Help LTE Bands

[James Hansford]

Hello everyone,
I recently purchased a Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE which uses the Verizon network and have been having major problems with LTE coverage where I live. With the help of an app called "LTE Discovery" I just figured out what the problem is. If I restart the phone or use the apps built in feature to turn the cell radio off and back on this is what happens : when the cell radio comes back on it locks on to LTE band 13 and I get a very strong LTE signal, 5 bars. Then, after about 2 minutes the radio switches to LTE band 4 and the signal strength drops quickly down to 1 bar and then the signal is lost completely and the radio switches over to CDMA (3G). For some reason my phone is switching from a strong LTE band (13) to a weak one (4). Why does it do this? Is there any way to prevent it? (short of rooting the phone) If it would just stay on band 13 I would have excellent LTE reception but to my frustration it switches to band 4 every time and I lose LTE reception and end up on 3G. I cannot overstress how desperate I am for assistance and give sincere thanks in advance to anyone who can offer any.

 

[Jfalls63]

If you can enter the Service mode menu, you can make changes to LTE Band Preference. Not sure if Straight Talk disables the hidden menu on its Samsung devices. Verizon does.
You can try by bringing up the phones dialer keypad. Dial *#2263#
If the menu is enabled,it will take you to Service Mode
Select LTE Band Preference
Select the LTE Band you want
Use the menu to back out or the return
Double check by entering the menu again to see if the change you made is correct.

 

[James Hansford]

If you can enter the Service mode menu, you can make changes to LTE Band Preference. Not sure if Straight Talk disables the hidden menu on its Samsung devices. Verizon does.
You can try by bringing up the phones dialer keypad. Dial *#2263#
If the menu is enabled,it will take you to Service Mode
Select LTE Band Preference
Select the LTE Band you want
Use the menu to back out or the return
Double check by entering the menu again to see if the change you made is correct.

I deeply appreciate your assistance Jfalls63. However, as you insinuated might be the case, when I dialed the number sequence you gave me it went directly to an automated Verizon message instead of a menu. The message simply stated that my call could not be completed at this time. It looks like I'm stuck with 3G here where I live. It's interesting because where I work, which is only 5 miles from where I live but probably using a different Verizon tower I get excellent LTE reception all the time. I haven't checked to see which LTE band the phone is on there simply because there's been no need to. I've been searching the Google Play Store for an app that might force the phone to stay on band 13 but I'm not hopeful I'll find one. I might also contact Verizon to see if they might have a solution. Thanks again for your assistance.

 

[Jfalls63]

With Verizon phones, to enable the hidden menu settings, you need to root the phone and edit the EFS folder. If I remember correctly it is EFS - Carrier - Hidden Menu. Just change from off to on.

 

[James Hansford]

With Verizon phones, to enable the hidden menu settings, you need to root the phone and edit the EFS folder. If I remember correctly it is EFS - Carrier - Hidden Menu. Just change from off to on.

Thanks again Jfalls63.
Unfortunately I have neither the means (no computer) nor, considering my lack of experience, the desire to mess with a brand new phone I just shelled out $300.00 for. However I did some research and found out why this happens. Versions primary LTE band is band 13 but they use band 4 in rural areas. Since I do live in a rural area the phone is apparently doing exactly what it is programmed to do. I tried turning location services completely off to see if I could "fool" the phone but it didn't work. The bottom line is, I really don't use the phone here at home much. If there were an easy and simple fix I would go for it, but for lack of such a fix I can deal with 3G here at home without losing sleep over it. But I nonetheless appreciate your assistance.