3G Drops & Standby Battery Drain (Solutions)

[mgatskie]

Okay then why do two other Virgin Mobile subscribers around me with a decent signal all have data go down at the same time? and then it all comes back up virtually at the same time? (Optimus, Intercept, and Rumor2) [I have the Optimus] It affects non-Android devices too. My Boost phone using Sprint's network never had data outages(In the same area too). Sorry I believe as others that it's VMs end....

 

[gpz828]

will a factory reset work for this?

 

[Leslie Ann]

Are you saying not to flash another rom when you say "you need to go back to a fresh rom" or do you think it's alright to use a gingerbread rom?

A reset is what you need, regardless of rom.

Okay then why do two other Virgin Mobile subscribers around me with a decent signal all have data go down at the same time? and then it all comes back up virtually at the same time? (Optimus, Intercept, and Rumor2) [I have the Optimus] It affects non-Android devices too. My Boost phone using Sprint's network never had data outages(In the same area too). Sorry I believe as others that it's VMs end....

Instead of jumping to conclusions and missing the point, and a chance at a working phone, why not actually read it.

Outages are normal, your phone not reconnecting automatically, is not.
You shouldn't have to switch to airplane mode every time you lose a signal to get data going again.

will a factory reset work for this?

It most likely will.

 

[lou61166]

And why is it it happening to non rooted phones,you should have stated that this fix is for rooted phones.not everybody here rooted their phones.

 

[Kilo70]

And why is it it happening to non rooted phones,you should have stated that this fix is for rooted phones.not everybody here rooted their phones.

I would imagine its happening to most rooted and Non-rooted phones.I have had a few drops that needed a Restart and/or using the Airplane mode to get the data moving again.(my Optimus t'aint rooted BTW).

Kilo

 

[gpz828]

A reset is what you need, regardless of rom.


Instead of jumping to conclusions and missing the point, and a chance at a working phone, why not actually read it.

Outages are normal, your phone not reconnecting automatically, is not.
You shouldn't have to switch to airplane mode every time you lose a signal to get data going again.


It most likely will.

thanks, i will give a try later this week. By the way, how is your battery charge holding up after this fix?

 

[Lanzagas]

I disagree.

As I stated before.

• My phone is not rooted and it has never been.
• I have no app that touches the network or attempts to manage it.
• Before and after the major outage I didn't notice any improvement.
• I live in Miami Beach

My guesses after having the phone for 6 weeks.

• The problem is caused by the carrier.
• Some areas are more affected than others even within the city.
• The phone connects back by itself always it is just a matter of time. The problem is that when I need the internet and is not working I can't wait and becomes frustrating so I attempt all the tricks. As you can see that doesn't mean that it doesn't reconnect just that I can't wait.
• After extensive experimentation on the network bug showing 50% time connected. My conclusion is that it is just an issue of miscalculating it and it has no impact whatsoever on the connection reliability nor the battery.

 

[JustMe0815]

sweet the airplane on off did the trick. no more drops and time without signal down to 0%.... me and my battery say thanks you

 

[Leslie Ann]

And why is it it happening to non rooted phones,you should have stated that this fix is for rooted phones.not everybody here rooted their phones.

I never stated this was for rooted phones.
The same happens on non-rooted phones as well, this was also tested.

It has nothing to do with root.
You need not have installed any apps.

All it requires is for you to have messed with the radio in ANY way. This includes hidden menus.

I disagree.

As I stated before.

• My phone is not rooted and it has never been.
• I have no app that touches the network or attempts to manage it.
• Before and after the major outage I didn't notice any improvement.
• I live in Miami Beach

My guesses after having the phone for 6 weeks.

• The problem is caused by the carrier.
• Some areas are more affected than others even within the city.
• The phone connects back by itself always it is just a matter of time. The problem is that when I need the internet and is not working I can't wait and becomes frustrating so I attempt all the tricks. As you can see that doesn't mean that it doesn't reconnect just that I can't wait.
• After extensive experimentation on the network bug showing 50% time connected. My conclusion is that it is just an issue of miscalculating it and it has no impact whatsoever on the connection reliability nor the battery.

A. I never excused the carrier from all responsibility.
B. You don't have to be rooted to screw up your radio.
C. This has nothing to do with the major outage.
D. Your location has nothing to do with reconnecting.
E. This will not stop drops, it deals with what happens after a drop occurs. I.E. normal phone behavior.

Stop assuming and reading things into this that aren't there.

If you have to toggle to get data back, odds are you used something that messed with your radio at some point. You may not have it installed currently, but at some point you likely did. It need not even be an app, it may not be something obvious and it may still be in your settings.


This is not about stopping drops, they happen. This is about the ability to automatically reconnect when data comes back. Like I said, I had the same problem, and now I have gone 2 weeks with no more than a 30 second outage here and there and entirely reproducible results on radio killing apps. This shows that there is something going on.


By the way, I mentioned the XDA 50% thing because it was found to cause the issue of not reconnecting. Just another example of you NOT reading what was written or reading around what I was trying to explain. Also, the 50% is a bug, a bug which does effect battery life, mine lasts longer when it does not show 50%.

 

[lynx2cross]

Well I talked with someone in the VM escalations dept. today and he said they are aware of the problem, that it is not the phones but a problem on the network and Sprint has this issue as their number one priority to fix, he said it has to do with this version of android and their network not having the capacity to support all the new users because this phone is so popular. He told me that until a permanent fix is found that toggling the data connection on/off is all that can be done but he assured me that the problem is being worked on, blah blah blah. So I question the 50% bug if it really is a bug and if that really has anything to do with our phones losing data because ever since doing the little trick to get my percentage down to 0% I have lost signal more times today than I did when it was at 50%. And though I use to blame it on apps that tinkered with the data connection I'm not so sure because on the VM facebook page there are plenty of people who haven't installed those type of apps and they are having the same issues. And I have done two phone wipes to make sure there wasn't any leftover setting from a battery saving app I had installed and I'm still having problems.

 

[greg4android]

Virgin Mobile shot us the SAME OLE CRAP when the Virgin Mobile MC760 Broadband2Go "unlimited" plan hit. so many people bought the device the network was so overloaded, webpages would fail, downloads were <256kbps. Eventually we ended up routing thru native SPRINT, thru a server in Kansas. (instead of Virgin Mobile, our domain said Sprint PCS).

Virgin Mobile doesn't plan new device rollouts very well. The OPTIMUS V has been a very popular device. No telling how many new accounts have been created, this creating a heavier demand on towers that are already oversaturated. they obviously didn't plan very well here.

I've had the same data drop issues, Its irritating as hell. i'm returning mine today, and getting the AT&T Inspire on my brothers family talk plan.
I liked this little phone, but Sprint obviously can't support it.

Well I talked with someone in the VM escalations dept. today and he said they are aware of the problem, that it is not the phones but a problem on the network and Sprint has this issue as their number one priority to fix, he said it has to do with this version of android and their network not having the capacity to support all the new users because this phone is so popular. He told me that until a permanent fix is found that toggling the data connection on/off is all that can be done but he assured me that the problem is being worked on, blah blah blah. So I question the 50% bug if it really is a bug and if that really has anything to do with our phones losing data because ever since doing the little trick to get my percentage down to 0% I have lost signal more times today than I did when it was at 50%. And though I use to blame it on apps that tinkered with the data connection I'm not so sure because on the VM facebook page there are plenty of people who haven't installed those type of apps and they are having the same issues. And I have done two phone wipes to make sure there wasn't any leftover setting from a battery saving app I had installed and I'm still having problems.

 

[Timm129]

lynx2cross,
I would agree with you. I have also noticed that when I lose internet I still have the ability to check my minutes using the minute checker app. This lead my to believe that anything that needs to get past the main server in Kansas gets stopped most likely because of heavy traffic. Also early mornings work great but starting early afternoon I start to have the problems (probably because more people are on). I hoping VM was honest with you and they are working on the problem. It makes sense because we all know the market flooded with this phone creating a shortage of connections. This phone and service would be great with 100% network availability.

 

[lynx2cross]

I think the guy was telling me the truth, I can't imagine that any business would allow their huge customer base continue to be unhappy with the service. I told the guy that before I switched to this phone I had the blackberry and didn't have this problem and that's when he told me that its this particular phone and specifically android 2.2, he said the intercept which runs 2.1 doesn't seem to have this issue. He also mentioned that they are planning on releasing a new feature that allows the phone to be used as a hotspot, I didn't tell him that I and most other people have already figured out how to do that, lol.

 

[kingvudu]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by radio... but I lose my signal in the early morning, noon and from 5-6pm. Local time. This tells me that VM can't handle the data.. Make note of the times yoy loose connection.

 

[greg4android]

Virgin Mobile never admitted the earlier issues with the tremendous rollout of the mobile broadband device. At that time, they used what was called virtualization. You actually entered the tower to which you were connecting at on a SPRINT PCS network, but then, you were re-routed on an internal network to a server in Walnut creek, CA. This caused major issues and bottlenecks. You'd literally request a page, and wait 1-2 minutes for it to fetch, by that time, you're browser timed out. Next time you might get lucky and it would come in quickly. Many other times 3G would go to 1xrtt suddenly, and hang. you'd have to reboot the device to get it back working. Eventually after tons of complaints, they stopped this internal routing, and although VM traffic was routed to another server, it obviously had the capacity to handle the traffic. Shortly after that, they began throttling, and eventually they removed the "unlimited" data... then cut it to 5gb, and I believe broadband data is now capped at 2.5GB(this is on the broadband2go device)

Appears that the same issues with the Optimus V, since its a full 3G device itself, the same appears to be happening with the influx of new users on the Optimus (heck they're sold out everywhere, so you can see how many people are flocking to VM). And it is possible that this DATA DROP is some fluke in the Android system, and the fact that SPRINT hasn't got a fix in their towers/servers to deal with these devices.....

With the history of VM and their "unlimited" plans (whether it be broadband mobile or cell phones (with data), I eventually believe the same thing will happen with the Optimus. While calling minutes will probably remain the same, I see data being severely crippled, just as they did the MC760 internet device.......ESPECIALLY, now that people have discovered how to tether their device....

The MC760 people really got shafted when they ditched "unlimited" for 2.gb. I was on the plan, but got HSI cable before they changed. Thankfully, I sold my modem online before the transition.

$129 isn't a bad deal for a phone even for talking for $25 for 300 minutes.
Its the DATA issue that SPRINT needs to address (and not cripple in the near future).

Maybe a fix soon? who knows? in the mean time, you just gotta live with it, and toggle the "mobile data" on and off.

I think the guy was telling me the truth, I can't imagine that any business would allow their huge customer base continue to be unhappy with the service. I told the guy that before I switched to this phone I had the blackberry and didn't have this problem and that's when he told me that its this particular phone and specifically android 2.2, he said the intercept which runs 2.1 doesn't seem to have this issue. He also mentioned that they are planning on releasing a new feature that allows the phone to be used as a hotspot, I didn't tell him that I and most other people have already figured out how to do that, lol.

 

[greg4android]

the phone can be used as a mobile HOTSPOT **NOW**, Just download QUICK SETTINGS, unhide the WIFI function, turn it on, give it security, then connect via WI-FI (this is the ONE FEATURE that will lead to VM ditching the "unlimited" data though.

----------Ok, I read further, and seen you already know how to do it. I am sure VM knows users have already figured it out--------------

I think the guy was telling me the truth, I can't imagine that any business would allow their huge customer base continue to be unhappy with the service. I told the guy that before I switched to this phone I had the blackberry and didn't have this problem and that's when he told me that its this particular phone and specifically android 2.2, he said the intercept which runs 2.1 doesn't seem to have this issue. He also mentioned that they are planning on releasing a new feature that allows the phone to be used as a hotspot, I didn't tell him that I and most other people have already figured out how to do that, lol.

 

[lynx2cross]

I don't know about them ditching the unlimited plan, on the surface it may seem like they are losing money because the plans are so cheap for what you are getting but I imagine that they are making up for that in the volume of customers they have attracted with this offer, I keep hearing about many people ditching their contracts and going with VM. And even if the plans started at $40 it would still be worth it compared to what you pay on contract. VM just needs to get their act together, what I wonder is if Sprint plans on merging Boost with Virgin mobile and ditching the Boost mobile brand.

 

[ScottColbert]

Well this is the latest email I've gotten about this issue: "We are very sorry that you are still experiencing the issue. I must inform you that the reason your issue has yet to be corrected is because there is a nationwide 3G outage. Our engineers are well aware of the outage and they are working very hard to provide a resolution. Please continue to be patient with us as we plan to have a resolution soon."

This is after 5 days of no internet at all. I've already sent complaints to the BBB and the FCC.

 

[cpht]

my experience says that the op is onto something.i have yet to find a mobile data toggle that works on this phone. whenever I turn data off, I go crazy trying to get it back on.elixir, widgetsoid, and the rest all have this issue. my wife has a vm samsung intercept and we have a vm mifi. network problems are obvious, but I lose data a few times per week compared to once every two weeks or so with the other devices.

 

[jntdroid]

has the blackberry 8530 or samsung intercept been having these issues? i'm tempted to go buy the 8530 and test... haven't had any success with any fixes so far

 

[Leslie Ann]

I think some of you still don't get it.

Problem 1. System overload... yes, we get it, it's a problem. Can we move beyond this.

Problem 2. The phone is not reconnecting AFTER a data loss or overload. THIS is user created.

Don't expect a fix for #2 anytime soon, if ever. It's not their problem. Those settings were probably hidden for a reason.


I have an VM 8530 Curve, my mom is using it.
She has drops exactly as I do, but it comes right back, same as my phone has done for the last 2 weeks. Before, when I was having these problems, we would both lose data for a short time, hers would come back, mine would not.

 

[wyllydtron]

Well I've seen multiple threads on this and tried multiple solutions and so far here goes.

Open Phone Package, Charge Fully: Battery dead in 8 hours

Disable Wifi, GPS: Dead in 8 hours

Disable Wifi, GPS, 3G (CDMA Only), Background Apps: Dead in 8 Hours

Install Juice Defender, turn to Extreme: Dead in 8 Hours

Try every turn on/off airplane mode, this that, the other trick on these threads: Dead in 8 hours

Mind you I am not actively using the phone other than maybe sending a couple texts and making a 2 minute phone call. It dies sitting on the desk doing nothing. The battery drain is almost constant, like there is a battery problem BUT when I turn on Airplane mode and leave it on it seems to significantly reduce the battery drain which means that the cellular radio drains the battery at a rapid rate no matter what I do. I've tried everythign but I can't seem to get around this and I also have 2 of these phones and I've been using one as a comparative control. So to experiment I went to CDMA only, disabled EVERYTHING, and the other I turned EVERYTHING on and in 3 hours they were identically at about 57%. I would think I just had a bum phone if it wasn't for the fact that I have 2 of these.

My brother ordered one that will be here Friday and I want to test it against his. If he doesnt have the problem then I will return them but if he does then I am left to assume that this phone on Virgin Mobile has serious issues. Any help? And please don't re-suggest solutions already posted on this thread. Believe me I have tried them all.

 

[Ziflin]

For what it's worth, Airplane mode on/off does not fix the problem for me either. It simply resets the 3G connection and it will drop again in an hour or so.

I have 2 (well 3, I replaced one) of these phones and all three have had the problem. The replaced one I left "stock" and of course it dropped 3g within a few hours.

So you did try disabling 3G and WiFi at the same time? If I turn 3g & wifi off but *leave* cell on, I get very long battery life. Like maybe 8-10% drain in 24hours. With just wifi on I drop about 20% a day or so with a little light use.

It's a bit annoying because I'd like to just turn my phone off at night to save the battery, but every time I do I have to either disable 3g or do the CDMA stuff to keep my phone from dying on me during the day.

Let me see if I can get someone with a clue on the phone at VM and ask what they're doing to fix this problem...

 

[chrissurra]

I have been using a combo of Y5 and Juice defender BETA its key that you use the beta version, I have over 24 of battery use I also have the 50% airplane fix from XDA installed.

I also had the cell signal at 95% and still had that battery life. It doesnt seem to have the same impact on battery life as gps or 3g running.

 

[Ziflin]

Problem 2. The phone is not reconnecting AFTER a data loss or overload. THIS is user created.

Please stop saying this. I just replaced mine and left it stock and had the 3g drop with permanent disconnect + battery drain within a two hours of it being turned on. And yes, I tested it 3 more times before I ever installed an app.

So it is indeed a problem with either the phone or software as it was shipped. Therefore VM needs to offer a solution.