Droid 2 Signal Issues/Dropped Calls

[l44l44]

Uh-oh: Early Droid 2 Units Having Signal Issues?

Not that big of a deal for me, but may be for others.

 

[l44l44]

From Engadget's review:
"Perhaps our biggest hardware concern, actually, is entirely internal: signal strength was a major issue for all four Engadget editors who've been able to spend time with four different Droid 2s in different parts of the country this week. Symptoms include a wildly fluctuating meter while the phone's sitting still, weak or no reception in places where you're usually fine on Verizon, and a complete lack of data service (which was actually how we noticed the problem the first time). We're used to seeing 3G drop to EDGE, GPRS, or disappear completely on our iPhones on AT&T, but it's a rarity on Verizon -- so to see our Droid 2's data indicator flip-flop from EV-DO to 1xRTT and then disappear entirely was really alarming. We're hoping this is something Motorola can fix with a software update alone, because it was nearly a showstopper for us; Ross, for example, sent an email Thursday afternoon that didn't actually depart his phone until 5AM the following morning, presumably because data was acting wonky."

Anyone have similar problems?

 

[Cory Streater]

The common denominator is that they are all review units. Although it's unlikely, maybe these units have an older release of firmware or something.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

The common denominator is that they are all review units. Although it's unlikely, maybe these units have an older release of firmware or something.

I've had zero problems with mine, which is retail -- not a review unit. But afaik, review units weren't even sent out until Thursday. So, hmmmmmmmmmm ...

 

[CSI Guy]

Before I pay full retail for the D2, I would like to hear more people weigh in on this issue. I want to buy it today but would like to hear from others to see if they are having any problems. My D1 works great, no reception problems in my area.

 

[vincey2kr1]

Im havin the same issue on my gf's D2. It will randomly freeze on a webiste, it just sits there with the refresh icon forever .(ie facebook , surfing here) Happens over wifi mostly. Very annoying. The actual phone doesnt freeze up, cause I can exit but then it takes forever to load a website.

 

[karnovaran]

From Engadget's review:<snip>Ross, for example, sent an email Thursday afternoon that didn't actually depart his phone until 5AM the following morning, presumably because data was acting wonky."

I guess Engadget was too wrapped up in finding problems to contemplate that there may be a reason for certain things. The phone is defaulted to "nighttime saver" mode under Battery Manager. This mode specifically says, "stops syncing data after 15 minutes of inactivity during off-peak hours (10:00 PM - 5:00 AM)."

Sigh.

Anyway, signal seems standard for Verizon to me. It's great everywhere except my girlfriend's apartment, where her Blackberry has trouble with signal too.

The random website freezing has happened to me, though. I may try messing with Dolphin later to see if it still occurs there.

All in all, the phone is awesome and I suspect those who are having the most issues just haven't mastered the quirks of Android yet.

 

[Ryobi]

Im havin the same issue on my gf's D2. It will randomly freeze on a webiste, it just sits there with the refresh icon forever .(ie facebook , surfing here) Happens over wifi mostly. Very annoying. The actual phone doesnt freeze up, cause I can exit but then it takes forever to load a website.

I had read that some of this was due to flash loading content.

 

[vincey2kr1]

I heard that too but it shouldnt do that in the facebook app. it continually shows refresh icon and just sits there forever.

 

[CSI Guy]

Bought my D2 this morning and has a nice strong signal just like my D1. All is well.

 

[FORDOC]

Absolute rubbish...

My D2 holds a signal everywhere and never drops calls. It never has even given me distorted voice and/or failed messages.

Maybe the guys at Engadget were holding it wrong.

Glad to meet everyone

 

[SamuraiMike]

It wasn't just Engadget that mentioned this. Seth Weintraub of 9to5 Mac and Rich Brome of phonescoop.com both mentioned on Twitter they were experiencing the same issues.

 

[SamuraiMike]

I've had zero problems with mine, which is retail -- not a review unit. But afaik, review units weren't even sent out until Thursday. So, hmmmmmmmmmm ...

Just because your retail Droid 2 has zero problems, doesn't mean that someone else isn't having any issues. No product is 100%. There's bound to be a bad batch somewhere. You shouldn't jump to conclusions. You know what they say about people who assume...

 

[nanto7]

Engadget's report was talking about 3G EVDO signal drops to 1x and then disappear, not wifi. And this scenario happened during data calls, not voice calls. Anyone experiences this?

 

[Cory Streater]

Just because your retail Droid 2 has zero problems, doesn't mean that someone else isn't having any issues. No product is 100%. There's bound to be a bad batch somewhere. You shouldn't jump to conclusions. You know what they say about people who assume...

He was responding to my post. Did you not pick up on that?

 

[bworley50]

CSI guy. Still on the X. Gently forced my wife to take the 2. I feel more comfortable with her having an android device (maps, gps, etc). If there is a problem, more than likely her phone could help her out. Signal is great. Having major wi-fi issues. It would constantly turn on and off. I changed my router settings a bit from advice on this site. Waiting for her to get home to try it.

 

[SamuraiMike]

He was responding to my post. Did you not pick up on that?

I suppose I didn't. The first time I read through the thread, it didn't seem to me that he was responding to your post. But after reading yours and Phil's posts again, I guess it was just the way he worded his statement that threw me off. My mistake.

 

[Ryobi]

Engadget's report was talking about 3G EVDO signal drops to 1x and then disappear, not wifi. And this scenario happened during data calls, not voice calls. Anyone experiences this?

There have been reports about the X regarding this too. Is the network or the phone?

I swear, are these guys drunk when they test these devices?

 

[Jodiuh]

Engadget's report was talking about 3G EVDO signal drops to 1x and then disappear, not wifi. And this scenario happened during data calls, not voice calls. Anyone experiences this?

Exact same thing here. Happened yesterday w/ Gnav and today in the browser...very annoying to say the least.

D1 vs D2
1. call quality is subpar
2. speaker is quieter
3. signal is wonky

Although keyboard is much improved and of course it's pretty snappy. Although not quite as smooth as the Incredible. I blame blur, sense is awesome. Love that pinch and zoom resizes AND centers. But I'm rambling now...

 

[DrConcrete]

I have had my D2 since Saturday (Aug 14) and have not experienced any of these problems. I came from Palm products and have somewhat better signal strength than I did with the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, and call quality is great. Data has been fast with no hang up issues.