Some time your phone feels like a chat, sometimes it don't

Weak signal sounds ike a good explanation. IIRC, there may be some
incorrect settings on Verizons end that could lead to the phone not
getting calls. But that's unusual.

Set the phone in a good signal area, upright, with the antenna extended
and see if that improves the number of calls that go through.

You can actually see exactly what kind of signal your getting by going
into the debug mode and reading the -RX (Receive signal strength).
Google your phone's model and debug screen. Or state it, i have a list
of many debug codes.
It's a code to get to a sub menu. RX-60 (very good signal) through
RX-80 (OK signal) are examples, but if your phone is only getting
RX-90, -95 or less you have a weak signal. Calls are almost impossible
around RX-100 or so, depending.

Don't fool with any of the settings in debug mode, but it's a read out
for the most part. Getting out of the debug may be easy or require
turning off the phone.

-
Dave

From what you describe, one of two things might be happening:

1. There's enough signal attenuation inside your house that although
you're getting a good signal strength FROM the tower, the signal
strength TO the tower isn't so great.  Wireless phones must work both
ways, and sometimes it's possible for your phone to "hear" the cell
tower just fine, but the cell site can't receive your phone's much
weaker signal quite as well.  You might have to reposition the phone,
say, nearer to a window.

2. The network in your area is congested.  If enough people are yapping
on their cell phones at the same time near where you live, the "noise
floor" increases, and it gets harder for the cell site to distinguish
which phones are transmitting.  An overloaded cell network would mean
that an incoming call might roll to voicemail before your phone has a
chance to ring.  Are there particular tiems of the day or night when
this happens more often?  If you're getting more blocked calls in the
evening and on the weekends, then network congestion is probably the
cause (people talk more on cell phones during off-peak times, when it's
"free").

A less likely, but still plausible, cause is that your phone could be
performing poorly either because it's old or defective.  It wouldn't
hurt to take the phone into a store and get it checked out.  Back in the
day, cellular companies would tell their customers (correctly) that cell
phones can "drift" over time and need to be adjusted, and bringing the
phone back to the shop for "re-tuning" was a recommended annual ritual.
 Nowadays, cell providers largely expect the phones to be disposable,
and assume that most people will just toss their phone in the trash and
get a new one about every two years, or as soon as it starts to act up
on them.

On 9/26/05 9:33 AM, in article WvydneGBPbtTiaXenZ2dnUVZ_tCdnZ2d@comcast.com,

You sure you're on VZW and not Sprint PCS? Just kidding, but this is
extremely common problem on Sprint, but I've never heard anyone on VZW have
this problem. I was on Sprint for 5 years in Dallas, TX and always had this
problem on both my wife's and my phones. We constantly get a beep telling us
we had voicemail when we know the phone didn't ring. I've been on VZW in
Colorado now for a couple years and have never had this problem once. My
boss and another co-worker on Sprint (in Dallas and Atlanta areas) always
complain about this problem on their Sprint service and I've heard it from
several others on Sprint elsewhere.

I've seen advice on the web about adjusting a tunable parameter in phones to
have them check in with the towers more often, but I can't say whether that
helps or not. But as someone else mentioned, you might try googling for your
phone model and look for web pages dedicated to it that document the
programming/service menus of your phone. Just heed any warnings they
mention.

Steve