AT&T call issues

[crackhd999]

I have a brand new moto-x pure edition on the AT&T network with lollipop It seems to be working fine, except for missing calls when I am surfing the web or using other network heavy applications. I spoke with Motorola support, and they said this was a known issue and hoped to have a fix (after walking me through a cache clear). It seems like when the call comes in my cellular strength drops to 0. Call goes to voicemail and then cellular strength recovers.

Earlier today it always happened. I did a factory reset, and it seems to be doing better, but still not 100% consistent.

Could this be a problem with my phone? With a "pure edition" running on AT&T? With all GSM moto-x phones? I was going to exchange it for a AT&T branded model, but i'm starting to wonder if I should find a different phone. I really like it but missing calls because I am watching a YouTube or browsing the web is a deal breaker.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Didn't you say that Motorola acknowledged this as a known issue? If that's the case, it must be an issue with either the hardware or the firmware. It would've been good to ask the Motorola support person if it was widespread among all Moto X's, or just with specific ones.

 

[crackhd999]

Thanks for the welcome and the reply. This is my first android phone so I'm still learning.

The thing is, in my experience, there's often mis-communication with product support folks. It sometimes seem they provide "answers' just to "close the call" (or, to be fair, they don't completely understand all of the details and find a similar match in their knowledge-base and call it a day). I would think that if this were common to all Moto-X's then there might be more internet chatter about it... or is the Moto-X user base really that small... or am I the only person who wants to receive phone calls while I'm browsing or watching a youtube video? Or does this have something to do with the specific cell coverage I have at my home (the only place I've tested it... yet, none of my other phones (Apple and Nokia) have this problem)

Here's what I'm trying to decide:
- Should I exchange my "pure" model for an AT&T branded phone (at first, I thought this was probably the issue, but now I see that the specs on the Motorola website seem to be identical between the pure and att model)?
- Trust Motorola that they're going to fix this soon (does Motorola have a history of pushing out fixes or a history of promising but not delivering - I worked as an engineer at Motorola many years ago and, back then, they were more about promises... )
- Move on to a different phone (except I really like this phone otherwise, but not quite enough to live with this issue for more than a month or two)?

Thanks for any input anyone can provide...

 

[B. Diddy]

Those are all good questions. When this happens, are you on mobile data or wi-fi? Where did you buy the phone? Would it be possible to exchange it? If so, I'd try that at least once.

 

[crackhd999]

I bought it from Moto-maker so I can return it, but the turn-around time is not exactly fast (days vs. walking into a store and swapping). In fact, the reason I factory reset it was to clear out my data before sending it back. Before, I packed it up, I thought that maybe I should try it again... and low and behold, it starting working better. I'm beginning to think it might have more to do with my local cellular service. I was trying this test on my Nokia, and noticed that, although the phone rang, after I hung up, it it lost its signal for a bit. I'm having a hard time making it happen today...

 

[B. Diddy]

One way to test that out would be to try a different network briefly. You could get a SIM from T-Mobile for $10, start a basic plan, and see how it works. If you decide to cancel the service within a few days, I think you get a refund for the service, but not sure about the SIM fee. And of course, it depends on how good the T-Mobile network is around you.

 

[crackhd999]

I have no clue about t-mobile in my area. Everybody I know uses ATT, VZ or Sprint. I haven't been able to make it happen all day so the "cellular network gremlins" hypothesis is getting stronger. Starting and cancelling service seems like more trouble than sending the phone back... If I have no problems over the weekend, then I'm good. If it starts again, I'll send it back and try an ATT branded phone. Thanks for your help.

 

[Rukbat]

I'd contact Motorola again, ask to speak to a supervisor, then ask to speak to a level 2 support supervisor - then ask for a warranty extension (in writing) until they fix the issue, so you can return it for a full refund if you get tired of waiting for them to get around to it. If they won't, I'd return it and buy it from AT&T. If you bother your local Device Support Center with a bunch of rejects, fur is going to fly between AT&T and Motorola. (AT&T is a large customer, so if they speak, Motorola listens. If you speak, Motorola doesn't care.)

 

[Isaiah 43]

I've been using my Pure Edition Moto X on AT&T's network since December and I've never had that problem.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[crackhd999]

I sent it back to get an ATT branded phone. This way, I can beat ATT up to some degree if I continue to have problems. I do think there's a network component to this problem because it worked fine some days (Sat/Sun), and not others (Fri/Mon) - maybe some kind of loading issue on my nearby towers. A nice side-effect of sending it back was I was able to take advantage of yesterday's one day sale.

 

[dan1431]

The cell site serving my area is North of me and the back side of my house gets better reception than the front so sometimes my phone will not hand off to UMTS/HSPA to receive a call and I will just get a voicemail as the only alert that I had missed a call.

I worked with at&t on the issue and it was determined that it was an issue with the UMTS/HSPA signal being weaker than the LTE signal and my phone not receiving the proper command from the control channel to hand off to UMTS/HSPA and receive a call.

A weeks later I saw a few at&t trucks at the cell site and since then, I have not experienced the issue half as much as my signal has increased on UMTS/HSPA from -111dBms on average to -108dBms on average, while I highly doubt that my call prompted work on the cell site, it did confirm it was an issue with at&t and not my handset.

The person I worked with from at&t did say that the branded handset probably would not suffer from the issue half as much or at all, as the radio was tuned specifically for at&t while the Pure Edition was tuned more generically. As I preferred to stick with the Pure Edition I decided against going the branded route and just lived with the issue.

Dan

 

[stanleywinthrop]

Did you ever double check the APN settings?

Posted via the Android Central App