Originally Posted by Gav508 
Tonight I called tech support from Verizon and was surprised to get in touch with a very knowledgeable rep. The Hybrid push is a known issue, but ONLY for certain customers. These customers are in certain areas and are either former Alltel customers or customers that are accessing former Alltels equipment. I to have the 15008 PRL, however my location, New Jersey, I am not affected by the Alltel issue, and even though she said she would send the update to my phone, she stated that it can cause other issues. Since she seemed very knowledgeable about this information, I decided to take her advise and stay clear of this update.
For any of you guys using Alltel towers or equipment, all the info you have read is correct and this pushed update should serve you phone well. Just first verify you are in that Alltel local.
Myself I suffer from loss of internet sometimes moving from one place to another. (home to work). She asked if I frequently get the cannot connect for internet message. I do. She also asked if I get the 1X instead of 3G frequently. I do. She stated that this is a know issue with the Thunderbolt and it can be rectified very easy by doing a full factory reset from settings. Since I was having more issues with the Internet then the phone calls I am going to try this fix. I hate reloading and setting everything back up but I am going to try it anyway.
For anyone thinking of this, this operation puts your phone back to factory release condition. You will lose all contacts and data info. Make sure your contacts, calendar and misc info is backed up first. If you have a Google Account everything is and will reappear after you re sign back in.
Update from the OP: I said 13xxx, but this number could be different for your area. I honestly have no way of telling how many different PRL's there are or which number would say that would definitely tell you that you're on the Hybrid network(If there is one in your area.) I just know my results and that my PRL number changed.
On a quest to figure out why my phone had 3-4 bars of network signal, while my wife's phone had 0-1 bars even when they were next to each, I found this out in the process. If you're on PRL 15008, your phone is connected to the old Verizon Nationwide network. While if your phone shows PRL 13xxx, then your phone is connected to the New Hybrid network. I was on 13004, while she was on 15008. If your PRL shows 15008, I highly recommend you call Verizon and have them upgrade you to the Hybrid network, as this GREATLY increased my wife's signal and fixed her voice calls reception. (Not sure if this does anything for data. She always had good 3G and we're not in a 4G area.) They will push the update to your phone and have you leave it on for a few hours. Afterwards, I pulled the sim card and battery out for 30 seconds, replaced them and let the phone boot up. After 10-20 minutes, the radio will locate the nearest tower and my wife's phone auto updated its PRL number from 15008 to 13006. She now has a constant 3-4 bar signal and her time without a signal is significantly lower. (Same as mine.) Also, if you're rooted, make sure you know the correct stock firmware/radio version as they will probably ask you for this info.
P.S. I would only do this if you're having voice(not data) signal problems like my wife phone was. My wife phone shows 13006 and mine shows 13004, so PRL's can be different numbers for your area. So again, this may help some people and this may do nothing for others. If you already have a great signal, I would leave well enough alone.
Tonight I called tech support from Verizon and was surprised to get in touch with a very knowledgeable rep. The Hybrid push is a known issue, but ONLY for certain customers. These customers are in certain areas and are either former Alltel customers or customers that are accessing former Alltels equipment. I to have the 15008 PRL, however my location, New Jersey, I am not affected by the Alltel issue, and even though she said she would send the update to my phone, she stated that it can cause other issues. Since she seemed very knowledgeable about this information, I decided to take her advise and stay clear of this update.
For any of you guys using Alltel towers or equipment, all the info you have read is correct and this pushed update should serve you phone well. Just first verify you are in that Alltel local.
Myself I suffer from loss of internet sometimes moving from one place to another. (home to work). She asked if I frequently get the cannot connect for internet message. I do. She also asked if I get the 1X instead of 3G frequently. I do. She stated that this is a know issue with the Thunderbolt and it can be rectified very easy by doing a full factory reset from settings. Since I was having more issues with the Internet then the phone calls I am going to try this fix. I hate reloading and setting everything back up but I am going to try it anyway.
For anyone thinking of this, this operation puts your phone back to factory release condition. You will lose all contacts and data info. Make sure your contacts, calendar and misc info is backed up first. If you have a Google Account everything is and will reappear after you re sign back in.
Update from the OP: I said 13xxx, but this number could be different for your area. I honestly have no way of telling how many different PRL's there are or which number would say that would definitely tell you that you're on the Hybrid network(If there is one in your area.) I just know my results and that my PRL number changed.
On a quest to figure out why my phone had 3-4 bars of network signal, while my wife's phone had 0-1 bars even when they were next to each, I found this out in the process. If you're on PRL 15008, your phone is connected to the old Verizon Nationwide network. While if your phone shows PRL 13xxx, then your phone is connected to the New Hybrid network. I was on 13004, while she was on 15008. If your PRL shows 15008, I highly recommend you call Verizon and have them upgrade you to the Hybrid network, as this GREATLY increased my wife's signal and fixed her voice calls reception. (Not sure if this does anything for data. She always had good 3G and we're not in a 4G area.) They will push the update to your phone and have you leave it on for a few hours. Afterwards, I pulled the sim card and battery out for 30 seconds, replaced them and let the phone boot up. After 10-20 minutes, the radio will locate the nearest tower and my wife's phone auto updated its PRL number from 15008 to 13006. She now has a constant 3-4 bar signal and her time without a signal is significantly lower. (Same as mine.) Also, if you're rooted, make sure you know the correct stock firmware/radio version as they will probably ask you for this info.
P.S. I would only do this if you're having voice(not data) signal problems like my wife phone was. My wife phone shows 13006 and mine shows 13004, so PRL's can be different numbers for your area. So again, this may help some people and this may do nothing for others. If you already have a great signal, I would leave well enough alone.
