I'm losing 4G connection and I'm being lied to.

[djspy]

Ok, so lately i have been having problems with my data connection. It goes on and off for a few seconds more often than I can rememeber. Wether it's 3g or 4g. the kicker is that sometimes my phone looses 4g and when it comes back on it still says 4g but i notice the phone is a whole lot slower. I go into my Speed Test app and sure enough i get less than 1mb per second downloads. less than what i usually register when i run the test on 3G. I do the turn on/off airplane mode suggestin to no avail. It comes back saying 4G but i'm still getting the slow speeds. In order to fix this i have to power down the device and turn it back on. I tried the Restore Connectivity Settings app and that kind of made it worst. I'm going to try a factory reset and if that doesn't help i'll call up Verizon. Could it be a Sim Card issue?

On a somewhat releated note, has Verizon started throttling 4G users?

 

[jntdroid]

Well it's possible to get slow speeds while your phone is still using the LTE radio - so you're not necessarily being lied to, it's just slow...

 

[FoxKat]

Ok, so lately i have been having problems with my data connection. It goes on and off for a few seconds more often than I can rememeber. Wether it's 3g or 4g. the kicker is that sometimes my phone looses 4g and when it comes back on it still says 4g but i notice the phone is a whole lot slower. I go into my Speed Test app and sure enough i get less than 1mb per second downloads. less than what i usually register when i run the test on 3G. I do the turn on/off airplane mode suggestin to no avail. It comes back saying 4G but i'm still getting the slow speeds. In order to fix this i have to power down the device and turn it back on. I tried the Restore Connectivity Settings app and that kind of made it worst. I'm going to try a factory reset and if that doesn't help i'll call up Verizon. Could it be a Sim Card issue?

On a somewhat releated note, has Verizon started throttling 4G users?

I can say that the SIM card has nothing to do with the speed you are obtaining. The SIM only provides the network with the authentication data it needs to be sure you have an active account and so that it can assign an IP and cellular connection. The SIM doesn't dictate the speed or the method of connection or communication. It's simply a storage device (like the SD Card) for data that is then transmitted to the towers.

Have you tried "Data Enabler Widget", a very effective widget that works a whole lot better than Airplane mode toggling and the Restore Connectivity Settings app? I used it and it worked every time for me, not only restoring 4G but also doing so at the fast speeds I was accustomed to.

Certainly a Factory reset will put your phone back to factory specs, but that may or may not alleviate the issues. It really depends on whether the issue is the phone or the local towers. jntdroid mentioned that speed may simply be slow on the connection you are on at the time. As for throttling, I don't know for sure but if you are on unlimited data and you are using much more than 4GB per month you are certainly a candidate. I do remember some mentioning that their data would run fast until they reached a certain point in the month (heavy users), then it would remain slow until on or about their billing cycle, so we all assume that is a result of toggling. Whether it's true or it's the placebo effect remains up for debate.

I would also try booting into http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-razr-support/200128-accessing-safe-mode-your-razr.html and giving the phone a try for a while that way to see if you lose the connectivity or you suffer lower speeds at times. If not, I would point to one or more user-installed apps or settings that could be causing conflicts and actually be the reason for the issues you are suffering.

Good luck.

 

[KayIslandDrunk]

I doubt it's throttling. I use on average 6-9 gigs of data a month (and that's without tethering) and haven't noticed a bit of performance issues.

Are you in an area that has a poor reception? One of my biggest complaints about the RAZR is it over-states how good of a connection you have when data is enabled (or at least mine does).

When my connection is slow here's the steps I usually follow (to determine if it's a signal issue):

1. Put phone down on a space where any human (hand) interference is minimal.
2. Look at bars (I usually have 2-3 bars in weak areas).
3. Turn off data
4. Wait 10 seconds and look again at bars (usually at this point I'll notice my phone now has between 0 and 1 bar showing).
5. Turn back on data (my phone will again think it has 3 bars, it sometimes even shows 4).

This is how I know my speed dip is because of a weak signal area.

 

[huskur]

I can say that the SIM card has nothing to do with the speed you are obtaining. The SIM only provides the network with the authentication data it needs to be sure you have an active account and so that it can assign an IP and cellular connection. The SIM doesn't dictate the speed or the method of connection or communication. It's simply a storage device (like the SD Card) for data that is then transmitted to the towers.

Have you tried "Data Enabler Widget", a very effective widget that works a whole lot better than Airplane mode toggling and the Restore Connectivity Settings app? I used it and it worked every time for me, not only restoring 4G but also doing so at the fast speeds I was accustomed to.

Certainly a Factory reset will put your phone back to factory specs, but that may or may not alleviate the issues. It really depends on whether the issue is the phone or the local towers. jntdroid mentioned that speed may simply be slow on the connection you are on at the time. As for throttling, I don't know for sure but if you are on unlimited data and you are using much more than 4GB per month you are certainly a candidate. I do remember some mentioning that their data would run fast until they reached a certain point in the month (heavy users), then it would remain slow until on or about their billing cycle, so we all assume that is a result of toggling. Whether it's true or it's the placebo effect remains up for debate.

I would also try booting into http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-razr-support/200128-accessing-safe-mode-your-razr.html and giving the phone a try for a while that way to see if you lose the connectivity or you suffer lower speeds at times. If not, I would point to one or more user-installed apps or settings that could be causing conflicts and actually be the reason for the issues you are suffering.

Good luck.

I was experiencing data drops and having 4G connectivity issues, which all were clarified by a new SIM. The SIM determines the substainability of the 4G connection. Sometimes just reseating the SIM helps and sometimes not. There is a small probability that it could be the SIM but unlikely.

FYI- I had the same issue as the OP. I could drive to a different tower and BAM!! Speeds were out of this world! At home with 3 bars of 4G i was only getting downloads in the 100's and uploads around 1000. (yes, downloads in the 100's) I could turn off 4G and use only 3G and it was fine but only had 3G speeds naturally. I had to call verizon and they sent a rider out to test my area. A couple days later they fixed it. Tower transmission issue. It happens

 

[djspy]

Thanks for the replies and info guys. I will try them out.

@huskur how do i reset the sim card?

 

[TisMyDroid]

Thanks for the replies and info guys. I will try them out.

@huskur how do i reset the sim card?

Try taking out your Sim card and place it back in...I believe that is what huskur was referring to about reseating your Sim card. And it won't hurt anything to try.

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