Verizon EVDO and 1xRTT fringe area solution...

[snfexpress]

For those of you who have Verizon service for data, and find yourself in an area where you are in a fringe area between EVDO and 1xRTT, especially in the areas of the country where Verizon is using Alltel's towers (even though they now own AllTel), there is a way to improve your browsing experience.

Believe it or not, when there is an EVDO tower and a 1xRTT tower and you are closer to the slower tower (1xRTT), you may find that your browsing is CONSIDERABLY slower. The solution?

Simple: take the data card you are using (whether it is in a router or not) and put into your PC. Fire up VZAccess Manager and while NOT connected, hit ctrl-D. A window will open asking for a password. Type in "diagvzw" and hit enter. Then, go select Settings -> and in Preferred Operating Mode, select the radio button for CDMA only. Then let it program your data card. NOTE: your card will be in this mode until you change it back to Automatic so when you move to another area, change your settings back to Automatic. This means that you can put the data card back into your router and it will "remember" this setting.

You may want to bookmark this, because when I called Verizon, they told me they would work on it, gave me a case number, then said there was nothing they could do. Yeah, right.

Hope this helps,

[H. John Kohl]

Thanks good info to know.

[adelmoll]

Thanks,
We are in that situation in the Ocala National Forest and will give it a try. Do you know of any answer for the Verizon phone too. I have awful service inside our park but folks with the Alltel phones get much better. Verizon told me that after the first of the year things might improve but I;m not sure if they knew what I was even talking about since all I have to do is get about 1/2 mile from the Park and I have great service.

Helen

[Alex Sian]

quote:Originally posted by snfexpressNOTE: your card will be in this mode until you change it back to Automatic so when you move to another area, change your settings back to Automatic. This means that you can put the data card back into your router and it will "remember" this setting.

let me add some emphasis here. if you change the setting to CDMA only, and then travel into an area where there is no EVDO at all and only 1xRTT, you will NOT be able to establish a connection, until you unlock from EVDO only and set it back to automatic. this can cause some irritation!

we've taken several support calls from folks who spent hours in frustration trying to figure out why they could not connect while neighbors in RV's parked next to them could connect, only to find out that the customer forgot they locked their device to EVDO only several road trips ago.

i strongly suggest some post it note or label of some sort be attached to your device to indicate it is locked to EVDO whenever you do it, so that its the FIRST thing you check when you can't connect in rural areas.

[snfexpress]

adelmoll,

Try *228, then option 2 from your Verizon phone.

[dsprik]

I am in the opposite position as Helen. I have an Alltel phone about 2 miles away from EVDO-land service is lousy with rotating phone company towers constantly trying to connect to our phones. Verizon phones here just south of Disney World work just fine (but only on 1X). I just did my *228/opt 2, but I have also been told that you must be in your home area (Traverse City, MI in my case) to have this work. It just told me that my upgrade had been successful, though.

Our phones are dropping calls and not connecting sometimes, and the data services (weather, news, traffic Brew apps) are spotty at best. Hoping that this Verizon/Alltel merger (bigwig meeting tomorrow) will help our situation. Our summer area in Mich is great - EVDO all over the place. I hate to bail totally on Alltel and go to ATT, which does have high speed data coverage in the Disney area.

[snfexpress]

Dave, whoever told you that you have to be in your home area for this upgrade is incorrect. You should do the *228 when roaming once a month. Just an FYI.

You might try my first post for your data card. That is precisely the reason I did it - we are in an AllTel area and by doing this, both our phones and our data card are now working well. Remember, though, before you leave, put your data card back to "automatic".

[dsprik]

Thanks, Michael! I thought that was off and I have already done this with my phone down here. I need to see if I can program my phone to CDMA only and see if I can get better data service with my phone - similar to the procedure with an air card. I have the new Moto Vegas 20 (semi-Razr style). Not sure if I can do this or not.