Cell C network problem complaints

ding ding ding - CellC works awesome for me - both Vodacom and MTN failed in the same coverage areas (Bryanston and Broadacres). Full 3G signal all the time.

ding ding ding - everyone has full 3G signal. Doesn't mean you can make a phone call or get any data coming through.
 
ding ding ding - CellC works awesome for me - both Vodacom and MTN failed in the same coverage areas (Bryanston and Broadacres). Full 3G signal all the time.

I'm glad it works for you. Bryanston and Epsom Downs are big problems for me.
I have tried different devices, new sim cards and the network stays unusable and drops calls like crazy when I do eventually get to make them.
 
CellC reception in CPT (Bergvliet/Tokai) is always 'there' BUT I am forever getting dropped calls, unable to call, unable to access internet or send an SMS.

Dare I say it but I'll likely port to Vodascum soon.
 
CellC reception in CPT (Bergvliet/Tokai) is always 'there' BUT I am forever getting dropped calls, unable to call, unable to access internet or send an SMS.

Dare I say it but I'll likely port to Vodascum soon.

I have full signal in Tokai and 3G.. yet my connection is so k*k my speedtests say "network communications issue". I've reported it and they've done nothing about it (in 6 months!!!) how typical. Also there is the well known call drop over wynberg hill which they clearly don't give a damn about.

I've been a CellC customer for almost 8 years now. But their recent (last two years) drop in network reliability makes me want to port when my contract expires.
 
Lol! I think RPM has favoured Cell C for too long now, glad hes finally addresses Cell Cs problems, even if its 8 months too late.

Well said Haldex. Cell C data is a pathetic!!!!
 
Three years later... revenge is a dish best served cold :)

No, I was not, and hopefully you can now finally see that.

I find it somewhat...disturbing...that you would hold onto correspondence for so long :wtf: Obsess much?! :D

I switched to CellC data two months back and it's been pretty good (well, seeing as I was with iBurst, my standards are quite low, you must understand...). I found it slower than usual last night, but otherwise I've been happy so far. But from the number of complaints it would seem that they have problems, and agreed, the fact that they are looking to load more clients onto an already overloaded network does seem pretty darn reckless.
 
I'm in southern suburbs, Cape Town and I was experiencing connection problems but lately it's come right. Typically, I was down for a few hours a day or was only getting EDGE which is frustrating, but later it would be on again. I didn't see the need to complain. I understand that Cell C is doing maintenance and upgrades to their towers.
 
There is indeed something wrong with their network. Which I think they must fix before focusing on anything else.
My biggest problem is voice. This includes fourways, craigavon, midrand, halfway house area's and probably many more.

1. Whenever I try to make a call, the first attempt fails and it takes a few seconds before the phone to allow me to try again. Usually the 2nd attempt succeeds however in some cases not. This means it takes me about a minute of effort for every phone call just to get to hear the other end ringing.
2. Whenever people call me 50% or more their first attempts goes straight to my voice mail. This a often a problem when I activate the alarm and I wait for the security company to call me. Often they don't get through and they have to send someone or I get voicemails.
3. Every once in a while maybe once in 2-3 months the phone decides to go into emergency calls only mode.
4. Data/3G. I don't use this much as I am on Wifi most of the time, tough I have not had the best of times here either, but then again I have never had reliable data on any device with any network.
5. Whenever any call is connected the first few seconds are awkward as I have to repeat what I say, such as hello several times util they can hear me. Sometimes this can take more than 10 seconds for the line to clear up. I usually hear them fine. And once it clear up it usually is not a problem
6. Call quality is variable and I always find myself standing up finding a place with better reception.
7. A had a issue where after 10-60 seconds calls to other networks the line will go quite and eventually cut off. After more than a year of complaints the problems seems to be resolved for now. Though I am not sure it was fixed as a result of anything I reported.
8. Customer support regarding technical problems never seems to go anywhere or result in anything being fixed.
9. When first porting to cell c I had allot of trouble dealing with untrained staff. Not only with the porting but resolving issues with international sms. They did all sort of diagnostics and logged tickets with technical which I figured out myself eventual was simply that the free sms did not apply for international and I needed to topup with airtime to send international sms on a hybrid package. The first call center agent I spoke to should have figured that out.

That being said, I have had no billing problems. However I chose a hybrid package for a reason to prevent unexpected charges.
The pricing seems quite good. I don't have a contract as I buy my devices cash and get a competitive tariff. However it does not really work out any cheaper. For e.g. my S3 cost about R8500 cash which works out to about R350pm over 24 months and then R100 pm for the Tariff means R450pm. Which was the same as getting the same device on contract back when I first got the device.
 
Lol! I think RPM has favoured Cell C for too long now, glad hes finally addresses Cell Cs problems, even if its 8 months too late.

Agreed. Cell C's network is a joke. They need to fix this S**t. Its been dragging on for much too long.
 
This. Their current ad campaign is very aggressive and I'm sitting there thinking WTF?! Their network can't handle the load as it currently is and yet they're trying to add more subscribers?! :mad:

Yip. Advertising and bragging about network coverage but its Useless. I work in Sandton and its horrible! I mean its not like I am working in some rural area FFS! Most of the time browsing is impossible and the amount of dropped calls is a bad joke.
 
After 2 Years on CellC and going through all that nightmare every single day i have ported back to VC a month ago. What a pleasure. Yes, now I pay R.80 more p/m, but i don't need to stand still to be able to make a call or look around to find a reception. Not a single dropped call for a month, data is always there when you need it for quick browsing. Very, very happy to be able to do again just simple mobile stuff, like making calls and I-net browsing.
 
I find it somewhat...disturbing...that you would hold onto correspondence for so long :wtf: Obsess much?! :D

I switched to CellC data two months back and it's been pretty good (well, seeing as I was with iBurst, my standards are quite low, you must understand...). I found it slower than usual last night, but otherwise I've been happy so far. But from the number of complaints it would seem that they have problems, and agreed, the fact that they are looking to load more clients onto an already overloaded network does seem pretty darn reckless.

Champ, enjoy it while it lasts. I am also one of those people that was recommending to family to move onto it. I've only been a client for 3 months or so.

I could deal with intermittent Interwebs between 7PM - 11PM. Now voice is also a problem. People struggle to get through to me and hours later, I receive notifications that I missed calls which leave me thinking WTF when I never had any reception issues.

My only problem now is, who to port to?!
 
As much as I hate it, I've ported some of my numbers to MTN.

Vodacom in Durban is getting just as bad, probably since they do share some towers with Cell C as well.
 
Champ, enjoy it while it lasts. I am also one of those people that was recommending to family to move onto it. I've only been a client for 3 months or so.

I could deal with intermittent Interwebs between 7PM - 11PM. Now voice is also a problem. People struggle to get through to me and hours later, I receive notifications that I missed calls which leave me thinking WTF when I never had any reception issues.

My only problem now is, who to port to?!

I was actually talking to a fellow office worker today about that, listening to the shocking quality of cellphone calls on radio talk shows - there seem to be days when pretty much every second caller gets cut off or the studio has to end the conversation because it's breaking up so badly. I suspect at times that it's not which cellphone company is best, it's which one is least horrible. Possibly, because I'm using the CellC dongle in a static position with my desktop, it's more stable than those CellC users who are using it with cellphones. Shouldn't be the case, but...
 
There is indeed something wrong with their network. Which I think they must fix before focusing on anything else.
My biggest problem is voice. This includes fourways, craigavon, midrand, halfway house area's and probably many more.

1. Whenever I try to make a call, the first attempt fails and it takes a few seconds before the phone to allow me to try again. Usually the 2nd attempt succeeds however in some cases not. This means it takes me about a minute of effort for every phone call just to get to hear the other end ringing.
2. Whenever people call me 50% or more their first attempts goes straight to my voice mail. This a often a problem when I activate the alarm and I wait for the security company to call me. Often they don't get through and they have to send someone or I get voicemails.
3. Every once in a while maybe once in 2-3 months the phone decides to go into emergency calls only mode.
4. Data/3G. I don't use this much as I am on Wifi most of the time, tough I have not had the best of times here either, but then again I have never had reliable data on any device with any network.
5. Whenever any call is connected the first few seconds are awkward as I have to repeat what I say, such as hello several times util they can hear me. Sometimes this can take more than 10 seconds for the line to clear up. I usually hear them fine. And once it clear up it usually is not a problem
6. Call quality is variable and I always find myself standing up finding a place with better reception.
7. A had a issue where after 10-60 seconds calls to other networks the line will go quite and eventually cut off. After more than a year of complaints the problems seems to be resolved for now. Though I am not sure it was fixed as a result of anything I reported.
8. Customer support regarding technical problems never seems to go anywhere or result in anything being fixed.
9. When first porting to cell c I had allot of trouble dealing with untrained staff. Not only with the porting but resolving issues with international sms. They did all sort of diagnostics and logged tickets with technical which I figured out myself eventual was simply that the free sms did not apply for international and I needed to topup with airtime to send international sms on a hybrid package. The first call center agent I spoke to should have figured that out.

That being said, I have had no billing problems. However I chose a hybrid package for a reason to prevent unexpected charges.
The pricing seems quite good. I don't have a contract as I buy my devices cash and get a competitive tariff. However it does not really work out any cheaper. For e.g. my S3 cost about R8500 cash which works out to about R350pm over 24 months and then R100 pm for the Tariff means R450pm. Which was the same as getting the same device on contract back when I first got the device.

Phew thought I was the only one. Cell C is really bad! I would say nearly 50% (maybe more) of incoming and outgoing calls don't come/go through. The worst is Roaming though, sometimes the signal is so bad that my phone says that I am Roaming!! Unbelievable.

I just ported to Cell C about 4 months back, does anyone know if there is a waiting period before I port again to vodacom or something remotely better?
 
Phew thought I was the only one. Cell C is really bad! I would say nearly 50% (maybe more) of incoming and outgoing calls don't come/go through. The worst is Roaming though, sometimes the signal is so bad that my phone says that I am Roaming!! Unbelievable.

I just ported to Cell C about 4 months back, does anyone know if there is a waiting period before I port again to vodacom or something remotely better?

I think the waiting period is 3 months.
 
also experiencing issues with data on cellc...
device shows full HSPA/3G, yet pages timeout and I get proxy errors.

turning off data and enabling it again resolves issue for a short while...
But this is definitely very bad for cellc's image, and our experiences as paying customers.
They need to get it sorted asap!
 
It took 18 attempts to make a call to a landline, while having full signal , sadly I'm stuck paying these con artists for another year :(
 
Thank you Cell_C for making me miss important Whatapp messages today because of your crappy data service! Full signal and no data!
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X