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Poor WIFI reception on Captivate

HI,
Has anybody noticed that captivate has poor WIFI reception compared to other devices? I have two captivates with the same problem and have seen others have the similar problems.
It is just fine anywhere wifi signal is good. but it becomes horribly bad with farther distance from APs. The tested place is my office desk
where I never had any problem with my laptops and my old phone(Lg-incite) during the last 2-3 years.
Are you all fine with WIFI performance of Captivate?
Thank you

It seems equivalent to my old iphone.

My captivate was getting less wifi bars then my iphone from just 10 feet away from cable modem router. Checked on both original captivate and replacement. Seems like the reception and wifi seems a bit weak

Is it still connecting and just not showing as strong a signal, or not connecting at all?
Also, if you have both phones handy maybe you can do a speed test/comparison between the two. Maybe it's all in how they calculate those signal bars. . .

Bars don't necessarily mean anything.

I'm not having any WiFi problem on my Captivate at all - even in the corner of the house where my laptop and my wife's laptop sometimes have problems - I also pick up signals from neighbor's wifi routers.

mongstradamus said:
My captivate was getting less wifi bars then my iphone from just 10 feet away from cable modem router. Checked on both original captivate and replacement. Seems like the reception and wifi seems a bit weak
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They might calculate that wrong too, seeing how they were really far off on calculating phone reception.
The best thing to do is a speed test on each. Obviously higher speed is better but I am curious what the latency is like.

candymann said:
Is it still connecting and just not showing as strong a signal, or not connecting at all?
Also, if you have both phones handy maybe you can do a speed test/comparison between the two. Maybe it's all in how they calculate those signal bars. . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not complaining about bars. all show weak signals and still can connect to internet, while captivates are disconnected.
it may be normal for smartphones. The only smartphone I am comparing is Lg-incite. Incite may be exceptionally good on wifi reception. In the points I have tested, laptops do not have problem to connect.
thanks,

I've noticed that same problem with my Captivate....I'll connect with "Good" to "Excellent" connection, but data crawls if at all....Full data reset, and still no improvement...

Wifi Issues

When I move into my room, my laptop gets 90%-100% signal strength from my Wifi, my phone however randomly looses signal completely and especially when I take up the phone to use it. It's very frustrating. Plus when I'm on 3G, it constantly switches from 3G to H too.

The 3g H switching is normal if you are on tmo us and running the eu roms and has been discussed quite a bit
not sure what you mean by losing signal, but i get diff bars diff places in my house. never lose the whole connection as in not being able to dl or browse web
did you run speed tests at these diff locations in house

rugmankc said:
The 3g H switching is normal if you are on tmo us and running the eu roms and has been discussed quite a bit
not sure what you mean by losing signal, but i get diff bars diff places in my house. never lose the whole connection as in not being able to dl or browse web
did you run speed tests at these diff locations in house
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Click to collapse
I think you misunderstood his post. His primary problem is that the wifi on his phone doesn't come close to the signal strength his laptop has when in the same room.
The secondary problem was the 3g/4g switching.
OP -- I have no idea what to tell you.

no, i understood. just saying my phone wifi bars fluctuate even if my laptop has good signal. may just be the way they both display strength readings
i think op should run speed tests btw the two at same time. however both devices are splitting signal so may not be as good as only one running at a time
his speeds may be fine even though bars don't show it

rugmankc said:
no, i understood. just saying my phone wifi bars fluctuate even if my laptop has good signal. may just be the way they both display strength readings
i think op should run speed tests btw the two at same time. however both devices are splitting signal so may not be as good as only one running at a time
his speeds may be fine even though bars don't show it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in Jamaica, no T-mobile. I'm not sure if I'm running an EU rom. My problem is that I loose connectivity to Wifi totally randomly in my room with even little motion. I mentioned my laptop for reference... it's like there's poor signal in my room. The phone'll just bit sitting on my bed, I hear an alert and pick up the phone to realize I've lost Wifi.
Speed is not the problem, I've been able to run a speed test to confirm I get the speed I'm supposed to get. Other times though, the speed test could not complete because I moved a little and lost connectivity.

HTC One S wifi
HTC One S wifi
Make sure that your SIM access cover is snapped in place.
It happened to me with the WiFi signal - The phone was losing signal, and had low signal 1 foot away from the router.
I 'pinched' the top-right corner of the access cover (thumb on the glass, index finger on the back cover) - I heard a 'click' and suddenly my WiFi was at full strength. I believe that the WiFi antenna is not connected unless it snaps together.

ok, not sure what to suggest. you could try turning airplane mode on and of and see if that helps
maybe router settings with the phone if you always had the issue
under settings/wifi/ tap on wifi then the 3 dot menu--Advanced. See if Keep Wi-Fi on during Sleep is Always. If not tap on it and change to Always
Also at bottom of Advanced menu is a DLNA setting, you could toggle that
barring that or someone else's ideas--maybe hardware and needs replaced

Try turning on Best Wifi Performance in Wifi, advanced settings.
Sent from my HTC VLE_U

Turning on best WiFi performance totally killed my battery life, but that may just be me.
If you're losing signal on one device but not another, I'd recommend changing the channel on your router. Interference on certain channels can cause weird issues with some devices. There are apps on the market that will show you which channels are congested in your area.

ptweasel said:
Turning on best WiFi performance totally killed my battery life, but that may just be me.
If you're losing signal on one device but not another, I'd recommend changing the channel on your router. Interference on certain channels can cause weird issues with some devices. There are apps on the market that will show you which channels are congested in your area.
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Click to collapse
Hmmm... I'll try that. So far turning on DLNA and Best Performance hasn't made any difference. I'll try changing the channel when I get home later and post the results. I REALLY hope h/w is not the problem.. it's gonna be a hassle sending this back.

It might be worth gently cleaning the contacts exposed when you remove the SIM access panel. As District noted, good contact is necessary for wifi (and probably other features). Dust or a fingerprint may be problematic.

Anything to bear in mind when trying to clean it or adjust it? I'm really paranoid I'll mess it up.

make sure you use electrical cleaner
radio shack sells it, comes in spray can
if you haven't had sim card out or phone long, probably not issue. but, worth try
if you have another router, you can always try that

Nothing seems to work... I'm using channel 11 @ home which doesn't seem to be crowded. I have the same issue @ work with our router. I've been having this problem from I got the phone last week. This is after I initially removed the back cover to first insert my SIM.
I'm going to try and see if I can secure a cleaner... I tried blowing on it mean time. Also turned on DLNA and best wifi performance and all.

DLNA auto-IP setting worked for me.
Hi OP,
I had the exact same wifi issues on my One S. I tried the router at work, the router at home and my mates router with the same results.
Mine seems to work now, with no disconnections or manually connections. What seems to have worked for me -- Wifi - Advanced menu -- DLNA auto-IP setting - toggle on. Then restart, making sure the setting is still set after reboot. Seems to have fixed my wifi issues.
HTH.
Darren.

Weak Wifi reception

A few users reported weak WiFi signal strength on N5. Good WiFi signal strength is very important for me and this is one of things I like on my current SGS, so Im wondering how good is Wlan strength on yours N5 ?
Also Androidizen posted video about WiFi problem:

I received my N5 yesterday and i am facing this weak WiFi signal problem.
I compared it with my Iphone 5.
i was 8 feet away having my back to router, iphone 5 showed full strength signals while N5 showed 3/4 signal strength.

Ive had my nexus 5 for a few days now, and the main thing that is annoying me is the wifi, the signal is so flaky one minute im on full bars, next minute its on 1 or 2, then back to full. this can be in line of sight with the router. Ive tried a few routers at home and at work, same issue. I have tried an iphone, nokia and samsung and they all have a much better range. I'm contemplating taking this back now and getting a refund, as i don't think its acceptable. does anyone else get this constant fluctuation?
I have also noticed when you put your hand over the top of the phone the signal can drop completely. Not taht i do this, but other phones i have do not suffer with this.

i take it not many people are seeing this issue, are others with the phone able to check the wifi range and fluctuations in comparison with other devices. How can it go from full bars to 2, then back to full constantly when other phones are solid. Trying to work out if its worth exchanging for another. Speeds just change from say 72mbs to like 19mbs non stop. Thanks

Side by side with my Nexus 4 I'm getting the same strength and speed.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

mintume said:
I received my N5 yesterday and i am facing this weak WiFi signal problem.
I compared it with my Iphone 5.
i was 8 feet away having my back to router, iphone 5 showed full strength signals while N5 showed 3/4 signal strength.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not use the bars when comparing signal.
Download an app that shows you the actual signal level in dbm. Bars can be set to whatever the developer wants. I could make you have full bars at -110 dbm which would be a useless connection, but still show full bars. For the most part, you should disregard them.

Would be possible to boost WiFi reception with a software tweak? Even if Google doesnt provide a fix, could be WiFi signal strength increased in custom roms? I hope some developer will know to answer this.
I have chance to get N5 32gb next week and I really want it, but since Im a lot in other countries, good WiFi signal strength is very important for me (to connect on WiFi hotspots)
Thanx

Is it an issue of signal strength only? Does it ever disconnect you completely? "Strength" would be much less of a concern than disconnects, now THAT would be annoying.

Spitfire said:
Is it an issue of signal strength only? Does it ever disconnect you completely? "Strength" would be much less of a concern than disconnects, now THAT would be annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read that some N5 owners lost WiFi connection when they were about 10 m away from router. This is unacceptable IMO. I hope software tweak can boost WiFi reception.

I confirm the weak wifi too.

signal
i have nexus 5 16gb white, signal is very very weak!!! i have N4 and GN and have perfect signal!
the problem of weak wifi, is all about the nexus? we have to wait for a fix or should call google and give it back?

I'm facing the same issue. I'm few feets from AP and I'm getting weak and unstable signal. The worse thing is that it is not picking up signal from my main AP (Edimax) at home... It does not "see" the network at all even all other devices at home use it fine.

Very weak signal with this phone, I got full bars on my previous phones in my office but now only 2 bars. If you put your hand near the top of the phone the signal completely drops.

Same issue here, very weak reception. No issues with may tablet or laptops, but Nexus isnt getting good signal. White 32GB.

Yup weak signal. Initially it didn't want to connect to 3g but that was fixed with the service menu. And now I am noticing weak WiFi signal.
I'm guessing this has to do with the antenna.
Its easy to open the phone I'm going to crack it open and see what I find.

Have you folks tried going into your N5's WiFi settings & look under the Advanced submen (press the 3 dots on the lower right of screen)
Tried turning off 5 Ghz band if your router is on the typical 2.4 Ghz band - and if you have the newer dual band N router, enable your 5 Ghz band - could be interferences from other nearby devices or AP ??
Install the free app, Wifi Analayzer from Play Store & run it - take a look at your AP's signal strength, try switching to a less congested channel since the airwaves are shared, regardless which of the 11 channels you are defaulting to ...
Mine is running just fine, -60 to -50 dBm with the N home router behind 2 sheetrock walls.

Compared to my Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy SIII, I have superior Wifi Signal on my Nexus 5 to a very positive surprise...however network drop outs for Cellular connection is quite annoying...

guys try to disable the wifi optimization under advanced wifi setting and set the band to 2.4 . it worked with me :good:

I have to use my 2.4GHz connection because the phone didn't work at all on the 5GHz.
Sent from my Nexus 5

I have this problem too. Sometimes my signal is so weak that it disconnects with the router and falls back on 3G.
I tried everything. Just went into Safe Mode, but Wifi is still weak, it doesnt matter.
I tried to only use 2,4GHz and turned Wifi optimalisation off. Still the same weak signal.
I tested it with the app "Wifi Analyzer" If I stand next to the router it gets about -50dBm. Then I tested it with my brothers Galaxy S2, he got -40dBm. Thats a difference of 10dBm. -40dBm is a stronger signal.
We tried it at the 2nd floor, and he got a better signal again. So it's obviously my Nexus.
Android 4.4.2, stock, no root or something. Google come with a solution please. My previous phone had the same ****ty Wifi (HTC One X).

Anyone else experience cooldown mode on 3G?

For the second time now, while talking on the phone and connected to BT wireless in my car, my S2 3G has automatically gone into cooldown mode after getting noticeably warmer on my wrist. Just wondering if anyone else has observed this?

I have had this happen on 3G with a weak signal. I think I have carried over a 30 min conversation over bluetooth.

Thanks for the data point. I may have been in a week signal area. Most of the time, I have no problem over BT.

Delayed WiFi timeout to disconnect?

This is something I've noticed over time now, honestly not entirely sure if it's just this phone because I never really paid attention to it on others.
Does anyone else notice that it takes a bit of time for wifi to actually disconnect from a network when you get far enough from it to have poor signal?
I mostly notice this when I walk my dogs. I'm able to walk almost an entire block away before Wi-Fi disconnects, as per the status showing.
I already removed antennas from the router as I do not need extended distance but it honestly seems like a phantom connection.
When I go back to the same spot that the wifi eventually drops and use Wi-Fi analyzer I don't even see the network.
Anyone else notice?