Experiment on Voice Calls Dropping When Switching Btw 3G and 4G

[GNex Girl]

My GNex constantly switches between 3G and 4G where I live and when I can get a 4G signal it is usually in the < -110 dBm range. According to VZW, I am either too close to the tower (and I am about 2 miles away) or the cells in my area have been sectorized to prevent me from getting good 4G in-building penetration. However, the problem happens outside in the neighborhood, too.

Regardless of whether or not this is true, when my phone can detect any 4G signal at all no matter how low, it will try to grab it. During this switch from 3G to 4G, if I happen to be on a voice call, I drop the call. The same is true if my phone loses the 4G signal and switches back down to 3G - dropped call.

I have called VZW about this and they say that makes no sense since the voice signal shouldn't be affected by the data handoff. IOTW - they don't believe me. Their "solution" for me is to set my phone to 3G only, which of course is not a solution for someone who wants to use 4G.

Last night when I was on a call I decided to see what would happen if I changed the settings of my phone from having the preferred network mode be LTE/CDMA to CDMA during a voice call. I did and the voice call was promptly dropped. I then tried again during a voice call to switch the preferred network from CDMA to LTE/CDMA and again the call was dropped. So clearly something about this handoff drops voice calls.

I was hoping some of you would try this yourselves with your phones and post here what happens when you do. Also if you could pay attention when you are on voice calls in areas where you have weak 4G coverage to see if the handoff from 4G to 3G or vice versa causes you to drop your voice calls and then post here with your results that would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

[GNex Girl]

Also, if someone could tell me, since the 3G signal and the 4G signal are different frequencies, are there 2 different radios in my GNex - one for the 3G network and one for the LTE network? And what about voice calls? Are those on a different frequency, too?

What is happening when I change the preferred network mode from LTE/CDMA to CDMA? Am I switching between radios in my device?

Should I try to contact Samsung directly because I don't think VZW understands what is going on with my device?

[Poseign]

Originally Posted by GNex Girl

Also, if someone could tell me, since the 3G signal and the 4G signal are different frequencies, are there 2 different radios in my GNex - one for the 3G network and one for the LTE network? And what about voice calls? Are those on a different frequency, too?

What is happening when I change the preferred network mode from LTE/CDMA to CDMA? Am I switching between radios in my device?

Should I try to contact Samsung directly because I don't think VZW understands what is going on with my device?

Yes, there are two different radios in this phone, one for CDMA one for LTE.

From my understanding, 3G CDMA takes care of both voice and data, as does 4G LTE (Correct me if im wrong). When the phone switches between 3g and 4g, you are essentially switching which radio is taking care of your voice AS WELL as your data. Now with most phones this might not be a big problem, which is why Verizon reps may not "believe" you, but because of the galaxy nexus taking longer than usual to do this process, it could be dropping the calls while its trying to switch?

This is all speculation to me. I have never dropped a call but i am also always set in CDMA only mode. All posts I have read about people dropping consistently dropping calls have been by people in 4g areas, so I'm just logically putting 2+2 together here.

[GNex Girl]

Originally Posted by Poseign

From my understanding, 3G CDMA takes care of both voice and data, as does 4G LTE (Correct me if im wrong).

I am not saying you are wrong because I don't know the answer for sure, but from talking to the VZW reps (who many not know what they are talking about) I was under the impression that voice does not go over the 4G LTE network yet. Someday it will as VoLTE (voice over IP over the LTE network).

[Poseign]

Originally Posted by GNex Girl

I am not saying you are wrong because I don't know the answer for sure, but from talking to the VZW reps (who many not know what they are talking about) I was under the impression that voice does not go over the 4G LTE network yet. Someday it will as VoLTE (voice over IP over the LTE network).

You could be right, I don't know for sure either. It just strikes me funny that the phone would drop a call then while trying to switch between the two modes.

[GNex Girl]

Originally Posted by Poseign

You could be right, I don't know for sure either. It just strikes me funny that the phone would drop a call then while trying to switch between the two modes.

Same here and that leads me to believe that the problem then is with the design of the phone and this is why so many of us are having problems if we live in areas that get a 4G signal but the quality of the 4G signal varies.

I am guessing that what happens is that when the phone goes to switch data radios, it briefly turns off the radio that is handling the voice call. I need to better understand the configuration of the radios in the device.

[GNex Girl]

Originally Posted by GNex Girl

Last night when I was on a call I decided to see what would happen if I changed the settings of my phone from having the preferred network mode be LTE/CDMA to CDMA during a voice call. I did and the voice call was promptly dropped. I then tried again during a voice call to switch the preferred network from CDMA to LTE/CDMA and again the call was dropped. So clearly something about this handoff drops voice calls.

I was hoping some of you would try this yourselves with your phones and post here what happens when you do.

Can anyone try this for me and tell me if it happens to them please - while on a voice call go into settings and switch the preferred network mode from LTE/CDMA to CDMA and then on another voice call do it from CDMA to LTE/CDMA? It is Sunday so it won't eat into your anytime minutes. Please!

[umpirerob]

Verizon's LTE is currently for data only. Verizon's 3G does one or the other, but not both at the same time. CDMA tech uses EVDO for data and the two don't allow both days and voice to work simultaneously. This was always a big thing for GSM carriers (at&t and T-Mo) because their tech did allow simultaneous usage. You should get both of your data is going over LTE because you'll be employing both the LTE and CDMA radios.

Sent from my Thunderbolt

[GNex Girl]

Originally Posted by umpirerob

Verizon's LTE is currently for data only. Verizon's 3G does one or the other, but not both at the same time. CDMA tech uses EVDO for data and the two don't allow both days and voice to work simultaneously. This was always a big thing for GSM carriers (at&t and T-Mo) because their tech did allow simultaneous usage. You should get both of your data is going over LTE because you'll be employing both the LTE and CDMA radios.

Thanks. A voice call should not be dropped if I lose the 4G LTE signal and drop down to 3G, right? If I were surfing the net as I was talking on a call and I lost 4G LTE, then I would lose my ability to surf the net, not drop my voice call, right?

[jroc]

Originally Posted by GNex Girl

Thanks. A voice call should not be dropped if I lose the 4G LTE signal and drop down to 3G, right? If I were surfing the net as I was talking on a call and I lost 4G LTE, then I would lose my ability to surf the net, not drop my voice call, right?

All things being equal that's what should happen.