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O2 internet blocked by Vodafone ?

Creative Critique

Casual Member
Hi there. Bit of a ramble, but stick with it it’s quite a puzzle.

We live in a rural location suffering years with < 1mb landline broadband and long period of faults and no service. In November last, I trialed mobile broadband with a HUAWEI 525 router and 4G data only SIM from O2 PAYG as a possible replacement. This worked with consistent strong signal and service until March 2019 . Then took out a 12 month data only contract to replace PAYG; all was fine until around 16:00 on Sunday the 28th of April when the internet became unavailable. Plenty of data allowance, and SMS text still working from the router. Called O2 on Tues 30th who opened an Incident for loss of data service. Interestingly the SiM works with internet connection outside if the local area, suggesting the SIM is functioning ok.

Now here’s the rub. On the Sunday afternoon when service was lost, for a period of a couple of hours I had been trying out an EE data sim in the router to see if there was a signal, O2 just didn’t have enough monthly data for streaming. Turned out the only signal is O2 anyway (regardless of what the coverage maps say), but after the tests the O2 internet connection was lost and sadly remains so.

Today I tried the SIM in a laptop which had never been connected to the O2 network, and for a few glorious minutes it had an internet connection ! But data flow then ceased on that device also. Looks like the local beacon is not happy with that SIM in any device. PAYG SIM is now also blocked.

So the questions, which O2 seem unwilling or unable to answer are, what is blocking the internet connection on the local beacon, and why for a few minutes was an internet data flow established using the same SIM on a newly connected device ?

O2 are saying the problem is with Vodafone who host O2 on their beacon serving our location. O2 are still investigating, but the layers of administration between O2 teams, contract engineers, and it seems, Vodafone are crazy. Every bit of the process seems to be burdened by inadequate information flow. Two months on and service not restored.

Has anyone any insight as to what might be going on ? Desperate to regain what was an excellent service !

Cheers in advance.
 
I have heard of cases where an incorrect configuration resulted in an operator using spectrum that it wasn't supposed to, which could I suppose interfere with the signals from other operators. But to check that you'd need special kit. Do you neighbours have similar issues?

By the sounds of it you're in a fairly remote area so have you considered using an external antenna to boost the signal (if not using one already)? I only suggest that because you noted data worked when outside in the local area, which could suggest some sort of general change at the local mast.

At the end of the day this is all a stab in the wind because only the operators know what's really happened.
 
Hi Mark, thanks. Just to clarify, external antenna is deployed, signal is good strong 3 bar. What’s frustrating is there was clearly something that happened to disable the internet access that Sunday, and all suggest it’s software so there ought to be system logs. You can’t help thinking if there was more collaboration between VF and O2 problem would be resolved. Do you think the ombudsman would be able to help chivvy things up !
 
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The ombudsman (ADR) usually won't get involved until 8 weeks have passed with no resolution, although mobile operators do generally offer compensation for protracted outages (not sure how that works when voice is still operational but data isn't hmm).

Just to ask again, do your neighbours have the same issue?
 
Hi Mark. Its quite a small hamlet. Immediate neighbour is still struggling with landline. Half a mile away there are folks who have EE and I think Vodafone; the only 4G signal I've been able to detect (with antenna) at our site is O2. Afaik no one else is suffering from access issues which is even more odd.
 
Hmm aside from badgering the operator I'm not sure what else to suggest, although I suppose you could try contacting O2 and Vodafone's central network sharing company cornerstone (formerly CTIL):

 
Sounds like a flag is on a SIM card ID like their version of a MAC address in the mobile world. Does another SIM work in the same devices and have you tried that SIM where you would be on a different mast?
 
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Hmm aside from badgering the operator I'm not sure what else to suggest, although I suppose you could try contacting O2 and Vodafone's central network sharing company cornerstone (formerly CTIL):


Interesting, I thnk you may have coincedenatlly hit the nail on the head:

https://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2017/01/16/o2-vodafone-open-new-cornerstone-discussions/

"Both operators are working towards new term for independence ... Vodafone’s key target is to gain more autonomy major cities to improve capacity and coverage, with a source saying Vodafone was “trying to get certain changes in the joint venture so it can invest its own money and run its own show where it thinks it makes a difference.”

"An O2 spokesperson said: “As a customer-led business, we’re committed to delivering the best possible network experience for our customers. The Cornerstone partnership facilitates quicker coverage roll-out and remains a more economically and environmentally responsible way of delivering coverage benefits to our growing base of customers.

Vodafone declined to comment."

I wonder how those "new terms"are panning out ...
 
Sounds like a flag is on a SIM card ID like their version of a MAC address in the mobile world. Does another SIM work in the same devices and have you tried that SIM where you would be on a different mast?

The same SIM does work in another device on a differnet mast. Also when in a different device for a short while on the local mast but the internet connection was blocked. within 5 minutes. The O2 PAYG SIM being used before the contract SIM no longer works, and a Vodafone SIM doesn't have data either....
 
The same SIM does work in another device on a differnet mast. Also when in a different device for a short while on the local mast but the internet connection was blocked. within 5 minutes. The O2 PAYG SIM being used before the contract SIM no longer works, and a Vodafone SIM doesn't have data either....

Def sounds like the SIM is being blocked for some reason.

Good luck getting O2 to do anything though.
Back in 2006 they messed up 3G on my local mast; to date it still hasnt been fixed, despite my emailing the O2 head honcho and him pledging to get it fixed.
Luckily, they havent messed up 4G on the mast (yet).
 
Has the device you are using become blacklisted? That would prevent it connecting to anything, but the SIM would be unaffected. Blacklisting is done on the device’s IMEI, a unique ID. Typically this happens to lost or stolen devices, but at one point Three did this if you put another operator’s SIM in a phone they had sold while it was still in contract.

I’m wondering if either O2 or EE have done the same?
 
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It was my immediate thought, but why would the second device tested (never previously connected to any mobile network) have o2 internet for around 5 minutes and then be blocked ?

It is suspicious that on the day of the original incident I had been testing for a signal and swapping with an EE sim in the router. O2 are pushing still the signal quality, I’ve tried to steer them towards looking at this from a software block, but they just continue to seek engineering drive tests from Vodafone which I think is missing a trick; is going nowhere fast. Ombudsman now involved...
 
I'd be really, really, really surprised if it was the case that something Vodafone was doing was causing an individual SIM to malfunction on O2's network. Yes, they share infrastructure but I doubt they overlap down to the individual sim management level of detail.
It's probably a tricky and hard to diagnose issue on O2's CRM side. Since the SIM worked for a bit, and then stopped working, and also works in other areas. It's just quite easy for first line support to fob off an unknown issue on some vague and unspecifiable external cause.

Good luck with this one anyway, that's just my hunch but looking forward to hearing the conclusion!
 
Update. As of some time around the 24th July the data connection mysteriously became available again and stayed operational until this very morning at 06:00 when it went off and has stayed off; phone and text are working fine still. O2 say engineering are still investigating If this was landline you’d at least be able to speak with.the engineer, as it is the service provider is so disconnected from their support there’s no updates flowing. Poor show O2.
 
To the best of my knowledge, o2 and Vodafone share radio infrastructure, not core network infrastructure.


What the SIM can do is down to what (in my day as an Orange Engineer) would have been the Home Location Register, which I think is replaced by the Home Location Server (I’ve been out of mobile telecoms for about 6 years). This carries the details of voice services, data services and also the SIMs last known location on the network.

control of the device would be down to the Equipment Identity Register, which can block a device from connecting to the network if it is blacklisted, regardless of the status of the SIM.

HLR/HLS and EIR are owned and operated by each provider, so I don’t think Vodafone are interfering here, nor EE for that matter.
 
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Just my paranoia I guess. Interesting the service came back a week ago and disappeared again at 06:00 today. Something weird, when it was back, the upload speed was greater than the download speed ! Frustrating thing is O2 seem so detached from engineering so there’s no clue as to what is being investigated. Thanks for your clarification though.
 
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Just my paranoia I guess. Interesting the service came back a week ago and disappeared again at 06:00 today. Something weird, when it was back, the upload speed was greater than the download speed ! Frustrating thing is O2 seem so detached from engineering so there’s no clue as to what is being investigated. Thanks for your clarification though.

This is the issue we had with 02 3G in Malvern for over a decade, upload speed 3-5 times higher than download speed - yet 02 insists there is nothing wrong.

it is definitely an issue with their control systems, but they seem completely uninterested in fixing it.
 
I was playing around with my 4G router using Three and Vodafone sims, each time I put the Three sim in it worked flawlessly with no input required from me, everytime I put the Vodafone sim in I had to go into setup and select the Voda PAYG APN to get any data to download, it would not budge from the Three APN without intervention.
 
Yeah very weird data was lost after switching SiMs, but even stranger it came back without O2 knowing, then shortly after me telling them it was back, it went off again. You’d think this was an easy technical challenge to fix.
 
Well here is what I hope is the the closing update. Service is back OTA as of late last Sunday evening. It’s been operating consistently at 30mbiit/s since then. According to O2 this was an ‘account’ error, ultimately resolved by ‘removing’ the account from the network and reactivating 24 hours later. Makes no sense to me, even less so why it took so long, but however it was archived, my thanks to O2 for restoring the service, even if it did take 16 weeks. I guess the lesson learnt is to persist and stay polite.

Btw, in the interim, the ombudsman service found in favor of o2 and did not uphold my complaint; ironic eh ?
 
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