Iphone 5 network Problems - Cell C droppping to Edge

[citizensa]

My Iphone 5 is showing network problems.It connects to 3G at home(City Centre)but mostly connects to EDGE at work suburb.It also only connects to EDGE at some other parts of the city.So I went to CellC shop(It only connects to EDGE there,but there is strong 3G signal there and other iphone 5 on display there always connects to 3G)and they said it has to be sent for repairs.But when I tried to change SIM and it connected to 3G,but after some few 30 mins it back to old story only connects to EDGE.So I am really confused now since it connects to 3G always at my home but gives real trouble in most other places,and its a real pain using this phone in an EDGE network.My iphone 4 has no such problems it holds on to last signal to 3G.I Would like to get your experience and suggestions whether I need to really sent it for repair,Are they going to repair it or sent a refurbished phone or will I get a used phone.I need answers for these questions.Thanks

 

[KingLv]

I have the same problem on Cell C. I don't even feel like calling Cell C because I know I'm going to waste my time.
But it's great at home and bad at work. The battery also worse when I am at work due to it struggling to get 3G. So I just turn it of if I don't need it and I don't have to walk around with my charger.

I had the iPhone 3G; 4 and now the iPhone 5 my battery seems worse on the iPhone 5.

 

[Corelli]

Cellc on Edge often

I know how u feel. I stay in Edgmead and work Pinelands and i get Edge at home and Edge at office too. Here and there good reception.

8ta worked much better for me before. But the edge is bad. Once i dropped down to 32k speed. Was soo bad for two days at home.

Cellc is really sluggish on average i am happy with 500kbps where my friend with vodacom has 3mbps.

 

[KingLv]

When 3G works I can get like 6mbps on the same spot I am now(at my desk) in brackenfell.
I have turned 3G on in settings but I am still only getting Edge.

 

[morkhans]

Seems you can force 3G only mode if you are jailbroken.

http://akh1.blogspot.com/2012/02/enable-3g-only-mode-iphone-4.html

 

[Budza]

Try setting APN to 'internet' (note whatever it is now: apple.something).

 

[ginggs]

Getting stuck on EDGE while a 3G signal is present seems to have been an issue on Cell-C since they launched their Whooosh! network, see Stuck on EDGE, unable to switch to 3G (E1820 / E1752?).

I suspect it has something to do with the order in which devices scan for the best network.
On Cell-C, 3G is on 900MHz and 2G is on 1800MHz (mostly), whereas on the other cellular networks, 2G is on 900MHz and 3G is on 2100MHz.

I just keep my phone (Nokia N9) in '3G Only' mode all the time and manually change it if I happen to end up in an area with no 3G coverage.

Seems you can force 3G only mode if you are jailbroken.

You can do this on the Lumia 920 as well by dialling ##3282# to get into Field Test mode and selecting '3G Only' in Network Type.

 

[KingLv]

I got my 3G back again. By turning off auto carrier and choosing cell c from the list...

Get like 7mbps id i do a speed test....

 

[morkhans]

I got my 3G back again. By turning off auto carrier and choosing cell c from the list...

Maybe a roaming thing then?

 

[KingLv]

balls... back on Edge. same spot...

 

[sajunky]

they said it has to be sent for repairs.But when I tried to change SIM and it connected to 3G,but after some few 30 mins it back to old story only connects to EDGE.

ginggs is correct, but I think in this case they are right in the shop, phone is faulty. There is a mechanism to disconnect misbehaving device from the network if it affects other users.

So if restarting the phone (and manually selecting Cell C network) doesn't help, it might be a case.

 

[jahk]

I am in the same situation. My iPhone 5 will stay on the 'E' edge forever until I change network providers to Vodacom via settings and then back to Cell C. After that it works until it loses 3G then it stays on 'E' edge permanently. This is really frustrating..... aaaaaggggg man

 

[emcy]

droid answer that works

I am in the same situation. My iPhone 5 will stay on the 'E' edge forever until I change network providers to Vodacom via settings and then back to Cell C. After that it works until it loses 3G then it stays on 'E' edge permanently. This is really frustrating..... aaaaaggggg man

had a similar issue on samsung galaxy s2 - always stayed on edge and slow as a dog . under my network settings i have a network mode property and there are three options - gsm / wcdma ( auto ), gsm only or wcdma only .
If i select the last ( wcdma) and then go to network operators and select cell c then my phone finds H, 3g or 3g+ . But with the auto selection it stays on edge all the time . cellc say their network requires the wcdma and other networks require gsm but give no further explanation so i cannot understand the actual problem . It seems like my phone sort of finds the strongest signal and then assumes the lowest common denominator network access method .
Its a pain because if i am out of cellc range i have to fiddle these settings to find another network operator and then i inevitably forget to reset them on return . this is something cell c could emphasize more i think . hope it works for you.

 

[sajunky]

If i select the last ( wcdma) and then go to network operators and select cell c then my phone finds H, 3g or 3g+ . But with the auto selection it stays on edge all the time . cellc say their network requires the wcdma and other networks require gsm but give no further explanation so i cannot understand the actual problem

No Cell C use different frequency band 900MHz instead of usual 2100MHz for 3G. On some devices switching to this frequency is on low priority (device is stuck searching on 2100MHz, before switching to 2G) and it shows up when associated with some network problems. Read old threads "Stuck on EDGE, unable[...]". If you have frequency setting on your device, use 900MHz instead of "auto" or "all frequencies". This will help stabilize your 3G connection (without forcing 3G-only).

Its a pain because if i am out of cellc range i have to fiddle these settings to find another network operator and then i inevitably forget to reset them on return . this is something cell c could emphasize more i think . hope it works for you.

 

[KingLv]

If only we could do this on the iPhone 5. Can't Cell C just update the carrier version to do this?

Or are they not that bright....?