Mobile data problem

[MrFoolish]

Hi

I've a strange problem with my mobile phone (Moto G6 on Tesco Mobile pay monthly).

When out and about on mobile data, only about half of the websites will load. The ones that work load almost instantly. The ones that don't work just give some generic connection failed error screen. And the BBC news app won't work either.

I took it into the Tesco shop but they were pretty clueless. They supplied me with a new SIM card but it made no difference.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

[Gerry557]

Have you done a speed check at the location where you are having the problem.

It might be a non or low signal area.

You imply WiFi is fine, it could be using cashe data to get the half you do get.

Ookla is a common speed tester

[MrFoolish]

Thanks. But ookla is another website it won't connect to via mobile data, though it's fine via wi-fi.

I don't think it can be speed related because I get the same problem wherever I go. And as I said, the websites that work load really fast.

[UncleEbenezer]

Could be that Tesco has a misconfigured proxy playing sillybuggers with you.

If you have any "safe for the kiddies" or similar mode, turn it off.

Also worth checking whether there's a DNS issue.

[pje16]

Try this link - a mobile coverage checker
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecom ... om-checker

[MrFoolish]

Could be that Tesco has a misconfigured proxy playing sillybuggers with you.

If you have any "safe for the kiddies" or similar mode, turn it off.

Also worth checking whether there's a DNS issue.

These are the sorts of things I suspect. But if there's some obscure proxy or DNS setting that needs changing then I'm no expert in such things. Maybe I'll try ringing them but I've a terrible feeling they'll ask if I've turned it off and on again....

[Midsmartin]

I've a terrible feeling they'll ask if I've turned it off and on again.

Well .. Have you tried this? I don't turn my phone off very often, and it's definitely worth a try!

Also try a different web browser to see if there is a difference. Probably not, but worth a try. Eg download chrome or Firefox as a test.

Though a poor signal is the most obvious possibility.

[MrFoolish]

Well I just did an e-chat with Tesco. Apparently my account was set for under 12s!!! They claim to have rectified this, but apparently it can take up to 24 hours to take effect. (Then I'm free to look CNN, porn, whatever... yipee!)

[Infrasonic]

Well I just did an e-chat with Tesco. Apparently my account was set for under 12s!!! They claim to have rectified this, but apparently it can take up to 24 hours to take effect. (Then I'm free to look CNN, porn, whatever... yipee!)

DNS filtering can still be useful to stop you getting large mobile ISP bills via browser hijack download sites - there's a few app/cloud options out there which are user customisable.

[MrFoolish]

Is it too much to expect the phone might have given a proper message explaining the restriction? I've been faffing around for months looking for the solution.

[Infrasonic]

Is it too much to expect the phone might have given a proper message explaining the restriction? I've been faffing around for months looking for the solution.

That's down to your ISP which is an MVNO, the DNS filtering was happening at their end on servers - not locally on the phone.

[MrFoolish]

Is it too much to expect the phone might have given a proper message explaining the restriction? I've been faffing around for months looking for the solution.

That's down to your ISP which is an MVNO, the DNS filtering was happening at their end on servers - not locally on the phone.

Yep, I get that. But they (Tesco) could have sent a replacement web page saying "Age restricted content". Or sent a text noting repeated attempts to access age restricted content. Or something.

[Infrasonic]

Is it too much to expect the phone might have given a proper message explaining the restriction? I've been faffing around for months looking for the solution.

That's down to your ISP which is an MVNO, the DNS filtering was happening at their end on servers - not locally on the phone.

Yep, I get that. But they (Tesco) could have sent a replacement web page saying "Age restricted content". Or sent a text noting repeated attempts to access age restricted content. Or something.

MVNO makes a difference - they are layering on top of the host network (O2) and are cheaper for a reason - you don't always get full network functionality (otherwise why would anyone have host network contracts?)

I always have SIM only deals direct with the networks (Three and Vodafone currently) - less room for networking comms issues - but even there they may well restrict full functionality.

Your online account should state somewhere that the DNS age filter was on/off by default.

Even with the mobile ISP apps you often have to log on to your account via a browser to change things like DNS filters - presumably to stop phone malware hacks leading to unexpected bills.

I'm not excusing the situation - it's just the reality with mobile /tech these days is it's been commoditized and differentiation is often on features v price. If you want the full fat experience you'll generally have to pay for it - which might mean a host network firmware tweaked OEM phone on a host network contract. (I've run into this issue with Three as I buy my new phones outright and have SIM only contracts).

[MrFoolish]

MVNO makes a difference - they are layering on top of the host network (O2) and are cheaper for a reason - you don't always get full network functionality (otherwise why would anyone have host network contracts?)

Yeah, well to be fair, it is pretty cheap - £7.50 per month. I'd quite like wi-fi calling but they don't provide this facility. As you say, you get what you pay for.

I checked if this age restriction is shown in my online account. I couldn't see it, but I've not spent ages looking through every menu. And I wouldn't have thought to look before today. Who'd have thought the BBC app would be age restricted content?

Oh well, it's working now. Worse things happen at sea.

[Infrasonic]

Install an Android phone browser with built in ad / dns filtering (or add ons like uBlock Origin that will do it) for general browsing and it will speed up access and reduce the chances of getting a hijack redirect to a dodgy pay site.

FF/Brave are good. Loads of comparison reviews out there covering those two and other options.

[MrFoolish]

Install an Android phone browser with built in ad / dns filtering (or add ons like uBlock Origin that will do it) for general browsing and it will speed up access and reduce the chances of getting a hijack redirect to a dodgy pay site.

FF/Brave are good. Loads of comparison reviews out there covering those two and other options.

I have FireFox installed. But my home page google search bar always takes me into chrome, which is a bit annoying. I'm sure there's a setting somewhere but life is too short...

[Infrasonic]

Install an Android phone browser with built in ad / dns filtering (or add ons like uBlock Origin that will do it) for general browsing and it will speed up access and reduce the chances of getting a hijack redirect to a dodgy pay site.

FF/Brave are good. Loads of comparison reviews out there covering those two and other options.

I have FireFox installed. But my home page google search bar always takes me into chrome, which is a bit annoying. I'm sure there's a setting somewhere but life is too short...

Chrome is probably set as the default browser. You can change that in settings or set it up to have no default browser at all and it will offer you all of the browser options each time (handy for general/specific logged in browsing). For the latter you might have to uninstall and reinstall the default browser to remove any default settings.

I run Brave/DDG search as my defaults on Android and Linux (with tor) now, having tried most of the options out there over the years.

[AF62]

Yeah, well to be fair, it is pretty cheap - £7.50 per month. I'd quite like wi-fi calling but they don't provide this facility. As you say, you get what you pay for.

That doesn’t seem cheap at all.

[MrFoolish]

Yeah, well to be fair, it is pretty cheap - £7.50 per month. I'd quite like wi-fi calling but they don't provide this facility. As you say, you get what you pay for.

That doesn’t seem cheap at all.

Is that your idea of a helpful comment?

[AF62]

Yeah, well to be fair, it is pretty cheap - £7.50 per month. I'd quite like wi-fi calling but they don't provide this facility. As you say, you get what you pay for.

That doesn’t seem cheap at all.

Is that your idea of a helpful comment?

Umm, yes.

I thought it would be helpful for you to know that £7.50 per month isn't particularly cheap and there are plenty of other operators who charge cheaper prices (and which do provide WiFi calling), so you could investigate which was suitable for you. For example I am paying EE (which does include WiFi calling) £6 per month for unlimited calls, texts and 10GB of data.

I didn't want to presume which would be suitable as you had given no indication of your needs, calling pattern, data usage, or coverage.