Child Item

Site Totals

61432 Questions Answered 270 Categories

how can I improve reception on my phone?

I live in the metro area of MN. I had a 3G modem and a Samsung Convoy phone and both worked almost flawlessly for over 3 years. After the change to 4G my modem connection would often drop from 4G to 3G or I would lose it completely. I was able to solve this problem by switching to a Jetpack 4510L modem with an external antenna and locating it in the best reception spot in the house. Reception went from barely one bar to two or three.

I recently got a Samsung S4 with the same problem of it dropping from 3G to 4G. I can deal with that by connecting the phone to my modem via WiFi. However calls frequently "break up" or are dropped.

I called Verizon service and got a rep with a strong Indian accent tell me that "you are in a marginal service area". I asked him it that meant if I kept paying my bill on time I would continue to receive marginal wireless service. He did not respond.

My question is how can I improve the reception on the phone so I could use it in the house. I connected to the modem via WiFi but that does not seem to do anything for voice on the phone. Is there a setting to provide voice over the modems connection? It is difficult to believe that the change from 4G to 3G actually reduced service in my area. I noticed that the problem occurs when the phone icons show the 4G changing to 3G then 1X

Comments

Verizon_Support

You came to the right place for assistance cbke! We can help with your receptipon concern. Let's start with what zip code are you in? Also, what software version do you have installed on your Galaxy S4? Are you experiencing reception issues only indoors or is it outdoors as well? As you share the details then we can investigate and customize a solution for you.

ArnettH_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

cbke

Thank you for reply.

I am in zip code 55005.

I upgraded the software on my Samsung Galaxy S4 (SCH1545) to Lollipop (android version 5.0.1) without any problems.

I have the problem both indoors and outdoors but it is somewhat easier to establish a stable connection outdoors.

The frustrating part is my previous phone and modem worked well on 3G, I had immediate problems with the modem when I upgraded that to 4g, which I fixed with an external antenna, now with the recently phone upgraded to 4G I am having similar problems.

Thanks for any help.

Verizon_Support

Thanks for the info cbke. Upon review of the area, there is variable coverage in the zip code provided. This typically menas that coverage outdoors is consistent but indoors may not. In such a unique case, we recommend a network extender. This device is designed to enhance coverage and service indoors. While there are many manufacturers of a network extender, the one that we advertised is by Samsung. It has been rigorously tested to work with our network technology. If interested then here's a link for your reading pleasure.

http://spr.ly/6584BBcIK

ArnettH_VZW

cbke

thanks for the recommendation. My understanding is that this extender works off the 3G signal and sends the phone's voice over that using the internet. Because I am getting a stable internet connection on my Jetpack modem with an external antenna is there a way to configure the phone to use that through WiFi? Also I was incorrect to say that I started experiencing the problems as soon as I upgraded my modem to 4G, actually it worked quite well for almost two years at 4G before it started to drop out, something definitely changed in signal strength. I only recently upgraded the phone to 4G and had the problem with it immediately.

Child Item