Data Connectivity Issues

[nocolorblue]

Fellow Thunderbolt Users,

I've had my HTC Thunderbolt since mid-April and ever since then I've always had issues with the data connection. It doesn't stay in 4G, or 3G or even 1X. When I lose data I lose ALL data connectivity. Sometimes it comes back on its own, most times I have to least put into and then out of airplane mode. The surefire way is for a full system restart. I'm on my third physical Thuderbolt right now, Verizon keeps giving me a new one hoping that'll fix it.

Have any other users experienced this problem or something along the lines of it?

P.S. I live in Astoria, Queens and work all over Manhattan. I think I'm the poster child for proper 4G coverage.

 

[agunjal]

this happens to me all the time. I have had my TB for 2 weeks now...Verizon even replaced my TB and still the same thing. I turned off my LTE and have been using 3G only and I haven't seen data loss at all ....I downloaded the LTE app to shut off LTE...figured I would save LTE for Video...plus it helps the battery

I live in Staten Island...maybe its a NY issue

 

[scott15851]

Yes, have to uncheck and check my connectivity about 15 times a day, damn Verizon says it's my location. Data failed data failed, all I see

 

[Cyber Warrior]

I live in Staten Island...maybe its a NY issue

Same here ....No problems for me though.. I'm in and out of NJ, NY and BK everyday.
I had maybe two or three days where that happened last month... did the same thing with the airplane toggle.. except for those few days everything has been fine.

 

[recDNA]

Fellow Thunderbolt Users,

I've had my HTC Thunderbolt since mid-April and ever since then I've always had issues with the data connection. It doesn't stay in 4G, or 3G or even 1X. When I lose data I lose ALL data connectivity. Sometimes it comes back on its own, most times I have to least put into and then out of airplane mode. The surefire way is for a full system restart. I'm on my third physical Thuderbolt right now, Verizon keeps giving me a new one hoping that'll fix it.

Have any other users experienced this problem or something along the lines of it?

P.S. I live in Astoria, Queens and work all over Manhattan. I think I'm the poster child for proper 4G coverage.

Me too. I don't think a new tbolt will help. Its just something they do. I find if I go into a dead zone (that would be a dead zone for any phone) that data signal does not return on its own when back in a good data area. It might take 10 or 20 minutes to come back or I might have to toggle data. Sometimes the only thing that works is a restart.

 

[natehoy]

I have the same thing here in Maine. My desk at work is in a low-signal area (bounces between 3G and 1x) with no Wifi available. About 1/3 of the time, when I leave work, I have to restart the Thunderbolt in order to re-establish connectivity.

At home, I have a ZyXel repeater because I cannot get signal inside my house otherwise, and WiFi. I find that every time the TB loses either cell or Wifi signal, it has a hard time re-establishing either. I've had the phone read 5 bars of cell, 5 bars of WiFi, and can't get any data whatsoever. Sometimes an Airplane mode toggle fixes it, sometimes I need a full restart and have to listen to that bothersome thunderclap sound.

Sometimes it seems to happen just being handed off from one cell tower to another. Data's good... data's good... data's gone.

I've turned LTE off and on, doesn't seem to make a difference. There's absolutely no 4G anywhere within 100 miles of here.

It's a real problem for me because the TB is the way work reaches me when there's a problem. Actually, I should say it's a real problem for them. I get to sleep through the night without receiving any email on Touchdown.

But, seriously, there was some instruction back a while ago that turned off the Thunderbolt-specific band that supports voice and data. Does anyone think that would help? Is that band just less stable than the "regular" 3G (no simultaneous voice and data) band?

 

[balancesheet]

Fellow Thunderbolt Users,

I've had my HTC Thunderbolt since mid-April and ever since then I've always had issues with the data connection. It doesn't stay in 4G, or 3G or even 1X. When I lose data I lose ALL data connectivity. Sometimes it comes back on its own, most times I have to least put into and then out of airplane mode. The surefire way is for a full system restart. I'm on my third physical Thuderbolt right now, Verizon keeps giving me a new one hoping that'll fix it.

Have any other users experienced this problem or something along the lines of it?

P.S. I live in Astoria, Queens and work all over Manhattan. I think I'm the poster child for proper 4G coverage.

I have the same problem - live in Edgewater NJ and work in midtown Manhattan. Signal never was stable to no connection at all - I changed it to 3G now and signal is stable.

 

[Jude526]

I suggest keeping at CDMA. 3 g is strong on the Bolt. Works great fir me. I am not in the 4g area much. The searching for signal really takes a toll on the battery

sent from my Thunderbolt via tapatalk

 

[sabato]

Same problem in SE Massachusetts. I have 4G turned off. Airplane mode works, but it seems to have fewer problems if I just do a battery pull twice per day.

 

[defcon999]

Fellow Thunderbolt Users,

I've had my HTC Thunderbolt since mid-April and ever since then I've always had issues with the data connection. It doesn't stay in 4G, or 3G or even 1X. When I lose data I lose ALL data connectivity. Sometimes it comes back on its own, most times I have to least put into and then out of airplane mode. The surefire way is for a full system restart. I'm on my third physical Thunderbolt right now, Verizon keeps giving me a new one hoping they'll fix it.

Have any other users experienced this problem or something along the lines of it?

P.S. I live in Astoria, Queens and work all over Manhattan. I think I'm the poster child for proper 4G coverage.

I am in TECH-MECCA (Silicon valley) and I get the 4g/3g flip flop all the time. I am thinking of just going 3G until I need to download something. I hate to do that, because it like buying a Lamborghini and being stuck in traffic....looks cool, sounds cool, but, in reality, I am moving just as fast as the beat up AMC Pacer/Gremlin next to me......no, I don't really own a Lamborghini....I wish!

 

[hmfoster]

I have had this problem also, keep losing the 3G connection. Talked to Verizon and went through a lot of different settings to no avail. They said to go to the Verizon store and replace the sim card. Went to the Verizon store and they said that was not the problem. He said that there was a default setting that had to do with 3G & 4G and that as 4G was not in our area, he reset it to 3G only and now 3G shows all the time. As he did not tell me the correction you can call Alan at 575-378-1986 ( he will be out till Wed ). Also if you mention the 4G issue Verizon might be able to help

 

[easyrun99]

I work in 4G territory, but live in 3G. My TB has issues switching back and forth when I'm on the fringe areas. It has caused a call or two to go directly to voicemail and it's rebooted twice at the same exact geographic location (switching from 4G to 3G).

As a result, I've set the phone to CDMA-only. It no longer loses data or misses calls and has not rebooted since.

On the side, I've been testing a Bionic the past week and it has the same issues (a missed call and reboot) when on the fringe of 4G-3G, which makes me confident it's not a TB-only issue.

On a totally subjective front, Sense > MotoBlur and TB form-factor > Bionic form-factor. Again, completely an opinion deal. I like the Bionic's screen while in the sunlight, but TB's in all other circumstances. The Bionic never seems to lag, while the TB will get just a bit (just a bit) laggy when switching from apps to apps or home quickly.

Anyway, my two cents. I'm almost certain to return the Bionic (but it's a very strong device!)

 

[anon(394005)]

I have had this problem also, keep losing the 3G connection. Talked to Verizon and went through a lot of different settings to no avail. They said to go to the Verizon store and replace the sim card. Went to the Verizon store and they said that was not the problem. He said that there was a default setting that had to do with 3G & 4G and that as 4G was not in our area, he reset it to 3G only and now 3G shows all the time.

On stock MR2 (latest version 1.70.605), the setting is under Menu, Settings, Wireless & networks, Mobile Networks, Network mode. CDMA only is 3G and of course LTE/CDMA is LTE or CDMA which ever is currently available. There is also an LTE on/off app in the Android Market.

 

[anon(394005)]

I suggest keeping at CDMA. 3 g is strong on the Bolt. Works great fir me. I am not in the 4g area much. The searching for signal really takes a toll on the battery

sent from my Thunderbolt via tapatalk

My area doesn't have LTE yet. I've tried toggling between the default LTE/CDMA setting and CDMA only and have never noticed the slightest bit of difference in battery drain or any issues with the data signal. I don't know if setting it to CDMA only actually turns off the LTE radio or just prevents the phone from using it. Since I've noticed no difference in battery drain, I'd say it just prevents its use and doesn't actually turn it off. The only time I've really ever seen poor battery life is when in very weak cell signal areas for extended periods as the phone goes into overdrive trying to find a signal. This isn't isolated to just smart phones though, had the same thing with old feature phones.

 

[masterxchief]

Have any of you tried swapping out the back cover of the phone? The antenna contacts for the 4G radio are on there and that might be the culprit for some of you.

 

[Small_law]

I'm going to try that. Dropped my phone on concrete and the cover popped off. My reception has been inconsistent ever since.

 

[Cyber Warrior]

I'm going to try that. Dropped my phone on concrete and the cover popped off. My reception has been inconsistent ever since.

That would definitely be a cause to your problem... Like mentioned, the antenna connections are part of the door.

 

[recDNA]

Today I lost signal and even toggling the network on and off didn't help. I should have tried 3G only because after restarting the phone came on 3G even though it was reading 4bars 4G when I restarted. I think the phone kept trying to stay on 4G even though I was too far from 4G signal. I don't get the 4 bars though. Whatever.

It annoyed me because I've had my home screen rotating for a week now. I like landscape homescreen. I never use the phone in a vertical config unless making a phone call.

 

[Jude526]

How signal is depends on many variables. 4g isn't everywhere and still being tweaked. The phone will try to find the best signal. I prefer keeping it on CDMA and nkt letting it toggle. I live in a rural area where 4g isn't available. But in town it is. Just too much of a strain on the battery for the phone to decide. And it will really have a time trying to decide. LOL. So I just keep it at 3g and all is well. It runs faster than my incredible. Try keeping it on CDMA

sent from my Thunderbolt via tapatalk

 

[robrecht]

I've been having data connetivity problems (especially in 4G areas) since MR1 in May. It seemed to improve somewhat after MR2 but is now is more frequent again with the GB OTA. I'm still convinced that the problem is not merely the firmware but is also related to Verizon's new 3G & 4G network technology. It was predicted by some who are familiar with the more difficult hand-offs with GSM (which is the basis for LTE). Verizon just hasn't mastered this yet. Maybe they never will, but I'm generally optimistic. As an added incentive for Verizon to figure this out, since May I've only been paying half of my monthly data charges until they get this fixed. If more people did this, it might incentivise them a little more.

Thanks, Robrecht