How do I improve my signal?

[avlval]

I bought my Incredible 2 yesterday and cannot get more than 2 bars at best. I can sit on my couch with a friend with a Verizon Droid. She gets three bars and I get no bars. What can I do to increase my signal strength? I can barely hear the person on the other end of the line.

[AraceliT_VZW]

We do not have any reported issues with the signal on the Incredible 2. You may want to turn the network connections off then back on after about 5 seconds while in the problem area. To turn off the network connection, go to Menu, Settings, Wireless & networks and select Airplane mode. Then uncheck it to turn back on. 

If you are still having issues, please feel free to send us a personal message for further assistance. 

Thank you, 

[deterleigh_73]

Mine has a weak signal also.... Never had a problem with my Fascinate.

[peggysue]

Thanks- this suggestion did not help me.

[EdW_VZW]

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peggysue wrote:

Thanks- this suggestion did not help me.

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Thanks to the many community members for your input. Hello PeggySue, which specific suggestion were meaning that did not help with your weak signal issue? Where are you using your device? Are you experiencing indoor signal fluctuation? Please bear in mind that indoor wireless service can have issues due to different structural properties that may and will interfere with a wireless signal. When wireless signals tend to fluctuate while indoors, we offer an alternative that greatly improves indoor signal. Please visit the link for additional information about a Verizon Wireless Network Extender.  

[losvaldez55]

Even though the network extender will not solve the problem that extends beyond the house, I thought this would be a good time to ask this question since we are on the topic of network extenders.

Why are network extenders offered for free to some, at a discount to others, and at full price to the majority of people?  $250 price tag on a network entender is no small fee to pay for a phone to operate the way it should out of the box.

[Elitist_Jerk]

$250 seems like a very nominal fee if you live in a bad coverage area and need to have service..

the phone does work out of the box, but then you add bodies of water, mountain ranges and thousands of trees and that line of sight doesn't seem so clear

$250 for a one time fee over the course of 2 years is $10 a month to get service in your home for one device.

It is also your equiptment, you can sell it when you are done with it. And also you can find better deals on line for it.

[losvaldez55]

You obviously missed my point.  

[Elitist_Jerk]

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losvaldez55 wrote:

You obviously missed my point.  

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That you have no idea how cell phones work? no, I picked that up.

[losvaldez55]

Great response Jackwagon..   I asked for a response from VZW not a know it all.  But there is always one in every group every where you go.

[Pyre]

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losvaldez55 wrote:

Great response Jackwagon..   I asked for a response from VZW not a know it all.  But there is always one in every group every where you go.

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1. This is a user forum. You want to talk to VZW? Pick up your phone and call or get off your behind and go to a store. 2. Name calling isn't at all necessary. This isnt a flippin playground. Grow up.

[losvaldez55]

Your input has nothing to do with this topic.  Are you a moderator?

[Pyre]

Nope. No mod. Just trying to help you understand where you're posting before an actual mod comes along and corrects you. You're welcome.

[Drunder40]

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Elitist_Jerk wrote:

$250 seems like a very nominal fee if you live in a bad coverage area and need to have service..

the phone does work out of the box, but then you add bodies of water, mountain ranges and thousands of trees and that line of sight doesn't seem so clear

$250 for a one time fee over the course of 2 years is $10 a month to get service in your home for one device.

It is also your equiptment, you can sell it when you are done with it. And also you can find better deals on line for it.

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This made me chuckle a bit.. You are missing the point.. People (Myself included) have compared side by side the Dinc2 and other non HTC verison smartphones and have noticed a significant difference in signal strength.. specifically, the Dinc2 (for me) was 10-15dbm higher than the other verizon phone (At home).

My old LG phone had a significantly stronger signal in the exact same location as my HTC Dinc2.

So what you are saying is the Dinc2 is fine.. Just spend the$350 (Potentially) for the phone  and then on top of that spend another $250 for the extender? is that correct? You are aware that (especially this day and age) money is tight .. right?

And just fyi.. Verizon has already indicated that HTC is aware of the reception problem with the Dinc2 and is working on a fix..

http://community.vzw.com/t5/DROID-Incredible-by-HTC/HTC-INCREDIBLE-RECEPTION-PROBLEM/td-p/192561/pag...

If anything, Verizon should provide the extender for free to those experiencing this issue and after a fix is fielded, we can bring them back or Verizon can charge us for them. Especially after they did admit there was a problem that the vendor is trying to fix. That seems resonable..

[Brown_Dog]

Add me to the list of concerned users who does not understand why my phone shows little to no signal strength and another Droid shows three bars?!

Time to vist the store, and hopefulyl not get second guessed!

[Jon_Doh]

After the recent system update my phone now will show little bars in my office where before it would show none.  Improving signal strength was not on the list of enhancements, but perhaps the upgrade inadvertently made some minor improvements.

[roy4481]

my fiancee and I both have the same phone (dinc2) she will have a good signal while mine will have a poor to no signal and will drop calls. I use this phone for work so something needs to be done! I was going to take it back to vzw but after reading here it seems as if this would just be a waste of time and no one really knows a solution to this problem...

[byeverizon]

Thanks for your comment.   I am dropping Verizon as the phone does not work where I am employed.  It did work five years ago, then  began to snap crackle and pop.  I got a new phone from Verizon - did the same.  Moved to a window and it works!!   My solution now is to ask a coworker if their phone works (away from the window), then buy a similar plan/phone.  

[mshakir]

I added a network extender. Sure it helps in the house. Yesterday, I was sitting with some one having the same phone Motorola Droid X. He was showing 3G and more bars than mine. I had no internet connectivity, cut off from work and this other person was still getting his text messages.

Some one at VZW and the manufacturers have to dig and figure out why one phone has reception and other one does not, while both phones sitting next to each other. We paid for the device and we expect it to work or there is no sense to have the device. We should not have to rely on Network Extenders, as they are limited to the house and we need to carry phone every where we go. I spent $250+tax($270) to get the extender. and I should not have to pay for it, as I live in Urban area and it is the wireless company obligation to get the signal to us. Also VZW charging full  price to one customer for network extender and much lower price or no charge to other customers is not fair or ethical

I suggest that VZW should replace the devices if they do not meet the quality the devices supposed to have. They(devices) do not work, they either fix the issue or replace it. NO more network extenders unless living in mountains or far away from civilization. Signal must be available in Urban areas and should reach the customers.

[mshakir]

One more thing I need to add.

Because of horrible weather we had last couple of weeks(very highwinds, lots and lots of rain, flooding etc), East Coast has gone through lots of power and internet failures. When internet is down, guess what, network extender is down too and you are back to cell weak signal. The only back up, we have to connect computers to internet via cell phone, that option is gone too. I have extremely weak signal, so I can not make phone calls. I have weak signal, so I can not connect to internet via my phone. Even if do, the network is very slow. So network extender does help during good time but not when you realy need it.

The solution has to be better reception in the phones.

We used to have simple LG phones with anntenna for years, and never had issues with reception. I used verizon, because I always had good signal no matter where I took my phone. From NJ to Chicago, from NJ to Texas. Never an issue. However, seems like these smart phones are not as good when it comes to reception and these are the devices we depend on all day long to run our businesses and our personal lives. What a joke on us?

Smart phone manufacturers must work to give us better reception on the phone and VZW make sure they do, or they would not be serving their customers.

[mshakir]

after writing the info on network extender and its short coming during the power and internet outage, I followed up with VZW tech support to fix the 3G service issue. Since I use Wifi most of the time, it is hard to know when I lost 3G service. So far I have been lucky with VZW tech support over two years and here is the solution for 3G service and weak signal issues.

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talked with VZW.

They solved the 3G service problem in couple of minutes..

Had to fix the option.

settings-> battery & Data Manager -> data delivery

Enble first three options;

1. Background data

2. Data Roaming

3. Data Enabled - I believe this one is the culprit, so keep an eye on it.

3G same up right away and put behind a big problem.

For signal strength, I was asked to run *228 any  time I am away from home and hope to get the same signal strength as

someone else having the same device. I cannot test this one, as I have network extender in the house and I get strong signal at work. Need to find another way to test it, with someone who has the same device.

I hope this helps others who have 3G service issue or weak signal problems.