Won't stay connected to 4G lte

[snowplease]

I'm having a problem with my new lg g5. Basically, it won't stay on 4g. In an area with fine 4g signal, at some point it drops down to 3g ("H") and stays there. If I go into airplane mode and back, or restart, or go into the network settings, it goes back to 4g for a while, then reverts to H. Help!!??!!

It's a new lg g5, the unlocked version, on AT&T, on Nougat. I moved over my old SIM card and had AT&T activate the phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which model number is it? AT&T uses bands 2, 4, 5, and 17, of which 17 is the mainstay. If your model number is H820, H830, or VS987, then band 17 support isn't available, and you're relying on the other bands which might not be as strong.

LG G5 - Full phone specifications
Cheat sheet: which 4G LTE bands do AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint use in the USA?

 

[snowplease]

Thanks B. Diddy, but that's not it. It connects to 4g just fine upon startup for example, and stays there for a few hours (I haven't figured out the pattern) and then bumps down to "H". And, it will stay in "H" indefinitely until I do one of the following, which will cause it to return to 4g:
---restart, OR
---go into and then out of airplane mode, OR
---go into Settings > Networks > (more) Mobile Networks > System Select > LTE...settings > Network operators (and either remind it to select automatically, or manually select the AT&T LTE entry)

It is the RS988 model (LG unlocked), and supports LTE bands: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25

 

[B. Diddy]

Does this happen in Safe Mode as well? https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-30620

 

[snowplease]

Trying it out, I'll let you know...! BTW, I also took it in to my local AT&T store, they swapped me for a new SIM card and monkeyed with some of the Access Point settings, but no help. I'll probably try them again as the guy I got seemed like he was relatively knowledgable...

 

[snowplease]

B. Diddy: Same behavior while in safe mode (4G for a while, then dropped to "H", I then went in and out of airplane mode and it came back to 4G. All of this while staying in one place which has good 4g coverage). If you have other ideas, would love to hear them. Thanks.

 

[B. Diddy]

It might be time to try a factory reset, unfortunately. If that doesn't help, then the next step might be to look into reinstalling the firmware (which might require rooting the phone).

Since it's new, you might just want to contact LG about getting a repair or replacement under warranty.

 

[cribNotes]

I'm having the exact same issue. I believe it is related to Nougat. My wife has the exact same phone but has not upgraded to Nougat and she stays on 4G/LTE all the time. How difficult would i be to downgrade the phone back to Marshmallow?

 

[maggerbee]

I'm having the exact same issue. I believe it is related to Nougat. My wife has the exact same phone but has not upgraded to Nougat and she stays on 4G/LTE all the time. How difficult would i be to downgrade the phone back to Marshmallow?

I have tried multiple RS988's and I found the issue, and LG is refusing to say it's a bad/faulty Android 7.0 Nougat software update that is disabling LTE Band 17. I bought a second RS988 just to test this out. Everything works great on Android 6.0, but as soon as i do the update to 7.0 no LTE Band 17, 2 still works fine. But there are WAY MORE 17 towers on AT&T. We need more people to start calling in and complaining.

 

[mikey1273]

I sent my rs988 back to LG for this reason. They replaced the memory module. I got the phone back with 6 installed on it. I updated to 7 on wifi before I put my Cricket sim in. Now its working fine even on 4g. It does drop to H in some places like in buildings but comes back to 4G LTE. Cricket uses the AT&T towers so it may be the same issue with the 7.0 update.
I had posted a thread about this too.

 

[snowplease]

Okay, I have a new behavior that seems like it would be a clue (at least to someone with more knowledge of how this all works...)

This past week, I was on a trip to the Los Angeles area. The phone stayed in 4G-LTE just fine for 48 hours, including moving all over the greater LA area (from Palmdale to Irvine to Burbank). This also includes making/receiving phone calls where it would drop to H for the call and then return to 4G-LTE after the call concluded, just as it is supposed to. Then upon return to my home area of Portland, the problem came back same as before.

So, I'm trying to figure out what that might imply. My very uninformed thoughts:
1) Does this imply that the problem is at AT&T's end: they have things programmed differently in LA than my home area of Portland?
2) Or maybe it implies a hardware or software problem on certain 4G-LTE bands that are used here in Portland but not in LA?
3) Or...???
Like I said, I don't know enough to be able to figure out what this new information tells us? Anyone want to chime in?

 

[barotropic]

I've had my RS988 LG G5 for a couple weeks, and like it much better than the Nexus 5X it is replacing, except for this LTE reception problem. I'm seeing the same symptoms described here, using a Cricket SIM card.

In my office, where every phone we've used in the past 3 years has received an LTE signal, my new G5 shows HSPA. Outside, it usually switches to LTE, but not always.

To analyze, I put a different Cricket SIM into my old Nexus 5X, and did some checks using the Network Cell Info app. First, sitting in my office, the 5X (top screenshot) always shows LTE on Band 17, and the G5 (bottom) always show HSPA on Band 2.

Later, I went out to run some errands and took both phones. I observed the 5X never wavered from LTE, using bands 2, 4, 5 and 17, depending on my location. The G5 stayed on LTE 90% of the time during the trip, but switched only to bands 2, 4 and 5.






This convinces me that for some reason, the RS988 running Nougat 7.0 is unable to use Band 17, and therefore has limited LTE reception on AT&T / Cricket / other AT&T MVNO's.

Some people say that this was not a problem before the Nougat upgrade, but I can't vouch for that, having never used my G5 on Marshmallow.

 

[tibor33]

..same issues here 988 on H2O ,,brand new phone,,never used on android 6.0 so can`t compare,, but very disappointed.My home location is in a bad spot anyhow,,only access to 1 or 2 cell towers behind hills,,so never had great reception,but with this phone it`s mostly not connected to all,or 3G only.....figuring,if the better ,closest tower using band 17, than the phone has only access to the more distant secondary tower ....... No solution yet ? I might have to return this handset than,,bummer,because i do like it alot,,,,,

 

[biln]

Same problem for me too maybe that's why they are selling for $250 brand new at best buy

 

[AgoristNH]

I bought a LG G5 from Best Buy 2 days ago, and it is also having these same problems on AT&T. My previous phone was the LG G4, and that had no problems connecting. I also have Moto G4 and Moto X Pure, plus a couple other Android phones before that as well as 2 tablets that had mobile data.... all of them could get and hold a decent LTE signal from home. We're not talking 4 bars here (just 2) but it was always strong enough.

This LG G5 can't, at least not for long. When it gets LTE signal, it is responsive and can even stream HD video from YouTube without any issue. Then, it decides to show "H"... and I know I'm doomed. Almost nothing can be done with this "H" signal. And not long after that, it'll show "X" so no signal not even for phone calls. It won't reconnect anywhere around home or the town on its own, until I restart it or try messing with the network-related settings. Then, it's good for a while... could be minutes, could be a few hours. I drove to the office an hour from here, and it has no such trouble getting and holding the LTE signal. I also noticed it had good battery life while at the office, but at home I get a rapid drain, enough so that I'm sad I got this phone since the #1 reason I wanted to upgrade was because my LG G4 ate the battery rapidly even if I replaced it with a new battery (seems to be heavy battery drain from some glitch with the screen).

I'm not sure what to do here. I know Best Buy will charge a $35 fee to return it, and besides I otherwise like the phone. I know LG would send me another phone with the same issue. I know AT&T would deny everything. Shouldn't there be some setting that I can set that says "Hey, I know you really want to drop a perfectly good LTE signal and not try it again, but please don't... hold onto that LTE signal and retry if you for some reason drop it." But I looked and see no such settings, not even hidden ones.

 

[RapidTurtle]

I say take it back to Best Buy, and tell them the problem. Maybe they will let you try a new one, or just return it without the restocking fee.

 

[AgoristNH]

I may have to return it, still trying to decide.

One thing I did was install the Network Cell Info Lite app (pretty cool app!) If I switch to the Plot screen, I notice the signal drops by about 12dB if I touch the phone in any way. If I leave it sitting on table without touching it, signal strength increases. Is this normal? I can understand a hand could block a little bit of the signal, but it seems specific to touching the phone.... if I cup my hands around the phone without touching it, as it sits on the table, the signal strength doesn't drop.

And, when it is working, the app shows I have multiple LTE towers available, with one of them being in use and 3 others as "neighbors". When it decides it doesn't want to be an LTE phone anymore, suddenly all 4 LTE signals disappear from the app, completely, and all it wants to do is show me a couple of weak "H" signals. I walk around house to the best areas, and it doesn't pick up any LTE signals on its own. And my wife's phone right next to this one still sees all those LTE signals just fine (I installed app on that phone too). I may be able to get the signal back by going to the best corner of the house and restarting it, but even that doesn't always work. This is very strange... I wish I could explain what this thing is doing internally. It's as if the thing has some kind of software glitch where it just decides it isn't going to bother with LTE anymore.

I was wondering if I should stop by the AT&T store and see if they can confirm the network settings are good. Best Buy just swapped out my SIM from the G4 and put it in this G5, not sure what else they did or if it is correct. The network was set to "Global"... I changed it to LTE/GSM/* but didn't seem to matter. It doesn't seem to let me do much fiddling with the network.

 

[AgoristNH]

By the way, I reread through the thread... when my LTE works, it is using Band 17. So, it isn't always having some Band 17 issue. When it switches to HSPA, it usually says Band 2. (And, when it switches to "X" I have no idea what's going on because there's no signal.)

 

[barotropic]

By the way, I reread through the thread... when my LTE works, it is using Band 17. So, it isn't always having some Band 17 issue. When it switches to HSPA, it usually says Band 2. (And, when it switches to "X" I have no idea what's going on because there's no signal.)

Interesting problem. Which model is your G5? Also, is it updated to android 7.0?


Sent from mTalk using a Dell Venue 8

 

[AgoristNH]

Interesting problem. Which model is your G5? Also, is it updated to android 7.0?


Sent from mTalk using a Dell Venue 8

Yes it was updated to Android 7.0. It was the RS988, IIRC. I can't readily check because I returned the thing to Best Buy. She was going to charge a $35 restocking fee but I convinced her to put it in as defective.

I bought a new Moto Z2 Force to replace it... the difference is night and day... it holds the LTE+ signal perfectly, even better than any other phone I've had. I even went over to the nearby Dead Zone where my wife works, which normally has no or almost no signal... I only had "H" there but it had no problem streaming videos through that, the first time any phone has worked that well there. So, this is looking promising... I just hope I can live with the camera it comes with.... the few indoor pics I took so far look awful.