Reception Problems

[williamveeden]

I am new to Cell C - just ported on Tuesday afternoon.

Today, Saturday eve, I drove out of Cape Town for the first time since then to Kleinmond(near Hermanus).

As I drove, I spoke on the phone, the line started to break up.(gets scratchy and so forth) Cellohones usually dont have reception between Gordon's Bay and Rooiels becuase of the mountains.

As soon as I've hit Rooi Els I tried to phone again, but as soon as I hit call the phone said "call ended". When I arrived in Kleinmond I tried to phone once more. This time again the phone said "call ended". I hit the restart button on my phone and I was able to make phone calls again. (1st problem)

After my phone call has gone through, I wanted to say something on Whatsapp but my phone has no internet connection. If I open the browser on my phone is reads: "Network Error" and "No Internet Connection".
I received a whatsapp message now with an Edge connection(half an hour after i've arrived) - but very slow, nothing is immediately. (2nd problem)

I am a bit confused and hope that this is not the norm... I travel a lot and do business on my phone.

Please advise if you are experiencing the same and possible solutions.

Cheers!

**UPDATE**

I drove back from Kleinmond to Cape Town today, and experienced the following:
I lost signal between Rooi Els and Gordons Bay - this is normal (mountain landscape)

When entering the town of Gordon's Bay I went onto a 2G (edge) network coverage and could not phone or send any messages, or access the internet. As soon as I hit 3G, all services were restored automatically without restarting my phone.

I assume that the problem lies with 2G coverage, or at least that how it seems.

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini.

 

[williamveeden]

I was convinced to come to Cell C by cheaper(affordable call rates, everyday, the whole day) and my best friend.

When I told him about the problems I just encountered, he said: "Welcome to the dark side!" hilarious

Just an upside of the problems. lol

Regards

 

[ginggs]

After my phone call has gone through, I wanted to say something on Whatsapp but my phone has no internet connection. If I open the browser on my phone is reads: "Network Error" and "No Internet Connection".
I received a whatsapp message now with an Edge connection(half an hour after i've arrived) - but very slow, nothing is immediately. (2nd problem)

What mobile phone do you have? Cell-C still have a roaming agreement with Vodacom for areas without Cell-C coverage, usually outside of the major centres. Most phones have a "allow data while roaming" or similar setting which is normally off by default (because of the high costs of international roaming), try looking for this setting and enabling it (this is safe to do in SA as Vodacom do not charge you extra for roaming).

What works best for me: I keep my phone in '3G Only' mode and if I travel outside of Cell-C's coverage and find I've lost signal I'll switch it to '3G Preferred' or '2G Only'.

 

[williamveeden]

What mobile phone do you have?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini

PLEASE SEE THE MY FIRST POST IN THIS THREAD - IT HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEW FOUNDINGS

 

[Cell_C]

Hi williamveeden

There is currently no 3G coverage on the areas you have mentioned, i.e. Kleinmond, Rooi Els. However, there are planned sites in those areas. please PM me your email address, ill send you more details.

Regards
*DM*

 

[williamveeden]

Hi DM,

Thanks for the reply.

My concern however is the fact that I was not able to make any calls after Ive changed networks(from 3g to 2g).

I had full signal but still couldnt even send whatsapp messages.

Regards.

 

[sajunky]

It can happen if your phone is configured to use PS-only (packet switched) service for voice calls and network doesn't support PS services for voice in 2G mode, only CS (circuit switched).

Please check your phone configuration, it should be something like that:
use PS-only, CS-only, or both PS and CS. Select both.

 

[williamveeden]

I am not sure how to make the above change?

But my overall experience with Cell C has been good, only for the above when travelling...

 

[sajunky]

I am not sure how to make the above change?

I can't help with. Have seen such option on SE K700. Now using Nokia 1600 for long standby.