Help Verizon's offer to fix my Bionic problems

[bryan.allen]

I'm also still having problems with data connection, and yes, usually just when I need it most. My husband's Charge and my son's new Rezound can be in the same room with me and hold on to a connection when I'm having problems. "OK everybody, data check!!" brings sighs, fumbling around for phones, and then ususally "I"m good!" I think my biggest problem is that I don't want anything else, poor reception on Samsung devices, poor battery life with HTC, and an android with a non removable battery? - no Razr for me! But I'm not willing to give up Moto's superior reception for better data connection just yet. I think what I do want, if things don't improve with the next update, is to have my upgrade restored so I can get the next Moto with a removable battery and good data connection at the lower contract price price. I don't think I should have to pay full price to replace this phone if it can't be made reliable. I paid $100.00 more than they're charging now (got it on release day), and it still doesn't work right. I switched to Verizon to get unlimited data by using my husband's Original Droid to hold a spot til the Bionic came out, so I'm new to Verizon. Anybody have any luck getting an upgrade restored? How far up the line did you have to go?

They wouldnt break my contract because I still get voice in my area, just horrible data.

I spoke with a 4G specialist a few times and tier 2 tech support probably 10 times. I had 3 or 4 replacements sent in and drove to the store twice to get a new SIM card before they finally offered me a replacement to a Razr or Rezound.

The stupidest thing ive ever heard was the Rezound didnt come with a battery, back, or HEADPHONES!!!! Isnt that the MAIN selling point on the HTC? The iBeats? So dumb

 

[Thom]

There were a couple of reports a little while back that might be of interest.

One person said that his Bionic worked great in some parts of his house and not in others. He moved from room to room checking it out.

Another person (even more interesting) reported that he had a similar problem and he had it narrowed down to his desk. There was no problem at one corner of the desk. There was no signal at the other corner.

... Thom

 

[61scout80]

Thanks for the replies. Basically the data drops are continuing after. 893. Today the black screen returned and my bionic started rebooting by itself.....non stop. I really dont want another moto for fear of the same glitches.

Im waiting on the tech to follow up tomorrow. Im arguing to get the nexus but they are telling me its next to impossible because they dont have any pre owned devices yet.

well, there is your ticket. The simple response of "the RAZR is very new and the resound is brand new, I don't want a device that someone else already turned in as defective. I want a new _____ or out of my contract. any other resolution is unacceptable"

 

[stoney bones]

update on my bionic issue:


they sent me a new phone (refurbished) and a new sim card. after activating, it never once got a data connection. i called right back in and was connected to a "4g android specialist" who is just kinda acting dumbfounded...she did something on her end and told me to restart the phone and she would call me back in 5 mins. that was an hour ago. so now i have no data period. just waitin on that call....its a shame cause my girlfriend has a bionic and is going through the same thing. we just paid a but load for these things and they havnt worked right yet in our situation.

so far ive had 3 bionics and 2 different sim cards and the same problem. and if you count my girls phone thats 4 - 3.

 

[Thom]

I assume you are running 5.5.893 on both phones.

Do they fail everywhere you go or just when you are in one particular place?

Have you ever had a Verizon Wireless phone that worked properly at that location? If yes what and when?

There have been good reports about 5.9.901 and there is no apparent way to leverage it out of Verizon. There is a leaked version that you could try if you are inclined to go that route.

... Thom

 

[stoney bones]

I assume you are running 5.5.893 on both phones.

Do they fail everywhere you go or just when you are in one particular place?

Have you ever had a Verizon Wireless phone that worked properly at that location? If yes what and when?

There have been good reports about 5.9.901 and there is no apparent way to leverage it out of Verizon. There is a leaked version that you could try if you are inclined to go that route.

... Thom

both phones on .893. i dont travel too far but here in my home town and up to 30 miles away where i work we have the same issue. 3 months ago we upgraded from the htc eris and never had data issues.

i just got off the phone with them again and they just put out a trouble ticket. i asked about ICS and he got pretty incoherent but he did say based on the results of the trouble ticket, they may push me an update that is a "hybrid" that may solve the problem.

if they do i will report back with what they pushed to me. or at least how they are attempting now to fix the issue.



edit: depending on the outcome of this i may try the leaked version and see what happens.

thought i would also add....the replacement phone and sim card get no data period. i am now data - less until the touble ticket is resolved.

 

[stoney bones]

another weird bit of info....

before i received this replacement phone and sim card i only experienced the data loss problem a few times a day. after activating the new phone and sim, i now have no data period. now when i take the new sim and put it in the old phone it now has no data period as opposed to before when it was only sometimes...

so does that mean its the sim cards? this is the most confusing problem ever.

 

[Thom]

I'm no expert ... applying simple logic would seem to be that you have a bad SIM card.

Here's a second guess ... the "hybrid" they are talking about is I bet the 5.9.901 that has not been released but they have been pushing it to people on a case-by-case basis. If this assumption 's true it is a better way to get it then by using the leak. Directly from them puts you on their radar.

If it is 5.9.901 there are at least four other people in this forum who would like to know the magic words you used to get it because they want it but don't want to go down the "install a leak" route.

Good luck.

... Thom

 

[BlueIce5249]

Im one phone away, and I can tell you already....I'll be getting a different phone soon. This is the biggest POS EVER.

 

[Bionic2]

Im one phone away, and I can tell you already....I'll be getting a different phone soon. This is the biggest POS EVER.

AGREED! This is the last moto phone I will ever buy. I had so many problems they gave me a brand new bionic. Data drops seem worse thn the old one. I have the latest OTA. Yesterday I couldn't get data for over 30 min at one point.

 

[TJGoSurf]

Im one phone away, and I can tell you already....I'll be getting a different phone soon. This is the biggest POS EVER.

Clearly you've never heard of the Thunderbolt...

 

[Lucidot]

Clearly you've never heard of the Thunderbolt...

Wife has the T-Bolt and it runs a hell of a lot better than my Bionic.

 

[mike145]

Well I had data issues with my Bionic. They sent me a replacement and all was great for a couple weeks until a few days ago. I was losing data again. I contacted the big V today, and they said they were connecting me to upper support. The lady there told me I was among a very large number of people who experienced the same issues. I didn't even ask to switch to a different device, but after putting me on hold for a couple of seconds she came back on the line and said she'd like to switch me out to the Razr if it was ok with me. She said she would even ship it overnight to be here Saturday morning at no charge. So I accepted the offer. She said that they are working on another update to fix the issues with the Bionic, but nobody knows when it will release.

 

[Lars]

I believe the thunderbolt uses dual evdo chips. When 4g craps out it can use a 3g evdo chip for data like every vzw 3g phone. All the other 4g phones use ehrpd for 3g and often lose 3g connectivity when 4g dies. http://www.cdmauniversity.com/umts/coursedetails.aspx?CourseID=1231

 

[zalex]

i'm on the phone with verizon tier 2 support now. they won't give me a razr, they offered a revolution or a charge. said that the razr wasn't comparable to the bionic. i asked how much RAM the other options had, 512 each. **** that. also said they could just remove 4g from my phone entirely and that would solve the problem. then said that this problem was limited to only the bionic and not every 4g device. of course, none of this sounds like what i've been reading here.

the rep offered to contact motorola and see if they'd work directly on my phone. i have no idea what's about to happen now but this is still bullshit.

 

[zalex]

update: everyone at verizon has comprehension issues

my verizon rep made me wait on hold for ten minutes while she contacted motorola ("because it's a manufacturer issue"). the first thing i asked the motorola rep was whether this was a verizon issue or a motorola issue and she said it was definitely a verizon issue and there was nothing they could do for me. my mistake was not asking that question while i had both reps on the line.

in summation: THIS IS ****ING ******ED, WHAT KIND OF COMPANY HANDLES THINGS IN THIS WAY?

 

[zalex]

update 2: called again, got them to send me a replacement razr. fingers crossed.

 

[Thom]

You never indicated shat version of the system you were running on your Bionic. Many problems have been solved with 5.5.893 using a new SIM and others were solved with 5.9.901.

You never indicated what the problem was that was forcing you to change devices. If it is data drops, the Razr may not help. There are reports of Razr data drops also.

There are some places that are just lousy when connecting to Verizon Wireless. You may be in one of them.

You may have a defective Bionic that could be replaced with another Bionic.

Your new Razr may do what you hope.

(How about sharing the result with us.)

Good luck.

... Thom

 

[zalex]

i'm running 893. my bionic has already been replaced. 4g coverage here is perfect for everyone except me (long island). when the verizon rep told me that the issue was a motorola problem, i told her there had been reports on all 4g devices of drops like this. she denied that.

for the record, i'd be perfectly happy with 901 if they could push it to me. but obviously they can't. and anyway, i'd rather have a razr than 901. so i'll take the razr.

here's to hoping that this fixes these problems

thanks for the help thom

 

[Thom]

There was a report in another thread from someone with very bad experiences. He reported that they were trying to get a "hybrid" system pushed to him. My GUESS is that they were talking about 5.9.901 but that is not sure. If it is then it would be the first time someone could actually pry an official copy of 5.9.901 out of them.

You could also consider trying the 5.9.901 leak that is referenced in this forum (since you don't have much to lose with Razr on its way).

I admit to being prejudiced. I just don't like the shape of the Razr and I don't like how it feels in my hand. I prefer the Bionic. (I also find the Razr ads on TV to be offensive.)

I've noticed that in many cases the information source between a Verizon rep and someone who has read a little in this forum is usually the Verizon rep going away with some new information. (There are of course exceptions.)

Thee is pattern I keep hearing from different places on the recommended solutions from Verizon ... do a factory data reset ... still have the problem ... replace the phone ... still have the problem ... do a factory data reset ...

The worst case I heard of was seven replacements of three differ tent models from two different manufacturers.

If the Razr is what "feels" right to you then you should go with it.

... Thom

 

[rogue_slc_vzw_rep]

Thee is pattern I keep hearing from different places on the recommended solutions from Verizon ... do a factory data reset ... still have the problem ... replace the phone ... still have the problem ... do a factory data reset ...



... Thom

That's because those are the steps in our troubleshooting guides. you don't know how many times a factory reset resolves a phone with no data connection or dropping a data connection or a SMS problem. I never replace phones for data issues unless the ticket I open says there are no network issues and it's the equipment.

I can't take customers seriously that have more than 2 replacements. I talked to one guy that had 17 Droid 2s sent to him and wanted another. People in that/this threads situation are being trained that if they complain enough some pushover rep that isn't doing their job will send them a different phone.

 

[Thom]

I'm in Keene. I have a customer in Harrisville (a few miles away). I keep telling him all the great things about the Bionic and he is on US Cellular. He can not get Verizon service in his office. (What I learned was that all the carriers rent space in their towers to others and US Cellular rents the most space from others in this area. Verizon rents the least. Result ... in this areas Cellular appears to have the best coverage.)

This is in the back of my mind the I hear about multiple device replacements. It seems to me that there are areas that just don't get the coverage at all and other areas where 4G is a problem.

There is a system upgrade (5.9.901) that is being issued to some people and not issued to others. An odd situation for us customers. Let's see ... I can't get 5.9.901, I am getting random data drops, I read the good reports abut 5.9.901 and the only way I can get it is by installing a "leaked copy".

I'm a Bionic supporter and frankly this situation is IMNHO absurd.

I'm in a 3G area and am on WiFi 99% of the time. I can live with the outages better than others. Yesterday I recommended to a customer (in the heating business) that he hold off on getting a 3G/4G phone for the next 2-3 months. He REALLY needs to have a reliable data connection when working from his truck. He needs it for his business. Data drops woulld kil him.

So ... time to release 5.9.901 ... time to start explaining nation-wide data drops that go on for hours and hours.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm looking for any help you might be able to provide.

... Thom

 

[doogald]

I'm in Keene. I have a customer in Harrisville (a few miles away). I keep telling him all the great things about the Bionic and he is on US Cellular. He can not get Verizon service in his office.

Ha. I have a summer house in Harrisville and I know his pain.

(Actually, things are better there than they used to be, and the Bionic and D3 are far better at getting a signal than the Eris I had been using. Right now I am thinking about a network extender for this summer, though.)

 

[rdsok]

I believe that Thom has brought up a possible good point that shouldn't be overlooked when trying to assist with these types of issues... location and signal strength can play a big role.

 

[johnlgalt]

That's because those are the steps in our troubleshooting guides. you don't know how many times a factory reset resolves a phone with no data connection or dropping a data connection or a SMS problem. I never replace phones for data issues unless the ticket I open says there are no network issues and it's the equipment.

I can't take customers seriously that have more than 2 replacements. I talked to one guy that had 17 Droid 2s sent to him and wanted another. People in that/this threads situation are being trained that if they complain enough some pushover rep that isn't doing their job will send them a different phone.

The problem is that if you perform a factory reset and install nothing and the problem still continues to occur, then it's obviously not any phone settings that are getting in the way.

Don't get me wrong, I've been advocating that connection issues are largely on the network side, as my BIONIC works perfectly fine in my 3G only area, and continues to do so right up until I get on the fringe of 4G - then it drops and finds connections repeatedly. Once I am in a fully established connection area, I see random (but infrequent connection drops) but the biggest PITA is that I am never getting the DL speeds the LTE - even regular old LTE, the non LTEa (since it has not been rolled out yet). Ive tried different things, including being in rather close proximity to a cell tower (I used to live in Apartments on Monroe Place, Atlanta, GA - we faced the back side of the complex, where the parking deck is - and right on the other side of the parking deck is a cell tower - so I know that location is a correct one) and still have yet to see a DL speed of over 4 Mbps.

I don't care what you call it, and how many times you tell me that you're CSRs and TSRs are supposed to go by the book, but I'm enough of an expert with my phone(s) that I know when a factory reset will work and when it will not, because I have already tried them.

Furthermore, I've even used a completely different Google account to log into my phone so that I don't even get the system settings downloaded back to my phone.

A dropping connection is too widespread in 4G and 4G fringe areas, and across multiple platforms - Motorola's BIONICs and RAZRs, the Rezound, the galaxy nexus - three different manufacturers, with 2 different operating system versions, but all on the same network.

There is no way you can continue to justify a factory reset without 1) offering the customer a way of backing up all apps and settings first so that in the even that the factory reset does not work (As in the vast majority of these cases) at least the user can be back up and running where they were prior to taking on the onus of performing a factory reset in as little as 10minutes, as opposed to having to spend hours resetting everything, and 2) eliminating the real root of the issue - the network itself.

if it is a handful of users, sure, but when your call center(s) are inundated with literally hundreds of alls per day (more like per hour) regarding the same issue on multiple phones from different carriers it's time to stop putting the onus on the users.