I upgraded my HTC Thunderbolt to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) some time ago... maybe back in November. Since the update, I've noticed a few issues that were not present with Froyo. Most notably, WiFi performance is horribly degraded. Previously, I was able to connect to my home router with no issues, as well as the router at my workplace with good signal strength. Additionally, I was always picking up Xfinity (Comcast) Wifi hotspots, which all have the same SSID and utilize my login info, so devices see them all as the same known/saved network; I was pleasantly surprised to find my Thunderbolt connected to Wifi frequently around town.
Since the update to Gingerbread, however, I would go so far as to say that the Wifi feature of the phone is "unsuable." I cannot connect to my workplace router (which is only 2 cubicles over, our office only has 12 employees), and I cannot connect to my home router unless I'm within 10 feet of it; and when I DO connect, the signal strength meter indicates a very weak signal. My workplace is barely within range of 1 or 2 other wifi networks since we own the entire building and are not immediately adjacent to other homes or businesses; this makes a good case for interference from other 2.4GHz sources NOT being the issue (since the TB does not have a 5GHz radio, those networks do not apply).
A secondary issue is decreased performance in areas of low 3G signal strength. There are two locations in particular -- a friend's house and my parents' house -- where I visit frequently and have historically had poor Verizon 3G signal strength. Previously, my phone operated fine with 1-3 bars of 3G service in these areas. Now, I find that the phone sometimes gets into behavior where neither 1X nor 3G is displayed next to the signal meter, and there is no data connectivity. Sometimes, if I force the phone's radio into 1X-only mode (using a third party app called "LTEOnOff"), I am able to maintain a 1X connection in these areas. Other times, 3G will work; yet other times, NOTHING will give me a data connection. The behavior is very inconsistent with Gingerbread.
The Wifi issue seems to be a "known" issue on various Android and HTC discussion forums. I would like to maintain my phone's warranty etc and avoid flashing a third-party ROM or rooting the phone, which has been the only solution I've found thus far. I have not yet heard back from HTC's customer service, which I expect will give me a canned response telling me to power-cycle my phone, pull the battery, etc. I am an electrical engineer, so you may assume that I've done all the obvious things (power cycle, battery pull, SIM card pull, clear data cache...)
Thanks in advance.
