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.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Related
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
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
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
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+
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
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...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Is anyone else else having issues with their GPS? I'm running stocked rooted and it takes my phone forever to get a lock from the birds. It doesn't matter if I'm inside or outside it takes 30-60 seconds for a lock which I think is ridiculous.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
mauricehall said:
Is anyone else else having issues with their GPS? I'm running stocked rooted and it takes my phone forever to get a lock from the birds. It doesn't matter if I'm inside or outside it takes 30-60 seconds for a lock which I think is ridiculous.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to reevaluate.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 4
bluenote73 said:
You need to reevaluate.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fix 11/23 sats in max seconds, sometimes it fix up to 18 sats after 2/3 minutes...... Stock, without mods.. :good:
Do you have WiFi and aGPS location reporting off? It could slow down position locking.
Sometimes my Nexus 4 GPS antenna hangs though, a restart and locking on via Maps helps for some reason, I use the app GPS Stats to see how many satellites the phone's seeing, but I guess you've done that. Maybe try out a tracking SW like Locus or something and see if the phone remains locked when moving for a longer period of time like going home from work, if GPS signal constantly goes away I'd recommend contacting Google on the issue. They'll either confirm to look into it or offer a replacement.
These are that stats I'm getting with GPS status seems very off to me... I'm probably going to contact sprint about this later today or tomorrow
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I'm having a problem with GPS on mine as well. I play Ingress which is a location-based game made by Niantic (owned by Google). I have a lot of experience playing this game back to January on my Nexus 4 and have also played on my Nexus 7. The Nexus 5 is slow to lock and has much greater error than the Nexus 4 as reported by GPS Status when I am holding phones side-by-side. It seems to really perform worse under non-ideal conditions (inside a car, near tall buildings, bad weather). It seems to lose lock or otherwise have greater error under those conditions especially. I have heard of people who have no apparent issues though so it could be my device is just defective.
swoon_ said:
I'm having a problem with GPS on mine as well. I play Ingress which is a location-based game made by Niantic (owned by Google). I have a lot of experience playing this game back to January on my Nexus 4 and have also played on my Nexus 7. The Nexus 5 is slow to lock and has much greater error than the Nexus 4 as reported by GPS Status when I am holding phones side-by-side. It seems to really perform worse under non-ideal conditions (inside a car, near tall buildings, bad weather). It seems to lose lock or otherwise have greater error under those conditions especially. I have heard of people who have no apparent issues though so it could be my device is just defective.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 under the exact same conditions. Really pissed me off blowing through L8's and "all resonators missed" pops up when I'm on top of the goddamn thing.
I came from the Note2 and noticed that the GPS kind of acts like a kid who didn't get the tootsie roll so just acts like a lil punk and doesn't listen or do what they're told. Nothing as horrible as the old Captivate fiasco, but nowhere near other devices I've owned. I'm guessing an update or two can fix it (along with the camera and signal drop issues)
+side note+
faction and location?
Feelin' smurfy in central Florida
I also have problems with the GPS.
The satellites are really long to fix (approx 5min, even with aGPS), and the signal drop quickly.
Only way to play Ingress : wifi positioning.
It is impossible for me to use Navigation in car
same here
mauricehall said:
Is anyone else else having issues with their GPS? I'm running stocked rooted and it takes my phone forever to get a lock from the birds. It doesn't matter if I'm inside or outside it takes 30-60 seconds for a lock which I think is ridiculous.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem here on pure stock, no root. In car navigation is useless. Gps status toolbox is able to make it fix for a little while but signal is lost again after a (few) minute(s). Only thing I might have done out of the ordinary is switch from dalvik to ART. Gonna revert that just to see. Will report.
Reverting tot dalvik doesn't Fix it. so as a test, unlocked bootloader and reflahed stock firmware from google page so it was pristine again. No joy, no GPS lock.
This with stock without mod.....
There are some various threads also on the issue. I have found that the GPS appears to improve when I applied some pressure to the area below where the camera is on the back. The GPS antena is here and there is some hypothesis that the antenna may not be secured properly resulting in the poor performance. I was able to have better results playing Ingress after doing this. Per GPS Status, performance still not as good as my N4 so will probably RMA soon. It would be interesting if some having the issue tries applying the pressure to see if there is any improvement.
Mine doesn't see catch any signals on ART.
on dalvik it works but very slow compared to a S4
A S4 locks on 11sats in 10 secs indoors.
My N5 sees 2 in the first minute then just sits there.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
eustilou said:
Mine doesn't see catch any signals on ART.
on dalvik it works but very slow compared to a S4
A S4 locks on 11sats in 10 secs indoors.
My N5 sees 2 in the first minute then just sits there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More info... I have a US model and I am currently in Europe.
I compared mine side by side with a european model (D821) and it locked on much faster... 10-15 seconds.
I compared the gps.conf files and they are identical.
Someone started a thread one Google's forum. I suggest everyone add their post to that list so Google can see it and address the issue.
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/EkllXr0ZlZM
I'll test applying pressure to the back of the phone later but that's obviously not a long term solution.
EDIT: Applying pressure didn't seem to help.
I was on ART and couldn't get a lock. Switched back to Dalvik and it locked right away the first time. Turned off all GPS/Wifi/etc and waited 5 minutes. Second time could not get a lock whatsoever so I did the usual wipe cache/etc and uninstalled the GPS test app and re-installed and still nothing.
Calling Google.
EDIT#2: RMA on the way. Google support could not confirm whether other users were reporting problems. Rather than wait for a software fix I'm taking my chances with a new device.
no issues for me
Locks instantly using T-Mobile in lost Vegas. Had sprint with last 2 htc's. Was always hit and miss. Sucked
eustilou said:
More info... I have a US model and I am currently in Europe.
I compared mine side by side with a european model (D821) and it locked on much faster... 10-15 seconds.
I compared the gps.conf files and they are identical.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own a german bought 32GB D821 with serious gps issues too so that theory doesn't fly.
Same issue here as well. As an Ingress player, this is extremely frustrating. It loses its GPS lock way too frequently.
Try 2G Network mode on Mobile Network Settings
Actually, this problem persists since Nexus 4 with Jelly Bean jwr66y update. GPS Status app show me that my GPS got really weak signals when I'm in 3G networks, but it got really strong signals and work very well when I choose 2G network mode in 'Mobile Network Settings'. I wonder is it the some problem with you guys? If it is, then it's absolutely Android bug, not hardware issue.
panunggal said:
Actually, this problem persists since Nexus 4 with Jelly Bean jwr66y update. GPS Status app show me that my GPS got really weak signals when I'm in 3G networks, but it got really strong signals and work very well when I choose 2G network mode in 'Mobile Network Settings'. I wonder is it the some problem with you guys? If it is, then it's absolutely Android bug, not hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I agree. My nexus 4 is rock solid with GPS on any network mode (LTE/H+/2G) and always has been. Even in areas where my signal isn't strong the GPS wouldn't ever falter.
I've posted my personal findings at http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/EkllXr0ZlZM now that I have my RMA device in hand also and can do side-by-side comparisons.
screenshots from GPS Status on nexus 4
That's kinda strange. What version of Android do you installed in your N4? Here 2 screenshots of GPS Status on my N4. First, I use 3G network (as you can see on the signal bar at the top of the screen) and waited about 3 minutes outdoor under clear sky. Weak signals. Then, still standing on the same spot, I switch to 2G Network and look at those bars, and the time it needs to get fix, work perfectly.
I hope by posting this here we can find an answer to a problem that a lot of OPO users are complaining of. the device has a terrible cell and WiFI reception when compared to other devices in the same area and using the same wifi networks.
Cell reception:
I`m on a 4G network . however i find that i have 0-1 bar almost all of the time in areas where i used to have 3-4 bars. and as a result i constantly get missed calls notifications. I read that switching to 3G in the phone settings might help, and that`s when i ran into the second problem. Switching to 3G will indeed give me better reception 3-4 bars but then the whole connection becomes erratic, and the phone will go from 3 bars to ``no connection`` back to 4 bars 4 to 5 times every minutes and i will lose mobile data totally on 3G.
WiFi reception and connection:
I have a secure 802.1x connection at work spread over 2 buildings. the phone will connect to 1 only and will not connect to the same network in the other building at all. both have the same SSID , settings, and login information. but the phone will just cycle between `connecting`` to `` secured with 802.1x``. I tried all roms available and the only ROM that worked was `Gummy ROM``. only when using that ROM, is the phone able to connect to that WiFi network!! and i have no explanation for that.
All these problems I mentioned above are consistent across all roms and there seems to be no answer from OPO support or on the official forum for the phone. I hope someone can provide me with a solution or an answer to this.
Thank you all
asem said:
I hope by posting this here we can find an answer to a problem that a lot of OPO users are complaining of. the device has a terrible cell and WiFI reception when compared to other devices in the same area and using the same wifi networks.
Cell reception:
I`m on a 4G network . however i find that i have 0-1 bar almost all of the time in areas where i used to have 3-4 bars. and as a result i constantly get missed calls notifications. I read that switching to 3G in the phone settings might help, and that`s when i ran into the second problem. Switching to 3G will indeed give me better reception 3-4 bars but then the whole connection becomes erratic, and the phone will go from 3 bars to ``no connection`` back to 4 bars 4 to 5 times every minutes and i will lose mobile data totally on 3G.
WiFi reception and connection:
I have a secure 802.1x connection at work spread over 2 buildings. the phone will connect to 1 only and will not connect to the same network in the other building at all. both have the same SSID , settings, and login information. but the phone will just cycle between `connecting`` to `` secured with 802.1x``. I tried all roms available and the only ROM that worked was `Gummy ROM``. only when using that ROM, is the phone able to connect to that WiFi network!! and i have no explanation for that.
All these problems I mentioned above are consistent across all roms and there seems to be no answer from OPO support or on the official forum for the phone. I hope someone can provide me with a solution or an answer to this.
Thank you all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting the same problems.
Where signal is always strong, it seems to work OK, but with weaker signal it just screws up!
Its really pissing me off as i've take the phone to work for the first time, just to find out I cannot get any signal there, where by my HTC Desire worked just fine.
Also getting exactly the same problems. It is impossible to use OPO where signal is not so strong although other phones work flawlessly. Reception signal strength goes up and down all the time from full to none bars. Data connection is inconsistent.
Anyone with weak inconsistent signal strength vote here: https://jira.cyanogenmod.org/browse/BACON-132
I still hope that what we are experiencing is due to firmware and drivers issues that can be solved by the developers on XDA. However, the complete silence by OnePlus and Cyanogen regarding this issue despite the number of people complaining, makes me worried that it's a bigger hardware issue that they are trying to avoid and move into "we'll fix it in the next version of the phone” kind of scenario.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
asem said:
I still hope that what we are experiencing is due to firmware and drivers issues that can be solved by the developers on XDA. However, the complete silence by OnePlus and Cyanogen regarding this issue despite and number of people complaining makes me worried that it's a bigger hardware issue that they are trying to avoid and move into "we'll fix it in the next version of the phone” kind of scenario.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be bad scenario. I hope that it is just software problems. But seeing how OnePlus deals with the problems I also have doubts.
I would say it's software baseband/modem and CM needs to step it up. My Nexus 5 has a better signal strength. But then Google has a much bigger development team than CM or One plus. My friend has the GS5 and it has the snapdragon 801 chip set and it has a much better signal strength.
So ether the One's antenna is not that great or it a software problem.
As you can see the controller is on chip.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I don't have it as bad as some have posted so hope things get fixed for all.
Yeah. Many users are having problems with cell reception.
It's a shame.
My wife & I both using OPO international version, both of us facing poor signal & sound problem when we get them. Sound problem is currently handled by boosting the sound but frankly the sound is a bit deteriorated. The signal problem is better a bit now by installing oppo 7 radio. Hope the team can put more effort on the signal problem. It is phone!
I have this issue too, but I think this is a hardware problem, because CM and OPO teams do nothing for fix this problem, and Chao Chen at CM Jira says that this poor signal is a normal... I realy think about selling my OPO and buy another phone...
I have pretty crappy signal on mine too (London UK). Signal strength fluctuates wildly even by moving the phone in a different direction. I've reverted to the previous modem via a flash .zip and things seem a bit better but it's early days. I would have thought that number 1 priority for a phone is that it actually works well as...well, a phone!
Disappointed that the 'giant killer' tag doesn't quite match the reality.
I sincerely hope there are improvements but I have my doubts.
virgopunk said:
I have pretty crappy signal on mine too (London UK). Signal strength fluctuates wildly even by moving the phone in a different direction. I've reverted to the previous modem via a flash .zip and things seem a bit better but it's early days. I would have thought that number 1 priority for a phone is that it actually works well as...well, a phone!
Disappointed that the 'giant killer' tag doesn't quite match the reality.
I sincerely hope there are improvements but I have my doubts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have this problem on O2 uk wonder if its anything to do with 4g which isn't supported on this network. Have any of you tried PAC rom.
This problem is really starting to be a major issue for me. I expected some improvement by now.
Does anyone know is this has been confirmed as a radio/kernel issue or a hardware issue (antennas maybe).