Help dropped call problem any ideas?

[bstimp]

so after some research it sounded like people like the prevail for boost, so i picked it up at best buy. it seemed fine for a while and I was enjoying android for my first time coming from blackberry.

now after a 2 months use on the phone I have a problem pretty regularly with dropped calls. it seems to happen the most in the beginning of the call. usually drops it once and at most 3 times before i can get through a 15 minute conversation.

i personally feel like its worse when its cloudy or bad weather and better when sunny. it also seems worse at my house and better when im out and about.

i will be in a call and then say you still there? and when i dont hear back and look at the phone it still shows me connected usually with decent signal. it can sometimes take 1-2 minutes and eventually the screen just returns to the home screen.

i have updated the firmware, software, PRL, profile, taken the battery out and shut off regularly and nothing seems to help.

is it the phone? or the boost service? they show good coverage on the map for me located in zip code 60543.

what am I missing? i love the plan with shrinkage and love the phone and android but my friends and family are getting upset and asking me to get rid of it.

doesnt boost work on sprint cdma? my wifes phone is android with a sprint plan and hers is fine.

thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[Rarewolf]

Irk if mine does it. But I call people with metropcs and it drops. I blame their signal. Would like to know more of fixing stuff like this though.

 

[wetbiker7]

Have you contacted Boost and reported the problem ?? They may need to reset your phone . I was having dropped call issues when I first bought my Prevail . I contacted Boost and we changed a few things in the phone and I've had no issues from that point on except for the occasional loss of signal .

NOTE: This all happened before I rooted my phone .

 

[bstimp]

yes i did contact them. he said he did some trouble shooting on his end whatever that means and asked me to turn it off take out the battery and restart.

its still doing it.

 

[wetbiker7]

They didn't go in to the detail that they did with me . They had me go in to the hidden menu and change some settings .

 

[trenchkato]

Which prl are you on... I have had success with better service by manually switching to a sprint one

 

[Rarewolf]

Which prl are you on... I have had success with better service by manually switching to a sprint one

How do you switch to the sprint one?

 

[johnny424]

How do you switch to the sprint one?

download a sprint prl..switch with cdma workshop

 

[bstimp]

trenchkato - im on PRL 61007 boost i assume. what is cdma workshop? is it an app i can download and use or is it something the device needs to be rooted for. this device is not rooted in fact its totally stock. im a newb to the whole android thing. but i do learn quick.

i will try to call back mon and see if they can get in the hidden menu like they did for wetbiker.

i read somewhere else on the web something about radio roms and antennas, anything there that could help?

 

[johnny424]

trenchkato - im on PRL 61007 boost i assume. what is cdma workshop? is it an app i can download and use or is it something the device needs to be rooted for. this device is not rooted in fact its totally stock. im a newb to the whole android thing. but i do learn quick.

i will try to call back mon and see if they can get in the hidden menu like they did for wetbiker.

i read somewhere else on the web something about radio roms and antennas, anything there that could help?

CDMA Workshop is a program for your pc which has a few uses..one of which is switching to other carriers prls..61007 is the stock Boost prl..you may want to look into rooting your device..also check out Ron580 thread in Prevail all things root titled "1984kbps..speed test.net results after a few tweeks"...that should help you out with some of your questions

 

[bstimp]

just an update if anyone out there from my area reads this. im in zip code 60543 oswego, IL. after contacting boost a number of times and samsung once im pretty confident its not the phone. i think its the boost service. at least 50% of the time i cant even talk on it from dropped calls.

here is the strange part the boost map for coverage show it good for my area.
the phone will read 4-5 bars but the signal reading is like -90dbm.

I have personally experienced the phone making a big difference on the sprint network so i thought about trying another phone, but im leary now. this is exactly what i did not want to get into pissing money away on cell phones.

im thinking now its time to just do what i should have in the first place and go to verizon and pay the big bucks. at least you get equipment that works.

 

[wetbiker7]

Is your phone is still under warranty? If so, send it back?

 

[bstimp]

I have only had it 2 months so its under warranty from Samsung, but im past the 14 days to be able to return to best buy.

I honestly dont think its the phone being defective. I think its a combination of the signal in my area and maybe this is a weak phone.

i know this from the past having had a number of phones on the sprint network in my area. a blackberry curve was very poor. a blackberry 8830 was great. so i think the phones ability to deal with the signal makes a big difference.

I am thinking this prevail is more like the BB curve. Maybe i will try and send it to samsung to be checked out.

verizon and t mobile in my area are rock solid signal, had both in the past.
sprint depends on the phone. had 2 bad phones and 1 good one.

My wife currently has an HTC hero android on sprint and it works fine - much better than her Blackberry curve did.

I do want to say that I appreciate all of your efforts to help troubleshoot.

Thanks guys

 

[wetbiker7]

According to several friends I've spoken with , Samsung will pay for everything , shipping and all . You may have defective hardware ..... It happens .

If you are getting at least 1 bar , you should not drop calls .

I took my Blackberry back because it's signal was very low and I purchased a Prevail . I noticed a big difference in signal strength .

One more thing , Best Buy may just let you exchange it instead of returning for a refund . Just tell them that the phone is defective and ask for a replacement .

 

[bstimp]

i spoke with best buy and they say you have to buy their protection plan which i did not. in that case they would just exchange for a new one in store, but since i did not they said samsung must fix on their warranty.

your convincing me its a defective unit. because its never call quality. its dropped calls while in a crystal clear call. its like the radio just disconnects.

i will contact samsung about a return and see what happens.
thanks wetbiker.

 

[wetbiker7]

You're welcome. I hope it's the phone and they either repair it or send u a new 1 . Do me a favor and PM me when you find out and let me know the outcome . Thx

Sent from my SPH-M820 using Tapatalk

 

[bstimp]

well here is the latest for any following this.
Samsung rep said it sounded like a software issue and had me wipe the device for a hard reboot of the software.

I also managed to change my prl to sprint 11115.

i did change something but only a little. before i feel i had a strong connection when connected for voice quality in call but it would drop the call alot.

now I think its not dropping as much but the call quality seems to go up and down on the call and the signal is just average.

using some apps it shows 50% of the time at -85dbm and 40% of the time at
-95dbm.

now here is what i dont get. I have confirmed that there is a tower right out my window across a field about 1/2 mile. its a sprint tower and an app showed me connected to it. if i put the phone up in the window i can get a good signal but it will still fluctuate and produce bad call quality when it dips down.

there are two sprint towers close of enough this should not be an issue.
Verizon has 10 towers in this same small area.

so i just passed another auto boost so im keeping it another month for now.

the last 5 years i worked for a company that provided a blackberry bold on verizon and i can honestly say i never had poor quality ever in a call and only lost signal in one area along highway in South Bend, IN and thats with car travel throughout the midwest.

my old blackberry 8830 world edition worked great also and that was on sprint. anyway...............

 

[wetbiker7]

The reason that I think you have a hardware issue is that I went from a Blackberry to the Prevail and noticed a BIG difference in the signal strength . My Prevail was getting 2 bars where as the Blackberry would go from 1 bar to no signal at all . If you are getting at least 1 bar , you should have decent call quality .

Also , if you are surrounded by pine trees , that makes a huge difference too . Pine trees are the worst at blocking radio and satellite signal . Good luck and I hope you get your problem resolved .

 

[bstimp]

UPDATE: for any following this thread I finally gave up on this.
i was literally 100 ft away from the tower it connects to on a sunny day and it dropped the call. it worked 50% of the time, but when it did not want to connect it wouldn't; i would just try again hours later or the next day.

my wife wanted to upgrade her phone to an iphone on sprint and it works pretty good. so i then added a line and picked up the samsung galaxy s ii epic 4g touch. WOW night and day difference. connects to the same tower but works flawlessly so far. i even get 4g in my house everywhere.

so for anyone who wonders the difference in quality between sprint and boost on the same towers; for here in 60543 its a big difference.

my bill with boost was $60 it worked 50% of the time.
my bill with sprint is $85 it works 100% of the time.

now i have to try and sell this prevail on ebay.

thanks to all who tried to help solve this problem. in the end its what we all know to be true: you get what you pay for, there are no deals in life.

 

[wetbiker7]

Wish ya could have got it working properly . It's hard to beat that Boost monthly payment . I don't blame ya if you couldn't get service though . That's a must .