Anyone else experiencing dropped calls and poor service??

[Jonny Two Shoes]

I don't know if this only applies to me, but to find out I thought to ask some of you.

I have been experiencing an increasing amount of cut-outs, and calls that don't make it through at all??

Just tonight I can't even phone my girlfriend as it either keeps giving a busy tone or directing to voicemail, yet Im chatting to her on MXIT at the same time. Eventually I got through. MXIT always drops me as well, but lately more so than before...at least within the past three months when I say lately.

Generally i have also been noticing poorer signal, specifically in my area where there is hardly none yet fluctuates from time to time...but also a drop from five bar to four and three at work where signal used to be great. My step sister also struggles to get signal here at home.

I live in Honeydew and work in Constantia Kloof-Roodepoort or wherever the hell it falls under, lol. Im from Durban and not used to the Jo'burg scene yet

Oddly I also notice a weird jingle sound when I do manage to make some calls right after it starts ringing. wth??

 

[Poynting1]

Problem is normally that indoor signals suffer a lot of fading. This is because of reflections indoor and most of us have seen it in the very old days when you used bunny ear antennas on top of a TV - as people walk around in the room you see the picture blurring and brightening since they change the signal just because they move around. This is why TV's now mostly have outdoor antennas. Best is to go sit on your roof since this would possibly solve the problem. It may dampen your passion somewhat at current temperatures. Next best is an external antenna but this dampens your mobility a bit.

 

[Syndyre]

Just tonight I can't even phone my girlfriend as it either keeps giving a busy tone or directing to voicemail, yet Im chatting to her on MXIT at the same time. Eventually I got through. MXIT always drops me as well, but lately more so than before...at least within the past three months when I say lately.

If she's connected to Mxit while you're trying to call her that could be the problem. The Mxit data transfer can prevent calls from coming through.

 

[kaspaas]

If she's connected to Mxit while you're trying to call her that could be the problem. The Mxit data transfer can prevent calls from coming through.

Indeed - GPRS can prevent calls coming through. It is a technology "feature" - not bad service by Vodacom or MTN or whoever.

In GSM mode, cellphones can do either voice/SMS or data.

Sometimes call will "interrupt" a GPRS session, and sometimes they won't. I could not find a pattern yet when GPRS is interrupted and when not.

Can anybody enlighten us on 3G? As far as I know 3G can handle voice and data at the same time, but I've never tested it yet.

 

[Syndyre]

I could not find a pattern yet when GPRS is interrupted and when not.

As far as I can tell if actual data transfer is taking place when the call comes through its diverted but if the connection is idle it comes through.

 

[ic]

Indeed - GPRS can prevent calls coming through. It is a technology "feature" - not bad service by Vodacom or MTN or whoever.

In GSM mode, cellphones can do either voice/SMS or data.

Sometimes call will "interrupt" a GPRS session, and sometimes they won't. I could not find a pattern yet when GPRS is interrupted and when not.

Can anybody enlighten us on 3G? As far as I know 3G can handle voice and data at the same time, but I've never tested it yet.

As far as I can tell if actual data transfer is taking place when the call comes through its diverted but if the connection is idle it comes through.

My understanding is that different handsets behave differently - a few handsets will allow an incoming 3G call and not drop a 3G connection, whilst most other handsets seem to be anti-multitasking...note - this is not based on my own experience, but rather the experience of others expressed over time in this forum.

 

[Praeses]

My dad called me last weekend and the call became distorted and dropped. Does switching between towers cause drops? There are a couple of towers in my area which my phone tend to switch to at random.

 

[Syndyre]

My understanding is that different handsets behave differently - a few handsets will allow an incoming 3G call and not drop a 3G connection, whilst most other handsets seem to be anti-multitasking...note - this is not based on my own experience, but rather the experience of others expressed over time in this forum.

True, I meant specifically as far as GPRS is concerned.

 

[AirWolf]

The jingle sound before it rings happens when you call a Vodacom number that has been ported to some other network.

 

[ic]

True, I meant specifically as far as GPRS is concerned.

As far as 2G is concerned and handsets simultaneously handling both a 2G call and a GPRS|EDGE [2.xG] data connection, while most handsets probably don't even attempt to support this, I suspect that due to timeslots used on 2.xG networks, in practice it is unlikely that any 2.xG handset would be allowed to keep both a 2G call and a 2.xG data connection going, 3G doesn't use timeslots and is therefore not specifically subjected to timeslot limitations.

 

[Syndyre]

As far as 2G is concerned and handsets simultaneously handling both a 2G call and a GPRS|EDGE [2.xG] data connection, while most handsets probably don't even attempt to support this, I suspect that due to timeslots used on 2.xG networks, in practice it is unlikely that any 2.xG handset would be allowed to keep both a 2G call and a 2.xG data connection going, 3G doesn't use timeslots and is therefore not specifically subjected to timeslot limitations.

What I've noticed is that if the call does come through the data connection is suspended for the duration of the call so there's no throughput, although it isn't actually usually disconnected, at least if the call is relatively short. That's essentially what you were saying though I think?

 

[vodacom3g]

Voice / data switchover can definitely be a function of the type of handset.

I believe most of the newer handsets (including 3G sets), will do both or at least suspend the data and pick up the call.

Switching between towers can cause a dropped call. Especially if the new tower is congested.