Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
dkarabinus2
Newbie

I have a droid mini and in the past several weeks the frequency of dropped calls has increased dramatically.  Although dropped calls were not uncommon in the past, now, the call may be dropped 5 or more times in a 10 minute period.  It is interesting that sending a text is not as affected, occasionally a text may take as long as 10 minutes to send.  Signal strength here is poor -- per my phone's 'Network Type and Strength', 1x signal strength is -90dBm to -119dBm; 4G signal strength is -90 dBm to -120 dBm, unless, of course, it tells me there is no service.  I am within a couple of miles of 2 cell towers, one to the Northwest and one to the Southeast.  There are a lot of trees and the topography is gently rolling.  As I said earlier, cell service has never been great here, but the frequency of dropped calls is becoming intolerable.  A wilson cradle-type signal booster is marginally helpful in boosting the signal; however if the signal is lost,  there is no signal to boost, and the booster is not helpful.  It seems to me that if I am paying my Verizon bill each month (which I do) then the service should be available for me to use, which it increasingly is not.  Looking forward to some assistance...

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
dkarabinus2
Newbie

I failed to add, in my previous rant, that with the Wilson signal booster, the 1x signal strength is improved to -80 to -90 range.  No improvement in 4g signal.

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

We always want to see you have the best experience on our network. May I have the name of your city and the nearest intersection? Is this primarily happening indoors? Have you restarted the device since this began more frequently?

 

YaleK_VZW

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
dkarabinus2
Newbie

YaleK,

 

Thanks for your speedy reply.  My "city" is Montpelier, VA23192.  The nearest intersection is Old Ridge Rd. and Pleasant Mill Rd, about a mile from the house.  The problem occurs regardless of whether I am inside or outside the house.  Using the 'Network Type and Strength'  function on my droid, I walked around the outside of the house and around the inside of the house, both floors and attic. Position inside or outside the house had no appreciable effect on 1x or 4g signal strength.  I used to be able to make relatively uninterrupted calls from the front porch (SW corner of the house) or the deck (East side of the house), but in the last month or so, position has no effect.

I have restarted my phone several times during this time to no avail.

My wife has experienced the same issues (dropped call multiple times during a single call) when trying to make calls using her cell phone (Iphone 5s).

Looking forward to your assistance.

 

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

dkarabinus2, thank you for sharing this helpful information. Making sure you have the services you need is vital. Allow us the opportunity to further investigate. Can you please clarify how far you have to travel from this location to receive a proper connection? Have there been any changes in your area around the time this concern started to get worse (new construction, population, weather)?

 

SylviaT_VZW

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
dkarabinus2
Newbie

I have not attempted to determine how far I have to go to improve the 1x and 4g signals on my phone.  I have walked all around my house, inside and out, and have seen no improvement in signal strength.  I am uncomfortable driving around looking at my phone to see the effect on the "Network Type and Signal Strength".  Are you suggesting I do this (drive around), or perhaps move, say, 100 feet away from the house, repeat the walk around, and observe signal strength effects?

 

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
dkarabinus2
Newbie

There have been no changes in our area, e.g., new construction, etc, that may have had an impact on service.  We live in a rural area and the lots are 5 acres and up in size.  As I stated earlier, our lot is wooded, but it has been since we moved here in 3 years ago

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

One of our main goals is to make sure you have reliable service and devices. To better assist you, please tell us. Does your device have the latest software? How much free memory space does your device have? 

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
dkarabinus2
Newbie

The phone tells me the software version is 24.21.7.en.US

Of 11.03 GB storage, 7.79GB are available.

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Re: Phone keeps dropping calls
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Thank you for the details. We'd love to take a closer look at your coverage. Please send us a private message to better assist. 

 

UbaldoJ_VZW
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