[Sovvy]

I live in Florida and when I sit down and use the phone the bars will move even though myself and the phone do not. I go from no service to full signal strength. Really annoying when I am trying to use Techtray to go to the news sites

[awesomeindeed]

My last 3 phones on Sprint have done this. All WinMo devices. The Pre does it somewhat... I never lose service but my bars go from 1 to 4 quite frequently standing in the same spot.

[rem_kujawa]

me too, no dropped calls though.

[jbg7474]

I'm pretty sure it's the Pre. I have some fluctuation, more so than my 755p, but haven't dropped any calls (though I don't actually spend much time talking on the phone).

Don't do this! It will cause your phone to not work right in multiple ways!
It is possible to set the phone to be locked in on EVDO rev.A. In this mode, reception is rock solid, 5 bars constantly. It's beautiful. Of course, you can't receive calls, text messages, GPS, and probably other things that depend on 1x connectivity. So that's not so pretty. Anyway, this makes me think the problem is the Pre and how it negotiates its connection with Sprint. I think this probably also has some impact on battery life.

I would be surprised if Palm and Sprint weren't already working this problem pretty hard, but it can be really hard to diagnose these kinds of issues, so even if it's not fixed in 1.2, I'll continue to give them time (as I said, no dropped calls here).

[Centro85#AC]

1.2 does have a Sprint firmware update to 1.8, and fixes the broken PRL update. It "may" make a difference, but it would sure by nice for one of our 1.2 members to chime in and let us know.

[darreno1]

Having the signal indicator bounce around is one thing but is it a true indication of the actual signal quality? That's what I'm unsure about.

I've noticed the Pre does bounce around, but I hardly ever drop calls and browsing the internet is quick once there's good reception. The bouncing around doesn't seem to matter. I've also noticed that the indicator stays steadier (and sometimes increases)when I'm actually using the data like when browsing or using Telenav.

To me it's not very accurate. A good example is my room where the signal quality with all of my previous phones were poor. With the Pre it would say 5 bars sometimes, but the actual throughput would be less (as I would expect). In other parts of the house or in areas of good reception, it would bounce around still but the throughput would be better, as expected.

As long as I'm not dropping calls or having actual fluctuations in throughput I'm not worried about it.

[jbg7474]

Since it occasionally goes to Roam or 1x for some people (this is really rare for me in my location), I think it's more than just a goofy indicator.

It does seem to solidify on data use. This could be the result of additional amplification of the signal when necessary. And that is probably one of the things that makes this a little difficult to actually nail down.

[chodaboy]

My Treo 700p was ROCK SOLID and the signal indicator (at least) did not bounce at all. I had a great signal everywhere I went. Not so with the Pre. Something odd is up with the phone, whether the hardware, firmware, or Sprint.

[jbg7474]

FWIW, the Sprint web page declaring that 1.2 was released on 9/8 didn't mention anything about the signal fluctuation in the list of fixes. That doesn't mean they didn't make changes regarding this problem, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.

http://www.precentral.net/sprint-sup...-hitting-today

[QuarlesLT]

1.2 didn't fix it, I still have this issue :-(

[hawaiijedi#WN]

Well at least im not the only one I live in Honolulu and all my other coworkers who have sprint phones have full bars with minor fluctuation in signal while my pre is constantly flipping and cycling through roaming to full to 1x etc....

[Aridon]

Having the signal indicator bounce around is one thing but is it a true indication of the actual signal quality? That's what I'm unsure about.

If you pull up your RSSI value you will see it is actually fluctuating with the bars. At least my phone does and so does my wife's.

[darreno1]

If you pull up your RSSI value you will see it is actually fluctuating with the bars. At least my phone does and so does my wife's.

Yes but what I experience in terms of real world performance doesn't always correspond to what the indicator says. 4-5 bars EVDO should indicate a strong received signal strength and subsequently faster performance when in actuality the opposite happens (more often than not - depending on the location). If I walk to the other room the indicator shows the same fluctuations but web browsing and downloading of videos are significantly faster.

Time of day also matters it seems. Later in the night (to early morning) things seem to generally speed up which I'm guessing is indicative of less network load.

[Centro85#AC]

Yes but what I experience in terms of real world performance doesn't always correspond to what the indicator says. 4-5 bars EVDO should indicate a strong received signal strength and subsequently faster performance when in actuality the opposite happens (more often than not - depending on the location). If I walk to the other room the indicator shows the same fluctuations but web browsing and downloading of videos are significantly faster.

Time of day also matters it seems. Later in the night (to early morning) things seem to generally speed up which I'm guessing is indicative of less network load.

I have said multiple times, I live in one of the better areas for Sprint, and this is also the area they test their new hardware stuff. I have numerous sprint phones with no issues. My RSSI is bouncing like crazy on three Pre's, the numbers are much worse than any other sprint phone, it drops calls multiple times a week, and data randomly switches to 1x(with a noticeable depreciation in speed). When I called Palm and Sprint to ask about the problem and what to do, they asked where I live. When I told them, they both wanted me to replace my Pre, and said it couldn't be a network problem. When I told them three Pre's are doing the same thing, they swore the update would fix it (1.03 or 1.1)

There is a problem, period.

[NSXLA]

I've noticed this signal issue from day 1 with the Pre, so i ended up returning it, i'm shocked so many people are putting up with it hoping it would some how sort itself out =]

[Big Dookie]

I live in Houston, and we have pretty good EVDO coverage here. I have the same signal issues. I rarely actually drop calls though, so that's a good thing I suppose. The thing that really bugs me though is the data connection always seems really inconsistent. I can be sitting smack dab in the middle of an EVDO area, and my phone will show four or five bars, but as soon as I actually get on the Internet or a Twitter app or anything, it will drop down to 1x and start going super slow.

Very annoying. Sometimes it will jump back up to EVDO after a few minutes, but it'll drop again later. Makes using the internet pretty frustrating at times. I don't understand why this is such an issue with this phone. I will say this, if the Pixi has a better radio/signal in it, I'm switching over to that.

[darreno1]

I have said multiple times, I live in one of the better areas for Sprint, and this is also the area they test their new hardware stuff. I have numerous sprint phones with no issues. My RSSI is bouncing like crazy on three Pre's, the numbers are much worse than any other sprint phone, it drops calls multiple times a week, and data randomly switches to 1x(with a noticeable depreciation in speed). When I called Palm and Sprint to ask about the problem and what to do, they asked where I live. When I told them, they both wanted me to replace my Pre, and said it couldn't be a network problem. When I told them three Pre's are doing the same thing, they swore the update would fix it (1.03 or 1.1)

There is a problem, period.

Well even with a very weak signal(according to the indicator) I hardly ever drop calls. I've even made calls in buildings where traditionally cell phones do not work well so I cannot say I share your problem. However I DO have the bouncing indicator issue.

I think you're missing my point though. I'm not implying you don't have a problem and I apologize if my posts seemed that way. What I'm saying is my indicator doesn't seem to correspond with the actual throughput I'm getting. So there could actually be 2 separate issues:

1. The indicator is inaccurate but the phone works well.

2. Some phones, regardless of the indicator, have reception problems.

[krohde]

Yep, I have the same issue, as does my gf with a Pre also. But it's never made me drop a call so not bothering me as much. It doesn't do it at work in downtown KC, where I have a solid 5 bars all day long. But at home, about 7 miles north of downtown and at my gf's place, it does it terribly and I'm about ready to demand an Airrave, except they're sold out and backordered everywhere, probably because of Pre owners.

[MeltedwireAC]

JBG7474,

Why do those services you mention require a 1x connection? Even smaller data loads should use the EVDO, I would think. But if you are correct, then maybe it bounces because the phone can't decide if it wants EVDO or not.

I am on my 4th phone, 3 because of this issue. I came from a Mogul and it could get coverage in places no other phone or provider did. All I did on that phone was to force Sprint. All previous phones I have had also had great signals. Been with Sprint for 10 years, and all over the east coast. It is NOT Sprint, it is the Pre!

The last thing I want to say is in the threads about future features and fixes, I was one of the few who even brought this up. I was amazed! Maybe this isn't at the fore-front of Palms concerns because no one is complaining. This makes it really hard to explain to new Sprint subs, that Sprint is really a great network. Oh, and I have dropped calls with all four Pre's!

[Centro85#AC]

Well even with a very weak signal(according to the indicator) I hardly ever drop calls. I've even made calls in buildings where traditionally cell phones do not work well so I cannot say I share your problem. However I DO have the bouncing indicator issue.

I think you're missing my point though. I'm not implying you don't have a problem and I apologize if my posts seemed that way. What I'm saying is my indicator doesn't seem to correspond with the actual throughput I'm getting. So there could actually be 2 separate issues:

1. The indicator is inaccurate but the phone works well.

2. Some phones, regardless of the indicator, have reception problems.

I think the problems are linked. I don't drop calls every day, its maybe once or twice a week, and generally only in areas that are typically low sprint coverage to begin with. I think it drops the calls when the phone switches from Sprint to Roaming sometimes.

Either way, I find it a little hard to believe that there are 3 Pre's in this house, all of whom are on at least the 2nd Pre for different reasons, and they all have the same issue while being in one of Sprint's best coverage zones. There IS a problem with the radio programming, period. Might even be a problem with the radio hardware as well, on top of the programming. Who knows, maybe the radio is overheating and causing problems. I don't know what it is. I do know there are a lot of people who have had Palm's forever, switched a Pre, and if they weren't already upset at the lack of common place features, are PO'd about the signal problem. This is a serious problem for Palm, and they need to either address it, or admit it, or else they are going to loose a lot of the new Palm customers who haven't been clinging to their coattails for a long time.