Question about data drops & phone replacement

[stevo95]

Hi folks

I've had my Bionic since a couple of days after it came out. Like many I love the phone apart from the data drops and in truth, at times, this makes me hate the freaking thing! There is no doubt this is by far the fastest & coolest smartphone I've ever owned but the regular data drops cause me so much frustration. GPS lock, although improved by the version updates, is also very unreliable - turn GPS on/off, switch phone on/off ad nauseum etc. I use the phone a lot for navigation at work and once I lose the data, navigation stops working as well.

My question is, is it only the Bionic that suffers from the data drops & GPS issues or does it also affect the other 4G phones?

Do you think Verizon would be willing to bargain with me on replacing the phone with an alternate 4g phone? I was reluctant to do this for a long time because I have invested quite a bit in case, chargers, car dock, screen protectors etc but enough is enough, I think I have been very patient despite the frustrations.

I would be willing to pay partially for an upgrade, I don't know if that is an option but interested to know what other posters would advise or of any successes or failures.

Thanks!

 

[b00mb00mchuck]

The squeeky wheel gets the grease... if you keep going down there and making noise they will pretty much do what they need to do to keep you as a customer... but you gadda be a hard nose about the whole thing... and they're gonna put you through a few replacement phones first ... normal stuff trying to convince you it's your particular phone with these problems... I've heard people who got from the bionic to the Razr and had the same damn problems with that... and if you read the GNex forums, they have their own set of issues over there too... we're just in a tough period where too many manufacturers put out too many phones way too fast and the problems are all showing through...

But you're right... for your money... you should have a device that performs it's core functions properly

 

[tjk629]

It's hard to say.

It seems vzw is helpful to Bionic owners who want to get another LTE device. In my experience on the forums I don't think I've heard of them refusing to. You may have to do a few things first. Such as take a replacement Bionic.

Please remember this. DO NOT GO INTO A STORE for this. Call the call center! Some people make the mistake of going into the store and they don't get good results. The store staff is there a sell, and do not have anywhere near the authorization, or flexibility that the csrs have.

Other things to keep in mind. The dropouts seem to affect all LTE phones for the most part. A lot of this has to do with the network, and it being so young and immature. How is your LTE coverage? Do you live or travel in strong LTE areas?

If they do allow you to switch I'd try to get a ReZound. A lot of Bionic users have gone over to it, and rave about the LTE.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Domestic violence]

My Nexus drops 4G so frequently, i keep it on CDMA only.

 

[stevo95]

It's hard to say.

It seems vzw is helpful to Bionic owners who want to get another LTE device. In my experience on the forums I don't think I've heard of them refusing to. You may have to do a few things first. Such as take a replacement Bionic.

Please remember this. DO NOT GO INTO A STORE for this. Call the call center! Some people make the mistake of going into the store and they don't get good results. The store staff is there a sell, and do not have anywhere near the authorization, or flexibility that the csrs have.

Other things to keep in mind. The dropouts seem to affect all LTE phones for the most part. A lot of this has to do with the network, and it being so young and immature. How is your LTE coverage? Do you live or travel in strong LTE areas?

If they do allow you to switch I'd try to get a ReZound. A lot of Bionic users have gone over to it, and rave about the LTE.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

Thanks to everyone for the responses so far. Seems like moving to another phone may not fix anything, except for the ReZound. Not sure I am keen on the HTC though.

My LTE coverage in the house is fine but sometimes I lose data for no reason here. As I travel about my town, it is iffy, some parts are good, some are not. But it is inconsistent.

I find it shocking that busy freeways like the I-80 in CA and the I-25 in CO have very poor coverage. The thing that frustrates me is that I lose data coverage completely, it doesn't flip over to 3G. Also, the GPS thing is the most irritating thing, being unable to get it without messing about is very frustrating.

I have a contract through work, I may ask our Purchasing dept to look into it for me or perhaps I should just accept the problems for a year until 4G coverage and quality improves?

 

[tjk629]

Thanks to everyone for the responses so far. Seems like moving to another phone may not fix anything, except for the ReZound. Not sure I am keen on the HTC though.

My LTE coverage in the house is fine but sometimes I lose data for no reason here. As I travel about my town, it is iffy, some parts are good, some are not. But it is inconsistent.

I find it shocking that busy freeways like the I-80 in CA and the I-25 in CO have very poor coverage. The thing that frustrates me is that I lose data coverage completely, it doesn't flip over to 3G. Also, the GPS thing is the most irritating thing, being unable to get it without messing about is very frustrating.

I have a contract through work, I may ask our Purchasing dept to look into it for me or perhaps I should just accept the problems for a year until 4G coverage and quality improves?

The ReZound may help. I haven't heard many users complain about reception with that phone.

What about on vzws LTE coverage map? For example, I get LTE at my house, but I also live on the edge of LTE. So, I do swap to EVDO, or just loose data. This is why I've put up with my Bionic, because I believe, once vzw expands LTE in my area (or closes up the gaps) the issue will be resolved. If you go to CDMA only do you still loose data?

Of course, coverage maps are not the best indication, but it's what the CSRs will use, and if you do live near the verge of LTE they may just say turn off LTE.

I've only had one issue with GPS on my Bionic. It lasted like an hour or so, but hasn't resurfaced since. They may ask you if you've done a factory reset, and if you haven't they'll most likely request you do one before they issue you a replacement or new phone.

Like I said in my original post, you may have to jump through some small hoops before getting a new phone.

As for holding it out, it is a hard decision to make. Some phones handle LTE better then others, some phones just need a baseband update and the problem solves itself, and some people just aren't in an optimal LTE area. Honestly, LTE right now is just a mess. Moto phones uses a custom Motorola LTE radio, and I believe HTC phones (at least the ReZound) has an antena or something external that is supposed to improve stuff.

You could wait, and see if stuff will clear up, but it may not, and you'll be stuck with a phone that could have just been a lemon.

I was lucky with my Bionic to see improvements over the past two updates that I decided to hold out, and see if it was the network. If I did not see anything from the two updates, I would have been asking for a new phone.

If HTC is not your cup of tea, look into the LG Spectrum or LG Lucid. I haven't heard much about them, and data drops. They may be nice alternatives.

 

[stevo95]

The ReZound may help. I haven't heard many users complain about reception with that phone.

What about on vzws LTE coverage map? For example, I get LTE at my house, but I also live on the edge of LTE. So, I do swap to EVDO, or just loose data. This is why I've put up with my Bionic, because I believe, once vzw expands LTE in my area (or closes up the gaps) the issue will be resolved. If you go to CDMA only do you still loose data?

Of course, coverage maps are not the best indication, but it's what the CSRs will use, and if you do live near the verge of LTE they may just say turn off LTE.

I've only had one issue with GPS on my Bionic. It lasted like an hour or so, but hasn't resurfaced since. They may ask you if you've done a factory reset, and if you haven't they'll most likely request you do one before they issue you a replacement or new phone.

Like I said in my original post, you may have to jump through some small hoops before getting a new phone.

As for holding it out, it is a hard decision to make. Some phones handle LTE better then others, some phones just need a baseband update and the problem solves itself, and some people just aren't in an optimal LTE area. Honestly, LTE right now is just a mess. Moto phones uses a custom Motorola LTE radio, and I believe HTC phones (at least the ReZound) has an antena or something external that is supposed to improve stuff.

You could wait, and see if stuff will clear up, but it may not, and you'll be stuck with a phone that could have just been a lemon.

I was lucky with my Bionic to see improvements over the past two updates that I decided to hold out, and see if it was the network. If I did not see anything from the two updates, I would have been asking for a new phone.

If HTC is not your cup of tea, look into the LG Spectrum or LG Lucid. I haven't heard much about them, and data drops. They may be nice alternatives.

I've done a few factory resets as well as the standard fixes such as battery out, remove SIM card etc. I'm slap in the middle of a good LTE area according to the map, deep red in my entire town. Like you, I have seen some improvements with the software updates but still far from acceptable. It seems like my data problems are bang in the middle, not as bad as the worst cases and not as good as the lucky ones, although I do travel quite a bit and I wonder if those who have no problems travel around. The GPS definitely seems worse than most though.

Sometimes when the data problem is really bad, I'll try and switch to 3G only but it makes no difference. That's what I dont understand, for all of its faults, the original Droid didnt give me too many problems and I would expect the Bionic to swap over to 3G when 4G isnt available but it just does not handle this well at all.

I dont know if I have the appetite for getting a new phone and trying to set it up the way I like it, learning how it works etc if it is just going to be similar problems. Maybe I take a chance and get a refurb Bionic and see if it is any better, although it seems like several people just end up getting an even worse phone, I wonder if they just send out the ones that people are sending back!!

Again, thanks for the comments. I'll need to think about what to do, seems like there is no simple answer :-/

 

[tjk629]

I've done a few factory resets as well as the standard fixes such as battery out, remove SIM card etc. I'm slap in the middle of a good LTE area according to the map, deep red in my entire town. Like you, I have seen some improvements with the software updates but still far from acceptable. It seems like my data problems are bang in the middle, not as bad as the worst cases and not as good as the lucky ones, although I do travel quite a bit and I wonder if those who have no problems travel around. The GPS definitely seems worse than most though.

Sometimes when the data problem is really bad, I'll try and switch to 3G only but it makes no difference. That's what I dont understand, for all of its faults, the original Droid didnt give me too many problems and I would expect the Bionic to swap over to 3G when 4G isnt available but it just does not handle this well at all.

I dont know if I have the appetite for getting a new phone and trying to set it up the way I like it, learning how it works etc if it is just going to be similar problems. Maybe I take a chance and get a refurb Bionic and see if it is any better, although it seems like several people just end up getting an even worse phone, I wonder if they just send out the ones that people are sending back!!

Again, thanks for the comments. I'll need to think about what to do, seems like there is no simple answer :-/

I would still call. The GPS issue and loosing data while in CDMA Only mode isn't right. It's very possible you got a bad boinic. I would consider the following:

1.) Getting another Bionic. CLN or maybe even a new one. Depends on what's going on
2.) They may even just give you a new phone. You can pick if you want to give LTE another try, or stick with a 3G phone. Verizon still has some decent 3G only devices.

If I where you I wouldn't stick with that Bionic. I'm on my 2nd one. The first one I got was really messed up. I don't even think they put it together right. You know somethings wrong when the replacement model they send you is significantly heavier then your previous one. Plus, the screen wasn't even on right.

 

[stevo95]

I would still call. The GPS issue and loosing data while in CDMA Only mode isn't right. It's very possible you got a bad boinic. I would consider the following:

1.) Getting another Bionic. CLN or maybe even a new one. Depends on what's going on
2.) They may even just give you a new phone. You can pick if you want to give LTE another try, or stick with a 3G phone. Verizon still has some decent 3G only devices.

If I where you I wouldn't stick with that Bionic. I'm on my 2nd one. The first one I got was really messed up. I don't even think they put it together right. You know somethings wrong when the replacement model they send you is significantly heavier then your previous one. Plus, the screen wasn't even on right.

I think you're right, I'll call purchasing and see if they can take this up for me & if they cant, I'll just do it myself. What does CLN stand for?

 

[tjk629]

I think you're right, I'll call purchasing and see if they can take this up for me & if they cant, I'll just do it myself. What does CLN stand for?

Certified Like New. It's pretty much a referbish phone.

 

[stevo95]

Certified Like New. It's pretty much a referbish phone.

Thanks for the advice. I got my CLN phone yesterday and configured it up.

Much better than the other one so far. GPS works perfectly. I went to a local spot where I frequently lost data and it switched to 3G and stayed connected. Funny thing is, I have only dropped data once so far and that was literally after I unboxed it, powered it up and used it for 5 mins. I connected to WiFi, the 4G came back and it has been connected to data since then.

The real test will come next week when I am travelling, fingers crossed!

 

[tjk629]

Glad it's working so far!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk