Regaining a lost 3G connection

[rrokit]

I hope I can describe this problem correctly: while driving my X2 will stream music just fine for long periods of time, sometimes an hour or more, then for no apparent reason I lose my 3G signal down to a 1X signal with resulting loss of streaming. Sometimes I automatically recover 3G in a short time but on many occasions I have to put the phone into airplane mode for a few seconds, then switch back in order to regain my 3G, often necessitating a restart of whichever music app I am using. Occasionally even this doesn't do the trick.

Now here are more details that might affect this behavior, but I don't know for sure and I'm wondering if someone can speak to this.

1) Oftentimes, but not always, this loss of 3G signal happens when I drive across a state line. I understand that coverage sometimes abruptly ends at boundaries such as this, but this is not always the case. I drive the same 700 mile route many times and on some occasions I suffer no loss of signal at state lines, while on other occasions I have not even been able to regain by rebooting the phone. Sometimes I get 3G while driving south, but on the return trip north I get nothing.

2) I have used *228 option 2 in every state and often several times within a state while making the trip over a period of some 2 years.

3) Most of my troubles happen along the I-81 corridor in MD and WVA, and then again along I-77 in NC near the VA line. I know VZW service is somewhat lacking in these areas but aren't there agreements with other carriers to compensate?

4) Somewhere on a forum (could have been this one) I remember reading that the X2 has a known penchant for not regaining 3G once lost. Anyone have any knowledge or experience with this issue?

5) Yes, the phone is almost 2-1/2 years old and I sometimes tend to overwork it by doing too many things at once. Maybe its just tired?

Any help is welcome, and thanks!

 

[wcjeep]

Every person I know with the X2 has had phantom problems.

Have you checked the actual signal level in problem coverage areas? Once it gets beyond -91db a 3g signal will become spotty. At -100db, voice becomes problematic. -120db is no service. Any number below -91db is good for 3g. If your seeing bad signal level consider a Wilson Sleek booster. They are not magic. I have streamed Pandora when my wife's phone had no signal. I have also Googled things when no one else had any type of service with the booster. With 3g service, expect about 18db signal improvement. Not all cell towers are the same. Your results will vary. The 3g booster is about $79 on Amazon. I would recommend the 4g version at about $99. The Wilson Sleek 4g also boosts 3g and 1x.

 

[rrokit]

Thanks wcjeep. Although it's difficult to check signal levels unless I'm not driving (safety first :biggrin: you know) I did check over a 30 minute period of time while stationary and not in a vehicle, while my 3G came and went. On nearly every occasion of a 3G drop I had to toggle airplane mode in order to regain it. This likely was due to my being in a faulty coverage zone (dBu values varied from -90's through -100+). However, later on, while driving on a major interstate that has very well documented 3G and 4G coverage I dropped my 3G again once or twice, only to have it immediately reappear after the same above toggle procedure.
I appreciate your info about signal strength and also that booster looks very interesting, however I do think that the phone itself could be causing at least part of the problem, and I was hoping that someone would have found a tweak for this.
Nevertheless, you've got me interested in looking at that booster.
Thanks, again!