Charge dropping 3G service: "Network not available"

[Booch]

First off, some of the other posts were a little similar but not entirely.  I live about 200 miles from any 4G service, so it is not an issue dropping off between 4G and 3G.  I also do not have Wi-Fi enabled, so it is not an issue between the switch between Wi-Fi and 3G.

Between 2-3 times per day, my Charge loses its 3G coverage and I cannot get any data transmission.  I have figured out that if I restart my phone, I will have my 3G data back again.  However, this is not a long-term solution and is very annoying.

I have had my Charge for a week with the constant dropping of my 3G.  Today, I finally got tired of it and thought there was maybe an error with my phone.  I went to my local Verizon store and they replaced my phone.  To my surprise, after having my new replaced phone for only about 2 hours, it has dropped the 3G data again.  My phone is showing 4 out of 5 on the bars, so I know I am not in a low coverage area.  I am getting very frustrated as I've tried talking to the local reps at the Verizon store and they are clueless.  I called the national Verizon help line and they were not aware of any problems, so it didn't help me out.

I would appreciate any help from Verizon (or any other posters) that might have ideas.

I have seen some of the poor responses from Verizon "tech support" on some of the other questions.  Telling me that I can return the phone plus pay a restocking fee is not an appropriate or reasonable answer.  If someone can actually help, it is appreciated.  Otherwise, I guess I will continue trying to catch someone's attention.

[hubbalance]

Thanks vidguy and booch,  very helpful. I have noticed going about my day that it will say 3G, then as soon as I try to do something, like download an app, it will "try" then suddenly no 3g and it can't connect. I have been trying on an off for hours to even GET to look at the available apps and can't get past the first screen lol I'll try to restart it. Agree that it should be unnecessary... why would they put such flawed phones out? What good is **bleep** off their customers doing?

Just got the phone yesterday, so I will try it a few days and see if it starts working better inside. Any 3G phone recs?

Thanks again!!

[flustered]

Add another sucker to the list.....  I thought it was just me.

I have been constantly losing signal and getting the "NO NETWORK" error.

Which is EXTREMELY annoying when I am streaming music from Raphsody on my motorcycle and all of a sudden the music stops and nothing I can do about it.

I was on the phone with Verizon technical support for over 30 minutes yesterday trying to figure out what was going on and they were even more clueless than I was and basically left me no better off than I was before!!!!

I paid over $300 for this phone and the promise of 4G service!!!!   I could have bought a $40 MP3 player!!!! 

I am within the 14 day return window... should I send it back and get a different phone?

I can't believe Verizon is not owning up to this with SO many people reporting the same problem.

Sooner or later, they are going to have to face it.

Anybody getting results from anything they're trying.

What can I do to help make Verizon take ownership of this issue and get it resolved?

[dcolmusic]

I am in Illinois and am experiencing this same problem. I never had this problem with my Droid X or Fascinate so I do think this is a problem with the 4G phones. I am going to try changing my network to cdma only since I am not in a 4G area and see if that works. I talked to 3g and 4g techs at Verizon and they said it was due to dead areas so the phones loses the data signal. I am not buying it--I think it is an issue with the 4G phone since I never had this problem living in the same area with the droid x and fascinate--I wish I could go back to those!

[vidguy7]

---

dcolmusic wrote:

I am in Illinois and am experiencing this same problem. I never had this problem with my Droid X or Fascinate so I do think this is a problem with the 4G phones. I am going to try changing my network to cdma only since I am not in a 4G area and see if that works. I talked to 3g and 4g techs at Verizon and they said it was due to dead areas so the phones loses the data signal. I am not buying it--I think it is an issue with the 4G phone since I never had this problem living in the same area with the droid x and fascinate--I wish I could go back to those!

---

Dead areas????  Oh brother, are they kidding you?  My wife and i were in a fast food restaurant today and both her IPhone and my Charge showed decent 3G reception.  Of course that was until I tried to get some data on a weather app.  Guess what?  No data on mine and on trouble getting data on hers.

I'm sorry, this scenario is repeated on an almost daily basis.  Theres phones, the 4G system or both are BROKEN. This is without question false advertising.  It's one thing not to get 4G in a 4G area, but it's another thing to get NOTHING in a 3G area where a 3G phone right next to you has no issues. Some people say 'well the systme is brand new, give it time', but folks we are talking about how these 4G phones respond to the 3G system!!!!!  The 3G system is not brand new and it still doesn't work properly on these 4G phones.

Don't expect to get any help from any VZW employee because there is nothing they can do to fix a system that's simply broken. I am tired of hearing 'reboot' 'pull your battery' 'go in & out of airplane mode' etc.  You'll get the same results by standing on your head and spitting nickels.

[tekprof]

I have encountered the same problem and spoke with tier 1 support at VZW about it. I will be in 4G mode then suddenly no data. I can really notice it when I am streaming music in the car. The guy told me that when you pass from 4G to 3G with this phone (and it seems to be a problem since the update), the phone doesn't always pickup the 3G signal. He suggested that at home and at work, where the 4G signal is strong, go 4G (LTE). But when I get in my car, manually switch it to 3G. I have done that and have had no problems since. The problem now is how do you switch easily? First of all, on this phone it doesn't say 4G and 3G it says "LTE automatic" (that is 4G) and CDMA mode (that is 3G). (You need to just select the one you want then back out...there is no submit button) You can work your way through menus to get there or you can install the free app "LTE switch" and it will get you there in three clicks. You just have to remember to manually switch.

[honors21]

I use an app call LTE switch but I have lost 3G service (I don't have 4G in my area) even in 3G mode only seems have gotten better last 2 days.I disabled a couple of apps that I thought was giving me a problem an d moved some of the memory eaters to to sd casd so far so good.

[vidguy7]

---

tekprof wrote:

I have encountered the same problem and spoke with tier 1 support at VZW about it. I will be in 4G mode then suddenly no data. I can really notice it when I am streaming music in the car. The guy told me that when you pass from 4G to 3G with this phone (and it seems to be a problem since the update), the phone doesn't always pickup the 3G signal. He suggested that at home and at work, where the 4G signal is strong, go 4G (LTE). But when I get in my car, manually switch it to 3G. I have done that and have had no problems since. The problem now is how do you switch easily? First of all, on this phone it doesn't say 4G and 3G it says "LTE automatic" (that is 4G) and CDMA mode (that is 3G). (You need to just select the one you want then back out...there is no submit button) You can work your way through menus to get there or you can install the free app "LTE switch" and it will get you there in three clicks. You just have to remember to manually switch.

---

You see this to me is an utterly ridiculous 'solution' to this problem that VZW & Samsung have created for us.  I'm expected to switch to 3G when I get in my car, switch back to 4G when I get out, go back to 3G when re-entering the car...on and on.  Sorry, if this is the best that VZW can do, then they should pull each & every 4G phone from their stock until the consumer is not told this is necessary to maintain data connectivity.

[isosunrise2]

I am having the same issue with my Droid Charge in San Francisco, with both 4G and 3G.  A Verizon tech has also swap out my SIMS card, but the problem is still there.  I hope Samsung/Verizon releases a fix soon.

[isosunrise2]

I want to add due to the constant data dropping/switching, the battery also drains like crazy for me, roughly 8% per hour doing nothing... When I disable mobile data, it is back to normal.  This is in a high 3G/4G area.

[mpbclutch33]

I too am having the same problem as everyone else. It is really dissappointing to say the least. To buy a $300 phone which is "supposed" to be the latest and greatest. I love everything else about the phone, but losing internet connectivity. Afterall, what am I paying $100 a month for again?! Would love to hear from VZW about a solution to this. It's not right.....

[anonyguy]

Add me to the list of affected users.  I gave the phone the "Benefit of the doubt" at first - now I am a regretful +30 day owner stuck with a $300 paperweight.  This is the third time I've been burned by Verizon's crappy firmware on their devices.  I've tried different manufacturers and each time the result is the same.  Verizon insists on installing a lot of their own crap into custom firmware which means they are always 2 or 3 updates "behind" what the phone manufacturer is currently offering.  23 months and I'll be lucky enough to switch over to a better data provider.

[arharris]

I live 15 miles south of Indianapolis and can't get the 3G signal to stay on long enough to get e-mail despite 3 bars. Even in Indy which has 4G it only picks it up in spots. My local Verizon store won't even sell the Charge now because of these issues. Did you notice they don't even advertise this phone now?

I have never been so disappointed in Verizon as this issue after paying $300 for the phone. When it works, this is a great phone and the display in best in the business.

Please Verizon give us some hope and let us know if you are still working on this! My technical friens say without Gingerbread this phone will never work correctly.

[GreenRobot]

Hey guys although I don't share your same frustrations with your 4g / 3g issues completely because my Charge works way better than my Thunderbolt did and I do live in a pretty good 4g area but I came up with this idea the other day after I learned about being able to do screen shots with my Charge. So lets all try to be a part of the solution, I'm not saying VZW needs our help or will even use this but lets try this and maybe it will get some attention. 

Take a Screencapture of Google maps when you're having a data connection issue. I think this will help because it provides a lot of information to VZW. I think showing them what signal you are getting and where you are located will help them narrow down the issue. Not only that it can also show how often you get data issues. Just a thought and I have been all over the VZW employees to follow up on posts and threads so if we start flooding them with images of poor data connections and where they are happening with factual image they might actually use it. 

[GreenRobot]

how to screencapture : http://community.vzw.com/t5/DROID-Charge-by-Samsung/ScreenCapture-is-built-in-to-your-Charge-try-it/...

[mpbclutch33]

If you can't access the internet (3g) then Google Maps won't be able to pick up you location will it. I am having issues as we speak and went to Google Maps, but it couldn't find my location without 3G. So what should we take a screen shot of? This is getting worse and more frustrating!!!!!

[GreenRobot]

Guess I didnt think of that 😄 I usually have at least some data ( 1x or 3g ). maybe just take shots of when you have lose of connection to start a log of how often it happens. Even thought you may not have I do think you can still get the maps to work a little or once the connection returns take another shot to show where it happened. This could be a tower / location issue on top of a phone issue so like I said the most data we can collect might help.  

[andyl52]

Are you running JuiceSaver?  For me the solution was simple.  I just disabled the JuiceSaver app and all works just fine now.  JuiceSaver is probably shutting down or interfering with the new 4g/3g feature, thereby causing the network service to drop.

[vidguy7]

---

andyl52 wrote:

Are you running JuiceSaver?  For me the solution was simple.  I just disabled the JuiceSaver app and all works just fine now.  JuiceSaver is probably shutting down or interfering with the new 4g/3g feature, thereby causing the network service to drop.

---

Andy, we all wish it were that simple. There seems to be no app that is doing this. I have never had JuiceSaver and still have the issues. I've had 2 Charges and both manifested the issue before I ever loaded additional apps. Many times people ask about a particular app in relation to this issue and I've never seen this as a generic fix. I'm betting the radio in the Charge is just not as sensitive or suffers from some quirks in certain areas where other 3G only phones don't.

[timnyc]

Hello.

I am new but I have had Charge for 2 weeks. Up and down Hudson I received 3G at 1x speed in the Columbia County area or no connection at all (but that was on an Amtrak train)

Here in midtown Manhattan, 4g is 13MBps/6MBps+ etc great speed, HOWEVER>>>>>>>>>

 3g is at most .68Mbps/1.1Mbps on this phione in midtown nyc. Speedtest.net tells me so at least and it is slow

and it is not stable. Are the Thunderbolt and/or Revolution more stable or faster with 3g? I will have to read their forums

I like this phone -- I wish i did not have to question this Charge but this 3g issue is huge if and when I am out of 4g area OR IF I JUST WANT TO SAVE precious BATTERY! I need a good 3G data stream!

Although Why would 'gingerbread' or whatever 2.3.X fix this?

[HoustonHeart]

THe 4g network is still new, and needs tweakign but I have excellant 4g here around houston, no drops, now lake jackson is another story but that area and jones creek is generally bad for all carriers.

You can get a location estiamte by WIFI then tweak it by locating your spot, pinning it then screenshotting it.

 As far as ginderbread, as long as it is 2.3.4 , 2.3.3 is buggy garbage to be honest. Good at somethings poor at others. I tweaked my signal sensitivity but not gettign into detail on how and what is needed.

[vidguy7]

Houstonheart, I'm glad you're not having issues, but that's two threads now that you've tried to minimize a very significant data issue for TONS of Charge owners around the country. Have you read the many forums across the internet, not just here? The comments are always the same. This is NOT a question of 'tweaking' the 4G network since the issue also appears with 3G signals in 3G-only areas too. A 3G only phone will have no issues with the same signal that seems to paralyze these 4G phones. Mere 'tweaking'? Me thinks not. This may well be a major engineering issue with the phone itself.