GUIDES

Mast Switched Off or No Signal for Weeks: How to Check, Who to Complain To, and When You Can Walk Away

What to check, who is responsible, how the complaints route works and what Ofcom's fault guide says about money back and leaving.

Updated 2026-10-09 · 7 min read · NetScan UK

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Work out first whether the problem follows the phone everywhere or only happens in one place. One place points to the network.
Check your network's status page, but a page showing no issues is not proof. Ofcom's fault guide says to contact your provider if the fault is not listed.
Complain to the brand you pay. Ofcom says your provider is responsible even if it uses another company's network.
After six weeks unresolved, or sooner with a deadlock letter, you can use a free dispute scheme: CISAS or the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom's guide says you may have a right to leave without penalty after a long loss of service, depending on the terms of your contract. There is no fixed number of days.

A phone with no signal for a day is usually a fault that gets fixed. A phone with no signal for weeks, or one that loses signal at the same time every night, is a different problem. It may be a mast that has been taken down, a site waiting for repair, or a network switching part of its equipment off at quiet times. Your provider may not tell you which unless you ask.

This guide sets out the order to do things in: confirm it is the network and not your phone, see what the network says is happening, report it properly, and use the complaints route if nothing changes. It also covers whether you can leave without paying to get out. It is general information drawn from Ofcom's published guide to mobile phone faults and the networks' own pages, read on 9 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and your own contract decides the detail.

First, rule out your phone and SIM

Ofcom's fault guide starts with a simple question: does the problem happen in one place, or everywhere you use the phone? If it follows you everywhere, the handset or the SIM is the more likely cause. Your provider may ask you to take the SIM out and put it back, or to try it in another unlocked phone, to see which of the two is at fault.

If the phone works a few miles away and fails at home, ask a neighbour on the same network whether they see the same thing. Smaller brands use the masts of one of the four networks, so they count too. giffgaff and Tesco Mobile run on O2, SMARTY and iD Mobile on Three, VOXI and Lebara on Vodafone, and 1pMobile on EE. A neighbour on Tesco Mobile is a fair test of O2.

Check what the network says is happening

All four networks have a status page. EE's coverage page has a 'Check service status' option that asks you to log in and shows the status of your services and any planned works in your area. Vodafone has a Network status checker. O2 has a page for checking coverage and network status, with a section on network issues. Three has a Coverage and Network status checker, which it says existing customers can use to see whether maintenance is going on. If you are with a smaller brand, look at its own help pages and at the status page of the network it runs on.

A status page that shows no issues does not settle the matter. Ofcom's fault guide says that if your problem is not listed on the service checker you should contact your provider, as they might not be aware of it.

Next, look at what coverage you are supposed to have. Ofcom's Map Your Mobile checker shows whether 4G or 5G signal is predicted at a postcode, indoors and outdoors, and whether it is likely to be good or variable. Ofcom itself warns that the results may not always reflect what you receive on the ground. A coverage map is a prediction, not a live reading. If the map says you should have good signal and your phone has none, that mismatch is worth quoting to your provider.

Why a mast goes quiet

Masts are often shared between networks. When a shared structure is removed or taken out of use, more than one network can lose coverage in the same place at once, so do not assume a rival network is unaffected until you have checked it.

A signal that drops overnight and returns in the morning can be deliberate. BT Group, which owns EE, said in 2024 that it had rolled out 'cell sleep' software across EE sites, which powers down some 4G capacity at quiet times and wakes it when demand returns. If the same hours are affected every night, say so when you report it and ask whether the site has an energy saving setting.

Report it so that it counts

Your contract is with your provider. Ofcom's guide says the provider is responsible for making sure faults are fixed and for keeping you up to date, and that this holds even if it uses another company's network. So if you pay a smaller brand, complain to that brand, not to the network behind it.

Ofcom suggests telling your provider the times of day and the locations where you are affected, whether it affects calls, texts and data, and whether it is intermittent or continual. If you can, send a log of the interruptions and how long each one lasted. Ask for a fault reference, and ask how and when it will be fixed. Ofcom's guide says that where it is a network fault your provider should tell you both.

While you wait, ask whether you can make calls and send texts over WiFi. Ofcom's guide lists this as a way of staying connected while repairs are made.

If nothing changes: the complaints route

If the repair date passes, or you are unhappy with how long it is taking, use the provider's formal complaints procedure. Ofcom's guide says that if the problem is still unresolved after six weeks you can take it to an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, which is free to use. You can go sooner if you ask the provider for a 'deadlock' letter. Ofcom's page on these schemes says you must use the scheme within 12 months of that letter.

There are two schemes and every provider must belong to one. On Ofcom's list, as we read it in October 2026, O2, Three, Vodafone, SMARTY and VOXI are with CISAS, and EE, giffgaff, iD Mobile, Lebara and Tesco Mobile are with the Communications Ombudsman. Your provider will tell you which one it belongs to.

You can also tell Ofcom about the fault through its monitoring form. Ofcom says it does not investigate individual complaints, but that reports help it decide whether to look into a company.

Money back, and when you can leave

Ofcom's fault guide does not give mobile customers a fixed payment or a fixed number of days. It says that, depending on the circumstances, it may be appropriate for your provider to offer some money back while repairs are being made, and that in more extreme cases, where repairs take much longer, you may be entitled to an additional refund or account credit.

On leaving, the same guide says that if you have been without service for a while you may have the right to leave the contract without penalty, and that there may be a term in your contract saying you can do this if your provider has failed in its obligations to you or breached a key condition. So read your contract, then ask in writing whether the provider will release you without an early termination charge, quoting the fault reference and your dates.

If you are on a rolling monthly plan or past your minimum term you can simply go. Text PAC to 65075 to keep your number, or STAC to 75075 if you do not want it. Ofcom's switching guidance says the information sent with the code includes any early termination charge, so you can see the cost before you decide.

Before you move, check the new network at the same address. If the mast was shared, it may be no better.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I leave my mobile contract if I have had no signal for weeks?

Possibly. Ofcom's guide to mobile phone faults says that if you have been without service for a while you may have the right to leave without penalty, and that there may be a term in your contract allowing it if the provider has failed in its obligations or breached a key condition. It depends on your contract, so ask the provider in writing and keep the reply.

Who do I complain to if I am with giffgaff, Lebara, SMARTY or another smaller brand?

The brand you pay. Ofcom says your provider is responsible for getting faults fixed and keeping you up to date even if it uses another company's network.

The status checker says there are no problems but I have no signal. What now?

Report it anyway. Ofcom's fault guide says that if your problem is not listed on the service checker you should contact your provider, as they might not be aware of it.

Why does my signal disappear every night?

It can be deliberate. BT Group said in 2024 that it had rolled out 'cell sleep' software across EE sites that powers down some 4G capacity at quiet times. If it happens at the same hours every night, report the hours and ask your provider whether an energy saving setting is the cause.

See each network's plans

Coverage first, price second — check your postcode above, then see what the network that actually reaches you is charging.

EE plans → Vodafone plans → O2 plans → Three plans →

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you switch through one we may be paid a commission. It never changes which network we rank first - that comes from Ofcom coverage data alone.

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