Reception

[erisdog63]

I hope this doesn't end up being a deal breaker for me because I really do like this phone.......but when I'm in my house, my reception is horrible. Actually when looking at the eris, I hardly ever show a strong signal. Usually around 2 bars,3 at best. The only place I show a full signal is in the Verzon store. Last night I dropped 2 calls back to back to Comcast, and I'm very frustrated because my BB had a good signal everywhere. I never dropped calls in my home before. One thing that I did notice though, when the phone shows a 3G signal, there is no phone signal, but if it shows 1X, then I show usually 2 bars. All I know is that this is getting very frustrating for me since I did away with my land line. I have to be able to depend on a decent reception. Is anyone else having the same issue???

 

[Caddyman]

take you phone back, apparently there was a batch or eris's (erii?) that had bad antenna's, this is a complaint we have seen, though many people have no issues.

i would take it back and get a new one.

 

[OfTheDamned]

I have been showing some very low bars in some areas, but my signal has been great even when I am showing no bars (meaning no problems with calls or data). I was thinking is was probably just a meter software issue, like the battery used to have before the update. My phone has full bars and is showing 3G right now though. Have you tried the *228 update? I know my phone usually gets a little signal boost in some areas after that. If other Verizon phones are getting a good signal in your home you may also want to consider swapping the phone out for another one. I have had to do that in the past with other devices and it usually helps. I know VZW tech support will try to help if they can.

I hope you can get it resolved. Though I wouldn't blame you at all for taking it back, it is a phone first and foremost and that part has to work.

 

[Caddyman]

right, i show low bars too, but i never drop calls, ever, leads me to believe he has a lemon.

the *228 is a good suggestion though ofthedamned.

 

[swimminginthoughts]

I'm going to try updating mine tonight too. I've been getting crappy signals and everyone has been saying "HUH?" or "You sound like a robot..."

 

[timlitw]

I don't know if you want to spend money on the problem - at work we had so many problems with low signal we installed one of these:
zBoost Cell Phone Signal Booster, Signal Repeater 800 Mhz for Verizon , AT&T (Cingular), Alltel and US Cellular Serviced Cell Phones
Now everyone has full signal strength and the 3g speed is better than anywhere else around.

 

[smittythepig]

i've had some dropped calls and some issues at my apartment, but i have very weak signal here and i've had issues with other phones in this spot as well. so i don't think it's the Eris, at least in my case. it doesn't seem to be the absolute best at pulling in a signal but it seems to do a good job. i wonder if the signal in the OP's home is weak. you said your BB was fine there, but was the signal still low?

 

[OfTheDamned]

I don't know if you want to spend money on the problem - at work we had so many problems with low signal we installed one of these:
zBoost Cell Phone Signal Booster, Signal Repeater 800 Mhz for Verizon , AT&T (Cingular), Alltel and US Cellular Serviced Cell Phones
Now everyone has full signal strength and the 3g speed is better than anywhere else around.

I fully expected to see a gold and clear sticker when I clicked on that link.

Thanks for posting that though, I have a friend that can really use something like that.

 

[swimminginthoughts]

My old chocolate phone got really good reception at my house, the Eris, not so much...

 

[Mortgage_It]

my eris shows less signal strength in my house than any former blackberry i ever had. however, never drops a call. so, i'm guessing it is a meter display difference. the blackberry had more forgiving tolerances on the meter.

 

[swimminginthoughts]

Tried the update, it didn't work. I drove through a large city today and still had bad reception (never more than 2 bars but should have had all). I finally get fed up of everyone saying "HUH?" so I called Verizon's tech support today. Talked to a nice guy who was having trouble hearing me too and it even dropped the call during our conversation! He's sending me a new one, we'll see if it fixes the issue.

 

[sherrywilson44]

I know the thing about dropped calls but all day long today I have been unable to make ANY outgoing phone calls. The incoming calls have excellent reception and everything else seems to be working on my phone, ie. texting, etc. Before I attempt to make a call I may have three bars then as I dial it goes down to zero. I did a factory reset. I tried calling *228 but even that dropped. This is a totally new thing. I doubt it's the towers in our area as my husband is not having any problems with his. Does anyone have any idea what's going on with my droid?

 

[swimminginthoughts]

Have you tried rebooting? I'd call tech support or visit a corporate store and show them what's happening.

 

[Bswartz95]

My eris always shows lower bars than my friends' LG's. However, I never drop calls. One thing I've noticed is that if I have a very weak signal, the battery will drain VERY quickly.

Also, as someone else has noted, I will get a few bars if it switches to 1x, but none at 3g - even though my internet will work fine and I will be able to call & text without problems.

I'm on my 2nd Eris and it's the same as my first.

 

[mark307]

My neighbor has very poor cellular service. I installed a zBoost with their included, indoor antenna several months ago. This has helped, somewhat, all of our other phones (LG, Palm), but not the Eris -- no bars (0), and rapid battery drain. In other places with decent coverage, I have noticed that I have 0 bars, but can send/receive calls, but gain noticed rapid battery drain. Wonder if I have a bad Eris antenna?

 

[sherrywilson44]

Just to follow up on my original post..my phone was deemed defective and they replaced it. Done.

 

[swimminginthoughts]

Well, mine was replaced too and I still have the same problem. It's not usable. Think I'll have to take it back and get a completely different phone. Does the moto droid have any better reception?

 

[joeyray15]

I know next to nothing when it comes to the technical reason things work or don't but for some miraculous reason my bars are almost always full bars everywhere now, i was having the same exact issue and about 2 days ago i stopped using sense UI and switched to vanilla for a day then thought i would switch back and also remove my screen protector and when i switched and rebooted i have had full bars even after numerous reboots! haha maybe it was my screen protector!

 

[Solitary]

i never have less than 3 bars..

 

[Caddyman]

funny my phone just dropped a call.

 

[Solitary]

been with verizon for a year..never had a dropped call either..

 

[Bswartz95]

Mine is very inconsistent with signal. It will jump from 3 bars to none, then back to 2, etc..

Haven't had any dropped calls yet. Just inconsistent battery as well.

 

[tracerr00]

I came on this forum specifically to see if anyone else was having these problems! I switched carriers so this is my first experience with Verizon. I have the Eris and I would have thought that it was just Verizon if my boyfriend hadn't have gotten the Motorola Droid. He gets perfect service in our house and I get no bars at all! And not only do I not get any bars but it keeps dropping my calls even outside of my home. I love the phone and everything that it does but as an actual phone, it does not work very well. I am within my 15 days so my boyfriend is making me bring it back, possibly to upgrade to the Motorola Droid.

 

[pavirotten]

The only time I've ever had a problem with Verizon's service is when I duck into either a tunnel, one of the numerous deep hollows around where I live, or if I'm in radiology or the basement of the hospital where I work. If I'm in a good place, I always get excellent reception.

 

[jreed2560]

I live in a rural part of TN (was that a banjo?) and signal is usually pretty good. We have our dead spots that everyone is familiar with. I do notice that I usually only get 1 or 2 bars at my house(my wifes enV3 usually has 3 or 4). Sometimes if I hold my jaw a certain way and put all my change in my left pocket and stand on one leg I can get three bars. But in town I get full signal everywhere. I think the radio is just a little on the weak side and has trouble holding on to a signal when close to the fringe of service.