1 reviews | Active since Jul 2012
Vodacom LTE/5G fault unresolved 7 days — eNodeB 922261 Vredenburg — MCS 0 with SINR 19.5, tickets closed inaccurately
I have been experiencing severe and persistent LTE/5G network instability from eNodeB 922261 in Vredenburg, Western Cape for over a week now, with no resolution in sight.
The core issue is my Downlink MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) repeatedly collapsing to MCS 0 — the lowest possible value — despite SINR readings of 10–23, which are well within acceptable range. This is a tower-side scheduler fault and has been extensively documented with timestamped signal logs taken directly from my router's diagnostic interface.
I have called Vodacom support every single day this week. Every service request has been closed with a note stating that I confirmed the line was fine. This is inaccurate. The first technician I spoke to said he would "monitor" the situation because the line appeared stable during our call — however the instability is intermittent and the underlying MCS problem persists throughout the day. Closing tickets on this basis is unacceptable.
As of today (13 June 2026), the situation has deteriorated further, not improved.
Key evidence: • DL MCS collapsed from 22 to 0 within 60 seconds (14:49 to 14:50) while SINR remained stable at 10.5–11.0 — signal quality did not change, scheduler did • Upload latency confirmed at 971ms via Speedtest while upload speed reads 32Mbps — classic packet queuing/prioritisation fault on the uplink • Constant cell hopping between E129525, E12951F, and E129552 on the same eNodeB causing mid-session drops • Fault confirmed across both 4G-only and 5G NSA modes, ruling out device or configuration issues • All customer-side variables have been optimised (MTU 1420, DNS 1.1.1.1, router repositioned) As of 12 June 2026 (one week after the initial fault log), the situation has worsened further. The router has dropped off 5G entirely and is now running on 4G only. A waveform bufferbloat test conducted at 10:52 this morning confirmed an F grade, with latency increasing by +403ms under download load and +258ms under upload load. Critically, router diagnostics at the same time show SINR of 19.5 and CQI of 14 — excellent signal — yet Downlink MCS is still reading 0. This confirms the fault is not signal-related and has not been resolved. It has deteriorated.
A formal fault report was submitted to Vodacom on 7 June 2026 with full signal logs, technical analysis, and a specific request for Vodacom Network Engineering to investigate the downlink scheduler on eNodeB 922261.
I am requesting urgent escalation to Vodacom Network Engineering — not a repeat of frontline call centre scripted responses, and not another ticket closure stating the customer said the line was fine. The fault is real, it is documented, and it has now been ongoing for over a week with no meaningful resolution.
Router: ZLT X25 MAX2 | APN: lte.vodacom.za | eNodeB: 922261 | Location: Vredenburg, Western Cape
Despite being connected to 5G NSA with three carrier bands aggregated (Band 3+8+1), strong signal indicators (RSRP -96, SINR 7.0, CQI 10), and a confirmed unrestricted APN, my Downlink MCS consistently collapses to 0 — resulting in download speeds as low as 2.5 Mbps. This is a tower-side scheduler fault, not a device or configuration issue, as all client-side signal quality metrics are healthy.
This fault has been documented, logged with technical evidence, and escalated to Vodacom technical support on multiple occasions. Each time, the issue temporarily resolves and then returns — indicating the root cause on the eNodeB has never been properly addressed.
The most recent feedback received from Vodacom stated: "There seems to have been an issue with the 5G performance on the site from the 10th but it seems to be processing better now." I am not sure if this is a joke, or if someone thinks this is a joke, or if they are simply not aware of the ongoing tower issues in this area — but speculating that performance has improved based on facts that are not present is not an acceptable resolution. As of 2026-06-13 at 18:07, the fault is still active and download speeds are still sitting at ±2.5 Mbps.
I am paying for a 5G service and am consistently being throttled to unusable speeds due to a known, unresolved infrastructure fault on Vodacom's side. I am requesting urgent escalation to Vodacom's network engineering team for a permanent fix to the scheduler configuration on eNodeB 922261.
Date/Time of latest incident: 2026-06-13 at 18:07
Location: Vredenburg, Western Cape
eNodeB ID: 922261
Downlink MCS at time of fault: 0
Actual download speed: ±2.5 Mbps
Despite being connected to 5G NSA with three carrier bands aggregated (Band 3+8+1), strong signal indicators (RSRP -96, SINR 7.0, CQI 10), and a confirmed unrestricted APN, my Downlink MCS consistently collapses to 0 — resulting in download speeds as low as 2.5 Mbps. This is a tower-side scheduler fault, not a device or configuration issue, as all client-side signal quality metrics are healthy.
This fault has been documented, logged with technical evidence, and escalated to Vodacom technical support on multiple occasions. Each time, the issue temporarily resolves and then returns — indicating the root cause on the eNodeB has never been properly addressed.
The most recent feedback received from Vodacom stated: "There seems to have been an issue with the 5G performance on the site from the 10th but it seems to be processing better now." I am not sure if this is a joke, or if someone thinks this is a joke, or if they are simply not aware of the ongoing tower issues in this area — but speculating that performance has improved based on facts that are not present is not an acceptable resolution. As of 2026-06-13 at 18:07, the fault is still active and download speeds are still sitting at ±2.5 Mbps.
I am paying for a 5G service and am consistently being throttled to unusable speeds due to a known, unresolved infrastructure fault on Vodacom's side. I am requesting urgent escalation to Vodacom's network engineering team for a permanent fix to the scheduler configuration on eNodeB 922261.
Date/Time of latest incident: 2026-06-13 at 18:07
Location: Vredenburg, Western Cape
eNodeB ID: 922261
Downlink MCS at time of fault: 0
Actual download speed: ±2.5 Mbps
- lte.vodacom.za APN: Downlink MCS 15 (Band 41), Uplink MCS 30
- unrestricted APN: Downlink MCS 3 (Band 41), Uplink MCS 0
- Signal quality identical in both tests (RSRP -76/-95, SINR 14-17, same eNodeB/PCI) — meaning the scheduler fault is reproducible and not explained by my signal, device, or location
- lte.vodacom.za APN: Downlink MCS 15 (Band 41), Uplink MCS 30
- unrestricted APN: Downlink MCS 3 (Band 41), Uplink MCS 0
- Signal quality identical in both tests (RSRP -76/-95, SINR 14-17, same eNodeB/PCI) — meaning the scheduler fault is reproducible and not explained by my signal, device, or location