Bionic not allowing calls or texts. Please Help!!!

JakkThunder

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Hello, first I will give some background info on this before I state my problem. I currently live in a rural area in SW Iowa (within the big blank rectangle in Iowa on the verizon coverage map) and a few years ago I moved to Atlanta, GA and switched from a local mobile company here in SW Iowa to Verizon. Due to certain issues I had I moved back home about a year or 2 ago. I had a Samsung Glyde (regretfully) then a first gen Droid. Both worked to make and receive calls as well as texts within the Extended Coverage area, despite having no 3G. It doesn't bother me that I dont have 3G here because I have WiFi and I am in Des Moines 1-4 times a week on business (2 hour drive) and enter 3G less than halfway there. As long as I can call and text here in my home area I am ok. I also do not plan on living here more than another 2 or 3 years. The 8th I drove to Des Moines to get a Bionic because my Droid had several major issues (dropped in water a few months ago) and I couldn't make calls or get into it without a magnet because the touch screen stopped working. I purchased a new 2 year contract (mine was up in November of this year) and purchased a Droid Bionic. It worked fine until I got close to home and it would not let me make calls or text. The next day I called Verizon (landline phone at work) and they said I most likely fried my sim card by dialing *228 on a 4G phone which I guess is a major no-no. I did but only after my phone did not work. The next day I took it to Council Bluffs, IA (hour and a half from me) and the guy did something with my phone and all of a sudden I had 4G and it worked a lot better than it did when I got there. Until I got part way home in the Extended coverage area, then I could no longer make calls, receive calls, or receive texts. As of right now if I bounce off my WiFi at home (i have no landline) I can make a call every once in a great while. I can send texts, although they never send the first time, but i cannot receive them. My phone keeps saying "No Network is available. Only emergency calls are allowed." It also will pop up very often with "Allow Data Access? Any data access while on a trip outside the USA may result in significantly higher charges. Deny data access for this trip or Allow data access for this trip.". It also says I am Internationally Data Roaming. I have an unlimited data plan as well. I have tried switching to CDMA only mode and I can make a call here or there but most the time if i get it to connect it drops within the first ring or two. I cant even call *611 because it keeps disconnecting me. Why is it that i have a way better phone than a Glyde or First Gen Droid, and I cant do anything with it here? It just doesn't make sense! I am traveling to Atlanta the 19th for business and need a phone that I can use both here and there. Can anyone help me?

...It also shows i have anywhere from 2-4 bars for signal.
 

252chevyboyz

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Hey whats up man i came to take a look at the thread and wow sorry your having problems with the Bionic cause its a great phone. A few suggestions are below. Hope I can help out some. Also hopefully someone who knows the Bionics software will take a look at this and might be able to help you out

Have you tried a "factory data reset"?

Is there an option for "airplane mode"? Might try to toggle this on and off when your having trouble.
 
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JakkThunder

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How would I factory reset? and I have tried the airplane mode thing and it doesnt seem to help. Although sometimes when I try to call it says to turn off Airplane mode.
 

252chevyboyz

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JakkThunder

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Well, the factory reset did not help. I still can't make or receive calls and texts.
 

252chevyboyz

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Do you have any clues onto what the VZW rep did at the store? If you had a few clues i might be able to put together what he did. This is weird though. It reminds of the symptoms of having the cell tower overloaded kinda like after a natural disaster. Anyway to contact the service provider who owns the tower you are using?
 

252chevyboyz

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This is a strange problem cause I cant find hardly info on it but who is your extended service provider do you know?
 
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JakkThunder

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I'm not sure I follow, before I moved to Atlanta back in 08 I had a local mobile company. Then I signed up with verizon and ordered a Glyde online. No store. Then after I had moved back, when I had my New Every Two, I upgraded to a Droid online. Again, no store. The first time I went to the store was the 8th to purchase my Bionic and extend my contact. But I've never had troubles making or receiving calls and texts until now on the Bionic.
 

252chevyboyz

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So you didnt stop being able to text and call until you got into the dead zone in Iowa? Sounds like the mobile company who is letting VZW use their tower to provide you service has a overloaded network
 
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JakkThunder

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That is correct. But I could both send a receive texts on my old Droid prior to getting my new phone. Idk about calls because my Droid wouldnt let me make any since it was all messed up. How would I be able to find out about the towers? I dont know how it works when I get signal here in Extended Coverage, all I know is i could both call and text prior to the Bionic. my old Droid wont text now either but I was guessing that was because my Bionic is my active phone.
 

CJM

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I would bring the phone back and see if they could swap it with another bionic to compare. To see if it's not just that phone. But it sounds like it thinks you're out if their area.

Tapped from an Unbrickable DROID
 
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JakkThunder

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Misread your comment the first time i read through it... I may do that tomorrow or monday if i cant get it resolved before then
 
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