Galaxy S3 signal issue and Verizon support

[Thoraldus]

(SNIP). TRY THIS MOD. put a few layers of plastic tape under the battery, close it up and see what happens. over and out.

Tried it. Signal strength went from -110dbm to -89dbm --- 2-3 bar improvement ... Thanks!!!!

 

[Wnrgway]

Also hold the s3 from the top of the unit, not the bottom. TRY THIS MOD. put a few layers of plastic tape under the battery, close it up and see what happens. over and out.

I tried this with a folded up sheet of paper. My signal is -92 dbm at work. I didn't notice any change. The paper was smaller than the size of the battery, but definitely provided some lift to it. Thickness was 8 sheets.

How many layers of tape are you using?

 

[fyrfytr24]

** UPDATE **
So after a total of 4 phones for me and 5 for my wife we FINALLY got phones that hold calls/signal. Sadly my wife dropped hers last week and shattered the screen. Got an Assurion replacement, and it is back to dropping calls. So I called VZW and got knee deep with a technical support rep who didn't like me because I am pretty sure I was talking over her head when I was talking about radios and CDMA. ANYWAYS, we once again got an offer to have her phone replaced free of charge or change to any comperable (how it was said at first) device. Wanting to play the game, I said that i felt that the iPhone5 was a comparable device...tech rep backpeddled and said that she couldn't do that because they were different operating systems and they were not compatable. Well, World War 3 started and there were some comments made about her inteligence level not knowing the difference between comparable and compatable, ect. Long story short, 2 supervisors later progress was made.

We have 5 lines (my parents and my neice as well as us). They sent iPhone4s to my parents lines free of charge, extended their contracts 2 years from that date (they are on the cycle with us, so only like 4 monts extended) and had customer loyality take care of the upgrade fees. By doing that it saved/perserved our grandfathered unlimited plans with our S3.

*NOW HERE IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING* I kept my S3 and the wife is trying the iPhone4. She HATES the phone, misses her S3 greatly....but the reception/calling is 100x better. It is back to where we were with our prior phones (She had a Galaxy S Facinate and I had a origional Droid Incredible). Where she used to have no reception she now has 3 bars (parking garage), where she dropped a call 10 times in a 15min drive to work she keeps the call the whole time. With the S3 we have the sim cards and the 4g LTE service, the iPhone4 is only 3G....could this be our issue? Is the sim card/4G possibly messing with our voice service and causing the call dropping and the lowered voice reception?

 

[boe]

I still have the S3 with all the stock updates and the reception *****. I was in an office the other day where I had NO reception - couldn't make or receive a single phone call. The phone died by 3PM. In the mean time a person in the cubicle next to me was on her VERIZON iphone all day long - zero issues with reception. A technician came in at lunch and was on his VERIZON droid all through his lunch hour making service calls on his VERIZON phone.

I had the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon and foolishly traded it hoping that the S3 would solve a fluke with Samsung reception on Verizon. The issue is with samsung phones on Verizon. I read too many posts from ****** who said they don't have reception issues. Those without reception issues just don't use their phone enough to know that it *****. I use an average of 3000 minutes per month and travel a great deal throughout the US but work in Los Angeles and I can tell you the reception on the phone ***** EVERYWHERE. If I text all day I don't have issues but I use my phone for work for customer support so I can tell you the reception 100% without a doubt, *****.

I've read on a number of forums that people managed to trade their phones for other models due to the reception issue. I haven't had any such luck but I think I'll try again today as I really feel silly having to borrow phones from others so often - particularly when they ask who my provider is and their phone on Verizon works.

Whatever you do don't EVER fall for the posts on forums from people suggesting a firmware update will fix it. That is like saying a firmware update will fix a cracked screen - it is damaged by design and no firmware update will fix it.

It isn't just a fluke as I've exchanged my phones a number of time for the same model and they all have the same issue. Before you say you don't have any reception issues on your phone are you using it 3000 minutes or more per month for voice calls? Do you travel much and try to use your phone in other locations?

 

[HalizDad]

I had not able to get a data signal at work with my S III; I had been able to with my previous phone, a Droid 2. I was extremely disappointed. I tried all kinds of various setting changes and apps, without improvement. Finally went to Verizon and spoke to them, was told to turn off the phone, in the location I was having trouble with, Turn it back on, dial *228, then #832. I was extremely skeptical. This is supposed to have something to do with getting the phone to "talk" to the closest tower or something. I tried it, and was very surprized that it worked.

That little "trick" worked perfectly for me, and I don't have to worry about melting any tape, either. Thanks.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I still have the S3 with all the stock updates and the reception *****. I was in an office the other day where I had NO reception - couldn't make or receive a single phone call. The phone died by 3PM. In the mean time a person in the cubicle next to me was on her VERIZON iphone all day long - zero issues with reception. A technician came in at lunch and was on his VERIZON droid all through his lunch hour making service calls on his VERIZON phone.

I had the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon and foolishly traded it hoping that the S3 would solve a fluke with Samsung reception on Verizon. The issue is with samsung phones on Verizon. I read too many posts from ****** who said they don't have reception issues. Those without reception issues just don't use their phone enough to know that it *****. I use an average of 3000 minutes per month and travel a great deal throughout the US but work in Los Angeles and I can tell you the reception on the phone ***** EVERYWHERE. If I text all day I don't have issues but I use my phone for work for customer support so I can tell you the reception 100% without a doubt, *****.

I've read on a number of forums that people managed to trade their phones for other models due to the reception issue. I haven't had any such luck but I think I'll try again today as I really feel silly having to borrow phones from others so often - particularly when they ask who my provider is and their phone on Verizon works.

Whatever you do don't EVER fall for the posts on forums from people suggesting a firmware update will fix it. That is like saying a firmware update will fix a cracked screen - it is damaged by design and no firmware update will fix it.

It isn't just a fluke as I've exchanged my phones a number of time for the same model and they all have the same issue. Before you say you don't have any reception issues on your phone are you using it 3000 minutes or more per month for voice calls? Do you travel much and try to use your phone in other locations?

I'm not suggesting that a firmware update is the answer to the signal issues with *THIS* device, however sometimes reception issues can be caused by and/or remedied by firmware updates (specifically those that update the radio software). There are several components at play here, including the hardware and software for the device's radio. If the hardware is faulty or sub-par, then I agree that no amount of firmware updates are going to fix it -- but I have owned phones in that past where the reception was greatly improved after an update...it just depends on what the underlying cause of the issue is.

I had not able to get a data signal at work with my S III; I had been able to with my previous phone, a Droid 2. I was extremely disappointed. I tried all kinds of various setting changes and apps, without improvement. Finally went to Verizon and spoke to them, was told to turn off the phone, in the location I was having trouble with, Turn it back on, dial *228, then #832. I was extremely skeptical. This is supposed to have something to do with getting the phone to "talk" to the closest tower or something. I tried it, and was very surprized that it worked. My work is in the basement of a large building, and is notoriously known for being difficult to get a signal. I paid the fee for breaking my contract with AT & T and came to Verizon because of that very issue (nearly 4 yrs ago). I don't know if this is something that will help others, I'm sure it depends on what the signal problem is. I was ready to get another Motorola phone!

That little "trick" worked perfectly for me, and I don't have to worry about melting any tape, either. Thanks.

I had heard a long time ago that 4G LTE phones should *never* dial *228...and while that was primarily in reference to phone activation (as 4G phones with SIM cards are activated differently), *228 was also used to updated PRL, which again I had read was not necessary on LTE devices, and furthermore could cause damage to the device if attempted.

Has anyone else tried this? I've never heard of the "#832" option before, so perhaps that's something new for updating PRL (or something to that effect) for 4G LTE phones?

I tried the tape trick, but haven't really been able to tell if there is a noticeable difference or not...it seems most of the time I'm in either in an area with good reception or no reception whatsoever, so most of the time these "tricks" fail to help, but it does annoy me every now and then when I'm somewhere and can't get a decent data signal to save my life, yet there are other folks using different Verizon phones without a problem...

 

[Vegasden]

All I can add is when I called Verizon tech support for 4G issues (it ended up being a bad SIM card) she had me dial the 228 number. She was aware I had an S3.

 

[Marcia Dayan Fisher]

I'm having the same issue, but unforturnately I am past my 14 day window. I did open a ticket, but it also was past the window. So now I truly don't know what to do. I can't afford to purchase a new phone. Verizon customer service has always been wonderful. I just wish Samsung had made a better phone.