That's good to hear that the RAZR is working out. I would prefer the Nexus, but given Sarare 's post, maybe it's best to play it safe and go with the RAZR.
So the new Bionic is working out for me, so I'm getting the RAZR next. They didn't give me any other option. When I asked, they said the RAZR was the only available device I could get. We'll see how it works out.
Newest Nexus that they sent has been "working". By that I mean it will load a page or two, then the 4G will go down.
I called them again, and they said that Samsung knows about the issue for the Nexus and is currently working on a software update for it that is supposed to be released "soon".
They asked me where I wanted to go from here and I said, "Well I am paying for top end phones that aren't working, the options for you are either get me the best phone you have that works (SIII) or refund my money for the phone that I bought that doesn't work"
He went away for about 15 minutes and came back with this..."well we can't get you the phone, but what my supervisor said we could do is that we could refund the money for your data plan from May and on (that is when my problem started). Which is 9.99/month." I said great, but when this software update comes out and my 4G is still broken I will be calling again. So now I have to sit and wait till the update comes out...when that does, I will be calling them.
My problems started about the same time everyone else's did. My Thunderbolt used to get a solid 4G connection (except for the hotspot which never worked). Over the months, the 4G data stream would drop out every time I tried to use a burst of data in Facebook, Trip Advisor App, or whatever. I did all the usual things VZW asked me to do (master reset, SIM card swap, battery pull). I've also tried the many workarounds mentioned here. After calling since January I finally convinced them to send me a reconditioned Thunderbolt. I received it last night and this one is a bit worse than the one I sent back. Its very frustrating. I have not had one rep acknowledge this is a network problem. I don't know what to do at this point. I'm ready to buy a new device out of pocket but I don't know what to buy. All the 4G handsets seem to be acting the same way.
I've been paying $130 a month for a phone that works once in a while. Its a shame because the Thunderbolt excels in every other arena other than data and battery life. My next move may be to see if they will let me cancel without an ETF. This is definitely not what I signed up for. If I want lousy/spotty service I can go back to Sprint for half the price.
Rob
Chicago Area
HTC Thunderbolt
I am heavily convinced there's something wrong with the Chicago area VZW LTE (river north and loop). I never had any issues in NYC, NY, PA, MD, OH, CT, VT.
Now that you mentioned it I thought it was just a fluke that I could use my Mobile Hotspot ($30/mo) to tether to my laptop while traveling through Stowe, VT and up and down the coast of Maine in Late July. Maybe it is a Chicago thing. I've traveled in Bloomington, Peoria and St. Louis and experiences have not been much better. In any event its getting noticeably worse in Illinois. Most of my time is spent in the SW suburbs (DuPage County).
Rob
Chicago Area
HTC Thunderbolt
unl 4G/mobile hotspot
The RAZR came last night. It's installed with ICS and I have not had any issues with it since I activated. Hopefully it stays that way. Good luck with your new device!
I had these 4G issues all over CA including: SF Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego.
As an update - I found a rep willing to swap out the Thunderbolt for a different device. This time I got the Rezound (reconditioned) (successor to the Thunderbolt). This seems to handle the LTE signal much better but I get the same drops I got before. Its a very difficult thing to quantify but my Tbolt seemed to drop out on 4g more than the Rezound but without 2 devices side by side its a difficult comparison. For a company who boasts the most reliable network, this is becoming quite a joke.
I have a theory. Customer A sends in his Thunderbolt because the 4G signal is constantly dropping. He swaps it out under warranty for a reconditioned device. VZW tests out the device and it passes with flying colors. They replace the screen, certify it as a reconditioned phone and send it to customer B who is having problems with her device. Meanwhile customer A gets a refurb that used to belong to customer C who was having the same problem. This cycle saturates the reconditioned handset pool with faulty 4G radios and nobody gets a device that works. Again, just a theory. I have no idea if that's what's really happening.
I've found one thing that is consistently reliable month after month - their billing system. VZW never fails to bill my credit card $126/mo. (including $30/mo for data and $30 for Mobile Hotspot.)
Given the lack of other options at this point, VZW has their customers over a barrel. At this point I am far more amazed by the person that says, "I've never had any problems with 4G" Who are these people? Where do they live? Certainly not in Chicago.
FWIW, I was also one of the first to get a TB. It had issues forever. Then, not too far back, there was an update and it actually seemed to be able to switch from 3G to 4G and back effortlessly. Now, with no recent updates, it is again having issues switching from 4G-3G-4G. I agree that the problem is probably NOT the phone but the system. Tom
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