awful data coverage

[vernacolosi]

For the past year or so my o2 coverage has been awful, it's noticeable as soon as I leave the house and there doesn't seem to be any reason for it. I've checked my coverage on the map, and my area is apparently fine. But as soon as I disconnect from my home wifi and have to use my data, I can't load videos, I can't load instant messaging apps, and I don't receive notifications until hours later. And it's been like this for ages.

Any help would be appreciated! I'm paying monthly for unlimited data, but it's been feeling very, very limited because I can't use it!

[Bambino]

@vernacolosi The coverage maps are only a computer estimate.

See if anything in these guides help you:

How can I sort out my network issues? - o2uk

Why do I have poor coverage indoors? (o2.co.uk)

Report your issue here: My Network App - Find Out More About Your Network Coverage | Apps | O2

[Enlli]

Coverage maps show predicted signal strength and not the quality of data.

Your phone cable have 1 bar and excellent data or full bars and unusable data, usually down to lack of bandwidth and congestion 

[japitts]

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@vernacolosi wrote:

For the past year or so my o2 coverage has been awful, it's noticeable as soon as I leave the house and there doesn't seem to be any reason for it.

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The reason is very likely, insufficient capacity on your serving site for the amount of users connected to it. Whether that is down to a temporary fault, or capacity increases not keeping up with demand, depends on each circumstance. There will always be local variations, but nationally - O2 consistently rates as the poorest network for data performance amongst the big-4.

As already mentioned, the coverage map is a test of coverage - not available capacity.