Bell Wireless Internet - SIM card issue

[RMar]

We use wireless at our summer property, clear access to the tower and it worked very well last summer. This year, it’s been terrible. Internet constantly drops and I have to reset both the modem and antenna multiple times before it works again, only to repeat the process over and over. I am paying over $100/month for this service and it has gone completely to the dogs. I have talked to support and have followed their instructions - unplug antennae power, wait 30 seconds, unplug modem, wait 30 seconds. Plug antenna then modem back in. I have to do this multiple times to get it to work and it goes down again indiscriminately. What is going on with this?

[BellAntgio]

Hey there @RMar, 

Welcome to the Community and thanks for your post. 

Hearing that you've already spoke to our support team and based on the troubleshooting that you've completed so far, it sounds like a technician visit is in order. 

Please let us know if you need assistance in booking a technician.

[RMar]

Technician was here this morning and swapped out the home hub 2000. Hopefully this resolves the issue. 

[RMar]

Alas. The tech swapped out the home hub 2000 (and of course the internet was up and running when he arrived), verified that signal is excellent and hoped that would resolve the issue. I was away for six days and upon arrival, the dreaded red internet light was on. I cursed a bit and rebooted modem and antenna and it came back. Lost it again that night and rebooted it four times till it came back. It was off again this morning and have not had any luck doing full reboots (waiting 30 seconds on both antenna and modem) and even a couple of factory resets. 
Is anyone out there experiencing anything similar? Neighbours have the service and do not have this issue. 

[BellPatricia]

Hi there @RMar. Thanks for getting back to us with this update.

We completely understand how frustrating this is and want to look into this further with you. 

Can you share if the red light on your modem solid, or flickering? 

If it is a solid red light, that could mean a DNS error, and if it's flickering it could mean Authentication Failure.

Looking forward to hearing from you 🙂

- Patricia

[RMar]

Solid red. The pattern seems to be in the afternoon, evening and overnight. Sometimes we get it for a day or two before it goes down. It seems hardest to reset if I lose it overnight -  my son and I reset both the antenna and modem 15 times this morning before it came back. It was working when I left, will probably be down when I return. Cust service says they have escalated my ticket and I will hear from Bell to arrange return of technician. 

[BellPatricia]

Thank you for letting us know @RMar. 

I am glad to hear that a Tech appointment is being arranged for you. 

Keep us posted on how everything goes 🙂

- Patricia

[RMar · Accepted solution]

Three tech visits later, the initial tech who installed it swapped out the Bell dish/hub/thingy and said it was a SIM card issue. Seems to have resolved the issue, but kept me more or less out of commission for a couple of months. Will be contacting the billing office to request a further credit on services. One other note, I notice new subscribers get 450gb of high speed before being throttled down whereas I still only have 350gb. What’s the deal here?

[BellPatricia]

Hey @RMar.

Thanks a lot for the update. We're happy to to hear that your service has been restored.

If you are interested in adding additional usage, you can modify your Internet/usage plan right in MyBell

Have a nice day 🙂

- Patricia

[DoJo]

So I understand (as per Bell) that there is a problem with the tower in my area and this has been ongoing since June 6 2022. Personally I think it has been ongoing long before that. There is no estimate as to when it will be fixed. We should be getting free internet until they get it fixed. Tech support is useless, I spend atleast an hour every month on the phone with Bell. This month it's 4 hrs, over 3 hrs on June 10 because nothing was working and they didn't know what to do to fix it. Transferred 5 times just for my satellite TV. 

[BellPatricia]

Hey there @DoJo. Thanks for reaching out to the Bell Community.

Glad to know that you have spoken with the technical team regarding this. Did they advise you if a ticket has been opened? 

- Patricia

[DCGU3]

I have this exact same problem. I use Wireless Home Internet at my summer place outside  Hamilton, Ontario and as of late the internet keeps dropping. I use it for work during the week and when in on Zoom calls it just drops. Have to reboot. Or sometimes it comes back. Or when I show up the red solid light is on. Have to reboot. Apparently as per Bell Support there is an Ontario wide issue with this type of internet and no timline for resolution. I pay $100 for this?

Anyone have experience with Starlink? Should I switch? I worry that bad weather conditions would cause the same thing. It's fine if internet dips a bit during normal work but no so good when you are on a Zoom call with the president of the company. 

Any advice on Starlink would be great. 

[RMar]

my problem was resolved when they replaced the outside antenna. It had good signal but apparently it was a SIM card issue. It took a long time to resolve and more than a few service calls until one of the techs knew to replace the antenna/dish. Call their billing department and get a credit for the months you had the issue. 

[Oriana]

I felt compelled to come here to talk about how badly the lack of internet is affecting me financially.

I live in a rural house that only has wireless/turbo hub internet. Have been here for 11 yrs. and have worked from home the whole time. Internet isn’t great, averages 100kbs during the day, but I manage. Larger files are uploaded/downloaded late at night.

I’m a freelancer, so work comes and goes, and money is extremely tight at the moment. I have regular clients, and the nature of my work requires that I be connected all day to carry out tasks.

For almost two weeks now, I’ve had zero internet during the day. Can’t even send an email, disconnected 98% of the time. Tried everything on my end I could possibly think of, including changing browser/computer settings, etc. Noticed that the internet works fine late at night, so it’s obvious the issue is congestion. Spoke to the technical specialist, who agreed it is congestion.

So the question is, how do I work? Deadlines are very important and clients can’t always wait 24 hrs. for their projects.

I’ve been offered a great work opportunity for the month of August that I’ll have to turn down. My regular clients are growing frustrated. I have an important deadline for a particular project in August that needs full attention during the day – I don’t think it will be possible, and there is no one to replace me.

In 11 yrs, it’s never been this like. I can’t just pack up my PC and extra monitor and sit in the library all day. I’ve been tossed out to sea without a lifeboat. Panic is an understatement. I’m just at a loss as to how I’m going to survive. And how long is this going to last? Weeks, months?

And there is no help. And Bell will expect me to pay my bill.

[dks]

Thank you for your concern. I appreciate your frustration. Rural internet is often a challenge. I have a family member who does your kind of work and has a similar frustration. 

Unfortunately, slow rural internet is a reality. Do you have Wireless Home Internet or a cellular modem? If you have WHI, make sure there are no trees or leaves blocking your antenna and the line of sight to the Bell tower.

Second, make sure your WHI antenna is as high as possible to receive the best signal. A cellular tower map can make sure your antenna is pointed in the right direction. Wind or time may have misaligned your antenna. 

If you have a cellular modem, a cellular repeater may help amplify the signal. I have used Uniden cellular amplifier devices with success in rural areas. The cost should also be a business expense. 

Not much I can say about crowded internet, as that is a function of the number of users. That’s a technical question beyond the scope of the forum.

I hope this has been of some help.