Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on

[SeaJohn]

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.

[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/...

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/...

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.

[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.

[#8]

@ 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.

[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.

[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.

[pat3332]

That rep must still be using Windows 98. I restart my Windows 7 computer once every month or two, mainly out of habit. When my 4G drops out and won't come back, restarting the phone will sometimes get my 4G back, but usually only for a short period of time. The last time I had trouble losing 4G at work, I would have spent more time restarting it than using it.

After the update, I uninstalled LTE onOff because that's what Verizon said to do. As soon as I discovered that their new on board network switch left a lot to be desired, I reinstalled LTE because I can usually switch to LTE mode and get it back into 4G without having to do a restart. Verizon's built in nework switch doesn't give you that option. LTE onOff is just a shortcut to using *#*#4636#*#*/Phone info on your keypad. Verizon could have done the same thing and had a better functioning switch with more options.

Like AZSALUKI, I'm skeptical that a factory reset will work because I've already done two resets and neither one fixed my problem. If you try it however, the suggestion to add 1-2 apps at a time back in was a good one. If you do try the factory reset, please be sure to let us know if it helped.

[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.

[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

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.

[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