Cell C Network Issues: Disconnects, Coverage, Throughput Problems - Report Here

Hello Everyone,

I haven't had any 3G connection since friday (It's monday today) this is at home and travelling around.
Apart from that, i never have any 3G connection at home (Table View, Cape Town) I think cell c uses another carriers tower in the area and there is just not enough bandwidth... this is really starting to irritate the crap out of me, ive always had issues with cell c but stuck it through but now its just getting too much, i may as well throw away my iphone and get a 3310 because having all these great features is useless on this retarded carrier. Vodacom is looking appealing....
 
ch4os said:
Hello Everyone,

I haven't had any 3G connection since friday (It's monday today) this is at home and travelling around.
Apart from that, i never have any 3G connection at home (Table View, Cape Town) I think cell c uses another carriers tower in the area and there is just not enough bandwidth... this is really starting to irritate the crap out of me, ive always had issues with cell c but stuck it through but now its just getting too much, i may as well throw away my iphone and get a 3310 because having all these great features is useless on this retarded carrier. Vodacom is looking appealing....
Click to expand...

Hi ch4os, Please PM me your contact details and street address. I will get a technician on it. *DM*
 
I can honestly say they are the worst network in South Africa. The reason they're so cheap is because more than half of the time you can't use the services you're paying for. Had them install an antenna of sorts in my house, still having disconnects. And it's impossible to use your phone in the car - too many disconnects. Logged a complaint on 'Hellopeter', got a call after a week or so - 2 disconnects before I even finished telling them about my complaint - no further feedback.

And because they have a call centre, nobody has to take any responsibility for their actions, or lack there of.
 
Location:Between Middelburg and Doornkop-Middelburg
Date & Time of Issue: The whole last week til now.
Device Manufacturer & Mode: Nokia CS19, Hauwei E303, ZTE K3772-Z
Contract Type (pre- or post-paid): Pre-paid AND Post-Paid
Existing reference numbers from Helpdesk: 1311120000441504
RAT (2G/3G/HSPA+): WCDMA and HSPA+
www.speedtest.net results (if possible): Impossible
Cell ID (if possible): Cant check at the moment.
RSSI: Anything between -75 to -98 dBm
Any other information relevant to the problem: I used to have great signal a few weeks ago. All was fine and dandy. but i've been having problems the last few weeks. First the E303 modem started sort of idling when i stopped browsing the net. It switched from HSPA+ to 3G and then i'd have a whole lot of trouble getting it to use H+ again, the 3G didn't send or receive ANY data. Now my other 2 modems have started doing the same and when i turn off the GPRS booster in the house the Cell C signal vanishes, Which it usually did not. When i DO get connected now I get about 20 sec of good data transfer and then BAM no data transfer. All my modems are consantly switching between 3G and H+ at the moment and I'm strongly considering a switch to Vodacom Since ive already got some poynting hardware to try and solve the problem.
 
Data connectivity in Pinelands in Cape Town was always spotty, but is pretty much non-existent now. I mostly have signal, but data is so slow as to be unusable. MTN is fine. I'm on month to month. Do you still want my money, Cell C, or should I take my household's monthly spend somewhere else?
 
Vliekkie said:
Location:Between Middelburg and Doornkop-Middelburg
Date & Time of Issue: The whole last week til now.
Device Manufacturer & Mode: Nokia CS19, Hauwei E303, ZTE K3772-Z
Contract Type (pre- or post-paid): Pre-paid AND Post-Paid
Existing reference numbers from Helpdesk: 1311120000441504
RAT (2G/3G/HSPA+): WCDMA and HSPA+
www.speedtest.net results (if possible): Impossible
Cell ID (if possible): Cant check at the moment.
RSSI: Anything between -75 to -98 dBm
Any other information relevant to the problem: I used to have great signal a few weeks ago. All was fine and dandy. but i've been having problems the last few weeks. First the E303 modem started sort of idling when i stopped browsing the net. It switched from HSPA+ to 3G and then i'd have a whole lot of trouble getting it to use H+ again, the 3G didn't send or receive ANY data. Now my other 2 modems have started doing the same and when i turn off the GPRS booster in the house the Cell C signal vanishes, Which it usually did not. When i DO get connected now I get about 20 sec of good data transfer and then BAM no data transfer. All my modems are consantly switching between 3G and H+ at the moment and I'm strongly considering a switch to Vodacom Since ive already got some poynting hardware to try and solve the problem.
Click to expand...

my friend in PMB has the exact same problem, and now 8ta has started doing this in Richmond, once you go 3G there is no getting back to H+
 
Vliekkie said:
Location:Between Middelburg and Doornkop-Middelburg
Date & Time of Issue: The whole last week til now.
Device Manufacturer & Mode: Nokia CS19, Hauwei E303, ZTE K3772-Z
Contract Type (pre- or post-paid): Pre-paid AND Post-Paid
Existing reference numbers from Helpdesk: 1311120000441504
RAT (2G/3G/HSPA+): WCDMA and HSPA+
www.speedtest.net results (if possible): Impossible
Cell ID (if possible): Cant check at the moment.
RSSI: Anything between -75 to -98 dBm
Any other information relevant to the problem: I used to have great signal a few weeks ago. All was fine and dandy. but i've been having problems the last few weeks. First the E303 modem started sort of idling when i stopped browsing the net. It switched from HSPA+ to 3G and then i'd have a whole lot of trouble getting it to use H+ again, the 3G didn't send or receive ANY data. Now my other 2 modems have started doing the same and when i turn off the GPRS booster in the house the Cell C signal vanishes, Which it usually did not. When i DO get connected now I get about 20 sec of good data transfer and then BAM no data transfer. All my modems are consantly switching between 3G and H+ at the moment and I'm strongly considering a switch to Vodacom Since ive already got some poynting hardware to try and solve the problem.
Click to expand...

Hi Vliekkie, Please PM me your contact details, I cant seem to pick up any info with the reference number you provided. I will make sure this is attended to a.s.a.p *DM*
 
cellc most useless network in africa!! ALWAYS LAGGING INTERNET, SIGNAL DROPS CONSTANTLY!! USELESS SUPPORT THAT KNOWS NOTHING WHAT THEIR TALKING ABOUT! **** YOU CELLC !!
 
r7ecko said:
cellc most useless network in africa!! ALWAYS LAGGING INTERNET, SIGNAL DROPS CONSTANTLY!! USELESS SUPPORT THAT KNOWS NOTHING WHAT THEIR TALKING ABOUT! **** YOU CELLC !!
Click to expand...
*they're
 
r7ecko said:
cellc most useless network in africa!! ALWAYS LAGGING INTERNET, SIGNAL DROPS CONSTANTLY!! USELESS SUPPORT THAT KNOWS NOTHING WHAT THEIR TALKING ABOUT! **** YOU CELLC !!
Click to expand...


Hi r7ecko, Sorry to hear about your experience with the Cell C network. Please PM me more details. Contact info, GPS coordinates, I will get our technicians to investigate a.s.a.p *DM*
 
I have purchased 3 LTE Bundles (R3000 each) since February and I've been receiving excellent reception and achieving speeds of up to 42mbps down and 8 mbps up. (I'm pretty sure the tower that's about 300 meters from by building is a CellC tower)

But about 3 weeks ago after some heavy rains I can no longer register on the LTE network. On HSPA (RSSI is -85 dBm) I only get 2.6 mbps down (in the past I could get about 8-9mbps on HSPA). I'm not sure if it's the tower or if my sim card has been de-activated. (I tested all 3).

If I go to the options and set to LTE only and manually search for networks I can see the Cell C (LTE) but it won't allow me to register.

I cannot get any help from technical support as they are keep saying that LTE is not available. I need to purchase another bundle but I need to have this network issue sorted out.
 
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Hi

I am having a problem with the Cell C network where I am unable to upload files of around 2MB and larger to Gmail, Dropbox or SkyDrive.

On Dropbox the files from my PC still do not appear on Dropbox after several hours. It constantly shows that Dropbox is synchronising. When I plug in a Vodacom or 8ta stick/dongle, the file is uploaded in seconds. I cannot upload it with Cell C when I insert the Cell C sim card in any of the three dongles (8ta Huawei, Vodafone ZTE or Cell C ZTE MF190). When I insert a 8ta sim in the Cell C speedstick, the file uploads in seconds.

On Gmail I have the problem when I try to attach the files to my e-mail. When I am connected to Cell C, I see the attachment progress bar increasing to different percentages and restarting several times without completing. It finally fails. I have managed to attach one 2MB file to Gmail once by retrying about 20 times until the progress bar reached 100%. When I insert the 8ta and Vodacom dongles, the attachment is uploaded quickly in one attempt.

In a desperate attempt I even re-installed Windows 8 from scratch to confirm that it is not a Windows 8 settings problem. The problem still persists without change.

The hidden issue that I did not realise is that Dropbox is trying to sync all day long and has consumed about 15 to 20GB of my data over the last 6 weeks. I bought a 200GB 10 month bundle and did not check the balance regularly.

Physical address, location or Coordinates:Beach Road, Strand, Western Cape
Time of Issue:All times
Dongle / handset used, Make and Model:ZTE MF190 (Cell C, bought in October 2013) , Huawei E173 (8ta), ZTE K3772-Z (Vodafone)
What OS and version are you using on the connecting device (Windows / Mac / Linux):Windows 8 Pro (64 bit)
www.speedtest.net results (if possible): ping 106ms, Download 2,98MBps, Upload 1.6MBps

The Cell C technical support claims that my upload speed must be too slow and that they will come test it at some time. In my opinion this cannot be the cause since my upload speed is 1.6MBs. On 8ta I can still upload the file while connected on Edge.

I am having a similar problem with my Galaxy S3 with my normal Cell C sim card. I can not send any file larger than about 1MB with Gmail from my phone. I have not tested Dropbox on my phone.

Any suggestions on tests I can do to identify the real problem will be very helpful.

Details as required on the Cell C website:
Data Problem (GPRS/EDGE/3G)? The problem is independent of speed on Cell C. The problem does not appear on 8ta even at Edge speed.
Unable to connect to the Internet? Normal internet works fine. Can download without any problems.
Internet connection times out? Not that I have noticed
Data throughput is very low (<100Kbps)? No
Data throughput is good but not excellent (<2Mbps)? Yes
Cannot access a specific site? No
Cannot access specific service (e.g. E-Mail, VPN or BlackBerry)? Other than the described problem, everything else seems to work fine.
Is this a recurring problem? It is a constant problem.
Have you called in the past Cell-C for the same problem? Yes. e-mail
How long ago have you registered the same complaint? 5 Weeks
You know of anyone else that experiences the same issue? No
 
VJB 449 said:
No data network connection in Alberton this morning.
Click to expand...
I knew the Internet with CellC was piss poor to say the least and thought I will give them the benefit until they do the "upgrades". But tried to use my Cell C acc. yesterday and there is definitely no improvements at all.

Now riddle me this my front door is 30 meters away from a tower in my street which CellC MTN and Vodacom share but yet have a very poor reception.

So Cell C please explain this to me?
 
Experiencing problems with the CellC data connection from the Rhenosterkop transmitter North of Bronkhorstspruit.

We have a excellent signal strength, BUT the data throughput has been erratic for about the last 2 weeks or so.

Upon opening Chrome from both XP and Mint we have a spike of good data throughput for about 5 seconds at 800kBps, and then there is nothing for about a minute, and then it comes back again, or we have to disconnect and reconnect again, and then it works again for 5 seconds and then it dies again. But its useles for doing business as all internet banking pages continually time out. To type this report I've had to reconnect 3 times already

ZTE MF 688 Modem

Transmitter coordinates
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-25...33055,0.055747&t=h&z=15&lci=com.panoramio.all

Type of service (pre- or post-paid): pre-paid Giga 200 package

Dongle / handset used, Make and Model: ZTE MF688 (black one)

What OS and version are you using on the connecting device : Windows
XP and Linux Mint with both giving trouble;
This is not an OS issue!! I am a Software Engineer with 20 years
experience in IT, developing software for embedded controllers, NEC
MIPS VR 4200 and Atmel Atmega and ARM!!

www.speedtest.net<http://www.speedtest.net> results (if possible): too slow
to connect to speedtest.net<http://speedtest.net>

Data Problem : slow connection
Unable to connect to the Internet? Yes
Internet connection times out? yes
Data throughput is very low (<100Kbps)? 50kbps
Cannot access a specific site? all sites difficult to connect
Is this a recurring problem? Continious for the last 2 weeks
How long ago have you registered the same complaint? First time
You know of anyone else that experiences the same issue? NO
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have Giga20 postpaid package with Cellc.I activated it last month,got 13gb prorata data but had real problems using the data end up using only1gb and today I see rest 12gb is gone.I use this sim in my ipad and now in my mifi device but my download speed never goes over 0.5 mb and upload 1.3-1.8 mb.I have full 3G signal and live next to tower.I am almost given up on using this data in coming months too.Please help
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3137741993.png
 
CellC data poor download speeds

I have Giga20 postpaid package with Cellc.I activated it last month,got 13gb prorata data but had real problems using the data could use only1gb and today I see rest 12gb is gone.I use this sim in my ipad and now in my mifi device but my download speed never goes over 0.5 mb and upload 1.3-1.8 mb.I have full 3G signal and live next to tower.I am almost given up on using this data in coming months too.Please help
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3137741993.png
 
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