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So I have a perfectly good 4G LTE signal going, data speeds are great and all, but every once in a while it will just stop receiving data. The 4G LTE icon is still there, occasionally I see the upstream arrow flash, but the downstream arrow remains blank. A difference that I see from other people's connectivity issues is that I never once see it switch to 3G/1X when this happens.
One thing to note is that this behavior is not readily apparent until you're doing something real-time network dependent, like streaming audio/video for a considerable duration of time until it cuts you off suddenly.
Between 10 seconds to several minutes after data stops transmitting, it starts working again. Sometimes I get impatient and just toggle between CDMA only/LTE automatic to get 4G LTE working again without having to wait.
Is this a common issue among Charge owners? I noticed the reviewer at Anandtech had a near identical experience (though not always fixable without a reboot for him):
"My only complaint is that every once in a while, the LTE data session sometimes stalls briefly – sometimes for a a few seconds, other times for a few minutes. When that happens, you’ll see the uplink green arrow blink, but no orange downlink arrow. Rebooting the device fixes things."
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Click to collapse
After conversing a bit with him (he also reviewed the Thunderbolt/Revolution), this apparently only happens with the Charge, but he also has faith that Samsung would fix this through software (RIL) or hardware (firmware). Given Samsung's track record with smartphone updates, I'm not so sure they will.
PeterDLai said:
Given Samsung's track record with smartphone updates, I'm not so sure they will.
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Considering a month after the phone's launch we already have a Gingerbread leak I think this device will most definitely see support from Samsung. It is a DROID branded phone after all, and Verizon is statistically the best carrier for updates, they do take special care of the "DROID" phones over every other Android handset.
4G is flakey, on both devices that offer it. I have both the Thunderbolt and Charge with me most of the time, and I see all kinds of flakiness on both. It's the network.
It is definitely the network. I had a Thunderbolt before the Charge and it was FAR worse with network connectivity falling off the face of the planet despite having full 3g/4g.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
I have had the same problem. I usually wait and it comes back in about 30-45 seconds, but it is annoying. It was really bad for a couple of days but has been better the past couple.
I personally haven't had to much issue with 4g dropping out. However people need to keep in mind that LTE is new for both the mfgs & carrier. So it is going to take time to get all these bugs worked out. That said I have to give props to VZW and the mfgs tho because back when they were building out 3G originally you want to talk about issues my lord was it bad.
I have had this issue, with the 3G and the 4G, but I can't say that it's a deal breaker for me, compared to the lousy HSPA+ signal my Vibrant had. It's only ever happened to me at my house, which is right on the edge of LTE coverage, so it switches back and forth a lot. But I have to give the network the benefit of the doubt for right now, it's a brand new network and a brand new device. And the 97% of the time that things work properly, it's so far above and beyond the T-Mobile network I have no regrets about switching.
I called Verizon with the same issue last Friday. Their resolution after a couple of questions was to overnight me a new (certified like-new) Charge and SIM card - the replacement was received on Monday. I haven't had any issues since, but I also stopped seeing the issue after I made the complaint.
Regardless, replacement has been better and locks a GPS signal much quicker. Maybe it's the SIM card?
SAME CRAP HERE!!!!
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
I tested if I have this behavior using LTE only mode (dial **583 in Phone app) and indeed I do, so this furthers my belief that my issue is not due to something wrong in the hand-off between 4G/3G.
I found out the way to actually change the data modes and tested using EV-DO Rev. A instead of eHRPD (in conjunction with LTE) and also using just CDMA 1X (in conjunction with LTE, essentially disabling 3G), but my issue of dropping data exists. The 4G LTE icon is displayed the entire time when it happens, I just seem to lose connectivity (and all three of the tests in the Phone Info area fail) temporarily. For what it's worth, I'm not moving the phone around at all when this happens.
I think I would actually be more content if when the data connection stalled, my 4G LTE icon just disappeared or if it switched to 3G because then it would make more sense to me (that I may have lost connection to the 4G service and it's attempting to reconnect to either 3G or 4G), but as it stands, all I get is a constant 4G icon with intermittent dropouts. The switch to 3G/1X seems to be the more common issue among 4G smartphone owners, but my (and the reviewer at Anandtech's) issue seems to deal completely within the 4G network, and I've tried every leaked radio to no avail.
The regularity of the dropouts seems kind of random as well; I'm not sure how I can figure out the source of the issue. Does anyone know if there are some logs that I can look into to see if something is happening to my phone at the very instant that I'm having these stalls?
Of course, I'm not discounting the fact that it might completely be on the side of Verizon's network and/or my area in San Diego and has nothing to do with my phone, and I may in a minority of users that actually continuously uses the 4G enough to notice these dropouts, which on average happen once every half hour to hour or so. Sometimes I'm able to stream something for several hours without the stalls, and other times it'll happen frequently within a short time span.
I just got off the phone with tech support for the intermittent data drop problem. After confirming that I was on EE4, and that I had tried doing a factory reset, he is fedexing me a new sim card.
Really hope it works, I love the phone but losing data for 1-2 minutes at a time randomly is pretty lame. Especially since I switched to Verizon for their reputation as the better network.
Racer447 said:
I just got off the phone with tech support for the intermittent data drop problem. After confirming that I was on EE4, and that I had tried doing a factory reset, he is fedexing me a new sim card.
Really hope it works, I love the phone but losing data for 1-2 minutes at a time randomly is pretty lame. Especially since I switched to Verizon for their reputation as the better network.
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Is your problem the same as mine (data drops all while 4G icon is displayed) or is yours the more common 4G to 3G/1X transition or losing the 4G network icon data drop?
PeterDLai said:
Is your problem the same as mine (data drops all while 4G icon is displayed) or is yours the more common 4G to 3G/1X transition or losing the 4G network icon data drop?
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Click to collapse
The data will stop. Then the 4g or 3g icon will disappear entirely for a minute. Then it will reconnect at either 4g,3g or 1x, I don't really see a clear pattern, it seems totally random to me.
Is there anyone who's reading this that regularly uses their 4G continuously (i.e. hours) for streaming web content (e.g. radio streams, live video streams, etc.)? If so, do you experience any occasional dropouts or is the 4G connection for you rock solid?
Racer447 said:
The data will stop. Then the 4g or 3g icon will disappear entirely for a minute. Then it will reconnect at either 4g,3g or 1x, I don't really see a clear pattern, it seems totally random to me.
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Click to collapse
hey, I have exactly the same problem!
same here,lose 4g icon when i use either the mobile hotspot or the tethering option.longest i have been connected was about 15 minutes.
fender22 said:
same here,lose 4g icon when i use either the mobile hotspot or the tethering option.longest i have been connected was about 15 minutes.
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Tested on mine and same result.
Edit: Rebooted and it works fine been on it 20+ now, I'll be testing some more
A couple of days ago my SIM card crapped out.
Now that i have a new one my 4G signal has been more consistent and stronger than ever. I live in a fringe area and before the new SIM it would constantly switch between 4 and 3G. Now i go for hours on 4G and it even stays on 4G in places that it would always switch and stay on 3G.
Get a new SIM before getting a new phone.
Sent from my Samsung Droid Charge: Stock EE4
After reading this thread I'm considering switching to either the Thunderbolt or the Revolution, or something else when it comes out...
Anyway, I have experienced this same thing.
The only difference in my situation is that I'm trying to use my LTE internet as a dedicated connection. The setup I'm trying to do is plug my phone into my router and have the router distribute the verizon LTE internet through my apartment. My router currently has the latest version of tomato installed and I compiled my own RNDIS module (modified to work with the charge). Everything works for the first few minutes (15-20), then I notice the 4G icon "stall", then disappear, then reconnect. After the first disconnect and reconnect, the internet connection is very unstable and will disconnect every couple of minutes until I disable and re-enable the internet again... very frustrating.
In the interim, I've been using EasyTether and this works very well. I have streamed hours of 720P video and it works flawless; not one skip or reconnect.
This leads me to believe that it is either one of the following:
The kernel - I'm currently using the PBJT kernel found in the latest version of humble. I'm not sure if the stock rom will provide better stability.
The radio - I currently have the EE4 radio installed, but am very curious to know the stability of the GB radio updates (EP1f, etc.).
Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
I've read reports on the Internet of many users having issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3 such as small cracks appearing in the casing of the phone out of no where. Another thing is the weak signal strength this phone is known for. All the reports I could find were outdated and I really want to like this phone and purchase it.
I'd like to know if anyone knows if these problems have been fixed by Samsung.
Thanks in advance!
Touchpadnoob said:
I've read reports on the Internet of many users having issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3 such as small cracks appearing in the casing of the phone out of no where. Another thing is the weak signal strength this phone is known for. All the reports I could find were outdated and I really want to like this phone and purchase it.
I'd like to know if anyone knows if these problems have been fixed by Samsung.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
easily the best phone ive ever owned.
no problems yet
Touchpadnoob said:
I've read reports on the Internet of many users having issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3 such as small cracks appearing in the casing of the phone out of no where. Another thing is the weak signal strength this phone is known for. All the reports I could find were outdated and I really want to like this phone and purchase it.
I'd like to know if anyone knows if these problems have been fixed by Samsung.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Signal has been top notch on mine.....Just as good as my wife's Rezound. Much much better then my GNEX!
Below 40% battery the signal becomes progressively weaker, noticably so, but no issues with calls, mostly manifests itself in data.
Otherwise, though, great signal. As I sit here in the middle of a state park far from anything. I travel a lot, neighborhood of a thousand interstate miles a week, and haven't dropped a call yet.
Device rocks, and haven't noticed any physical deterioration. As a smartphone you can't do any better on the market today in terms of quality, performance or features.
Worth getting the 32 gig model and slapping a 64 gig card in it. Nothing like having nearly 100 gigs of immediately available interactive storage.
4g lte is impressively fast.
one thing to remember is somebody will always have something to gripe about no matter what. that being said the s3 is by far the most solid device i have ever owned!
I've had two different Galaxy S3's on Verizon, and both have horrible data issues. Disconnects from data, and not gaining data back until reboot, slow data speeds when I have it, and signal bars constantly going from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 3 to 4 etc....
The second phone has never been rooted or modified, and the first one I tried everything I could think of. So many ROMs, modems, and flashes, and nothing worked. Other Verizon phones nearby work just fine. Just my experience though.
Thread is called issues with this phone
Let's keep other phones out of it
Thanks
Thread cleaned
FNM
kennyglass123 said:
Thread is called issues with this phone
Let's keep other phones out of it
Thanks
Thread cleaned
FNM
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Click to collapse
If you are referring to me then I was talking about the Galaxy S3. The OP was talking about the Galaxy S3 too.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I only got 2 bars where I am at, but looking at my family's other phones, they are about the same in reception (razr droid) . Now my dad who lives out of state, is telling me that when he calls me, it goes straight to voice mail (i dont see any indication that he called) , so this is an issue im trying to figure out, but I have a custom rom and kernal. So hard to say what the issue is for me ( I also got a crack on the screen already from slippage the 2nd day I owned the phone, but its very minimal), happened because I didn't have a case at the time.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s720x720/386262_10151093476528557_832449593_n.jpg
The phone otherwise is awesome, Get some good protection for it, it is a must! I carry it in my pocket,but I do feel like if someone bumps up against my thigh that it could break.
I think people are to caught up in the bars. I never look at the bars. If my phone has 4G and I don't drop calls then there is no problems with the radio. I even get 4G in fringe areas where my GNEX did not.
Also, my wife's rezound can say she has 3 bars is a fringe areas but it still takes 10 minutes to
load a webpage.
Bars are a bunch of BS. Usage is what really counts.
Signal strength is what matters. I'm actually considering I might have a bad phone since it constantly loses data or drops to 1x in my apt, where the map shows full 4G coverage and my previous phone (Sprint) never had a single issue. Tested a friends Nexus and it had slow speeds but never lost a connection, and the Nexus is said to have really poor reception.
ECrispy said:
Signal strength is what matters. I'm actually considering I might have a bad phone since it constantly loses data or drops to 1x in my apt, where the map shows full 4G coverage and my previous phone (Sprint) never had a single issue. Tested a friends Nexus and it had slow speeds but never lost a connection, and the Nexus is said to have really poor reception.
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First question are you rooted? if not you should get an update from Verizon with a new modem. If so go to the modem link and down the newest modem and flash it via Odin. I flashed mine and it seems to help with the single problem I was having. Also when you look at the bars I was told that if your data is on the bars you see is for your data when it is off the bars you see is for your voice.
silver1882 said:
First question are you rooted? if not you should get an update from Verizon with a new modem. If so go to the modem link and down the newest modem and flash it via Odin. I flashed mine and it seems to help with the single problem I was having. Also when you look at the bars I was told that if your data is on the bars you see is for your data when it is off the bars you see is for your voice.
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Click to collapse
I am a bit confused by this advice going around. I am rooted, and unlocked. I checked for root access a few times before posting this, and I can still do everything I could before. I have manually received the OTA update, and don't notice a difference in my root capabilities. Are you saying something was supposed to break once I updated?
Every so often my M8 will basically become disconnected from the network. This NORMALLY appears when I'm in a low coverage zone, and it's as if my phone just doesn't want to reconnect when I get back into a higher coverage area.
For instance at my gym, I frequently get a weak signal, but it's usually 4G. Sometimes it'll drop to 3G, and then sometimes when I get back into an area of the gym that has 4G coverage my phone will say it's still on 3G. However, there's actually no connectivity at all, and I need to either reboot or toggle airplane mode to get a connection again.
Sometimes (at least 2-3 times in the last week) it happened while, at least to the best of my knowledge, I was in a 4G area (though with weak coverage) the entire time. Again I fixed it each time by toggling airplane.
Has anyone else seen an issue like this? It's frustrating as hell. And more importantly has anyone heard of a fix for this?
sfreemanoh said:
Every so often my M8 will basically become disconnected from the network. This NORMALLY appears when I'm in a low coverage zone, and it's as if my phone just doesn't want to reconnect when I get back into a higher coverage area.
For instance at my gym, I frequently get a weak signal, but it's usually 4G. Sometimes it'll drop to 3G, and then sometimes when I get back into an area of the gym that has 4G coverage my phone will say it's still on 3G. However, there's actually no connectivity at all, and I need to either reboot or toggle airplane mode to get a connection again.
Sometimes (at least 2-3 times in the last week) it happened while, at least to the best of my knowledge, I was in a 4G area (though with weak coverage) the entire time. Again I fixed it each time by toggling airplane.
Has anyone else seen an issue like this? It's frustrating as hell. And more importantly has anyone heard of a fix for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, actually I had a thread about this a while back; I tried just about everything (other ROMs, new sim cards, factory resets, the whole shebang) and my only solution so far (if you intend on keeping your current phone) is to completely unroot my phone, along with removing all root-related applications (namely Xposed). It still happens from time to time, but a lot less frequently then when rooted and running Xposed modules. I have a new phone coming in today from Verizon, so hopefully that unit will not have any of these issues... I still am not entirely sure what causes it, though it is definitely exacerbated by Xposed. Hopefully some of this helps? If you have any further questions feel free to ask, either through PM or this here thread.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Sevinex said:
Yep, actually I had a thread about this a while back; I tried just about everything (other ROMs, new sim cards, factory resets, the whole shebang) and my only solution so far (if you intend on keeping your current phone) is to completely unroot my phone, along with removing all root-related applications (namely Xposed). It still happens from time to time, but a lot less frequently then when rooted and running Xposed modules. I have a new phone coming in today from Verizon, so hopefully that unit will not have any of these issues... I still am not entirely sure what causes it, though it is definitely exacerbated by Xposed. Hopefully some of this helps? If you have any further questions feel free to ask, either through PM or this here thread.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
I am having same did getting new phone help? I think its just crappy radios myself nothing to do with root exposed or anything.
wooddale said:
I am having same did getting new phone help? I think its just crappy radios myself nothing to do with root exposed or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a new phone now, and so far I haven't experienced any data connectivity issues. This morning I did notice that my SMS were not sending properly, but that issue has since faded away, so hopefully it was Verizon network based... Anyways, I will try reinstalling Xposed and a couple modules later today (likely Snapshare and the Sense 6 Toolbox) and will report back sometime tomorrow or the next on how it goes. Fingers crossed...
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Sevinex said:
I have a new phone now, and so far I haven't experienced any data connectivity issues. This morning I did notice that my SMS were not sending properly, but that issue has since faded away, so hopefully it was Verizon network based... Anyways, I will try reinstalling Xposed and a couple modules later today (likely Snapshare and the Sense 6 Toolbox) and will report back sometime tomorrow or the next on how it goes. Fingers crossed...
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks keep us informed.
wooddale said:
Thanks keep us informed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sfreemanoh said:
Every so often my M8 will basically become disconnected from the network. This NORMALLY appears when I'm in a low coverage zone, and it's as if my phone just doesn't want to reconnect when I get back into a higher coverage area.
For instance at my gym, I frequently get a weak signal, but it's usually 4G. Sometimes it'll drop to 3G, and then sometimes when I get back into an area of the gym that has 4G coverage my phone will say it's still on 3G. However, there's actually no connectivity at all, and I need to either reboot or toggle airplane mode to get a connection again.
Sometimes (at least 2-3 times in the last week) it happened while, at least to the best of my knowledge, I was in a 4G area (though with weak coverage) the entire time. Again I fixed it each time by toggling airplane.
Has anyone else seen an issue like this? It's frustrating as hell. And more importantly has anyone heard of a fix for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, so after installing Xposed, I suddenly started having issues maintaining a solid 4G connection; 3G works fine, just whenever I do manage to connect to 4G I am unable to use any data (says I am connected to the mobile network, but I do not get any upload or download data movement). Even after removing Xposed and all associated modules, I am still experiencing this problems. I am going in today/Monday to get a new SIM card (hopefully this is what is causing my issues) but goddamn I just cannot seem to catch a break in terms of my phones' data connection. If the above doesn't work I may have to send for another phone, though after having now received three replacements this entire process is getting a little irksome... I really do love this phone, but it seems as if it is my M8 is rejecting my love from every angle.
UPDATE: The new SIM didn't do anything, I still am having 4G issues, so another phone it is...
it's not just your phone....
Sevinex said:
Lol, so after installing Xposed, I suddenly started having issues maintaining a solid 4G connection; 3G works fine, just whenever I do manage to connect to 4G I am unable to use any data (says I am connected to the mobile network, but I do not get any upload or download data movement). Even after removing Xposed and all associated modules, I am still experiencing this problems. I am going in today/Monday to get a new SIM card (hopefully this is what is causing my issues) but goddamn I just cannot seem to catch a break in terms of my phones' data connection. If the above doesn't work I may have to send for another phone, though after having now received three replacements this entire process is getting a little irksome... I really do love this phone, but it seems as if it is my M8 is rejecting my love from every angle.
UPDATE: The new SIM didn't do anything, I still am having 4G issues, so another phone it is...
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Click to collapse
a lot of feedback on the web across multiple carriers of the poor lte signal retention on this phone.....this is starting to sound like a hardware defect or a major "radio" software glitch.
biswasd said:
a lot of feedback on the web across multiple carriers of the poor lte signal retention on this phone.....this is starting to sound like a hardware defect or a major "radio" software glitch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dumped mine could not handle it anymore get rid of it before you loose any more money. I have had a lot of phones when there bad from the start they don't usually get any better. The Droid Bionic being the only exception.
sfreemanoh said:
Every so often my M8 will basically become disconnected from the network. This NORMALLY appears when I'm in a low coverage zone, and it's as if my phone just doesn't want to reconnect when I get back into a higher coverage area.
For instance at my gym, I frequently get a weak signal, but it's usually 4G. Sometimes it'll drop to 3G, and then sometimes when I get back into an area of the gym that has 4G coverage my phone will say it's still on 3G. However, there's actually no connectivity at all, and I need to either reboot or toggle airplane mode to get a connection again.
Sometimes (at least 2-3 times in the last week) it happened while, at least to the best of my knowledge, I was in a 4G area (though with weak coverage) the entire time. Again I fixed it each time by toggling airplane.
Has anyone else seen an issue like this? It's frustrating as hell. And more importantly has anyone heard of a fix for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem with my new M8 when travelling from/to areas with low or no data coverage back to areas where I knew there was a LTE signal. Only toggling Airplane Mode would make the data reconnect. That problem was solved for me with a new sim card.
I also had very bad data connectivity at home in a major southern California city (best was -105 dBm) whereas I got up to -83 dBm in some rural town in Arizona.
Read trook's posts #34 and up here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53838257
Some of these problems may be connected to the new data service VZW is rolling out.
I would wait a few weeks before ditiching this phone. 'Cause it rocks!!!
bull**** phone
berndblb said:
I had the same problem with my new M8 when travelling from/to areas with low or no data coverage back to areas where I knew there was a LTE signal. Only toggling Airplane Mode would make the data reconnect. That problem was solved for me with a new sim card.
I also had very bad data connectivity at home in a major southern California city (best was -105 dBm) whereas I got up to -83 dBm in some rural town in Arizona.
Read trook's posts #34 and up here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53838257
Some of these problems may be connected to the new data service VZW is rolling out.
I would wait a few weeks before ditiching this phone. 'Cause it rocks!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it has nothing to do with the AWS rollout - i have a Verizon Galaxy S5 sitting right next to my M8 ---- guess what - consistent data speeds on the s5 (15 mbs down)......on the m8 (3-4mbs down) - and the data flucutates and in the signal meter , I'm getting about -6db less on the M8 than the s5.
trust me, i so desperately want to keep this phone, b/c quite frankly, i hate the amoled screen on the s5, but alas, i cant keep a phone that doesn't work well
biswasd said:
it has nothing to do with the AWS rollout - i have a Verizon Galaxy S5 sitting right next to my M8 ---- guess what - consistent data speeds on the s5 (15 mbs down)......on the m8 (3-4mbs down) - and the data flucutates and in the signal meter , I'm getting about -6db less on the M8 than the s5.
trust me, i so desperately want to keep this phone, b/c quite frankly, i hate the amoled screen on the s5, but alas, i cant keep a phone that doesn't work well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have to do that?! You just ruined my evening! That's really not what I wanted to hear!
The cold hard truth - aaaarghhh. [emoji24]
Now I have to re-think this purchase 'cause I use my phone 80% for data related functions!
But thanks anyway for posting. Even if it hurt...
cold hard facts
berndblb said:
Did you have to do that?! You just ruined my evening! That's really not what I wanted to hear!
The cold hard truth - aaaarghhh. [emoji24]
Now I have to re-think this purchase 'cause I use my phone 80% for data related functions!
But thanks anyway for posting. Even if it hurt...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes - sorry bro - i'm quite disappointed by what i am seeing with my own two eyes as well as all the others across the US and the rest of the world who are experiencing the SAME symptoms. so this is not a verizon network issue --
me thinks its a faulty radio which is causing bad handoffs between 3g and 4g (LTE). once the phone drops down to 3g, it never regains 4g signal for some reason. also, there is the issue of the constant signal fluctuations even when the phone is on LTE...so who knows. maybe combo of bad radio and poor quality antenna module.
i'm not a phone engineer but i have enough common sense and knowledge about phones to know a lemon when i see one......so, yup, i'm keeping the s5 and return the m8 tomorrow under the 14 day guarantee from verizon. shame....
biswasd said:
yes - sorry bro - i'm quite disappointed by what i am seeing with my own two eyes as well as all the others across the US and the rest of the world who are experiencing the SAME symptoms. so this is not a verizon network issue --
me thinks its a faulty radio which is causing bad handoffs between 3g and 4g (LTE). once the phone drops down to 3g, it never regains 4g signal for some reason. also, there is the issue of the constant signal fluctuations even when the phone is on LTE...so who knows. maybe combo of bad radio and poor quality antenna module.
i'm not a phone engineer but i have enough common sense and knowledge about phones to know a lemon when i see one......so, yup, i'm keeping the s5 and return the m8 tomorrow under the 14 day guarantee from verizon. shame....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To tell the truth I have been reading about the same issue on the general M8 forum - probably just didn't want to make the connection.... So thanks for opening my eyes.
I'm hoping for bad radio software that may get fixed with some future update (although my 6th sense tells me it's the bad antenna module....)
Too late for me for a clean exchange. Gonna have to read the Squaretrade fine print.....
I had a longer, more detailed post, then accidentally refreshed the page... :good:
Bottom line was my S6 has reverted to 3G a few times over the weekend in places where it shouldn't. I've owned all the VoLTE devices on Verizon so far, and none of them did this. Data is also very slow at times. It could be a fluke - maybe VZW was tweaking some stuff locally over the weekend. But it feels eerily similar to when LTE was first introduced back in 2011 and so many of those early LTE devices had problems managing LTE and 3G.
That combined with the, so far, completely inconsistent battery life with cell standby issues has me a bit concerned. I love this phone overall - it feels like the total package. I hope this (and battery) isn't its one glaring weakness.
I'm just curious what other Verizon users' experience has been so far.
Same here
jntdroid said:
I had a longer, more detailed post, then accidentally refreshed the page... :good:
Bottom line was my S6 has reverted to 3G a few times over the weekend in places where it shouldn't. I've owned all the VoLTE devices on Verizon so far, and none of them did this. Data is also very slow at times. It could be a fluke - maybe VZW was tweaking some stuff locally over the weekend. But it feels eerily similar to when LTE was first introduced back in 2011 and so many of those early LTE devices had problems managing LTE and 3G.
That combined with the, so far, completely inconsistent battery life with cell standby issues has me a bit concerned. I love this phone overall - it feels like the total package. I hope this (and battery) isn't its one glaring weakness.
I'm just curious what other Verizon users' experience has been so far.
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I noticed the same thing a few times on my VZW S6 Edge. A web page would load super slow or it would be on 3g, when my note 4 never had this issue. Part of it could be the fact that Samsung went from using qualcomm chips for the radios to in house chips. Qualcomm has been making and updating radio chips for practically every Mfgs phones for years. I'm thinking samsung just doesnt have the experience that Qualcomm does. Hopefully its just a matter of a firmware update.
Drhoot said:
I noticed the same thing a few times on my VZW S6 Edge. A web page would load super slow or it would be on 3g, when my note 4 never had this issue. Part of it could be the fact that Samsung went from using qualcomm chips for the radios to in house chips. Qualcomm has been making and updating radio chips for practically every Mfgs phones for years. I'm thinking samsung just doesnt have the experience that Qualcomm does. Hopefully its just a matter of a firmware update.
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The VZW and SPRINT versions actually have QCOM modem chips as opposed to their own Shannon modem. The Antenna configuration and other parts are completely different from other phones or previous Samsung phones.
my 2 cents
equake said:
The VZW and SPRINT versions actually have QCOM modem chips as opposed to their own Shannon modem. The Antenna configuration and other parts are completely different from other phones or previous Samsung phones.
my 2 cents
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Ahh, thanks for clarifying. I read that they used their own chips instead of QCOM. Guess the CDMA variants are different. I assumed that could be part of the problem.
Drhoot said:
Ahh, thanks for clarifying. I read that they used their own chips instead of QCOM. Guess the CDMA variants are different. I assumed that could be part of the problem.
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Every model is somewhat different. My S4 gets decent LTE reception while my wife's S5 switches to 3G in the same place. It's also the the S/W on the phone. The Lollipop update on the phones have been lowering the connection quality in my opinion. The S5 had better reception when on 4.4.x
my 2 cents
I also noticed this. At home, I have fair LTE connectivity usually around -105 to -115dBm, and on my previous G3 I always remained connected to LTE. Now on the S6, I have similar signal levels but it often drops to 3G or even 1x.
geoff5093 said:
I also noticed this. At home, I have fair LTE connectivity usually around -105 to -115dBm, and on my previous G3 I always remained connected to LTE. Now on the S6, I have similar signal levels but it often drops to 3G or even 1x.
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Yes, this exactly. My signal level is "normal", but it's switching to 3G. That makes me think it's a software tweak, which is good I guess. But I still hate the similar feeling to 2011...
jntdroid said:
I had a longer, more detailed post, then accidentally refreshed the page... :good:
Bottom line was my S6 has reverted to 3G a few times over the weekend in places where it shouldn't. I've owned all the VoLTE devices on Verizon so far, and none of them did this. Data is also very slow at times. It could be a fluke - maybe VZW was tweaking some stuff locally over the weekend. But it feels eerily similar to when LTE was first introduced back in 2011 and so many of those early LTE devices had problems managing LTE and 3G.
That combined with the, so far, completely inconsistent battery life with cell standby issues has me a bit concerned. I love this phone overall - it feels like the total package. I hope this (and battery) isn't its one glaring weakness.
I'm just curious what other Verizon users' experience has been so far.
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I am having the same experience. Areas that were very strong 4G LTE on both my S4, S5 and even an iPhone 6 are switching to 3G. This is very disheartening to me and hope very much so its a software tweak and not because of a larger hardware issue.
lilsalmon said:
I am having the same experience. Areas that were very strong 4G LTE on both my S4, S5 and even an iPhone 6 are switching to 3G. This is very disheartening to me and hope very much so its a software tweak and not because of a larger hardware issue.
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I know in the past, the hand-off to 3G too "early" was typically software related... but if the radio is weak (which I'm not convinced is the issue), software tweaks might only go so far.
Mine goes from LTE to 1x. Don't even see 3G. Lol
So just now I'm driving home and talking with my wife like I do every day of the week through the exact same area. On previous devices the LTE signal was weaker through this area (normally 2 bars depending on the phone), but I've never had any problems. Today, with the S6, my wife kept complaining that I was cutting out a lot. I looked down and had that first little dot of a bar and that's it. Within a minute or so the call completely dropped. I'm always frustrated with Verizon's handling of VoLTE, but this doesn't help the case for the S6 either.
droidiac13 said:
Mine goes from LTE to 1x. Don't even see 3G. Lol
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I assume that's not normal behavior?
jntdroid said:
I assume that's not normal behavior?
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I wouldn't think so, but who knows.
I to have noticed my S6 on 3G a lot, I have dropped about 4 calls today to..That is not normal, together with the poor battery life I'm thinking this sucker is probably going back.
sprke said:
I to have noticed my S6 on 3G a lot, I have dropped about 4 calls today to..That is not normal, together with the poor battery life I'm getting this sucker is probably going back.
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So frustrating b/c it's such a great device otherwise. I'm still hopeful, though...
jntdroid said:
So frustrating b/c it's such a great device otherwise. I'm still hopeful, though...
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Love the size, feel and screen. Another thing that happens is it will power off overnight while charging... How's that going to work if I depend on it for alarms?
Again this morning... dropped to 3G twice - once on my way to work (dropped call) and for about 15 minutes in my office. Both places that, historically, have never had any issues (edit: though they are places where LTE isn't the strongest - but never have I dropped to 3G). It's only a problem about 10% of the time, but it's a frustrating 10%, and a 10% I haven't had to deal with in a LONG time.
I have a friend who works for Samsung mobile US. From what he is telling me they are aware of the issue and are already planning a software release. It's noted in the bug fixes as "Radio Attenuation" It's already with Verizon for testing and approval, but doesn't have a firm release date because we all know how Verizon is with software releases.
He actually said this is due to the shorting testing period with vzw this launch.
So here is hoping this is resolved via a software update and not a longer standing hardware issue.
Quick question, is the S6 single antenna?
I'm guessing the S6 Edge is like the other Edge. Screen takes away an antenna.
This is disgusting from my point of view. From the exact same spot I generally pull between 18Mbs to 20Mbs... religiously for over a year on an S5 OR S4.
Why in the he'll is it so hard to get a phone right? They did everything else right with this phone and launch and now we have take. 2 generations steps backwards with the radios.
This is not meant to be scientific, however I am trying to get a gauge if this is a larger issue that what some have posted. I have a new Galaxy S6 that I activated on launch day. My previous 2 phones are and S4 and S5 most recently. I am fairly savvy in knowing my network strength locally and places I frequent. Since switching to the S6 from my S5 I have been on 3G in know very good 4G areas alot of the time. Not only that but I have seen the dreaded 1X more times in the last few days in areas I have had religiously great 4G coverage on for years. I have dropped 3 calls of which I havent done in probably 4 years as well. I have done tests with an S4 and S5 right next to my new S6 where I can pull 15-20Mbs on either of those two phones where my new S6 gets between 0.5Mbs and 1.5Mbs.
I have checked the signal strength between the two sitting right along side each other S5 (111DBs) - S6 (98DBs) I personally have no idea the order of magnitude between 1-10 DBs if that would make that much of a dramatic difference, but real world testing there is either something wrong with my specific unit or hoping its not extremely widespread. There is a thread in general that we have been posting to but the change has been so dramatic if it was more widespread i would think alot more folks would be posting. So in order to find out if this is specific to myself and a few others in that thread or more widespread hardware/software issue I am throwing up a poll. Please take a few seconds and vote.
i work in my basement in a major city area and all my previous phones would get 3 bars of LTE in my office here. my S6 Edge gets occasional 1 bar of LTE mixed with 1X very often.
i am connected to wifi here and it hasnt affected my using it for work but have noticed this and prefer it worked at least as well as my older devices.
i am generally not a "numbers" watcher on things like this or battery and more of a "as long as it works as i need it" user but i noticed the 1X because i am not use to seeing it.
also i should add that i noticed under battery that #1 for me is always "Cell Standby" and i have to assume they are related?
fletch33 said:
i work in my basement in a major city area and all my previous phones would get 3 bars of LTE in my office here. my S6 Edge gets occasional 1 bar of LTE mixed with 1X very often.
i am connected to wifi here and it hasnt affected my using it for work but have noticed this and prefer it worked at least as well as my older devices.
i am generally not a "numbers" watcher on things like this or battery and more of a "as long as it works as i need it" user but i noticed the 1X because i am not use to seeing it.
also i should add that i noticed under battery that #1 for me is always "Cell Standby" and i have to assume they are related?
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So far every time a Verizon user has had Cell Standby at the top, it's been with wifi on. After your next full charge, leave wifi turned off completely for awhile and see if Cell Standby shows up at the top again.
What makes this a major problem is the fact that Verizon's VoLTE is fully dependent on a decent LTE signal.
jntdroid said:
So far every time a Verizon user has had Cell Standby at the top, it's been with wifi on. After your next full charge, leave wifi turned off completely for awhile and see if Cell Standby shows up at the top again.
What makes this a major problem is the fact that Verizon's VoLTE is fully dependent on a decent LTE signal.
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i have read that as well and i guess i could do that but i really need Wifi on when my office signal is so often on 1X
Yes testing it today, it is very bad. Getting about 1Mbps when not using Wi-Fi.
Sent from my SM-G920V using XDA Premium HD app
Our new S6 is doing this same thing. Jumps from a strong 4G signal to 1X with no signal the second you make a call. :crying:
Is there a fix for this besides returning the phone?
Enable advanced calling on your account and on your phone. Also switch from Global to LTE/CDMA
Sent from my LG-VS985 using Tapatalk
bkuhl said:
Enable advanced calling on your account and on your phone. Also switch from Global to LTE/CDMA
Sent from my LG-VS985 using Tapatalk
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OK, But than I loose my Caller ID / Name / Number. I need the caller ID.
Then buy the Caller ID feature. Your phone is switching to 1X when making a phone call because the S6 doesn't support voice and data simultaneously unless you have Advanced Calling on and enabled and are in LTE coverage area. The S6 only has a dual band modem.
Sent from my LG-VS985 using Tapatalk
HD Voice feature needs to be turned on, but don't!
Hey guys I've talked about this in different forums and sites, I'll copy and paste it here and hopefully it will help you understand why you can't place calls using the 4G LTE without having the Advance calling feature turned on under the Verizon network.
"Verizon is aware of the HD voice/video feature being the culprit of the dropped calls, they are blaming Samsung for not pushing an update to correct the problem. Meanwhile Samsung has said that the feature is a Verizon software. I was told by their tech support that it has been reported that there's a 50% dropped call increase using the galaxy S6 while having the HD voice/video feature on, this was 2 weeks ago. The agent said they have a search tool like Google search, this is internal and that's where he found this information.
You can not make calls and surf the web without the HD voice/video feature on, but turning this feature off will STOP THE DROPPED calls. Verizon's software side for galaxy S6 does not allow you to make calls on the 4G LTE network when the HD voice/video feature off, instead is shows 1x.
I have been in touch with Verizon wireless tech support for the last 3 weeks now, this past week Verizon has been sending me texts to update me on the progress of my ticket. I've had Samsung tech support in conference call with Verizon tech support; during this call that lasted more than 3 hours Verizon admitted that it wasn't a Samsung problem but Verizon's. As soon as the tech from Samsung hanged up the call because we were told that I would have to call their engineering department to further assist us. Before the Samsung tech agent hung up the call we had asked if I could make calls using the 4G LTE and was told to hold up while he researched this question. As soon as the Samsung tech agent left the conference call the Verizon tech answered no, and proceeded to make a complete 360 on answers he gave prior to the Samsung agent leaving the call, saying that the problem was not a Verizon but Samsung problem, even though moments before he said that it wasn't a Samsung problem to me and the Samsung tech support agent but Verizon's. I was also advised by the Verizon tech agent that if I wanted to, I could JAIL BRAKE my Galaxy S6 and download a software to disable the HD voice/video feature without losing the 4G LTE but that it probably still won't work properly. I told this agent that I've never jail broken a device and don't plan on because this is clearly a Verizon feature not working properly.
Not even 5 minutes after ending the call with Verizon's tech support, a supervisor from Verizon called me to tell me again that this is a Samsung issue not Verizon, he said that Samsung needs to push a SW version update to fix the problem with the HD voice calls dropping. He asked what I wanted, I said to get the Galaxy S5 and return this phone, but that I was told by 2 different stores (Rockville Centre NY, and Merrick NY both in Long Island) that if I wanted to return this phone or exchange for a different one I would be charged a 40% restocking fee even though I was within my 14 days. I was told by the tech before the supervisor called that it was at each store's discretion whether they charged you a restocking fee or not. I was told to consider this mater resolved by the supervisor, that they will get in touch with the store so I can return the phone and if in fact there are any fees I would be refunded in some sort of credit; but all I've received all of last week is text messages letting me know they are still working on my ticket."
ok i know this will sound crazy BUT i cracked the screen on my S6 Edge and got sent a new replacement (after deductible) and i swear in the same basement office i was using my original release day S6 my reception is much better.
i cant say if i just needed to do a reset on the original or what may be at play here but i can say with certainty that using the new one all day today i have not seen a single 1X or even gone below 2 bars where my original was often on 1X sitting in the same chair and location. no doubt its better but cant say why for sure except i am using a new device.
sidenote - the screen on my 1st one had much whiter whites and this new one has a slight more of a yellowish tint to it but this is not an area i am over concerned about and just something i noticed right away and then held them side by side before i shipped the cracked original back
fletch33 said:
ok i know this will sound crazy BUT i cracked the screen on my S6 Edge and got sent a new replacement (after deductible) and i swear in the same basement office i was using my original release day S6 my reception is much better.
i cant say if i just needed to do a reset on the original or what may be at play here but i can say with certainty that using the new one all day today i have not seen a single 1X or even gone below 2 bars where my original was often on 1X sitting in the same chair and location. no doubt its better but cant say why for sure except i am using a new device.
sidenote - the screen on my 1st one had much whiter whites and this new one has a slight more of a yellowish tint to it but this is not an area i am over concerned about and just something i noticed right away and then held them side by side before i shipped the cracked original back
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Interesting. Unfortunately I've had three S6's and all behaved similarly with weaker LTE signal and more frequent drops to 3G.
Also, the screen thing is the one thing that bugs me about amoled, and qhd amoled at that. On my third device and all three have had some variation of the pink hue, and while quite subtle, once you see it you can't unsee it.
jntdroid said:
Interesting. Unfortunately I've had three S6's and all behaved similarly with weaker LTE signal and more frequent drops to 3G.
Also, the screen thing is the one thing that bugs me about amoled, and qhd amoled at that. On my third device and all three have had some variation of the pink hue, and while quite subtle, once you see it you can't unsee it.
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Don't know if people are still watching this thread but my signal is awful! I have an international variant here in Alaska SM-G920I... The firmware is from February! Did an update fix your issues with poor signal?
fletch33 said:
i work in my basement in a major city area and all my previous phones would get 3 bars of LTE in my office here. my S6 Edge gets occasional 1 bar of LTE mixed with 1X very often.
i am connected to wifi here and it hasnt affected my using it for work but have noticed this and prefer it worked at least as well as my older devices.
i am generally not a "numbers" watcher on things like this or battery and more of a "as long as it works as i need it" user but i noticed the 1X because i am not use to seeing it.
also i should add that i noticed under battery that #1 for me is always "Cell Standby" and i have to assume they are related?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exact same situation here. Work in the basement at my house in a major area; down here I get 3G or 1X. Upstairs i'm getting 3G or 1bar LTE and it flips a lot. Battery seems to drain like crazy when this is happening, and I'm on WiFi the entire time. I had a total of 2.2 hours SOT yesterday and was at 14% when I plugged it back in. Cell standby was around 35% at that time.
I've noticed lately my S6 keeps locking onto 3G only even though the BRV T1114 running my home internet stays on LTE without issue. I had to ODIN my S6 cuz I messed it up then like a bonehead applied the OF1 update without thinking now I can't root it. If I could, would it be a good idea to lock it to band 13 all the time? That's what the T1114 Router uses and stays connected all the time. Sigh.....
I've noticed that if I leave it sitting on the table/bed for a while, it locks to LTE then when I start using it again after a minute or so it goes back to 3G only. Damn.
I saw 1x quite frequent with an s6 and a black screen that only recovery booting would get me powered on. Before and after rooting. But I unrooted and return and exchanged it and now all is well no more 1x or black screen issue knock on wood
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Free mobile app
My Samsung rep at work said its due to the S6 only having one antenna vs. the S5 having two antennae(s).
DeathAngel66669 said:
My Samsung rep at work said its due to the S6 only having one antenna vs. the S5 having two antennae(s).
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That technically shouldn't matter because one was dedicated to voice only, but who knows at this point... I'm kinda tired of Verizon's inability, 4 years after the fact, to handle the LTE/3G handoff and "hold onto" issues.