Not Very Happy With Service

[Anonymous]

I have been with O2 now for a couple of years and I was very happy with the service when I first joined. I had a Blackberry Bold on a monthly contract and everything was great, everything worked fine and I was impressed with O2 in general.

I upgraded a while back, and ever since I seem to be plagued with issues. I changed from a Bold to a curve, although whether or not this makes any difference I am not sure. I can never get a proper signal, especially when I'm in my house. I can never get 3G, and if I try to set it for singular 2G or 3G manually I'll be lucky if I can even get one bar. It just reads SOS most of the time. When I do get coverage, it's either on GPRS or Edge. 

I frequently get told that I cannot access the internet due to insufficient network coverage so I have to connect to my home wifi to browse on my phone. Also, I seem to get a lot of certificate errors recently too. 

I did go into my local O2 store, but just got given another sim card and was told to try changing it, which made zero difference to the problem. I should probably go back. 

I just feel I am paying a monthly fee for a really substandard service, and I don't think I want to continue paying for it until September next year at this rate. 

Please can someone offer some advice? Has anyone else had this problem?

Many thanks.

Ange

[Anonymous]

Hi

A sim swap is a known remedy in cases which is why they will have suggested it.

Have you tried another phone recently as a process of elimination.

You have the choice to have the phone looked at by Blackberry under their warranty cover. Just navigate to their uk support page.

I assume your service status says you should have good cover http://status.o2.co.uk

Mast congestion can play a part too.

Some phones do not hold onto signal as good as others so possibly a change of handset could be an option.

Self help tips here http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly-and-Pay-Go/Self-help-guide-Is-the-network-down-for-me-or-ev...

[Anonymous]

Sorry to add Contract Customers can use an O2 option called Tugo which works off wifi.

And or what's app or viber but these also need to be used by the recipient.

Network future is http://www.o2.co.uk/connectivity/network-coverage/the-next-big-thing

It does sound like the phone to me.

As your under contract I'm afraid you'll need to continue to pay the monthly fee as per the T&C. Networks cover themselves by saying the service isn't fault free etc.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi

A sim swap is a known remedy in cases which is why they will have suggested it.

 For the further education of elderly duffers (that is to say, me) - why does a SIM swap sometimes remedy signal problems?  Maybe I am naive but I thought a SIM was "simply"  a Subscriber Identity Module.  So what else does it have lurking in there that can affect a phone's performance?

Gerry

[Anonymous]

Hi @Anonymous

Trust you are well.

A malfunctioning Sim Card can present various issues so as a process of elimination a sim swap can be carried out to rule it out of the equation, as this is typically a fast process.

Sending a phone off to have a diagnostic run on it is not.

[Anonymous]

Hi Ange,

Can you tell us which Curve you have and what operating system its using so we can try and help you a little further?

On a side note, changing from a Bold to a Curve is (in my opinion) a downgrade as the Bold product line traditionally had a higher specification than the Curve range.

Baring this in mind, as the Curve is cheaper, there is a good chance that the radio/reciever in it isn't as good and so you won't pick up a signal where your Bold used to.

Thats not to say that there isn't network or signal issues where you are so its always worthwhile checking using the O2 Network Status Checker: http://status.o2.co.uk/

If this shows up as having no problems and other in your area using O2 are the same then we can pretty much point the finder at the phone. Therefore:

* Have you tried performing a backup and resetting the phone to factory settings? 

* Are you running the most up to date version of the operating system?

* Install BlackBerry Virtual Expert from Blackberry World and run its tests to check if it can find a fault.

If you have tried a reset, and have the most up to date OS then its a hardware issue I'm afraid and would be worthwhile contacting O2 to have it sorted under warranty. BlackBerry will refer you back to O2 or wherever you got it from.

Please let me know what type of curve it is and the operating system though so I can try and help some more.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Sorry to add Contract Customers can use an O2 option called Tugo which works off wifi.

And or what's app or viber but these also need to be used by the recipient.

Network future is http://www.o2.co.uk/connectivity/network-coverage/the-next-big-thing

It does sound like the phone to me.

As your under contract I'm afraid you'll need to continue to pay the monthly fee as per the T&C. Networks cover themselves by saying the service isn't fault free etc.

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Tugo is not available on a BBOS device like a BlackBerry Curve. Hell, its not even available on BB10 devices!

Whatsapp doesnt have a calling function and so can only be used for instant messaging.

A better option would be BBM which allows for calls, messaging and video over a wifi connection, but again this requires the person on the other end to be using BBM as well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks @Anonymous   Yes I am well thanks- basking in glorious sunshine (well I could if I wanted but I only end up like a rather overcooked lobster with a nasty temper if stay out in the sun too long.)

As regards SIMs I stupidly thought they just contained data to identify my account and tariff details etc to the network.  Did not realise they were more sophisticated than that. 

Gerry

PS Enjoy the footie tonight if you are watching the match - not a great fan myself.

[Anonymous]

I will @Anonymous thank you.

@Anonymous that's a shame one can't use Tugo on the handset and I note you state if a customer contacts Blackberry Uk Support they'll just refer you back to O2 or wherever they bought it ~ wow that's good customer service and disappointing at this Sell & Forget policy. 😞

I didn't suggest a reset as I've been told on past occasions that a reset does not affect the modem in the phone that is connected to signal etc.

[Anonymous]

Its not necessarily bad customer service, Blackberry do not sell directly to the consumer any more and as such they don't deal with customer directly with devices malfunction. There are no BlackBerry Service locations  for warranty work in the UK. Essentially they are also following the sale of good act. If a device breaks within the warranty period, the contract of sales is between the consumer and the retailer /supplier and not the manufacturer. Usually the item would be returned to the POS for attention / exchange / refund / repair. I believe O2 would contact BlackBerry UK or one of their approved contract repair centres should they wish to replace the phone. 

Yes, Apple excel at this and allow you to contact them directly with warranty issues but then with the mark up on their products, their huge market base and having a shop that can quickly stop a broken phone or computer becoming a big public issue, they have the power to do this.