cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Network connectivity problems, useless 5G

135
Level 1: Joiner
  • 2 Posts
  • 1 Topics
  • 0 Solutions
Registered:

Has anyone else suffered from poor or extremely slow network coverage on O2, especially with their 5G network? I have been having issues since Oct 2022 until current day (Feb 2023), with no help or progress from O2. My local mast in High Wycombe has been showing as having issues, just get SMS to say there are problems, no progress. Have had issues all around my town and also travelling to Heathrow airport where Waze and other apps have no signal on the journey. As the local mast is having issues, O2 are not interested. I got a voicemail due to the poor coverage from them telling me so. Wifi calling is unreliable at best. Are O2 just giving up on coverage?

Message 1 of 10
3,359 Views
9 REPLIES 9

madasaf1sh
Level 78: King of Kings
  • 12076 Posts
  • 69 Topics
  • 3224 Solutions
Registered:

@135 

 

Not had problems up here in Yorkshire, yesterday in the office was getting 150Mbps on 5G... and not had any issues with WiFi Calling across my home network or the corporate WiFi in the office... 


If you are having issues with reliability, then it could your ISP is not liking the traffic coming across its network, also if you using hotspots then your traffic will be throttled and some places will block WiFi calling. 


With regards to masts been down, then they can take a while to fix, due to many factors such as Access to the mast, repairs, works access and parts...

 

o2 are investing but new masts can take upto 2 years to commission..

--
iPhone 16 Pro Max - o2 and Spusu
Xperia 1V - Spusu

--
This is not customer services and we dont have access to your account
I do not work for o2 or any VMo2 /Telefonica/Liberty Global Company
Message 2 of 10
3,353 Views

Enlli
Level 69: Guiding Light
  • 9071 Posts
  • 71 Topics
  • 1817 Solutions
Registered:

Depends where you are. I know areas around Warrington and its environs are dire. 

Also long term mast issues around Widnes.

I travel to both those areas regularly. As I have a dual SIM phone I often change provider for data.

Too many subscribers for too little bandwidth and that is going to take some long term sorting

 

This is not O2 and we are all customers here similar to yourself and cannot answer account type queries.
Message 3 of 10
3,343 Views

madasaf1sh
Level 78: King of Kings
  • 12076 Posts
  • 69 Topics
  • 3224 Solutions
Registered:

@Enlli 

 

It will be the old ICI plant in Widnes 🤣😋  and Warrington blame the Wolves Stadium... 

--
iPhone 16 Pro Max - o2 and Spusu
Xperia 1V - Spusu

--
This is not customer services and we dont have access to your account
I do not work for o2 or any VMo2 /Telefonica/Liberty Global Company
Message 4 of 10
3,329 Views

Enlli
Level 69: Guiding Light
  • 9071 Posts
  • 71 Topics
  • 1817 Solutions
Registered:

@madasaf1sh wrote:

@Enlli 

 

It will be the old ICI plant in Widnes 🤣😋  and Warrington blame the Wolves Stadium... 


@madasaf1sh Not that good around St Helens Stadium either...but better than Wolves 😉

This is not O2 and we are all customers here similar to yourself and cannot answer account type queries.
Message 5 of 10
3,307 Views

135
Level 1: Joiner
  • 2 Posts
  • 1 Topics
  • 0 Solutions
Registered:

Awaiting a new sim from O2 to see if that is the issue, but have had poor connectivity with 4bars of 5G signal in town also. Going to try another handset, see if my new s22 ultra is the issue in the meantime. Seems ridiculous to not be able to stream a video from an app when your phone is showing 4 bars of 5G coverage. Couldn't even run a speed test as the ookla speedtest app wasnt recognising O2 as the provider.

Message 6 of 10
3,275 Views

Enlli
Level 69: Guiding Light
  • 9071 Posts
  • 71 Topics
  • 1817 Solutions
Registered:

Having full bars is just a rough indication of signal strength, they don't determine the quality of that service.

5G in the UK at the moment is NSA (none stand alone) and still relies on some 4G infrastructure If that infrastructure is poor, then 5G will be poor. It also depends what frequency 5G is on in a given area.

This is not O2 and we are all customers here similar to yourself and cannot answer account type queries.
Message 7 of 10
3,264 Views

madasaf1sh
Level 78: King of Kings
  • 12076 Posts
  • 69 Topics
  • 3224 Solutions
Registered:

@135 

Ookla is a pile of poo, in my professional opinion, you are better using either fast.com or just type speed test into Google and let that do it, or use the OpenSignal app...

 

Signal bars are just a poor graphical representation of the algorithm designed by the phone manufacturers to show the signal in dB received by the phone and every manufacturer is different and the worst offender used to be Apple... 

A quick look at some of the Samsung communties across the globe see issues with 5G 😞  so might be worth checking them to see if they have any fixes...

 

--
iPhone 16 Pro Max - o2 and Spusu
Xperia 1V - Spusu

--
This is not customer services and we dont have access to your account
I do not work for o2 or any VMo2 /Telefonica/Liberty Global Company
Message 8 of 10
3,260 Views

SimonD86
Level 1: Joiner
  • 3 Posts
  • 0 Topics
  • 0 Solutions
Registered:

Yes, I have suffered for the past 2 years with O2's ridiculously slow and unreliable data speeds, their network is becoming unusable for me here in Worcestershire.

 

I luckily have 2 sims, an O2 sim and a Three sim, everytime Three out performs O2 in performance, speed, and reliability. To be honest no matter where I am in the country Three is always the better network.

 

Unfortunately, there is no hope whatsoever that O2 will upgrade their network infrastructure, start using better technology and utilise all their spectrum like Three does, a move that would mean ditching what they currently use which are slower long range masts and/or antennas, outdated infrastructure, and poor spectrum utilisation, so don't expect it to improve anytime soon, and actually you can expect it to get worse when O2 are forced to switch off their 2G and 3G networks next year.

 

I have a sense that unless O2 bring themselves upto at least the same speed as EE or Three then we may see them leave the UK cellular space in the not so distant future because the other major networks are leaps and bounds ahead of them and set to get even better while O2 remain quite stagnant in terms of upgrades and improvements to their network.

 

I really hope O2 wise up and upgrade the masts, network infrastructure and speeds to at least match the competition from the other major networks like EE, Three, and Vodafone but it doesn't seem likely.

Message 9 of 10
2,260 Views

Oxonian
Level 37: Blazing a Trail
  • 11807 Posts
  • 300 Topics
  • 33 Solutions
Registered:

@SimonD86 

 

I am sorry but I cannot agree with your synopsis. In some areas, Three is excellent ; but in many locations they do not have coverage at all. At least O2 usually have sufficient signal to enable you to make a voice call. 

 

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that Three and EE effectively see themselves as data networks but that O2 and Vodaphone see themselves as 'phone networks. But geography makes such a difference and the best network is the one that works in the locations that you frequent ! 👍

Message 10 of 10
2,248 Views