LG 430g Call Quality Issues

**JIM3997** · 06-15-2012, 12:19 PM

I had the Tracfone LG 430g with an AT&T SIM card. At home I got 5 bars signal on their Edge network. I previously had an LG 500g and had the same 5 bars on the Edge network and voice calls were excellent. But with the LG 430g, my voice calls had dropped and garbled words as if I had a weak signal. A few days ago I noticed that when a voice call came in, the signal strength changed from 5 bars on the E network to 1or2 bars on AT&T's G network. Apparently the LG 430g is programmed to use the older slower (cheaper for Tracfone?) G network for voice calls, and it has a weak signal in my area. This got so annoying that as soon as HSN put the LG 500g with Triple Minutes on special again, I bought it and switched back to the 500g. It stays on the Edge network all the time at home, whether for data or voice, and my voice calls are flawless. I was wondering if anyone else with a 430g had noticed it doing this (changing from E to G for voice calls)?

As a side note, several months ago, with my old LG 500g, I had only 2 bars on the Edge Network at home. AT&T has been upgrading coverage in this area, and I was thrilled when it increased to 5 bars. But apparently they are upgrading the faster networks and leaving the slower ones as is, which led to this issue with the 430g. If Tracfone is indeed doing this with the newer phones (switching to slower network speed for voice calls), now we have something else to be wary of when we order a new Tracfone besides whether we get an AT&T or a T-Mobile SIM. That is, the signal strength of both the Edge and the slower G networks on AT&T.

But I'm happy with my 500g for now. I missed the QWERTY too much with the 430g, especially with it's horrible keypad (large buttons with only a small spot on each one that worked), so the poor quality voice calls were the last straw for me with the 430g. But for those still using the 430g, how about posting if your phone is switching to G for voice calls? You may not have even noticed it if the G network has a good signal strength in your area. But I'm curious to know if it may have been someting unique to my phone or towers.

**Tracfancier** · 06-16-2012, 01:52 AM

Originally Posted by JIM3997

I had the Tracfone LG 430g with an AT&T SIM card. At home I got 5 bars signal on their Edge network. I previously had an LG 500g and had the same 5 bars on the Edge network and voice calls were excellent. But with the LG 430g, my voice calls had dropped and garbled words as if I had a weak signal. A few days ago I noticed that when a voice call came in, the signal strength changed from 5 bars on the E network to 1or2 bars on AT&T's G network. Apparently the LG 430g is programmed to use the older slower (cheaper for Tracfone?) G network for voice calls, and it has a weak signal in my area. This got so annoying that as soon as HSN put the LG 500g with Triple Minutes on special again, I bought it and switched back to the 500g. It stays on the Edge network all the time at home, whether for data or voice, and my voice calls are flawless. I was wondering if anyone else with a 430g had noticed it doing this (changing from E to G for voice calls)?

As a side note, several months ago, with my old LG 500g, I had only 2 bars on the Edge Network at home. AT&T has been upgrading coverage in this area, and I was thrilled when it increased to 5 bars. But apparently they are upgrading the faster networks and leaving the slower ones as is, which led to this issue with the 430g. If Tracfone is indeed doing this with the newer phones (switching to slower network speed for voice calls), now we have something else to be wary of when we order a new Tracfone besides whether we get an AT&T or a T-Mobile SIM. That is, the signal strength of both the Edge and the slower G networks on AT&T.

But I'm happy with my 500g for now. I missed the QWERTY too much with the 430g, especially with it's horrible keypad (large buttons with only a small spot on each one that worked), so the poor quality voice calls were the last straw for me with the 430g. But for those still using the 430g, how about posting if your phone is switching to G for voice calls? You may not have even noticed it if the G network has a good signal strength in your area. But I'm curious to know if it may have been someting unique to my phone or towers.

EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) is for data only. These radio frequencies are not for Voice and SMS text.

**JIM3997** · 06-16-2012, 07:57 AM

Originally Posted by Tracfancier

EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) is for data only. These radio frequencies are not for Voice and SMS text.

You mean they'll have to keep around the slow network indefinitely just for voice and SMS? I didn't realize that. I'm gonna watch my LG 500g more closely to see if it might be doing the same thing - perhaps I was wrong about it.