Help Constant Slow Mobile Data?

[hokiescoot]

I found a temporary solution while waiting for my month to reset. Since data seems to only work on https sites. I found an app on the market called Orbot. It is a proxy app. In the settings I put it to proxy through https. Then you download another app from the same developer called Orweb v2. You can then browse websites through https. Another search engine app called duckduckgo also uses https and brings up search results, but when you click on the results links it does not load if it is an http site, so the Orbot/Orweb v2 is the way to go. However, it does seem to drain battery and make the phone hot if used for awhile.

 

[Artine]

I found a temporary solution while waiting for my month to reset. Since data seems to only work on https sites. I found an app on the market called Orbot. It is a proxy app. In the settings I put it to proxy through https. Then you download another app from the same developer called Orweb v2. You can then browse websites through https. Another search engine app called duckduckgo also uses https and brings up search results, but when you click on the results links it does not load if it is an http site, so the Orbot/Orweb v2 is the way to go. However, it does seem to drain battery and make the phone hot if used for awhile.

That's because they're high-end privacy-oriented apps, but it's nice to see them mentioned as being usable for something other than remaining anonymous.

 

[PilotBob]

Well, I decided to solve my problem another way... I ordered an HTC One, they had a special over the weekend where you can get trade-in for your phone, so they are giving me $100 for my Elite.

I wish everyone the best of luck with the Elite. It's too bad this is a pretty good phone.. but after a year of issues I'm happy to be moving to a top of the line device.

BOb

 

[snorge]

Well, I decided to solve my problem another way... I ordered an HTC One, they had a special over the weekend where you can get trade-in for your phone, so they are giving me $100 for my Elite.

I wish everyone the best of luck with the Elite. It's too bad this is a pretty good phone.. but after a year of issues I'm happy to be moving to a top of the line device.

BOb

probably won't solve your problem if it is their network which is more likely than it being the phone.

 

[PilotBob]

probably won't solve your problem if it is their network which is more likely than it being the phone.

True... of course, I will have to change networks as well if I want to stick with a reasonably priced service. Although, I'm having second thoughts about spending so much for a phone.

 

[snorge]

True... of course, I will have to change networks as well if I want to stick with a reasonably priced service. Although, I'm having second thoughts about spending so much for a phone.

A couple years ago I had a sprint on contract phone and didn't find the reliability much better than vm in my area (which supposedly has good coverage). A lot of people say vm phones have the lowest priority with sprint's towers and use that as an excuse but I think the Sprint network as a whole isn't up to par with the other big names.

 

[Murf1]

I think the Sprint network as a whole isn't up to par with the other big names.

Maybe that's why the service cost less than the other carriers. Don't those others charge an arm and a leg? Especially for iPhones.

$25 fits my budget. Those others would not.

 

[PilotBob]

Maybe that's why the service cost less than the other carriers. Don't those others charge an arm and a leg? Especially for iPhones.

$25 fits my budget. Those others would not.

Actually, Sprint's prices are pretty close to AT&T's... and Verizon's plans seem the most expensive.

I think many of the issues are with this phone model and not so much with the Sprint network. I had none of these data issues on my Optimus V... and three other family members have the VirginMobile iPhone 4S and their phones work great as well. (Also if you auto pay with the iPhone you get $5/mo discount.)

There is another MVNO that uses sprint, Ting.com. You could pay a similar price depending on what you use... their prices scale automatically based on your usage.

T-Mobile also has a $30 a month pre-paid plan... unlimited data (5GB high speed before throttle), unlimited text, 100mins talk. This plan for me is ideal because I usually use less than 100 mins. This is what I will use with my HTC One.

Also, with t-mobile since each extra line is $10/mo (post paid) you can get it down to $23 per line $50+10+10/3... but that only includes 500MB of high speed data. It cost $10 per line to bump that up to 2GB. So if you want 2GB on all the phones it would be $60+$20+$20 / 3 = $33 per line for 3 phones or $60+$20+$20+$20 = $30 per line for 4 phones. (I wish this pricing existed before I bought my family iPhones from Virgin.)

You can pay a bit more and get Straight Talk from Walmart which I think can be AT&T or T-Mobile depending on the phone/sim. Straight Talk AT&T Compatible SIM Card - Walmart.com . This are $45 a month for unlimited talk/text/data but their plan is vague with respect to throttling.

So there are options... For me, $50 is "ok", $40 or less is reasonable, $30 or less is great. (keep in mind I pay for 5 lines). I just can't see paying $70+ a mo for service... which is what you will pay on Sprint or Verizon or AT&T with post paid/contract plans. Also, if you are going to pay that much, get a new top tier phone, because you will be paying for it anyway. T-Mobiles new plans make it clear how much you are paying for the phone vs the service... and after the phone is paid for your monthly drops... with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint that doesn't happen.

BOb

(can you tell I've been researching cell phone planes alot recently?)

 

[miediev]

Straight Talk also has phones that use the Sprint network.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story...id-phones-will-use-sprints-network/2011-09-09

 

[aml1025]

It seems strange that their network connections would be effected by billing cycles.

From what I understand, it is the fact that VM tracks data use (for their 2.5 GB throttle point) that tangles it up with the billing date. The data counter should set back to zero in their system every time you start a new month, but something is messed up that seems to cause data access not to restart at all, instead.

If this happens, all it *should* take is a data reset to get things working again. This seems to be a common enough problem that it should even be part of the call center's basic troubleshooting... but for some reason it isn't.

 

[PilotBob]

From what I understand, it is the fact that VM tracks data use (for their 2.5 GB throttle point) that tangles it up with the billing date. The data counter should set back to zero in their system every time you start a new month, but something is messed up that seems to cause data access not to restart at all, instead.

If this happens, all it *should* take is a data reset to get things working again. This seems to be a common enough problem that it should even be part of the call center's basic troubleshooting... but for some reason it isn't.

Interesting... I wonder if people have used watchdog and see if they get throttled and then it doesn't reset. That does sound like an interesting theory.

BOb

 

[aml1025]

Interesting... I wonder if people have used watchdog and see if they get throttled and then it doesn't reset. That does sound like an interesting theory.

BOb

It's not happening only to people who get throttled, unfortunately. But there definitely is a correlation between data failure and a new plan month starting. It makes me wish for a glimpse into Virgin Mobile's account systems, so I could figure out exactly what's going wrong...

 

[Zachnorn]

I have a theory, myself. I noticed some things when it comes to paying for my service.

I buy the cards from 7-Eleven instead of using my credit card on the website (to save on tax). As some of you might know, when you buy a card and apply it to your account when your next month has not been paid, Virgin Mobile will take the money out of your balance and pay the next month for you automatically (this is NOT restarting your plan month). You'll know that happens when you get a text message saying "we'll use this to cover your next monthly charge." When that would happen, I would have full-speed data, although I would sometimes need to reactivate my phone for it to work. Once my month started and I did not have enough money in my account to automatically cover the next month, my data would slow down again with my other service being normal.

I put in enough money for them to take it and then also to pay for my next month and I have had no issues since then. I honestly thought a lot of this is a coincidence and so I didn't mention it in this thread, but all this discussion on billing dates (especially aml1025's recent post) made me feel like this might be helpful.

For people having this problem: how much money is in your account? Do you pay for your month before it is due and if so, do you see a difference? See what happens if you put money for a full bill in your account early (then reactivate your phone) or even pay for two months if you're willing to stay with Virgin Mobile for that much longer. Obviously, I'm not sure what will happen in your case so I can't guarantee anything. Still, if you have the money to try that, it might be worth it.

 

[RealFastOne]

From what I picked up from other posts on this thread, and elsewhere in the forum, Virgin Mobile is in the process of moving Virgin Mobile accounts into Sprint's system. As some accounts are moved, the "features" (?) of what the customer should have gets "corrupted" (?). Once the billing cycle "hits" (?) Sprint's system, the account gets all of the the things that it is supposed to have put back into it.

In other words, as I understand it, in March, my account was in VM's system and I had all of my features, like 3G, that were supposed to be there. In April, my account, though paid for, rolled into some sort of limbo that stripped away the 3G service and gave me basic phone and texting. If you are on wifi, like I am MOST of the time, you would never notice the lack of 3G. If things work the way it has been theorized, when my May account payment processes (in a few days), the 3G will be re-activated.

I am not sure how all this works, but it sounds like the kind of screw-up that VM is hoping will resolve itself without major customer loss. And again, I do not think the average VM customer service rep (CSR) has ANY idea about this and is clueless if you should mention it. The problem may be something unique to the Elite. Stay tuned.

My monthly auto-payment has posted and my 3G data service has been restored!

It looks like the account conversion issue was the problem. The replacement Elite VM sent to me would not get 3G service, either, until the month rolled.

I also called VM to verify they know that they have received my old phone back.

I am getting a green 3G icon in the status bar. I hope it lasts.

 

[hokiescoot]

My monthly auto-payment has posted and my 3G data service has been restored!

It looks like the account conversion issue was the problem. The replacement Elite VM sent to me would not get 3G service, either, until the month rolled.

I also called VM to verify they know that they have received my old phone back.

I am getting a green 3G icon in the status bar. I hope it lasts.

Thanks! I have been waiting for someone to verify this. VM called me back again today and I did not bother to answer. Did not feel like being the hampster in the wheel again. This would have been the 4th time playing the game. No thanks VM. I will keep using Orbot and wait for my month to reset.

 

[THEANTISAINT]

Hi I just wanted to post here that I went through 3 phones thinking they wouldn't pick up 3G. Read up on here thinking I was also getting the run around with "the tower is being worked on." The last day I called (I called 3 times starting on the 2nd and last on the 9th) I was told they were switching me to a different tower cause the work would take 10+ days. I also got a call from Sprint the same day asking if VM handled my issue, which I didn't expect at all. So last night around 5pm I decided to turn off wifi and boom, 3G pops up and turns green and I haven't had an issue yet. Will definitely post back if I run into the same problem and update if it stays the same. This is a very informative forum.

I am in the Las Vegas area if that helps at all, but I guess the same old excuse of tower work happened to be true in my case.

 

[THEANTISAINT]

14th now and I still have 3g! Seems to be working out well. So happy I don't have to buy another phone...

 

[DaveM6]

14th now and I still have 3g! Seems to be working out well. So happy I don't have to buy another phone...

How did they change your tower without updating your prl remotely?

 

[THEANTISAINT]

I don't know, they just said they were sending my info to headquarters and told me to wait 24 hours.

Also, I don't know what prl is sorry lol.

 

[hokiescoot]

They probably reset your plan or reprovisioned your data as some have described it at their headquaters. I have flashed several prl's new and old and nothing worked. I settled on the newest prepaid 91009 prl and am waiting for my month to reset on 5/27. I am using Orbot for data when not at home on wifi. As long as I do not heavily use apps the Orbot proxy data works without a lot of battery drain and my gmail and other notifications come through. I have received 2 calls from vm in the last week that I have not answered. Voice message said it was from their "triage" unit wanting me to call them back. The last time I did talk to them they gave me 2 options. Get sent a new phone or wait for them to investigate. I am just going to wait for the 27th as others who have said that getting a new phone did not solve the issue and I like my current phone setup.

 

[snorge]

I am just going to wait for the 27th as others who have said that getting a new phone did not solve the issue and I like my current phone setup.

yeah that is smarter considering they usually send you a refurb in worse condition than the phone you have.

 

[RealFastOne]

yeah that is smarter considering they usually send you a refurb in worse condition than the phone you have.

I was lucky.

The (needless) replacement Elite Virgin Mobile sent me looked new, and has behaved well so far. The pain was the HOURS I spent to set it up again -- and I am not even rooted. But I went through all of that when they had me perform a (needless) factory reset on my old phone trying do resolve the problem of no 3G.

I will say it again for those who have not read through the thread... Loss of 3G service right now is probably due to your account needing the monthly auto-payment to post, or an account reset payment made.

Virgin Mobile's CSRs have not been informed, intentionally or not, as to how to fix this problem.

 

[DaveM6]

I was lucky.

The (needless) replacement Elite Virgin Mobile sent me looked new, and has behaved well so far. The pain was the HOURS I spent to set it up again -- and I am not even rooted. But I went through all of that when they had me perform a (needless) factory reset on my old phone trying do resolve the problem of no 3G.

I will say it again for those who have not read through the thread... Loss of 3G service right now is probably due to your account needing the monthly auto-payment to post, or an account reset payment made.

Virgin Mobile's CSRs have not been informed, intentionally or not, as to how to fix this problem.

I can get 3G, but it will fall to 2g if no data activity is going back and forth for more then 30-45 seconds.

 

[RealFastOne]

I can get 3G, but it will fall to 2g if no data activity is going back and forth for more then 30-45 seconds.

On my replacement Elite, I discovered that I was getting VERY sporadic 2G (or less) service which would disappear after a few minutes. This furthered my belief that the account rollover / severe throttling issue was the explanation for loss of 3G service, not tower or phone problems.

BTW, any 2G service I did obtain was entirely useless. 3G is slow enough.

I am not at all happy about the time I had to spend fixing a problem that was not of my making. The CSRs and techs I talked to at VM were polite and made legitimate efforts to fix the problem, so I do not hold them at fault. My frustration is that I had to get my answers from message boards and forums. Looking back through old message board threads, this has been going on for MANY months and VM has yet to educate their CSRs and techs.

Please post if the next billing cycle returns you to full 3G service. This may help others. Good Luck!

 

[hokiescoot]

3g returned today around Noon over a week away from my monthly reset. I turned off wifi this morning when leaving for work. Used Orbot and ran navigation as I was working in another location. Returned for lunch and turned off Orbot (no signal) and turned on wifi. As I was in my car getting ready to leave I turned off wifi getting ready to enable Orbot and my 3g came back before I activated Orbot. Signal looked good. VM called me in the afternoon and I left it go to voice mail. I decided to call them back, so I listened to my voice mail as I wanted to hear what they said and get the number to call them back and tell them all was well. In the middle of listening to the message I lost signal and the call was lost. The signal came back a minute later with 3g and 3 bars. I called voice mail again and the same thing happened.

I got home and did this to try and steady the signal.
"dial ##VIRGIN# and go to View, write down the two strings of numbers, then Edit, and replace
all numbers with ten 1s for both sets, then Done to reboot. Then dial ##VIRGIN# again, and change the numbers back to their original state. This should reset your data." Rebooted and still had 3g.

Then I also did this to the build.prop and made a backup of the original.
ro.ril.hsxpa=2
ro.ril.gprsclass=10
ro.ril.hep=1
ro.ril.enable.dtm=1
ro.ril.hsdpa.category=10
ro.ril.enable.a53=1
ro.ril.enable.3g.prefix=1
ro.ril.htcmaskw1.bitmask=4294967295
ro.ril.htcmaskw1=14449
ro.ril.hsupa.category=5
Rebooted and lost 3g. Replaced with original build.prop and rebooted again and 3g was back. Called my voice mail again and was able to listen to the whole message but signal bars were white with no 3g icon. When I hung up I lost all signal and bars, but in a few seconds the bars came back and were green along with the 3g icon.

Long story short. I seem to have data back, but may possibly now have a new issue with phone calls? smh

Edit: Okay sorry to make this any longer, but I flashed the latest PRL I could find 60690 and got a an extra bar or two. I repasted the edited build.prop file and rebooted and still had 3g. Called voice mail again and signal bars turned white with no 3g icon, but call was fine. 3g came back a few seconds after hanging up. Sigh..hopefully I'm done for awhile.