2 Droid's side by side, his gets 3 bars mine 1 - some differences I see

[Lock-N-Load]

So, my buddy has a Droid and side by side, I have photos to prove it, I got 0-1 bars and fluctuating 1G-3G and he has 3 bars solid no fluctuation and solid 3G.

Things I noticed:

MEID #
mine A0000015FDB8AD
his A00000159BF6BC

PRL
mine 51891 (I updated mine today and can't get to 51893??)
his 51893

Area Code
mine 760
his 619

Signal Strength
me -92 dbm
his -83 dbm

so, how could it be so different? side by side. testing this over the last hour. and how does he have higher PRL? could the area code even matter? WTF! solid 3 bars and 3G the entire time for him.

 

[Fabolous]

Are you guys both on the same baseband? .03P?

 

[nstallion]

Seems unlikely the area code would do anything. I have a 714 area code but live down here in SD and I get solid coverage everywhere.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

Are you guys both on the same baseband? .03P?

yes, same baseband of .03P

same kernel, same build #, same kernal #

 

[Fabolous]

where is this seen?

we both have "2.1 update1" so how could it be different?

It's under the firmware version, but if you're both non-rooted 2.1-update1 users, then you'll both have the newest .03P baseband.

Some users have reported worse reception with this baseband, so they've flashed back to the original baseband.

I myself saw improvement from a -78dBm to -62dBm signal by doing this, without moving an inch.

However, this requires root access.

And doesn't explain whatsoever how you two have such different signals

 

[Lock-N-Load]

It's under the firmware version, but if you're both non-rooted 2.1-update1 users, then you'll both have the newest .03P baseband.

Some users have reported worse reception with this baseband, so they've flashed back to the original baseband.

I myself saw improvement from a -78dBm to -62dBm signal by doing this, without moving an inch.

However, this requires root access.

the 1 reason I have considered root

And doesn't explain whatsoever how you two have such different signals

agreed... I am very analytical, so this type of discrepancy drives me nuts. so odd he has a newer PRL and I updated mine today. not that that is the issue, but how is that even possible?

 

[William T Riker]

might be the PRL, am also running 51893 and no probs here..

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I wonder how people are getting 51893.

both the zips I quote are from SoCal, a few miles apart, and I cannot get 51893. not that it is the reason, but that is still very odd.

 

[William T Riker]

*22899 , I'm sure you've prob heard it before.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I just always used *228 option #2

never heard of *22899 - is that different? I think it is the same thing.

 

[shadowdude777]

I just always used *228 option #2

never heard of *22899 - is that different? I think it is the same thing.

It just makes it so you don't have to listen to the automated voice and press 2. It's quicker if you just want to update your PRL.

 

[NetherAngel]

i know it might be a hassel but you might want to call verizon customer service, tell them right away you need to talk to technical support, or they will try and run through troubleshooting techniques youve already tried, until you fall asleep. It might be an issue with the switch, i was talking with a lady that came into our store the other day from manitoba and as soon as she would leave city limits her service would drop completely while her husbands would have perfect reception. I followed up with her and she said it was a lengthy process she could not describe to me over the phone. But it was fixed. more than likely its an issue with the network and the way its connecting with your phone?

meid and any of the info behind the battery of your phone doesnt make a difference meid is basically the serial number of your phone.

*228 option 2 basically updates the roaming capabilities of your phone, doing it once is all you should need, if it doesnt work its a different issue.

****** Have them run you through a manual programming of your phone, sometimes this bumps the issues out of the signal loss********

try it out =)

lemme know what happens, id love to know

 

[ilmar72]

You can try *228 and option 1 also for the hell of it.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[skunkpbguy]

Perhaps its even simplier than any of this.. are both phones naked? Can skins or cases affect signal reception? Can battery level affect reception?

 

[BigRedGonzo]

I may be talking out of my butt here, but I was under the impression that PRL was location based. My PRL is 65133 and I am in North Carolina. I just tried *228 option 2 and it didn't change. If you are in one area code and your buddy is in another and the PRL version is location based, it would make since to me that you may have a different PRL than he has. There was a thread in the Eris forum here where people were comparing PRL numbers and they all were different in different locations. Also as I understand it, the PRL provides the phone with a list of preferred roaming towers. Couldn't this mean that even though you are both Verizon and are both in the same location that you could possibly be hitting different towers than the other guy? Again, I am BY NO MEANS an expert of any sort on this matter, but from what I have read on here and various other places, it seems that different PRL numbers could cause different reception levels in the same area. My boss and I both have droids, we both have the same PRL and when you put our phones side by side on the desk the dB levels looks like photo copies of one another. One phone will change from -78 dB to -79 dB and the other will follow within a second. Anyway, just a thought.

FWIW,
BigRedGonzo

 

[jackburnt]

My PRL is 51893 too and I live in Alabama.

Where is everyone else? I'm about to downgrade to .1. I'm tired of losing 3G and I hope this helps.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

i know it might be a hassel but you might want to call verizon customer service, tell them right away you need to talk to technical support, or they will try and run through troubleshooting techniques youve already tried, until you fall asleep. It might be an issue with the switch, i was talking with a lady that came into our store the other day from manitoba and as soon as she would leave city limits her service would drop completely while her husbands would have perfect reception. I followed up with her and she said it was a lengthy process she could not describe to me over the phone. But it was fixed. more than likely its an issue with the network and the way its connecting with your phone?

meid and any of the info behind the battery of your phone doesnt make a difference meid is basically the serial number of your phone.

*228 option 2 basically updates the roaming capabilities of your phone, doing it once is all you should need, if it doesnt work its a different issue.

****** Have them run you through a manual programming of your phone, sometimes this bumps the issues out of the signal loss********

try it out =)

lemme know what happens, id love to know

so yesterday I FINALLY got a tech on the phone who knew what he was doing. we tried all kinds of tests.

yes, we looked at the "manual" programing - something like ##7835 blah blah something like that but all those settings were correct.

so, I told him about my buddy and he looked up my buddies phone # and we found 1 thing different that we changed that he thought "maybe" could make a difference. I have had the same plan for years, a now old plan. he surmised that this old plan needed to be updated and had noted in the past that can make a difference. there is a same new plan, but my plan was provisioned or different in the system as the new plan though they are the same.. get it? so, he updated all of that and I can report.. not much difference. I agreed to give it a few days and get back to him - he gave me his direct # - but I am fearing it did not work as right now I see 1 bar where my buddy saw 3 at all times. and last night, we went out, it seemed less signal actually. 1 bar and buddy had solid 3. so I will call him today and report no real change. he mentioned next trying a "dmu reset" and might even send me a phone and see which one works best and I can keep the one I want.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

Perhaps its even simplier than any of this.. are both phones naked? Can skins or cases affect signal reception? Can battery level affect reception?

both are nekked.. I am a pretty good trouble shooter, so I would have negated any differences like that.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I may be talking out of my butt here, but I was under the impression that PRL was location based. My PRL is 65133 and I am in North Carolina. I just tried *228 option 2 and it didn't change. If you are in one area code and your buddy is in another and the PRL version is location based, it would make since to me that you may have a different PRL than he has. There was a thread in the Eris forum here where people were comparing PRL numbers and they all were different in different locations. Also as I understand it, the PRL provides the phone with a list of preferred roaming towers. Couldn't this mean that even though you are both Verizon and are both in the same location that you could possibly be hitting different towers than the other guy? Again, I am BY NO MEANS an expert of any sort on this matter, but from what I have read on here and various other places, it seems that different PRL numbers could cause different reception levels in the same area. My boss and I both have droids, we both have the same PRL and when you put our phones side by side on the desk the dB levels looks like photo copies of one another. One phone will change from -78 dB to -79 dB and the other will follow within a second. Anyway, just a thought.

FWIW,
BigRedGonzo

notice how many people NOT in SoCal, in this thread alone, have 51893. see below and he is in Alabama for example. so, I would think, 1 zip code over - a few miles - would also get the same PRL... seems not

My PRL is 51893 too and I live in Alabama.

Where is everyone else? I'm about to downgrade to .1. I'm tired of losing 3G and I hope this helps.

 

[BigRedGonzo]

notice how many people NOT in SoCal, in this thread alone, have 51893. see below and he is in Alabama for example. so, I would think, 1 zip code over - a few miles - would also get the same PRL... seems not

It was just a concept to consider. On the Eris forum there was a discussion like this. There were 3 leaked versions of 2.1 for the Eris before the OTA finally came out and the bootloader was different for the leaks so the OTA doesn't work for the "leakers." One of them asked about signal issues and it turned out that the leakers have a fixed PRL that they can't update. Anyway, a ton of folks listed there PRL's and it seemed that every different locale carried a different PRL. I just thought that it might be something to look into.

BigRedGonzo

 

[inssane]

You can try *228 and option 1 also for the hell of it.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

I don't remember where I read it, but this is supposed to be better.

 

[Wazoo]

What is the PRL? I just checked mine and it's 53831, which is a lot lower than the two in the OP, so what's the difference?

 

[BigRedGonzo]

What is the PRL? I just checked mine and it's 53831, which is a lot lower than the two in the OP, so what's the difference?

PRL = Preferred Roaming List

It has to do with what towers your phone uses when you are roaming. The difference is what towers you hit if you roam. If you have done *228 - Option #2 you will have the latest that Verizon has released for your phone.

 

[deftdrummer]

Norcal here with 51893

 

[obutto]

What I noticed was that when I first updated to .03, I went from -90 to -83 dBm (for about 1 hour). I was extremely happy. But now at the same location I'm back to -90 to -93 dBm. And my 3G is fluttering again. Should I downgrade?