experience here. I’m just jumping in, as it sounds like we’ve left you feeling pretty let down and I’d like to help if I can.

H+ is actually an upgraded version of 3G, so you should be getting decent data speeds using that. Can you let me know if that's not the case? Is your connection intermittent, or is data generally slow?

If it’s not been optimal for a while, have you already been in touch with our customer service team to discuss your options moving forward? Was a complaint raised for you on the back of that? Can I also ask when you last upgraded your contract with us?

We are continuing to roll out 5G, but are also investing to improve the quality and reach of our 4G offering too. You can keep track of any any planned upgrades on our network status checker and we should drop you a text when we're working in the area.

StephR