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Galaxy Nexus and VZW's 4G LTE Problem

I bought a Galaxy Nexus from Amazon two weeks ago and was quite impressed by the upgrade over my Nexus S 4G from Sprint. Except the fact I have almost no coverage at all in my apartment and practically anywhere else I go, I experience constant signal loss and dropped calls. I called into VZW and was told my tower was south of me and if I faced south my reception would improve. Well my front window and apt face north so even tho my entire complex is in dark red 4G honey on their map, apparently I'm SOL. So I drive around, even right up to the tower located on O Ave NW in Cedar Rapids, IA. Just like at home or anywhere else, I wake up my phone, show full 4G signal, do something like make a call or open a browser and within seconds BOOM, no signal at all, grey bars and x. Within 10-20 seconds this whole process will repeat. I might be able to hold onto 4G for at max, 15 seconds. I went to VZW and had my sim card swapped out as one online forum suggested, no improvement at all. Several forums full of people with this problem so I emailed VZW on June 28th 2012. On June 29th 2012 I got this reply:

Hello Joshua,

Getting a great phone like the Nexus must certainly be frustrating when you are not getting a reliable 4G LTE signal. My name is Dan and I am sorry to hear of the problems you are having.

I can imagine how shocking it must be to see a lot of people mentioning a problem that they share with your new phone. I have checked our "Known Issue" database and even a report we receive from Samsung. While other people may be experiencing a problem, it is not a "Known Issue."

As I am sure you know, we do not build the phones or create the software. We are impartial on reporting "Known Issues" because our priority is to keep our customers happy. That being said, Samsung has confirmed a software update that will be released on May 30th. Perhaps, this update will help your phone work they way you expect.

Joshua, I certainly do not blame you for your frustration. A new phone should be easy and fun to use. I am glad to hear that Samsung does have an update scheduled for release and I hope it resolves your concerns.

Sincerely,

Dan

So it's not a known issue yet Samsung has something that will hopefull resolve my issue. This update will be released a month ago in the past.......ummm... I am not trying to out Dan here but come on. I get that cell phones aren't great inside buildings but what about standing right under the dang tower or being right outside Wrigleyfield in downtown Chicago? No where I have gone do I have 4G LTE signal that lasts more than a half minute of continuous use. There are far too many sites dedicated to this problem and users complaining for this to be a fluke or just my bad luck with a lemon.

Comments

outlawjjwales

Joshua,

I feel your pain. I've had the nexus for a month or so and I too have the same problem. I love this phone though and my answer to your problem is not a great one but it will make it work. There is an app that will give you a widget to turn your phone off Lte and on cdma. You will have reliable signal and data at 3g. On those occasions that you need 4g you can easily switch it back to Lte. A benefit from this is your battery life will improve drastically. I hope this help, the only alternative is to switch the phone out for something else.

yepitssteph

I am having this same dropping the 4G LTE on my HTC REZOUND that I got 1 week ago. If I set it for 3G only under settings I have no problems. 3G works perfectly. No dropping issues and 3+ bars always.

It's interesting that this problem seems to be happening on more than one type of phone. Sounds like an LTE problem not a Samsung or HTC problem.

I've been to Verizon and I think I'm going to return my phone now, because what good is a 4G phone that won't work on the 4G network.

sfd0124

Not a known issue???!!!!!!! This is the number one hot topic on EVERY Android forum. People have gone through 5-10 new phones before getting one that holds data. Any Verizon rep that says otherwise is outright lying or is totally clueless. They cannot make the hand off from 3g to 4g reliably. It has nothing to do with where you live although a marginal 4g area will cause it to happen more frequently due to, the need to switch from 3g to 4g. Unfortunately the junk refurbs they replace with may be worse. It took the 6th replacement to get one that works.

ERMarshall2

Ive had 6 none of them have good data connectivity. I live in Midtown Manhattan, I can SEE the cell network, they have antannaes on my building and the reception and 4G speeds are still terrible. Ive had my friends with other LTE phones come over and stand right next to me while we both run speedtest.net. They get rates twice that of the Nexus.

Dont even get me started on the atrocious battery life

This phone should have been recalled long ago

ajnevares1

I'm on Nexus number 3 with number 4 on the way...all this over the course of 2 weeks! The second one is holding signal most of the time, maybe once or twice a day it will drop data and voice completely but most of the time the 4G to 3G hand off works, but the screen is just terrible! Screen is very dull and I can still see the imprint of icons from the home screen whenever I switch apps. The first and last Nexus dropped data and voice about 5-10 times an hour when on 4G (tracked thru the No Signal Alert app).

Keeping my fingers crossed number 4 will do the trick and hopefully its not from China. Based on personal experience and reading other Android forums, those devices with the constant signal drops are those assembled in China. The one device I had that worked a majority of the time was assembled in Korea. May be just a coincidence, not sure.

cyberghost

I have found by going into CDMA only mode, the only mode where I can reliably use my phone, improved battery life by up to 4.5 hours. I now use an extended battery from Hyperion I got on Amazon for $19.95 USD. I am at 60% battery life and over 25 hours of life.

Data speed has always been awesome using speedtest WHEN I have 4G LTE connectivity for more than 30-45 seconds. Up to 28 Mbps download.

My problem all along is that the 4G signal keeps dropping. I miss calls, texts, and unable to even activate my phone unless I'm on CDMA only mode or I drive up to the tower and park at the fence. Even there 4G will drop but seems to give me enough signal to activate my phone. Making a video tonight with my Nexus S 4G from Sprint and will upload it tonight.

Sheree1022

I'm having the exact same problem!! Anyone know when/if there will be a fix? A 4G phone that doesn't work with 4G turned on is not acceptable.

Sheree

Gainesville, FL

radar320

It has been well documented about the radio assembly issues on the Nexus. I had the same problem with the phone not working when I was in the CDMA/LTE mode. I took it to my local Verizon store and they replaced it there on the spot. Even the new phone still has signal issues in areas where I should have no problem. I am still in the 14 day window for return since I only got the Nexus on July 3rd. I will be returning it on Friday and will be trying something else.

Verizon_Support

Hello cyberghost,

I want to make sure we are providing you with the reliable service you expect from us! Is there any consistency in term of the time of day that this occurs? Have you seen other 4G devices have a better experience in your area? I would like to discuss your warranty options in more detail. I have started following you, please feel free to send me a Direct Message with your information so we can work towards a solution.

Thank You,

YaleK_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWsupport

cyberghost

Time of day, location, how I parted my hair, boxers or briefs, I could not seem to find any common denominator except this phone would not stay connected to VZW over 4G. BUT yesterday I received a replacement phone from Amazon and how be damn, I get 4G everywhere. In a car, near or far, on a boat although have not tested with a goat. I even had eggs and ham for breakfast while surfing news sites on 4G. This model was made in Korea while my first was made in China. One thing I did notice, besides superior Korean craftsmenship, was the sim card was much more difficult to put in. Since the sim card was replaced previously and it autheticates 4G, I wonder if my other phone had a defective sim card port. I am curious if by shoving another thin piece of pastic top ensure connectivity to the pins would have resolved it.

So 24 hours in with my new phone this cat is happy. I am getting 4G everywhere and already ate up half my monthly data allowance.

Sheree1022

Congratulations!

Unfortunately my Nexus is outside of the 30 day return window for Amazon, and I have not been able to get a hold of Verizon Customer Service - I keep getting shunted to the automatic phone answering thing that never gets me to a live person.

cynindesign

I't easy to get their customer support....calling from your cell, they want you to call from another phone....just hang in there if you don't need to trouble shoot your phone....I choose option 3 for tech supp then in my own words, I ask for customer service.

Verizon_Support

yepitssteph, please try these steps for me

Settings>Wireless and Networks>Mobile Networks>Access Point Names>Tap Menu Key>Choose Reset To Default

This can be done on the HTC Rezound to help with the data connection.

If you have an LG, Samsung or Motorola device, you can go to the Play Store in order to get an app that helps with the data connectivity.

LG Devices:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lge.IMSIPversion&feature=search_result

Samsung Devices:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.apnrestore&feature=search_result

Motorola Devices:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.motorola.android.restoreapn.droidrazr&feature=search_result

Tamara H.

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

ckrenek

My wife has the same issue with her phone.

I have an s3 and with the phones side by side my phone gets 4g and hers sits on 3g. Already did a warranty replacement and the new phone has the same exact issues.

Also, same issue with losing service. If you go into battery and click on cell standby it will give you a percentage of how often you dont have service. My wife's has been as high as 20% with out service. we both have a similar commute so dont know why she has the issue.

She also gets notified of multiple bug reports that takes a screen shot and asks her to email it in. Each time it happens it opens a gmail draft and attaches the screen shot and bug report. Happens as much as 15 times a day in a few week period. She has close to 200 drafts in her outbox all from bugreports to send.

Verizon really needs to do something about the issues with this phone,

FYI- On a phone i have had less than a month verizon sends a refurbished phone and not a new one...shame on you verizon, just give me someone elses issue

cynindesign

My phone is pretty well kept plugged in while at home, I was out yesterday running errands, gone maybe 4hrs, my cell standby shows 2% or 3m22s. I've always had trouble w/ cells at my home, Sprint & Verizon

Monalisa1717

I just bought a samsung nexus to and I don't get a signal hardly anywere, even right in the middle of town to nothing most of the time in my yard and I can see a tower from my kitchen window. I went to return my phone with in 2 day of buying it and it would have been more to go to a reg. flip phone and there a sured me that it would be working better then I went to return it again and didn't know I had missed it by 2 days for return. I hven'r even had it a month and I spend more time trying to make a call, then I have used the phone. This is bull______!! I tryind to buy a reg. phone to and hey talked me out of it. Not once but twice. So in the long run I have a so call 4to6 hundred dollar piece of crap. I have enough of that I have Horse's if you know what I mean. Oh, and then I looked to see what my phone was worth and the site said it was worth $24.48 what is that! O.M.G. talk about a total rip off, Sorry I had to vent, Lisa

irishmicky

Well this is just great news. I have been waiting all summer for Apple to do there thing on iphone5 before I made up my mind on the Galaxy III. I like the phone and wanted to buy it. I went in the VZW Store and asked about the Galaxy III and they told me not to buy it and the whole reception problems.

Great work VZW.......

I guess it will be an Apple now and maybe on a new carrier.

Samsung and Verizon you can do better than this!

Mike

cartersims

im not sure that samsung can do better than this. never heard much good about their reception. but verizon isnt helping by not telling us what is going on and if or when it will be fixed.

regardless this will be my last samsung phone and probably my last android phone.

Verizon_Support

Lisa, sounds like you've gone through a lot trying to resolve this! I would love to assist! Where exactly are you experiencing service issues (at home/work, indoors/outdoors or both, zip code)? Let me know so I can further assist. Thanks!

AnthonyTa_VZW

VZW Support

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

Crostian

I too am experiencing this issue... I love my GNEX but this signal issue is a deal breaker if you ask me. Frankly, I've never had good signal quality both in data and voice... My first GNEX had a baseband version of IF515.09. I was experiencing these issues so I went into Verzion and they replaced the sim card with a new one thinking it was a defective batch of sims. That did absolutely nothing... My Replacement GNEX has a baseband version of IF515.10 and needless to say I am still experiencing this issue... Not sure why people are stating that the later baseband version causes this problem when I was experiencing it on the earlier version as well.. Friends and Family have different Verzion devices and they get great service! I've done troughput testing utilizing Speed Test on my GNEX and other Verizon 4g phones and the GNEX is lackluster at best... I'll get in the vicinity of 5 to 9 mb down while other devices get in excess of 13 to 20 mb down (keep in mind, devices are side by side when conducting this test). I also get terrible signal strength when compared to other Verizon phones as well. Also, the 4g connection always drops when I am using it, even with the older phone... I've talked to Verizon Tech support and they give you the general scripted answers and resolutions... They tell me to check software version, baseband version, power down the device and pop the battery and sim card out; all of which do nothing to improve signal. They also tell me that they are going to create a trouble ticket so a technician will come out to my residence and conduct a signal survey. Trying to inform them that I already know the signal will be good does nothing. They can't seem to understand the logic that if other Verzion phones get great service at my residence then the survey will dictate the same. (Again, scripted answers). They did offer to give me a replacement device which was the Droid Razr, HTC Rezound, or a LG Lucid (Quite frankly, it felt like Verzion spitting in my face at this point...). It essentially felt like them telling me to take a hike when they refered me to Samsung after I told them I am not interested in their offered replacement devices... I didn't buy the GNEX to have crappy signal or wait forever for software updates. I bought it because it's suppose to be a pure google managed OS and it has bleeding edge components. I didn't spend hard-earned money on a device to operate below nominal standards and to be offered a low end device if it doesn't work properly.

emgillis

I have had the same issue. Originally, my Galaxy Nexus had GREAT 4G connectivity (Jan/Feb 2012). By March 2012, my phone started to not stay connected to 4G. It would attempt to connect, give signal as if it IS connected, then have zero connection: no data, and no cell (the cell bars would have an "x" on it). About 30 seconds later, it would loop that scenario (connection, then nothing), and continue to repeat every 30 seconds.

I took my phone into my local Verizon store, and I mentioned what was happening. The first thing to do was order a replacement phone to see if that works. I received a REFURBISHED phone, and it still didn't work. If a refurbished phone is supposed to be double checked for functionality, how come it still didn't work for a major function like 4G connectivity.

I went back to my local store (with my refurbished, non-working phone) and the person there suggested I change my SIM card. So I did, but the same thing would happen. The rep then called a customer service and the rep on the phone said they knew of the issue (so it is a known issue, but not being publicly announced??). The rep on the phone told the rep in the store I needed an software update for the phone, but they could not push it to me. I would have to wait for a software update.

Two months have passed since that initial visit. I have yet to get ANY software update (even though I've learned that several updates have actually been released), I have gone back to my local service center again, and the same answer of waiting for software update is still what I'm told.

Verizon Wireless Customer Support ... would there be information you may be able to tell us? Obviously, if it's not a known issue, then it must be a known issue now: There are many people posting in this thread about it for one, and, as I mentioned, the phone rep who spoke with my local store rep said they knew of the issue.

I'd also like to know what my options are. If I've paid for this phone and plan to be able to use 4G but I'm unable to. My preference is to have a fully functioning Samsung Galaxy Nexus so I can utilize 4G. If that's not possible, then send me a comparable Samsung phone that works on 4G and has at least Ice Cream Sandwich on it. Otherwise, my last option would be to allow my to break my contract without penalty so I can go to a provider who will give 4G access on a Samsung Ice Cream Sandwich (or later) phone.

Crostian

>Post deleted to comply with VZW ToS. Cross posting is not permitted<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

dstigue

Yeah same issue had it since day 1. I didn't realize for the longest time that it was related to LTE so would miss calls texts and everything. Because once it lost signal it wouldn't regain it. I would have to reboot phone for it to regain signal. Also when it lost signal it would drain battery at high rate and get super hot. Sometimes I would know it's happening because I would feel a burning in my pocket. I am at the point where I am just fed up and want to upgrade. Explained my problem to rep and they offered $150 credit to account if I get a new phone through verizon. Problem is most smartphones are upwards of 600 these days. So a droid razr max with their discount will still be 500 dollars. Not worth it in my opinion. So I switched from Sprint to Verizon to get a 4g phone with a pure google experience and I now have to run in cdma all the time. Not only that I switched from unlimited everything to limited that cost more. So it's another stab in the ribs. I know what the solution is. Wait until my contract is up which is November and get the **** out of dodge.

<< Comments edited to comply with >>

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

jack166

I had exact same issues with my NEXUS S.... -.-;;

steampunk_cowboy

Here it is one year later (June, 2013) and our Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE phones still are dropping 4G connections, even with all of the OTA Jelly Bean updates. I honestly like this phone in spite of the quirks and look forward to the much-talked-about release of 4.3 (or some version of it) in July, August, ...?

This 4G 'bug' seems to me to be more than a SIM card issue that Google and Samsung haven't got a real grip on the problem and solution/s. As of this posting, I've struggled with fluctuating 3G connections now for a week or so, and it's very frustrating to say the least.

I'm expecting a replacement SIM card next week from VZW Technical Support. Meanwhile, I've tested my GNex SIM in my Samsung Stratosphere (kept it as a backup phone) and got the same no 4G.

If the 4.3 update is simply cosmetic as some say, there's still a long shot that Google will include the GNex in the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release.

MichiganJack

I think it might have to do with the Jelly Bean updates. When the GNex was still on ICS I never had a problem. Now with every update the frequency of complete connection failure has increased ten-fold. I might do the same as you and request a new SIM card, because this has become a huge problem.

Have you had any problems with the YouTube app? It seems every time open that app my connection will either go from full 4G bars to full 3G bars, and then to no connection at all. Just a wanted to see if anyone else was having the same issues with that app.

ajaxbomb

The whole problem to me is Verizon getting in the way and curing Googles updates before their sent out to the devices. I bought the Nexus expecting to get the updates straight from Google but got slapped upside the head when everyone was getting the updates before me.

I been going through this mess for months and I believe I know exactly what is wrong here, but nothing can be done till Verizon sends out a patch for what they broke in the first place. This all began in the beginning of March when the latest 4.2.2 update came out (late of course, but fast in terms of Verizon). I was actually suprised to get it so fast and was suped up about the rollout. But that's when my nightmare began. I noticed my signal had pretty much completely dissapeared, both cdma and LTE. I called Verizon and we did some troubleshooting. It was still the same so I called again about a week later and did some more troubleshootong. Still the same. So the Insurance company because the handset I had was a replacement I got from them for a broken screen. Got that phone. It came with 4.1.1 The signal was fine till about 5 minutes later when I did the OTA update to 4.2.2. Bam, signal gone. 1 or no bars at home where I usually got 3 or 4, plus the 4g would drop out and switch over to cdma, which was also 1 or no bars. So I call verizon again And we trouble-shoot again, blah blah blah. Still virtually no signal.

So I went down to the Verizon store and they confirmed something was wrong because their handset had a higher dbm strength than mine when put side by side. He changed the sim card after saying it most likely wouldn't work, which it didn't. So I come back and we do some things again and I end up getting reffered to Assurion again. Ok. So assurion sends me a brand new as in brand spankin new device, not a refurb. I boot it up and what do ya know everything is peachy cream. Untul I hit the update of course, which you pretty much can't help but doing because it pops up and stops everything your doing like an iPhone message does. So I call again and it seems we keep ending up going in the same pattern and I pretty much know at this point what the problem is so I hold off getting yet another replacement from the insurance company and decide to take things into my own hands.

So after a few weeks of having this problem yet again it just becomes too un barable. I wanna use my phone and not have to wait till I get wifi so I end up unlocking and rooting the phone so I can bring it back to stock 4.1.1. Guess what happened? That's right, my bars reappeared and I had some decent internet and can now use my phone again. Until I accidently hit the update by accident cause it just wouldn't stop popping up literally every 30 seconds. So I ended up with 4.2.2 again and no signal of course. So I re-root it again and restore 4.1.1 again. This is a very tedius process mind you with the backing up, rooting, restoring, redownloading all my programs and settings and losing some stuff in the process. But the update thing keeps popping up on me and completely interrupting what I'm doing so it gets to be a pain and once in a while I would hit it by accident and would have to do this process all over again. Just yesterday I tried, as a last resort, to flash the 4.1.1 radio baseband on top of 4.2.2 but the result was still the same. 1 or no bars. I tried flashing all the radio basebands as a matter of fact. So I called customer service and explained that I'm still having issues. She ended up saying something about contacting Samsung but I told her Samsung doesn't have anything to do with the software on this phone, they just make the hardware. Then she said Assurion again so I told her they can give me all the phones they want it won't make a difference. I just wanted her to put my complaint on file so hopefully enough people will say something and something will get done.

So I'ts obviously something wrong with this update that Verizon sent out. Can we get a patch or something? All I want to do is use the internet and not get gargly and dropped calls on my phone. Having those killer features of 4.2.2 would be nice but I would rather have a phone that's not just a WiFi only device. It's just that I keep hitting that update by accident once in a while. I wan't that latest Nexus experience like everyone else has. Is that too much to ask for?

MichiganJack

I just talked to Verizon about a week ago, pretty much explaining to them the same thing you've mentioned. To be quite honest the problems all started with the first update to Jelly Bean. When got my phone with 4.0 Ice Cream no connection problems, no lag problems, no sticky menu screens. But with each subsequent Verizon Approved Google updates, our "top tier phone" has become nothing more then a brick that sucks up power like no other.

The features of this phone are great, but the way the product has been mishandled by "The Big Red" is a real shame.

My contract with Verizon is up in December, and I might just move to https://ting.com/ - they don't have the coverage as Verizon but I like the flexibility of their plans. Because right now (even with the grandfathered in unlimited data plan) I'm over paying. The minimum phone plan, no text messaging, and unlimited data my bill is over $80 a month. I don't touch the phone minutes, I would like to use my data plan but the phone now has such a poor reception I can't even do that. All in all not a happy customer. Heck! I feel really bad for anyone that is over paying for Verizon's current data subscription model.

FrancisGamgee

Hi,

I am troubleshooting this problem for a family member, with the additional complication that when a phone call does go through, it maintains the connection but there is no audio, either sending or receiving. This happens both using the earpiece/mic and with a bluetooth headset. I did a really interesting test yesterday - I was able to make a skype audio call from the phone just fine, first on wifi and then on 3G.

So this phone has intermittent data and no audio over the "phone" radio, and I believe this started with a pushed software update. Thank you for your description of the difficulty of maintaining a downgraded ICS version - I was thinking of rooting her phone and downgrading, but now I won't because she would never want to be constantly dismissing dialogs.

I am probably going to "inherit" this phone since it is useless to her. I wonder what are the chances of a software fix?

...FG

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