Looking to get better LTE signal in my house where I get 0-2 bars, signal is there but sketchy at times.
Has anyone tried the external antenna port on the bottom back of the phone? Will this adapter work?
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_external_antenna_adapters.html
Then add this antenna:
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_all_bands_8db_panel_indoor.html
Wilson electronics AWS LTE booster isn't offered till mid June according to their sales department. Looking for something to get me by till then.
What is your signal strength in dBm?
With those antennas, I believe they should work with the TB, but how well they will actually work is another question.
Where do I find dBm or what app?
Settings >> About Phone >> Network
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
Im seeing -92 to -99
wakestrong said:
Im seeing -92 to -99
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that isnt too bad dude. not bad enough that i would buy an antenna. but you if you want to then i prob wont be able to convince you otherwise.
as far as will it fit? yes
will it work? yes
how well will it work? prob not as well as it should
as a side note Verizons 4G is not in the AWS spectrum but rather in the 700Mhz Block for LTE and VZE operates voice and 1X at 850 and evdo 3G at 1900 (pcs)
its not your phone, LTE is just not as good as it should inside homes, i really dont know why so I wont be able to answer that. My signal strength is -75 and I still get spotty coverage at home, sometimes it could go hours without dropping and sometimes it will drop like crazy. It is kinda crazy but it is what it is.
I can go outside and go to work 3 miles away and walk to the next block and as long as I am outside it works great. I think its just my house, or something lol. I dont know I have given up on it.
Oh by the way the bars dont represent the signal strength of 4g, the techs told me that it is only the voice signal strength and the bars have nothing to do with 3g or 4g signal. That was confirmed from 3 different techs.
Well I guess I can relate it to knowing what it could be and not getting it all the time. A lot of the time its 1-3 mbps and then if I hold the phone upside down, touch the tv antenna and do a flip right before I hit the speed test button I get 7-13 mbps. Seriously though I noticed it does better in certain parts of the house which is why I thought a antenna might help?
ddarvish said:
that isnt too bad dude. not bad enough that i would buy an antenna. but you if you want to then i prob wont be able to convince you otherwise.
as far as will it fit? yes
will it work? yes
how well will it work? prob not as well as it should
as a side note Verizons 4G is not in the AWS spectrum but rather in the 700Mhz Block for LTE and VZE operates voice and 1X at 850 and evdo 3G at 1900 (pcs)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea my bad, Wilson electronics will release the AWS (T-Mobile 4G) first then the LTE will follow shortly after that AWS release.
http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/uploads/docs/Press Releases/4G_Signal_Boosters.pdf
nkd said:
its not your phone, LTE is just not as good as it should inside homes, i really dont know why so I wont be able to answer that. My signal strength is -75 and I still get spotty coverage at home, sometimes it could go hours without dropping and sometimes it will drop like crazy. It is kinda crazy but it is what it is.
I can go outside and go to work 3 miles away and walk to the next block and as long as I am outside it works great. I think its just my house, or something lol. I dont know I have given up on it.
Oh by the way the bars dont represent the signal strength of 4g, the techs told me that it is only the voice signal strength and the bars have nothing to do with 3g or 4g signal. That was confirmed from 3 different techs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. If I go a quater mile outside my house I can get full signal with 40mbps download speeds. I have been in other peoples houses and had a fast connection so I think it does have to do with where they are located. Anywhere in Plano its in the 20-40 mbps range. My friend said in Houston he received 55 mbps download speeds. Must be something with upgrading the towers and this new equipment, I just hope they get it figured out.
BTW- I have Clear Wimax and it is somewhat reliable but with full signal the latency and download speeds are lacking compared to LTE. I made a video showing this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCAdDurQDVQ
Ok,
So I have an adapter and an antenna, but my Samsung Charge has 4 ports. One L1R2, one L2, one R1, and an odd smaller sized one G.
Im assuming that the 3 normal ports are for its MIMO ability, but Im getting reduced signal not increased signal in each port.
Any thoughts?
I dont know if you purchased it or not yet but Verizon sells a device that increases the signal throughout your house without having to plug it into your phone. If you need a link just say but I would much rather that from the company I bought the phone than some off brand thing that may or may not work.
Plus the Verizon would would work with all Verizon phones in your house.
nkd said:
its not your phone, LTE is just not as good as it should inside homes, i really dont know why so I wont be able to answer that. My signal strength is -75 and I still get spotty coverage at home, sometimes it could go hours without dropping and sometimes it will drop like crazy. It is kinda crazy but it is what it is.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My indoor experience has been exactly the opposite. My office is smack in the middle of this concrete and steel WWII-era building
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and my phones have almost never shown 3G, including the TBolt.
Since 4G came on last Friday testing in Indy, I have seen consistent 4G signal. That is consistent with the lower frequency being better at penetrations. In fact, it prompted me to put the Internet Connection widget on my desktop so I could turn off data instead of watching a huge battery drain.
That said, at home in a 4G fringe area, the only way to get 4G in my house is to walk to the window facing the direction of the tower. And the signal strength holding to the glass is about 10dB higher than just a few feet back.
kierandill said:
My indoor experience has been exactly the opposite. My office is smack in the middle of this concrete and steel WWII-era building
and my phones have almost never shown 3G, including the TBolt.
Since 4G came on last Friday testing in Indy, I have seen consistent 4G signal. That is consistent with the lower frequency being better at penetrations. In fact, it prompted me to put the Internet Connection widget on my desktop so I could turn off data instead of watching a huge battery drain.
That said, at home in a 4G fringe area, the only way to get 4G in my house is to walk to the window facing the direction of the tower. And the signal strength holding to the glass is about 10dB higher than just a few feet back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hook a brother up with a job.. loookin to work for raytheon in LA.. lol
miketoasty said:
I dont know if you purchased it or not yet but Verizon sells a device that increases the signal throughout your house without having to plug it into your phone. If you need a link just say but I would much rather that from the company I bought the phone than some off brand thing that may or may not work.
Plus the Verizon would would work with all Verizon phones in your house.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah,
Im not looking so much to improve call quality as I am looking to get 4G on a fringe area. Overcast days we get 4G from the reflection of the clouds, so I figured if I put a yagi on it I should be able to get 4G on a normal day.
I tried the normal connector that VZW normally sells for aircards. It cause a loss of signal in every port. But I looked at my neighbors Thunderbolt and saw that it had the same little port that my phone has that is marked G.
I ordered a plug for it and we will see if I get any boost from there.
So any good advise on making an external antenna for the thunderbolt? Has it been confirmed that the rubber round hole under the kick stand is indeed an external use for LTE antenna?
I talked with 3gstore and they recommended the use of the Wilson Electronics 801865 4G Verizon LTE Cell Phone Booster 70dB Adjustable Gain In-Building Wireless 700 MHz LTE Smart Technology Signal Booster but then again, that cost $350+.... can a simple hookup connector be connected to the phone with an outside antenna?
Thanks for your time,
David
By any chance you got a friend with an LG Revolution?
That phone will tell you for your dbm for 1X,3G, AND 4G.
I drove a truck for 5 years. Wilson has been selling this crap in every truck stop in America for at least as long and I've seen a lot of people buy it. The stuff I've used (other people's stuff) really hasn't done anything that I can tell. To me, it seems like a massive marketing gimmick. The stuff that actually connects to a connector on the device might show promise, but I'm not a fan of some 6 foot coax cable hanging off of a delicate connector soldered right to my board. I'm not really sure how effective any LTE solution would be either, since the LTE specification calls for dual antennas.
Bottom line: I've pretty much everything I've ever seen come from Wilson Communications is over-priced gimmicks that lack any sort of verifiable functionality.
I agree with the other driver. Most of the antenna stuff sold is a gimmick. I have a Verizon extender in my house. It only works on call quality. I only have. 1 EV signal at home with the extender. And it does not improve that. so I know that won't help the 4G signal get any better. But the extender does at times interfere with other cell phone calls of my neighbors within range of it.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
OK so i have heard what not to get but haven't heard what to get in order to increase my bars on the phone within the house.
David
Related
Hello all,
I just received my new Nexus S 4G for Sprint yesterday (5/14) and I love the phone, but I have just awful service on my phone.
I live in Princeton, NJ, which is a town notorious for not having the best service (for all providers) to begin with, but compared to my Epic4G that I came from, there is definitely something wrong with service for my NS4G. Note: there is no 4G here, so I cannot test that.
There are not much discussion of poor signal for the NS4G here on XDA, but there are numerous reports from people having similar problems elsewhere, i.e. http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/67927?start=0&tstart=10
I will describe my problem...
Calls and texts, MMS, works just fine... however, my 3G service is abysmal. Running speedtest.net, half of the time I pull in 30-40 KB/s, occasionally (maybe 1 out of a dozen times) I can pull in 40-80 KB/s. The other half of the time, either speedtest refuses to run because of network problems, or I literally pull in 3-6 KB/s. My browsing experience is horrendous, almost useless, downloading apps from the market is a 20 minute ordeal.
I have been able to connect to a WiFi network, and everything seems OK from that standpoint.
My fellow XDA users, I seek advice from you all...
I know that the NS4G is brand new to the Sprint network, and is the first CDMA nexus phone. I know that other phones have launched with similar problems, and they usually receive fixes relatively soon...?
Do you think I should try swapping my NS4G for a different one? In my opinion, I think if I swapped the NS4G, I would just have a different phone with the same problems.
Should I wait 30 days and see if service improves by then?
Anyone with similar experience? Suggestions? Switch back to Epic4G and wait it out (noooooo! )?
Thanks
I'm having the same problems, except I'm pulling slightly higher speeds than you. I've talked to sprint and they got a tech to come check out my towers and they'll let me know by monday if its a tower problem, or if it's just slow speeds in my area (its not my phone as i'm able to pick up normal speeds in other areas). I'm giving sprint a week or two to clear this up or else i'm taking the phone back within the 30 days.
also, did you try updating your prl/profile? it's unlikely that it'll help, but worth a shot.
I get around 3mbps on 3G
And around 5-6 and sometimes 7 mbps on 4g
Som im clearly not having this issue, but i will go roaming after the phone falls asleep for a while.
same problem
Im having the same problem I only had the phone 12 hrs I thought mayb it was da tower den I did a speed test between my epic n the ns4g n the epic blows it out the water not on da speed test app but in real life testin like pullin up web pages
The signal is weird. Signal strength at work on my Epic was 5-6 bars. Nexus S 4G is 1-2 bars. Signal strength is between -76 and -92. I forget what my Epic was pulling in actual numbers strength wise. Speed is the same awful crap though on 3G.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
I've had two Nexus S devices on Sprint and they both exhibit the same weak wireless reception. In real life I would say the differences are minor or insignificant but I was hoping for better or at least same radio reception as my almost 3 year old HTC Hero and clearly that isn't the case. Hopefully Sprint can rectify this in the future with some sort of update since I'm not aware of T-Mobile users having similar problems which would indicate an actual hardware flaw(?).
I'm almost sure its a sprint side issue. I left sprint for 3 months and came back and I've had an epic, evo, and nexus exhibit the same behavior. Before I left sprint I had zero issues and I've owned all of their smartphones and one point or another. It just seems like its slower in certain areas though.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
try updating PRL
Since our phones don't accept network pushed updates you're going to have to do a manual prl update. If that hasn't been done your service will suffer. That should help a bit.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
I've tried all the tricks, updated profile, PRL, reactivated my phone, etc.
Nothing is working...,
I've also noticed (completely unrelated issue) that my earpiece speaker crackles at any volume; its subtle but very annoying.
This seems to be an issue for people with the nexus. My old phone had full bars whereas with the nexus I'm only getting 1 or 2 bars on 3g. Seems to be an issue with their towers or Google. Its an issue with their network and not the phone. I spoke to sprint earlier today and they said they are aware and working to resolve this. So they say if course..
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Update (end of day 2):
For the last 5 - 6 hours I have been receiving moderate to adequate 3G service, albeit pretty inconsistent.
I now average 70-120 KB/s, and rarely drop below the lower 70s. This is more on par with what I was getting with my Epic4G for the last 6 months, always pulling in around 120-170 KB/s pretty consistently.
I've run 240 speedtest.net tests today, lol.
I hope it never goes back to how bad it was yesterday and this morning.
Time will tell, -- I'll let you know what happens.
I spent a good deal on the phone today with Sprint, 1 out of the 3 people I spoke to said that spotty reception on the NS4G was a known problem and engineers were at work fixing it. The others had no idea what I was talking about. I don't know what to believe.
Awww man you gotta be kidding me... I already get awful speeds with my Evo and now it's even worse with the Nexus 4g... the phone i'm planning on getting?!?!? this sucks =/
Anyone else's uploads constantly double or sometimes triple that of their download?
My last 5 3G speedtests in kbps
182/325
307/488
99/469
47/169
59/152
There is something seriously wacky with the way the radio is acting.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
Update (Morning of day 3):
Everything is back to crap again this morning. FML, lol
Edit:
Each speedtest.net test keeps returning downloads between 5 - 15 KB/s
I'm getting crap 3g speeds as well, up and down
Ditto. 3G reception at least 30% weaker than my Evo. Side note, my battery life has been crap too, I wonder if the phone is using more power trying to hold the signal?
I spent a little over an hour on the phone with sprint yesterday for this same issue. They trouble shot my phone, prl updates, network refreshes, nothing worked. They told me I had a defective unit and to exchange it. I went to best buy and the rep had an evo. He had full bars in the store, his dBm was -76 or whatever, it was in the 70's. Mine had 0-1 bars and a dBm of -96. He activated my new phone and checked it, same exact thing. He got sprint on the phone and they made him go through all the same bs prl updates and stuff. After a half hour, they told him they were looking into the issue.
Ive seen alot of people say its AOSP that causes the poor reception, and that is true to an extent. The EVO running CM does not get the same as sense roms. I live in a basement apartment, I know. On sense, my evo sent an mms message almost instantly. On CM, it wouldnt send them at all and it dropped calls like nobodies business.
When it comes down to it though, the radio on the Nexus 4G is just not performing well. I hope there will be some sort of update from google or sprint to address this in the very near future, or I will have left Verizon and sold my Thunderbolt for no reason...
I hope this issue can be fixed with a software update. I would like to know within the 30 day return period so I can get back on an evo running cm7 if I need to.
This is getting blown out of proportion in more ways than one. YES, the Nexus S 4G does not have as great of signal reception as the EVO or Epic. This is already well known. However, just like the iPhone 4 when it came out, the AOSP version of 2.3.4 on the NS4G doesn't display signal bars properly. That's part of the problem. But when you dive down into actually how many dBm's you're getting - that's where the problem lies.
In San Francisco, I typically get 600-1000kbps on 3G and 4mbps-8mbps on 4G WiMAX. Lately, after continually attempting to update the PRL on the device and so on, I've gotten results like the one below. This is on 3G in Daly City, CA just outside SF.
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So I live in Chicago, IL and have a skyrocket from ATT with the rooted 2.3.6 stock rom. I have however never gotten anywhere near the LTE speeds others rave about. The highest speed I have ever had was 6m d 2m up and that was RARE. I usually get 3m up 1m down. I wonder however if it could be from my sim card as the guy at att just took my Galaxy s2 sim and put it in the skyrocket. Any help would be much appreciated. And I am always in the city or in the suburb which houses O'Hare international airport so I think I should be doing fine signal wise.
icemanscion said:
So I live in Chicago, IL and have a skyrocket from ATT with the rooted 2.3.6 stock rom. I have however never gotten anywhere near the LTE speeds others rave about. The highest speed I have ever had was 6m d 2m up and that was RARE. I usually get 3m up 1m down. I wonder however if it could be from my sim card as the guy at att just took my Galaxy s2 sim and put it in the skyrocket. Any help would be much appreciated. And I am always in the city or in the suburb which houses O'Hare international airport so I think I should be doing fine signal wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are you seeing the 4G LTE icon? Or just 4G?
I also exchanged an S2 for an SR, and they also just swapped my SIM. LTE recently soft launched in LA, and I've gotten speeds between 8 to 19Mbps (before I usually hovered between 2 and 3Mbps).
i was going to ask the same thing.. im guessing your not even getting LTE just HSPA+
LTE ICON
I see the LTE Icon.
I get 15 to 25 dn and 10 up in dfw, stock skyrocket
icemanscion said:
So I live in Chicago, IL and have a skyrocket from ATT with the rooted 2.3.6 stock rom. I have however never gotten anywhere near the LTE speeds others rave about. The highest speed I have ever had was 6m d 2m up and that was RARE. I usually get 3m up 1m down. I wonder however if it could be from my sim card as the guy at att just took my Galaxy s2 sim and put it in the skyrocket. Any help would be much appreciated. And I am always in the city or in the suburb which houses O'Hare international airport so I think I should be doing fine signal wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chicago was one of the first LTE markets and with 10 million people in the city and suburbs...it's bound to be a little slower than some of the smaller citys.
I live in Naperville and usually get 10-15 down and occasional 25-30 down....I am sure the city of Chicago is probably less.
At the far edge of a towers broadcast I have seen the speeds will be lower.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App
yea thats way low for LTE no matter how many people are on the network.. have you tried restarting the phone and see if it is better ?
this is the best ive seen locally on HSPA+
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When you press menu.settings.about phone.status
What is listed next to network type.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App
I AM in Ottawa, Canada and LTE speed is great.... IF you are in the pretty narrow band of coverage.
Some people have reported issues, with not being able to make calls when the LTE icon was displayed..
LTE may have been up for a few months, but it seems that maybe the carriers rushed, just to be the first?
Sent from my SGH-I727R using XDA App
this is the best I've gotten in the Chicago area.
icemanscion said:
So I live in Chicago, IL and have a skyrocket from ATT with the rooted 2.3.6 stock rom. I have however never gotten anywhere near the LTE speeds others rave about. The highest speed I have ever had was 6m d 2m up and that was RARE. I usually get 3m up 1m down. I wonder however if it could be from my sim card as the guy at att just took my Galaxy s2 sim and put it in the skyrocket. Any help would be much appreciated. And I am always in the city or in the suburb which houses O'Hare international airport so I think I should be doing fine signal wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mortem Tuam said:
this is the best I've gotten in the Chicago area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE speeds in chicago stink and are no where near what others are getting in other LTE markets.. the max i've ever gotten was 25 down and 10 up right outside chicago. i live in the northside of chicago and commute 20 miles to the nw suburbs and still dont get eye popping speeds nor consistent 20 meg speeds, only in orland park and naperville.. but everywhere else i average around 10 down and 10 up, which isn't bad, but is ok.
here's a thread i started when i first got the skyrocket and an article detailing as to why speeds in chicago may be slower. i hope the crank up the speeds soon or i may be considering Verizon LTE or Tmobile's faux-g.
XDA: Why AT&T LTE is fast in select markets but slow in others incl. Chicago
PC Magazine: Why is AT&T LTE Fast In Houston, Slow In Chicago?
Even though I am in Houston (which is supposed to have better speeds), I have never gotten anything higher than 29 Mbps down. Usually, it just stays under 10 Mbps.
ajamils said:
Even though I am in Houston (which is supposed to have better speeds), I have never gotten anything higher than 29 Mbps down. Usually, it just stays under 10 Mbps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everybody, PUHLEESE!
Look it is simple math. At 25.6Mb/s(ATM25) it will take about 10-11 MINUTES to blow past your 2GB limit with AT&T. Even at 50% overhead it still runs to the limits in about 15 minutes. Really? Seriously???!?!?!
All we seem to be doing is running OOKLA for bragging rights which is fine, I GET IT!
If you were to actually USE that bandwidth on AT&T for any length of time it would either get throttled, or even worse they would enforce the 1GB extension cost for every GB you go over.
Ten minutes??? cmon, lets get serious.
I am MUCH more interested in CM9 or ICS for Skyrocket than I am the speed - It is like a drag strip, you throw it into 1st, stomp on the gas, and before you can get it run up in 3rd you are shutting it down at the end of the track. That is what the 2GB limit is like on a phone that can push up into the 50-75mb/s ranges. Of course I used to love to get my Z28 down in the track in 12 seconds...
Ookla for me in DFW is 22.35mb/s <- not too shabby...
Recently I had to move to an area where if I drive two minutes in any direction I have no signal/service. The coverage map says tmobile doesn't even have towers around here and it borrows at&t towers and 2g data. Unfortunately the spots they chose to cover are extremely spotty. Now I realize there is more than likely absolutely nothing that can be done without switching carriers but for specific reasons I'm not interested in doing that. I figured I would at least ask if there DOES happen to be something that can be done though... no harm in that. A lot of people on here know a lot more than me about this sort of thing. Someone please (at least try) to give me good news!
Probably not though. Oh well.
Sent from my LG-P999
They make personal cell towers for your house (that's definitely not the right word for them). But unfortunately it wouldn't do anything for the areas around it.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Ehh I got wifi calling plus the signal at my apt is fine. I will eventually just unlock it and use a different carrier. Probably the only thing that can be done.
Sent from my LG-P999
e4e5nf3nc6 said:
Ehh I got wifi calling plus the signal at my apt is fine. I will eventually just unlock it and use a different carrier. Probably the only thing that can be done.
Sent from my LG-P999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just and FYI, the only other service that it can be used with is ATT witch as you stated in OP will only be 2g.
Could be worse.
You could have 100% perfect signal *everywhere* except home. As in, I drive 1 minute in either direction and my signal becomes perfect 4G...
I'm triangulated between 3 towers at close distance... apparently at the point where they all 3 are equidistant a phone will have difficulty locking onto any one specific tower due to interference from the others... same reason AT&T realized selling cell signal repeaters could actually make signal worse for some people...
I even found a New Year's surprise from T-Mobile, ran a speedtest right after midnight and got the fastest speed I've ever gotten (anywhere) on 4G less than a mile from my home. Got all excited, got home, and had horrible signal as usual ...
lotherius said:
Could be worse.
You could have 100% perfect signal *everywhere* except home. As in, I drive 1 minute in either direction and my signal becomes perfect 4G...
I'm triangulated between 3 towers at close distance... apparently at the point where they all 3 are equidistant a phone will have difficulty locking onto any one specific tower due to interference from the others... same reason AT&T realized selling cell signal repeaters could actually make signal worse for some people...
I even found a New Year's surprise from T-Mobile, ran a speedtest right after midnight and got the fastest speed I've ever gotten (anywhere) on 4G less than a mile from my home. Got all excited, got home, and had horrible signal as usual ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the SAME EXACT issue as you. Horrible speed at home, but as soon as I step outside, perfect 4G. I easily pick up 6mb in my area. Heck, I usually pick up 10mb. ;D
I just need to move to a new area. It is Verizon-dominant around here and everything else just basically doesn't work. It really is frustrating though paying for the phone service and not having jack when I am out and about. I have no service almost anywhere I have to go on a daily basis except for my apartment. I don't have a home phone so that's useful but part of the reason of having a cell phone (especially the one I bought) is being able to send a text or use the internet WHEREVER I am!!!
so long story short I am looking at ditching sprint where I have an EVO LTE. Trust me when I say I am used to crap reception and data speeds. I was reading the thread full of other people who have came from sprint and most seem happy but... I read a lot of comments from long time Verizon users saying things like " I have to contort like a monkey to get a message to go through". Are these just spoiled Verizon users that don't know how good they've got it? Or is coming from sprint a waste of my time? Thanks for any and all input.
PS: Verizon has LTE all over my area, sprint has not announced any LTE anywhere near me. Is the LTE utilized for voice and text? Will this help?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Im sure others have problems, but mine has been great. Not a single issue to speak of. Been running CM10 for 2 months now.
Gordon Ramsay said:
so long story short I am looking at ditching sprint where I have an EVO LTE. Trust me when I say I am used to crap reception and data speeds. I was reading the thread full of other people who have came from sprint and most seem happy but... I read a lot of comments from long time Verizon users saying things like " I have to contort like a monkey to get a message to go through". Are these just spoiled Verizon users that don't know how good they've got it? Or is coming from sprint a waste of my time? Thanks for any and all input.
PS: Verizon has LTE all over my area, sprint has not announced any LTE anywhere near me. Is the LTE utilized for voice and text? Will this help?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO radio problems here.... I think a lot of people with problems may be on the border of having coverage where they are...? I have FULL bars no matter where I go in Michigan (except in Walmart) LOL I have LTE coverage too and it's been a solid performer and I may drop a call here and there but nothing out of the norm... Just my personal experiences...:good:
My .02
Go to a verizon store, put a rezound side by side to a samsung galaxy s3 and compare the dbm and asu and u will see how terrible the signal is . My phone is constantly at least 20 dbm less than the rezound .
It feels like i am back to sprint or tmobile since i got my device, constant data drops, phone call break ups and 4g/3g handing off is terrible .
Btw this is my 4th sim and second samsung galaxy s3 trial now , still reception in comparison to any htc phone is horrible.
Htc put their 4g antennas on the back cover which i think makes them practically immune to low signal issues.
Its a pretty phone , but if u want a device that actually communicates with satellites and cell towers, then get a real phone . not this one .
waiting for htc dlx
Mine has been completely fine.
Currently not being productive on my S3.
I came from Sprint at the beginning of the month. On Sprint it had gotten so bad that I was on 1 bar 90% of the time in the middle of the New Orleans area. I gave up waiting for it to get better and installed Roam Control so I could force it to roam on Verizon. Forced roaming only gets you 1x data, but it gave me full signal which prevented dropouts and draining the battery.
Now I'm on Verizon with the S3 and have no signal issues. I don't think I've ever seen less than 3 bars. The signal starts might be lower than other phones based on other people's experience but I wouldn't know because I haven't had any problems to make it worth checking. I think it really depends on your area. If your current phone is rooted, you could try Roam Control to get an idea of what the signal strength will be like, although you'll be stuck on 1x data.
I too was scared by the reports in various threads that these devices have horrible radios. We switched to Verizon from ATT because ATT doesn't work at all at my office (searching for reception).
I haven't been looking at dBM or anything but from a functional standpoint I haven't had any issues. There are some areas where before I was getting 4-5 3G bars on my ATT iPhone4 where the SGS3 bounces between 1-3 bars 4G LTE. It's always disturbing when you see 1 bar of reception, but the phone operates well even getting 4-5Mbps in speedtest. If you look at bars (I know not really accurate) and whether or not I can browse, call, etc. the SGS3 compares favorable to the wife's iPhone5. In fact there were a couple places where I was getting 1-2 bars 4G and the iPhone5 dropped to 3G.
Her are some screen shots of my signals after an update last night. These are the best I've gotten on both and better than anything I saw on my Rezound.
Currently not being productive on my S3.
Never had an issue with signal on my S3. You also need to realize that the most vocal people are those that have an issue. For every 1 person posting about an issue there a dozens that have no problem at all.
Signal on my s3 is great its 100 times better then gnex was and about on par with my old droid RAZR.
dwyw42 said:
I came from Sprint at the beginning of the month. On Sprint it had gotten so bad that I was on 1 bar 90% of the time in the middle of the New Orleans area. I gave up waiting for it to get better and installed Roam Control so I could force it to roam on Verizon. Forced roaming only gets you 1x data, but it gave me full signal which prevented dropouts and draining the battery.
Now I'm on Verizon with the S3 and have no signal issues. I don't think I've ever seen less than 3 bars. The signal starts might be lower than other phones based on other people's experience but I wouldn't know because I haven't had any problems to make it worth checking. I think it really depends on your area. If your current phone is rooted, you could try Roam Control to get an idea of what the signal strength will be like, although you'll be stuck on 1x data.
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This doesn't work, each manufacturer measures it slightly differently. You have to use a third party app to compare phones that are not the same model.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Yes, it is. My GS3 consistently drops in places where my Rezound and iPhone work without a hiccup.
I actually just switched from Sprint to Verizon last week and love it. My gs3 has great reception and the network is very fast. I get a consistent 30 mbps down all over my area. With Sprint I was lucky to get 500 kbps
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
The Nexus was the worst for reception. The S3 is a close second. It seems to be people in some parts of the country don't notice the issue - possibly because they don't use their phone much or because they have towers that use different technology than the towers in the areas I travel. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles, Vegas and Dallas. I can be at 4 bars one second and no bars (drop the call) and go back to 4 bars the next.
I was on Sprint and the HTC EVO 3D had that same issue even though the EVO didn't. I did always get crap data speeds on Sprint though. Some phones get great signal like the Motorola - so the question is - which is more imporant to you - the PDA or the phone. I use about 3000 minutes per month so I notice quickly when there are issues with a phones reception. My data speeds on the S3 are much better than I had on Sprint.
No the radios are not bad.
Excellent service, all the time here. In fact, I've never seen my phone with less than 3 bars, anywhere I go. And I travel a lot.
Yes the radios are very bad.....although improving. With the HE radio I finally have seem -99 dbm at my house although most of the time it is around -105. This is much improved compared to the original radio where I saw on average -110. I still drop calls in areas where I never have before. The poster that stated that HTC's have better signal are definitely correct. My wifes old rezound normally saw -80 to -85 at my house and never dropped calls anywhere. My old Thunderbolt was the same. Funny thing is that no matter what direction I go from my house, once I am a minute away I get full reception.....no matter what way I go. The radios don't do a good job of reaching out for the signal. The range is bad. Those stating that they are happy with their radios are probably in areas that don't have any weak spots. I'm holding out for newer radios cause every release seems to be a small step in the right direction.
ercDROID said:
Yes the radios are very bad.....although improving. With the HE radio I finally have seem -99 dbm at my house although most of the time it is around -105. This is much improved compared to the original radio where I saw on average -110. I still drop calls in areas where I never have before. The poster that stated that HTC's have better signal are definitely correct. My wifes old rezound normally saw -80 to -85 at my house and never dropped calls anywhere. My old Thunderbolt was the same. Funny thing is that no matter what direction I go from my house, once I am a minute away I get full reception.....no matter what way I go. The radios don't do a good job of reaching out for the signal. The range is bad. Those stating that they are happy with their radios are probably in areas that don't have any weak spots. I'm holding out for newer radios cause every release seems to be a small step in the right direction.
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Same exact thing here! You took the words directly out of my mouth.
Sent by one of my many Anthromorphic Personifications
Here are the results of a real world test that I just did with a co-workers HTC Thunderbolt compared to my SG3:
Both phones on 4g and side by side
HTC dBM -66
SG3 dBM -92
I think the results are pretty clear. Nothing else really needs to be said about the quality of the SG3 radio......it is not as good as the competition. If it was close by a few dBM then it would not be of concern to me. A 26 dBM difference is huge!
Because of this difference in signal strength he was able to have much faster download speeds. I was 17 down compared to his 27 down.
I own two Samsung Galaxy a32 5G phones on T-Mobile. Prior to this I owned a pixel 3A, and also I own a LG Stylo 4. While using the Samsung GalaxyA32, one thing that I've noticed is that the signal pick up for the cellular service is not as good as the pixel or the LG Stylo 4. The pixel and the LG Stylo 4 utilize only the 4G LTE signal. This one obviously has the 4G LTE, and the 5G connection. What I'm noticing is that in places where there is low signal and able to make phone calls using the pixel 3A and also the LG Stylo 4 but I'm unable to do so with the Samsung Galaxy phone. Initially I thought it was just a problem maybe with the 5G, and the 5G switching over with to the 4G LTE, and during that network switch that could have led to drop calls. Therefore what I have done is change the mobile networks to only 4G LTE 3-g, 2G, connection. Even with that I am seeing that the pixel, and the LG Stylo for having a better connection with the 4G LTE and that of the Samsung Galaxy A 32. I do not believe it is a defective phone since I'm having the same issue with two of the phones. I've called T-Mobile before, and made sure that I have a latest SIM card, I've also done Network resets. And even Factory resets. I did not think that now was a time where different phones got better signals than others, like Nokia did back in the 90s. Is anyone else having a similar type of issue? I have been updating the software as it comes out as well. Otherwise its a good Free Phone....
The modem in the A32 is not that great. At my house I get around 6-10mbps over 5G while the recent OnePlus Nord N200 5G thats now free gets upwards of 40mbps which is on par with my other devices.
I also got this phone for free through T-Mobile by turning in my Moto Z2 and I am not so happy about... Sure it was 3 year old phone but at least it wasn't as cheap as this.
I'm not sure about mobile data being slower or worse than other 5G phones but It wouldn't surprise me at all.. The Wifi (chip?) they use I know for sure is cheap, as it doesn't work or connect with cameras I use for work remotely. It also disconnects from my home wifi or has poor range. My mom got the same phone with the trade in and same problems. I'm planning on selling it while it still has some value and going back to Motorola or even a google pixel.
I understand it being a budget phone but to cheap out one of the most important aspects of a phone is just bad.
I have both Oneplus N200 5G and Samsung A32 5G. Both on Tmobile and I have no issue with Samsung MTK chip, in fact, it out perform SD480 modem with 5G.
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There's a big difference between signal strength and data transfer speed.
You can have good signal strength but poor transfer speeds, but not vice versa.
Try clearing the system cache and a network reset.
This device built-in antenna or modem may not be the best for your T-Mobile LTE connections...
Tried again just now. Samsung a32 still get better result compare to oneplus n200.
Oh well..
Samsung is under a326usqu3auf7
Oneplus is under 11.0.1.5de18cb
All my A32's act the same in a rual area 5G unreliable etc etc data will stop working until airplane mode or disable 5G.. The OnePlus Nord N200, iPhone 12 Pro Max, OnePlus 8T,etc dont have that issue.
Also in some of your screenshots says XFINITY like you tested it over WiFi
hyelton said:
All my A32's act the same in a rual area 5G unreliable etc etc data will stop working until airplane mode or disable 5G.. The OnePlus Nord N200, iPhone 12 Pro Max, OnePlus 8T,etc dont have that issue.
Also in some of your screenshots says XFINITY like you tested it over WiFi
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LOL, you sound like I am providing fake testing. I am using N200 myself beause faster facial recognition. However, the fact remain that A32 is faster for me. Here is another shot while during the testing.
But, it is possible all depend on where user live? I am couple blocks away from T-mobile HQ in Bellevue WA.
BTW, I literally PM uninstall all t-mobile packages off both of my phones. why don't you do the speedtest between your N200 and A32 since you also have both, curious what is the different?
My issue is not just speed, its the point that the A32 will loose data randomly.
Example I put an A32 and N200 in the window facing my cloeset tower turn on hotspot let them sit there, within 30 min the A32 will drop the connection and or drop down to LTE while the N200 stays connected for days on end without issue. Granted I'm more rural but its the point the N200 holds on a consiant 30mbps while the A32 cant even maintain a connection. In city areas its fine.
hyelton said:
My issue is not just speed, its the point that the A32 will loose data randomly.
Example I put an A32 and N200 in the window facing my cloeset tower turn on hotspot let them sit there, within 30 min the A32 will drop the connection and or drop down to LTE while the N200 stays connected for days on end without issue. Granted I'm more rural but its the point the N200 holds on a consiant 30mbps while the A32 cant even maintain a connection. In city areas its fine.
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i usb tether my a326u1 and it never drops, maybe you have a faulty one? maybe network depriorisation?
financeledger said:
i usb tether my a326u1 and it never drops, maybe you have a faulty one? maybe network depriorisation?
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USB tether same thing. Cant be faulty all 4 of them do this... If it was network depriorsation that would affect the N200 and OnePlus 8T as well which it doesnt. Granted the A32 works great in populated areas where signal is good, but rual areas it fails while others are still fine.
You guys may want to Google what bands each phone is compatible with. That's likely what's going on here.
No big deal, but I must say I'm a little confused that people in this thread seem to be confusing cellular "speed" (Mbps) with cellular "signal strength" (dBm), at least that's what it appears to be when I skim this thread.
If people are equating them, then that's fine - I won't quibble (as they're somewhat tangentially related even as they're two completely different measurement units of different things altogether).
What caused me to open this thread was the title said "Cellular Signal" even as it doesn't discuss anything about cellular signal strength.
If it's only about speed tests, then maybe the title can be edited by the OP, but if it's really about cellular signal strength, there are a bunch of good free ad free gsf free apps which measure & report cellular signal strength (usually it's measured in decibels of varying types) in a moving graph (the graph is the important part as the numbers themselves can fluctuate wildly).
Cellular-Z by JerseyHo
LTE Discovery by Simply Advanced
Mobile Trace by RFAssurance
Signal Spy by Novvia
The signal strength is easy to view in settings...
blackhawk said:
The signal strength is easy to view in settings...
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Yes. Thank you for clarifying. I wasn't clear enough. I'm sorry.
This will get you instantaneous signal strength readings.
Android 11 Settings.
Tap About phone.
Tap Status information.
Tap SIM card status.
Scroll down to Signal strength.
This is your instantaneous signal strength in dBm & asu.
By way of additional useful signal strength functionality, most (if not all) of the free ad free apps I previously listed not only provide a moving real-time graph of that same instantaneous cellular signal strength in any of a number of measurements (e.g., RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ & SNR) but they also provide the unique tower ID (often down to the exact sector antenna) and the neighboring cells, along with frequency, band, EARFCN, etc.
I think some even estimate the location of the cellular tower on an OSM map (where even the unregistered homeowners' microcells are located on those maps - which aren't usually found on Internet databases).
no clue said:
LOL, you sound like I am providing fake testing. I am using N200 myself beause faster facial recognition. However, the fact remain that A32 is faster for me. Here is another shot while during the testing.
But, it is possible all depend on where user live? I am couple blocks away from T-mobile HQ in Bellevue WA.
BTW, I literally PM uninstall all t-mobile packages off both of my phones. why don't you do the speedtest between your N200 and A32 since you also have both, curious what is the different?
View attachment 5382925
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Just wanna say, it might be doing worse on one device vs the other because the tests are running at the same time so they're both fighting for the limited bandwidth. And whatever device starts first gets the lead and keeps it.
Latest patch (baseband A326WVLU6AUK2, November 1st 2021) sort of fixed the bad wifi signal. However, my 5g signal is still trash with this phone (I'm with Telus).
I just keep it on LTE and it works nicely.