Help Call quality very sub-par (not signal strength)

[DavidinGA]

Adding an additional "low level codec" is not going to resolve a "poor reception" (dropped calls, dropped audio) issue.

It absolutely did for me!!! I don't know why but it did! I get 3 bars now instead of 1 (went from around -100db to -82db!)

 

[colnago]

It absolutely did for me!!! I don't know why but it did! I get 3 bars now instead of 1 (went from around -100db to -82db!)

Try to remember, not everyone lives where you live. Not everyone is experiencing the same issue. Not everyone lives in an EVRC-B area. That configuration change is not a "cure-all".

 

[alewifebp]

Have those of you who have had the issue tried changing the same call to your back speaker? My call improves greatly when coming out of the back speaker vs the ear-piece. This leads me to believe this is a hardware issue.

Btw, I like another poster find that the earpiece is tolerable if the caller is calling under next to perfect circumstances (land line, caller speaking loudly, ect) but if the call falls from perfect I get the half-second dropsies.

Actually this was the experience I explained earlier in this thread. Voice quality over my cars BT interface is fine. In fact, other callers said I sounded better than when I was on my LG Dare and BT. I also notice the signal bars that the car reports has also been near full in many more cases then it was on my Dare. FWIW. I'm not sure how my car determines the signal quality, so I don't want to proof positively say that the signal is better, just an observation.

And through the speaker, it seems to be fine. It really does sound like a ear piece hardware issue, at least that's what I can tell from several posts and my own experience. YMMV of course.

It is the one issue that is preventing me from really loving this phone.

 

[Lancedroid]

That's what I mean, this doesnt sound like anything that's going to get fixed without a phone exchange.

 

[INTREPID-NY]

A hardware issue will only be fixed with a phone exchange if it's not a design defect. People have already exchanged their phones with no improvement. If it's hardware related, they will need to fix it first.

 

[jessica19087]

I'm going to repeat my request that those of you who are experiencing call quality problems switch back and forth in the same call between Earpiece and Back Speaker to see if remains the same. It's a simple test.

This should help tell us all whether its hardware or software so that we can focus on the correct solution of hoping for a ROM fix in the case of software, or exchange it for another phone if its hardware.

Mine is the same, crappy quality regardless if it's through a speaker or my headphones, regardless if I've edited the CDMA settings with the ##778 process. I have yet to hear back from multiple complaints to HTC and Verizon's Cust Service is now horrendous. I was told they could send me a new phone, but that I'd have only until the 28th to return it if there's a problem (since I was a preorder on the 28th). I'm 99% sure I'm returning the phone. I might buy it again, but I'm not taking the chance to get a replacement phone and get stuck with it. If I get another Incredible that stinks, I'll go back to the Droid.

Could someone please post an email address for HTC? I have filled out the web form multiple times and never get anything back. Some of you have gotten a personal response from them....

Thanks!

 

[INTREPID-NY]

It was from na-no-reply@htc.com So not useful.

Here is their contact page:

About HTC - Contact Us

They responded within a few days.

 

[jessica19087]

It was from na-no-reply@htc.com So not useful.

Thanks. That's what I figured, but I thought I'd ask. I've already done the web form twice in the past 3 weeks....SO irritating.

 

[trpt]

FedEx picked up my Inc for return to VZW today. I'm sad.

Fantastic data device, loved everything about it - but the phone capability - quite lacking. Especially performed poorly in areas of weak signal. Even had difficulty connecting to my Network Extender unless I was in the same room with it.

Just reactivated my old RAZR. Back to reliable 1X voice connections and intelligible conversations. Ahhh...

Now just awaiting the release of the Motorola Shadow...

 

[wase4711]

mine go back tomorrow..
I wonder how many cancels/returns verizon will get in the next few days, as the 30 day mark for early adopters arrives..

 

[dsauch]

dont make the setting change for Roaming if you plan on Being in Canada, Montreal specifically - couldnt understand why I cant make any voice calls until I finally remembered about this change.
Reverting back returned everything to normal...

 

[jessica19087]

mine go back tomorrow..
I wonder how many cancels/returns verizon will get in the next few days, as the 30 day mark for early adopters arrives..

Wonder if they will put us on some sort of list once the fix is out and market to us then.

 

[wase4711]

they can market me all they want; I have pre-ordered an EVO @ Sprint, so, its bye bye Verizon for at least a year or more...

 

[colnago]

they can market me all they want; I have pre-ordered an EVO @ Sprint, so, its bye bye Verizon for at least a year or more...

Good lookin out! I bought the stock at $4.61 at the open today...its now trading at $5.30. "We at Sprint" thank you for your patronage.



FWIW, now that its over $5, institutional investors should now be able to start buying it, sending share prices higher.

 

[wase4711]

I did the same thing last night!
I wanted to buy it last week, when it was closer to 4 bucks, but I forgot, but I still made a few hundred dollars to day so far on it!
pays for one of the 2 EVO's I am buying!!

 

[colnago]

I did the same thing last night!
I wanted to buy it last week, when it was closer to 4 bucks, but I forgot, but I still made a few hundred dollars to day so far on it!
pays for one of the 2 EVO's I am buying!!

LOL, yeah, I had to wait to unwind a losing position I had, but it finally went up...jumped on Sprint, now I have enough to get a few phones/service for the 2 years.



But back on topic...not sure if I'm gonna pick up the Inc. Will probably wait to here more reports about this issue once the next "batch" gets deployed.

 

[Trojita]

Ughh I don't know what to do. I've got my incredible a little bit after launch and have loved mostly everything about it. This week after coming home from my parents house I noticed the voice quality was sub par. I thought it had to do with signal strength that my friend had but later tested it with someone on a lan line and it was still bad. Sounds like someone is talking through a tin can, it's hard to describe it just sounds garbled.

If I got the phone replaced (I believe I'm still in the 30 day thing at least for another day or two) will I be without a cell-phone to even just make calls until they can get me a new one? I heard there is still a wait for just buying new.

 

[kwilsonw]

Ughh I don't know what to do. I've got my incredible a little bit after launch and have loved mostly everything about it. This week after coming home from my parents house I noticed the voice quality was sub par. I thought it had to do with signal strength that my friend had but later tested it with someone on a lan line and it was still bad. Sounds like someone is talking through a tin can, it's hard to describe it just sounds garbled.

If I got the phone replaced (I believe I'm still in the 30 day thing at least for another day or two) will I be without a cell-phone to even just make calls until they can get me a new one? I heard there is still a wait for just buying new.

My local store is extending my 30 days because its not my fault that they don't have the phone in stock. I will keep this phone until they get more in.
They will give me another 30 days on the next DI from the day that it's activated. I've verified with Verizon Support that this info was posted in the remarks on my acct. I just hope that they can get more phones by mid June as projected.

The tech said that the phone has a reception problem. This is also the reason for the short battery life because its constantly looking for the signal. The engineers determined that it's not the towers. This is my 2nd DI.

 

[wase4711]

my 2 incredibles went back to day..I just dont want to deal with waiting for replacements, until HTC or Verizon comfirms they found a problem and fixed it..

 

[Nethyr]

My experience for what it's worth to others... after a bit of a back and forth with Verizon they agreed that the phones needed to be replaced and were happy to do so, even though we hit a glitch since they were purchased at BestBuy, not Verizon (mistake I won't make again). Thankfully now they're shipping two new phones for myself and my gf on the 16th, and handling the old phones directly instead of making us dance with BestBuy. I've got to say I'm impressed with their customer service who have seemed to go out of their way to understand and work to fix the situation.

I also had a back and forth with HTC which is copied below. I found it interesting that they acknowledged codec and roaming settings and gave them the green flag:

I recently switched myself and my girlfriend to Verizon and purchased two HTC Incredibles. Since that time the call quality has been consistently terrible. Callers are difficult to understand, and frequently drop words or entire sentences. This happens even when I have great reception, regardless of who I am talking to, and even during the automated messages when calling my voicemail.

From what I've seen online this isn't an uncommon problem and some people have had success by switching their phones for another unit of the same model. Have you identified if certain lots from the factory had this issue and can I find out of our phones are among these?

I've been a big fan of HTC for quite some time and have been thrilled that HTC and Android have had such a wonderful partnership but unfortunately this phone has been a huge letdown in the one respect where I can't afford to sacrifice functionality.

Looking forward to your response,


---


Hi. I

 

[wase4711]

funny, when I returned my 2 phones to verizon yesterday, the manager said he hadnt heard anything about this problem; tech support had put into my file to NOT charge me the 35 dollar handling fee upon return ,but the manager said he had to, and it was up to me to deal with Verizon corporate on that issue...
THAT pissed me off, but, I was happy to get rid of the phones, and their horrible call quality..hopefully, replacement phones will help you dude, but I wouldnt count on it until they do a firmware update of some sort..

 

[Nethyr]

My main concern was actually the worry-free guarantee (return / cancel everything with no cost) since we're new customers. Verizon was willing to extend this until two weeks beyond the receipt of the new phones, so if they can't resolve this we can still walk away and buy Evo's or something.

I'm curious if this really is a firmware issue or what, since the vast majority of users have no call quality issues whatsoever I would think this is more of a hardware issue. Especially since many users have seen improvements after switching their phone to a different unit of the same model. The fact that they're working on a soft-fix for this intrigues me.

 

[juron99]

I just checked my wife's Dinc and the call quality was excellent both ways between her Dinc and our land line. I called her on my T-Mobile flip phone and noticed the quality was not bad but wasn't as good as the land line. For us anyway the phone is excellent after having it a month and coming from the LG8300. Have no complaints whatsoever, incuding the battery life. We bought a Seidio 1750 and are happy with it. We didn't expect a hand held computer with all it's capabilities and size to last more than a day. If you want something to last long, buy a laptop with a bigger battery.

Ron

 

[wase4711]

My main concern was actually the worry-free guarantee (return / cancel everything with no cost) since we're new customers. Verizon was willing to extend this until two weeks beyond the receipt of the new phones, so if they can't resolve this we can still walk away and buy Evo's or something.

I'm curious if this really is a firmware issue or what, since the vast majority of users have no call quality issues whatsoever I would think this is more of a hardware issue. Especially since many users have seen improvements after switching their phone to a different unit of the same model. The fact that they're working on a soft-fix for this intrigues me.

I think they dont have a clue, so they say what ever they need to at this point to try and retain your business..
I am disappointed that the Verizon retail store charged me 35 bucks per phone "handling charge" to return these things, inside of the 30 day window..
needless to say, I am calling them today to complain about it

 

[jamor]

I think they dont have a clue, so they say what ever they need to at this point to try and retain your business..
I am disappointed that the Verizon retail store charged me 35 bucks per phone "handling charge" to return these things, inside of the 30 day window..
needless to say, I am calling them today to complain about it

That's how it works kiddo. There is always a return fee with Verizon. Always has been.

My call quality is great it's too bad some people are having bad luck. Oh well. I'm betting the EVO won't be much different - especially on Sprint.