Help Signal goes from solid 4G to no data (gray triangle)

[jkc120]

*edit* I created a google bug report for this issue. Please start it if you are also seeing it. I urge everyone who is seeing this issue also to call Verizon (611) and bring it up so they are aware of the issue, however prevalent or not it is.

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24345

There's a thread in the main Nexus forum here:

http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...-seeing-signal-bars-completely-disappear.html

And the mod I spoke to said it would be ok to post here and reference that thread, rather than moving it, just to get attention from Verizon Nexus owners.

Briefly, what happens is my data just disappears and then comes back shortly after. Kind of like turns itself off then back on. It goes something like this:

- I'll have a solid 4G signal - all 4 blue bars
- randomly I'll notice data stopped working (web page loading stalls, etc) but the 4G symbol and blue bars are still there
- about 10-15 seconds later, the bars disappear entirely and so does the 4G symbol. I'm left with just a gray triangle with no lines in it
- 30 seconds or so later, I get the gray bars, followed shortly by the 4G symbol, then blue bars

It never appears to even try 3G. It's almost like the radios are just all turned off similar to what happens when you toggle mobile data off/on. It reconnects very quickly, no issues with that. It's just happening very frequently and kills any streaming I'm doing or any other network activity.

I spoke with one guy on irc who had the exact same problem and swapping his Nexus fixed it for him. But I got 2 separate Nexuses from Costco and both do this. The first I returned because it had cracks on the top and it looked like it had been dropped or something. At the time, I assumed it was the trauma to it that was causing the drops, but this replacement is doing the same thing. And at least yesterday, this was Costco's last Nexus. So I will have to wait until they get more to get it swapped again.

Anyone else seeing this happen and have any insight? I'm going to call 611 to ask about it and see if perhaps a sim card swap will fix it. I asked about it possibly being the sim card in the VZW corporate stores yesterday and both said it isn't the sim card.

 

[jkc120]

One thing I'd request is that if you do NOT see this issue, please don't chime in with "nothing here" or "no issues" etc. I'm looking for people who have had this happen, because I'd like to have people who are having this issue post the manufacture date of the phone doing it.

My phone was manufactured on 12/23, FWIW.

 

[hlsilver]

I've had this issue happen several times. Most recently about a week ago I was driving home stopped at a red light, had 3-4 bars of 4G, tried to send a text or something and it wouldn't send and I looked and had 0 bars, completely grey signal bars. Came back a few seconds later. Since I switched to 3G (haven't used 4G in the last 3 or 4 days since it switches back and forth during the day due to low signal) I haven't noticed this. Leave it to the "most reliable 4G network". I'll turn 4G back on and see if it happens anymore, I really hope I don't have to get a replacement, dealing with Radioshack once was bad enough.

Can't give you an exact manufacturer date as the Samsung product registry page tells me my serial number is invalid (wtf...) but the stamp under the battery is 11/11.

 

[jkc120]

I've had this issue happen several times. Most recently about a week ago I was driving home stopped at a red light, had 3-4 bars of 4G, tried to send a text or something and it wouldn't send and I looked and had 0 bars, completely grey signal bars. Came back a few seconds later. Since I switched to 3G (haven't used 4G in the last 3 or 4 days since it switches back and forth during the day due to low signal) I haven't noticed this. Leave it to the "most reliable 4G network". I'll turn 4G back on and see if it happens anymore, I really hope I don't have to get a replacement, dealing with Radioshack once was bad enough.

Can't give you an exact manufacturer date as the Samsung product registry page tells me my serial number is invalid (wtf...) but the stamp under the battery is 11/11.

Thanks for the reply. Where do you see the time stamp? I don't see a date anywhere, just 11.12 but that doesn't jive with the reported manufacture date when I registered it. hmm.

But what you are describing is exactly what I'm seeing.

I called 611 and she had me enable data roaming (I had it off, which is the default iirc). She said if it still happens, set it to CDMA only and check if it still happens or not and she'd call back tomorrow to check in.

Sounds like if your issue is the same as mine and CDMA only fixed it, the LTE radio is fubar in our phones. Argh, I was hoping it was a SIM card issue...

 

[ZachMob]

I think it is a problem with Verizon. Something goes wrong when the phones switch from 4g to 3g.

I searched on the Internet and it seems like other phones are having problems too.

This Is Why Your Verizon Galaxy Nexus (Or Other 4G LTE VZW Phone) Is Losing Its Data Connection

Dear Verizon: Your 4G Phones Have Data Connectivity Problems, And It’s Really Pissing Everyone Off

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

Has your phone been updated with the latest software and roaming capabilities? I recall when I first got my Galaxy Nexus this happened, but after the first week or so it stopped.

 

[jkc120]

Has your phone been updated with the latest software and roaming capabilities? I recall when I first got my Galaxy Nexus this happened, but after the first week or so it stopped.

It came out of the box with 4.0.2, so I guess they flashed it in this batch before it even went out. You're talking about 4.0.2 right? I'm wondering if Costco didn't just get a bad batch. I should have gotten the # of the lady who bought the 2nd to last one (between the time I bought their 3rd to last one and returned the damaged one for this one heh).

 

[jkc120]

I think it is a problem with Verizon. Something goes wrong when the phones switch from 4g to 3g.

I searched on the Internet and it seems like other phones are having problems too.

This Is Why Your Verizon Galaxy Nexus (Or Other 4G LTE VZW Phone) Is Losing Its Data Connection

Dear Verizon: Your 4G Phones Have Data Connectivity Problems, And It’s Really Pissing Everyone Off

I don't know if that's the case for me, because it never drops to 3G. It goes 60 to 0 back to 60 all on 4G. I have watched it do this about 15 times in the last day or so and I never see a 3G symbol.

 

[hlsilver]

Thanks for the reply. Where do you see the time stamp? I don't see a date anywhere, just 11.12 but that doesn't jive with the reported manufacture date when I registered it. hmm.

But what you are describing is exactly what I'm seeing.

I called 611 and she had me enable data roaming (I had it off, which is the default iirc). She said if it still happens, set it to CDMA only and check if it still happens or not and she'd call back tomorrow to check in.

Sounds like if your issue is the same as mine and CDMA only fixed it, the LTE radio is fubar in our phones. Argh, I was hoping it was a SIM card issue...

Yea I just see the little stamp that says 11.11 and I assumed it somehow corresponded to the manufacturing date from the date thread. If I can manage to get Samsung to help me figure out why my serial is invalid I'll post back with the actual date. I'm really hoping it's not a hardware issue. I would assume it could still be a SIM issue or an issue with Verizon since their 4G has been had so many issues of late. Although I guess since it's only affecting 4G you cant rule out radio, Verizon, or SIM yet. I'll see what happens with my signal tomorrow.

Also does data roaming charge like it says? Mine is off as per default.

 

[jkc120]

Yea I just see the little stamp that says 11.11 and I assumed it somehow corresponded to the manufacturing date from the date thread. If I can manage to get Samsung to help me figure out why my serial is invalid I'll post back with the actual date. I'm really hoping it's not a hardware issue. I would assume it could still be a SIM issue or an issue with Verizon since their 4G has been had so many issues of late. Although I guess since it's only affecting 4G you cant rule out radio, Verizon, or SIM yet. I'll see what happens with my signal tomorrow.

Appreciate it, thanks for trying to get the manuf. date

Also does data roaming charge like it says? Mine is off as per default.

I asked her about that because I was wary of it because of that message as well. She said it's really only a concern if you are going to Canada or Mexico. At least on my wireless/data plan. YMMV, so maybe call 611 to confirm first!

I'm sitting here waiting for mine to drop again. I'm wget'ing a 512MB file via busybox/adb shell to stress test the 4G hehe.

 

[jkc120]

Well, I will probably jinx myself, but since I enabled data roaming, it has not dropped off...I'm keeping an eye on a ping and the logcat, and so far so good. *knock on wood*

 

[Mr. Orange 645]

Jkc, I hate to be that "I don't have that problem" guy, but I'll say this: I flashed the 4.0.3 radio and I always leave the data while roaming option checked and I don't see that problem at all. My only issue has beembthe weak signal (mostly inside buildings) and sometimes slow hand off from 3G back to 4G.

Not sure if its the radio or the data while roaming option but those are two good things to try out and see if they help. I can't remember if your unlocked and rooted or not, but you'll at least need to be unlocked to flash the new radios through the boot loader.

 

[jkc120]

Jkc, I hate to be that "I don't have that problem" guy, but I'll say this: I flashed the 4.0.3 radio and I always leave the data while roaming option checked and I don't see that problem at all. My only issue has beembthe weak signal (mostly inside buildings) and sometimes slow hand off from 3G back to 4G.

Not sure if its the radio or the data while roaming option but those are two good things to try out and see if they help. I can't remember if your unlocked and rooted or not, but you'll at least need to be unlocked to flash the new radios through the boot loader.

I think it's a bad LTE radio. In the other thread, I caught it on logcat and then was able to find the associated dmesg entries which show the LTE modem device going *poof* (as reported by the kernel).

I guess it's still possible it's a sim card issue, and I'm going to ask them to swap it tomorrow anyway just to rule it out, but it is strange that I got 2 Nexuses in a row from Costco that have this problem. I can't remember if he changed out my sim card or not. If he didn't, I'm going to definitely push for them (VZW corp store) to swap it, just to rule it out before I go through yet another exchange process, especially if Costco won't have another shipment of Nexuses for a while.

 

[hlsilver]

Woke up this morning, checked my phone, and unplugged it. Few seconds lated had the white/purple LED notification that signals no service. Grey triangle. Checked the phone settings and it said 1X out of service but a few seconds later it switched to -120dbm LTE. However I had wi-fi on. In theory data roaming would fix this since it said i was out of service when it dropped, however for all i know it could have just been a Verizon issue or something since i have no way of knowing how long i was on 1X.

 

[BaadAndy]

I had my nexus for one week and took it back for this issue, one slight difference was I could have full 3G or 4G and it would go grey then lose data. I rooted and even tried the latest leaked radio and a new Rom which it gave a better results but it still did not fix it.

 

[Travisimo]

I see this once in a while on my Nexus. However, I experienced a similar thing when I had the Bionic before the Nexus. Although the bars never visually dropped off like they do on the Nexus, there were plenty of times where the 4G indicator would disappear and I would lose data for a short time. This would happen when I was in a good 4G coverage area, so I'm guessing that it's just a Verizon LTE authentication issue rather than a phone defect.

 

[jkc120]

I see this once in a while on my Nexus. However, I experienced a similar thing when I had the Bionic before the Nexus. Although the bars never visually dropped off like they do on the Nexus, there were plenty of times where the 4G indicator would disappear and I would lose data for a short time. This would happen when I was in a good 4G coverage area, so I'm guessing that it's just a Verizon LTE authentication issue rather than a phone defect.

See once in a while would be fine. But on Wednesday, in the time it took me to drive to/fro the VZW store, it happened 6-7 times. In the span of maybe 45 minutes to an hour. Almost every time it happened I had 3 or 4 bars of 4G and speed tests were insanely fast.

Authentication problems make sense, but I have a friend with a Nexus only a couple miles away and his never does this (he streams music all day and it never stops). That's why I'm wondering if it's not just a bad SIM card. But I don't know why a bad SIM card would cause the radio to crash as I'm seeing in the logs.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Mine does this too. It seems to depend on the region. In good to strong 4G area, it stays on 4G well. But in medium 4G, it happens like a few times per hour. In weak area, it seems to either drop to 3G or cycle through 4G-grey triangle-4G more often. So I just turn off 4G in weak areas. I'm not using data roaming but wonder how that keeps it from happening. I think this is LTE network or authentication software issue, or maybe both.

 

[hlsilver]

I'm more inclined to think that it's a Verizon LTE issue than a hardware issue as I can almost count on it to happen in some areas. It will drop almost every time I pull into a friend of mine's neighborhood.

I've got a friend who he and his step-dad both have GNexs, I'll see if they have this issue.

Edit: Just had the issue happen again. Wifi on sending a text, hit send and it said message not sent (it should still send over wifi though). Looked and it said the same thing I had this morning, 1X out of service, switched back over to LTE about 20 seconds later.
Also, finally got my registration to work. Manufacturing date 11/26/11

 

[jkc120]

I'm more inclined to think that it's a Verizon LTE issue than a hardware issue as I can almost count on it to happen in some areas. It will drop almost every time I pull into a friend of mine's neighborhood.

I've got a friend who he and his step-dad both have GNexs, I'll see if they have this issue.

Edit: Just had the issue happen again. Wifi on sending a text, hit send and it said message not sent (it should still send over wifi though). Looked and it said the same thing I had this morning, 1X out of service, switched back over to LTE about 20 seconds later.

sms (txt) go over voice, not over mobile data and not over wifi. Unless you're using google voice or something. mms go over mobile data (not wifi) afaik.

In the one case for me, the voice dropped at the same time as data, so that could explain why your sms wouldn't go through.

 

[hlsilver]

I thought I had read somewhere that if I was connected to wifi I would still be able to send text and make calls, I must have misunderstood it. Either way, I had the same thing happen the first time I noticed it as I was trying to send a text when it happened.

 

[jkc120]

I thought I had read somewhere that if I was connected to wifi I would still be able to send text and make calls, I must have misunderstood it. Either way, I had the same thing happen the first time I noticed it as I was trying to send a text when it happened.

Hmm maybe it IS a sim card issue. The sim card freaking out could cause voice (which sms txt go over) to drop as well. If it were just the LTE radio itself, I would think voice services (including sms txt) would still work. I've seen the "cannot send" message in the messaging app as well, it may have been the same thing.

 

[jkc120]

I drove to the Verizon store where I noticed this dropping happening 3-4 times before, and sure enough it did it twice on my way.

The two VZW CSRs there said it's "normal for 4G phones" in this area. Their 4G coverage map shows this is a good area (not near "extended 4G"), so are they just blowing smoke up my arse?

In every case this happens, I see a message like this:

01-13 08:58:51.194 D/RIL[C] ( 114): __silent_reset [***** SILENT RESET START *****]

It's not always prefaced by this message, but was in 3 of the 4 cases:

01-13 08:58:50.194 D/RIL[C] ( 114): OnFMTDataReceived STATE_CRASH_EXIT on Modem #1

It looks to me like the radio is crapping itself and some kind of watchdog is kicking in. What is this silent restart stuff about? I also see this message corresponding to the drops:

01-13 08:58:51.413 D/CDMA ( 376): [CdmaDCT] NOT Posting Data Connection Unavailable notification -- likely transient error

Can anyone seeing this issue who is rooted and has adb working run the following and attach or copy/paste the output?

adb logcat -v time -b system -b radio -d > radio.txt

(you may have to change that radio.txt to a full path or cd to somewhere you have write access before running it so the radio.txt gets written out. If you get an "Access is denied" try to change dirs or give the full path to a writable dir on your system).

 

[jkc120]

For anyone else having the problem, please star this google bug report I just filed.

Not sure if it will help, but I figured it was worth a shot:

Issue 24345 - android - Samsung Galaxy Nexus (CDMA/LTE) radio drops all data and voice - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting

 

[mikepic]

I have this happen several times a day. It happens more in areas where my signal is low but in my home (I'm 100 yards from a 4G tower) I get full bars and it still happens. I don't believe it is a problem with the tower b/c I'm sitting right next to my Xoom and that will continue to have data connectivity when my GNex goes down.

I haven't called customer service for an exchange b/c I don't want a refurb. I'm hoping 4.3 and/or whatever update VZ sends out will fix these issues.