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Bad reception, anyone use the free unlimited wifi calling feature?

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to posting, had a G2 before but mostly read the forums.
So I've got a G2x that works pretty well so far, no major issues, just some screen bleed in one corner. The only complaint I have is the reception on the phone. It seems that it drops several bars whenever I hold my phone, and in my house, it drops to zero bars where my G2 would hold 1-2 bars.
So I'm starting to use wifi calling so that I can disable the radio through the hidden menu to save some battery power when I'm at home. The problem is, wifi calling only works for a few minutes before it realizes that I'm not on the T-mo network. Basically, I think it needs the cell radio to remain on for wifi calling to work.
I went on T-mo's chat support to enable the free unlimited wifi calling feature on my phone, which, according to the support, will enable me to keep the cell radio off and make calls with the app, just like the UMA wifi calling feature that blackberry phones have. The rep told me to wait a few hours before trying the free wifi calling, which I did, but it still works the same as it did before I got free wifi calling added.
Has anyone else activated the free wifi calling feature? Does it work like the UMA wifi calling feature that blackberry phones have? It's possible it will take longer for the feature to kick in, so I'll keep checking.

It is not UMA. If you are in the middle of a wifi call and you move out of wifi range, the call will drop. That said, you do not need cell tower access, that beats the entire purpose of wifi calling. I use it when I work in the server room at my office. The room is in the center of the building surrounded by concrete so nobody gets any signal in there and I turn wifi calling on all the time.
You'll need a certain amount of bandwidth though. I have at home comcast cable with 22mbps and if I'm streaming Netflix in HD, the wifi calling call quality goes to ****. I haven't captured packets yet but I'm sure it's just that the router can't cope with all those QoS packets. So try not to stream anything while you use wifi calling and you'll be fine.

So do you keep your cell radio on in that deadzone? Wouldn't that drain the battery quickly since it is constantly looking for a signal?

When you turn on wifi calling it turns off cell tower polling automatically. You'll see that your cellphone reception goes from whatever many bars you had, to zero bars because it turns off the cell radio automatically. So once you see the wifi calling icon in the notification bar, you're set. You stop polling celltowers and you save battery

The wifi calling apps automatically turns the radio off after it connects to the network and switches it to GSM only. You'll notice that the bars will go to none once it is connected. You're actually interferring with thd app by trying to do things yourself.
And yes, I use the app whenever I am at home since I get poor signal. Get great battery life just letting it do what it does.
Edit: above poster basically said everything I said while I was typing lol.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I use the WIFI calling feature when I'm at work since I don't get a cell signal in the building. I never changed my account to activate the WIFI calling feature because I already have unlimited minutes on my account, so it doesn't make a difference that WIFI calling uses my plan minutes. Plus, when I tried to do it online, the online system wanted to change my account to one of the plans with a 2GB cap (I'm on the original EM+ family plan, with the 5GB cap). Didn't think it was that important.
Once I get to work, I connect to WIFI, then turn on WIFI calling. I never disable my cell radio. I also set my WIFI calling to connect through WIFI only, not WIFI preferred. At times, my calls are pretty clear. But, there are times when my calls are so choppy that I have to have the person hang up, so that I can call them back from an office line (or go outside and use the T-Mobile tower on my cell).

Oh wow that makes sense, thanks for the responses, I didn't think that it would stop searching for a signal when wifi calling is enabled. I'm curious though, do you guys put connection preferences to "Wifi only?" Seems that if you do wifi or cell preferred it would need a connection to a cell tower so that it could switch to GSM if it provides better call quality.

I haven't tested this in a while but I think if you do wifi only, once you move out of wifi range you have to remember to disable wifi calling or you get no calls.

@Memnoch30 and kangxi
Did you both activate the unlimited free wifi calling feature introduced in May?
Also I just noticed that there is a setting in the app. Under advanced settings, there's an option with the description "UMA network controller address." Perhaps UMA can be enabled somehow?

No I didn't. I have unlimited minutes so I don't really worry about any of that.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I did activate it since I don't have unlimited minutes. I don't know about enabling UMA though.

See, this is something I don't get. Using a cell phone with spotty reception. That is one issue I can say I've never had before this phone. One that is choronically losng it's cell connection.This is ultimately the ONLY reason I have one. Period. If the phone reception is not rock 100% freaking solid, why do I have the damn thing? I do not want a phone that doesn't put my call through every single time. Why should I stand for anything less?

ickster said:
See, this is something I don't get. Using a cell phone with spotty reception. That is one issue I can say I've never had before this phone. One that is choronically losng it's cell connection.This is ultimately the ONLY reason I have one. Period. If the phone reception is not rock 100% freaking solid, why do I have the damn thing? I do not want a phone that doesn't put my call through every single time. Why should I stand for anything less?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I think the android phone market is so packed that manufacturers have to put in a lot of time to bump up tech specs for their phone to stand out. They really should be at least implementing a cell radio and battery good enough for real world use though

Wifi calling is amazing. I use it at work. It also saves huge amounts of battery cause wifi < cellular.
LG G2x CM7 2.3.4

how do you get it enables unlimited?? i dont see anything on the tmobile site about it being free unlimited wifi calling just that it will use your plan minutes

Xargon321 said:
how do you get it enables unlimited?? i dont see anything on the tmobile site about it being free unlimited wifi calling just that it will use your plan minutes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to call customer service or do it through their online chat support service to have it enabled. I'm not sure why they make you do this, but you can't enable it yourself through the My T-mobile website.

have to say anything special? or just tell them to enable unlimited wifi calling? might have to do this later then.

Well, you have to be the primary account holder, but you don't really say anything special, just ask to add "free unlimited wifi calling" to your phone line.

Funny thing happened to me I called tonight and, after doing some other changes, asked about the unlimited wifi calling. The agent said oh I see u have a g2x. I said yea? Then after a hold. He said as long as ur using the wifi calling App it doesn't use plan minute.. I said oh really plz note that on my account so when it uses my minutes I can get credit. He said sure no problem I noted it and tagged the support document I read it from on your account. This was the third time I tried adding it. So I have no idea what is going on..
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

That's strange... maybe try adding it through the online chat support, that's how I got it added. They take a while to respond but they seemed to have added it to my account, can't say for sure though.

[Q] Fringe 4g data drop - wtf?

I live in an area mostly covered by "4g" LTE. My charge will sometimes connect to LTE in my bedroom, but most of the time it can't. Every time it briefly connects to 4g in my home, however, it does not hand back off to 3g for a good 5 minutes or so. Instead, I lose all data connectivity. I've tried turning data mode off then back on, but it doesn't work. After about 5 minutes or so with no data signal, it'll reconnect to 3g. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Is there a way to fix it without just turning the LTE off (switching to CDMA only)? I get LTE in most areas around my house but apparently I live in a Faraday cage or black hole or something.
This is a 100% stock ROM, not rooted, never flashed any new ROMs or Modems.

Man, I have the same issue. I feel ur pain. I was downloading files on 4G and at around 34 percent, it cut out and went on 1x. Stayed there. And I was outside in a wide open spot. It happens man, I was told there's something wrong that causes the data signal cycling like that. I've tried what u tried also. If u can get a straight answer, let me know too lol. And to top it all off, HORRIBLE BATTERY LIFE.
Sent from deez nutts. Oh, and my Gummy'd up Charge!!!!

The handoff process from LTE to CDMA is still pretty cagey. Fortunately, it's mostly software, so updates should help this process.
I haven't done any research on whether EP1F or EP1H (the leaked Gingerbread builds) are any better at it, but I would have to assume that it's part of the process they're working on with modem updates, etc.

AlexDeGruven said:
The handoff process from LTE to CDMA is still pretty cagey. Fortunately, it's mostly software, so updates should help this process.
I haven't done any research on whether EP1F or EP1H (the leaked Gingerbread builds) are any better at it, but I would have to assume that it's part of the process they're working on with modem updates, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i was with ep1f the radio worked better for me. i was able to connect more frequently to 4g and switching was hassle free (no time outs). it's possible that the problem is on verizon's side since my cousin, who's on stock, is having the same problems in an entirely 4g area.

You might have a ****ty SIM card.
When I first got my Charge it was very similar to your situation. I had poor 4G connectivity in my supposed "fringe" area. Then a week ago it was losing connectivity from 4G to 3G and eventually stopped getting 3G all together.
I got a new SIM and now I get 4G in places where I only get 1 to 2 bars of call signal.
And I also stay on 4G a lot longer. Almost never does it switch over on long downloads or streaming vid.
PS: HAHAHA "long downloads". Sometimes a 300MB download will take much less than a minute depending on where it's coming from.
It must suck to make believe you have fast data. Right, AT&T? HAHAHAHA WiMax!!!

How to FIX your 3G Microcell & FAILED SMS - Confirmed WORKING!

FINALLY A FIX FOR 4G DEVICES MICROCELL FAILED SMS!!![ Edited ] .Options
Edit MessageMark as NewBookmarkUnsubscribeSubscribe to RSS FeedHighlightPrintEmail to a FriendReport Inappropriate Content....08-24-2011 02:10:09 AM - last edited on 08-24-2011 02:18:41 AM
OK like most of you who are just about FEDUP with trying to get your microcell device to work properly with your 4G devices.
I found a fix that not only works like a charm...but delivers text FASTER & at 4G speeds via MICROCELL.
I am using a SAMSUNG INFUSE and prior to the below. Nearly 1 out of every 4 text messages failed.
First let be known the MICROCELL does not like MOTOROLA cable modems. For some reason it stalls, ATT is aware of this. DOCSIS 3.0 modems is where the problem stems.
THE FIX ---
CONVERT YOUR MICROCELL TO A WIRELESS MICROCELL
NETGEAR UNIVERSAL WIRELESS ADAPTER WNCE2001
When hooked directly into this adapter, it handshakes a CLEAN and proper wifi signal.
NOT only does the MICROCELL connect faster, but it sends and receives faster!
OR you can also use the NETGEAR ADAPETR as a WIFI bridge to hook into another router...
in which then you can hook your MICROCELL into the router. That is how I have it hooked up.
I can asure you this will solve all your problems, your FIVE BARS will stay on ALL the time.
The above spoofs the microcell thinking its communicating with anoher device and not the MOTO MODEM.
in 72 HOURS, i have yet to get ONE drop, or ONE lost SIGNAL. I have an unlimited DATA plan and have already watched various NETFLIX streaming movies and crystal clear. SMS messaging is BLAZING FAST!
ALSO....another secret.
CANT GET A IP ADDRESS CONNECTION....OR AWAITING TOO LONG WHEN RESETTING THE MICROCELL.
Speed it up. Have your MICROCELL connected and do a bunch of speedtests at
speedtest____
as this will ignite the MICROCELL to forcefully find an IP address.
This always works for me.
--------------------------------------------------​---------------------
HOPE THIS HELPS.
....

I have been pulling my hair out with my clients Microcell and ATT Microcell support is the worst I have ever encountered. He has a Microcell in CT and one in SC and the SC device seems to work no problem. But I am on the second MC in CT and it works only intermittently when connecting devices to it. I have to turn my Infuse off then on before I can get a connection to it and it never notifies me on the Infuse that it is connected I only know because I get five bars when I turn the phone back on and normally I only get one bar. His wife's IPhone does notify of Tue MCell connection and I have yet to get his Blackberry Bold 9700 to connect. His BB connects to the SC MCell but not to the CT one. I may try this hack to see if it performs better. Thanks for the heads up.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

This is why when I buy a house, if coverage sucks, I'm going with a Wilson amp.
(I have a Wilson amp in my car, it's amazing.)

mrbogusbaxter said:
I have an unlimited DATA plan and have already watched various NETFLIX streaming movies and crystal clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you know you risk getting throttled if using to much data on an unlimited plan in the comming months right? im just curious as to what your reasoning would be to not use wifi if avilable, think about it when using data on the mcell your just billing your account for essentially using wifi. with your data plan, while unlimited, att has stated they will start throttling the top 5% of data users on the unlimited plan.

Tomdg07 said:
you know you risk getting throttled if using to much data on an unlimited plan in the comming months right? im just curious as to what your reasoning would be to not use wifi if avilable, think about it when using data on the mcell your just billing your account for essentially using wifi. with your data plan, while unlimited, att has stated they will start throttling the top 5% of data users on the unlimited plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I did check a few days ago for as I have been using this method for quite some time (since Feb on wireless) and ATT have no problems with any of the bandwidth. unlimited is unlimited unless i am draining the pool (so to say) hardcore. They havent said one thing.
Now mind you I really dont watch NETFLIX all that often... ;
But i did let a few movies run through purposely on my infuse just to see how strong this connection would stay and or hold.
Shockingly....it was the most stable I hgave ever seen the Microcell behave.
I figure this..Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands cuz we all know ATT aint coming to the table...

Dual Band adapter
I have found a newer version of the Netgear universal adapter (Model WNCE3001) that supports dual bands. I have a dual band router at home and would like to try the Microcell using the 5GHz band of my router. Has anyone tried this or can you confirm that the WNCE3001 will work just like the single band WNCE2001 mentioned in the OP???

Not working for me
I thought I had struck gold when I found this thread, but I was still a little skeptical. I immediately ordered a Netgear adapter. I received it yesterday and installed it without a hitch. Unfortunately, I have the same problems I did when it was wired directly into my DLINK DIR-655 router with Motorola SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 modem. Even though it shows full bars, the actual data connection seems to drop out. If I don't use the phone for a while, I cannot get an internet connection without turning flight mode on and off, or rebooting the phone. I also have the intermittent issue where sometimes and SMS goes right through, but other, it fails 3-4 times before it will send. This exactly how the microcell behaved when hardwired into the router. I even got a replacement Microcell a week ago, which seems to require fewer reboots to work consistently.
I don't know if it worked for anyone else, or if there's some other secret configuration trick, but I've had no change in performance. I'm running Emanciapation ROM if that helps any. I have no issues at work, where I have 4-5 bars of signal without a microcell, so I'm pretty sure its not the phone/ROM combination.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Not to bring up a dead horse here, but I have this issue that is AWFUL. we are on teh seam between 3g and edge. I get good edge bars, but minimal 3g. we got a microcell and it works WONDERFULLY for my captivate but on the infuse, it fails more texts than it sends. I dont have a motorola router. I have comcast cable modem with a netgear wireless router. I get the issue when the router is bypassed or not. SUCKS!. anyone know if another fix or has tried this with Comcast and it worked?

Sorry pickupman66, the only solution is to get another phone. From all the research I've done on the web, it appears that the Infuse requires a data connection to send SMS...and for some reason, the Mcell either blocks the ports required or doesn't have them so SMS can never go through consistently. I usually had to disconnect from Wifi to get the SMS to send. Very weird. But I fixed the problem by getting an unlocked Galaxy Nexus. It works perfectly with the microcell that never worked well with the Infuse. I can send and receive texts and data just like I was on a normal tower.

Alas. I may have it! First deleted all apn settings and then followed those in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1791526
Go down to the 9-15 update and do that too.
This worked to send and receive MMS and SMS. But service was terrible. No bars when my sg3 had at least two in my other hand. Soooooo. Modem time. Went here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342978
And downloaded 4 modems. One was the sgs UVKJ6. Bars were comparable to my sg3. My sg3 works on the microcell at work. Lets try that here at home. I fired up the microcell, it rebooted once (maybe a software update) and when it came back. I blitzed my phone. Sent 10 texts back to back with no fails. Sent and rcvd 2 MMS images. All went thru. No fails.
That modem is below.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18201177/shared infuse modems/SGS 03 CWM-UVKJ6-Modem.zip
sent from my Galaxy with Tapatalk 2

Help with 3g Microcell
Had TWC modem, have Samsung Galaxy 4g and black AT& T Microcell. Dropped calls for one year. ( only cell, no land line)
Back & forth with ATT and Time Warner- in the end got new microcell and new TWC modem. No Improvement. Was told Microcell was not compatible with TWC 1670 Arris Modem. Purchased Netgear C3700 modem, paid guru to hook all that back up, totally out $200on new equipment, still dropped calls. AT&T is no help. This house has radiant barrier in the attic which is probably the original cause, but hoped all this equipment would get me back up and running as I work from home. Does this "FIX" apply to my situation.?

LTE/HSPA+ handoff issues?

Recently there have been more and more occasions where my phone has gone from 4G LTE to "4G", but when I try to use the data, I am told I have no network connection. I would then turn airport mode on then off (or restart), and the data would start working again on "4G".
This especially happens if I have only one or two bars on "4G". I'm suspecting there is a problem handing off from LTE to HSPA+. Either that, or the phone is not reading how strong my reception really is.
Anyone else seeing this problem? I'm in one of the unofficial LTE markets, LA.

I'm not in LA, but i haven't had any of the problems you mentioned. I would imagine the hand-off issue is why AT&T has not officially announced LTE in LA.

Having similar issues. Problem sending sms, mms, and no data connection. Have to keep hitting retry in android market...

s0cal said:
Having similar issues. Problem sending sms, mms, and no data connection. Have to keep hitting retry in android market...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue here, seems like it is a problem specific to LTE. my phone AND my elevate 4g hotspot device are both having the same connectivity issue when in a LTE market so i dont think it is the device, but more of an LTE issue.
When i traveled to a HSPA+ only area the connectivity issues we gone on both devices.

I have not had the issue since having att change my plan to lte
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Yep, the issue is well known, but AT&T has yet to admit to it or fix it. I think it mostly happens in areas that are right in the area between a weak LTE signal and a weak 4G signal (as you mentioned). Apparently, AT&T's towers don't do a very good job at handling the switch very well. Possibly a registeration problem? It's as if the towers keep kicking the phone back and forth and the end end result is no data connection until you move a little closer to one of the towers.

scott14719 said:
Yep, the issue is well known, but AT&T has yet to admit to it or fix it. I think it mostly happens in areas that are right in the area between a weak LTE signal and a weak 4G signal (as you mentioned). Apparently, AT&T's towers don't do a very good job at handling the switch very well. Possibly a registeration problem? It's as if the towers keep kicking the phone back and forth and the end end result is no data connection until you move a little closer to one of the towers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is the case, too. I didn't have this problem before they switched on LTE. It didn't have much trouble going between Edge and HSPA+.

I'm in LA, and this has happened to me more than a few times. Data doesn't work, so I turn on airplane mode, and turn it back on, and it starts working again.
Yesterday was an overall terrible day for general connectivity issues. Not sure if the network was having problems but I missed 2 of my calls for a few hours, couldn't send text. When I finally made a call out, the voicemails came in. After I was successfully making calls, I couldn't dial out at one time, so I had to restart my phone.

I actually have a customer having this issue...but ot is affecting his voice calls. he lives right between two towers and his phome will not commit to one over the other.
scott14719 said:
Yep, the issue is well known, but AT&T has yet to admit to it or fix it. I think it mostly happens in areas that are right in the area between a weak LTE signal and a weak 4G signal (as you mentioned). Apparently, AT&T's towers don't do a very good job at handling the switch very well. Possibly a registeration problem? It's as if the towers keep kicking the phone back and forth and the end end result is no data connection until you move a little closer to one of the towers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Same problem in Atlanta, an official LTE market. When it works, the speeds I get blow away cable - 25 Mbs down/ 15 Mbs up, BUT, any attempt to text a message with an attachment always fails. In addition, many of the notifications for network events never occur, or if they do, they occur hours, if not days later. Finally, an age old problem that ATT has never cared to resolve. Voice mail sits on their server for days without notifying me its there, then i get this deluge of several days of old voicemail. Know lots of people in ATL have had this experience. It's the inability to rely on notification of key messaging events (incoming call missed, missed while on phone, missed whil away, etc and same with textx and email that concerm me most.

Same here in DC...of course when I use the HSPA only APN i have no problems....but no LTE though.

Verizon GS3 4g Connection Issues

Have any Verizon Wireless Galaxy S 3 users (besides myself) noticed the following symptoms:
1) Phone doesn't connect to 4g LTE until approximately 15 minutes later (even in an excellant 4g coverage area)
2) Phone connects to 4g LTE then disconnects approximately 15 minutes later and drops to 3g (even in excellent 4g coverage area).
3) Phone shows 4g LTE connection, but no data can be transmitted/received (tested with speedtest and a google search in the browser). This one is particularly bad, as there is currently no way I am aware of to turn off the 4g radio)
I've spoken with VZW technical support and they want me to replace the phone to see if things get better. I'm not quite sure it's a hardware problem.

mybook4 said:
Have any Verizon Wireless Galaxy S 3 users (besides myself) noticed the following symptoms:
1) Phone doesn't connect to 4g LTE until approximately 15 minutes later (even in an excellant 4g coverage area)
2) Phone connects to 4g LTE then disconnects approximately 15 minutes later and drops to 3g (even in excellent 4g coverage area).
3) Phone shows 4g LTE connection, but no data can be transmitted/received (tested with speedtest and a google search in the browser). This one is particularly bad, as there is currently no way I am aware of to turn off the 4g radio)
I've spoken with VZW technical support and they want me to replace the phone to see if things get better. I'm not quite sure it's a hardware problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this sounds ridiculous to do with brand new phone but here is the truth. They factory flash those bad boys using octopuss strand array cables with one machine and sometimes they receive a bad flash from the factory. Try the following steps
1. Go to options>settings>mobile and wireless networks>mobile networks>toggle mobile network on and off. (is it acting better?) No? then..
2. Factory data reset the phone. (is it acting better now?) No? then..
3. Using odin reflash the stock ROM (is it acting bettery now?) No? then take it back.... your phone is officially broken.

mybook4 said:
Have any Verizon Wireless Galaxy S 3 users (besides myself) noticed the following symptoms:
1) Phone doesn't connect to 4g LTE until approximately 15 minutes later (even in an excellant 4g coverage area)
2) Phone connects to 4g LTE then disconnects approximately 15 minutes later and drops to 3g (even in excellent 4g coverage area).
3) Phone shows 4g LTE connection, but no data can be transmitted/received (tested with speedtest and a google search in the browser). This one is particularly bad, as there is currently no way I am aware of to turn off the 4g radio)
I've spoken with VZW technical support and they want me to replace the phone to see if things get better. I'm not quite sure it's a hardware problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should search before posting, maybe someone else is having problems. maybe theres info that could help you.....

das7982 said:
I know this sounds ridiculous to do with brand new phone but here is the truth. They factory flash those bad boys using octopuss strand array cables with one machine and sometimes they receive a bad flash from the factory. Try the following steps
1. Go to options>settings>mobile and wireless networks>mobile networks>toggle mobile network on and off. (is it acting better?) No? then..
2. Factory data reset the phone. (is it acting better now?) No? then..
3. Using odin reflash the stock ROM (is it acting bettery now?) No? then take it back.... your phone is officially broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the tips. I searched prior to posting.There has been another post after mine with someone talking about similar issues.
Tried number 1 and 2. No dice.
I'm hesitant with 3 (although I've flashed/odined many times in the fascinate). Will refreshing stock up the flash counter? I may just swap out the phone in store. This would at least give me an account history showing issues.
When I have new info, I'll reply.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

i posted well before your thread, but in short......theres an update being pushed that addresses 4g issues

Very cool. Thanks.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

tillithz said:
i posted well before your thread, but in short......theres an update being pushed that addresses 4g issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really hope this update doesn't effect the kexec work that is already underway

Verizon LTE is fast but...
It sucks at connecting and at staying connected. My HTC Thunderbolt did this, my Droid Bionic does this, and my co-workers Razr does this. LTE is fast when it actually works properly.

I'm not able conenct to 3g or 4g. Without Wifi I'm getting no data services.

As promised, I have an update. I went to the VZW store and they swapped out my SIM card. No change. The same issues I described in the OP were encountered.
I've performed the following testing to help determine if my specific phone had an issue or whether it was just the LTE service in the area. This isn't the most extensive or scientific test, just a quick and dirty test.
The procedure was as follows:
-Compare phone signal strength in Settings -> About Device -> Status (within phones approximately 5 feet of each other)
-Compare speed test results using the SpeedTest.net app
My office:
1 person in my office also has a vzw galaxy s III. We are running the same stock system.img (I535VRALF2).
- On average, his signal strength was -88dbm, mine was -84dbm. Definitely within normal range for a decent LTE signal.
- His speed test results were similar to mine (within 10% for each direction)
1 person in my office has a Droid Razr (non MAXX) running ICS (important as ICS measures signal strength differently than GB).
- On average, his signal strenth was -95dbm, mine was -91dbm.
- His speed test results were very different than mine:
GSIII - 66ms ping, 8.5MBit down, 12.2MBit up
Razr - 61ms ping, 18.9MBit down, 9.1MBit up
A friend's house:
My friend also has a vzw galaxy s III. We are running the same stock system.img (I535VRALF2).
- On average, his signal strength was -104dbm, mine was also -104dbm. A fairly poor LTE signal.
- Our speed test results were similar (approx 4MBit down, upload was intermittent (would sometimes stall out) approx 0.5Mbit up)
VZW lists 4g coverage as "Verizon LTE (non-extended)" in both areas.
Conclusion:
The difference I encountered between my GSIII and the Razr was alarming, but again, this wasn't the most scientific test (and anyone familiar with the speed test app will tell you that it's usually best to run it several times (unfortunately, I was pressed for time). Just wanted to get an idea of encountered differences.
I can second what tillithz heard about an update being released to address the 4g connection issues. I heard the info from a VZW store employee (so take that with a grain of salt).
I'll be keeping my eyes open for details on the rumored update (and wether or not it breaks our current root/CWM/custom boot.img flashing abilities).

das7982 said:
I know this sounds ridiculous to do with brand new phone but here is the truth. They factory flash those bad boys using octopuss strand array cables with one machine and sometimes they receive a bad flash from the factory. Try the following steps
1. Go to options>settings>mobile and wireless networks>mobile networks>toggle mobile network on and off. (is it acting better?) No? then..
2. Factory data reset the phone. (is it acting better now?) No? then..
3. Using odin reflash the stock ROM (is it acting bettery now?) No? then take it back.... your phone is officially broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel like a tard aadmitting this but I can't figure out how to do/find step one
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Sounds like the issues I had with 5 (not exaggerating) GNexs before I gave up on the phone. It was a hardware issue. Hopefully Samsung didn't let this issue slip to the GSIII
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Guys I seriously think it's a Verizon issue. I don't know one person with an VZW LTE device that doesn't have problems connecting.

I had a Korean GNex that never dropped 4G. I had 5 Chinese models that never held a signal at all (non-data included) for over ten minutes. For once I don't think it was Verizon.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Same issues
I have not done anything to my phone. It is still stock. While using Google Maps, it has managed to reboot 3 times on me. It has also managed to lose service two times while using Google Maps before rebooting with the "Searching for GPS" message. The night before I could NOT send SMS/MMS messages. Had to resort to Google Voice. Any thoughts would be great. I don't believe I have been holding it incorrectly as I have a BT headset. I'm randomly getting searching for services also. I don't think it's VZW with my Rezound, I would never lose WIFI, 4G, or calling service. Just wondering if anyone else is having this problem?

I am coming from the Incredible so I have never tried 4G at my house before but 3G has always been strong. I picked up my S3 last night and only 3G will connect. According to Verizon coverage maps I am solidly in a 4G area. Not sure what's going on.

Piss-off Verizon!
So I am having the same issue on mine and my wife's phone. Both pre-ordered in June and received on the 9th.
I stream music in my car while I drive to and from work an hour away. This is extremely annoying as I have to constantly fiddle with my phone to get the data connection back while I'm driving to get my music back.
I called Verizon twice and had the SIM swapped out on mine to test if it fixed it. It fixed one issue of signal strength, but not the dropping of connections. Here's my problems:
- Going from a 3G to a 4G area, signal drops out to unknown in the About Phone > Status page for about 30 seconds or more
- Sometimes it just stays at 3G and never switches
- Going from a 4G to a 3G area, signal drops out to unknown in the About Phone > Status page for about 30 seconds or more
- While it claims I have 4G, there are many times where I cannot get any data connection at all where Facebook says network connection error or speed test doesn't work at all and web pages won't load
- One issue fixed after the SIM swap was that under Settings > More Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names it is now switching from EHRPD and LTE more often. Still not perfect, but I'm assuming that it stays in EHRPD mode when in an extended 4G coverage area (not sure about this) but before it wouldn't use the LTE option no matter what
Before the SIM swap my data connection dropped out completely in the middle of a city known to have great 4G coverage and would not come back no matter what I did (airplane mode on/off, mobile data off/on, phone reboot)
Software reset didn't fix any of these issues either.
Here is what I've decided about some of the issues they are having based on my experiences driving around so much. It seems as if the phone cannot negotiate with the towers correctly. It's as if it needs to drop the 3G connection before it can negotiate a 4G connection, hence the 30 seconds of no data at all, and same for going from 4G to 3G, it seems it can't negotiate without first dropping your current connection. 3G to 1X and back has no issues.
I know this is long, but I want it detailed as much as possible. I had gotten the Bionic when it first came out and it did the same thing, where I could never get a 4G connection when it was supposed to or go back once acquired. The main difference is that my Galaxy S III has WAY better battery life than the Bionic had. So they seemed to have cured the battery drain when searching for a 4G tower. I'm still pissed at Verizon stating I'm in a 4G area and then never getting that connection at home, let alone barely getting a 1x connection. My dBm levels are usually in the -95 to -104 area when at home...I'm in a 4G area now and it's at -112 with an asu of 28 while at home it's usually 1 asu. Hope this helps someone else out. I don't know if a phone swap is going to fix these issues.
Verizon has told me that they are looking at a software update sometime in September...I'll believe it when I see it. In the mean time I have 7 more days to decide to keep the phone with no Verizon tech knowing what they are doing or able to troubleshoot their way out of a brown paper bag.

I am getting a new phone shipped out to me tomorrow. I will let you know if the same thing happens or it is Verizon.
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mybook4 said:
Have any Verizon Wireless Galaxy S 3 users (besides myself) noticed the following symptoms:
1) Phone doesn't connect to 4g LTE until approximately 15 minutes later (even in an excellant 4g coverage area)
2) Phone connects to 4g LTE then disconnects approximately 15 minutes later and drops to 3g (even in excellent 4g coverage area).
3) Phone shows 4g LTE connection, but no data can be transmitted/received (tested with speedtest and a google search in the browser). This one is particularly bad, as there is currently no way I am aware of to turn off the 4g radio)
I've spoken with VZW technical support and they want me to replace the phone to see if things get better. I'm not quite sure it's a hardware problem.
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I have had symptoms comparable to these, 4G stopped working in areas where it should. It would occasionally go back to 4g, only to not actually transfer any data. My phone was fine before this, and has been fine ever since. In my case I believe flashing CM9 for a bit could have triggered my problems. I have no explanation for why my phone randomly started working properly again.
I'm doubtful that this is a hardware issue, and I am hoping future updates may address radio issues.

Just an fyi, I have talked to multiple Verizon reps and changed sim cards to get nowhere. I'm at the point where I'm about ready to return it for another phone to see if that helps.
Verizon claims this is not a well known issue or widespread. I beg to differ. If it isn't widespread, then it must be a defective unit imo. I also think I got a retarded rep, he tried to tell me updates come straight from the manufacturers and we should see an update soon after a phones release haha. I asked for examples of phone release dates and the date of the first update...He couldn't provide me with any. I then asked why the nexus got the 4.0.4 update 2 months after every other carrier and he stated, well sir we don't release the updates until they're tested. Ah, so you do control the updates!
Needless to say, I'm getting tired of this crap. I'll let you know how the replacement goes.
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