Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
SeaJohn
Newbie

Another update:  My phone did the same thing yesterday (dropped from 4g to 3g/1x/nothing) for a couple of hours.  Making a phone call didn't do anything.  Rebooting did nothing.  Finally 4g came back on its own. 

 

I went to the Verizon store, and told them about the tech support recommending a new sim card.  They were skeptical, but did it.  Today the phone did it again.  I drove back to the Verizon store, and showed the phone to them while it was stuck in 3g mode.  They piddled around with it (including using LTE on/off, which I've heard Verizon recommends against) and finally took it to the back.  They came out a few minutes later with it back in 4g mode.

 

The guy said he power cycled it, and it came back up in 4g mode. 

 

Me: "I've tried that, and it usually doesn't help". 

Him:  "It came right up this time.   The power button is there for a reason.  These things are computers, and sometimes you just have to turn them off and on."

Me: "That's a solution to this problem?  Even though I've done that and it doesn't help?"

Him: "We've never seen this before.  I carry my tbolt 24x7 and it's never done that.  These things have more computing power than the Apollo computers, so they need to be turned off sometimes.  It's just like your Windows computers.  They need to be turned off every night."

(I thought the line about the Apollo computers was old when it was used to describe the PCjr in the 1980's.  And no, Windows computers do not need to be turned off once a day!)

Me: "I had it turned off all night, last night, while it charged." 

Him: "Well, maybe it's the software..."

 

Anyway, by the end, he was recommending a factory reset to see if some piece of software I have on the phone is causing this.  I don't think that's the case, but I'm willing to try. 

 

I don't want to swap the phone out, because I'm pretty sure i'll get a refurb back which will have probably come from someone with the same problem, that the service center was unable to duplicate or fix.

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
AZSALUKI
Legend

try the factory reset. while i am skeptical that it will work, it is worth a try. it's a bit of a hassle because you will have to set everything back up. however, if you do this i'd like to suggest that you only add one or 2 apps each day. this way, if it happens to be an apps that is causing problems, then you'll know which one it is and you can uninstall it. i would go this route before trying to return it for a refurb. i think that google/the market may try to restore all of your downloaded apps at some point in the process. if so, don't let it. add them slowly over time so you can see if a particular app is causing issues.

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
pat3332
Contributor - Level 2

That rep must still be using Windows 98. I restart my Windows 7 computer once every month or two, mainly out of habit. When my 4G drops out and won't come back, restarting the phone will sometimes get my 4G back, but usually only for a short period of time. The last time I had trouble losing 4G at work, I would have spent more time restarting it than using it.

After the update, I uninstalled LTE onOff because that's what Verizon said to do. As soon as I discovered that their new on board network switch left a lot to be desired, I reinstalled LTE because I can usually switch to LTE mode and get it back into 4G without having to do a restart. Verizon's built in nework switch doesn't give you that option. LTE onOff is just a shortcut to using *#*#4636#*#*/Phone info on your keypad. Verizon could have done the same thing and had a better functioning switch with more options.

Like AZSALUKI, I'm skeptical that a factory reset will work because I've already done two resets and neither one fixed my problem. If you try it however, the suggestion to add 1-2 apps at a time back in was a good one. If you do try the factory reset, please be sure to let us know if it helped.

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
Not applicable

@ jboslooper

Thanks for posting. I understand how this can be frustrating. In order to resolve your issue please PM me your mobile telephone number so I can research your account and see what kind of options we have for you? Thanks.

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
ChristinaB_VZW
Verizon Employee

Hi Batherto, 

 

I know it is frustrating for your device to drop to 3G in a 4G area, or 1X. Please try the following steps if you have no internet connection.

 

Dial ##778

Call

Hit edit

Enter 000000

Choose modem settings

Choose Rev A and change to enable

Press commit

At this point the internet should work correctly

 

I assure you that this issue has been raised to HTC and we are waiting on a fix from the manufacturer. Please use the steps above for a temporary work around. 

 

Thank you!

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
pat3332
Contributor - Level 2

ChristinaB,

 

Thanks for that update. I only have trouble when tethering to my laptop at work, but I never had a problem before the last update. I'll try this when I work this weekend and see if it helps.

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
batherto
Newbie

Thank you ChristinaB!

 

I am making that change and will post back to the forum after using the new setting for a while.

 

I appreciate the assistance

 

 

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
chuckwilmot
Contributor - Level 1

Wow.  Add me to the list.  Yesterday I was sitting in my office at work and used my Tbolt all day long as a mobile hotspot for my laptop.  Fast speeds and consistent.  Today I can't get a reliable 4G at all.  Sometimes 3G, sometimes 1X, sometimes nothing.  I've done power off/on, airplane mode off/on, sim pull, and nothing helps.

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
batherto
Newbie

ChristinaB

 

After changing setting as you outlined my phone seemed to prefer 3G mode for most of the day only going to 4GLTE on an occasion just to flip back to 3G. However over the next few days the 4GLTE seemes to be flipping on and off and 3G is the norm.

 

I have since done another complete shutdown and restart which seemed to have little effect on the switching.

 

I did just spend 4 days up in Anaheim, CA and while there the 4GLTE was outstanding! My phone never wavered from it and if it did it was only due to location of the phone (inside an elevator etc.) Since having returned to the North San Diego area my phone has resumed its sitching from 4LTE to 3G to 1X (mostly 4 to 3) I bring this up to the Forum if only to bring new information about my experience with the phone.

 

If I could I would have tried to bring one of the towers from Anaheim back with me :smileyhappy:

 

Brad

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Re: Thunderbolt drops 4G off and on
RobB772
Contributor - Level 3
I'm hoping the official gb update corrects this problem, introduced to my phone by the mr2 update. I'm still doing the data drop, 4G-3G-1X-zip nada nothing connected. Done all "fixes" and unless HTC has no control over their build process thereby putting out a bunch of one off devices, correcting the software bug should remedy. Unless HTC also skips regression testing then we'll be dealing with old bugs again.
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