Help Reception issues?

[executor485]

My first post here, so hello to everyone!
I just got the Charge on Saturday. So far it's a pretty nice phone. Definitely a big upgrade from my HTC Touch Pro 2 running WM6.5 :S
However, I've had a couple of gripes with the phone and I'm not sure if it's an isolated situation or if anyone else has had issues like this. Reception at my house is fine, went into a store that I've been in many times and my reception instantly went to 0. Reset the phone and it got reception for a minute and then reception went to nothing. Figured maybe it was just a random issue.
Today, got to my office, where I've always had perfect reception. 0... So I reset the phone again, and now I have 3 bars.
It's looking like if I go outside, then inside a building my reception gets killed and I have to reset the phone to get it back. Has anyone heard of this, or does it sound like it's just coincidence or what? I know I've only had the phone 2 days, but if this is an issue early on, I want to have it identified in case I need to return it or if Verizon needs to replace it because it's faulty.

 

[DEng66]

Interesting....I had a similar experience. I decided to swap the Thunderbolt for a Charge and noticed that I was dropping 3G reception in places the Thunderbolt never did. And to make matters worse, I live out in the country and rely on Verizon's network extender for coverage at the house. The Thunderbolt and rechArge both worked fine with voice but the Charge would not connect on 3g at all. Needless to say I went back to the Thunderbolt. ......but that screen on the Charge is a thing of beauty!

 

[stevehoffman]

In using my Droid Charge the past 2 days I have not experienced this problem ... I'm using it indoors and outdoors, and not noticing any difference (except had odd thing where GPS couldn't find me on my front porch but could find my location when tried it from room on the 2nd floor of my house).

I'm in a major metro area (Washington DC) area. Are you in major urban area or more rural area? When you're connected, is it on 4G/LTE or just 3G?

At the very least, I would sure as heck call Verizon Wireless tech support and describe the problem to them and see what they say. I have actually found some of their tech support people helpful when I've needed to call them!

 

[Outsider(Avid HustlaZ)]

Steve has a point..i live in phx and im in and all the time nd i get great reception everywhere ive had the phone since it came out and not one dropped call or lose of service..IMO take steves advice and call vzw..remember not every phone is perfect out of the box..some people get the bad eggs..

 

[sean76]

In using my Droid Charge the past 2 days I have not experienced this problem ... I'm using it indoors and outdoors, and not noticing any difference (except had odd thing where GPS couldn't find me on my front porch but could find my location when tried it from room on the 2nd floor of my house).

I'm in a major metro area (Washington DC) area. Are you in major urban area or more rural area? When you're connected, is it on 4G/LTE or just 3G?

At the very least, I would sure as heck call Verizon Wireless tech support and describe the problem to them and see what they say. I have actually found some of their tech support people helpful when I've needed to call them!

Good news to hear that for the most part yours is working well...Fedex should be here with mine on Wed...clowns at VZW did 2nd day shipping instead of overnight! : (

 

[executor485]

I guess I should have mentioned where I am located, lol.
I'm in the Dallas area, full LTE everywhere I go too, which is why I ultimately decided to get this phone.
Something else really strange, I had the same issue again, no reception, but it said I was on the LTE network (wi-fi was turned off) and I ran the speedtest.net app and it worked, fast LTE speeds, but it wouldnt let me make a phone call. I'm wondering if there is an issue with the firmware of the device?
I havent noticed any issues today yet, but I'm keeping an eye on it. Really liking the phone, but the reception is making me nervous.
Thanks for the feedback though. I might talk to Verizon in the next couple of days if it continues.

 

[bombman7]

I chose the Charge on Saturday over the Thunderbolt and am actually disappointed up to this point. Las Vegas has 4G coverage for the most part and when I am in a 4G area, my signal for data is great. However, when I lose my 4G signal and the phone supposidely switches to 3G, I begin to have issues. It doesn't seamlessly switch as advertised. I am consistently without network access since both my house and work are outside the 4G area. It appears that restarting the phone solves the problem for the most part; however, when I go from one room to another or even go from inside to outside, I lose capabilities again. I tried to switch to CDMA Only mode but that didn't help. The salesperson told me they are supposed to be done with the 4G upgrade in my area within the next few days so I continue to hold out hope, but I will not wait too long...there is no way I will get stuck with this phone if I continue to have problems with its data package and access.

 

[stevehoffman]

Las Vegas has 4G coverage for the most part and when I am in a 4G area, my signal for data is great. However, when I lose my 4G signal and the phone supposidely switches to 3G, I begin to have issues. It doesn't seamlessly switch as advertised. I am consistently without network access since both my house and work are outside the 4G area. It appears that restarting the phone solves the problem for the most part; however, when I go from one room to another or even go from inside to outside, I lose capabilities again. I tried to switch to CDMA Only mode but that didn't help.

That totally sucks and is unacceptable for a phone. I think people sometimes quibble too much about this or that aspect of a phone, but the BASIC JOB is to remain connected. I myself am in a 4G area and haven't yet been in a non-4G area since I bought the phone a few days ago, but I sure as heck will be unhappy if my new Droid Charge doesn't seamlessly switch -- and stay connected to the network -- if and when I'm outside 4G.

 

[executor485]

That totally sucks and is unacceptable for a phone. I think people sometimes quibble too much about this or that aspect of a phone, but the BASIC JOB is to remain connected.

Completely agree with you here. There's a lot of aspects that are subjective to the useablility of a phone, being able to use the phone as a phone is one of those things that should go without saying. Sometimes this is overlooked.

 

[oresteez]

The salesperson told me they are supposed to be done with the 4G upgrade in my area within the next few days so I continue to hold out hope, but I will not wait too long...there is no way I will get stuck with this phone if I continue to have problems with its data package and access.

Funny how they just so happened to be finishing the 4G upgrade "within the next few days"... LIARS!

I'm not knocking the phone...because I like it too...but I would not take a chance and wait for them to fix it..
Or you could just turn off 4G and use just 3G and see if you have a problem..

 

[executor485]

Lost reception completely again this afternoon, but internet was still working :iam:

I called Verizon about it and they said they reset my phone activation stuff and hopefully that will resolve it, they're going to follow up tomorrow afternoon.

I'm hoping it was just an issue on their end, but it seems as though it could be a very random issue with the phone. Completely theorizing that the system is shutting down the reception/or reserving power when the phone is locked/standby. When the system comes back online, it doesnt properly alert the phone software that the signal is back, however it does receive a signal. Which is why the internet does in fact work, but it shows a big (/) on the signal.

Thats just my theory though. We'll see if it was just the activation or something on their end.

 

[shadowdude777]

One issue today where my phone disconnected from a WiFi hotspot and then couldn't connect to data (but voice was connected). Toggling data fixed it but it was unsettling to see bugs in a fairly fresh ROM on a brand new phone.

 

[webedelic]

My wife and I both got a Charge and we are in Las vegas (Summerlin) and we only get 3g in our sub division. Anywhere else it reads 4g, but there is no network. I cannot connect to the internet on either phone when it claims to be in 4g range. I called verizon and they set up a trouble ticket. I do not believe both phones doing this it is the phone, but they are claiming no one else is complaining about no network when in 4g in vegas. We both got the same defect? I doubt it. I love the phone, but I don't think asking for the internet is asking for too much.

 

[executor485]

My reception issues were getting exponentially worse, so I took the phone to the Verizon store last night and they swapped it out for a new one. I havent had the new one for a full 24 hours yet, but the signal strength is MUCH stronger and it hasnt lost signal yet in my building. So far so good... Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself. lol
Also noticed that GPS locks on MUCH faster now. Before it would search for a signal for almost a full minute, and sometimes it wouldnt lock at all. Now it seems to get the location within 5 seconds or so. Again, knock on wood that it all stays good.

Also, I did NOT do the update it said I should do, I'm half wondering if that was my original issue. I'll wait until they release a few different updates and then go from there.

 

[rushmore]

The connection issues folks are describing here are near exact to the issues TB owners have. The network and technology for VZW is not mature yet, so some areas will have better results than others. Hence why some say they are having problems and others are not.

 

[addictedtocars]

Sounding more and more like VZ rushed LTE to eat some ATT business and compete with all the other wanna be 4G players.

 

[jinwons]

Is it possible to put Charge in 3G only mode? That way you can probably stay away from spotty 4G connection issues and wait a few months until VZW finishes their homework on stability of LTE network.

 

[stevehoffman]

My understanding is that with the Droid Charge, the switch between 4G and 3G is supposed to be automatic -- i.e., the phone searches for 4G but if not available it's supposed to seamlessly switch to 3G ....

I'm not sure if there is a user setting enabling the user to just turn off the 4G. (I might be wrong but that's what the VZW guy told me, and I have not come across a setting enabling the user to toggle between the two or to turn off 4G.

 

[rushmore]

Is it possible to put Charge in 3G only mode? That way you can probably stay away from spotty 4G connection issues and wait a few months until VZW finishes their homework on stability of LTE network.

Give it up, you know you and I are probably getting the DX2

I still hold "hope" that the radio chip in the LG is more discrete and manages 3G/4G better than the first two LTE devices, but it all could be due to the LTE network and poor "scaling" to 3G when needed.

A true 3G only mode seems the best fit, but perhaps the protocol used for VZW LTE network will not allow this. If true, LTE will be a problem until the majority of the country is LTE (at least another phone generation away).

 

[jinwons]

My understanding is that with the Droid Charge, the switch between 4G and 3G is supposed to be automatic -- i.e., the phone searches for 4G but if not available it's supposed to seamlessly switch to 3G ....

I'm not sure if there is a user setting enabling the user to just turn off the 4G. (I might be wrong but that's what the VZW guy told me, and I have not come across a setting enabling the user to toggle between the two or to turn off 4G.

Yeah, the default setting is probably automatic 4G which toggles to 3G when it doesn't detect 4G. But someone on this forum (I forgot his ID) who got Charge before official release said there is such setting in Charge. Would appreciate if someone posts screen shot of that setting.

Thunderbolt didn't have it in the beginning. But third party app came up soon that enables 4G/3G toggle. So I think this is technically possible with Verizon LTE.

 

[jinwons]

Give it up, you know you and I are probably getting the DX2

I still hold "hope" that the radio chip in the LG is more discrete and manages 3G/4G better than the first two LTE devices, but it all could be due to the LTE network and poor "scaling" to 3G when needed.

A true 3G only mode seems the best fit, but perhaps the protocol used for VZW LTE network will not allow this. If true, LTE will be a problem until the majority of the country is LTE (at least another phone generation away).

I'm 50/50 on 4G vs dual core now. A deciding factor will be how Revolution does with 4G LTE.

 

[rushmore]

I'm 50/50 on 4G vs dual core now. A deciding factor will be how Revolution does with 4G LTE.

I am betting we will see the same issues due to the network protocol of the 3G/4G not having their own discrete process for signal management. So far, we have two different radio chips with similar results. I think the OEMs are not the problem, but VZW LTE network protocol is.

Case in point is the Tegra 2 could not bridge efficiently with a LTE chip to work with VZW. It was apparently a battery sucking mess, due to constant toggling from 3G to 4G.

I suggest that the VZW LTE network was designed as 4G or nothing for 4G areas and only 3G if in 3G only areas. This theory would support the problems folks are having with both the Charge and the TB.

VZW never intended folks with LTE devices to use 3G in 4G areas (makes sense to some degree). The catch is their system does not manage the balancing of 3G and 4G within their network well ATM. This could be that some areas have different equipment or fringe signal areas that battle for 3G and 4G signal with an LTE radio.

 

[jinwons]

I am betting we will see the same issues due to the network protocol of the 3G/4G not having their own discrete process for signal management. So far, we have two different radio chips with similar results. I think the OEMs are not the problem, but VZW LTE network protocol is.

Case in point is the Tegra 2 could not bridge efficiently with a LTE chip to work with VZW. It was apparently a battery sucking mess, due to constant toggling from 3G to 4G.

I suggest that the VZW LTE network was designed as 4G or nothing for 4G areas and only 3G if in 3G only areas. This theory would support the problems folks are having with both the Charge and the TB.

VZW never intended folks with LTE devices to use 3G in 4G areas (makes sense to some degree). The catch is their system does not manage the balancing of 3G and 4G within their network well ATM. This could be that some areas have different equipment or fringe signal areas that battle for 3G and 4G signal with an LTE radio.

You may be right, but I wouldn't speculate on that theory unless there is some official info from reliable source.

OK, I found the quote from moondrius regarding 3G only setting on Charge. It's in "Check your BestBuy" thread. Can other Charge users confirm this? I'm puzzled that early reviews on Verizon site is so positive on Charge with very little mention on 4G issues.

"Also you can disable 4g under settings unlike the thunderbolt. Its amazing if you are out of coverage so you have reliable data. Its under wireless and network>mobile netwoks>System selection.

This phone is great. The screen is the thing thats really wowing me. The look and the curves on the back are nice and easy to hold. No complaints here."

 

[rushmore]

You may be right, but I wouldn't speculate on that theory unless there is some official info from reliable source.

OK, I found the quote from moondrius regarding 3G only setting on Charge. It's in "Check your BestBuy" thread. Can other Charge users confirm this? I'm puzzled that early reviews on Verizon site is so positive on Charge with very little mention on 4G issues.

"Also you can disable 4g under settings unlike the thunderbolt. Its amazing if you are out of coverage so you have reliable data. Its under wireless and network>mobile netwoks>System selection.

This phone is great. The screen is the thing thats really wowing me. The look and the curves on the back are nice and easy to hold. No complaints here."

If the Rev releases next week, we will have one more device with another radio chipset to compare results. If that one has issues too, it looks like the DX2- it be.

Still my main factor is ease of root and working wifi tether, so other issues may be moot, to some degree. Big weight on root and wifi tether.

If the Charge had the normal I/O file system, I would consider it.

 

[jinwons]

DX2 is not a bad choice at this point. But what about 3~4 months later? By that time more powerful dual core beasts like SGSII will be out and most 4G glitches on VZW will be ironed out if not all and 4G LTE map will be wider. We might even see dual core/LTE beasts in the device like Bionic, Holiday too.

After some more thought, I'm leaning again to 4G phones vs dual core like 60/40. My biggest concern is to drop the data connection completely, be it 3G or 4G as some folks reported here. I'm ok with 4G/3G toggling as long as it doesn't lose data connection entirely. Early Charge user reviews on VZW, BB seem like hugely positive with rare mention of dropping data connection. So maybe some of our colleagues here got faulty ones unfortunately.