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Hey everyone, I'm currently in the Air Force and I'm getting stationed in Germany. And due to that I'm going to be freezing my Verizon account till I get back.
Now I really love this phone, and I'd like to keep using it; however, will I be out of luck without an actual service plan? I'm not talking about running it without a data plan. I mean actually no service whatsoever other than the Wifi.
Can it be done?
Can I has Wifi smartphone in Germany?
Thanks much beforehand for any help!
FLACattack said:
Hey everyone, I'm currently in the Air Force and I'm getting stationed in Germany. And due to that I'm going to be freezing my Verizon account till I get back.
Now I really love this phone, and I'd like to keep using it; however, will I be out of luck without an actual service plan? I'm not talking about running it without a data plan. I mean actually no service whatsoever other than the Wifi.
Can it be done?
Can I has Wifi smartphone in Germany?
Thanks much beforehand for any help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, why couldn't you? Put the phone in airplane mode, turn wifi on/off as you please. Last I checked, the didn't ban Wifi in Europe or Germany (yet, the EU does stupid stuff sometimes)
imnuts said:
Umm, why couldn't you? Put the phone in airplane mode, turn wifi on/off as you please. Last I checked, the didn't ban Wifi in Europe or Germany (yet, the EU does stupid stuff sometimes)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it really that easy? Also, what might that limit as far as functionality of the phone other than just calls and texts?
Also, would I need to worry about accidentally turning off the Airplane mode and getting charged again, or does the phone just stop receiving service period?
Thanks much for the help and I'll feel kinds silly if it really was this easy ha.
If you froze your VZW account, you should stop receiving service entirely, and not have to worry about getting calls, 3G, etc. But I could be wrong about that, so if someone could confirm...
Also, does Germany even have CDMA towers? I thought the rest of the world was on GSM.
beenz said:
If you froze your VZW account, you should stop receiving service entirely, and not have to worry about getting calls, 3G, etc. But I could be wrong about that, so if someone could confirm...
Also, does Germany even have CDMA towers? I thought the rest of the world was on GSM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
other countries use cdma (china and india have major carriers that do) and several others as well (peru, etc) if you go to verizon's international travel coverage you can actually see (or used to anyway) what country had what type of coverage and where on a map
however gsm is the major technology used worldwide...i dont have figures handy, but id guess its like 85/15 or something split wise
with emerging lte adoption though at some point in the future id imagine things becoming more unified...or even further split as many carriers may stick with hdspa+ rather than spend the money on lte infrastructure...who knows
i have an epic 4g that has no sevice at all and my kids use it as an ipod with
wifi work great text also as long as u have wifi.
ps i got the phone from a buddy that could not pay a bill for two phone so he suspended the line.
If you deactivate your service, the phone will attempt to connect, but won't be able to. I doubt many overseas carriers would allow data usage for roaming anyway even if airplane mode did get turned off, I'd think they probably only allow calls/texts.
Airplane mode (to save battery from frivolous radio connection attempts) + wifi. You're good.
No cdma in Germany, so no network to connect to to begin with. Verizon wont even let you use a phone in Europe without a special international roaming thing on your account anyways, so they certainly wont allow it to connect if you're suspended
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I was in Germany about 3 weeks ago and I kept my phone in airplane mode and turned WIFI on and off when I wanted internet access. The problem was that I was not able to find any free WIFI - hotel, Starbuck's, etc. all charged a fee. Getting on the internet was not worth the going rate of 5 euros an hour. Your experience may be different; however, except in housing it's unlikely that you will find WIFI on base.
In the past I used an old droid as a portable device around the house. I never enabled airplane mode. I even took it on a trip with me for a media device. I got stranded in TX via buddy pass. I had to take a 27 hour bus trip home. My regular phone died. I couldn't charge the battery on the bus. So I used the droid to call Verizon to turn it on. And then turned it back off when I got home. I never had any issues with getting a data charge on my plan when I was using it as a portable. If it's deactivated in their computers I don't see how it would connect to a phone service.
I assume() that this would be the same with the Fascinate. The Fascinate is nothing more than a small handheld computer that make phone calls. Turn off the phone service and it should continue to do everything else as normal.
I would look into getting a skype account. It may even have some type of free package. You could try to make wifi calls in a pinch. I have no experience with that, but it seems like it would work. I don't know how much it would cost.
In the past two weeks, my mobile data has been down. I don't believe it to be an outage in my area due to the duration of the problem, and the inconsistency with other Verizon Wireless phones. I was running Juice Defender for a while, and every now and then I would notice that the Mobile Network would drop. Toggling the Mobile Network would not fix the problem, either. I usually cleaned out my cached data for the Juice Defender app, turned the app off, then toggled airplane mode once. (Sometimes just toggling Airplane Mode wouldn't fix it, therefore I had to clear the cache for the app.) Now this fails to work. I cannot get my mobile network to connect by any conventional means. When I receive MMS messages, my network will connect long enough to download the attachment. Also when I do a search for a Software Update, it connects just long enough to tell me there aren't any updates for my phone. I've tried updating my PRL with *228 and I've even tried *18 from a post over at Droid Forums. Neither work. I've removed the battery and SIM Card as suggested in some other threads here at XDA. I've also removed the Juice Defender app.
The phone is not rooted and has never been rooted with the Temp Root methods. I'm not opposed to rooting, but if I root, I'm gonna perm root and I would rather not have to factory reset my phone if I don't have to right now. I'm mainly posting this because I cannot find anyone online with the same issue that I am having. Any help would be appreciated. Personally, I think its an issue with Dalvik-VM. I can attach a copy of my LogCat if needed. Any ideas on my issue? Thanks in advance!
Check your power settings, if you are in economy mode it will mess with your data connection.
I have a paid version of JuiceDefender, it has caused me so many problems I don't even bother to install it anymore.
~John
I also have the same issue, tried a couple basebands and could not fix it. I ended up not using it...
Every once in a while my mobile network or just lte somehow gets turned off and I have to turn it back on, but that's rare.
I tried juIce Defender and also had problems losing my connection so I uninstalled it. Plus the settings were so confusing to me. I'm using Green Power now and that seems fine.
You didn't mention mhs so I assume you're not using it but that has known connection issues.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using TapatalK
sunsys14 said:
I also have the same issue, tried a couple basebands and could not fix it. I ended up not using it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever try doing a factory reset? I'm curious to know if that will fix it.
feralicious said:
I tried juIce Defender and also had problems losing my connection so I uninstalled it. Plus the settings were so confusing to me. I'm using Green Power now and that seems fine.
You didn't mention mhs so I assume you're not using it but that has known connection issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Juice Defender gave me fits, too. I'm not using my phone as a Mobile Hotspot, either.
I kinda think its my ROM. I'll play around with some stuff, or I'll just get around to doing a factory reset and see if that fixes the problem. I'll post any solutions here for others.
Are you in a good 4g area? If you scroll down the general section here, you will find my topic. If you use 3g more than 4g, there is a post in that thread about##778#. It helped me. Sorry if it doesn't help you, Cheers.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
I just wanted to let you know that I'm having this problem as well. I AM rooted and running CleanRom, but my daughter has a non rooted Bionic, and both of us suffered a complete loss of data today. My husband's rooted Rezound is fine.
I took my phone into Verizon today, and after initially just trying to swap out the phone (which I wouldn't allow them to do, it took me too long to get my phone the way I want it), they finally switched out the 4G sim card, and the data came back instantly.
When my daughter leaves school today, she will get her 4G card swapped out as well, and we'll see if it is in fact a network connectivity problem.
It seems to me that our 4G phones has a lot of trouble switching from wifi to 3G/4G service.
+1
CocoaGoddess said:
It seems to me that our 4G phones has a lot of trouble switching from wifi to 3G/4G service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will +1 this. My work WiFi is spotty, and so the phone falls in and out of WiFi. The Rezound HATES that and usually leaves me with no connectivity. There is definitely a WiFi->Mobile Network issue.
Try doing a factory reset. Could be a bad device... Im getting amazing reception on mine. I havent even seen my 3G or 1x icons yet. Constant 4G lock.
Forget what I said, my data connection has been dropped again for the past thirty minutes and there's no way for me to get it back.
I'm going to try a factory reset. I *really* don't want to have to send my phone back because my husband is getting amazing coverage on his Rezound. However, we're still in the first week of our Verizon contract, and if this looks like it will be a standing issue, then we'll have to cancel and go crawling back to horrible Sprint.
CocoaGoddess said:
I just wanted to let you know that I'm having this problem as well. I AM rooted and running CleanRom, but my daughter has a non rooted Bionic, and both of us suffered a complete loss of data today. My husband's rooted Rezound is fine.
I took my phone into Verizon today, and after initially just trying to swap out the phone (which I wouldn't allow them to do, it took me too long to get my phone the way I want it), they finally switched out the 4G sim card, and the data came back instantly.
When my daughter leaves school today, she will get her 4G card swapped out as well, and we'll see if it is in fact a network connectivity problem.
It seems to me that our 4G phones has a lot of trouble switching from wifi to 3G/4G service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'm going to try doing this. How painful was it for you to convince them to give you another SIM Card?
Edit: Just read your last post. Please let me know what a factory reset does for you.
They had no issues at all swapping out my 4G card, they certainly couldn't let me walk out of the store with no signal. They knew they had to try something.
The factory reset on the phone appeared to work. I've been steadily switching it from wifi to data, and the data signal picks up, albeit a tad bit slow. Only thing is, I still don't really get 4g, while my husband's Rezound has a great signal.
I got insurance on the phone, so I'll put up with it as long as I can before I start screaming at Verizon.
Good to hear. I'm going to try to switch out my SIM card today and see if that fixes it. I thought maybe it was something with the ROM, seeing as how my 3G will turn on whenever I need to send an MMS message, so a factory reset made sense to me. I just don't want to do it. Lol. Thanks for the info!
I've experienced it twice in the last 24hrs and it just happened to be right after I installed and used LTE OnOff. Don't know if there might be a connection there. I keep forgetting this phone has the ability to switch 4g/3G unlike the TBolt. Needless to say, that app is no longer on the phone.
KORM via the beast known as the Rezound.
I had an issue with the mobile network just dropping in and out (other people in the room did not lose signal). We currently don't have 4G and it is 3G only. I did a factory reset of the phone, but it continued to occur. Took the phone back to Verizon store to exchange it (it was 1 week old). At first they weren't going to and gave me a run around but in the end exchanged it. Have had no problems with new phone.
My girlfriend's Bionic keeps dropping 4G more frequently than my Rezound. I get this problem too though. Usually a toggle of Airplane Mode fixes it...but it's pretty damn annoying. Happens once or twice a day!
A Factory Reset fixed it. Everything went smoothly, too. I backed up all my SMS Messages with HTC's Messaging app, and got my network back as soon as I restored it and set everything back up. Hopefully this will help anyone else who might have had the same problem.
I've been side by side with a fresh Rezound and watched both of them jump from 4g to 1x to 3g and sometimes never 3g. The problems were a million times worse with my droid charge as it's a combination of the handsets and the towers.
Posted via Tapatalk mobile app
Hmmm
I have this happen if I am in an area with NO signal (such as the basement level of my office building) for long time. Only a reboot will bring back data. Does not happen often (maybe 2ce in a month and a half).
I am intrigued by the person who blames the install of LTEOnOff. I have it installed but do not use it. Maybe if I ever have to hard reset (such as if ever run the unlock), I will not reinstall that program.
I know the custom ROMs have a few nice features and clean up some dead wood.
But do any absolutely Fix any of the network issues?
For the record I'm considering OMJ's or Flipz's.
Some background for my question if you interested.
This phone is really starting to suck (Stock Rooted only, no mods).
I really wanted to hold out for possible S-OFF to try any custom ROMs but the phone is becoming useless without doing something.
Last weekend I used my Wifes EVO 3D (my old phone with MeanROM ICS 2.2 on it).
I Tethered from West of Boston to Central NH (2 hr 20 min drive) with out a glitch.
Phone was running Navigation and WIFI Tethered the whole way.
Not one glitch. I've done it many times. My wifes former Touch Pro 2 and EVO 4G was also just as reliable.
Same trip this weekend with the EVO 4G LTE.
Laptop lost WIFI connection to EVO 4G LTE like 5 times.
Sometimes I could get it back by reconnecting or restarting WIFI Tether.
Other times I had to reboot phone, and other times I had to reboot the Laptop to get it back. It just flat out refused to see the phone any more. Even tried shutting WIFI off on laptop and phone, but no, PC or Phone required a reboot not always the same either.
It was also fairly slow and laggy. Just aweful.
When I leave my house with WIFI on, the EVO LTE phone stays connected to WIFI and gets no data until I shut WIFI off. It works fine if I leave work with WIFI on though.
I know there are patches to remove smartsync in several ROMs but the phone was not going to sleep during most of these issues (Had Nav running).
You would need a ROM where someone actually rewrote some code . That's probably not going to happen till source comes out
Saneless One said:
You would need a ROM where someone actually rewrote some code . That's probably not going to happen till source comes out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be true but certainly not always true.
And if it is "code" I must depend on that get fixed it's likely a driver and most developers on XDA don't do drivers.
And that "code" could also be on the Radio Side (where I suspect the real issues are) and that code is never released.
Doing things like enabling the 2nd Core full time (which is enabled on my EVEO 3D) might make things run more stable. I don't know.
Most "code" on my EVO 3D is "stock" it's just borrowed from different phones and some build.prop tweaks.
mswlogo said:
I know the custom ROMs have a few nice features and clean up some dead wood.
But do any absolutely Fix any of the network issues?
For the record I'm considering OMJ's or Flipz's.
Some background for my question if you interested.
This phone is really starting to suck (Stock Rooted only, no mods).
I really wanted to hold out for possible S-OFF to try any custom ROMs but the phone is becoming useless without doing something.
Last weekend I used my Wifes EVO 3D (my old phone with MeanROM ICS 2.2 on it).
I Tethered from West of Boston to Central NH (2 hr 20 min drive) with out a glitch.
Phone was running Navigation and WIFI Tethered the whole way.
Not one glitch. I've done it many times. My wifes former Touch Pro 2 and EVO 4G was also just as reliable.
Same trip this weekend with the EVO 4G LTE.
Laptop lost WIFI connection to EVO 4G LTE like 5 times.
Sometimes I could get it back by reconnecting or restarting WIFI Tether.
Other times I had to reboot phone, and other times I had to reboot the Laptop to get it back. It just flat out refused to see the phone any more. Even tried shutting WIFI off on laptop and phone, but no, PC or Phone required a reboot not always the same either.
It was also fairly slow and laggy. Just aweful.
When I leave my house with WIFI on, the EVO LTE phone stays connected to WIFI and gets no data until I shut WIFI off. It works fine if I leave work with WIFI on though.
I know there are patches to remove smartsync in several ROMs but the phone was not going to sleep during most of these issues (Had Nav running).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just my experience : zero difference in connectivity issues (cellular or WiFi) . Previous 3d and OGEVO both had their issues but in the exact same locations I used them ( work WiFi home WiFi commute cellular) -this thing is just bad comparitively. Wireless N (100Mgps down from Cisco rtr) at office drops CONSTANTLY and even just running l navigation will drop out from suburbs to city ( Chicago ) . Go to Mexico this week and I was there in December and was stunned how well Telcel''s network operated ( very fast 3g no dropped calls - thank god work picks up the tab). New York and San Francisco the week after in which I am very familiar with how my service usually acts so ill have some controls to measure against. Very dissapointing so far LTE can't get here glfast enough- realize I veered slightly off topic but , no, I haven't seen any major difference other than great battery life on Vipers
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
For the record I am currently using Viper ROM and I currently have absolutely no issues paring the phone to my car via Bluetooth in comparison to the stock ROM where my phone will not hold a bluetooth connection.
Dude, honestly, u need to take your phone back and exchange it. Had the same problem with WiFi dropping constantly, about every 5 seconds. Would go to 3g then WiFi. Sometimes switching settings would help, tried rooting and did numerous roms, fixes, mods, but the problem was still there.
Well, I took my phone back bc I bricked the secure element somehow and my new phone has none of those issues. I believe it is a faulty receiver/radio. Trust me and take it back for a new one before your 30 days is up. U will thank me.
Sent from my EVO using XDA
I got my evo this past friday and I've been using my wifi more than my 3G and i haven't had problems. May wanna take it back and have them check it out.
mswlogo said:
I know the custom ROMs have a few nice features and clean up some dead wood.
But do any absolutely Fix any of the network issues?
For the record I'm considering OMJ's or Flipz's.
Some background for my question if you interested.
This phone is really starting to suck (Stock Rooted only, no mods).
I really wanted to hold out for possible S-OFF to try any custom ROMs but the phone is becoming useless without doing something.
Last weekend I used my Wifes EVO 3D (my old phone with MeanROM ICS 2.2 on it).
I Tethered from West of Boston to Central NH (2 hr 20 min drive) with out a glitch.
Phone was running Navigation and WIFI Tethered the whole way.
Not one glitch. I've done it many times. My wifes former Touch Pro 2 and EVO 4G was also just as reliable.
Same trip this weekend with the EVO 4G LTE.
Laptop lost WIFI connection to EVO 4G LTE like 5 times.
Sometimes I could get it back by reconnecting or restarting WIFI Tether.
Other times I had to reboot phone, and other times I had to reboot the Laptop to get it back. It just flat out refused to see the phone any more. Even tried shutting WIFI off on laptop and phone, but no, PC or Phone required a reboot not always the same either.
It was also fairly slow and laggy. Just aweful.
When I leave my house with WIFI on, the EVO LTE phone stays connected to WIFI and gets no data until I shut WIFI off. It works fine if I leave work with WIFI on though.
I know there are patches to remove smartsync in several ROMs but the phone was not going to sleep during most of these issues (Had Nav running).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in RI and kept my Evo og just for tethering. If you were satisfied with the 3d, then the lte will seem more effectual in fringe area reception. Though not as good as the OG in my particular area. The og bounces across a bay without issues. Did I just say sprint has shoddy coverage? Whoops. Didn't mean to.
What I'm getting to is that the risk of depending on htc unlock, vs new radios might be worth evaluating.
Anthonicia said:
Dude, honestly, u need to take your phone back and exchange it. Had the same problem with WiFi dropping constantly, about every 5 seconds. Would go to 3g then WiFi. Sometimes switching settings would help, tried rooting and did numerous roms, fixes, mods, but the problem was still there.
Well, I took my phone back bc I bricked the secure element somehow and my new phone has none of those issues. I believe it is a faulty receiver/radio. Trust me and take it back for a new one before your 30 days is up. U will thank me.
Sent from my EVO using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the data point.
I did try calling Sprint and the tech said I need to shut WIFI off when I leave home and work. They were clueless. After I explained to them how it's supposed to work they said I need to have tech look at it.
Yeah I'm sure they can repeat the problems at will. Some days it's fine.
I don't get WIFI drop outs. Biggest problem is it won't let go of the WIFI when I leave home and that locks data up until I toggle the WIFI enable. Leaving work it's fine.
I have put a custom ROM on it now (flipz). And it's running better. But did have to switch it to 2.4Ghz only again. I do like some the custom ROM features and it allows be to better monitor Data (since it show 1x or 3x) and I can do full nandroid backup to compare changes.
However I did see the bouncey thing when you wake it goes to WIFI to 3G to WIFI again and that I believe is a sign of it struggling.
Then I looked into my Router for more settings to play with and learned Bluetooth can interfere with WIFI (i.e. there are settings for it in my router).
I'm 99% sure this is the problem (and may or may not be the phones fault).
This would explain why a "new" phone could fix an issue because each time you pair a bluetooth device it may choose a different channel. Some channels will conflict with WIFI more than others.
It may explain why some people have no issues too. Can depend on your bluetooth devices as well.
I started a seperate thread on this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721196
I'm amazed nobody has responded.
For grins I left Bluetooth off today and it has run flawless. It didn't get stuck on WIFI when I leave home and it always did.
I need to dig into how to check what channel bluetooth is paired on and how I can control what channel is uses.
mswlogo said:
Thanks for the data point.
I did try calling Sprint and the tech said I need to shut WIFI off when I leave home and work. They were clueless. After I explained to them how it's supposed to work they said I need to have tech look at it.
Yeah I'm sure they can repeat the problems at will. Some days it's fine.
I don't get WIFI drop outs. Biggest problem is it won't let go of the WIFI when I leave home and that locks data up until I toggle the WIFI enable. Leaving work it's fine.
I have put a custom ROM on it now (flipz). And it's running better. But did have to switch it to 2.4Ghz only again. I do like some the custom ROM features and it allows be to better monitor Data (since it show 1x or 3x) and I can do full nandroid backup to compare changes.
However I did see the bouncey thing when you wake it goes to WIFI to 3G to WIFI again and that I believe is a sign of it struggling.
Then I looked into my Router for more settings to play with and learned Bluetooth can interfere with WIFI (i.e. there are settings for it in my router).
I'm 99% sure this is the problem (and may or may not be the phones fault).
This would explain why a "new" phone could fix an issue because each time you pair a bluetooth device it may choose a different channel. Some channels will conflict with WIFI more than others.
It may explain why some people have no issues too. Can depend on your bluetooth devices as well.
I started a seperate thread on this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721196
I'm amazed nobody has responded.
For grins I left Bluetooth off today and it has run flawless. It didn't get stuck on WIFI when I leave home and it always did.
I need to dig into how to check what channel bluetooth is paired on and how I can control what channel is uses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're onto something... If I leave the house and wifi sticks on, then I normally have to reboot phone before I can connect to wifi again. Simply toggling wifi off and on doesn't work.
So on a whim, I turned off bluetooth. Then turned wifi off and back on, and bam! Connected! Hmmmm....
dre22era said:
For the record I am currently using Viper ROM and I currently have absolutely no issues paring the phone to my car via Bluetooth in comparison to the stock ROM where my phone will not hold a bluetooth connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird. I had opposite. Rooted, S-off and flashed MeanROM which really liked but bluetooth on one of my cars that was foolproof on stock became very hard to connect. Went back to stock and connects fine again. Miss the customization and may try again. Was a good exercise putting back to stock if ever need to return phone to Sprint.
Hi All-
Pre-TL;DR: Got rooted S4. NOT USING A DLINK ROUTER. All wifi networks disappear and reappear 'randomly'.
So I got my S4 from Verizon on Friday the 24th. I set it up and went on my way. About two days after I got it I noticed 'slow' download while on the wifi. Didn't matter what I was doing; google play, downloading a game's extra data, or even just sitting there doing nothing. As I looked into it I found that my wifi connection was dropping. I'm not talking about disconnect and reconnect, but wifi in general would drop. I verified this while sitting in my living room. I live in an apartment and there are a lot of neighbors with wifi. While looking at the available wifi networks I noticed every few seconds ALL of the available networks would disappear (showing only my saved networks). I used a wifi analyzer and changed my wifi channel to an unused channel, checked for firmware updates (both router and phone), but nothing changed. On Tuesday I started work after the holidays and decided to test the wifi on my companies guest wifi. I was seeing the same stuff happening at work. I don't think it's my router(s) because all wifi goes away, not just the specific wireless network. I have the stock S4 that has been rooted using open1your1eyes0's guide
[GUIDE] Root for Verizon Galaxy S4 ***Updated 5/27 - 2:30 AM***, however I noticed this before I rooted it. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm about to take it to Verizon on Thursday.
Phone: Galaxy S4
Carrier: Verizon
Model: SCH-I545
Android: 4.2.2
Kernel: 3.4.0-562219
I experienced this problem on Saturday when I got the phone-Called Verizon and was transferred to Samsung-they told me this is a known issue in the phone and it will require an antenna swap to fix. Apparently they have fixed the phones they are manufacturing now, however the ones which were initially released all have this problem.
Vzw has been no help at all in resolving this, and pretty much have told me "too bad, so sad". Really crappy of them.
fleury2966 said:
Hi All-
Pre-TL;DR: Got rooted S4. NOT USING A DLINK ROUTER. All wifi networks disappear and reappear 'randomly'.
So I got my S4 from Verizon on Friday the 24th. I set it up and went on my way. About two days after I got it I noticed 'slow' download while on the wifi. Didn't matter what I was doing; google play, downloading a game's extra data, or even just sitting there doing nothing. As I looked into it I found that my wifi connection was dropping. I'm not talking about disconnect and reconnect, but wifi in general would drop. I verified this while sitting in my living room. I live in an apartment and there are a lot of neighbors with wifi. While looking at the available wifi networks I noticed every few seconds ALL of the available networks would disappear (showing only my saved networks). I used a wifi analyzer and changed my wifi channel to an unused channel, checked for firmware updates (both router and phone), but nothing changed. On Tuesday I started work after the holidays and decided to test the wifi on my companies guest wifi. I was seeing the same stuff happening at work. I don't think it's my router(s) because all wifi goes away, not just the specific wireless network. I have the stock S4 that has been rooted using open1your1eyes0's guide
[GUIDE] Root for Verizon Galaxy S4 ***Updated 5/27 - 2:30 AM***, however I noticed this before I rooted it. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm about to take it to Verizon on Thursday.
Phone: Galaxy S4
Carrier: Verizon
Model: SCH-I545
Android: 4.2.2
Kernel: 3.4.0-562219
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nghthawk47 said:
was transferred to Samsung-they told me this is a known issue in the phone and it will require an antenna swap to fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nghthawk and Fleury, I was so happy to see your posts!!! So it's not just a firmware issue!!!
I have a non-rooted S4 and have the same experience. I was with T-Mobile for a week before I transferred to Verizon and had the exact issue there. (I have a co-worker who has a Sprint S4 that doesn't have this problem.) I have this issue both on my home router (Linksys) and at work (Motorola). Previously, I had an S2 and never saw this issue once, neither at home nor at work. I also spoke to Verizon who told me to talk to Samsung. Samsung (via email) has had me try all kinds of crazy manual WiFi settings - none of which work - or are at all practical...
I'm still within my first 14 days of signing with Verizon, so I can still jump ship to get rid of this phone. I'd really rather not spend another __ hours setting up another one, though.
Perhaps you could help me with a bunch of questions I have - please... I really need help with this...
1. Who told you that the antenna needs to be replaced - Samsung or Verizon?
2. Is that documented somewhere that you know of?
3. Is either Verizon or Samsung going to cover the antenna swap?
4. Who / when is supposed to do that for you?
5. What do you suggest I do in my situation (e.g. being within the first 14 days)?
6. If it's an antenna issue, would that affect voice calls (quality / dropping), as well?
Thanks so much!
Eliezer
I will try to answer your questions as best as I can...
1. Who told you that the antenna needs to be replaced - Samsung or Verizon?-Samsung repair rep
2. Is that documented somewhere that you know of?-I'm sure Samsung has it in writing, Verizon is still in denial-having talked to their executive offices today-to which they are clueless and a waste of time
3. Is either Verizon or Samsung going to cover the antenna swap? Yes!
4. Who / when is supposed to do that for you? Samsung told me to send it now, however I am traveling and can't do that at the moment
5. What do you suggest I do in my situation (e.g. being within the first 14 days)? I would keep the phone, they will get it fixed, they don't really have a choice, approx sales are around 80 million units-they can't just ignore it-plus we are going to be the first to get aws spectrum...
6. If it's an antenna issue, would that affect voice calls (quality / dropping), as well? I have no problems with call quality, in fact, it is far better than my Galaxy Nexus which I traded in to get this. I have had 4G also act up to where it just freezes and fails to deliver internet, even though I will show 3-4 bars as well as the 4G lit up....So I believe it seems to only effect data.
EliezerB said:
Nghthawk and Fleury, I was so happy to see your posts!!! So it's not just a firmware issue!!!
I have a non-rooted S4 and have the same experience. I was with T-Mobile for a week before I transferred to Verizon and had the exact issue there. (I have a co-worker who has a Sprint S4 that doesn't have this problem.) I have this issue both on my home router (Linksys) and at work (Motorola). Previously, I had an S2 and never saw this issue once, neither at home nor at work. I also spoke to Verizon who told me to talk to Samsung. Samsung (via email) has had me try all kinds of crazy manual WiFi settings - none of which work - or are at all practical...
I'm still within my first 14 days of signing with Verizon, so I can still jump ship to get rid of this phone. I'd really rather not spend another __ hours setting up another one, though.
Perhaps you could help me with a bunch of questions I have - please... I really need help with this...
1. Who told you that the antenna needs to be replaced - Samsung or Verizon?
2. Is that documented somewhere that you know of?
3. Is either Verizon or Samsung going to cover the antenna swap?
4. Who / when is supposed to do that for you?
5. What do you suggest I do in my situation (e.g. being within the first 14 days)?
6. If it's an antenna issue, would that affect voice calls (quality / dropping), as well?
Thanks so much!
Eliezer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be useful for those of us still on the sidelines if we can determine if we are getting a fixed version or one with this problem still.
This is one of the reasons I didn't jump in yet - to wait out any early production issues. Well, and still hoping for a 32 or 64gb version.
Interesting. I have a lot of the same issues. My WiFi is so bad I can't see any other WiFi networks on my device from my house where my other devices see 5 to 6. If I go into my daughters room my WiFi pretty much drops completely every time.
I just got off the phone with Samsung tier two / advanced tech support. He told me that my phone was manufactured May 15th... If a two week old phone has the problem, I cannot imagine the "new" ones don't also... He said they have no known issues submitted by Verizon for WiFi connectivity of the S4. Due the fact that it can connect to WiFi, he didn't think it sounded like a hardware issue. He suggested testing by taking the password off my router and seeing how it holds the signal. He said if it was able to maintain a connection like that, it must either be the router firmware or phone software issue.
Verizon said they could swap it with a new one for me - but there's no guarantee (or reason to think) that the same thing won't happen with that new one. And the option of sending it to Samsung and not having it for 11-12 business days isn't very appealing, either...
Not so happy about this...
Eliezer
you do know that the WiFi isse with DLink routers (DIR-655 and DIR-855) is not restricted to only those routers right? It does exist with other brand routers from whats been written about it.
Point being i have a DIR-655 router and had the connect drop connect drop issue and all I did was uncheck the WMM option and rebooted my router and its rock solid. WMM is kind of pointless, 95% of ppl can't even see a difference using it. I don't even think any of the public access points i've run into even have that enabled either.
If it's just your home wifi your having an issue with, turn off WMM in the router settings if you haven't already
Any updates about this? I'm experiencing wifi issues with my S4 where the signal I get on wifi is just horrible. Finally went into work today where we have an open wifi network on the entire campus, and I can't even get 2 bars of wifi from my desk, where my Galaxy Nexus would get 4. When it does connect, it's horribly slow. This has got to be a hardware issue. I may bring it back to Verizon, but I'm wondering if they will even believe me and swap the device.
Well, since I originally posted on this thread - and had commented that I saw this issue on both Verizon and T-Mobile - using both Motorola and Linksys routers --- I've switched to AT&T. I got one of their S4s and have had rock-solid WiFi connectivity with those same two routers ever since...
Not sure what to say...
I experienced my WiFi dropping like that once... how ever.. never again... really weird.. I have better Wifi then I did on my last phone.
musicfreak190 said:
I experienced my WiFi dropping like that once... how ever.. never again... really weird.. I have better Wifi then I did on my last phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which carrier are you on?
Just compared to my friend's S4. With the two S4's sitting next to each other on my desk, he gets 4 bars of wifi at -46 dbm in Network Signal Info. I get 1 bar, and -88dbm! I walked directly the nearest ceiling mounted access point and my signal went up to -71dbm while he went to -40. So yea I definitely have some issues.
fleury2966 said:
Hi All-
Pre-TL;DR: Got rooted S4. NOT USING A DLINK ROUTER. All wifi networks disappear and reappear 'randomly'.
So I got my S4 from Verizon on Friday the 24th. I set it up and went on my way. About two days after I got it I noticed 'slow' download while on the wifi. Didn't matter what I was doing; google play, downloading a game's extra data, or even just sitting there doing nothing. As I looked into it I found that my wifi connection was dropping. I'm not talking about disconnect and reconnect, but wifi in general would drop. I verified this while sitting in my living room. I live in an apartment and there are a lot of neighbors with wifi. While looking at the available wifi networks I noticed every few seconds ALL of the available networks would disappear (showing only my saved networks). I used a wifi analyzer and changed my wifi channel to an unused channel, checked for firmware updates (both router and phone), but nothing changed. On Tuesday I started work after the holidays and decided to test the wifi on my companies guest wifi. I was seeing the same stuff happening at work. I don't think it's my router(s) because all wifi goes away, not just the specific wireless network. I have the stock S4 that has been rooted using open1your1eyes0's guide
[GUIDE] Root for Verizon Galaxy S4 ***Updated 5/27 - 2:30 AM***, however I noticed this before I rooted it. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm about to take it to Verizon on Thursday.
Phone: Galaxy S4
Carrier: Verizon
Model: SCH-I545
Android: 4.2.2
Kernel: 3.4.0-562219
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you able to change the title of this thread to include "Samsung Verified Issue" or something to that effect so that it will be more noticeable for others?
EliezerB said:
Which carrier are you on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon
wolfgrrl said:
Are you able to change the title of this thread to include "Samsung Verified Issue" or something to that effect so that it will be more noticeable for others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not from what I can tell. I can edit the post, but I think a mod has to edit the title.
Update tho to my op:
After a factory reset and a re-root I noticed that this issue had stopped. It happened one more time after that, however, after a reboot it was fine again. I have yet to run into the problem again. This leads me to believe that there is a software issue (would also make sense why only Verizon phones seem to be affected) and not a hardware issue. I heard that google is going to release a 'clean' version of the S4 rom when they launch their carrier-less S4. I may just wait till that phone is released and flash that and see what happens.
I'm flashing mine to stock and doing a factory reset right now. Hoping it fixes the issue for now.
Eric214 said:
you do know that the WiFi isse with DLink routers (DIR-655 and DIR-855) is not restricted to only those routers right? It does exist with other brand routers from whats been written about it.
Point being i have a DIR-655 router and had the connect drop connect drop issue and all I did was uncheck the WMM option and rebooted my router and its rock solid. WMM is kind of pointless, 95% of ppl can't even see a difference using it. I don't even think any of the public access points i've run into even have that enabled either.
If it's just your home WiFi your having an issue with, turn off WMM in the router settings if you haven't already
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to add my own experience. I have a Verizon Galaxy S4 -- SCH-I545. I managed to fix the disconnection problem by using a static IP address on the phone side since the work router serves up the same one to my device every time, so I'm not causing collisions (and I don't have control of the router at work). I was getting 'failed to get IP address' messages when the connection dropped. See here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42172004&postcount=29
However, reading other posts about the antenna issue, I'm starting to think that it might just be that. I'm about 20 feet equidistant from 2 wireless routers at work, and using the *#197328640 hidden menu, then Menu button, then WiFi, my RSSI goes from -68 to -74 and goes up to about -52 to -55 when I'm about 3 feet from the AP I'm associated with. Does that seem low? According to what I've googled it seems like it is low...
---
And to think I was about to give up on contacting Samsung because they refused to acknowledge my Bluetooth issue here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2304828
With the BT issue I've done extensive troubleshooting and pretty sure it's not a software issue (at least not other apk's interfering) but possibly the bluetooth implementation or drivers itself.
:sigh: Now I'm going to have to test with the other S4 to see I get the same WiFi signal strength, at least at home, anyway.
So update for me, took mine to Verizon and they swapped it out. This one gets a great wifi signal.
trmiv said:
So update for me, took mine to Verizon and they swapped it out. This one gets a great wifi signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging by your earlier numbers mine is fine. I compared it to an S3 and another Verizon S4 and both have about the same RSSI +/ 5 of each other at the same point at home... so the issue I'm facing is probably just related to the router at work I have no control over.
Hoping that someone here can help, or point me to a better forum for this type of problem. I'm starting here since my device is the i717.
I have the Galaxy Note i717. It has been rooted and running various roms over the past year. I have had no problems with my cell service, data or voice, in all that time. No wifi problems either. A few months ago, when Jelly Bean was released for the i717, I flashed it, completely stock, but still rooted. Worked great for me without any issues until a week ago.
So, I went on vacation, and everything worked great there, including wifi. I came back to work, and noticed that I did not have data service in our building. I did have voice/sms service though. Voice & SMS were tested and verified to be working. I rebooted the phone without luck. Cycled Airplane mode without luck. Pulled battery without luck. Turned data off, then rebooted, and turned it back on without luck. Needless to say, I have read about every hint I could find for data connection problems, and think I have tried them all.
Our office has an AT&T installed repeater system (not one of those little ones that you put in your house, but a true repeater, with equipment in our communication room, and with an antenna on the roof that connects with the main AT&T tower a few miles up the road. Antenna up the road is 4G-LTE, but our repeater is only HSPA+). In 3 years being in this building, I have not had any previous problems with my cellular connection through the repeater.
I went to lunch, and as soon as I left the building, emails started coming in. I had 4G-LTE again. Went back in building, and lost the mobile data connection again. I talked to a few other people in the building with AT&T phones (none have an i717), and they were working fine from the repeater.
Next, I re-flashed the phone with the stock ROM, still rooted and custom recovery, and still no luck. I flashed an old backup I had from when I ran ICS, no luck.
Now it was time for desperate measures. We rebooted the repeater antenna in our building, and still no luck. We have talked to AT&T, and of course, they are no help, and we can't get a tech to at least attempt to find out why only my phone has problems with their repeater.
Next, I got more desperate. I did a complete factory wipe/restore of my phone with odin, all the way back to the day like I took it out of the box. No root, no custom recovery. Still has the same problem with the repeater.
Now, I'm starting to think my phone is broke, except for the fact that I leave the building, and instantly connect up with the 4G-LTE tower. When I drive home, I have a few areas I go through that are only HSPA+, and I connect to those fine. It seems to only be a problem with the repeater here, but I don't understand why the other AT&T phones are able to connect without any problems.
I have tried 5 or 6 different modems (UCMD3, UVLG3, UCLF6, etc.).
My APN is the same as it always has been, but I did find a few others and tried them, and even though they worked outside the building, I would lose the mobile data connection as soon as I came in the building.
I also got with our companies "phone person", and they even set me up with a new SIM card, just in case something was flaking out on the original card, but no luck there either.
We have calls in with AT&T, but it has been a few days, and we can't be sure they are going to get a tech person to help or not. From the sounds of it, I won't count on it.
We do have wifi in the office, but it is restricted, so I generally do not connect to it, and just stay on my mobile connection for everything. But even if I do connect to the office wifi, I can't receive MMS messages, because they seem to only come in on the mobile data connection, even if wifi is connected to the internet. I tested this a couple of times, and I could not get my MMS until I went outside and connected to the tower 4G-LTE service, then they came right in.
So...what kind of help or direction can any of you give me? I'm up for suggestions, and will be happy to clarify any of the above.
I ran a log report (had a hell of a time figuring out how to get the logs from a JB phone, but found that CatLog is able to do it now). I was not able to interpret what I was seeing in the logs, but if someone knows how to read them, I can see if I can export them from CatLog, just let me know that you feel you can understand it, and I will send it to you.
I ran CatLog recording while the phone was without a mobile data connection, then cycled airplane mode, and watched it attempt to do a data connect and fail. That is when I stopped the log, so it should just be showing that info for the most part. I'm just wondering if the log shows something that I could throw at AT&T to get them to come look at the problem more.
Thanks everyone. Sorry such a long post, but I want to give as much detail as I could.
Butch
Turn off the repeater.