Problem with making calls and receiving calls at my work area

[SadF]

Hi,

I recently faced an issue with making and receiving calls using my Three SIM card on my Samsung A7 mobile while at my workplace at the university. Up until three weeks ago, I didn’t experience this problem in this location.

Please note that I do not have this issue with the Three network when I am at home or elsewhere in the city. I can send and receive SMS messages without any problems, and my mobile data works fine—I can use 4G+ internet without any issues. The only issue I face is making and receiving calls in my work area.

As a test, I borrowed a SIM card from a family member, which was with the 1pMobile operator. With that SIM card, I was able to make and receive calls perfectly. My colleagues, who are on EE or Vodafone, are also able to make calls using their mobiles without any trouble.

I’ve checked all the network settings on my phone and even reset them, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile network settings, but I still can’t make calls with my Three SIM card.

I have restarted my phone multiple times and tried enabling flight mode, but neither resolved the issue.

I’ve had several live chats with Three over the last two weeks. Each time, they’ve told me they would check the network and later sent a message saying they had fixed the problem. However, I am still struggling with the same issue.

I just need basic service to make and receive calls, especially to stay in contact with my family and receive emergency calls.

Please let me know if you can help me or if you’ve experienced a similar problem.

[JonathanB]

HI @SadF,

Sorry to hear about this issue. Based on the description it does seem highly likely to be a local network problem. Have you been able to check if anyone else on Three seems to be experiencing the same issues locally?

Have you checked if Wi-Fi calling is supported on your phone? Assuming there's a signal issue, but a Wi-Fi network is available this should allow you to make and receive calls and texts.

And just to check, have you had a look at our Coverage and Network Status checkers to confirm whether this seems to have been a change in our normal coverage, or a temporary status issue we're working on?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[SadF]

Thanks Jonathan,

I haven't been able to find anyone using Three. All my colleagues at work are with EE, Vodafone, Tesco, etc., and they don't have any issues with their calls. Just today, I borrowed my son's Three SIM card to test, and it had the same call problems as mine. I also tried my SIM card in my colleague's phone for testing, and we experienced the same issue on his phone as well. Last week, I used my wife's 1pMobile SIM card, and my mobile worked perfectly on their network, so I believe there's a problem with the network in my location.

Yesterday, I attended a workshop at another university in London, and even inside the building with many people around, I was able to call my family easily.

There are many mobile masts and mobile access points around us at the university, but I'm not sure if they are used by the Three network or not.

I have a Samsung A7, which doesn't support Wi-Fi calling. Even when I tried making calls with my phone’s WiFi turned off, the problem remained the same.

I checked the Three coverage in my location, and it shows 4G coverage both indoors and outdoors. However, 3G and 5G are only available outdoors. While I can get good 4G+ mobile data at my location, I still can't make or receive calls, even when sitting near a large window and there are some tree and open gross space around.

[JonathanB]

Hi @SadF,

Thanks for the further information. Putting all this together, I suspect that the issue is that your phone either doesn't support 4G calling, or doesn't have this enabled. I'd recommend having a look at How to ensure your phone is ready for the 3G switch off as this article should help you find the relevant settings.

I've had a look at our device support pages, and can see there's an A7 and A7 (2016), unfortunately it looks like the older variant does not support 4G calling although it does use 4G for data. Can you let me know which version you have? The linked pages have images of the respective phones if you're not sure.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[SadF]

Hi  Jonathan,

Many Thanks for following this issue. My mobile is Samsung galaxy A7 (2018) SM-A750F/DS. I have this Three SIM card from more than 8 years ago.

During the last two weeks, I did various tests to find the solution.

I tested by placing my Three different SIM cards in one of my colleague's mobile phones. I think it was a new Nokia device. I had the same problem with making calls on that phone as well.

Additionally, I tested using my wife's SIM card, which is from 1p Mobile (EE), and I did not experience any issues with calling on that network in my work location.

I checked other network providers' coverage as well. Vodafone and O2 have both indoor and outdoor coverage for 2G , 3G and 4G in my work location.

[PeteG]

Hello. 

3G service was deactivated on the network recently. This means calls can't be made on older devices that don't support 4G calling. If you could confirm the exact make and model of the other phone you tested your SIM in, it would help determine if the 3G switch of is indeed the cause, or if it's something else.

Pete.