Database Develop

Only getting -105 to -111 dBms -- PROBLEM?

I live in "moderate coverage" area(confirmed by 3 separate ATT reps). I got myself the Captivate the wife got the iphone4. In my house, the iphone gets 1 bar and in our home no bars. Obviously no way measure iphone signal in dBm's(good job apple. It is really a walled garden isn't it).
On captivate, i keep oscillating between -105 to -115dBm and from 4 asu to 1 asu. I really really love the captivate and I was looking forward to a decent Android GSM phone since I travel to Europe/Asia a lot. But the signal is really bugging me. A few times, I couldn't hear the other side properly(the iphone was much worse in such cases). I have till Thursday to decide whether I was to keep the phones or return it. I am very weary about committing another 2 years to death-star is this is going to be an issue.
Can people please advise if this is really a problem OR just ignore this and live with this. I really love android but need a GSM/World phone due to my travels.
Please put me out of my misery. I can't make up my mind

Buy an AT&T Microcell if they are offered in your area. That is probably the only thing you are going to he.able to do about the coverage situation.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Complain enough about you're area coverage .it will either get you out of your contact, or a free microcell.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

i complained a lot to 3 different supervisors and they wouldn't offer a free microcell. Would give $70 credit, but did not realize that if I buy the microcell, it add $20 monthly fee. I am not sure if the last supervisor was bullsh****** me, cause the store rep didn't mention the $20 monthly fee.
I was out of contract when I upgrades, so if I return I will go back to no-contract.

i suspect it's reading falsely low or weak - i've got a vibrant and it generally reads the same, where my earlier MT3G would show -63 to -87
but mine doesn't drop calls and pulls 3G and sometimes even pulls down HSDPA
depending on traffic on the web, while showing -111 dBm, mine will test at speedtest.net showing as high as 5.4 Mbps download,
it generally shows 1.6 to 2.6 Mbps but again, all those test results were while showing -105 to -111, same as yours
the Mt3G, while it showed higher signal strength in same spot, never got above 1 Mbps download speed, which is why i'm thinking the signal strength is reading falsely low
if you're not dropping calls and pulling down at least 1 Mbps download speed, i wouldn't worry about it
but in case it helps

I bought 2 at the same time (one for me and then one for the wife). Her's was having the same issue. We have a MicroCell and I get 5 bars and like -85 dBm while her's was showing one bar and -100. Bad antenna. Return it for a functioning one.

themogul said:
i complained a lot to 3 different supervisors and they wouldn't offer a free microcell. Would give $70 credit, but did not realize that if I buy the microcell, it add $20 monthly fee. I am not sure if the last supervisor was bullsh****** me, cause the store rep didn't mention the $20 monthly fee.
I was out of contract when I upgrades, so if I return I will go back to no-contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong, but, I was under the impression the $20 monthly fee is only if you use the microcell in conjunction with your home internet to get unlimited (doesn't go against your rollover minutes) calling from your cell number. Thats how you get the MC free, otherwise it's $150.

After trying another 2 reps, I actually found someone who actually figured that my 3g reception is really really weak and shipped me a microcell give me the credit of the full amount. Finally got lucky. Anxiously waiting for it to try out the signals. I will post my findings here. Need to buy a homeplug adapter so I can keep this by the window. I really hope those works out as I really like phone
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I got the microcell working after some intial hickups. Its been about a week that i have been using the microcell and its working good for me. I get four bars in most of my house which is so much better than no bars. The call quality is much better and all calls are very clear. The iphone and captivate both hold the calls much better now. I am glad this resolved my basic calls issue and i get to enjoy this excellent phone.
Thank you all fpr ur help.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

What does the service has to do with the phone? I'm confuse. I'm getting the same signal strength I was getting with the iDon't in my home. I don't think it's the phone just the service.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I noticed this problem the moment after buying mine. At the store once they powered mine up i walked to the floor model and my signal was 20dbm less than the other. Now in my apartment i get no signal what so ever when my BB would get some. Debating on exchanging mine for another after reading that broken antenna comment
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

My first captivate had a bad antenna and got no signal at all, anywhere, even in front of a microcell at their store it got 0 bars. So return or exchange it. Some of them have bad antennas.

Very good to know, I'll be exchanging mine on Monday
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Does anyone have data on what good signal numbers i should see? Should I see positive DBm? If so, what? Positive 90? Or is Negative 50 OK?
I can't seem to find good reference material, but I don know when i leave my basement my signal goes from Negative 107 to Negative 95.
Thanks for any references or education.

A higher but negative signal is stronger, with -50dbm being extremely strong, -90dbm usually supporting weak data, voice being acceptable to -95dbm and anything lower than that is considered an unusable signal for most mobiles
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

What is the best signal strength you gotten.? I think mine is -91 it doesn't seem that good. How about you guys? Oh i am in Houston.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I've personally have seen my phone hit -50dbm which I believe is the highest this receiver will read. However this is very sporadic and rare. On average it is in the 90s which is unacceptable. Even beside my girlfriends BB my signal is always 30dbm lower than hers. Keep in mind dbm is a logarithmically scaled unit so 30dbm means my signal is roughly 10 TIMES lower than hers. 3dbm is twice the power
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

When do you measure your signal levels?
I got same weak signal during cell standby (no phone call, no data traffic).
However!
After initiating data transfer/call signal increases significantly. I'm getting -60-80dbm.
This means radio is saving battery juice when not extensively used, which should be considered positive.

xan said:
When do you measure your signal levels?
I got same weak signal during cell standby (no phone call, no data traffic).
However!
After initiating data transfer/call signal increases significantly. I'm getting -60-80dbm.
This means radio is saving battery juice when not extensively used, which should be considered positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed this too, at idle if I have one "bar" and I initiate a phone call the bars will increase to 2-3. However, there are times where I am on the fringe of no signal whatsoever to even initiate a call or to use data because the signal received is so low. Also, when my captivate reports 2-4 bars its usually still at -90dbm. I just did a test by calling someone and watching my bars, although the bars went up, while the conversation was still engaged I was only getting below -90dbm. I'm about to head to the store to check out a replacement

Just traded phones, this one seems to have the same issues... I'm curious if the build date has anything to do with this. My first Captivate was on 7/27/10, this was printed on the battery at least. The AT&T rep gave me just a new phone while using my same battery, how can I check the build date of the phone with the serial number? I've seen mention of this somewhere on these forums about a link at Samsung that will tell me
Edit: Figured it out, it's under the Samsung product registration, when you enter your IMEI it tells you the manufacturer date. This one is also 7/27/10... I wonder if it's a common problem with older phones. Can you guys having this problem verify your manufacturing date?

[Q] I need honest answer PLEASE

Is this phone and company worth switching over too ? Do to Sprints changing my plan without my approval,I have the opportunity to switch to another carrier.Out of the other big 3 Verizon,T-mobile & AT&T is the only one that is willing to put their offer in writting to me. The other reason I am even looking at this phone and company is because both of my sons want the IPhone and my wife only wants a phone offered by them as well..
So..please fellow XDA members tell me staright up..should I stay with Sprint and my Hero for 1-1/2 years more..or start fresh with this phone and AT&T..
Mac

50 views and not even 1 response..?
Is there no one on-line that has this phone wanting to step up and answer the question ?
I really would like to know the feelings of the folks here,since those that have this phone also have AT&T's service..
Mac

Not an easy one to answer really. I would say if you are completely turned of by what Sprint did to you then changing wouldn't be a bad thing. Going with AT&T will get you points with your family. And who couldn't use more points with their family, right?
That being said, you have by now undoubtedly heared about the GPS problems facing the Galaxy S phones. Some have found their phone is better with different versions, some claim all the updates and changes have made their GPS unuseable. If you are in need of a phone that has good GPS then I would say you can find better. Personally, the GPS issue isn't a deal breaker for me. I am also one of the lucky ones that find it works fine for how I use it.
The phone itself is amazing. Being on XDA also helps as there are many helpful and informative people. Also, the Captivate has been out long enough that the mods are becomming better and better every day, that is if you are into modding your phone. Heck, stock it still is a good phone.
So it all boils down to what you really want to do. I think that is why you haven't had anyone jump on giving you an answer. Good luck my friend!

There is no "right carrier". The advantage of AT&T (now) is coverage and GSM. AT&T has better coverage then T-Mobile, but about equal to VZW. GSM allows you take your phone to Europe - VZW CDMA does not;
But the future brings change - VZW has a slew of World phones coming out (they have GSM as well as CDMA) - VZW has LTE coming out - which is supposed to be a global standard - so travel issue may be a thing of the past.
AT&T has the iPhone today, but rumor says a CDMA iPhone on VZW for the holidays. But rumors are rumors.
I don't know what you are looking for in writing - all the carriers plans are on their web site. T-Mo does have the best customer service, and VZW has some great android phones. If you don't travel much, and T-Mo has good coverage where you live, they seem to have the best prices and some of the best phones.
AT&T is fine too - not trying to steer you away. I moved to AT&T for an iPhone years ago - and I travel to EU; so VZW wasn't cutting it.
Anyway If the family wants AT&T and the price for phones and service fits, then make the move. But you are stuck for 2 years.

Sounds like it's 3-1 in your house. I'd go ahead and make the switch if thats what your family wants. I don't think you'll be worse off with one carrier over the other, at the end of the day they will all screw you. Captivate is a great phone if you can deal with the sometimes difficult to deal with GPS.

I agree. Go with what makes your family happy overall. The Captivate is a fine device, and I've been much more pleased with it than I was with my iPhone. Talk it over with your family, putting them first won't do you wrong.

My first phone was from Virgin Mobile and was prepaid. I know they leased out network access from Sprint. It was awful. I never had good coverage, and then they started charging more for everything. I left them.
I've been with AT&T now since 6th grade. They've never screwed us over, they've always been helpful, and whenever we've had problems, like my sister signing up for those joke things they advertise on tv putting huge data charges on our bill, they cleared it up right away and even gave us a credit on the account.
Of course you're going to hear horror stories of bad customer service from everyone, but really it's not all that common. I've always thought AT&T had great phones, and they've all last me a long time.
My favorite phones have always been Samsung ones as all but one of my phones has been from them. My first was a Sony Ericsson S710a and it lasted me until one day I was sliding it open, and it slipped out of my hand and into a wall and the LCD shattered. After that I had a Samsung a727, then the SGH-i607 Blackjack, then the SGH-a877 Impression, and now the Captivate.
You will be happier with AT&T then with Sprint. But ultimately, you pay the bill and you decide where your money goes. I'll just add that I don't usually praise any company for no reason.

I love this phone with ji6 gps works completely fine for me it does what its supposed to every time lately gets me there no issues. Im very happy with att besides they make you pay for tethering, but theres ways around that with this phone, hehe ;-)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Thanks Guys..
I hate spending a-lot more money so soon on moving my service (since may 2010)..but I really don't know how I could stay with them.
As to any cell company posting their policy on line..well..that can and does change (with Sprint almost daily)..and actually having a written signed contract is something the other companies won't do,AT&T will.That does a lot for me..and for my wife peace of mind.My boys have wanted the I phones for sometime..I don't want one..which is why I am asking about the Captivate. BTW...Sprint elected to change my verbal contract given to me at the time of signing..and I fought it the best I could without turning my Lawyers loose..and I most likely would have won,but the cost to do so would have been prohibitive without a written contract,or so what they told me when I spoke to them about it..
So..the phone has a GPS problem..and that isn't a deal breaker for me,but I do want to see it fixed and soon.Having a 2.2 rom is what I am running on my hero now along with one of the best looking themes going right now IMHO..http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797077 and so hopefully we can get this ported over here at some point..even if I have to learn how to do it myself
FWIW..I looked closely at this phone and also the Ios4 and hands down this one blows it out of the water on anything video..I stopped by T-Mobile and watched the HD Avatar movie on their version when I was looking at what they offered...It was just awesome..simply jaw dropping..
I am looking forward to the 2.2 upgrade and what comes after with it..So..I will be on here more and more reading what I can..
Thanks Again
Mac

Mac, just a heads up. The leaked 2.2 rom we have actually fixed the GPS. There's no real problem anymore. Obviously it will become more refined when the final release comes out but it definitely works now.
Sent from my Captivate

stuffy is a difficult company but I can't feral with poor service so I disk with them. get used to advanced features like tethering being blocked and such. but you can fix that by looking in the dev section. att isn't all bad though mostly because they are stupid, I told them verizon had a 15% vetrans discount (they do) and asked att if they had something similar. well they didn't but the customer service rep put me on an active duty discount because she didn't know better. it needs to be approved at a higher level with pics of my id and a valid military email according to there website, well I put the papers in anyway and had 15% off my bill the next month. so they obviously don't look at it.
verizons version of bloatware is full blown add ware. if you plug an incredible into a windows pc it hijacks explorer and goes to a v cast music site. on the fascinate they replaced the google services with microsoft services.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

I think it's refreshing to see all the honest answers, not a ton of chest pounding "our phone is the best" posts. Most people on XDA by nature are into tweaking so the out-of-the-box limitations aren't a showstopper.
For me, I really need a world-capable phone. My family also is on ATT so that helped as well. I think all the carriers are converging on offering similar product. ATT has less HTC stuff but has the IPhone. ATT is currently behind on Android, but the Captivate is certainly helping to address that. I like the phone and have recommended it friends. Go for it.

miztaken1312 said:
Mac, just a heads up. The leaked 2.2 rom we have actually fixed the GPS. There's no real problem anymore. Obviously it will become more refined when the final release comes out but it definitely works now.
Sent from my Captivate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool..that is good news..
Thanks
Mac

I will give my two bits. My experience has been good with att. Cs has never been bad, but at times there were moments that did not go smoothly. Always quick to address concerns of mine and they love giving credits out to keep me happy. I have been one of the lucky that never had major problems out of the box with the captivate. But coming from a storm running on atti think my standard were lower. Gps on froyo still doesn't work perfectly but has had improvement with locking and tracking. Dev support is actually really good so that is a big plus. My wife loves her captivate and she is not a techie at all. Hope my input helps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

flashman2002 said:
I will give my two bits. My experience has been good with att. Cs has never been bad, but at times there were moments that did not go smoothly. Always quick to address concerns of mine and they love giving credits out to keep me happy. I have been one of the lucky that never had major problems out of the box with the captivate. But coming from a storm running on atti think my standard were lower. Gps on froyo still doesn't work perfectly but has had improvement with locking and tracking. Dev support is actually really good so that is a big plus. My wife loves her captivate and she is not a techie at all. Hope my input helps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does,and greatly appreciated..
I understand the gps issue,and I am wondering if the delayed release of FroYo on this phone is partly because of it. Rooting and adding on customs roms has been working great for me on my Hero..and that phone is finnally acting the way it should have all along. Removing AT&T's bloatware will be my first priority after 2.2 is released..
I am curious about one thing..I know you can't load 3rd party apps unless rooted and a custom rom..but can you direct push them with the sd out of the phone and in a reader from a pc ? If we are working out of windows and a terminal..we should be able to insert any .apk or what we want.. anywhere we want..can't we ?
Thanks Again Guys
Mac

mobius911 said:
I think it's refreshing to see all the honest answers, not a ton of chest pounding "our phone is the best" posts. Most people on XDA by nature are into tweaking so the out-of-the-box limitations aren't a showstopper.
For me, I really need a world-capable phone. My family also is on ATT so that helped as well. I think all the carriers are converging on offering similar product. ATT has less HTC stuff but has the IPhone. ATT is currently behind on Android, but the Captivate is certainly helping to address that. I like the phone and have recommended it friends. Go for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here..I know folks have their favorites and also know there will always be folks that have problems..but it is refreshing to see a honest straight forward discussion with out any of the fan fair these types of threads always seem to degenerate into.
Mac

Mac11700 said:
I am curious about one thing..I know you can't load 3rd party apps unless rooted and a custom rom..but can you direct push them with the sd out of the phone and in a reader from a pc ? If we are working out of windows and a terminal..we should be able to insert any .apk or what we want.. anywhere we want..can't we ?
Thanks Again Guys
Mac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can push them using ADB or even easier, if you google something called the "Android Central Sideload Wonder Machine" or just sideload wonder machine, someone created an app to so that you don't even have to use the command prompt or hack the phone. No need for a custom rom, and I don't believe rooting is needed.
Here, I'll link you to it.
SIDELOAD WONDER MACHINE

I made the switch you are thinking of about 1.5 years ago and I have no regrets. One thing to keep in mind is the data cap ATT now has on their new subscribers. I signed up when unlimited was an offering, and honestly I don't know that I would have been comfortable using 1 smartphone, let alone 3-4 of them with limited data usage. ATT also had better coverage where I lived last year but would say Sprint is on par within the city limits now. The Evo is a really nice phone (Several people I know have them and are pleased) but I won't go back to Sprint after all the horrible customer service I had with them for 8 years. My local ATT business rep does an incredible job and is a big reason that I just renewed with them(they let me keep unlimited data). Ultimately, if I was in your shoes, I would probably do what made my family/wife happy as long as it isn't going to cause financial heartache when you exceed the data limit. I think they charge in blocks of 200mb for overage but you should definitely look into how much data your family has/will be using. My .02
Edited to add: Depending on what kind of user you are (business/personal) you might want to leave that cog. 2.2 alone until it works. I loaded it last weekend, went out to a job, and was unable to d-load an important pdf that was in my e-mail. Fortunately I had a laptop but in the past I would have been able to count on my phone for a quick blueprint reference. Sounds like it may be a fun thing to play with as long as you don't REALLY need everything on your phone to work. Also, the GPS was horrid on cog. 2.2. Needless to say I flashed it back to the original software when I got home. My GPS works just fine after the JH7 OTA update was installed. Worked yesterday on a 2 hour drive where I only had phone coverage for 20-30 miles. I haven't "tweaked" the GPS settings, just whatever they changed with JH7 is working.

itsjustaphone said:
I made the switch you are thinking of about 1.5 years ago and I have no regrets. One thing to keep in mind is the data cap ATT now has on their new subscribers. I signed up when unlimited was an offering, and honestly I don't know that I would have been comfortable using 1 smartphone, let alone 3-4 of them with limited data usage. ATT also had better coverage where I lived last year but would say Sprint is on par within the city limits now. The Evo is a really nice phone (Several people I know have them and are pleased) but I won't go back to Sprint after all the horrible customer service I had with them for 8 years. My local ATT business rep does an incredible job and is a big reason that I just renewed with them(they let me keep unlimited data). Ultimately, if I was in your shoes, I would probably do what made my family/wife happy as long as it isn't going to cause financial heartache when you exceed the data limit. I think they charge in blocks of 200mb for overage but you should definitely look into how much data your family has/will be using. My .02
Edited to add: Depending on what kind of user you are (business/personal) you might want to leave that cog. 2.2 alone until it works. I loaded it last weekend, went out to a job, and was unable to d-load an important pdf that was in my e-mail. Fortunately I had a laptop but in the past I would have been able to count on my phone for a quick blueprint reference. Sounds like it may be a fun thing to play with as long as you don't REALLY need everything on your phone to work. Also, the GPS was horrid on cog. 2.2. Needless to say I flashed it back to the original software when I got home. My GPS works just fine after the JH7 OTA update was installed. Worked yesterday on a 2 hour drive where I only had phone coverage for 20-30 miles. I haven't "tweaked" the GPS settings, just whatever they changed with JH7 is working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dam good advise..Thanks
They charge in 1 gig allotments for overages now..not 200 mb. I too was worried about doing just this..and this is per line..not per plan. I went back through all of my bills and no-one has even come close to 1gig..let alone 2 gigs..but I understand that can change too.
The main thing for me and my family is getting a phone that is going to work..every time. I've run into some issues with mine on my job where I needed it and something crashed it. Also it's so tiresome for me to hear all the complaints and moaning when something crashes or FC's on their phones..I can deal with it happening on mine cause I am used to tinkering with it..but I have to say I am very tempted some by the I 4's simplicity...it would be nice just to not have to worry about updating mine almost daily,and just use the durn thing. I just don't know if I could deal with it or not as a day to day phone. I am at a loss in that regards..I know you can jailbreak them and do similar things we do with our Androids..but..I don't know enough about that to even consider doing it right now. I most likely would just so I could download apps and movies on it to watch from my pc..I got a week to figure this all out..and you all here are helping a-lot..
Thanks
Mac

I honestly liked the iphone4, and had one for a week. It was fun and all, but it had the same problem as my 3G, the ability to make and MAINTAIN a phone call. Obviously that isn't much of an issue for younger kids since you can still text with spotty coverage(my 13 yo uses about 60 min. a month and 1,000,000,000,000 text messages) I don't know if the iphone is somehow on a different signal than the other phones, but I have been very pleased with the PHONE CALL ability of the captivate. My wife loves the iphone (though she keeps eyeballing the captivate now) and like you, I do not enjoy fixing problems, so I have tried my best to keep her interest in my phone at a minimum. I can honestly say I do not miss the iphone for anything. I also enjoy the *cough cough* wireless tethering of my captivate(free app) that iphone never did get right(and when it did work, there was the whole loss of signal issue). The iphone is good at running apps and texting, outstanding even. I just really need to make phone calls and MAINTAIN a call when I make it. But like I said in my previous post, if your use is personal, iphone might work. If you make important calls, it fails.

No data again...

This is getting old, I thought when I traded in my POS thunderbolt I was done with these problems. Hard reset, pulled SIM, pulled battery, & still nothing. Someone please remind me why I'm paying $110+ a month for service that seems to always have problems. I'm not rooted, was told to get new SIM from VZW..too bad they are closed at 11 pm
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

recently i took a road trip from FL to MI. Not even an hour into the trip i lost all data connectivity. when i called VZ i was xferred to tier 2 support. when they couldn't help me they xferred me to the 4G support team. they couldn't help me either so the guy figured my radio was toast and sent me a new phone but also left my ticket open for additional research. once i hit the Atlanta area my 4G lit up and all was well. but the moment i left a 4G area i was dead in the water. the next day I was called back on the open ticket. the tech told me they were pushing a hybrid PRL to my phone b/c the region i was traveling in (and where i live) had a lot of old alltel towers. well low and behold my data connection has been flawless since. no more handoff issues either whereas before i was dropping the data connection almost daily.
not sure if this would resolve your issue but perhaps its worth a shot. call tech support and ask to speak to the 4G group - maybe say they were helping you before and you need to follow up just in case there are any restrictions to who they transfer to that dept.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

I have had days where my data goes in and out all day long and other days where my data is solid all day. The other day, a day when I left my GPS in my wife's car and was traveling out of town, I lost data for the entire day. I called VZW tech support and of course they didn't know as much about the phone as I did and couldn't help. I am rooted, running the latest update pulled from the Motorola servers. I am afraid to take it in to Verizon because I don't want them to see that the phone is rooted and refuse to help me. Right now, if I unroot, the only way they would be able to tell that the phone had been rooted is because I can't revert to the old baseband, so I figure I'll wait for the official update to roll out, try that if it is different that what I already have, and if that doesn't fix it, I can bring it in to Verizon because my baseband will then match stock, updated phones. I agree, this a really frustrating situation that we shouldn't be paying for.

Does this mean you're running the .893 version of the radio?

y3llo said:
Does this mean you're running the .893 version of the radio?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Some days everything is fine, some days, not so much. Since it's so erratic, it's hard to say if the new radio improved anything.

I find I only drop 3g never 4g even then an airplane toggle usually brings it right back.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

Calla969 said:
Yes. Some days everything is fine, some days, not so much. Since it's so erratic, it's hard to say if the new radio improved anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same issues... Also on leaked radio.. but now with new radio when I leave 4g area add I did yesterday.. I lost all data connection, until I returned to 4g area, and did a batt, sd, and Sim card pull.. I really regret this garbage phone.. I average 60GB a month
on my thunderbolt.. Can barely use ten on this hunk of crap.

Anyone been able to get a different phone from Verizon for data/signal issues?

I've been having so many issues w/ data and signal, im just wondering if I put enough pressure is there any way I could get Verizon to give me a different phone?
My phone is close to unusable how often I don't have signal and im just really tired of it..
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

Well the update from Moto is suppose to fix this issues, so Verizon may make you wait til you receive the update before looking into swapping a phone for you.
The Restart Connections app from the market doesn't work for you? It works for me about 90% of the time when I lose my signal. Rarely I will have to reboot to get signal back.

stelv said:
Well the update from Moto is suppose to fix this issues, so Verizon may make you wait til you receive the update before looking into swapping a phone for you.
The Restart Connections app from the market doesn't work for you? It works for me about 90% of the time when I lose my signal. Rarely I will have to reboot to get signal back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried that, ill try it but they promised me an update by early nov, and they've given me already 2 months of free service. I dont care about getting free service id rather pay instead of the hassle... I was just thinking they might since there highest level of support saying it was a known issue they were responsible for and had moto working on an update. Sucks I paid full retail on launch day and have only had problems..
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

I take it you can only complain to Verizon if you bought the device from them.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC

Yea Verizon definitely knows of the problems. Its common. Verizon will eventually offer you a new phone but it may not be something you want. If the problem isn't fixed after the update and they persist they will probably offer some better replacements.
I don't really have a big problem with connection but it is there. Some days it doesn't happen at all. Someone on another forum said they received an update from Moto already, so hopefully they start rolling out soon.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

nosit1 said:
I take it you can only complain to Verizon if you bought the device from them.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine from best buy lol..
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

Verizon told me they started rolling the update dec 1st in batches..
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

I actually have a new one arriving today. My data loss is horrible. It will show full bars (3g and 4g) but the second I go to do something the data will drop. Extremely frustrating and annoying. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a refurb but if it holds data better I'm ok.
EDIT: Just wanted to add that is the FIRST time I've ever done a warranty replacement in 6 years with Verizon. Wasn't terribly difficult...

mistawolfe said:
I actually have a new one arriving today. My data loss is horrible. It will show full bars (3g and 4g) but the second I go to do something the data will drop. Extremely frustrating and annoying. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a refurb but if it holds data better I'm ok.
EDIT: Just wanted to add that is the FIRST time I've ever done a warranty replacement in 6 years with Verizon. Wasn't terribly difficult...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just got another Bionic, your problems aren't going to go away. I got my warranty replacement last week; same issues.
They did offer me a new phone; anything but the Razr. Considering I not only bought the phone at launch, but bought a couple hundred dollars in accessories...I want the phone to work as advertised; not a new phone.

Well the week before Thanksgiving I was actually sucessful of having the store giving me an actual off the floor replacement. Up until that time I have taken my phone into 4 different corporate stores in and around Cincinnati and each time The associate looked at the phone and just ordered their "certified like new" replacement shipped to my home. Now I want you all to know these "certified" units were nothing more than returns to VZW from others that are experiencing the same thing. I went out of my way to take the phone into the closest store when I experienced either the loss of data or the BSOD situation.
This time I tried something different which got me a brand new phone..not sure what pushed them over the edge though....On the 23rd of November I got the dead BSOD and immediately took the phone back to the origional store which I purchased it on the 12th of September and cornered my origional salesperson explaining that I have had four replacements...I sternly request for him to correct this problem WITHOUT pulling the battery....The store was moderately heavy with customers who had a ear tuned to my complaint. He was insistant that he had to pull the battery after plugging in a charger...I loudly told him to stop and demanded for customer service to be put on the line because I insisted pulling the battery was going to do nothing more than set me up with a return trip. He told me that all customer service was going to do is issue out another "certified" unit...Loudly I protested that this has to come to an end because all of the screen protectors he had sold me during the origional purchase are now gone and the battery life is degrading fast due to the constantly seeking for data problem. Everybody knows VZW does not ship a new battery or battery door with these "certified" units ( of course). As I would not budge on the "certified" route because my battery and battery door was showing signs of premature wear...the manager stepped in and allowed me to turn in my unit for another right out of the box...printed out a receipt for the return full price and then gave me a new receipt with the same price but with the november date. He told the associate to mark the unit defective screen out of box. Now he didnt allow me to have the new battery or door BUT I got a new unit which I am happy to report has not had a hiccup since...knock on wood. BUT BE FOR WARNED...if you are sucessful at getting a off the floor exchange...check your account because the billing dept of VZW thinks this is a upgrade and will sneak a updated contract date in on your account....It took two calls into customer service to explain to them this was not an upgrade and after they tell you that it has been noted....TAKE THE TIME to check online your contract date is put back to the origional date.
After a little bit of work I am a happy Bionic VZW customer

Have you guys tried the SIM pull trick? My Bionic has not had a data problem since. I did this over a month ago.
1) turn off Bionic and pull SIM
2) power on the bionic and open phone. It will state the SIM is missing.
3)turn off the Bionic and insert SIM
You will need a pair of fine tweezers for this.
Sent from my ICS DROID BIONIC using xda premium

This won't help if you need the 4G throughput (for hotspot, etc), but my data connection is rock solid on the go if i choose CDMA Only mode under Mobile Networks.
I've taken to changing to LTE Only mode in the field testing interface (##PROGRAM) when I need to use LTE throughput for hotspot, and that, too, is rock solid. The problem seems to occur for me only when it's switching between CDMA and LTE.

CaliTilt said:
Have you guys tried the SIM pull trick? My Bionic has not had a data problem since. I did this over a month ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pulling the SIM did nothing for me, unfortunately. I'd demand a new (and different) phone, but I spent about $150 on accessories and don't want to unload those for pennies on FleaBay.

Its all 4g phones. If u want reliable service. Switch back to a 3g only device. After 3 Droid charges, Verizon sent me this bionic. .. still having issues. Just gotta get use to it
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

justin94 said:
Its all 4g phones. If u want reliable service. Switch back to a 3g only device. After 3 Droid charges, Verizon sent me this bionic. .. still having issues. Just gotta get use to it
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
False....tbolt for me has never data dropped since being on actual gingerbread radios. Bionic? Even running the leak data dropped like none other.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

Pulling Sim worked at first but its gotten so bad it doesn't work as well anymore. I tried to get vzw to give me a diff phone but they wouldn't budge only offer me a refurb which I don't want after paying 700 full retail plus 150 in accessories.
And no not all 4g, my thunderbolt never gave me connectivity issues..
Sent from my XT875 using XDA App

I've had them all minus the revolution, my wife has my old tbolt now, granted her data drops are extremely Rare.....when they do happen, it takes a while to switch the radio back on
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

Haze69 said:
Verizon told me they started rolling the update dec 1st in batches..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can any confirm this? Anyone get it?

Turning off lte helped me. I have too reboot maybe every third day or so now to get back dropped data.every it was 4 or so times a day
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

cixelsyddyslexic said:
I've taken to changing to LTE Only mode in the field testing interface (##PROGRAM) when I need to use LTE throughput for hotspot, and that, too, is rock solid. The problem seems to occur for me only when it's switching between CDMA and LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what's the "SPC password"?
thanks

Moderator Please Delete, thanks to everyone that commented!

Sprint sent us a letter saying that my dad's phone had been sharing his connection to computers without their permission. We have been using our phones as our house internet for about 2 years, we got 4G last summer, we use the heck out of it. We have the family plan with unlimited text and data. His number hasn't tethered in a while, we have been using my brothers phone for the house internet while he's in boot camp. Why are they saying they will terminate our account because of my dad's number? The phone for the house internet has used A LOT of data, but that's the point of have UNLIMITED can they really do this? They said they will be monitoring our data usage for the next 10 days, isn't that invading privacy? Thanks

They can tell when your device is tethering. They will only monitor the amount of data being used. Not what you are viewing or downloading. They don't have the ability to actually see that. Why don't you consider home internet? Its cheaper than a hotspot or mobile broadband
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

hellot1M said:
They can tell when your device is tethering. They will only monitor the amount of data being used. Not what you are viewing or downloading. They don't have the ability to actually see that. Why don't you consider home internet? Its cheaper than a hotspot or mobile broadband
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We can't get it where we live it pisses us off because it would cost us $24,000 to run it from the middle of our road to us. That's why we use the hotspot, we arent paying for the hotspot, if we did pay for the $30 fee, do you think we could use as much as we want?

Comet1966 said:
if we did pay for the $30 fee, do you think we could use as much as we want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd think you would be able to, but I'd still drop Sprint an email to make sure with them and get it in writing in case they try to give you trouble later on.

Unlimited isn't truly unlimited, it's unlimited within reason. It's in their fine print. They also say they can terminate you without further notice for using too much data per month, especially if you roam.

You need to come up with a better solution. It's because of people like you that make the network slower than hell for the rest of us. Tethering here & there I have no problems with but people that use it for home internet is just so stupid. You can get a hotspot or sat internet if you can't get a wired connection.

Seriously guys? When did this sentiment begin? People have been sneaking tethering for years and that's one thing that is a preferable benefit to sprint and these phones. Since when can they tell we tether while rooted?

Comet1966 said:
Sprint sent us a letter saying that my dad's phone had been sharing his connection to computers without their permission. We have been using our phones as our house internet for about 2 years, we got 4G last summer, we use the heck out of it. We have the family plan with unlimited text and data. His number hasn't tethered in a while, we have been using my brothers phone for the house internet while he's in boot camp. Why are they saying they will terminate our account because of my dad's number? The phone for the house internet has used A LOT of data, but that's the point of have UNLIMITED can they really do this? They said they will be monitoring our data usage for the next 10 days, isn't that invading privacy? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Comet1966, Consider that Sprint, just like your cable, water, gas, credit card company all have the ability to "profile" you. They know who you call, for how long, what shows you watch, how much water and gas you use, and where you shop. etc.
Sprint Terms Of Service prohibits tethering unless you pay for it. They were offering 5 gb with the unlimited for life plan for authorized tethering. As others have suggested either try to work with Sprint to get a tethering plan or stop tethering if you like your Sprint service. At least they put you on notice and just didn't disconnect you.
And I know exactly what you mean, my dad's and brother's houses are in the country and from time to time I have turned on the tethering - but not as my primary internet connection for a household every month.

"I didn't pay for something and now that I am abusing it Sprint wants me to stop or pay"
First, you know tethering is an extra fee, by bypassing it Sprint could have charged you for every bit of data used. More importantly in response to your "unlimited" claim, it is unlimited data used ON YOUR PHONE. In fact Sprint doesn't even offer an unlimited tethering plan, I believe the highest they go is 5GB. It sucks you live in a crappy part of town but you need to look into an actual solution.

There is NO WAY of me finding another solution, we CANNOT get cable internet at this point in time. It would cost us $24,000 to run it to us. Now of course all the cable companys get our hopes up by saying that they have it in our area, right up until we call to get it. Google intended for the tethering to be free in the beggining, but yes its really up to the carriers. It is the only thing that we know of that is actually usable and stable. No need to start pointing fingers, I was just figuring out why. And to say "it's because of people like us that the networks are slow" is the dumbest dank thing I've heard today, 1 of the five phones that are on our plan could be downloading a torrent at 2.5MBps right next to me, and I would still get 20MBps, I believe yes they throttle us otherwise one guy would be getting 100MBps and the other would be getting 1. Bit the limits of our radio's also do that.

Comet1966 said:
There is NO WAY of me finding another solution, we CANNOT get cable internet at this point in time. It would cost us $24,000 to run it to us. Now of course all the cable companys get our hopes up by saying that they have it in our area, right up until we call to get it. Google intended for the tethering to be free in the beggining, but yes its really up to the carriers. It is the only thing that we know of that is actually usable and stable. No need to start pointing fingers, I was just figuring out why. And to say "it's because of people like us that the networks are slow" is the dumbest dank thing I've heard today, 1 of the five phones that are on our plan could be downloading a torrent at 2.5MBps right next to me, and I would still get 20MBps, I believe yes they throttle us otherwise one guy would be getting 100MBps and the other would be getting 1. Bit the limits of our radio's also do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just pay for a Sprint MIFI card? Believe you get 5 GB a month? Is DSL available in your area or maybe even another wireless provider (at my dad's house, they have a company that has basically WIFI that uses a special receiver attached to a small dish antenna pointed towards a tower)?
And if you are running Torrent traffic over a Sprint connection, that definitely isn't standard "smart phone" traffic along with the amount of Internet traffic, is what Sprint is looking at when it comes to "abuse".

weidnerj said:
Why not just pay for a Sprint MIFI card? Believe you get 5 GB a month? Is DSL available in your area or maybe even another wireless provider (at my dad's house, they have a company that has basically WIFI that uses a special receiver attached to a small dish antenna pointed towards a tower)?
And if you are running Torrent traffic over a Sprint connection, that definitely isn't standard "smart phone" traffic along with the amount of Internet traffic, is what Sprint is looking at when it comes to "abuse".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, we had something called planet connect it aimed at a tower, but it was highly unstable and their customer support sucks now.

Well your only option now is to find another solution because if you keep abusing Sprints network your account WILL be canceled. This is not something new and this is not the only thread like this. I admit I do tether but it's only to send an email or two every once in a while. You have clearly been abusing the system and now you've been put on notice. You will probably continue to do it then you will start another thread complaining that sprint canceled your service for no reason. I am not trying be be an a#$ but you've been a member of xda since 2011, you had to have seen other threads like this.
Sent from my SM-N900P using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

How much data were you using a month?

Comet1966 said:
There is NO WAY of me finding another solution, we CANNOT get cable internet at this point in time. It would cost us $24,000 to run it to us. Now of course all the cable companys get our hopes up by saying that they have it in our area, right up until we call to get it. Google intended for the tethering to be free in the beggining, but yes its really up to the carriers. It is the only thing that we know of that is actually usable and stable. No need to start pointing fingers, I was just figuring out why. And to say "it's because of people like us that the networks are slow" is the dumbest dank thing I've heard today, 1 of the five phones that are on our plan could be downloading a torrent at 2.5MBps right next to me, and I would still get 20MBps, I believe yes they throttle us otherwise one guy would be getting 100MBps and the other would be getting 1. Bit the limits of our radio's also do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO WAY at all huh. You can get a mifi card using the same network connection. You shouldn't be torrenting over hacked tether. I hope they cancel your account and they should. The bottom line it does affect other users & the network. Sprint's 3G is painful enough as it is, borderline useless in some areas. Stop being cheap and get a mifi card. If you actually paid for a capped connection, you would be a lot more careful with what you were using bandwidth for.

Comet1966 said:
Yeah, we had something called planet connect it aimed at a tower, but it was highly unstable and their customer support sucks now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried these guys
ABG Wireless, LLC
Beasley Wireless Internet
Ken-Tenn Wireless
They are all WISPs in TN

tws101 said:
Have you tried these guys
ABG Wireless, LLC
Beasley Wireless Internet
Ken-Tenn Wireless
They are all WISPs in TN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never heard of them, but I will mention them to my father. Thanks

Sim-X said:
NO WAY at all huh. You can get a mifi card using the same network connection. You shouldn't be torrenting over hacked tether. I hope they cancel your account and they should. The bottom line it does affect other users & the network. Sprint's 3G is painful enough as it is, borderline useless in some areas. Stop being cheap and get a mifi card. If you actually paid for a capped connection, you would be a lot more careful with what you were using bandwidth for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you seen the price of a mifi card plan, its insane. My dad called them today to try and figure out why, and the lady could not tell him she just kept saying we violated the terms of service, he asked which terms we violated, she said "I don't know".... Yeah Sprint " ranked #1 in customer service" BS they can't tell us anything, that's 2 people from there giving out useless information. If there was another company in our area that actually had reasonable prices for 5 phones, we would let them drop us in a heartbeat. Thanks for your information though, no reason to be an ass though.

beefcakeb0 said:
How much data were you using a month?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too much, I guess we hadn't had internet that was more than 100kbps in well, ever so we NON-STOP used it, from playing games to watching Netflix.

Comet1966 said:
Have you seen the price of a mifi card plan, its insane. My dad called them today to try and figure out why, and the lady could not tell him she just kept saying we violated the terms of service, he asked which terms we violated, she said "I don't know".... Yeah Sprint " ranked #1 in customer service" BS they can't tell us anything, that's 2 people from there giving out useless information. If there was another company in our area that actually had reasonable prices for 5 phones, we would let them drop us in a heartbeat. Thanks for your information though, no reason to be an ass though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
READ THROUGH YOUR CONTRACT. There are provisions regarding the use of tethering. Its not the CSR's job to know what you and a million other people signed, It is yours. Sprint does not offer unlimited tethering. It is a separate charge and even then it has a maximum limit. It has always been that way, don't forget tethering existed well before Android ever did. This isn't even an argument, no matter what way you twist this you're wrong.