Problems with keeping 4G LTE with my Verizon HTC One M8

[terryh215]

I have to toggle the airplane mode to get it back to a 4G LTE signal. My mom's Droid Mini holds a 1-2 bar 4G LTE signal all the time in the house but mine drops to 3G at 2-3 bars until i toggle airplane mode. I tried Global in the settings and I've tried LTE/CDMA as well, no change expect i get a better 3G signal with the global setting. I've powered my phone off and took out my SIM card and stuck it back in as well. Anyone have problems with this for Verizon as well? It's making me wish I purchased the Droid Maxx instead.

 

[Android Optimizer]

I have to toggle the airplane mode to get it back to a 4G LTE signal. My mom's Droid Mini holds a 1-2 bar 4G LTE signal all the time in the house but mine drops to 3G at 2-3 bars until i toggle airplane mode. I tried Global in the settings and I've tried LTE/CDMA as well, no change expect i get a better 3G signal with the global setting. I've powered my phone off and took out my SIM card and stuck it back in as well. Anyone have problems with this for Verizon as well? It's making me wish I purchased the Droid Maxx instead.

What makes you so sure a Droid Maxx would work any better in the location(s) you're using the phone in? Are you comparing the signals with the phones side by side in the same room(s)? Could it be that your using your phone in a more confined room that has more electronic devices, thicker walls, larger/thicker objects, and less windows or in a basement compared to an upstairs room? (All of those things can have an effect on signals and create various levels of interference. Let's rule out those variables before you start blaming the phone for the issue.

 

[terryh215]

I've had both phones side by side in the same room and experienced the signal issue

 

[Android Optimizer]

I've had both phones side by side in the same room and experienced the signal issue

Have also downloaded and ran the Ookla Speedtest.net app on both to confirm if you're really getting a slower speed on the m8 compared to the Driod Mini (to also verify that the mini isn't lying about its connection)?

What carrier are you with? (I'm guessing Verizon based on your first post). Verizon and AT&T have maps where you can see what speeds you are supposed to get in different areas. What does your carrier's map show for your area?
Verizon data map: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e....com/wcms/consumer/4g-lte.html&token=L1OcIcE3
AT&T data map:https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...om/maps/wireless-coverage.html&token=DUdQzKVn
There is also this user based map, for people who don't trust the carrier maps:
http://sensorly.com/

I've never had anything less than 4gLTE in my house with my m8, but I don't necessarily live in the same type of environment as you.

As some people in other threads have said some older phones report 3g and 4g (non-lte) speeds, and not really LTE connections and speeds while newer model phones report the true connection type and speeds. That's why the speed test is a better show of connection speed and strength.

Do you have Wi-Fi in your house? If so why do you care about mobile data speed/connection when you could use your in house Wi-Fi instead?

 

[Mooncatt]

Different phones also simply have different quality radios. In general, most phones perform about the same. When you start getting into the 1-2 bar signal strength, that's when you'll start seeing differences in reception between phones. Motorola seems to be the best, both from what I've been reading and personal experience. I've heard HTC is supposed to be a close second, but I don't have have anything definitive on that.

So I'm going to assume that is the case here. 4G doesn't penetrate walls as well as 3G, so it's to be expected some people will see that drop depending on the environment, house, and phone. Other than getting a repeater antenna (which aren't cheap for a good quality one), there isn't much you can do to improve tower reception.

There is one thing you can try, but I don't expect it to solve much. Get the LTE On/Off app from Play. That will allow you to access a screen where you can force it to run LTE only and not 3G. What I suspect will happen in your case is the phone will drop the signal and have no data for a while until it picks up 4G again. Since you would have 3G (aka EvDO) turned off, there's nothing for the phone to fall back on. You can find the app at https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...etails?id=net.andirc.lteonfoff&token=P6YtcsZH

 

[Android Optimizer]

I've had both phones side by side in the same room and experienced the signal issue

Is the caller ID app running on your phone?
Someone on the Verizon forum posted about how the Caller ID app/service can cause 4g connection issues. (Related to a Galaxy S5 not maintaining a 4g connection). Here is the post with instructions on how to correctly disable Caller ID:
https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/1127107#1127107
(Interestingly it seems the Caller ID might also be causing problems with the Weather widgets current location detection and reporting as well as battery and GPS).