Verizon SGS 4 - Flip-flops between 3G and 4G

[Murph5150]

I could be in a zone with 2-3 bars of 4G service and my phone will arbitrarily go into 3G. Any particular reason why? Does this happen to others and is there a fix? I have to power my phone off and back on to force it back into 4G service.

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[B. Diddy]

Remember that the bars don't necessarily reflect the actual data service--they indicate what your cell phone reception is like. Currently, voice connection is typically 2G and your broadband data is 3G or 4G (although my understanding is that Verizon plans to roll out voice over 4G LTE in 2014). The bars indicate the voice signal (2G), so you could easily be in an area where you have decent 2G reception, but spotty 4G reception. If 4G is spotty, it will revert to 3G.

You can get a better idea of the signal breakdown by going to System Settings/Wireless & Networks/Mobile Networks/Network Type & Strength. Right now on my Razr Maxx, it tells me 1x (i.e., 2G) is -86 dBm which is 3 bars, and 4G is -115 dBm, which is 2 bars.

 

[pal1221]

I see the same thing on my S4. One block it is 4G and the next block it switches to 3G.