Why does phone lag when talking to business

[trevorhill1959]

I have a relatively new Samsung phone on 3 network. Whenever I call a business phone number there is a lag in the phone/network responding so that the first few sounds that I make (first few letters or numbers) are not heard by the person at the other end of the call. Everything works fine when calling other mobile numbers.
I had wondered if it was a characteristic of my phone. But today I was talking with a British Gas agent and he said that the same thing happens to him, also on 3, with a different model of phone.
It is very frustrating to have to keep repeating myself because the network can't keep up.
Does anyone have an explanation and solution for this please?

[techbloke]

@trevorhill1959 

I'd expect that Three/Samsung would have picked up and corrected this issue at some point so my first advice would be to check for and apply any software updates to your phone as these may well include updated baseband code (the baseband controls the phone's interaction with networks, including the mobile network)

Directions are here https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-to-update-latest-software-for-your-galaxy-mobi... (best to use wi-fi as the update files can be large, phone will be unavailable for about 10 minutes)

[digitaltoast]

I've been getting these lags since about August 2023. It happens when I'm in other locations so it's not my local mast or wifi calling.

It doesn't happen to all calls, and the first 3-5 minutes are usually OK, but it soon becomes clear there's a lag of around 5 seconds.

It makes no difference if the call was incoming or outgoing, nor whether the other person is a business or private, or has a mobile, landline or VOIP system. But it doesn't happen if the call is via landline at my end.

I have a Pixel 6a (up to date) but I've tried a different phone and it's the same. I am using the stock dialler, and I don't have any apps like call recorders which would interfere with the call.

Would really appreciate any ideas before I go through the two hour customer service hell of being told to wipe my SIM with a soft cloth and then being sold an upgrade  😜

[JonathanB]

Hey @digitaltoast,

We never heard back from the OP on this thread unfortunately so I don't know if a root cause for this was established. I'll give a couple of suggestions though. Is there any patterns at all other than the issue starting on some calls lasting over 5 minutes?

Are you always in roughly the same postcode or general area when this happens? (Does our Network Status Checker show any issues if so)

Before trying a call to customer services you could also pop into a Three store with photo ID, and get your number swapped over to a new SIM.

Let me know on the above and I'll check if I can do anything to point you in the direction of some more help.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[digitaltoast]

Hi @JonathanB  - sorry, clicked "reply" in the wrong place, have answered your questions a bit further down!

[digitaltoast]

Thanks - no, it can be anywhere in the UK, but thinking back, it definitely happens more when talking to businesses or organisations with a VOIP connection.

I'd really rather not change a SIM especially after long periods of being cut off when previously having done similar with three. And I can't see how the SIM itself would affect things - after all, all the SIM does it identify the phone on the network, it's not actually involved in processing the call / data itself.

As far as the network status checker goes, it says the same thing as it does 95% of the time for the last few years, which is the thing about how they're working on masts nearby, something about the big network build etc, but that seems to be the same message for everyone else all the time too!

Just wondering if there's anything else I can do to diagnose it?

[JohnM]

Hey @digitaltoast,

We are sorry to see you are still having issues with connection lets get this looked at!

I have sent you a PM with a direct link to our team who will investigate this.

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

John M

[JLB1990]

Hi John, I am having the exact same issue as the OP, is there a way for me to contact you to get this resolved?

[JonathanB]

Hi @JLB1990,

I'll PM you the same details to get you in touch with the team John mentioned.

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

[Remushowl]

Hi John, I also have this problem and it is driving me mad quite frankly. Could you please let me have the details I need to contact the right person to sort this out? Thanks, Ian