Moto G won't take or make calls. Phone or network?

Tafia

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~Hi,

My Moto G ( few months old) is great most of the time but perhaps 20% of the time it won't receive calls even when showing a full signal. I then get a text from my provider to say I have missed a call. I try to call the number and the phone says " Dialling" then a couple of seconds later: " Call ended" so I can't call back.

I saw a recent Ofcom report which said that in rural areas ( me) sometimes calls fail or are blocked due to the system being overloaded so we can't make calls even when we have a full signal. The phone has been back to Motorola twice and they said they can't find a fault though their tech support say they are aware of the problem which is hardware related. Elsewhere there are many complaints which seem to blame the updated KitKat for the problem.

Anyone know how I can tell if a call is failing due to a fault with the phone or if it is being blocked by the provider as the system capacity is swamped?

Thanks T.
 

belodion

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Welcome to the Forums.
What you say about the possibility of calls being blocked is interesting and something I hadn't heard about until now.
It may be worth clearing the app Cached Data, and also wiping the Cache Partition in Recovery Mode, both of which may help if the fault lies with your device.
If no improvement it may still be your phone but let's take it from there.

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Rukbat

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Voice and text are the same thing, with the phone deciding which app to run and whether to "display the incoming data as voice in the earphone or text on the screen. So if you get a text, it's neither being in a rural area or the system being overloaded.

I'd bring the phone to the carrier and ask their repair center (which might not be your local store) to sort it out. Since it's in warranty, they might not bother and just give you a refurb. (Don't complain - your phone is a used phone, they're replacing it with a used phone that supposedly has been checked and repaired - it's like when you get a replacement transmission for your car; it's someone else's bad one, repaired and put into your car.)

Make sure you have all your apps, contacts, texts, emails, data - anything not in the cloud - backed up, in case you have to restore it to a new phone.
 

Tafia

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Welcome to the Forums.
What you say about the possibility of calls being blocked is interesting and something I hadn't heard about until now.
It may be worth clearing the app Cached Data, and also wiping the Cache Partition in Recovery Mode, both of which may help if the fault lies with your device.
If no improvement it may still be your phone but let's take it from there.

Posted via Android Central App

Thanks for this but I am no techie and would have no idea how to do that. :-(
 

Tafia

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I tried to post a link to the Ofcom report but was stopped. Google Ofcom and see the next link down the Google search on Rural customers reported in the Guardian. Fourth paragraph mentions calls being blocked even with a full signal.

I have noticed the issue seems to arise ( not always but mostly) after 7 p.m so last night I tried the phone at around 7:10 and sure enough it said Dialling and then Call ended. I then tried my trusty Nokia on the same network It was showing a full signal but twice said: "Network connection failed". There was no such notice on the Moto G, it just said Call ended.

Now I really am wondering if it is due to what Ofcom refer to as Call blocking.
 

belodion

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Yes I see what you mean about the report. It seems as if something is being done about it although I very much doubt that it will be done quickly.
It is still possible that there may be a problem with your phone itself despite the coincidence of times and of other devices being affected so you may care to follow Rukbat's suggestions.

If no luck, don't just stop the thread...we'll do whatever we can to help as long as there's the ghost of a chance.☺

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Cococurri

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I have the same problem with my moto g kitkat 4.4.4. The differences is that i live in the city. The issue started 2 days ago and i haven't installed any new app. I can make calls after reboot or enabling and disabling the airplane mode (which probably restart some network service) but after some time the problem reappear.
 

belodion

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I have the same problem with my moto g kitkat 4.4.4. The differences is that i live in the city. The issue started 2 days ago and i haven't installed any new app. I can make calls after reboot or enabling and disabling the airplane mode (which probably restart some network service) but after some time the problem reappear.

I assume, because of references to Ofcom etc., that Tafia is in the UK. Are you? I wonder whether in your case a Cached Data clear and if no go, a Cache Partition wipe might help. Also, I wonder whether you have a bad SIM and could try another?

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Tafia

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Update. Instead of checking the Moto G after 19:00 last night, I tried my Nokia Asha 300 on the same network. Twice whilst showing a full signal the call failed and I had the message: " Network busy" which is what is happening with the full signal Moto G except instead of the message, I just see "Dialling" quickly followed by " Call ended"

I also once saw the message: Error in connection" on the Nokia which is always very reliable.

So now I have a choice of sources for the problem. Is it the Moto G hardware fault as Motorola Tech support have suggested even though their repair centre has looked at the phone twice and found no problem. Of course as the issue is intermittent, they may be missing it.

They have not done anything to the hardware as their Tech Support said they would. Could it be the network to blame for failed calls as it is the same with the Nokia? Could it be KitKat at fault because the issue is complained of all over the forums and with many other makes of phone?

As stated, I have tried three different SIM's and done two factory resets. It's a puzzle.

BTW I have not had email notifications of replies to this thread. I have selected "Instantly using email".

Thanks to all.

T
 

belodion

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Since the phones are running different Operating Systems it's unlikely, though still possible, that Kitkat 4.4.4 is the culprit. Since both the Moto and the Nokia show the problem, it's unlikely, but again still possible, that there is a hardware fault in the former. So it does look like a network issue.
Are you able to ask other people in the same area what their experiences are, especially if using the same network? Do you, in your area, have coverage from only the network you are with, or would it be possible to try another? I'm sure you're familiar with the online network coverage checkers.
Have you reported the trouble to your network? They may possibly be able to help.

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Cococurri

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I'm from Chile and don't have another SIM right now. I did the Chached Data clear as you said and immediately tried to make a call but nothing happened. About 1 minute later i tried again without results. Looking for other options i disabled the MTP option and strangely the signal gauge went to zero for ~10 secs. After that i had full signal and i could make a call. All of this happened in less than 3 minutes.

I don't know if the Cached Data clearing triggered something that solved the problem (at least temporarily) or was the MTP thing which is strange but the timing of the events suggests that.

I'm gonna try to test it again.
 

Tafia

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Thanks Belodion,

The coverage checker shows that I am on the edge of a 3G area. I recall when I had my Nokia set to dual mode it would sometimes fail to find the 3G signal and thus show no signal intead of finding the 2G signal. I then set it to GPRS and it has been generally OK.

The Moto G will sometimes show an E network connection or G or H or H+ with varying numbers of signal bars showing.

I am told Vodaphone is good in my area but Ofcom say they are not the best in many rural areas. It is only a couple of percent below the others though.

I'll ask my local group if any of them are on the O2 network.
 

Cococurri

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Yes, sorry. The problem some times appear after several hours so doing tests is also a slow process. The MTP option seems to has nothing to do with the bug. I'm now testing the Cache Partition wipe.
 

belodion

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There's no hurry. I'm having problems with my Nokia Lumia 1020 at the moment and it's taking many days to find a cure, trying one thing at a time.

Incidentally, if you are a native Chilean, your English is exceedingly good.

No hay prisa. Estoy teniendo problemas con mi Nokia Lumia 1020 en el momento y trata de tomar muchos días para encontrar una cura, tratando de una cosa a la vez.

Por cierto, si usted es una chilena nativa, el Inglés es excesivamente buena.(Goog.Tr.)



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Tafia

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I am told that Motorola may send me another phone but as it will be a reconditioned one there is no guarantee it will be any different to the one I have. Why? Because the repair centre have looked at my phone twice and say no fault was found. That could just as easily apply to the recon one they send.

Motorola do say that " a small number of customers are having problems with dropped calls since the latest 4.4.4 update though mine was having the same issue before the update.

Thanks for all your help.


Best wishes, T
 

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