No signal at all...is this the VM "bug?"

sushifor5 · August 29th, 2011, 12:02 PM

Yesterday, all day, I had no signal at all...just an x in the signal bars box at top of phone. I've had this phone about a week and this is the first time I had no signal.

I've been reading forums about issues with 3G working, but I haven't read about no signal at all. Any input you could share would be greatly appreciated. Did I cause this by some app I might have downloaded? Removing the battery for 10 minutes did not help. I do not live in a "high traffic" area.

I have noticed the "time without signal" bug on this phone, which I learned about by reading forums...I don't know if this is connected to my complete loss of signal.

Will I be plagued with this problems regularly as long as I have the Optimus V? Will rooting help? Should I return the phone for a new one?

Lastly, I don't understand how to make calls without 3G. Is there a way to do that?

Thanks so much!! Complete newbie and nontechy gal here...TIA!!!

mkbkr1 · August 29th, 2011, 12:57 PM

3g and cell service are two different things. 3g is your data (internet and mms), cell signal is for your phone calls and regular text messages. You do not need 3g to make or receive phone calls, or send and receive text messages.

sushifor5 · August 29th, 2011, 05:30 PM

Thanks...so if I had a signal, even if it were not 3G, i could do texts and calls...

But i have no signal at all, just an x in the bars...what should I do about that?

Petrah · August 29th, 2011, 05:53 PM

Try the Activate app on your phone. If doing this 3 times in a row yields no results, give Virgin Mobile a call.

Several people on the forum have stated that doing the Activation several times gave them their 3G back.

sushifor5 · August 29th, 2011, 06:06 PM

Thanks for the input...before seeing your reply, I read elsewhere and tried the *#*#etc fix b/c I also seem to have the "cell standby" bug...mine says cell standby 70% and Time w/o signal 99%.

So, after doing the CDMA toggle thing, my signal came back...but my cell standby is still as i described.

Did I do the wrong thing? Is my loss of signal related to or caused by the cell standby bug?

If I call VM what should I expect to be told? Should I request a new phone?

Any more info and help you have would be greatly appreciated. THanks!!

Annonymous7 · August 29th, 2011, 07:00 PM

I had a similar issue a about a month ago. ReActivating the phone on the network using ##virgin# worked for me, 2nd time around -.- I would call VM regardless if you get it fixed. They may have something for you, or be able to do something from their centers that you have no control over. Tell them exactly whats been happening. I'd leave out the part about trying advice from a web forum though. At least until you hear their response to your issue.

sushifor5 · August 29th, 2011, 08:09 PM

thanks for the input...

here's the reply I rec'd from my email to them yesterday. Is this the same as re-activating my phone with the activate button (which i don't know where to find, LOL):

We are sorry to hear about the problem. Please try to reprogram your phone.

Turn on your phone
Press the Phone icon on the Home screen
Dial #-#-8-4-7-4-4-6-#
You are now in the Service Program menu. Tap Edit.
The MDN field will appear
Enter your 10-digit phone number
Tap OK
The MSID field will appear
Tap the field next to "Enter MSID"
Enter your 10-digit MSID
Tap OK
Tap Done.
The phone will turn off and turn back on by itself.

It might take a couple of hours to get you set up on our network, but we will send a text message to your phone to let you know you can start talking. Please let us know if the issue persists.

raynoldsk · August 29th, 2011, 09:37 PM

No, it isn't the same =).

Out of curiosity, where are you located? Could it be due to Irene?

sushifor5 · August 30th, 2011, 12:03 AM

I'm in Sandpoint, Idaho...way north just under canada...

I don't understand how cell connectivity web works...can the outage in the east affect everyone else's coverage, too?

dpaultx · August 30th, 2011, 06:05 AM

I don't know about Idaho, but a large part of North Texas was totally without service for over 10 hours on Monday 8/29/2011. Seems there was a problem with Sprint's fiber optics system in the Dallas area that knocked out both Sprint and VM service in a couple of hundred mile radius.

VM's rep on Facebook blamed it on hurricane Irene. Right.