Child Item

Site Totals

61367 Questions Answered 267 Categories

Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on

My Tbolt won't stay in 4G mode. It will do fine for a few days, and then drop to 3G, or sometimes 1x, and occasionally, nothing. I'm right in the middle of OKC where there is great 4G coverage. My wife also has a TBolt, and hers is locked solid to 4G at 20Mbps, while mine won't even acknowledge 4G's existence. Same thing when comparing it to 2 other people at work with Tbolts. After an undetermined amount of time, I'll look at it, and its back to 4g.

I have LTEOnOff, and I've tried toggling between CDMA only/LTE mode/CDMA +LTE/EvDoAuto, but it doesn't help. I've tried toggling in and out of Airplane mode - no help.

When I started typing this, it was in 3g. Now it's showing nothing.

Verizon's attempted explanation is that I'm probably on the edge of 4g/3g, but I can't accept that when other's phones don't have this problem right next to mine.

Are there any solutions, other than to get my phone warrantied out?

Now it's on 1x. :< My wife's is on 4g.

Comments

pat3332

There is at least one other thread here about this problem.

http://community.vzw.com/t5/ThunderBolt-by-HTC/Reduced-Radio-and-4G-Data-Reception-Post-Update/td-p/596524

I've seen threads mentioning the same problem on other forums. I also don't believe it has anything to to with location since I tether my laptop to my TBolt at work and I had a good consistent 4G connection until the latest update. Now it's in 3G the majority of the time and only goes into 4G for short periods of time. Another one of those Android inconsistencies that affect some phones and not others. Unlike you however, if I put mine in LTE mode, I usually get 1x first, then after about 1-2 minutes, it goes to 4G and stays there pretty consistently.

I don't plan on trading my still new condition phone in on a CLN any time soon. I am only guessing that they'll want to send you a CLN phone to replace the one you have, but from what I've read on the forums, the chance of getting a CLN phone in actual like new condition is a bit of a crap shoot. I'll wait it out until the next update. Hopefully that will be Gingerbread unless they come up with another interim OTA that fixes this problem.

SeaJohn

I called tonight and talked to a very helpful Verizon rep who said that there are only 3 causes for this - a network problem (which would cause a lot of people to call in), a phone problem, or a simcard problem. Tomorrow I'm going to get my sim switched out to see if that fixes the problem.

One interesting thing, my phone had been off 4g for several hours. As soon as I dialed 611, it *poof* switched back to 4g!

RobB772

Ever since the mr2 update my tb has been dropping to 3G or 1X every couple of days. Sometimes just power cycling corrects the problem, other times it requires a restart( sometimes 2!). I lose data connection when this happens too(SMS, MMS, Internet). Mine was ok(livable) before they messed it up with the last update. VZW get your act together! I paid full retail for this very expensive phone and believe it should work without jumping through hoops. Oh, I'm in one of the initial rollout 4G city's Rochester NY so there should be no reason for my 4G phone losing 4G coverage. I've also done battery/sim pulls, toggle to airplane mode and back, factory reset(royal pain) so its up to VZW to fix their software problem that I'm frustrated living with. I'm tired of "soon" and other canned answers.

jboslooper

Thank goodness i'm not alone in this problem! I bought the Thunderbolt the day it came out and at the time I lived in the Detroit area. I never had any issues with service or my phone. Since then I have moved to the Dallas\Forth Worth area and have had nothing but problems since with my service. The phone seems to switch between 4G/3G and 1X frequently and even more frequently, the data connection will just drop altogether (No Data Symbol, Just Signal).

I have attempted to explain this to several Verizon reps but they are "stumped". The most recent phone call I made was 2 hours long and I just don't have that kind of time to sit on the phone and troubleshoot on a weekly basis. I have updated the phone to the most recent software release and there are a few things that work better, but now, there are other issues that need to be addressed.

STILL I am having the constant signal issues of switching between networks and dropping altogether. If I attempt to use a 3rd party app to turn off 4G altogether, I then cannot get SMS messages but turning off 4G altogether defeats the purpose of purchasing this phone int he first place.

This is a serious issue and needs to have a knowledgable team to address this specific issue. Any VERIZON REPS READING THIS?? Let's get this fixed!!

pat3332

"If I attempt to use a 3rd party app to turn off 4G altogether, I then cannot get SMS messages but turning off 4G altogether defeats the purpose of purchasing this phone int he first place."

I wanted to say that you can, or should be able to turn off 4G without using a third party app by going to Settings/Wireless & networks/Mobile networks/Network mode and clicking on CDMA only which will only use 3G and not jump from 4G to 3G.

"This is a serious issue and needs to have a knowledgable team to address this specific issue. Any VERIZON REPS READING THIS?? Let's get this fixed!!"

I also agree with your last comment and if you refer to the link in my first post, a Verizon rep did respond and as far as I know, no one has heard for the rep since. I very seldom see a rep respond with a solution after their first one or two posts.

http://community.vzw.com/t5/ThunderBolt-by-HTC/Reduced-Radio-and-4G-Data-Reception-Post-Update/td-p/596524

If I continue to have problems with it, I'll try another Factory Reset, but I really don't think that's going to help to fix the problem any more than it did the last time HTC had me do one because they didn't have any other suggestion for fixing my problem.

Your best bet may be to just keep calling Verizon tech support and bugging them until they actually do something. One of the first things they will probably tell you is to uninstal the third party switching app. I've already done that an it doesn't work, so I'm still using one to force it into 4G. You might also use the same tactic by going to your Verizon store repeatedly and complaining, just because I tend to get more help and better responses from the reps in the stores and they will sometimes do things that the phone customer support reps won't, or say they can't. At least that's been my experience, but maybe I just have good store reps. They tend to try harder to make me happy.

SoonerFan701

I also live in OKC and I am having the exact same problem. I have to restart the phone to get my connection back. Did not have any of these problems until I loaded the last update. My wife makes fun of me and my phone because I spend more time cussing at it than using it since I had to wait for the TB to come out and buy it the day it came out so I could have the latest and greatest. Now it is a very expensive paper weight. Very upset about all the money I paid for this phone and it seems with every update it is getting worse.

SeaJohn

An update: I haven't gone by to get a new sim card yet, but my phone's been staying in 4g with no problems until today. I've been streaming music from my home server (Subsonic's a great program BTW!) all day, and a couple of hours ago, I looked down, and the phone was in 3g mode. I tried switching in and out of Airplane mode and power cycling the phone, but it didn't budge.

Based on my experience above, I started dialing 611, and it kicked back into 4g. I didn't connect; just clicked on the Phone button on the home screen and pressed 611. That's the first phone call I've made today.

It could easily still be coincidence, but I'm going to keep waiting on the sim swap and see if the same thing happens in a few days.

novatian

I have the Samsung Droid Charge, and have this EXACT same issue... it actually got MUCH worse in the last 24 hours in terms of the phone, almost making it unusable... It switches constantly from 4G to 3G to 1X -- in the same exact location (my house)... which shows in the 4G coverage area. Recently, voice calls have been going SILENT while remaining connected to the other line, or dropping altogether when I have 4-5 bars. This has happened a dozen times or so in the last day!

I was freaking out a few minutes ago because the phone WOULD NOT dial out and/or was locking, freezing as it switched back and forth between 3G/4G/noG/service... I'm sitting nervously on a call that has a huge revenue impact to my business and it is teetering on 1 bar with 4G, while it started off at 4... and I haven't moved since the call started!!

So what the heck is going on Verizon? Seems like they are having stability issues with their 4G coverage, probably due to dynamic bandwidth and traffic levels to their towers.

batherto

I am glad to see I am not the only one having this issue!

I finally got so fed up with my phone constanatly switching from 4GLTE to 3G to 1X (just in the last week or so) I thought I would check here. I don't have any new symptoms or cures to add sadly, but I wanted to post to say its nice to know I am not the only one in this boat, and I wish Verizon had better communication with customers. I think I am even still waiting for Verizon to send me a message saying that the Thunderbolt was actually realeased for purchase, since I signed up to be notified.

SeaJohn

Another update: My phone did the same thing yesterday (dropped from 4g to 3g/1x/nothing) for a couple of hours. Making a phone call didn't do anything. Rebooting did nothing. Finally 4g came back on its own.

I went to the Verizon store, and told them about the tech support recommending a new sim card. They were skeptical, but did it. Today the phone did it again. I drove back to the Verizon store, and showed the phone to them while it was stuck in 3g mode. They piddled around with it (including using LTE on/off, which I've heard Verizon recommends against) and finally took it to the back. They came out a few minutes later with it back in 4g mode.

The guy said he power cycled it, and it came back up in 4g mode.

Me: "I've tried that, and it usually doesn't help".

Him: "It came right up this time. The power button is there for a reason. These things are computers, and sometimes you just have to turn them off and on."

Me: "That's a solution to this problem? Even though I've done that and it doesn't help?"

Him: "We've never seen this before. I carry my tbolt 24x7 and it's never done that. These things have more computing power than the Apollo computers, so they need to be turned off sometimes. It's just like your Windows computers. They need to be turned off every night."

(I thought the line about the Apollo computers was old when it was used to describe the PCjr in the 1980's. And no, Windows computers do not need to be turned off once a day!)

Me: "I had it turned off all night, last night, while it charged."

Him: "Well, maybe it's the software..."

Anyway, by the end, he was recommending a factory reset to see if some piece of software I have on the phone is causing this. I don't think that's the case, but I'm willing to try.

I don't want to swap the phone out, because I'm pretty sure i'll get a refurb back which will have probably come from someone with the same problem, that the service center was unable to duplicate or fix.

AZSALUKI

try the factory reset. while i am skeptical that it will work, it is worth a try. it's a bit of a hassle because you will have to set everything back up. however, if you do this i'd like to suggest that you only add one or 2 apps each day. this way, if it happens to be an apps that is causing problems, then you'll know which one it is and you can uninstall it. i would go this route before trying to return it for a refurb. i think that google/the market may try to restore all of your downloaded apps at some point in the process. if so, don't let it. add them slowly over time so you can see if a particular app is causing issues.

unknown

@ jboslooper

Thanks for posting. I understand how this can be frustrating. In order to resolve your issue please PM me your mobile telephone number so I can research your account and see what kind of options we have for you? Thanks.

ChristinaB_VZW

Hi Batherto,

I know it is frustrating for your device to drop to 3G in a 4G area, or 1X. Please try the following steps if you have no internet connection.

Dial ##778

Call

Hit edit

Enter 000000

Choose modem settings

Choose Rev A and change to enable

Press commit

At this point the internet should work correctly

I assure you that this issue has been raised to HTC and we are waiting on a fix from the manufacturer. Please use the steps above for a temporary work around.

Thank you!

pat3332

ChristinaB,

Thanks for that update. I only have trouble when tethering to my laptop at work, but I never had a problem before the last update. I'll try this when I work this weekend and see if it helps.

batherto

Thank you ChristinaB!

I am making that change and will post back to the forum after using the new setting for a while.

I appreciate the assistance

chuckwilmot

Wow. Add me to the list. Yesterday I was sitting in my office at work and used my Tbolt all day long as a mobile hotspot for my laptop. Fast speeds and consistent. Today I can't get a reliable 4G at all. Sometimes 3G, sometimes 1X, sometimes nothing. I've done power off/on, airplane mode off/on, sim pull, and nothing helps.

batherto

ChristinaB

After changing setting as you outlined my phone seemed to prefer 3G mode for most of the day only going to 4GLTE on an occasion just to flip back to 3G. However over the next few days the 4GLTE seemes to be flipping on and off and 3G is the norm.

I have since done another complete shutdown and restart which seemed to have little effect on the switching.

I did just spend 4 days up in Anaheim, CA and while there the 4GLTE was outstanding! My phone never wavered from it and if it did it was only due to location of the phone (inside an elevator etc.) Since having returned to the North San Diego area my phone has resumed its sitching from 4LTE to 3G to 1X (mostly 4 to 3) I bring this up to the Forum if only to bring new information about my experience with the phone.

If I could I would have tried to bring one of the towers from Anaheim back with me :smileyhappy:

Brad

RobB772

I'm hoping the official gb update corrects this problem, introduced to my phone by the mr2 update. I'm still doing the data drop, 4G-3G-1X-zip nada nothing connected. Done all "fixes" and unless HTC has no control over their build process thereby putting out a bunch of one off devices, correcting the software bug should remedy. Unless HTC also skips regression testing then we'll be dealing with old bugs again.

thephantom

This is how I solved my 4G issue:

Go to the dial pad
Punch in *#*#4636#*#*
Phone Information
(Scroll down to the middle of the page and you should see "Network Type". It is probably showing "unknown")
Touch "Run ping test" towards the top
Now your "Network Type" should be LTE

Good luck!!

pat3332

I tried Christina's work around this weekend at work and it didn't make any difference. I still stayed in 3G, or 1x most of the time unless I went into the Phone Information settings and set it to LTE mode which keeps me in 4G most of the 12 hours I work. I started a new thread because I only seem to have problem when using the hotspot.

Right now, aside from going into Phone Information and using LTE mode, it looks like the only solution is to wait for the Gingerbread update and hope that fixes the problem. I have no idea why Verizon didn't give us the choice of using LTE mode in their built in network switch, that's the only thing that keeps me in 4G.

pat3332

I may need to apologize to Christina since I've discovered that I didn't do her recommended fix correctly. After chalnging Rev. A to Enable, I clicked on OK and thought that commited the change, but after you make the change, you have to click menu to get to the commit window. Once you click to commit the change, it will restart your phone.

Since changing Rev. A to Enable and letting the phone reset, it immediately went to 4G for about 5 minutes, the dropped to 1x. I restarted the phone again and since then I've been in 4G with no drops. I won't know how stable this is until I use it for a while, but right now, it's much better than it was.

Christina, I didn't make this change correctly the first time and I apologize.

batherto

As a follow-up I would really like to as my fellow community members if anyone has had better luck with this issue by trying their phones in a different area?

I have now have the oportunity to be in two seperate areas with 4GLTE coverage that are more than 20 miles from my home locations. I was in theses locations for at least 24 hours. During both occasions my service stayed on 4GLTE 99% of the time. I am curious if others have tried this with similar results.

Verizon, could it be possible that its not the phone itself but possibly a area/tower issue. If so it seems like a must easier issue to fix than trying to have people change their phone settings.

thanks!

Brad

ChristinaB_VZW

Hi Patt3332,

No worries! I am very glad it is working for you now.

Have a great day!

Fatdog1028

You guys are not alone in your issues. I live on the outskirts of Omaha, which us now 4g. My home is in 3g coverage. I had a Verizon rep suggest that I switch my thunderbolt to cdma only to conserve the battery. I informed that I paid full retail price for the phone so that I can get 4g whenever possible. That was quite a testimonial for the quality of their network.

Abejero

I had that problem when it was new 7 mnths ago and found the only solution was to select the phone dialer ad dial *#*#4636#*#*. Then select "phone information". Then drag down to the bottom of the page and set Preferred Network Type to CDMA auto (PRL). This tuns of 4g LTE (which is what we all paid dearly for when we bought it and pay dearly for every month but don't get to use.).When I got the 2.3.4 update the end of September, I thought I could go back to using what I pay for so I turned it back on. Nope, still no worky. Had to turn it back off.

At this stage of the game I am not sure there is ANYTHING Verizon can do to make up to us what they have done to us already. It's like buying a Corvette only to find out that it is only running on four cylinders and then have Cheverolet tell you that they are working on a fix. Then, six monthes later, they install the fix and now it runs on only two cylinders. When you complain they tell you it is just too bad but "Coming Soon" is another fix. And all you can do is quiver in your boots in fear of what the next fix will do to your Corvette.

The "Supervisor" that called me today suggested I/we contact HTC. I explained that my phone was purchased from Verizon and says Verizon right on the front abd I expect Verizon to fix or replace it. Personally, I don't care if I never see another HTC ever again.

batherto

Abejero,

Your experience mirrors my own in that support recomended I turn off th 4g LTE (prior to 2.3.4 update), although they said the reason i was dropping was due to the phone not being able to accuratly switch from 3g to 4G LTE when 4g LTE signal was low, and my area was'nt done rolling out (it seemed to make sense because when i went to larger rollout locations like Los Angeles 4g LTE rocked and was always connected). As soon as I got the 2.3.4 I turned 4gLTE back on, salivating at the promised speed, however still experienced times of NO connections as before.

So back to the 3G setting and i seem to now get 3G dropps when i stream data as with on-line radio, which I was not getting before.

I find the idea that we, as customers should have to take things to the manufacturer, a little silly. I am going to test 4g LTE in another large city this week and if it dropps there I am going to call support again to ask what i can do to get a phone that works because I do love the hardware I just want the functionality i bought the phone for. <sigh>

Abejero

Batherto,

I have a 4G tower literally in my parking area in the back of my building. I sure don't have weak signal. LOL I have all of the bars lit. I think they are worse than grabbing at straws. How many bars are you getting? I also thought that MAYBE I was too close to the tower but, alas, when I go a mile away, all of the same problems exist. Face it, the phone is the problem, not the signal. My current solution is to reboot every two hours or so just to see if I have any missing VMs and to make sure the data connection is refreshed so my emails come through, etc.....

After reading all of these different posts, I wonder how the TB gets a rating of 4.5 out of 5? Hard to believe. I hate to leave Verizon as they have the best coverage BUT, I think it is time to move my $250 a month to somebody else. From the last conversation with them, they no longer seem to care if their customers stay or not. Evidently they have gotten too big for their britches and have too many customers. The Samsung Galaxy 2S at T-Mobile looks better every day.

tattooedchick

I have to agree with you. Its the Thunderbolt and Verizon both. I see problems with all of the 4G devices that Verizon offers. Just look at the other forumns. I think android is just a buggy operating system, especially with Verizon. I picked up a Samsung Galaxy S2 with AT&T. Loved the phone but the AT&T service didn't work good where I live and work. So unfortunately, I had to return it. I figured since I'm going to have to stick with Verizon, because of receptioin issues with other carriers, I might as well get the iPhone. At least the iPhone does work. I do hate going to the smaller screen but, since I don't have 4G here, it will do.

FV3riz0n

Yeah, I agree with you about them no caring. They've gotton too big for their britches. If enough people leave, they will change their tone.

RMLJ

You do not have to reboot your phone to see if you have voice mail just put the icon for voice mail on one of your home screens. When you open that it will tell you how many voice mails you have. A lot less time to check.

RMLJ

Great now I'm dropping connection Greensboro, NC anyone else?

xkwisit

According to the rep I talked to this morning because I have no internet access, there is a 4G outage along the entire East Coast. Even tho I don't have 4G in my area I am still affected & have no internet whatsoever. But they are working it & it will up & running "soon".

batherto

Just as a follow up posting , I have been having issues with my Thunderbolt dropping its data connection.

Well I am on a business trip up to Portland OR and the 4g LTE has been working non-stop for 3 days now.

I am actually very happy with this because now I know that at least its (probably) not the phone.

Prior to leaving on this trip i had left my phone on 3G mode for the last few weeks because at least it did'nt drop the data. I am actually cautiously optimistic, and will leave my phone on 4gLTE mode once home.

MarcusI

I also have an HTC TB and reading through these posts I would like to share my experience with 4G LTE stability.

I got my TB when it launched in march and for the first 3-4 months my connection was 4G 1X or 0. I used the *#*#4636#*#* code before the lte on/off app was available to change my setting to LTE mode, which did pop it into LTE but sure enough after a few hours I was dropping it again.

After the MR2 update in I want to say July I was able to get 3G service pretty consistently but I wanted 4G so I kept forcing LTE mode. The same result, an unstable connection especially when using the MHS. I finally gave up on it reverted to the cdma/lte-evdo auto setting and just lived with it. Around the same time I disabled my data roaming capability. I also have to add that I change my battery everyday because I charge 2 at night to keep me up for the whole day. Believe it or not after about 2 days I had LTE most all the time. Every now and then I would drop into 3G but an in and out of airplane mode and I was right back on LTE.

Honestly I don't know what did it, I haven't touched the radio mode since, maybe the 2-3 battery pulls I was doing helped register my sim enough times for it to stick, maybe disabling the data roaming helped, I live and work in the downtown Chicago area so I'm pretty sure that the network coverage wasn't an issue.

I'm not claiming to know how LTE works but it sure does take a long time for 4G devices to activate at times up to 2 hours, maybe manually pulling it off the LTE network causes it to have to reactivate when you attempt to put it back on? I am very happy with the performance of my TB now. From my experience if you are in an area where there is solid LTE coverage, I would recommend this settings combination:

CDMA/LTE-EVDO in the phone information or LTE On/Off app and the leave it alone!

Disable data roaming in the wireless and networks/mobile networks options/data roaming menu.

Power cycle your phone at least once a day until you get a stable connection, not just restart but power completely off and then on.

If all else fails try to replace your sim and do the same

This worked for me so I hope it does the same for you!

djysrv

My hunch is the problem is in the network and the way the phone hands off from one tower to the next. When I stay put under one tower, 4G service is fine. As soon as I start to move to go to the next sales call, pow, it's gone.

Ann154

@djysrv
That has not been my experience. My phone stay in one location for most of the day during the week at work. I have seen it bounce back and forth between connected and not. 4G to 3G and occasionally 1x. Sometimes I can see in the settings that it is connected, but the network is listed as unknown.

Wildman

The 4G network is still work in progress and progress can be a pain... Since my area will be getting it full blown next month (According to rumors) I hope things start getting more stable..

This image works well for so many situations lately.... :smileywink: :smileyvery-happy:

djysrv

Dropping the 4G network while standing still on one place -- now that's interesting. Are you at the boundary of 4G / 3G coverage or inside an area claimed by Verizon, via its maps, to have full 4G coverage?

As an aside I wonder if these coverage maps on the public facing Verison web site are marketing wish lists or represent actual status?

Ann154

djysrv wrote:
Dropping the 4G network while standing still on one place -- now that's interesting. Are you at the boundary of 4G / 3G coverage or inside an area claimed by Verizon, via its maps, to have full 4G coverage?

As an aside I wonder if these coverage maps on the public facing Verison web site are marketing wish lists or represent actual status?

I experience this yo-yo effect smack dab in the middle of a press released announced & turned on area. However it happens to also be inside an high rise office building in the downtown area. Once I go outside both the download and upload speeds improve if I test through the Speedtest.net application. The yo-yo effect still sometimes happens in buildings/restaurants next door to my office building. I know it is partially related to the fact that I'm in a steel and concrete building and up a few floors, but I also think it is strange that I can get a better Speedtest.net results on the first floor of the same building. There might be other wireless interference within the building itself higher throughout the floors. An example of LTE signal in the building when I can hold on to it. http://www.speedtest.net/android/95217546.png There is significant improvement in the signal outside of this location for approximately thirty or more miles.

SoundMessage

I've been having this issue since I got the phone - 4G LTE changes to 3G, or 1X, or worst of all, NO CONNECTION.

They sent me a CLN replacement. Tried it. Same problems. Sent the CLN back and kept my original phone.

Just tried swapping the SIM card this weekend. No difference that I could tell.

Today, I called Verizon again and the rep suggested that I enable data roaming. The instant I did that, my phone switched from 3G to 4G LTE, and it's kept its 4G connection ever since.

The tech support rep said that VZW uses non-VZW-owned towers in some markets, and sometimes if data roaming is disabled, the phone will be unable to connect to these towers. So, if you're near a sub-contracted tower, and your phone is unable to connect to it, then it may be trying to connect to a VZW tower that's too far away, resulting in poor data connectivity.

It's only been a few hours, so I won't know for sure whether or not this has actually solved my problem for another day or two. However, my fingers are crossed.

dmc271

Search the Market for LTE OnOff. Lock your phone into "LTE only" mode. This is what I have to do to keep it from reverting to 3G, and it works. If you lose the 4G signal, it will revert to 1X, so if you're traveling in a 3G area, you need to undo the setting (easily done in LTE OnOff).

It's not an ideal solution (in terms of convenience), not even close. But, I'm convinced that the first-gen 4G chips are faulty. Often, when I lose 4G, the only way to get it back is to reboot, which means power-cycle the LTE chip.

I lost 4G this morning after placing the phone in my pocket. It was stuck in 1X for the longest time; even after driving to within a 1/4 mile of the 4G tower--yes, I could see the tower quite clearly--it was still stuck in 1X mode. The only thing that restored 4G was a power cycle of the phone.

This is not an issue that's isolated to the TB. Based on posts here, it seems to happen on every 4G LTE phone. Unless all of these different manufacturers are all writing the same buggy code, the only logical conclusion is that it's a hardware issue. If so, then there's only one piece of hardware shared by all of these different manufacturers: The LTE chipset.

ekloot

I thought I read that Motorola uses their own LTE chipset? I could be wrong though. I've read that motorola bionic users experience some of the same problems. If the problems aren't because all the LTE chipsets are the same and have some sort of bug...then the other conclusion would be that the verizon 4g network just isn't completely stable yet.

djysrv

The issue of the stabilty of the network has been raised in a number of post in this string and elsewhere in the forum. Another frequently mentioned cause is that there are differences in how the phone connects to the network based on what' s happening with the towers. Some have suggested that Verizon's network isn't Verizon equipment end-to-end which could account for variability in signal strength and phone response.

In my travels to various large cities identified by Verizon as offering 4G service, I find the Verizon network is strong is some and a disappointment elsewhere.

For instance, on the runway of the Detroit airport, standing outside a commuter jet waiting for checked baggage, I got 1X service! If Verizon can't provision a major U.S. airport, that's a real problem.

In Washington, DC, I got 3G service inside the Washington Reagan airport terminal, but 4G service outside on Connecticut Ave NW north of the downtown business district. I got 4G in Rockville, MD, but no service in Arlington, VA.

In Cleveland, OH,. I get 4 G service in the Beachwood suburbs but 3G or even no service in Ohio City just across the river on Carnegie from the downtown. I got 4G service at Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians baseball).

Signal strength may play a role. I have yet to see 4G service with 1 bar and usually lose it while driving when there are just 2 of 4 bars. 4G seems to work best when there are 4 bars. That's sort of a "duh" moment, but it also may be an indication how densely the towers are distributed in the network service or what is supported inside its so-called market areas.

I wonder if Verizon is putting up enough 4G towers or just the bare bones in each market in order to get more markets proving at least some 4 G service? The cost and revenue implications should be obvious.

Ann154

The strength of the 4G LTE network connection can't be determined by the number of bars the phone is showing. Those bars are only reflecting the voice signal strength.

B33

What ann says is true with the Bars but whats kind of bad with the 4G an it's a flip of the Coin you've Got 7 phones with 4G some of the Top one's. but we've still got alott a phones that are 3G only An The iphone is one of them So is the BB's. So Verizon has to Thread the needle for both bands an make it work for both. Now say if the iphone an our BB's were 4G that would make it a need to get the 4G moving in a faster yet pace as there would be more customers for the need of it. An hopefully there are more cities comming on line very soon. But i can imagine how frustrating it is when you expect your 4G to work an it does'nt.

Chris3164

Good Evening. I am now on my third HTC Thunderbolt and all three have had this same problem. I have tried all the "fixes" that I have found on the internet and on this website. None of them work. I cannot get a refund or let out of my contract with Verizon. There must be some way to either solve this problem or make Verizon set us free. I am currently looking into filing a lawsuit against Verizon. This are getting that desperate. I am also tired of customer service people that promise to call or email back with a solution and I never hear from them again. Is there anyone at Verizon that is going to fix this problem? It is against the law to take money and fail to provide the services that were promised. Do we really have to go so far as legal action?

Chris3164

Good News! I spoke to Verizon again this evening about this problem. The guy I spoke with says they know there is a problem but have no idea when it will be fixed. Verizon is as useless as a screen door in a submarine.

Wildman

Sorry to hear that so many are still seem to be having issues, but I can say honestly that since the KC 4G being switched on earlier this month I have had no issues anymore with reception issues... No buffering, signal dropping or any other connection issues..

As for CS, not every situation has been perfect but I have had good luck with them following up with me on issues and taking care of a good number of them in a timely manner, I have learned that sometimes it is just the person you reach when you call or visit the company that determine the level of customer service, I know this shouldn't be the case but it does happen..

After dealing with Sprint CS for years I cant say that I am happy completely with the service I have but I can say its WWWWWAAAAYYY better than others..

Good Luck on a solution..

Child Item