Very poor indoor signal at home

[abdulhaseeb2000]

hi everybody, overall my experience with SMARTY is quite good especially with the 5G. However, I am facing very weak or non-existent indoor signal. I have unlimited data which I intend to use at home as well, but it is so useless that I can’t even do anything and speeds  are in kilobytes. I have complained multiple times to the Customer Services team, but they keep saying that there is some unplanned maintenance. However, this has been going on for the last few months. I have tried all the techniques like resetting my phone, resetting network, settings, et cetera. The customer service team is not helpful, at least they should offer me some sort of discount For the fact that I am not able to use the services in My Home. 

[MSF]

When you go outside your home, the signal is good?

This may just be due to something in the construction of your home e.g. steel beams. It may be worth seeing if you get a better signal in another part of your home.

If the signal is in fact fine just outside, there may not be anything that Smarty can do to help. You could possibly look into some kind of signal amplifier that you would need to buy.

[GaryJ]

All Smarty plans include 'wifi calling' so makes sure it's enabled on your phone.

Then when at home enable 'aeroplane mode' which will effectively turn off the sim, then re-enable just the wifi.  This will give you wifi calling, incoming and out going calls work via your number just the same.

[ValTate_1722644]

where do I find Wi-fi calling I've got a Samsung Galaxy S20

[MSF]

Direct from Samsung as follows:

Using Quick Settings Panel

1 Swipe down to access your Quick Settings and tap on. ...

2 Tap on the word Wi-Fi to view available Wi-Fi networks.

3 Select your Wi-Fi network.

4 Enter the Password then tap Connect.

1 Head into your Settings > Connections.

2 Toggle on the switch to turn on Wi-Fi then tap again to view more settings.

[Jacy]

The signal is the same outside 1 bar, not very strong at alll. Also conversation breaks up. Also out and about signal poor. May get 2 if 4G

[Wardysays]

My work building is the same. I’m in Sheffield city centre, 5G fast internet everywhere but inside work the signal is one bar none existent. Everyone as work is the same, Vodafone, O2, EE etc. 

Apparently it due to the way tye building is built. Shame really as that’s where I want to use it cellular on my iPad the most away from the works wifi network.

[HelenAll_707395]

I have the exact same problem i get a shocking signal and it drops out completely mid phonecall  but my Husband who is on a different network has no issue so it cant be the building 

i'm going to change network and see if i can get better signal i've lived here 14 years and its never been an issue before and  i also cant get my mobile data to activate when away from home wifi its a right pain ,time to ditch smarty i think 😞

[MSF]

As @jonnyphone says, it may be due to where the mast is, so it could be due to where the building is in relation to the mast for Smarty. Your husband may receive signal from a different mast.

It seems that there's always a 'dead' spot somewhere for somebody on some network.

[jonnyphone]

All mobile signals are reduced when you go indoors, this is the nature of radiowaves. The difference might depend on how far away the nearest mast is, and what frequency bands it has on it. On iPhone you can dial *3001#12345#* to enter field test mode and look under RAT serving cell info - under here the band number will be listed. Three have the following possibilities available (in order of lowest to highest frequency):

band 28 (700MHz) : 4G (10MHz Down 10MHz Up)
band 20 (800MHz) : 4G (5MHz Down 5MHz Up)
band 3 (1800MHz) : 4G (15MHz Down 15MHz Up)
band 1 (2100MHz) : 3G (5MHz Down 5MHz Down) + 4G (10MHz Down 10MHz Up)

-Band 28 works the best indoors but isn’t available everywhere, as this was only auctioned in 2021, and requires one of their newer sites, typically available in the same places as 5G. Rollout ahead of other networks, so if you’re lucky to live near a newer three mast you should get decent indoor coverage.
-Band20 was acquired by three around 2013, and also works indoors well, particularly since the power increase since 2022, however three (like EE) have limited capacity on this band, and is mostly used for VoLTE. Rollout is quite substantial, but some sites may still not have this band. 
-Band 3 is the most common 4G band on three and provides the bulk of 4G bandwidth and has reasonable coverage indoors where the mast is not too far away
-Band 1 originally used to be all 3G but in all cases I’ve seen, it now serves 4G and 3G (soon to become all 4G), this provides additional 4G capacity but does not generally have good indoor coverage.

It’s important to note, not all mobile masts are made equal as they are installed at various points in time under various agreements sometimes with other operators, and all mobile operators share the same challenge of balancing mast density and spectrum deployment to provide coverage indoors.

[jonnyphone]

Just updating my previous wiki with more recent information:

Current Band1 Configuration:
band 1 (2100MHz) : 3G/UMTS (4.8MHz Down 4.8MHz Down) + 4G/LTE (10MHz Down 10MHz Up)
OR (interim configuration on some 5G capable sites):
band 1 (2100MHz) : 3G/UMTS (4.8MHz Down 4.8MHz Down) + 5G/NR (10MHz Down 10MHz Up)

-Band 1 originally used to be all 3G, and was the first band Three way back to launch their network in 2003. 2/3 of this spectrum was previously refarmed to 4G/LTE whilst maintaining 1/2 3G, but the LTE portion is now being further refarmed to 5G/NR on newer sites which have 5G equipment.

After the 3G switch off, all of threes spectrum on band1 will become 5G/NR on a site with 5G equipment (gNB):
band 1 (2100MHz) : 5G/NR (15MHz Down 15MHz Up)

I believe three have chosen this band because
- it works very well with n78 to boost upload speeds in NR CA (for handsets that support FDD + TDD NR CA)
- cross-site and cross-RAT interference (interference between a band1 LTE mast and a band1 NR mast) can be managed well with power levels. 
- many handsets are now 5G capable and when in range of band1/3, are usually are also capable of picking up n78 5G from the same site, meaning band1 LTE becomes underutilised, and therefore it no longer makes sense to keep this in an LTE configuration.
-Three may also deploy 5G solely on this band on more rural / less loaded sites, since it provides reasonable performance on its own.

Other operators are doing something similar, 2024 is turning out to be quite good news for mobile coverage and performance. 

* All the above information is formulated based on my own scans of the network in recent months and observing and analysing patterns in changes on different types of sites. I don't have any inside information from Three and plans could also change. I also work in the telco industry with extensive knowledge in frequency planning and RAN deployment. 

[AfshanB_1907115]

Hi have you tried putting your SIM in another phone, and see if that help.

[craigsmart123]

Mine is the same, constantly dropping the mobile signal. Cant do anything using the data because it keeps going off. Im considering switching networks

[Chalkychap]

I guess no mobile network is going to be decent to use everywhere, due to the many factors that can affect transmission and reception of radio waves.

If the main problem is signal reception indoors at home, then the best option is to use your home Wi-Fi network wherever possible for data, and your network operator's WiFi Calling service for calls and texts.

[robertc_1090525]

Of course the 'use wifi calling' is Ok if you have a non mobile Wifi connection. With Smarty as the wifi connection as well that doesn't overcome the poor signal indoors issue. I am going to see if the 3 signal booster will also boost the smarty signal as it shares that network.......unsure if there is any electrical wizardry that only works with a 3 sim ? any views??

[DJHammy]

Gutted as we've only just come over from o2 yesterday but quickly discovered theres no phone and data signal either in or out of the house. Couldn't even sign in when Smarty sent a verification code as there's no signal for the text. Luckily there was an email option. Worked fine in town earlier when shopping but couldn't get a signal at all whilst walking the length of our road. I checked the coverage on the smarty web site before signing up which said full signal in and out in so162ja. Chat said it will all sort itself but I cant see how if the phone, text and data was fine earlier when alway from this area. Alas Wifi calling not available on my Motorola G7 power.  All it says is emergency calls only which at least means if the worst happens we have an option. 

[MSF]

@DJHammy  Did you check Coverage and Network Stats for your area before moving to Smarty?

Perhaps your area has poor signal - not a lot can be done really.

[Chalkychap]

Unfortunately @abdulhaseeb2000, the online coverage checker only shows you a theoretical prediction of the mobile signal you might get, at any given location. 

The SMARTY coverage checker has the following below the results: 

Although we try to make these coverage results as accurate as possible, the information is only a guide. It doesn't guarantee availability in a particular location. The roll out plans are updated regularly and may change over time.

Sounds like O2 was better option for you at your home, @abdulhaseeb2000.