4G connection problems (hardware issue?)

[mr_gadget]

I am very new to my Nexus (about a week), but not new to Androids (owned around 6 of them).

Fresh out of the box at 4.0.2, I could hardly keep phone calls and my wireless data was almost non-existent.  <Content deleted per the TOS>  My wife's RAZR is just awesome everywhere, so it isn't a bad signal area.  This bad 4G, of course, causes my battery to drain within hours.  So, I am forced to run with 3G-only, which works great, but, then I am missing the entire 4G experience.

<Content deleted per the TOS>, and my wife's phone is doing great, I am wondering if this is a hardware issue?

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[GaryWHolland]

I'm going to go out on a limb here but I'd say the phone is the problem. I had a Thunderbolt prior to upgrading to the GNex and it was a solid performer when it came to 4g. My GNex is suffering from the same issues that yours is, random reboots, inability to hold the 4g signal, poor battery life. I'm checking my battery usage this evening and other than a couple of text messages and about 2 or 3 minutes on FaceBook I'm at 23% in 3h 42m 19s. I mean that is just plain old BS if you ask me. I've only hinted at Verizon about these problems in a couple of calls and so far I've been told to reboot the phone, pull the battery and sim card and then reboot and finally to get a replacement sim card. I'm not sure how long to put up with this nonsense. Rumors abound on the internet that Google will be updating the firmware on these phones to 4.04 or 4.05 depending on who you believe and that this will take care of all of these issues. I'm not going to hold my breath!

[peabodyman]

It is a hardware problem.  Get a replacement.

[Zio]

I am having similar issues.  I just upgraded to the GNexus this afternoon (from a Droid X) and had to go back into the store twice within minutes after i got it.  First i could not make any call. Then i could not log on to the internet...  They initially told me it was because they just activated my new phone, and asked me to give it a couple of hours.  It's been several hours now and i am still having problems.  The connection seems to be pretty unstable.  Sometimes i can make or receive calls and then within a minute i would lose that ability again.  This is very frustrating and i don't know what to do at this point.  I removed the battery, pulled the SIM card out and replaced it again (as i saw mentioned on other posts), but still experiencing the same issue.  I would hate to return the phone as i was very excited about it!  Is it a hardware, software, or carrier issue?  I have 2 weeks to figure out what i want to do about it...  Any advice is much appreciated.

[kabull]

Return the phone if you are able.  I have had this phone since December and have the same issues.  The call quality is horrible.  Boots you off the internet often and 4g....forget it.  I live a quarter mile from the Verizon tower and it is plain view of my home and I rarely ever get 4g.  If I do it doesn't last.  My signal strength in my home measures around -110 dbm which is totally unacceptable.  Calls are either dropped or the sound quality is so poor that staying on the line is like listening to nails on a chalkboard.  Usually it ends up that the other person can't hear me.  I use my phone for business and I had to get my home phone service reinstalled to I could conduct business over the phone.  I have a friend with the same phone who lives 40 miles from me who has the exact same issues.  Tried everything Verizon has recommended.  Nothing works.  Been on the phone with customer service/ tech support more times than I can count.  Everyone tells you something different.  Samsung told me that it must be a problem with the phone itself....hardware.  Verizon says don't send it back to them....send it to us and get a refurbished phone.....I was told way back in early Feb. that a fix was coming in early March.....that didn't happen.  Then I was told it was coming in April.....hasn't happened.......So save yourself a lot of headaches and get a different model.  As soon as my contract is up we are taking our seven lines and moving on to a different carrier. 

[galiett214]

I am having the same issues with my phone.  Verizon has been telling me for months that a software update is coming so the phone can work properly on a 4G network area but I am still waiting.  My phone is currently on a 3G network but that's not why I purchased this phone.  I hope Verizon can really compensate for this phone.

[Shaun330]

I am having the same problems. I took my 1st phone back and got a new one and it's still doing the same thing. I have 3 days left before I can get a refund, so I was gonna switch to the Razr since it's $99.  I've seen people say they're having the same problem with The Razr and The Rezound so it is a VERIZON problem more than anything imo. I may just leave Verizon and go to Sprint. Bill $100 but I keep losing service? F that

[mr_gadget]

In my experience, the RAZR is far better than the Galaxy for holding your

signal.

[Shaun330]

Interesting, do you think The Razr is just as good as a phone? Razr is rumored to get Ics May 21st

[mr_gadget]

Well, I think the RAZR is just as capable, but it does not have the same

display. It does, however, have a superior radio so you will have few

problems, if any, getting and keeping calls. I do like the Nexus for

several reasons, but I too may have to switch to a RAZR due to the poor

call quality of the Nexus. My wife uses the RAZR and it is a very solid,

consistent device.

[BadWolf03]

I upgraded to a RAZR at the end of last year.  I asked the VW manager if any newer smartphones were scheduled in the next couple of months (thinking about how the Bionic dropped in value by half on eBay the moment the RAZR came out).  The manager told me that nothing was scheduled (though a few days after getting the RAZR, I was talking with an asst mgr in the same store and he told me they had been told two weeks before I upgraded that the MAXX was coming out (Grrrrrr....).  I was also told the that RAZR was the ONLY phone outside of the Nexus that Verizon was upgrading to ICS, and the RAZR's upgrade was scheduled for mid-January (Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...).  Then I was told end of first quarter.  Then April 4th.  Then end of second quarter at the latest.  Now, I go to Motorola's website and find out that NONE of the Verizon Droids have a schedule date for ICS.  In fact, Motorola lists ALL of its USA phones as currently being in Phase 1 of 4.  From their website:

PHASE 1 – EVALUATION & PLANNING: During this phase, we evaluate the benefits, technical issues and user experience of an upgrade. Generally, we are not able to provide release dates in this stage. There are also some cases in which we can state that an upgrade will happen but are not able to provide a release date. Please note that some products that enter the Evaluation and Planning phase may not complete the upgrade cycle. [my emphasis].

Meanwhile, the same chart shows that the RAZR with ICS is currently being rolled out in Q2 in China, Canada, Japan, Korea, Asia Pacific, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and LATAM (Latin America).  In fact, the ONLY Droids that are not scheduled for Q2 release of ICS are the American ones available through VerizonWireless.  All Motorola lists about their release dates is:

Further details to follow.

Ironically, Google is now planning to roll out at least five pure Google Android 5.0 (JellyBean) phones by Thanksgiving - totally unlocked and based on GSM/HSPA+ and will be contract-free. They will be available ONLY through a new version of the Google Store. 

They expect to sell for not a heckuva lot more than the locked/2-year contract bloatmobiles VW is foisting off on us ($150 to $300 more???), but will be able to work with a variety of carriers via a SIM card (though VW, since it is not GSM-based, will not be one of them).  The official and unofficial word on the newest Google Nexus models is that they will have at least five different "lead developers," and some models will come (at least outside of the US) with quad-core processors, 2GB RAM, and either 32GB on-board with an optional 32GB microSD, and an upgraded  version with 64GB on-board with the option to use a 64B microSD, for a whopping 128GB! 

Ironic, isn't it that T-Mobile, AT&T, all of the rest of the foreign GSM systems, and other US vendors will be running JellyBean Android 5.0 well before us VW Droid owners will still be griping and moaning about when we are getting ICS.

After having 2 VW mobile phones ever since the original hard-mounted car phones, my wife and I will be gone faster than an egg through a loose goose when the new Google Nexus phones and tablets are available (if they even halfway live up to their official and leaked promises).  I even know of one company that is willing to give up to a $350 discount in rates per line to pay off VW's early termination penalty.

[Poozler]

well, the GNexus is fast. at least thats true.  however, the Wifi / 4G connection conflicts are severe. LOTS of apps will not work. anything that uses Wifi networks for anything other than a data pipe (ie; Airdroid, Play Store DLs etc) will not connect.  pretty much the best thing to do is to disable 4g under Wireless Networks by choosing CDMA rather than CDMA / LTE.  this will kill off 4G.  then turn off WiFi.   this won't fix the problems completely but it won't hurt.  (and at least will save your battery and prevent the constant network reconnect as the phone switches from 3G to 4G and back when the signal comes and goes, which is mostly all the time) 

if there was any justice in the world Verizon would get sued for this particularly horrible implementation of their fast but extremely not ready for prime time 4G network.  of course, you could interpret this as their attempt to prevent users from using wifi services which increases Verizon's profit stream but of course we all know the would never do that.

your best move is to dump your 4G phone until they figure this out, crappy and overcrowded though the Verizon 3G network has become.  

[Shaun330]

Thanks for the info. So I was right and every Lte phone has this problem?

[Poozler]

thats my belief.

[BadWolf03]

BTW, for those of you upset about your Nexus rebooting, my RAZR constantly does the same thing.  It goes into periodic reboot cycles, often rebooting a dozen times before settling down -  especially if I let the battery run below 20% (or completely out) before recharging.  Each time, it loses some of its configuration and won't load some of the apps on the home page. It sometimes reboots again before it is finished booting, or before I can even unlock it or activate the phone.  Once, I turned power completely off and put it on the desk, hoping to break a cycle.  Ten minutes later, I hear this croak "Drrroooiiiddd..."  Sure enough, it rebooted itself from a total power-off state.  Spooky.

[DroidudeAZ]

It shouldn't be rebooting on it's own unless you downloaded an app that isn't playing well with your software. It shouldn't be rebooting a dozen times before it settles down. Something is wrong. I would call Verizon and speak to a Level 2 tech about it.

[Shaun330]

I traded mines in for a Razr last week. I love my RAZR!! no connection problems at all!!!!

[claamart]

I got a Galaxy Nexus 13 days ago - was planning to get a Razr like my son's but was awed by the screen resolution and better color on GN.  BUT right away encountered the connection problems.  Went back after 7 days to get a new phone, in case it was that specific phone.  Slightly better for awhile, but then bad again.  Have been comparing dbm with my son's Razr in the same spots and both his dbm's and battery usage are consistently much better.  He hasn't had any connection problems in our house and I ALWAYS do.  Was hoping that there would be a software fix but after reading all of this I am going back tomorrow (last day to do so) to get something else.  I can't believe Verizon is still selling this so-called "phone" as if it is a good thing for their reputation.