Vodacom Problems: Slow Throughput, trying to Connect, DNS, High Latency

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So i tried to do some investigation myself as I have phoned Vodacom multiple times and even though they promise a technician will phone me every day, nothing happens and the connection in my area stays sh*t. I ran a ping now at home to my favorite server starting at 13h00 or just past that. I got the normal 280ms pings like I'm used to.

Then at 14H00 precisely I got 7 timeouts, and then after the timeouts the next 5 got worse than the other and now I am at just under 500ms ping to that server. The way it was for the past 3 weeks and without Vodacom help. V3G, can you PLEASE do something about this? I can give you details with ref number etc... I just cant take it anymore. Or is it just the way it is, I have to pay for something that breaks every day at a certain time - always the time that I'm home and want to use my HSDPA...
 
Seeing that the topic of DNS issues has come up, for the last month now I have noticed that DNS queries time out fairly often, most often after the connection has been idle for a while. For example, I open a forum thread, read it through to the end, type up a reply and when I hit 'Post Quick Reply' I get an error from the browser informing me the server could not be found.

If I refresh the page immediately the query succeeds and everything behaves as it should for a while.

The reason I know it started about a month ago was I had v3g's E220 for a couple of days then, and at first a thought it was a quirk of the E220 and that it might be going into an idle mode or something, but after going back to my E620 the problem continued.
 
I've seen the same a few times. Have escalated it but it's a difficult one to try and involve an end-user (with all due respect to ic and ginggs!!), as it's intermittent and thus a bitch to test.

Rather, I'll use the NMC tools, one which will be doing constant DNS lookups, to see if a trend is developing.

If you do see a problem, mail me.
 
vodacom3g said:
Rather, I'll use the NMC tools, one which will be doing constant DNS lookups, to see if a trend is developing.
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Of course the DNS lookup timeout is just how the end-user sees it, as the DNS request is the first thing the browser does before establishing the HTTP connection. My guess is the first action after a period of inactivity, even it were a ping, would fail.

How about setting up a repeating ping with an increasing interval between pings?
 
3g usr said:
So i tried to do some investigation myself as I have phoned Vodacom multiple times and even though they promise a technician will phone me every day, nothing happens and the connection in my area stays sh*t. I ran a ping now at home to my favorite server starting at 13h00 or just past that. I got the normal 280ms pings like I'm used to.

Then at 14H00 precisely I got 7 timeouts, and then after the timeouts the next 5 got worse than the other and now I am at just under 500ms ping to that server. The way it was for the past 3 weeks and without Vodacom help. V3G, can you PLEASE do something about this? I can give you details with ref number etc... I just cant take it anymore. Or is it just the way it is, I have to pay for something that breaks every day at a certain time - always the time that I'm home and want to use my HSDPA...
Click to expand...

Vodacom phoned me twice over the weekend... how convenient, where will a technician be going out to look for problems over the weekend. Anyway, the lady that spoke to me said that I must fill in an application and disclaimer form to use the Unrestricted APN.

Now my questions are:
1) Will using the unrestricted APN improve performance? lower pings etc... (InternetVPN sure isn't faster on the pings than Internet APN)
2) Why must I sign a disclaimer and use a hackable APN to fix a problem that should not exists in the first place?
3) Why don't you answer me for a change vodacom3g? Or are there just the select few that is worthy of it? You seem to help everyone else. Guess vodacom and their employees have /mute(d) me :(

edit: just checked my mail, no form sent to me :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
ic said:
1. The answer is NO.
2. Why do you want to use the unrestricted APN?
Click to expand...

I DONT want to use it. The vodacom operator told me that I must use it. I asked them to just send someone to have a look at the tower / basestation but they are doing all these other things except to look at it. Surely they should have logs that will show what exactly happens at 14h00 every day to create the performance drop?
 
Looks like people getting hot here!! I think it must be born from the very slow speeds I have also been experiencing the last 10 days or so. I am opp Wanderers Stadium, Corlett Drive, ILLOVO, Jhbg.Imagine a triangle between Rosebank, Melrose Arch and sandton City, and we're in the middle of. Hardly bundu

I do find it most infuriating, esp when in a hurry to check something on our website. this morni ng 12 normal email messages took about 12 minutes to download.

I'm technically inept, but I do know its taking longer than it should/normally does.For example, I abandoned the TCP/IQ linespeed update, as I had to go out

How do I check and fix?

(Anyway, who CARES where dalview is?? ....couldn't resist that, sorry)
 
3g usr said:
Vodacom phoned me twice over the weekend... how convenient, where will a technician be going out to look for problems over the weekend. Anyway, the lady that spoke to me said that I must fill in an application and disclaimer form to use the Unrestricted APN.
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First you complain they don't call, and then you complain they call to much...:rolleyes:

They work 24x7 and will do site visits whenever it's required.

Please PM me the time and the number you called 155 when you were told you need the unrestricted apn to improve performance. I would like to listen to the call.
Now my questions are:
1) Will using the unrestricted APN improve performance? lower pings etc... (InternetVPN sure isn't faster on the pings than Internet APN)
Click to expand...
No, not at all. All apn's perform the same and, if any, the internet apn will be slightly faster.
2) Why must I sign a disclaimer and use a hackable APN to fix a problem that should not exists in the first place?
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How did the topic of the unrestricted apn slipped into the discussion with the call desk? What info did you give them on what you saw, performance wise? You did not post any usable info here?
3) Why don't you answer me for a change vodacom3g? Or are there just the select few that is worthy of it? You seem to help everyone else. Guess vodacom and their employees have /mute(d) me :(
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Did not realise I'm ignoring you :confused: You're already talking to 155, so I'll normally wait to see if they can resolve the problem first. If you post more detailed info, I'm sure we can try and help here.
edit: just checked my mail, no form sent to me :rolleyes:
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Please don't switch to the unrestricted apn. It won't help you in any way.

Please PM me the ref numbers you have and the time and date of the calls to the call desk and the number you called from.
 
Downlink freezes

I am using a phone as a modem. I have a data bundle. After a random amount if time, sometimes hours but usually minutes, the data flow ceases. I typically get the "Internet explorer cannot display webpage" error, the received bytes freezes and the sent bytes increases slowly, around 100 bytes per second.

This happens on any computer, with any phone, at any base station, and with any SIM card which has my phone number (I tried a SIM swap). Clearly the problem is specific to my account, which is a family top-up.

It seems very likely that the problem is caused by the billing system reserving far too much data in advance and then not returning the unused data to my account.

This is not pure speculation on my part. For instance, after about 2MB of throughput, my account reported 51MB of data used. I queried it, got the stock response that Vodacom's billing was infallible, persisted, persisted again, and finally two weeks later got the explanation that 49MB had been reserved by the billing system, not used, and not returned. (Actually he claimed that it was returned automatically, just two weeks late. Personally I doubt that it would have reappeared without human intervention.)

The real issue is, why is the system pre-reserving 49MB in the first place? That's, like, a week's usage for me. Surely it should just take a couple of minute's worth?

Meantime I am at my wit's end with the 155 call centre. Vodacom3G, please PM me!
 
500 MB once-off bundle (family top up = pre-paid bundles). Problem happens day and night at every site I have been at. I drove to Simonstown this morning to reproduce the problem there because 155 said Simonstown had no capacity problems. I have also reproduced the problem first-time without fail in Kalk Bay and Sun Valley.

Let's not consider my home where I pick up half a dozen base stations ranging from Glencairn through Fish Hoek, Muizenberg, the Cape Flats even once to Sir Lowrys Pass. It's too easy to blame the problem on network issues there.

It affects about 90% of my connections, but I have the impression that if I waited long enough, it would be 100%.

Right now my bundle is showing depleted (500MB used, 0MB remaining) although I have only used 215MB by vodacom's own billing. I have not received a "used up bundle" SMS. That's why I think it's a problem with the "fuzzy logic" pre-reserving billing system.
 
APN is called Internet.GPRS on my phone, and is recorded as such when I browse on the nokia 6680. However when I use the phone as a modem it is recorded as "internet".
 
vodacom3g said:
First you complain they don't call, and then you complain they call to much...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I am not complaining that they call to much. I am complaining that they wait until the weekend before they phone me when everyone knows there wont be a technician available. Please correct me if I'm wrong and they do work over weekends.

After everything everyone asked me and I answered , the lady asked me what APN's I used. then I said Internet and InternetVPN. She then told me she will mail me forms so that I must use Unrestricted APN. And I asked again if they can send someone to test the tower!

I will PM you the call details. Btw, I first called the 12th of this month for assistance. That is why I asked you for help because jack is happening.
 
ic said:
My [in]sanity check for the day: is anyone else having problems posting replies in any MyBroadband threads today using Vodacom's network?

PPDB + internet APN and I get 'connection to the server was reset' just after submitting a post, this does not happen when using ADSL - which I'm using now. I have also cleared my browser's cache several times.
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No problems here on my side.
 
I am experiencing heavy disconnects and slow throughput at the top of Edgemead, for about a two weeks now. Anybody having the same problems? Its driving the wife insane.
 
I connect to Minnebron-2, which is just over the N17 highway from Dalview. I have been experiencing exactly the same as you, as well as not being able to connect sometimes. I have logged numerous faults with 155, and after a while it starts working OK again, but I always have to reboot the router in the mornings again. :mad:

Prometheus said:
Third day in a row 3G is not working. Can connect and everything but data only comes through in bursts every now and then. gprs is working fine. Can someone check if some equipment didn't come loose during the recent winds around the Dalview area.
Click to expand...
 
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