READ HERE if you are having 3G connection problems - HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon) - Android Forums

on 26 Mar 2011 12:07 AM

I just bought my Thunderbolt today, I only live in a 3G area, and the internet worked for a few minutes after I purchased the phone, and now the internet does not work at all. I took it back to the Verizon store where I bought it, and they tried for an hour to get the phone to work, and could not. They offered to call tech support in the store, but I had to leave because someone was waiting on me in the car.

Oddly enough, I found out if I remove the battery cover from the phone while the phone is turned on, all of a sudden my internet springs to life! It will work for about 5 or 10 minutes, then the internet loses connection again.

So I just got off the phone with Verizon tech support, and told him exactly what was happening, and he almost instantly identified my device as faulty, and he authorized it to be immediately replaced. The store I bought it from also told me I could get it replaced tomorrow morning if tech support confirmed my device faulty.

Calls and texts work fine, it's just the internet that's affected.

*Note: If you remove the cover, turn it over, and you will notice 2 gold colored contacts that, when placed back on the phone, will short out (connect) the contacts on the back of the phone that it touches. My theory is that when the battery cover is removed, the short between these contacts are broken, and somehow this makes the internet connection work all of a sudden! Kind of strange huh? The Verizon tech on the phone said this is DEFINATELY not normal at all. Hope this helps anyone who's having the exact same problems on this phone!

EDIT: I also need to note that under Settings > Wireless & networks > when I try to select Mobile Network, it says Connection failed. If I uncheck it, and re-check it, it says Turning on... for a few seconds, then it says "Use phone for data connection when Wi-Fi is unavailable", a few minutes later, it turns to "Connection failed." And this process just repeats no matter how many times I try to enable it.

Posted by FAUguy

on 26 Mar 2011 2:48 AM

I found this posted on the Verizon support forum by a customer, he said to go into the Wireless Settings/Mobile Network menu and uncheck the Data Roaming box and change the Select System from Automatic to Home Only. After you do that, turn the phone off and back on. I did that earlier today and so far it has stayed on 4G and hasn't bounced between 3G and 1X like it has been.

If anyone is having issues keeping 4G, you might want to give that a try.

For the battery cover, I too have seen the metal connectors on those. The ones on the middle side are for the Bluetooth (it says BT) if you look close enough, but the other two connectors on the top corner don't say what they are for. If I take off the battery cover, the phone will change to 1X in the matter of a few seconds.

Posted by pete4www

on 26 Mar 2011 8:25 AM

I tried what you suggested many times yesterday, and the Verizon rep at the store tried it too. I tried it again today, and still a no-go. I am leaving to have it exchanged in a few minutes. Thanks for posting that though, it was worth a try, maybe it will help someone else who's having similar issues.

Posted by SkiDude

on 27 Mar 2011 8:25 AM

I have gone through 1 Thunderbolt phone in 3 days. I am now on my second and it has the exact same problem that pete4www has experienced. I took it back to the store after trying every possible option. They worked on it for an hour and suddenly it started working on its own. The first phone allowed you to setup your Gmail account on the phone for about 30 minutes. After that you could no longer do anything with any Gmail account. It kept saying that there are connection problems or the mobile connections are turned off. Worked with Tech Support for 2 hours and they determined the phone was bad.

Thinking about switching back to a BlackBerry or Iphone!

Posted by Magehunter

on 8 Apr 2011 7:28 PM

I ran into this issue also but there is a problem with the network that verizon has built. You can force the thunderbolt into a straight 3g mode and that has worked for me. Here is a link to the dissusion on verizon own website

http://community.vzw.com/t5/ThunderBolt-by-HTC/Thunderbolt-data-service-down/td-p/486246

i hope this helps you beacuse it helped me anyway

Posted by photoman72

on 23 Apr 2011 6:44 PM

I had this issue before and what I did since I just got the phone was to do a factory reset and that solved the issue for me. It seems that the initial setup on the phone did not work correctly but after I did a fresh setup, it now seems to work just fine.

Posted by TBolt NooB

on 9 Aug 2011 10:25 AM

I've had the ThunderBolt for a couple of months now and two firmware updates... the Mobile Hotspot has always been unreliable -working steadily for hours at times but more often in fits and starts. As you describe, the WiFi connection between PC to the TB is rock solid but the TB loses connection to the mobile 4G network despite showing 5 bars of signal strength. You can see the Hotspot app (and even the 4G top screen indicator) flash off an on, sometime disappearing and re-appearing. It happens in the same location, when I'm traveling, in different cities. (The one odd exception was when I was on Maui recently, 5 days before the announced go live date for 4G LTE where I was able to stay connected steadily... (perhaps a traffic load issue?)

Anyway, I do not believe it is an individual device issue (my co -workers are seeing the same thing) but probably either an antenna design flaw possibly combined with a firmware bug. I also have a Verizon 4G USB device and that connects rock solid, just sitting next to the TB that's sputtering along so probably not a network issue.

I am extremely disappointed as I am paying for this crappy non-service and to make matters worse, I depend on this for my business and since it's not reliable, have had to buy another USB device and yet another 2 year plan. The final insult is that neither HTC nor Verizon is taking responsibility and basically is taking the stand that "we got you for two years" we only care about getting new customers -the heck with existing customers.

Posted by Admirl38

on 10 Aug 2011 8:29 AM

I am having the same issue with my phone. And when I called Tech Support, the guy had me factory reset my phone as well, but the 3G still refuses to work. So that won't always fix the issue.