I occasionally get no service one minute, but 5 bars the next

[HaxorNubcake]

I have a motorola razr v3 (like everyone else) and am on t-mobile's networks.

One minute I'll have 5 bars of service, but then the next I will have no service and won't be able to send texts or make calls. If I "restart" my phone or wait maybe 15 minutes then it will show service again.

Also, I will at times have 1 bar of service, but as soon as I make a call or send a text, the service will increase to 5 bars.

I'm assuming that this is probably some battery saving feature or something, but when it goes to no service, it's a huge inconvenience.

anyone else have this problem/know a solution?

Cliffs:
1)Fluctuating service with t-mobile.
2)solution?

*might be wrong forum. sorry

 

[Journer]

get a new phone...razrs suck donkey balls...ive been with tmobile for years and years...never had any service problems...only problems i had were with ****** phones (moto's mostly) i currently have a blackberry (normal plan, no data service) and i get excellent coverage in pretty much all areas...never had the problems your speaking of

 

[miri]

Stay away from Motorola if their phones are anywhere near as buggy as their HD-DVR cable boxes

Get a Samsung t509 or the other new one

 

[HaxorNubcake]

Originally posted by: miri
Stay away from Motorola if their phones are anywhere near as buggy as their HD-DVR cable boxes

Get a Samsung t509 or the other new one

I wanted the t509 but they didn't have it

 

[TuxDave]

I've been avoiding motorola phones for a while ever since i got two really buggy ones from them.

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: HaxorNubcake

Originally posted by: miri
Stay away from Motorola if their phones are anywhere near as buggy as their HD-DVR cable boxes

Get a Samsung t509 or the other new one

I wanted the t509 but they didn't have it

where u buy it from? They have em online and they got black version now

 

[mugs]

I've noticed that before. I figure there's a limit on the number of calls a tower can handle at one time, so if a tower is operating at max capacity it won't be figured in the signal strength. When the tower becomes available, your signal strength goes up.

That's just my theory, who knows.

 

[chcarnage]

The WLAN status icon in OS X occasionally shows full strength after logging in. The software hasn't determined the actual strength yet and corrects after a short time. Maybe a similar mechanism is at work here and one status is only a placeholder for a yet undetermined strength?

 

[HaxorNubcake]

Originally posted by: chcarnage
The WLAN status icon in OS X occasionally shows full strength after logging in. The software hasn't determined the actual strength yet and corrects after a short time. Maybe a similar mechanism is at work here and one status is only a placeholder for a yet undetermined strength?

well I occasionally encounter the same problem when I'm in a room for a couple of hours. I'll have service for an hour or so, and then i'll lose it, then get it back.

 

[HaxorNubcake]

hm I was just going through the settings menu on the phone, and under network setup, theres settings for band, type, and speed. Band and type are both on automatic and make sense, but what does the speed setting do? There is Slow, Medium, Fast, and Continuous. It's currently set on medium. Could this be the culprit?

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: HaxorNubcake
hm I was just going through the settings menu on the phone, and under network setup, theres settings for band, type, and speed. Band and type are both on automatic and make sense, but what does the speed setting do? There is Slow, Medium, Fast, and Continuous. It's currently set on medium. Could this be the culprit?

That's an interesting setting. Don't know about that phone to comment specifically.

It sounds like data transfer speeds though of which continous or fast would give highest throughput but would draw down battery quicker.

Don't think it would affect voice signal strength or quality though.

You may want to try locking the band however, if the phone is drifting between towers and/or band.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

step away from the microwave

 

[arcas]

I occasionally see something similar with my Treo 700p. It'll fluctuate between 2 bars and 5 bars over the span of a couple minutes. Don't think I've ever seen it drop to zero bars while I'm stationary.

BTW, microwaves shouldn't interfere with cell phones. Microwaves are 2.4ghz or thereabouts. Cellphones use one (or more) of: 850mhz, 900mhz, 1800mhz or 1900mhz.

 

[HaxorNubcake]

bump for the evening crowd

 

[Goosemaster]

Your Problem is T-Mobile

 

[AreaCode707]

Might be the phone antenna dying - take it into a store and tell them the problem?

 

[HaxorNubcake]

Originally posted by: HotChic
Might be the phone antenna dying - take it into a store and tell them the problem?

hmm it's like a 1 month old phone. I guess i'll try complaining to them

 

[silverpig]

They have 5 bars now? I always thought it was 4...

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: silverpig
They have 5 bars now? I always thought it was 4...

I get 6 bars here, but then again I live near a cell tower

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: HaxorNubcake
hm I was just going through the settings menu on the phone, and under network setup, theres settings for band, type, and speed. Band and type are both on automatic and make sense, but what does the speed setting do? There is Slow, Medium, Fast, and Continuous. It's currently set on medium. Could this be the culprit?

Pretty sure that is how often it "searches" for a tower or signal. Whenever I set mine to continuous or fast it runs the battery down quicker and comes back into service faster when I lose coverage.