Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on

[thephantom]

This is how I solved my 4G issue:

Go to the dial pad
Punch in *#*#4636#*#*
Phone Information
(Scroll down to the middle of the page and you should see "Network Type". It is probably showing "unknown")
Touch "Run ping test" towards the top
Now your "Network Type" should be LTE

Good luck!!

[patt3332]

I tried Christina's work around this weekend at work and it didn't make any difference. I still stayed in 3G, or 1x most of the time unless I went into the Phone Information settings and set it to LTE mode which keeps me in 4G most of the 12 hours I work. I started a new thread because I only seem to have problem when using the hotspot.

Right now, aside from going into Phone Information and using LTE mode, it looks like the only solution is to wait for the Gingerbread update and hope that fixes the problem. I have no idea why Verizon didn't give us the choice of using LTE mode in their built in network switch, that's the only thing that keeps me in 4G.

[patt3332]

I may need to apologize to Christina since I've discovered that I didn't do her recommended fix correctly. After chalnging Rev. A to Enable, I clicked on OK and thought that commited the change, but after you make the change, you have to click menu to get to the commit window. Once you click to commit the change, it will restart your phone.

Since changing Rev. A to Enable and letting the phone reset, it immediately went to 4G for about 5 minutes, the dropped to 1x. I restarted the phone again and since then I've been in 4G with no drops. I won't know how stable this is until I use it for a while, but right now, it's much better than it was.

Christina, I didn't make this change correctly the first time and I apologize.

[batherto]

As a follow-up I would really like to as my fellow community members if anyone has had better luck with this issue by trying their phones in a different area?

 I have now have the oportunity to be in two seperate areas with 4GLTE coverage that are more than 20 miles from my home locations. I was in theses locations for at least 24 hours.  During both occasions my service stayed on 4GLTE 99% of the time. I am curious if others have tried this with similar results.

Verizon, could it be possible that its not the phone itself but possibly a area/tower issue. If so it seems like a must easier issue to fix than trying to have people change their phone settings.

thanks! 

 Brad

[patt3332]

Hi Brad,

If I understand what you're asking, the area can make a difference, but it just depends on what the coverage is like in the area you're in. Some areas have a strong 4G signal and some weaker, or not at all. You can usually tell by looking at a Verizon coverage map, but they are constantly expanding and improving their coverage.

If I'm in an area where I've always had a good, stable 4G connection previously and I suddenly start having problems, I usually attribute it to Verizon working on the network in that area and I usually get a good 4G connection back within 2-3 days when they are finished with whatever they were working on.

If it lasts longer than 3 days, I'll usually go to my Verizon store and ask them about it. I tend to get better answers and service face to face in a store than I do talking to a phone tech.

Hope that helps

[ChristinaB_VZW]

Hi Patt3332,

No worries! I am very glad it is working for you now.

Have a great day!

[omaha11]

I've done the two workarounds I've seen posted places, including Christina's, coupled with multiple hard resets/toggling in/out of airplane mode and still 1x.  Guess that's better than the no service I often get.

When can we expect a fix?

[SeaJohn]

I don't know why this has been marked as solved; it isn't even close to being fixed.

In addition to the suggested fix above, I've done a factory reset, and my phone still drops in and out of 4G mode.  The GB update last week did nothing to fix it.  I'm sitting here right now looking at a big fat '3G' in my Thunderbolt's status bar right now.

I'm not sure what to do now.  I've tried everything Verizon's suggested; I was really hoping that the GB update would fix it. 

[Ann154]

@Seajohn
Either you marked solved or the VZW employee did. In any case, you can change it following the instructions in the link.
http://community.vzw.com/t5/help/faqpage/faq-category-id/solutions#solutions

[tattooedchick]

I was in a 4g area on Sunday and lost the 4g signal as well.  I was in Raleigh, NC.  It should have a very strong 4g signal.  But apparently my Thunderbolt thought otherwise.   I was trying to get directions to go somewhere and had to toggle my phone in and out of airplane mode just to get the 4g signal back.  I don't know if its the phones or Verizons network.