Call have a delay when calling call centres

Hi there ​@GladTheImpala, sorry to hear this. For the call centres you’re calling, are they based in the UK, or outside the UK please?

If your calls work fine for regular calls to mobile numbers or even landlines, but not for call centres specifically, then thay may indicate an issue with the call centres calls themselves, and not us.

However, I’d recommend ensuring VOLTE is turned on, and also that you’re on either 4G or 5G, depending on what is best for the area you’re in. I’d also try attempting a call via Wi-Fi calling to see if this helps.

Thanks,

Tyler

These are UK calls centred of all types.

The problem usually occurs with ones that include lots of "press 1 for this, press 2 for that". I have had so many experiences of this happening, from American express (try reading out your card number when the first few digits are cut off - it's very frustrating) to much smaller firms in my local area. 

VOLTE is already enabled. The fact that multiple users have reported this makes me very suspicious that it is not the call centres or my own phone, but an underlying network issue.

I have also tried WiFi calling. This also makes no difference 

Thank you for your reply ​@GladTheImpala 

Can you please confirm the make and model of your handset?

Natalie 

Samsung S24. latest software 

Thanks ​@GladTheImpala 

Are you able to make a test call using your SIM in a different handset, just so we can rule out it being a handset issue.

Please let us know how you get on.

Thanks.

I experienced a similar issue yesterday making a call to a hospital.  I was in the queue for around 15 minutes, when there was brief period of silence before the hold music was played again.  When the team answered the call there was a noticeable delay in the voice, equivalent to the length of silence in the hold music.
It’s not the phone, because I have experienced the same effect with other calls on my previous phone and other services or even the local fish and chip shop.   
If ID mobile are able to trace the call I can supply the time and call details. 

We're also experiencing difficulties ringing various call centres. If they're not frustrating enough this is making it hell on earth to sort anything out! We've rang Very, American Express and others in the last few days and there's a constant delay between them hearing us and us hearing them. It's just a battle of can you hear me. Yes. Can you hear me!!? Then they don't get your info correct as you're being interrupted by them constantly. 

Hi ​@Jessicar92 

Is this issue only occurring when calling call centres, or are you experiencing the problem on all calls?

Michael z

Just call centres 

Hi ​@Jessicar92 

Thank you for getting in touch with us, please confirm if you have any issues so that we can assist you.

Thank you,

Zandile 

The iD Mobile Team 

This is still a problem with calling contact centres, it doesn’t matter which call centre, they all suffer voice delay. 
Have ID Mobile/Three done any investigation to discover why this problem occurs?

Hi ​@John_GW.

Thanks for your post. There’s no evidence that this is a single universal issue across all contact centres or that it’s caused by one specific fault affecting every network. Voice delay can happen for a few different reasons, and it usually depends on a mix of factors rather than one fixed problem.

In general, call quality issues like delay or lag can be caused by things such as:

Network congestion at busy times
Signal strength where the caller is located
The type of connection being used (VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, or traditional voice)
Routing between different networks or international carriers when calls are connected

Both iD Mobile and Three UK continuously monitor and investigate network performance, including voice services, to identify and resolve any issues that may affect call quality. However, because calls often travel across multiple systems and networks, pinpointing a single cause can be complex and may vary case by case.

If someone is consistently experiencing delay on calls, it’s usually worth checking:

Whether the issue happens in all locations or just specific areas
If it improves when switching between Wi-Fi calling and standard network calling
Whether other users in the same area are experiencing the same issue

Thanks,

Marquerita

The iD Mobile Team

Hi ​@Marquerita T 

Thank you for the reply.

What you have said is true regarding possible causes in general, however there is a specific issue with contact centres.  I have experienced a problem calling many different contact centres and generally avoid using my mobile phone for this purpose because it is impossible to hold a conversation with bits of the voice missing and talking over each other.

There a many reports in various forums which discuss problems talking to contact centres when using Three and MVNOs that use the same network.

I have heard that disabling WiFi calling and fixing the mobile network to 4G (disabling 5G) resolves the problem, but it’s a bit disappointing that we have to remember to do that before calling a contact centre.

In all other respects the Voice service from ID mobile is great, I don’t experience problems, it’s just something peculiar about contacting businesses that have some type of call management service.

Hi ​@John_GW.

Thank you for taking the time to come back and share this, and I’m sorry to hear you’ve experienced these issues when calling contact centres.

We do understand how frustrating it can be when call quality feels inconsistent, especially when you’re trying to have a smooth conversation. While there isn’t evidence of a single universal fault affecting all contact centres or all users, we are aware that voice performance can vary depending on a number of factors such as network conditions, routing between different systems, and the type of connection being used (for example VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, or 4G/5G).

We appreciate you also sharing the workarounds you’ve found, such as disabling Wi-Fi calling or locking to 4G, and its useful feedback that this can improve stability in some cases. We also recognise it’s not ideal for customers to have to adjust settings before making certain calls, and we’ll ensure your feedback is shared with the relevant teams for review.

We’re glad to hear that overall, your voice service experience is positive, and thank you again for highlighting this specific scenario, feedback like this helps us continue to improve.

Thanks,
Marquerita
The iD Mobile Team