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Help 3G Internet Instability/Drop/Crash?

morgreh

Newbie
Hi all, longtime reader, first time poster.

I just wanted to run something by the group and see what you have experienced. I apologize in advance for the length of the post.

I've had my Droid Incredible since release date. I am not rooted, but I installed the 2.2 update via the manual method instead of waiting to get it OTA. It's my first Android phone and, in general, I've been very happy with it.

That said however, twice in the span of about 3 months now I've experienced weird issues with my 3G internet connection and I'm wondering if anyone else has seen similar issues or if this is just an Android app compatibility issue that we have to be aware of.

About a week ago, some updates to some apps I have on my phone came out in the Market and I downloaded them, as, like many of us, I like to be up to date. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that any access to the internet over 3G was slow. As I investigated further, I could see the 3G data activity indicator come on, send data, stop, send data, stop, and then a long pause and then the 3G indicator would send data again, stop, send data, stop. The receive data indicator never lit up. Eventually, what I would see is the 3G indicator would disappear entirely, my network signal strength indicator would go to zero for a few seconds and then come back, but the 3G indicator never re-appeared. At that point ANY attempt to access the Internet resulted in an error message indicating that a Network connection is required to access this feature.

At this point, sometimes turning off the Mobile Network would bring back 3G and internet and sometimes it wouldn't. A power cycle of the phone brought 3G and internet back for a little bit, but very quickly it would go back into the cycle above and I'd soon lose Internet.

What it looked like to me (without really having much visibility into the issue) is that the 3G data process was hanging, then crashing.

So, I began uninstalling recently installed apps one by one and testing after each uninstall to see when the problem stopped occurring.

Eventually, in the most recent case, I uninstalled the Facebook 1.5.1 update and 3G and internet became stable.

In an earlier occurrence of a similar problem, I uninstalled the most recent (at the time) version of SVOX Classic and the 3G internet problem went away.

So my questions are, one, has anyone else seen similar issues? Two, is this kind of thing "common" and just a symptom of "bad" apps that step on each other at times? Is it something that we as Android users have to be aware of and live with? Three, where can I get old versions of apps? For instance, I'd like to get the Facebook 1.5 app and re-install it, but I can't because the only thing in the Market is the 1.5.1 version.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the issue? Any suggestions? I dislike the idea that every time I update something it's a crap shoot as to whether it will crash my phone or not.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
 
Good morning and congrats on your first post!!! 3G is like any connection and hinges on your location / tower situation. I have solid 3G most all of the time in my general area of operation but often struggle for a good connection while sitting right here in my office. My old Blackberry would often struggle to talk from this specific location.
Conditions are obviously sorry from my point to tower. That is the first thing of consideration for you and your 3G problem.
Secondly, I often suspect tower pressure enters into the equation though I've not tried to prove that. I almost always find great 3G communication here late night though day traffic is bad. No proof.. just a thought.
I have also experienced spotty to zero 3G in areas that I know I normally have a solid connection. It doesn't happen often.. perhaps once a month or so but it happens. I too have switched the phone to airplane mode and back with some success but more often that not, it will take a battery pull reboot to remedy the situation. No conditions have changed other than a clearing of the cobwebs on the phone will gain me solid 3G again. This clearly indicates to me that like a pc.. the phone needs more than a soft boot to clean it's self now and then.
I have the normal array of apps on my phone and keep everything updated. I also enjoy the usual stash of extra goodies that most of us have on our phones. I am not rooted so we share that parallel. I have never considered removing any software though I'm certain you are correct and there is some relationship between the goodies running and the functionality of the phone.
You might try a battery pull reboot before removing apps the next time you experience sorry to zero 3G. If your phone has 3G and then doesn't.. and nothing new has been recently installed... I'd be of the opinion that a hard reset will be an easier fix over software removal.
Once again, congrats for crossing over to the full user side. I hope you narrow down or fix your problem to your satisfaction.
 
Thanks for the reply and welcome, olbriar.

I completely understand spotty signal, occasional signal loss, etc., and I have no problem with that. I understand it happens and is largely unpredictable.

However this is clearly an application issue in my mind. I can repeatably cause the same problem to occur by re-installing the "faulty" app. Some process is stepping on some other process.

I've pulled the battery at times too. No change.

One thing I haven't tried is a reset to factory defaults and then a reload of all my apps. I'm a little reluctant to go that route though just because of the potential for lost data if I miss backing something up.
 
I just uninstalled the facebook 1.5.1 update. I do have the 1.2.0 version installed. I will see if my slingmobile works a little better without hiccups later tonight.
 
I'm sure all setups are different and there is a genuine possibility that two different apps refuse to coexist without crating some problems. If it is truly a software problem you might try writing the developer of the offending app and see if they suggest some work-a-round. I hope you can solve your problem without eliminating an app that you want installed
 
My connection while watching tv through slingmobile didn't freeze once. I was in the same spot that usually gives me 4 hiccups per 30 minutes. Last night after downgrading to 1.2.0, no hiccups or interruptions. I was even able to have the phone below the dash while watching tv. Usually I lose connection when I do that.

Thanks Morgreh! Not sure that is 100% of the problem but it made a difference on my phone.
 
Thanks Morgreh! Not sure that is 100% of the problem but it made a difference on my phone.

Glad it helped, Superchaos. I'm obviously not sure that's all of the problem either, but dumping Facebook 1.5.1 sure has made my phone stable again.

One of my first troubleshooting steps is always, to undo the last thing I did when I start having a problem. If the problem disappears, I have a good idea where the problem lies.

From now on, I am only updating apps one at a time and waiting a few days between updates to see what happens.

Does anyone have any pointers on where I can download the Facebook 1.5 app?

Thanks.
 
Does anyone have any pointers on where I can download the Facebook 1.5 app?

Nevermind, a quick Google search found it for me and a short download and install and I'm back on Facebook 1.5 and everything is still working like it should.
 
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