The Lemon Fool

Oh good! Having the mobile back means it is available to help with tests now the landline is on the blink again.

This evening, Wednesday: "Good news. We've fixed your network issue, so you should be back up and running." - And the O2 status Monitor agrees.

I already knew this from around this morning, when my mobile was showing O2 service had returned.

What is curious is, like the previous occasion, the signal doesn't seem to suddenly switch on, it starts to grow in strength over a couple of days until it returns to normal. This time it took around 12 days to fix, last time 10 days. It seems to have been fixed over the days since last weekend.

I am getting the impression they take no action with a faulty base station for a week (seeing if it self corrects?) and only intervene if after that time it still isn't working.

Hah!

Had a couple of text messages direct from O2 today, requesting my thoughts on "how we handled the network issue...". Think I'll let them know.

...And it's crapping out AGAIN!!!!!

"Sorry a phone mast close to you isn't working

This means you might experience problems making calls, using the internet, or sending/receiving emails."

Special phone, one of those with twin SIMs?

Anyone know where I can get a cheap satellite phone?

This time service seems to have been restored far quicker than the 2 - 3 weeks I have come to expect, signal returning around 10am this morning. Though, once again, currently the O2 Status site is still reporting a fault with the mast.

Curiously, timewise it seems in line with this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47562281

But, as I cannot see any possible connection, surely it must be a coincidence? Though I noticed this in the BBC article:

"The issue also affected Facebook Workplace, the service used by businesses to communicate internally."

The original failure last year seemed to happen around the time of the O2 'data network failure'.

facebook thing a total coincidence.

I have a few contacts 'in the business' so if you want to PM me yr postcode (or street name) I can ask if there is a specific problem. Obviously I will treat as confidential.

Are you 100% sure it's not a phone issue? I think you mentioned 'upthread' you have an old 2G only phone

Aha!

No, it's not fixed yet...

This morning I thought I'd do some detective work to confirm what I believe is my local mast when at home. I know where the suspect base station is but not the exact line of sight(?) from where I live. So I set out, using my trusty Nokia 1100 as a crude scanner device, advancing on its location through the local roads. I came to a road that was near its location and, from building work going on near my home which I could spot through a gap in the houses, not far from in line with my home. I still couldn't see the mast but spotting the opening to a nearby close, leading in the direction of the suspect, I went in that direction and entered the close. Yes, now I could plainly see the top of the base station ahead of me, sticking up about eye level, in lower lying land.

What do I see? Two riggers working up the mast just below the aerials. Now I'm sure that is 'my' home base station.

XFool wrote:Aha!

No, it's not fixed yet...

This morning I thought I'd do some detective work to confirm what I believe is my local mast when at home. I know where the suspect base station is but not the exact line of sight(?) from where I live. So I set out, using my trusty Nokia 1100 as a crude scanner device, advancing on its location through the local roads. I came to a road that was near its location and, from building work going on near my home which I could spot through a gap in the houses, not far from in line with my home. I still couldn't see the mast but spotting the opening to a nearby close, leading in the direction of the suspect, I went in that direction and entered the close. Yes, now I could plainly see the top of the base station ahead of me, sticking up about eye level, in lower lying land.

What do I see? Two riggers working up the mast just below the aerials. Now I'm sure that is 'my' home base station.

Much easier to just put your postcode in here https://www.mastdata.com/

Slarti

Slarti wrote:

XFool wrote:Aha!

No, it's not fixed yet...

This morning I thought I'd do some detective work to confirm what I believe is my local mast when at home. I know where the suspect base station is but not the exact line of sight(?) from where I live. So I set out, using my trusty Nokia 1100 as a crude scanner device, advancing on its location through the local roads. I came to a road that was near its location and, from building work going on near my home which I could spot through a gap in the houses, not far from in line with my home. I still couldn't see the mast but spotting the opening to a nearby close, leading in the direction of the suspect, I went in that direction and entered the close. Yes, now I could plainly see the top of the base station ahead of me, sticking up about eye level, in lower lying land.

What do I see? Two riggers working up the mast just below the aerials. Now I'm sure that is 'my' home base station.

Much easier to just put your postcode in here https://www.mastdata.com/

Slarti

But . . . where's the thrill of the chase?

Watis

Watis wrote:But . . . where's the thrill of the chase?

In this weather, you can keep it!

Slarti

Slarti wrote:Much easier to just put your postcode in here https://www.mastdata.com/

Slarti

Yeah? But then you have to decide which one. (Mast, not postcode)

BTW I am fully aware of mastdata.com. As AleisterCrowley will know.

If you have test mode on your antique phone you can see what your current 'best server' is (obviously only stuff that is on air) ,
It will show cell id rather than site number, but the LAC/cell ID combination is unique to a site (the LAC defines a cell cluster for paging purposes)

AleisterCrowley wrote:If you have test mode on your antique phone you can see what your current 'best server' is (obviously only stuff that is on air) ,
It will show cell id rather than site number, but the LAC/cell ID combination is unique to a site (the LAC defines a cell cluster for paging purposes)

No chance! Only shows available service providers on a manual 'Network selection' (scan). There is a 'Cell info display' mode, which is ON, but I cannot see any more detail. Possibly depends on the capabilities of the installed SIM?

Anyway, I have identified the relevant base station to my satisfaction, as detailed in my PM.

BTW. Currently, service seems to have been restored. OTOH - it has proved temporary in the immediate past!

But, in this morning's email:

Good news. We've fixed your network issue, so you should be back up and running.
If you experience any further problems, please visit http://status.o2.co.uk

Cell info display is something different
Test mode (engineering mode/field test) is usually hidden.
on my old 6110 i had to key in some long code to access it (looked like #*#*1234567*#*#) a Google may find the relevant code IF it's available on your phone

AleisterCrowley wrote:Cell info display is something different
Test mode (engineering mode/field test) is usually hidden.
on my old 6110 i had to key in some long code to access it (looked like #*#*1234567*#*#) a Google may find the relevant code IF it's available on your phone

Um... The frequently ungrammatical online posts don't fill me with confidence. It sounds a bit risky, I think I'll give that a miss.

Oh go on, , its unlikely to kill your phone. And if it does,its a good excuse to buy a new one with 3G/4G

BTW I pm'd you the details of the phone mast.

Nothing in my inbox xfool, and it's 'only' 86% full

Oh. I wonder whatever happened to that? There is no sign of it in my sent mailbox either.

I don't think I'm going to go through that all over again now, sorry. Maybe next time?

Feel free to pm me if you have any issues in the future. I can't guarantee a rapid resolution, but may be able to find out what's going on.
Alternatively, pop into an O2 shop and have a word. The staff are normally very good

It managed to last 5 months this time!

Failed some time yesterday. I now use this thread as a diary of my O2 local mast failures.

Just got a text message, but not time to get excited as this happens because a weak signal comes and goes. I have already registered for email updates, so just a question of hanging around as usual to see how long it takes before proper service is restored.

Why IS my local mast so unreliable?