3G drops to 1x on lollipop

[Miklb58]

I just updated my Note4 on vzw yesterday, and I was experimenting with the Advanced Calling feature.
I live on the fringe of 4G & my reception is mostly 2 +/- bars of 3G.
As soon as I hit the send button, (to make a call) the signal drops from 3G to 1x and stays there.
I don't remember it doing that before, but have to admit that I never really watched it either.
If I go outside to where I can get a 4G signal, it stays on 4G.
My wife's Note4 is still on KitKat, and her's will stay on 3G when a call is initiated.
I even tried turning the advanced calling feature off, but 3G still drops off to 1x when a call is initiated.
An FDR may be in my future....

 

[furbearingmammal]

Advanced Calling only works on LTE. It's not called V(oice)o(ver)LTE for nothing.

 

[Miklb58]

Advanced Calling only works on LTE. It's not called V(oice)o(ver)LTE for nothing.

Yes, I understand that.
The issue that I'm reporting here is that my 3G signal drops to 1x and stays there as long as there is a phone call in use, and it appears to be related to the Lollipop update.

 

[Miller6386]

Turn off your advanced calling and see what that does. Since your on an edge area if the signal is really weak just trying to use it could push it over the edge and send it to a lower state.... Seems odd but let's rule out 1 thing at a time.

Note 4Tified

 

[furbearingmammal]

Turn off your advanced calling and see what that does. Since your on an edge area if the signal is really weak just trying to use it could push it over the edge and send it to a lower state.... Seems odd but let's rule out 1 thing at a time.

Note 4Tified

That's what I was trying to get at in my post, but I didn't explicitly say it, so I understand the misunderstanding.

 

[Miklb58]

[quote uid=230959 name="Miller6386" post=2609528]Turn off your advanced calling and see what that does. Since your on an edge area if the signal is really weak just trying to use it could push it over the edge and send it to a lower state.... Seems odd but let's rule out 1 thing at a time.<br /><br />Note 4Tified[/QUOTE]

Thanks guys, but as I stated in the original post, I had already attempted that, but just to be sure, i tried it again and the same thing happens.

 

[furbearingmammal]

Is it staying off?

 

[Miklb58]

Is it staying off?

Yes. As long as the phone is "in call", it stays on 1x. As soon as the phone call ends, it switches back to 3G.
I've even tried calling IN from another phone, and as soon as the phone sees the incoming call, it switches from 3G to 1x.
I place my wife's phone (Note4, vzw, KK) on a table side by side with mine, and her's stays on 3G always.

 

[furbearingmammal]

I was referring to Advanced Calling. Is it staying off when you turn it off, as in do you have to reactivate it?

If it's somehow locked on that would explain it. Are you using WiFi at the same time?

 

[Miklb58]

I was referring to Advanced Calling. Is it staying off when you turn it off, as in do you have to reactivate it?

If it's somehow locked on that would explain it. Are you using WiFi at the same time?

Oh, sorry.
Yes, advanced calling is off and it stays off.
I've tried turning WiFi off to no avail.
I tried rebooting twice yesterday with no change, but I did not try rebooting after turning advanced calling off. I'll try that now.

 

[Miklb58]

Ok, no change.
Advanced Calling was turned off, & I rebooted the phone. Once it was up, I checked and Advanced Calling was still off.
Set the phone down and had 3 bars of 3G, and I called the phone from a landline. As soon as the connection was made, the cellular signal indicator dropped to 1x, and immediately upon disconnecting the call it switches back to 3G.
Also ran the test with WiFi off, with identical results.

 

[bsweetness]

It's switching to 1X because that's what is used for calls on Verizon's CDMA network.

After the Lollipop update, Verizon is being a little more honest with displaying what networks are actually in use. Your wife's phone, even though it says 3G during a call, is actually switched to 1X for the call. It's not transmitting anything over 3G because it can't run both 1X and 3G at the same time. But Verizon has chosen over several years to have phones continue to show 3G. It was probably due to the fact that 3G became a big marketing thing for a while, and Verizon wanted to capitalize on that even though 3G was originally a GSM term that didn't apply to Verizon. People would get worried, just like you are, if they saw their phone drop from 3G to 1X on a call when AT&T customers remained on 3G for calls. It all comes down to the differences in cellular technology that have been used by the two carriers. Verizon just wanted to jump on the 3G marketing bandwagon and not worry people.

3G on Verizon is only for data over CDMA, not for calls. 1X on Verizon is for calls and really slow data over CDMA.

Everything is fine with your phone.

This new found honesty about which networks are in use is why the 4G icon stays lit up when connected to WiFi. It's because a LTE connection needs to be maintained for VoLTE (Advanced Calling). It's not transmitting data that counts against your allotment, but it's ready for calls. It's baked into the software, so it will remain on whether or not you have Advanced Calling activated (which is why the 4G icon has remained while on WiFi since launch). The same thing happened previously with CDMA - it maintained a connection to the CDMA network for calls, but Verizon just chose to hide that while on WiFi.

 

[Miklb58]

Ok, if that's the case then life is good
Thanks for the help!

 

[Miller6386]

It's switching to 1X because that's what is used for calls on Verizon's CDMA network.

After the Lollipop update, Verizon is being a little more honest with displaying what networks are actually in use. Your wife's phone, even though it says 3G during a call, is actually switched to 1X for the call. It's not transmitting anything over 3G because it can't do both 1X and 3G at the same time. But Verizon has chosen over several years to have phones continue to show 3G. It was probably due to the fact that 3G became a big marketing thing for a while, and Verizon wanted to capitalize on that even though 3G was originally a GSM term that didn't apply to Verizon. People would get worried, just like you are, if they saw their phone drop from 3G to 1X on a call when AT&T customers remained on 3G for calls. It all comes down to the differences in cellular technology that have been used by the two carriers. Verizon just wanted to jump on the 3G marketing bandwagon and not worry people.

3G on Verizon is only for data over CDMA, not for calls. 1X on Verizon is for calls and really slow data over CDMA.

Everything is fine with your phone.

This new found honesty about which networks are in use is why the 4G icon stays lit up when connected to WiFi. It's because a LTE connection needs to be maintained for VoLTE (Advanced Calling). It's not transmitting data that counts against your allotment, but it's ready for calls. It's baked into the software, so it will remain on whether or not you have Advanced Calling activated (which is why the 4G icon has remained while on WiFi since launch). The same thing happened previously with CDMA - it maintained a connection to the CDMA network for calls, but Verizon just chose to hide that while on WiFi.

How have we been achieving data while on a call then? I thought when 4g went live most of the 4G phones supported this aside from iphone

Note 4Tified

 

[bsweetness]

How have we been achieving data while on a call then? I thought when 4g went live most of the 4G phones supported this aside from iphone

Note 4Tified

The OP is talking about going from 3G to 1X, so 4G isn't involved at all. With very few non-advertised exceptions (the Galaxy S3 and the Thunderbolt spring to mind), no 3G only devices on Verizon have had simultaneous voice and data. Therefore, simultaneous voice and data is not possible in the scenario presented in this thread.

You're talking about 4G, which is an entirely different beast that's separate from the issue the OP was worried about. Most LTE phones to date on Verizon have supported simultaneous voice and data where voice is sent over CDMA and data is sent over LTE, including the Note 4. This is possible due to the inclusion of two antennas - one for each radio (CDMA and LTE). Some recent Verizon phones (such as the Droid Turbo) only have one antenna, making this type of simultaneous voice and data impossible. The only way phones with one antenna on Verizon can have simultaneous voice and data is with VoLTE, or as Verizon refers to it, Advanced Calling.