Help Verizon's offer to fix my Bionic problems

[iammedan]

1) When applying OTA the phone died and would not boot.

2) When applying the OTA the phone died and would not boot.

3) BSOD is different from not turning on.

4) Possible, but I think SIM card first, charger and such later. If the phone reboots when it is not connected it probably is not the charger / cable. battery may be.

(1&2) Source of information?
(3) True ... is other than BSOD what he meant?
(4) No order suggested.

There has to be some common problem here and it "feels" like it is battery related and he keeps having the same problem introduced over-and-over. Mispositioned SIM and/or SD card across four devices seems unlikely to me.

... Thom

1 2 3 phones were just replaced phones
4 we replaced phone again and sim card.

i have 2 batteries so i did try changing batteries as well...unless they both are defective

As for what i use, i'm only using the equipment provided with my phone/costco bundle pack (which is going to be for sale - shameless plug i know)

 

[Thom]

(1&2) so you started the OTA update and it just died? Would not power on ... right?

(4) the charger and cable both have the Motorola logo on them ... right?

There have been third-party batteries that caused problems and third-party chargers and USB cables that caused problems. Nail the battery and it in turn nails the Bionic. I was just trying to rule it out.

When there are multiple failures I get seduced into wondering why.

... Thom

 

[zalex]

got my refurb razr instead of a third bionic, all problems seem to be solved. good luck guys.

 

[iammedan]

(1&2) so you started the OTA update and it just died? Would not power on ... right?

(4) the charger and cable both have the Motorola logo on them ... right?

There have been third-party batteries that caused problems and third-party chargers and USB cables that caused problems. Nail the battery and it in turn nails the Bionic. I was just trying to rule it out.

When there are multiple failures I get seduced into wondering why.

... Thom

1 and 2 got stuck on the dual core screen
4 i use all the stuff that came with my phone only

 

[junksecret]

He's trying to fix the problem of being bitter he bought a bionic and the razr came out right after it. Sounds like he got it taken care of.

Funny, this is exactly the kind of response I would expect from a Verizon employee, blame the customer because you've made us beta testers.

I have been a Verizon customer since before Verizon existed, when my phone was in my trunk and I could take it out, put it in a briefcase and carry it around (transportable they called it). It was L.A. Cellular and only cost $1.00 a minute.

I have been a cellular customer now for 25 years and until I got my 4 Samsung Charge's and now my Bionic I had barely set foot in a Verizon store. Now I can tell you every stain in the carpet and the names of dozens of ill informed techs. I am now in an internet forum responding to someone who thinks people complaining are working some sort of angle?

Every 2 hours I spend dealing with this I could spend working and earn enough to buy a new instrument. I haven't been a member here long enough to post a link but I'll try and modify it so you can read the real problem and perhaps think twice about implying people are slimy for wanting an instrument that works. I'll pay triple if you give me one that doesn't drop data, probably more.

Want to know why all your 3G pals are surfing away while you sit with your finger up your B***?

Read this from your cubicle.....

(insert appropriate url beginning here).androidpolice . com/2011/12/19/this-is-why-your-verizon-galaxy-nexus-or-other-4g-lte-vzw-phone-is-losing-data-signal/

 

[Thom]

What makes you think he works for Verizon?

... Thom

 

[Thom]

1 and 2 got stuck on the dual core screen
4 i use all the stuff that came with my phone only

Did the charger and cable have Motorola logos on them or were they third party equipment that came with your Bionic from Costco?

... Thom

 

[junksecret]

What makes you think he works for Verizon?

... Thom

Well, the VZW_REP in his nick and the fact that I have never heard him say anything incorrect about Verizon company policy or protocol has led me there but I could be wrong......

btw, did you read the linked article?

 

[rogue_slc_vzw_rep]

Well, the VZW_REP in his nick and the fact that I have never heard him say anything incorrect about Verizon company policy or protocol has led me there but I could be wrong......

btw, did you read the linked article?

I'm sorry you don't like what I have to say here. I'm here because I want your expectations to be set correctly and most people you talk to when you call in are too scared to be honest or completely real with you because they might fail your survey. Things I say here are just completely honest and upfront. Sorry that you don't like the honest answer.

 

[iammedan]

Did the charger and cable have Motorola logos on them or were they third party equipment that came with your Bionic from Costco?

... Thom

motorola branded

 

[Thom]

btw, did you read the linked article?

Yes ... it was added to the third section of ... http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-bionic/438060-bionic-reference-terms-links.html#post3398984 ... when it came out.

... Thom

 

[Thom]

motorola branded

Were they always the same charger and cable or did you go through multiple versions?

If they are always the same, did you ever have them tested?

Where I am coming from is trying to see if there is some "common infection" being inflicted on all of them. If there is it could spread to a different model that you bring in.

... Thom

 

[johnlgalt]

Thom, the items bought from CostCo are the official Motorola items - I bought the same bundle, in fact I was waiting in the store before the bundles were even at the store.

• BIONIC
• Motorola car charger
• leather case
• car dock
• desktop dock
• spare battery charger
• Motorola wall charger
• 2 Motorola USB to microUSB cables
• extra stock battery

I can get you a picture if you'd like.

It's all genuine Motorola hardware (except, perhaps, the case).

 

[Thom]

Thanks.

For him and all the crap he has been through ... if it was me I would change the charger and see if it made a difference.

There MUST be a reason.

Here's one ... how about some noise in his electrical service being delivered into his charger?

No ... defective charger seems more likely.

... Thom

 

[johnlgalt]

There is also the slight chance it's him - I cannot remember where, but I saw one user report that he was too conductive for his phone and kept frying it....

Or his house wiring....since the problems are not happening while on the charger and the phone is not reporting the battery as being bad, I'd start looking elsewhere first - wiring, and self, etc.

 

[Thom]

Yes. I think you are remembering the person who was having the odd problem when entering text and it would just drop in some extra characters.

Playing the odds ... there has to be a common denominator in this one ... wiring, his body, or charger.

... Thom

 

[johnlgalt]

The charger can only affect the phone when it is connected. If the charger is mishandling the battery in anyway, I'd expect the battery to cause the phone to trip the damaged battery icon, but if the charger itself is causing the issue, then these issues have to have happened every time when the charger was connected to the phone. Also, while the phone is at the Motorola Logo, it is not charging. One battery I can understand going bad, but 2 is a bit much, and especially when neither gets detected by the phone as being damaged.

The best check for this would be to find another BIONIC user and swap batteries with him - if the phone still goes stupid, then swap chargers with him and get you original battery back -- if it is still your phone, start looking for other sources.

Or, you could spend an entire day at the VZW store using their charger(s) and see if it makes a difference, if they will let you....

 

[jimvit1]

I'll bet everyone ducks when they see you coming through the door or the senior techs make the newest guy wait on you.

 

[tigersharkdude]

I'll bet everyone ducks when they see you coming through the door or the senior techs make the newest guy wait on you.

This is so the local store.

Hey new guy, help him out "me".

ME: New guy go get Josh

Josh: le sigh

 

[stoney bones]

i have a question...

for every person being affected by this problem, is it not a breach of contract by verizon?

the data drops are supposedly because of the way verizon chooses to authenticate...its not like its some mystery no one can figure out...they have faulty equipment/software somewhere.....

i dont know about you guys,...but i have been paying full price for a half ass service and device for many months....

are we all going to just take it? are we obligated by some hidden clause in our contracts that says they do not have to provide a certain standard of services?


am i the only one thinking like this?

 

[stoney bones]

Finally got the results of my trouble ticket from well over a week ago.

In my specific area there is a capacity issue. There are too many new devices crowding my towers as its been explained to me. So not only do i have the data drop issue but i also suffer from a capacity issue in my area. they do not expect the problem resolved until DECEMBER OF 2012.

they gave me 3 options:

1. one time $120 credit for my issues with the understanding that i have to put up with it until they get a fix out (they said ICS is supposed to be out first quarter of 12 and that will fix it for sure...the data drops at least, not my capacity issue)

2. send back bionic($589) for droid 3($459) and go 3g only.

3. send back bionic (with no refund, I PAID FULL PRICE) and they would end my contract without charging me early termination.


Either option they present results in me losing money or having to put up with sub par service. i have been dealing with these same issues since i bought the phones 4 or 5 months ago...so a whopping $120 credit isnt crap when its been this long and up to possibly 11 more months.


what to do what to do

 

[doogald]

2. send back bionic($589) for droid 3($459) and go 3g only.

Would you have the same capacity issues with 3G?

I bought a Bionic in October; after 10 days of random data drops and a nationwide data outage, I exchanged it for a Droid 3, and I have had not a single data problem with this phone since I had it (October 15). From a software point of view, with the exception of webtop, it is exactly the same. The display is the same resolution at 4" rather than 4.3", so it has better dot pitch. I believe that the camera is the same as the Bionic. It's also a world phone, though if that really mattered to you, I assume that you would have bought either this or the Incredible 2 in the first place.

The drawbacks? It has "only" 512 MB of RAM (this has not been a problem for me); it has not been promised an ICS upgrade yet, though neither has it been ruled out for ICS; it is thicker and slightly heavier than the Bionic, mostly because of the keyboard. (Which is excellent, by the way.) The power switch is at the top center of the phone, which can be awkward to activate compared with the Bionic.

I decided within my exchange window that having data was more important than waiting for Verizon and/or Motorola to work out their LTE issues; I can wait another 17 months for LTE myself.

It's worth considering, anyway.

 

[stoney bones]

unfortunately no matter what i choose the "capacity" issue remains. 3g or 4g. basically described it as a traffic jam on our local towers....

im probably going to take the discount and bite my lip....but i have a feeling that if i take the discount i will not be able to further ask for any type of compensation and will lose all my rights even if they dont meet the said time lines....or if things get worse.

the only reason im probably choosing the discount is because im relocating in a matter of months now and crossing my fingers where i go next will be fine network wise. maybe i should call verizon ahead of moving and check the towers in my prospective location lol


also...ive already read that they are phazing out all 3g phones as them implement the entirety of the 4g network. so that means i would have to switch phones again soon.....also also, right now i pay $30/mo for unlimited data through vzw and $60/mo for my regualr home internet........4g is faster than my home internet, costs less, and is unlimited.....sooooooooo yea you can see why i would prefer 4g

 

[virodeath]

There is a ton of data in this thread but I wanted to weigh in to maybe help.

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Nexus leaving a Bionic for only the reason that ICS is pretty frick'in tight and the screen on the SGN is by far superior to that of the Bionic.

That said I have been buying Motorola products since the Droid 1, Droid X, Droid X2 to Bionic. I have always liked Moto products. Anyway even with the sweetness of ICS (which will come to Bionic in time) and the awesome screen the Bionic is by far better.

My biggest issue is the SGN has about half the signal reach that the Bionic does and that sucks when your not in a good cell area. Also ICS does not play nice with a "LOT" of Gingerbread apps (which is why I think there has been such a delay in it's release). I was constantly getting force close on all my favorite apps.

Anyway the point of my rambling is from what I have been reading the SGN and for that matter all Samsung products don't have strong antennas. If using the phone as a phone is really important I suggest staying with Motorola. Yesterday I just turned off the Samsung and turned my Bionic back on.

Viro

 

[doogald]

also...ive already read that they are phazing out all 3g phones as them implement the entirety of the 4g network. so that means i would have to switch phones again soon.....

They will not be adding any more 3G smartphones, but will still sell feature phones that are not LTE, but 3G only, and all push-to-talk devices will be EVDO as well. The 3G network is not going away anytime before you'd be ready to upgrade to a new device. Criminy, they still step down to 1xRTT for data.