Questions about signal drops and updates

[ajnevares]

So I am on my 4th day with the Nexus (Verizon) and knowing there were antenna/signal drop issues going into this device, I had no idea it was this bad. Here is what I experienced, is this normal or reason enough to try another Nexus, or just go back to the Rezound?

1) I?ve had the Rezound and Bionic prior to this, each had their ?data drop? (much more on the Bionic, hardly on the Rezound) issues but with the Nexus, the data and radio drop off. I was still able to make calls and text messages on the Rezound and Bionic, but with the Nexus, I cannot do anything!
2) I downloaded ?No Signal Alert? to track the drops, and on 4G, it drops 3-4 times an hour. On 3G, no issues what so ever
3) I am in Phoenix, AZ which is covered by 4G and I am within a 20 mile radius about 99% of the time. Whether I am using the phone or not, signal drops.

Here is the troubleshooting performed so far?

1) New SIM
2) New battery (not that the battery plays a factor, just thought an extended would benefit the phone)
3) Wipe Clean of the phone
4) Numerous battery and SIM pulls
5) Leaving on 3G only (which has been a life and battery saver)

With all due respect to Verizon CS, they were not much help. One thing they mentioned is that Samsung is aware of the issue and an eventual update will be released to help with the problem. Wasn?t that what 4.0.4 was supposed to do? Would this be a maintenance update, JB 4.1 or a lie to shut me up? Is it true the JB update contains no enhancements to the radios/antennas? I really like this phone and even 3G has proven to be suffice to most of my needs, but the 4G would helped greatly since I download tons of music.

After reading several post on AC, seems like the route everyone takes is rooting. Despite everyone saying its easy, I have only attempted a root once and bricked the phone?not phone savvy in the least bit so do not feel too comfortable attempting to perform a root.

You feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Irvgotti]

Hey man. Rooting for this phone is easy as cake. Don't give up just because of one mess up. Rome wasn't built in a day . I watched droidmodderx on YouTube and did it step by step. But there is a article on "why your VZW nexus signal sucks" great write up. ..yes 4.0.4 should have addressed the radio issue. But there will be some people still experiencing the problem. Verizon should have sent u a new one if you bought the phone through them. (They don't exchange if u buy off a online retailer. Amazon etc) I am not sure if the storm would have bothered the towers out west but.. we just had a bad storm on the east coast. No service for 3.5 days.

 

[ajnevares]

Hey man. Rooting for this phone is easy as cake. Don't give up just because of one mess up. Rome wasn't built in a day . I watched droidmodderx on YouTube and did it step by step. But there is a article on "why your VZW nexus signal sucks" great write up. ..yes 4.0.4 should have addressed the radio issue. But there will be some people still experiencing the problem. Verizon should have sent u a new one if you bought the phone through them. (They don't exchange if u buy off a online retailer. Amazon etc) I am not sure if the storm would have bothered the towers out west but.. we just had a bad storm on the east coast. No service for 3.5 days.

Thanks Irvgotti! I will check out that video and give it a shot if it doesnt look too complicated. I read on here, 'why have a Nexus if you're not going to root it'...so its probably worth a shot.

Its been pretty clear here over the last few days but we finally got some overcast today, but I just gave up on 4G and kept it on 3G. I will continue to pursue a replacement, read on the whole 'China vs Korea' deal so maybe I will get a device from Korea and it will resolve itself.

 

[ultravisitor]

Is it true the JB update contains no enhancements to the radios/antennas?

Nobody knows. The only version of JB that is available right now is the developer preview for GSM phones. Jelly Bean hasn't even been open sourced yet.

 

[Irvgotti]

Good luck! Its really easy. Took me about 7 minutes. But if you do root, one thing I learned. Be patient and Never freak out. . Sometimes boot loops happen. Just pull the battery and power back up. I know on the jelly bean ROMs it can take awhile to boot Up. But once you are done. I'm sure everyone here will help in anyway possible.

 

[Danv1369]

I have been having issues with full signal drop since I purchased the Gnex last December. I installed the app No Signal Alert and have been tracking my data drops for the last couple weeks. I lose signal 10-15 times a day. Today alone has been 14 times.

I took my phone to a verizon store last week and showed them the drops. They gave me a new SIM card and after the phone rebooted I went to use the browser and I lost all signal again. The reps response was its a defect in all the SIM cards. He said they were supposed to get new SIM cards that corrects the issue but Apple purchased all of them for their new iPhone. Now considering this is not happening to everyone I think he is full of and I find it odd that Apple could buy all of the SIM cards when the carrier installs them. Just doesnt add up. I was on my lunch break and wasn't in the mood to debate it with him so I just left.

 

[rxmorph]

I seem to lose signal much more frequently when 4G is enabled compared to 3G.. it also seems the battery last longer of course on 3G rather than 4G since it isn't having to struggle to maintain a signal as much I suppose.. I haven't tried another SIM card yet seeing as other haven't had too much luck with them.. I have tried multiple card/battery pulls as others have with no success..I usually leave mine on 3G to keep a more stable connection and save some battery.. only enable 4G when I need the speeds for a large download or want to multitask online while on phone.. Would be nice to not have so many inconvenient signal drops with 4G though

 

[whitewallman]

If you're getting numerous drops and signal cycling per day in a known, strong 4g area, you have a defective handset. Get it replaced before warranty expires. And don't settle for a sub par replacement. When you get a good one, you'll know immediately.

 

[ultravisitor]

Yeah, I would swap it out for another one. My phone hasn't exhibited all the signal problems that others complain about.

 

[zkSharks]

I've been looking into this issue over the last few days, having experienced it on my own device as well as some friends'. I've had limited involvement with Verizon's CDMA and LTE networks (as well as a great interest in them ), and I still have some friends with Verizon and Samsung from past projects.

I hope to put together a pretty simple information thread sometime tonight or tomorrow on the issue in order to answer some of the more common questions and give my own thoughts. Hopefully it'll be somewhat helpful.. or at least informative.

 

[jmorosky]

I've had my Nexus since March of this year. Like you I'm in a strong 4G area. I've spoken with VZW several times and had the SIM card replaced. I rooted (Wug's Toolkit) the phone flashed newest radios and had AOKP running for about a month and just switched to JB (Jellybelly 1.9) a few days ago and I still have the 4G signal drop. If I leave it on 3G it never drops. I've come to the conclusion speaking with other members on this forum that it has to be a hardware issue. I don't think it will ever be fixed unless you exchange for a new phone. I've also realized for me that it's not a big enough issue for me to get a new one for fear of getting a bigger lemon.

 

[zrxoa1]

It's not a hardware issue, but rather a Verizon issue. I have the Rezound and my 4g is dropping out badly every day for over a month now.

3g doesn't drop but is sooooo sloooooowww!!!



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There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. --Ash

 

[eric3316]

Once rooted, this phone is a beast with custom Roms, but none of them will fix your issue.

 

[ajnevares]

It's not a hardware issue, but rather a Verizon issue. I have the Rezound and my 4g is dropping out badly every day for over a month now.

3g doesn't drop but is sooooo sloooooowww!!!



--------------------------------------------------
There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. --Ash

See that's weird because the Rezound is what I had before this. I had the Rezound for about 6 months and dropped data maybe once or twice a week tops...sure it switched to 3G often, but never dropped off completely and I used/am using both devices in the same area.

 

[ajnevares]

Once rooted, this phone is a beast with custom Roms, but none of them will fix your issue.

Oh okay, thanks Eric! I thought maybe I was missing something with a custom ROM and could potentially have better luck with the 4G

 

[ajnevares]

I've had my Nexus since March of this year. Like you I'm in a strong 4G area. I've spoken with VZW several times and had the SIM card replaced. I rooted (Wug's Toolkit) the phone flashed newest radios and had AOKP running for about a month and just switched to JB (Jellybelly 1.9) a few days ago and I still have the 4G signal drop. If I leave it on 3G it never drops. I've come to the conclusion speaking with other members on this forum that it has to be a hardware issue. I don't think it will ever be fixed unless you exchange for a new phone. I've also realized for me that it's not a big enough issue for me to get a new one for fear of getting a bigger lemon.

True, I would hate to end up in a device that has worse issues, I really like this phone and 3G gets the job done in most cases, but for apps like Slacker (which I used 8-10 hours every day) it buffers often, yet, keeping it on 3G allows me to listen longer between charges.

Getting Verizon to send a replacement was like pulling teeth, but they are finally sending one. Keeping my fingers crossed the replacement works on 4G but if its a hardware issue then it wouldn't matter I guess....

 

[EJT]

If your phone is constantly dropping radios, it's defective. My original phone would drop all radios 10-15 times AN HOUR! I got a replacement on June 13th, and since then it has dropped precisely once. Don't settle for a broken phone. When you get one that works right, it's an awesome phone.

 

[ajnevares]

If your phone is constantly dropping radios, it's defective. My original phone would drop all radios 10-15 times AN HOUR! I got a replacement on June 13th, and since then it has dropped precisely once. Don't settle for a broken phone. When you get one that works right, it's an awesome phone.

Thanks EJT! Yeah, your original devices performance is what my current one is going thru (thank goodness for 3G). My replacement comes tomorrow and should have it up and running sometime in the evening, very eager to see how this one performs.

 

[smbrooks32]

Hope this explains what you need to know I myself have been fighting this issue for 6 months in hope that it would get fixed. VZW have said its a known issue and there working with Samsung on a fix, but no ETA as of now

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...other-4g-lte-vzw-phone-is-losing-data-signal/

 

[ajnevares]

Hope this explains what you need to know I myself have been fighting this issue for 6 months in hope that it would get fixed. VZW have said its a known issue and there working with Samsung on a fix, but no ETA as of now

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

Thanks smbrooks32, good read! It makes sense...its a new yet odd technology and its going to have its hiccups but one piece of the article said this failure to authenticate kicks you off the data side and not voice. It's kicking me off both but only when on 4G. jmorosky mentioned earlier all signs and problems indicate its a hardware issue and I am starting to see that more and more, since I am losing all signal and not all Nexus owners have this issue.

I wonder if there is some truth in the whole China vs Korea theory since it seems some devices have no issues and others have tons! My device is from China, and I think it was on here where the Nexus owners with the device from Korea reported no issues. :-\