Wierd 4G internet failure mode

[Colt45ws]

Every day at work, I go to break and pull out my HTC One X+ to do a bit of surfing. Inevitably the browser cannot find any servers. The 4G icon is sitting in the corner and the whole time its looking for the site, the icon is sending smoke signals back and forth. So for some reason it thinks its connected, but it actually isnt. Ive even gone into the about screen where it will list that its in service on HSPAP. The only way Ive found to fix this issue is to cycle Airplane mode on and back off so it will reconnect to the network. Then it works.
This same behavior occurred on my Motorola Atrix 4G, and I didnt think too much of it; it was buggy..
What I dont get is why it thinks its connected when this happens.
Anybody else seen something like this? Ideas to fix?

 

[dparm]

Sounds like lousy radio firmware. I suspect the handoff between 3G/4G is not very good. I have heard about this in lots of phones -- it tries to hang onto a very weak 4G signal rather than falling back to 3G, yet it makes things worse since it doesn't work at all.

Switch off 4G and see if that helps.

 

[Rand]

I'd have to agree my bionic was terrible when it first came out.
AND the battery life on 4g was about 12hours... idling.


Now it will last a few days and works much better.

 

[dparm]

Just to confirm, you have the latest software updates, right? And are you power cycling the phone periodically?

 

[rjundi]

I wish I would never read about these problems with Android. I am a former Android user (HTC Incredible) and after a required Verizon firmware update rendering my phone junk I went iOS(iphone 4s).

I would love to jump back to Android but it can be flaky. Even the most modern cut on my Nexus 7.

Are there trouble free Android phones where the companies actually do proper QA and development. My guess is Android layer for a phone is developed abroad which can be a disaster in my experiences.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Rand
I'd have to agree my bionic was terrible when it first came out.
AND the battery life on 4g was about 12hours... idling.


Now it will last a few days and works much better.


That's much better than my LG Spectrum. IF I leave the data connection on, I have about 3 hours battery life.

I used to have the option to force it to 3g and I would have EXCELLENT battery life. Verizon got rid of that in an attempt to force people to go over their data limits.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
I wish I would never read about these problems with Android. I am a former Android user (HTC Incredible) and after a required Verizon firmware update rendering my phone junk I went iOS(iphone 4s).

I would love to jump back to Android but it can be flaky. Even the most modern cut on my Nexus 7.

Are there trouble free Android phones where the companies actually do proper QA and development. My guess is Android layer for a phone is developed abroad which can be a disaster in my experiences.



Thanks for trying to take this off-topic. We don't need another iOS vs Android thread. This problem is purely from the radio chipset, not the OS.

 

[BIGJ552000]

Call your carrier. I had similar issues and it turned out to be for me that my sim card was "exhausted", term they used. I guess that it only has so many times it can make connections then just gets flaky. My Sim card lasted about a year with heavy use on the phone. So check that out IF you do have a Sim card.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: BIGJ552000
Call your carrier. I had similar issues and it turned out to be for me that my sim card was "exhausted", term they used. I guess that it only has so many times it can make connections then just gets flaky. My Sim card lasted about a year with heavy use on the phone. So check that out IF you do have a Sim card.


That's bogus. It's a solid state chip and should easily outlast the 2 years you'll likely have it. It annoys me when the first thing they say is "oh let's swap the SIM". Clearly the SIM is working if you're getting service.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yeah, I don't have any way of forcing 3G only from what I can find.
What I did do was find out it had a software update. So its now up to date and has been restarted. I generally dont reboot things without reason.
Ill try it out today and see what happens.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: rjundi
I wish I would never read about these problems with Android. I am a former Android user (HTC Incredible) and after a required Verizon firmware update rendering my phone junk I went iOS(iphone 4s).

I would love to jump back to Android but it can be flaky. Even the most modern cut on my Nexus 7.

Are there trouble free Android phones where the companies actually do proper QA and development. My guess is Android layer for a phone is developed abroad which can be a disaster in my experiences.





Thanks for trying to take this off-topic. We don't need another iOS vs Android thread. This problem is purely from the radio chipset, not the OS.


Okay so poor chip set is that phone maker specific. I like iOs and android just not problems.

 

[Colt45ws]

It was working, but barely today. I got 38/33kbps on speed test until I cycled airplane mode again.
Odd thing is its always worst during my break when the Line next to the lunch room is still operating. During lunch I rarely have any problems and that line does not get going until the last 5-10 minutes or so as lunches are offset 15 minutes for each line. I wonder if some sort of equipment is interfering.
I really doubt it, but its so consistent. Ill have to keep note of when I have problems and see if Im just misremembering.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Yeah, I don't have any way of forcing 3G only from what I can find.
What I did do was find out it had a software update. So its now up to date and has been restarted. I generally dont reboot things without reason.
Ill try it out today and see what happens.


You should reboot the phone every day or every other day. This updates the PRLs.

 

[JHZR2]

While I don't understand why, these chips seem to get corrupted with use. I had a Verizon air card at work for my laptop. Used to work perfect. As it aged, it was nearly impossible to get a 3G data signal, though it woiluld always be "available" and have bars. The blackberry in use right next to it would have real 3G data.

No idea why, but it got worse and worse as time went by.

 

[Colt45ws]

Its a brand new phone. Thats kinda why I didnt think about it too much with my Atrix as it was over 2 years old and had been run hard about half of that with it overclocked and everything.
OH, I found a secret code that you dial and gets you into a special settings menu so you can change which networks it selects. Unfortunately, ATT disables the selection so even though I set it not to try 4G, it will still select it. Ill have to load it with different software.