VM over Vodafone network woes
 

I'm seeing lots of complaints about data speeds for customers dropping dramatically (to 3G speeds) on Virgin Mobile SIMs connecting to the Vodafone network. I thought it was just me but the majority of threads on the Mobile section of Virgin's own Community Forums are reporting the same.
I wish Virgin staff would acknowledge there's a problem for Virgin Mobile customers rather than telling us to restart phones or toggle Airplane mode on then off or clear local caches. Vodafone's coverage map just highlights that the problem is with Virgin's access to the network, not the network itself.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

You could launch a blog if you feel this way about 3G.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Ha! But I'm paying for unlimited 4G (5G if I had a newer phone) from Virgin

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

No you're not, you're paying for unlimited "Data". Your contract doesn't specify which technology they have to provide it with.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Okay, so let me rephrase that:
“I’m paying for an unlimited premium-priced service”

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

But you're not paying for a premium product. You're paying for a MVNO. There's nothing premium about Virgin Mobile's service!

Secondly, looking at Vodafone's coverage map is not a good indication of the service you will receive. There are many factors that can affect the signal between the cell tower and your phone. The only true way to tell is to get some SIM's from different networks and test the areas yourself.

Connecting to Vodafone's radio network with a Virgin SIM is no different than with a Vodafone SIM, you will receive the same signal whether it be 3G / 4G / 5G etc. The difference comes with the APN you connect to which basically hands off to Virgin's network. This is where you may get varying speeds between Vodafone and Virgin's backhaul networks, but the core mobile connection technology will remain the same.

If your phone keeps dropping down to 3G then this is most likely caused by either a problem with the local Vodafone mast or congestion in the area - both out of Virgin's control as a MVNO and as they're rightly advised.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

This ^

I think we need to better understand what the OP means by ‘3G speeds’. Does this mean the phone is reporting that it’s tuned into a 3G signal, or that it’s on 4G but getting very slow data service?

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

As a customer, I am experiencing download speeds of 3Mb or less (according to Speedtest and SpeedSmart). A year ago I had 80Mb+ consistently. Same location (my home office), same phone, same carrier. Something has changed and the only thing I can see is that Virgin is now using the Vodafone network rather than EE.
My wife’s on Three. I put her SIM in my phone and I get 80Mb+. Return the Virgin SIM and it’s back to less than 3Mb again. O2 in the area is even worse. I live in south east London, five miles from the City.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Found Vodafone to be rubbish . Strangely O2 is, great the joy of contracts , pity virgin can't break it as easily as the ones we get !

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Well, it isn’t all the same. Virgin is a virtual network. It relies on a physical cell tower provided by one of the big four - previously you were using a local EE tower and now you’re using one provided by Vodafone.

The towers are almost certainly not in the same location, they may not have the same signal strength (the bars on your phone screen are only a very rough guide), and they may not have the same capacity. You could use a website like cellmapper.net to determine which EE tower you were most likely to have been using in the past and compare it to the likely Vodafone candidates in your local area. If you were able to put your SIM in a full-on 4G modem then you would have access to a stats page that would actually give you the cell ID.

My guess is that there is a combination of less optimal cell tower location in relation to your house, and heavier utilisation of the local Vodafone tower meaning there’s less bandwidth available for you. The latter problem is an annual one for me here, as I live in a fairly remote spot that gets very full of tents and caravans in August. For most of the year I can get almost 150/50 from my EE 4G modem, but on a summer evening this can drop to 10/10 or worse.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Thanks for the explanation

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Found Vodafone to be fine, via ASDA Mobile. A lot cheaper than VMs offerings too.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

When I looked some months ago , virgin was the dearest I found . :erm:

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

It used to be the case that getting all your services from one supplier was cheaper, whether it be broadband/tv/mobile or energy suppliers. Not so sure that's the case anylonger, and companies are taking advantage of consumer apathy. If exactly the same signal from the same network , is cheaper under a different 'front end', just makes sense to go for the cheapest.

Re: VM over Vodafone network woes
 

Interesting that this should appear today:

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...umps-deal.html