Mobile Network Types

[dleenhouts]

I have gotten a miserable signal strength (-100 dBm to -120 dBm) in my office on the LTE network for over a year on my HTC DNA, & it has lead to a ton of failed texts & voice calls that can't be made. However, when it gets bad enough that it cannot maintain a connection, it will fail over to a slower network (eHRPH or Evdo.Rev-a) & get much better signal (-71 dBm to -84 dBm). Since this is the call/SMS portion of the network, & the fact that I am on wifi at the office, I could care less about the speed of the data network. I just want to be able to reliably send SMS messages & make calls. I do not want to have to toggle in & out of airplane mode, restart the phone, re-seat the SIM card, perform factory resets, or any other temporary fixes.

Furthermore, it looks like the only network setting that can be changed on the DNA is the mobile data (GSM, LTE/CDMA, or Global). None of those settings has any affect on signal strength.

Does anyone know if it's possible to force the phone to choose the stronger network rather than the fastest network?

(Verizon Wireless Customer Support - there is no water damage or other damage, the zip code is 02210, this is a replaced SIM card, Safe Mode hasn't made a difference, clearing the messaging cache hasn't made a difference, & I have used the stock messaging app & Hangouts & both are equally bad)

[vzw_customer_support]

We appreciate you reaching out to us, dleenhouts. We can see how this can be upsetting for you to have failed messages and calls.
You have already done quite a bit of troubleshooting. Do you happen to have the most recent software version? Are others with Verizon service  also having a problem with the service?

TamaraH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[dleenhouts]

I do have the latest OTA update, & all of my apps are up to date. I know some other Verizon customers in the office don't get good reception, but I can't speak to how their phones handle network speed versus signal strength. Is there a way to force select a network for voice/SMS traffic like there is with data traffic?

Then again, using antennasearch.com, there are dozens of towers & hundreds of antennas within a mile of my location, so the signal strength shouldn't be a problem with any network type.

[Ann154 · Accepted solution]

You should use CDMA/LTE mode while on the Verizon Wireless network.

[dleenhouts]

I should use whatever network my phone has the strongest signal to. Again, I'm on wifi all day for data so I need a reliable network for SMS, not a fast-but-spotty network for SMS.

[Ann154]

The GSM and global options are meant for when roaming overseas on those local carriers and not for use domestically.

[dleenhouts]

And that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about.

Fact is, when I try to send texts when connected to LTE via a shoddy signal strength, they fail. When the strength is so low that it falls back to the evdo-rev.a or ehrpd network type that has a much stronger signal, the texts work fine. I want to force my phone to connect to either evdo-rev.a or ehrpd.

[#8]

dleenhouts calls and SMS do not even go over LTE or even 3G( except for MMS ) only data does. Calls and texts go over the 1x network

[dleenhouts]

Verizon Wireless Customer Support - can you please resolve this? Can your network team please look into why your network is so poor in zip code 02210?