vB Easy Archive - Calls going to voicemail without the phone ringing

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Calls going to voicemail without the phone ringing
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Posted by: mlctulsa

Occasionally, I have people call me and the phone(s) (Sanyo 4900 and Samsung A460) do not ring - the call goes straight to voicemail. Has anyone found a solution to this. I read today that there is a software upgrade for the A460 to fix this and other problems. How about the Sanyo 4900?

Posted by: jayhawk85

I read that you need to go into your settings and change the ringer on not available callers to a ringtone. I believe its originally set to none as a ringer. This causes the phone to go into voicemail because no ringer is set.

Posted by: mlctulsa

I checked that and I have had a tone set for "No Caller ID". So what happens if you do not answer or see a "No Caller ID", does it leave a "missed call" or go straight to voicemail?

Posted by: map

I had the same problem with a number of phones, including a Kyocera 6035 and a Sanyo 5150. Sprint told me that there are times their network gets overloaded and calls bounce directly to voicemail. This seems to be common if you live in a very busy area and get calls during cellular "rush hour". My problems always seemed to be in Dallas at 5:30 p.m. Anyhow, I was told that it was not my phone. Hope this helps...

Posted by: cd1000

I owned two 4900's and it happened frequently to me on both. I had the most updated software as well. I switched to the A500 and have not had it happen once.

Posted by: mlctulsa

Fortunately, in this market I have not had this problem that often. But, I am very fond of this user friendly 4900. So I will continue to look for solutions. I assume that the A500 would have similar features, menus, etc to the A460. This problem aside, how do you compare the two phones (4900 v A500) and/or manufacturers, since you are in a unique position to have actual experience with both phones.

Posted by: Ldnff

Yes, I am having this same problem with my Sanyo SCP-6000. I can even sit on a lang phone, call myself and see that my phone in my hand is not ringing. It goes Straight to the voicemail and doesn't ring. I will call it again, it does the same thing, and it will ring maybe the third or second time. It is VERY often that I get the little Envelope icon when my phone never rang. It makes me wonder how many people have called and didn't leave a message. Is there a solution?
Should I go to Sprint? It even happens at night, so I don't think it should be the network being busy.

Posted by: ron

There's a thread on alt.cellular.sprintpcs which says that, if you make changes to your phone settings, immediately after your calls may not ring (on the 4900) and go directly to voicemail. At the moment, it seems that only power cycling the phone resets it. A number of others found the same thing with their 4900's. Hope this helps. Here is the posting by the person who discovered it:

"I found a bug in the Sanyo 4900. I have the original software version, I do
not know if the newer version corrects this problem or not. The problem is
that if I go into the settings on my phone, or possibly other menu's, and
make changes to settings, I risk the possibility of the phone not ringing
when I receive any incoming calls. I have tested this over and over and
over making calls to my 4900 from the home phone line. I am making these
calls in a decent signal area, and at hours where the tower should have a
low load. What I have found is that sometimes, although not always, making
certain changes in some settings/options on this phone will cause the phone
to not ring, although the caller will still hear the phone ringing on their
end, so that means the 4900 stays registered with the cell tower. If I turn
the Sanyo 4900 off and then on again, it fixes the problem and I can call on
4900 from the home phone and the 4900 will ring every time, over and over.

I wonder if any other 4900 owners have noticed this bug. I have had this
happen to me on several occasions now, so their is an obvious bug that needs
to be fixed in the software. Like I said however, it does not happen every
time I change some settings, but sometimes it does. I can change settings 2
or 3 times and try calling my phone and it rings through, and on the 4th
time of changing settings it wouldn't ring through, for example. Seems
touch and go for some reason.

Who should I contact to get this bug fixed in a future software version? I
sure would like to get it taken care of. To be able to miss calls was not
one reason I wanted this phone!!"

Posted by: cd1000

Quote:

Originally posted by mlctulsa
Fortunately, in this market I have not had this problem that often. But, I am very fond of this user friendly 4900. So I will continue to look for solutions. I assume that the A500 would have similar features, menus, etc to the A460. This problem aside, how do you compare the two phones (4900 v A500) and/or manufacturers, since you are in a unique position to have actual experience with both phones.

I really like the a500. The browser is much faster, the phone fits in my pocket much better, screen is better, sound quality better. Battery is not as good but I have gotten 2 days out of it but that should be better w/ free extended battery. Reception on my sanyo 4900 was always 3 or 4 bars in my house while the a500 is 1 or 2 but my calls are clear and I have never dropped on or had missed calls as I did w/ the 4900. RF signals measured differently so bars really mean little. I have tried all the vision phones and to me this one is best.

Posted by: MikeyG

Here is my breif story about the calls going straight to voicemail issue.

I had the same problem with my Samsung 8500. I called CS numerous times with no resolution. One of the reps said that this is a known problem and it should be resolved after the new network is up and running (yes I have been having this problem for a long time!). Most of the CS reps told me to take it into a Sprint store to get it tested. I did and they said that the phone failed part of the test but were not able to tell which part. They suggested that I buy a new phone.

So, when the A460 dropped to my price range about a month ago, I bought it. The day after I began having the same problems again. Obivously I was extremely frustrated. After talking to numerous reps one credited my account for that current month's bill to compensate for all the problems I have been having. Nice, but the problem still was not solved. I am not convinced the software upgrade that just came out would fix this problem either.

After getting sick and tired of only receiving 1 out of 4 calls I bit the bullet and bought the Sanyo 4900. I opted for the Performance Protection Plan at Circuit City so what I paid for the A460 was credited towards the 4900. So far so good.

If I continue to have problems with my 4900 then it is for sure the Sprint Network and not phone problems.

On that note, I was at the Sprint store picking up a case for my 4900 and overheard a very upset customer arguing with the Manger about this very same problem. Appearantly, she has had 6 phones and they all have had the same problems. After arguing about where she is using the phone (if she is in the car, in her house, etc.) the manager said (sounding fed up) "We have been replacing your phone and maybe it isn't a phone problem. It is a network problem. We are aware of it and are in the process of fixing it but I don't when." Why wouldn't any of the 15-20 CS reps I talked to on the phone mention this known problem?

Interesting?! It sounds like this is a known problem but Sprint doesn't want to admit it because it could possibly be an out of anyone's contract since the they are not satisfying their end of their agreement.

MikeyG

Posted by: mlctulsa

Thanks for sharing your experience. The more I hear about this problem, the more confusing it gets. At times it sounds like a Sprint Network problem to me. But then, it could be hardware or software related also. Has anyone else had similar experiences on the Sprint Network around the country?

Posted by: jcd0312

It happens to me periodically. Last Saturday someone tried to call me about 10am. It didn't show up as a missed call and I didn't even get the VM notification until I went to make a call myself a couple of hours later. It's annoying as hell sometimes, but I have friends on other carriers who ge the same thing from time to time.

Posted by: karmannghia

My father had the Samsung N400 and 3500, as well as his current SAnyo 4900, and all have had the same problem. So I don't think it is a phone issue. Although, rebooting the phone sounds like a potential solution.

Posted by: rayosx

I have had the same problem with a Kyocera 2345, but I think that it is sprint network or that I do not have sufficient signal strenght where I live so sometimes it happens to me that I do not have any missed call or even a notice of the VM and when I call to my voice mal, I have one or two voice messages that were not showed up, seems to me problem of signal or sprint, but not the phone. that is my experiences

If any of you want to contribute and share that, I will apreciate it

Posted by: nancito

Make sure that the people that are calling you aren't "backdooring" you. This can be done when calling from one sprint phone to another. You can backdoor someone (go straight to their voicemail without the phone ever ringing) by dialing 1, 1, (yes, dial 1 twice) + area code + phone number. Have fun.

Posted by: Aurora

Quote:

Originally posted by nancito
Make sure that the people that are calling you aren't "backdooring" you. This can be done when calling from one sprint phone to another. You can backdoor someone (go straight to their voicemail without the phone ever ringing) by dialing 1, 1, (yes, dial 1 twice) + area code + phone number. Have fun.

...haha I love your terminology

Posted by: nooge

Quote:

Originally posted by mlctulsa
Occasionally, I have people call me and the phone(s) (Sanyo 4900 and Samsung A460) do not ring - the call goes straight to voicemail. Has anyone found a solution to this. I read today that there is a software upgrade for the A460 to fix this and other problems. How about the Sanyo 4900?

if you don't see missed call then it's the tower that your on is full or you drift in and out of coverage, if you see missed call it's you didn't hear (feel) phone ring

Posted by: nooge

Quote:

I agree the sanyo's really to rule over all else

Posted by: ah funf hundert

I have experienced this problem with the SCH-3500, LG TP 1100, SPH-a460, and the SPH-a500. I join those of you who think it is a network overload problem and not a defect in specific handsets. Overall, I seem to remember that this effect was most noticeable with my '3500, but this may be due to the fact that the network in my area was more limited then (August 2001). The mentioned phenomenon has happened to me an average of four calls a month with my a500.

I'd be interested to hear more from customers of other carriers who've experienced this problem, as I'd thought it a difficulty unique to Sprint.

Posted by: liljan102

I had a Sanyo 4900 and had the same problems as have been described here... with the phone ringing on the person who is calling's end, but ending up in voicemail without my phone ever ringing. I would usually end up w/ a voicemail notification a few minutes later when my phone was sitting in the same spot, getting a full signal, as when the caller made the call in the first place. Long story short, I took the phone to the Sprint Store, had it tested, and it failed all of the tests. I got a refurbished 4900 in the mail, which didn't have this problem but did have a display that was faded in terms of color, so Sprint gave me a credit to purchase another phone - which is how I ended up w/ the A500. So far I can tell you that I haven't had this problem yet w/ the A500... I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but since it's been a few months now, I'm pretty satisfied. And yes, I live in a large, busy market - the DC metro area.

Posted by: ImmerStark

i can think of a few common things that would cause calls to go directly to vm. first is keeping your phone in your pocket, that is a sure fire way to miss calls, doesn't matter who your privider is or what phone you have, you will miss calls if you carry your phone in your pocket. your body acts as an insulator and blocks the radio signals from reaching your phone, all phones recomend in the manual that you keep the antenna at least an inch away from your body so as not to impair it's function. this is what holsters and leather cases are for. second cause is only for vision phones, i have noticed the my phone will periodically send and recieve data while in stand by, of course if your phone is activly sending and recieving data then any calls will go strait to vm, to keep this from happening you can log out from vision on your phone. the third reason is low signal strength, not much can be done about that except for leaving your antenna extended in standby. only a small number of the direct to vm problems are legitimatly caused by network overload(during rush hour traffic, and the start of off peak calling)

Posted by: Corey140

This happens a whole lot on my 4900. My friends Kyocera has the same problem too. Its annoying as hell. I just have "mysterious" voicemails. Nothing in my call history or anything.

Posted by: mona13

I had the same problem tonight. Called Sprint & they had my key in *720, wait until it connected, turn off the phone, take the battery off for 45 seconds, put it back on and it worked.

They didn't mention it is a common problem though.

Posted by: Kane3030

i keep my phone in my pocket but the times when the phone doesn't ring is when its on my desk in my room or on my desk at work.

Posted by: nooge

The only things that determine if your phone rings are. in coverage, and the tower has the available capacity to page & terminate to your phone. (assuming the network is sending to the appropriate tower, and all is well. IE if the tower's not full, and the network see's you at the right place, and you have a signal

Posted by: crmnh

a "generic" fix that does actually stop this from happening sometimes is this: Dial *18, listen for 2 tones, hang up. Power off handset and power back on. Like I said, this doesn't work Everey time, but it has more often than not. Hope that helps.

Posted by: nooge

You turn it off and remove the battery to dump a temp file at the switch and tower, and when you turn it on you dial ANYTHING to reinitialize your connection with the network. It's that easy , it works like everything else in the world, action/reaction. newton got it, why can't You.