No 4G only H+

[oldun]

My wife and I both have Galaxy S8 phones using the Three Mobile UK network. Until a few days ago
we have not had any non-minor problems with either phones.

We have just returned from an overseas holiday and made use of the Three Mobiles facility to use our free minutes and free data whilst in several overseas countries. We had no problem using the phones to peak to family at home or to use internet access.

We returned home on Monday but ever since returning we have been unable to fully use the phones as it is always connected to the network via H+ and not 4G.

Under settings/about phone/status/sim card status I am informed that the phone is on 3, it is connected to the mobile network, it is in service, signal strength is -89 dBm, mobile voice network is UMTS and mobile data network is HSUPA.

Under settings/connection/mobile networks I find that VoLTE calls are on, Network mode is selected from LTE/3G/2G/Auto and that the carrier is 3.

Why can I not get 4G as I used to before I went on holiday?

Many thanks and best wishes to you all - take care

 

[oldun]

Addendum.

I see that the 3 mobile coverage in St Neots if pretty poor and that some 3rd party websites say that it only has 4G coverage outdoors.

Are out problems purely down to poor service?

 

[Hadron]

It could well just be poor signal, from what you've said. Given that both phones are affected it's very unlikely to be a fault with the phone software, hardware or SIM. Which leaves their systems (a foul-up in your contract settings that excludes you from using 4G data - if they even have such a setting) or their network (poor coverage, which might have changed while you were away if there was a fault or a change to a nearby transmitter).

Have you spoken to 3 about it?

 

[svim]

Taking into consideration neither of you were having any problems before your trip and things only started to be a problem after you came back home, maybe there's just some configuration setting that became corrupted that's affecting your connectivity since you came back. If it's just some cellular network glitch, try looking in your Settings menu for a 'Network settings reset' option.
https://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Network-Settings-on-Android
Keep in mind this will wipe all network-related settings and return them to their defaults, so things like saved WiFi networks and saved Bluetooth pairings get deleted too, It's a 'Factory Reset' for network issues, something to use a last resort option. But this won't affect any of your saved data and personal files/docs, again it's just network-related config/settings files that get cleared out. If you would rather not want to try this (i.e. there are passwords held in your saved WiFi networks that would be a problem to re-enter), try contacting Three and to manually re-enter the necessary APN settings in your phones.

 

[oldun]

Taking into consideration neither of you were having any problems before your trip and things only started to be a problem after you came back home, maybe there's just some configuration setting that became corrupted that's affecting your connectivity since you came back. If it's just some cellular network glitch, try looking in your Settings menu for a 'Network settings reset' option.
https://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Network-Settings-on-Android
Keep in mind this will wipe all network-related settings and return them to their defaults, so things like saved WiFi networks and saved Bluetooth pairings get deleted too, It's a 'Factory Reset' for network issues, something to use a last resort option. But this won't affect any of your saved data and personal files/docs, again it's just network-related config/settings files that get cleared out. If you would rather not want to try this (i.e. there are passwords held in your saved WiFi networks that would be a problem to re-enter), try contacting Three and to manually re-enter the necessary APN settings in your phones.

 

[oldun]

Many thanks for your helpful replies.

I have tried a network reset without any noticeable improvement.

I will try and contact 3 UK but under the present circumstances I don't hold out any hope of a reply or resolution.

 

[svim]

Don't be too discouraged. Things were apparently working well before your trip, a brief absence should not result in something they won't be able to fix for you. They're a major cellular service and both of you have big brand name phones with a solid history.

 

[oldun]

I seem to overcome the problem.

I have searched the net extensively and tried many "solutions" always unsuccessfully until last night.

I put the phone into aeroplane mode, turned it off, left it for about 5 minutes, turned it back on and then turned off aeroplane mode and it worked.

So9 many thanks to you all for your help and support and best wishes to you all .