Help with Signal Strength Bars...

[CowboyCombat]

Ok so I have a question regarding the Signal Strength Bars on my Droid 2 Global (or as I've been told with many other phones as well). I am very new to smartphones so I tend to not know anything about them yet. I've noticed over the last few weeks that the Signal Bar reading on my phone rapidly fluctuates between 0-4 bars while it's just sitting on my desk or in my hand or even outside. Yet my dBm reading stays at constant reading depending on where I'm at.

85-90 at home yet 4 bars
65-75 outside yet 0 bars

Now I understand that those are pretty typical readings in terms of dBm, I just dont get why my bars fluctuate so rapidly. Is it software related? Is my phone defective? Is it common with the Droid 2 Global? What can I do to fix it? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[killalax]

I would recommend calling *228 and select option 2 outside. That will give your phone better signal quality.

 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

It's a known issue with the Droid2 and D2G that the bars often don't reflect actual signal strength. The rapid fluctuation sounds a bit odd, but I wouldn't worry too much. As someone stated, try dialing *228, it can't hurt. Also, go into battery manager and check Cell Standby. There will be a readout of how long the phone has been in standby, and a time without signal percentage. Just make sure that percentage is low, or you face drastically reduced battery life. If it's not high, then the fluctuating bars aren't an issue, and you can ignore them.

 

[CowboyCombat]

Ok so I checked the cell standby as you have recommended and it shows as of right now: Time on 2h53m33s and Time without signal 1%. I have no idea what this means but I don't really lose service I was just concerned because when I see videos on Youtube I don't really see the fluctuation that I get. I have also done the PRL Update as well and haven't seen any difference. Now is this something that can be fixed with an update or is it the device itself?