Declining Reception

[bwaldron]

FWIW, Today 5-7-10 the *228 PRL update Actually Had an Effect! This is apparently not an isolated happy moment. I discovered another thread here by random accident, updated via *228, and immediately increased from 1 bar indoors to a steady 3 indoors. Hope this helps

I got the same result, but it only lasted a short while. Now I'm back to 0/1 bars as usual. Love the Droid overall (I just switched from a Centro), but the reported signal strengths are lower than I have ever seen on my previous VZW phones.

I can't speak to the update causing the issue, as the first time I turned on my phone it updated to 2.1.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

FWIW, Today 5-7-10 the *228 PRL update Actually Had an Effect! This is apparently not an isolated happy moment. I discovered another thread here by random accident, updated via *228, and immediately increased from 1 bar indoors to a steady 3 indoors. Hope this helps

{edit} I'm on, and *228 applies to the VZW network.

I bet that was my thread, and I had same result.. UNTIL the next day and it is back to ****** now

called VZW to complain, I told them about all the users complaining on the forums I visit - 3 different forums. she seemed to be noting it as she asked more details about it, put in an "issue ticket" and an engineer is suppose to call back.

everyone having issues should call them and put them on notice.

 

[DapCorderman]

I've called multiple time about it but haven gotten nowhere. No tickets, no callbacks.

I was in two different metro areas today and had 1x and sometimes even no signal at all on both phones. Something is up.

 

[Aaron H]

I might as well chime in and pile on...I noticing reception issues too (Phx,AZ).

 

[milellie111]

I posted this in another thread i started:

I just got a replacement refurbished droid a couple of days ago.im wondering why i am getting one bar on 3G signal alot of times.it seems like the reception/signal is a little flaky.my buddy just bought a brand new droid yesterday and he has the same thing a lot of times with just one 3G bar where ive seen other google phones with 3 or 4 bars.is there a solution to this?

Now, i know that something is definitely wrong and it is not just my imagination. I was reading another thread where it possibly linked the new baseband.03P with the possible cause to declining reception issues. The guy posted a link to go back to the old baseband before the update and it resolved the issues.

Just now, i just tried to play Homerun Battle 3D in a location that i used to play every single day with my previous Droid with no problems. I would play online matchup mode, which accesses and online server and allows you to play against opponents online. Well, with this newer Droid, i can't even connect to the online server, but i keep getting a weak connection message and then disconnect!!

I hope someone has talked to verizon about the reception issues and how the 3G bars now fluctuate from 5 to 0 bars instantly. They need to know that many Droid users are experiencing this in many locations which is probably due to the new 2.1 update or the new baseband update. These are not isolated events.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I was reading another thread where it possibly linked the new baseband.03P with the possible cause to declining reception issues. The guy posted a link to go back to the old baseband before the update and it resolved the issues.

I have also heard the base band theory, and IIRC you have to be rooted to go back

I hope someone has talked to verizon about the reception issues and how the 3G bars now fluctuate from 5 to 0 bars instantly. They need to know that many Droid users are experiencing this in many locations which is probably due to the new 2.1 update or the new baseband update. These are not isolated events.

I hope YOU called them like some of the rest of us. put them on notice. let them know. call them and complain, it is free.

 

[djkeller3]

This was happening to some of us before the update. I also was in the wilds of PA this weekend and never had a single drop to 1X. If the network is not scalable enough to handle the new traffic load with all of the android phones, they are not much better than AT&T for data. I will kick them into the pit just like in that movie 300.... I'll do it, Verizon. Don't test me.

Yeah, right. And just where do you plan on going? AT&T? Who are you fooling?

 

[smittythepig]

same here. terrible signal. can't use my phone in apt where my wife's moto dumbphone is crystal clear. looks like i'll have to root? certainly can't sit around for 2 months waiting for an update that may never come and not be able to use my phone at home.

 

[potatolover1102]

Well I also thought I had this signal bug but I have never had such amazing signal on any phone in my entire life!! I rock full bars EVERYWHERE! I drove across the entire state of Texas to move back to Houston and had awesome roaming and extended coverage even when others in the car could get nothing who were also on Verizon! I have noticed though, which has never happened before the update, that when I lock the phone or put it down and don't use it, it always goes to one bar every time! Now It will always stay at one bar until I actually open a data session and then it flies back to full bars until I put it down again. THat to me is a power saving feature of the update that may have gone bad for some causing to stay in that low power state which is why a PRL is seeming to give you such a boost until you don't use it and it goes back down? Anyone else agree? Also I am in Houston so if it was verizon having data overload it would for sure be happening here.

 

[smittythepig]

Well I also thought I had this signal bug but I have never had such amazing signal on any phone in my entire life!! I rock full bars EVERYWHERE! I drove across the entire state of Texas to move back to Houston and had awesome roaming and extended coverage even when others in the car could get nothing who were also on Verizon! I have noticed though, which has never happened before the update, that when I lock the phone or put it down and don't use it, it always goes to one bar every time! Now It will always stay at one bar until I actually open a data session and then it flies back to full bars until I put it down again. THat to me is a power saving feature of the update that may have gone bad for some causing to stay in that low power state which is why a PRL is seeming to give you such a boost until you don't use it and it goes back down? Anyone else agree? Also I am in Houston so if it was verizon having data overload it would for sure be happening here.

did you actually try using the phone to make calls during that time? i ask beacause i always have bars, and sometimes 2-3. but when i go to make a call it won't happen. and if it does the call is very choppy and usually drops.

 

[DapCorderman]

Just made a call to Verizon in which I described the problem I'm having, same as talked about here, to the tech and she promptly said, "I know how to fix this." She told me she was sending a network update to my phone, 3 minutes later asked me to reboot the phone and then activate. After doing so I had NO data service, not even an icon telling me about data. After telling her about it and asking for my little data I had previously back she said she did nothing to take that away. She did nothing to my network service and it must be a phone issue. She wanted me to drive out of my way to a Verizon store or be sent a certified like-new (read: used, possibly junk) replacement. I refused and asked her to undo her change to my service. She insisted she did nothing. I told he she said she was doing so and she told me she never said any such thing. I hung up, called back and got another tech that saw what she did and undid it. I have my previous, though sporadic, data service back and am getting over being called a liar. I do have a trouble ticket in the network engineers to find the issue. I don't hold out much hope they will report back finding anything. I did mention ths thread again and the belief it may be the baseband update with 2.1 to which the second rep "said" she noted.

 

[potatolover1102]

did you actually try using the phone to make calls during that time? i ask because i always have bars, and sometimes 2-3. but when i go to make a call it won't happen. and if it does the call is very choppy and usually drops.

Yes but after looking at it I always have worse voice service than 3G? Very weird. Ill have full bars for 3G and then maybe 2-3 for voice? I never have issues with dropping or distortion so that is why I never noticed. In fact I was in a building were no phones really worked and had 0 bars and still made a call out with no issue so I have no idea what is going on!

 

[Lock-N-Load]

good for you for calling. I hope everyone calls.

I also had a trouble ticket in... I was also told to (1) hard reset my phone to which I said, in a nice way, no ******* way as that is not a fix, but a cheap messy band aid (2) they could send me a refurb, no thanks (3) I could drive to a VZW store and have them look at it, bwa ha ha ha yeah right. of course, the trouble ticket was resolved and resolved by them saying, "no issues found".

and, BTW, I was told - and I asked the tech 3 times - that it was NOT possible to send a specific OTA update to my phone only. I have read numerous times it can be done and some have had success with doing so.. but some seem to admit it is possible and others say not possible. I do recall 1 that did eluded to the fact it was just pushing you the latest PRL update, something you can do on your own.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

check out a new app in the Market called Real Signal - kind of neat to see more accurate 5 bar graphs for both CDMA and EVDO signals and the corresponding #'s

kinda handy

 

[3devious]

Yeah, right. And just where do you plan on going? AT&T? Who are you fooling?

Think for a moment. Why do I care about a 3g signal? That is for data. If I can't get data, why would I pay for 3g service. At that point, it doesn't matter if I have a Droid, iPhone, whatever. If I just want voice, it is nothing to me to buy a Tracphone or some other peice of crap and make calls that I need a cell phone for. There are even little kids running around with phones, I probably don't even need to carry my own.

I realize the my cell phone is an amenity. Who are YOU fooling?

 

[jmt9779]

Think for a moment. Why do I care about a 3g signal? That is for data. If I can't get data, why would I pay for 3g service. At that point, it doesn't matter if I have a Droid, iPhone, whatever. If I just want voice, it is nothing to me to buy a Tracphone or some other peice of crap and make calls that I need a cell phone for. There are even little kids running around with phones, I probably don't even need to carry my own.

I realize the my cell phone is an amenity. Who are YOU fooling?

Nobody's fooling anyone.

Let's please try to keep this thread on track and not turn it into a "VZW vs. AT&T" thing. We've all got this declining reception issue and are trying to look for some insight and offer up possible solutions/suggestions. If you want to switch carriers, go do it quietly and out of this thread.

Thanks.

 

[3devious]

Nobody's fooling anyone.

Let's please try to keep this thread on track and not turn it into a "VZW vs. AT&T" thing. We've all got this declining reception issue and are trying to look for some insight and offer up possible solutions/suggestions. If you want to switch carriers, go do it quietly and out of this thread.

Thanks.

Take your own advice. I mentioned AT&T because it was hinted to me that the new smartphone traffic may have an impact on the network's capacity. That was a large problem of theirs when the iPhone hit their network in full force. I never said anything about switching, I mentioned if I don't get the service I want, I'll leave. Someone brought up switching another carrier.

Now offer up some possible solutions/suggestions yourself. If you want to play moderator, go quietly to the forum staff and out of this thread.

So what have we got so far? A handfull of us have called customer service and have been offered resets and refurbs as possible remedies. I got the *228 suggestion a few times. They also offered a factory reset. After I explained that the problem was widespread and my husband's Droid drops down to 1x often also, they offered to open a ticket.

I fear that it went the way of an earlier ticket that was mentioned here. It's been a week and I've heard nothing. The service doesn't fluctuate as much, but it still does it a bit now.

 

[djkeller3]

Think for a moment. Why do I care about a 3g signal? That is for data. If I can't get data, why would I pay for 3g service. At that point, it doesn't matter if I have a Droid, iPhone, whatever. If I just want voice, it is nothing to me to buy a Tracphone or some other peice of crap and make calls that I need a cell phone for. There are even little kids running around with phones, I probably don't even need to carry my own.

I realize the my cell phone is an amenity. Who are YOU fooling?

I was just calling you out for being ridiculous. You're the one who was all bent out of shape concerned about whether Verizon could handle the increased data load android phones are placing on the network, and you were ready to kick Verizon into the pit if they *tested* you. Your words, partner. If you don't like it, leave... and we'll see you again in 2 years.

Now, if you can get rid of your attitude problem, I have some helpful advice. No, I mean I really do.

The problem is that when Verizon pushed out 2.1, they upgraded your baseband. The new baseband is what is creating the 3G *problem*. Here is a link to what will fix that problem. I downgraded to the old baseband, and I have not had 1xrtt hardly at all, and my awesome Big Red 3G service returned again to my Droid with all its glory. It's a simple fix and won't take you more than 5 minutes.

http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-droid/79933-baseband-downgrade-01p-easy-way-update-zip.html

 

[kinfolk248]

i too have done a 228 update which did up my bars BUT, when on the phone i still hear LOTS of static on my end which is highly annoying. Am i the only one who has this problem or is this an epidemic???????? Plz help!!!!!!!!!????????!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[digdug1]

hi guys! im not sure if this downgrade will help me but i want to give it a shot. my phone seems to float between two bars to four just sitting in my living room. when i bought it it was already updated to 2.1 so i cant speak as to declining reception i just know my wifes lg dare gets four bars solid here.
my problem is i have downloaded the downgrade, renamed it to update.zip. however when i try to run it my phone says:

E: cant open /cache/recovery/command
--install from sdcard...
finding update package...
opening update package...
verifying update package...
E: failed to open /sdcard/update.zip (no such file or directory)
installation aborted.

does anyone know what im doing wrong? any help will be appreciated guys!

 

[3devious]

Blah blah blah

Keep "calling people out" and calling them "partner." Maybe when you become responsible for anything, you can tell someone to leave and they might actually listen to you.

I am not rooted, so your suggestion is about as useful to me as your inflated sense of importance. I'll root when I am ready. The fluctuations were happening before the baseband update anyway.

</done talking to djkeller3 for 2 years>

Verizon support also answers twitter messages. The person behind that username went off their shift when I got home this evening. They asked for my non-cell phone numbers, so hopefully they'll have some answers tomorrow.

 

[3devious]

i too have done a 228 update which did up my bars BUT, when on the phone i still hear LOTS of static on my end which is highly annoying. Am i the only one who has this problem or is this an epidemic???????? Plz help!!!!!!!!!????????!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't get static, nor does my husband (who has had his Droid since November.) The only time I had poor voice quality was when I had voice privacy turned on. This just happened to you when they changed the baseband? What was your signal like before?

 

[3devious]

E: cant open /cache/recovery/command
--install from sdcard...
finding update package...
opening update package...
verifying update package...
E: failed to open /sdcard/update.zip (no such file or directory)
installation aborted.

does anyone know what im doing wrong? any help will be appreciated guys!

This might be

Spoiler

probably is, but consider the source

a stupid question, but are you rooted? You need that access to be able to install this update. I normally wouldn't have asked but you and your phone are pretty new.

 

[djkeller3]

hi guys! im not sure if this downgrade will help me but i want to give it a shot. my phone seems to float between two bars to four just sitting in my living room. when i bought it it was already updated to 2.1 so i cant speak as to declining reception i just know my wifes lg dare gets four bars solid here.
my problem is i have downloaded the downgrade, renamed it to update.zip. however when i try to run it my phone says:

E: cant open /cache/recovery/command
--install from sdcard...
finding update package...
opening update package...
verifying update package...
E: failed to open /sdcard/update.zip (no such file or directory)
installation aborted.

does anyone know what im doing wrong? any help will be appreciated guys!

You need to name it "update". The .zip part is the file extension and your computer will read it as such. If you name it "update.zip", your computer will read it as "update.zip.zip", which of course, will not do anything but error. Simply change the name to "update" and it will install. I did the same thing.

What I don't know (someone else may want to chime in here) is if you need to be rooted. If root access is necessary, the "update" name won't work. Rooting can provide you with many benefits... if you're interested, there is a ton of information in the "All things Root" section. If you decide to root, there are many people here who will help you.

The reason I gave you that particular link is because I believed it would answer your question and address the rooting issue if there was one.

 

[djkeller3]

Keep "calling people out" and calling them "partner." Maybe when you become responsible for anything, you can tell someone to leave and they might actually listen to you.

I am not rooted, so your suggestion is about as useful to me as your inflated sense of importance. I'll root when I am ready. The fluctuations were happening before the baseband update anyway.

</done talking to djkeller3 for 2 years>

Verizon support also answers twitter messages. The person behind that username went off their shift when I got home this evening. They asked for my non-cell phone numbers, so hopefully they'll have some answers tomorrow.

3devious, I have never named called anyone in this forum before, but you are a complete fool, and it shows.