Huge Problem With Verizon Port And Service

[Climb14er]

I finally ported from ATT to Verizon after my contract expired. The port never went through and I had to intercede and get a hold of the Verizon porting dept. and give them additional information...the same info that I gave the dealer earlier that morning.

I picked up the LG4400B, plugged it in and charged her up. Later that evening after returning from a crawfish and shrimp party, I completed the transfer to Verizon on the LG phone.

Lo and behold, barely any signal strength. One bar barely. No service in my office or anywhere else other than in the front of the house. I am pissed! I was told from the Verizon techs and others that since I am surrounded by Verizon towers close by, there should be no problems. My friends who have Verizon never had a problem here. I checked this plan out, the phone and the location to the nth degree. BillRadio knows this all too well.

Techs told me to exchange the phone for another as it's an equipment problem. Same problem on the other replacement phone as well. No signal strength.

I finally got a top notch manager from Vz to review everything on the phone and connections. He's taken this under his own review and that of the tech dept. I'm waiting for him to get back to me with some answer. I told him and the other managers I spoke with earlier today and yesterday that I want big time payment/compensation from Vz for the seven hours that I wasted following the port and the miles I spent traveling to and from four Radio Shack dealers multiple times.

Right now, I have no workable cell phone, ATT is no longer in the picture as they would only take me back if I signed a new two year agreement and gave up my incredible grandfathered plan that no longer had a contract. I told them, to go screw themselves the arrogant POS's.

Right now, I told Vz that the ball is in their court and nicely told them that they need to get things working and take care of me for all the hours and time and frustration I had to go through.

Any comments and suggestions to help solve the problem that I'm having?

[rich6880]

Slightly different problem, but with same phone and provider. Had 2 previous phones with no problems calling from my house. Now with the 4400, exchanged 2 times, the party that I call says that I break up, sound muffled or mumbling. I think it is the phone. I bought this phone after extensive research, with many good reviews. It is my belief, that the 4400 is a great phone, but has a problem holding a weak signal.

The only advice, is make sure antenna is fully extended and you use it pointing in the direction of the strongest signal.

[rich6880]

Oh yes, I forgot, you may want to force it into different modes, try cell and ver prev ver 4, that may help, It could be that the primary mode is busy or weak in your area. Finally you cannot compare signal strength by looking at the number of bars on different phones

[kjo]

Maybe it is just a characteristic of the phone?

I don't know about the LG4400 very much... but I was having a similiar problem holding a weak signal on my old phone...until I switched to the Nokia 3589i. I haven't had any problems holding a call even with as little as 1 bar of reception out of a possible 7 or 8 bars....
I live in an area right around a bunch of towers to..but for some reason...I slip into this litttle pocket of problems.
My relative from Sweet Home, Oregon (at the base of the mountains...heading over the pass to eastern oregon)... he had a LG4400 and he said he wasn't very happy with it... Since his area is kind've rural too... maybe like rich6880 said.. the lg4400 phone has a problem holding a weak signal.

Good luck to you..

[danny boi]

Originally Posted by Climb14er

I finally ported from ATT to Verizon after my contract expired. The port never went through and I had to intercede and get a hold of the Verizon porting dept. and give them additional information...the same info that I gave the dealer earlier that morning.

I picked up the LG4400B, plugged it in and charged her up. Later that evening after returning from a crawfish and shrimp party, I completed the transfer to Verizon on the LG phone.

Lo and behold, barely any signal strength. One bar barely. No service in my office or anywhere else other than in the front of the house. I am pissed! I was told from the Verizon techs and others that since I am surrounded by Verizon towers close by, there should be no problems. My friends who have Verizon never had a problem here. I checked this plan out, the phone and the location to the nth degree. BillRadio knows this all too well.

Techs told me to exchange the phone for another as it's an equipment problem. Same problem on the other replacement phone as well. No signal strength.

I finally got a top notch manager from Vz to review everything on the phone and connections. He's taken this under his own review and that of the tech dept. I'm waiting for him to get back to me with some answer. I told him and the other managers I spoke with earlier today and yesterday that I want big time payment/compensation from Vz for the seven hours that I wasted following the port and the miles I spent traveling to and from four Radio Shack dealers multiple times.

Right now, I have no workable cell phone, ATT is no longer in the picture as they would only take me back if I signed a new two year agreement and gave up my incredible grandfathered plan that no longer had a contract. I told them, to go screw themselves the arrogant POS's.

Right now, I told Vz that the ball is in their court and nicely told them that they need to get things working and take care of me for all the hours and time and frustration I had to go through.

Any comments and suggestions to help solve the problem that I'm having?

Sorry for your problems. But in reality, what kind of compensation do you want Verizon Wireless to give you for your 7 hrs of inconvenience? Good luck getting gas or sympathy money for your trips to Radio Shack. Not trying to be rude, but these things happen and as frustrating as it is, service isn't available everywhere. It is possible to have bad service in your home. Maybe they'd credit your first bill with a courtesy credit as they should, but if their service is so bad, do you really want to keep them for an entire contract? I would cancel my service. Maybe they are not the service you need and you should try some other carrier who covers your area better. Porting has nothing to do with signal strength. If you keep trying different phones and you keep getting poor signal, then you know what to do. Don't take what I say the wrong way. I just tell it how it is and I wish you the best.

[Climb14er]

I am in an area with FULL digital service, right here in the middle of Denver, with towers all around me. I'm not in some rural area with remote towers miles and miles away.

Vz says' 'can you hear me know' and here I am, in my home with full seven bars from ATT TDMA and Vz assured me going in that I would have full coverage.

I have been on the phone with Vz for many hours. This is MY time. I am paying them for top notch service and quality of transmission only to waste my time and effort trying to get connected. It's not like I'm in some office building on the fringes of their service area. I'm in the middle of their full digital service area.

I know that porting has no inference on signal strength. I was on ATT for ten years with the same number. With all due respect, I ain't no newbie when it comes to cell service.

I've read others complaining about their problems on this forum and I for one checked out the whole gammut BEFORE porting. I am simply amazed the the quality of transmisison and reception sucks when I'm right in the middle of the digital network here in Denver, on top of the valley and not in any shallow areas or blind spots.

Pardon me for *****ing but the phone is my business and if I'm a little PO'ed, then so be it. Vz called me from Az and are working on coming up with a solution. Vz is the only solution for my needs in Colorado as this has been discussed before. ATT is a dying network and the other carriers are not quality players here in Colorado.

[rich6880]

Climber,

I have to agre with you. I know how frustrating it is to be entitled to and expect good service and then find out that big business screwed you. That is how I feel. Let me tell you a bit more of my plight. Before getting this phone and my new contract, I was 17 months into a 24 month contract. My battery was on it's last legs. But, the phone was discontinued by Verizon and I could not find a battery anywhere, so they gave me a new two year contract and this 4400. Now, I have a new contract and phone that is giving me problems.

[Climb14er]

Vz called me up an hour ago and said that the techs are definitely interested as to why there's a problem of low signal strength. They opened up a 'trouble ticket' with number and will look into it in the next day or two hopefully.

Yes, I was/am frustrated and don't usually go looking after a company to compensate me for time and effort on my part into getting it right. I simply want to have the phone work well with good reception and clarity and go about my business of using it.

Vz does appear to have people who want to listen and get to the solution and aside from a couple of the reps who said 'we can't guarantee service in an area', which po'ed me off, the others have been decent in their approach.

I'll listen to what Vz finds out and take one step at a time. ATT could IMHO, go to hell as they wanted me to re=port back to them, under a new contract, without the benefits, and sign a two year agreement. Yeah right, ATT

[danny boi]

No matter what a rep. said, there is absolutely no way he/she could guarantee anyone to have full digital/analog signal in any particular house unless they live with you. It doesn't matter how many towers are close to anyone's house or how good the signal is at your neighbors house, or how good your wife's phone works and yours doesn't. There is just no way. There is too many variables including topographic, terrain, atmospheric or climatic conditions that can affect service; not to mention the building materials of your house/apartment/trailor. Maybe you have metal citing or big trees obstructing your signal. They can only "generalize" an area citing personal experience or customer feedback. I can understand the frustration, but I think people feel if they pay money for service that the carrier will install a repeater in their house just for them. You got to be realistic about the situation. It doesn't work that way. Yes I know "we are the customer," and yes I know "we pay them money." But as adults, we have choices. We aren't forced to do anything we don't choose to. I like to use my wireless phone at home too and if I couldn't use it, I'd try another provider. I'm telling you this as a former long time VZW rep. who has "heard it all." and as a high paying long time customer. Remember, poor service inside our homes is not necessarily a technical issue that can just be fixed by pushing buttons on a computer. It usually falls in the category of coverage and/or poor tower placement.

Where I used to live, my Cingular phone always had great signal outdoors while driving around town, but as soon as I stepped into my place the signal would drop to two bars, then one, then it went to "emergency only." I don't think Cingular could put anymore towers in our area. We were already full of them everywhere. It was just the spot I lived at. My neighbors condo just due south of me had great signal with Cingular inside. I asked Cingular to put up a COW in front of my place to get better service but they said they couldn't help me there. LOL I guess I was just SOL.

By the way, I too had the LG 4400b but returned it after three days. Despite rave reviews, I thought it was the worst performing phone I ever had.

[Airb330]

[quote=By the way, I too had the LG 4400b but returned it after three days. Despite rave reviews, I thought it was the worst performing phone I ever had.[/QUOTE]

The 4400 was a train wreck for me too. Dropped too many calls in places where other phones are totally fine. The phone is great for most people, but not for all.

Climb, I suggest you find a new carrier. Verizon just doesn't seem like it's going to work out. Who knows what is causing the problem, but I'd try T-Mobile or Sprint.

[azcellphonejunkie]

Ask to try the Nokia 3589i. You may find it holds signal strength better for you than the LG 4400. I have no personal experience, just from what I have read an heard from others in the forum.

[WirelessBeachBum]

Since you got your phone from a dealer you will want to make sure the 4400 has the most current software version ( I don't remember which version it is, it's been awhile since I carried that phone.) But the reason is the older software does have some issues with holding signals, and pushing you off into analog signal, so bad in fact I stopped using my corporate issued one and used my Blackberry for all my voice calls for several months, However the newer software fixes many issues.

[azcellphonejunkie]

Originally Posted by WirelessBeachBum

Since you got your phone from a dealer you will want to make sure the 4400 has the most current software version ( I don't remember which version it is, it's been awhile since I carried that phone.) But the reason is the older software does have some issues with holding signals, and pushing you off into analog signal, so bad in fact I stopped using my corporate issued one and used my Blackberry for all my voice calls for several months, However the newer software fixes many issues.

Question?: I have a 4400 but I know the software is old. I got the thing when I was with verizon last year, and it has been almost 12 months since the thing was activated. Would I be able to update the software on it since it is an inactive phone, or would I have to activate it and then have it updated. I am looking to sell it, but want to be able to promote to the buyer that it has the most updated software...

[NYCDru]

I returned my vx4400b after a week for the same issue. My 8900 gives me no such problems.

[Airb330]

Originally Posted by NYCDru

I returned my vx4400b after a week for the same issue. My 8900 gives me no such problems.

Yes, I must say the 8900 performs almost as good as the 3589i. IMO it's the best phone out there on Verizon right now.

[chefofthefuture]

Guys -- assuming the LG is not defective, a different model of phone isn't going to improve the one bar of reception as much as going to a different carrier. I just don't understand when people come back with "Try the Nokia! It's so much better with a low signal!" Well if the guy was just getting full bars on AT&T, wouldn't it just be easier to go back to AT&T?

[budney]

Originally Posted by chefofthefuture

Guys -- assuming the LG is not defective, a different model of phone isn't going to improve the one bar of reception as much as going to a different carrier. I just don't understand when people come back with "Try the Nokia! It's so much better with a low signal!" Well if the guy was just getting full bars on AT&T, wouldn't it just be easier to go back to AT&T?

I would have to strongly disagree with your phone statement. The phone can make a huge difference in the quality of the service you are provided. I have three personal experiances with improved service from switching phones, with 3 companies (Verizon, Sprint, Cingular). The phone shouldn't make a differance, but it dose.

I am wondering if it could be a tower problem or a capacity problem.

[danny boi]

Remember too that the average user will associate 1 or 2 bars with bad signal. It is a known fact that some manufacturers including LG and Kyocera sometimes are a little more conservative with the signal indicator display even when there is good reception. My brother gets two bars of signal with his vx6000 in his bedroom. He's all: "Why does my phone get bad reception in my room?" I said, "Why, can you not make any calls?" He says: "No I only got 2 bars." I then asked if if he could make calls okay and he said yeah. He just thought if he didn't get five or six bars there must be a reception problem. I checked his RF in his debug menu and it was still good. I guess I'm really becoming a nerd. Who would of thought?

[larry]

Originally Posted by YourDaddy

Remember too that the average user will associate 1 or 2 bars with bad signal. It is a known fact that some manufacturers including LG and Kyocera sometimes are a little more conservative with the signal indicator display even when there is good reception. My brother gets two bars of signal with his vx6000 in his bedroom. He's all: "Why does my phone get bad reception in my room?" I said, "Why, can you not make any calls?" He says: "No I only got 2 bars." I then asked if if he could make calls okay and he said yeah. He just thought if he didn't get five or six bars there must be a reception problem. I checked his RF in his debug menu and it was still good. I guess I'm really becoming a nerd. Who would of thought?

I agree that the average user places too much importance on the 'bars'.
This very topic comes up all the time in the sprint forums. I used to have a Kyocera 2255 that would often show 0 or 1 bar and still be able to make and receive calls just fine. I determined that 0-1 bar on a Kyocera was equivalent to 2 bars on a Samsung or 3-4 bars on a Sanyo. Each manufacturer has/had a different way of calibrating their signal meters. Sanyo is the most optimistic often showing 4 bars (older Sanyo models) in a weak signal area. They recently recalibrated their meters to better comform to Sprint's new standards. Part of Sanyos reputation for being the best Sprint phones was artificially created due to their overly generous signal meters.

[chefofthefuture]

I said "bars" just as a measurement of comparison, obviously dB and EC/IO are how we should really measure these things. But instead of critiquing what bars mean, let's get back on topic here....

Originally Posted by climber

No service in my office or anywhere else other than in the front of the house..

Clearly, he's talking about a significant enough difference in quality to bring him to the forum about it. If carrier A is perfect coverage of someone's house, and carrier B has areas of no coverage, suggesting the person stay with carrier B and keep phone swapping is misleading. He might eventually get a marginal signal, but it's not going to be the perfect service he was used to with the previous carrier.

What endless phone swapping suggestions sets up is this: people feel they need to suffer through it. Then, three months from now, these are the people who come back to WA, realizing that they can't put up with it, and then having to pay the ETF. Since this is "wireless advisor", I think we should avoid these situations for people. I was in this exact situation 2 years ago with T-Mobile.

So my take -- go ahead and swap the phone, but when it gets to that 15 day return, if you are still not satisfied, take it back and either go back to your previous carrier or find one that works. I have often suggested here that if you were happy with your current service, do not switch. This is too late for Climber, but don't switch off of AT&T TDMA just because everyone says it's going away. Switch when you are dissatisfied with the service.

[azcellphonejunkie]