Evo 4G As Replacement? - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Even though I love my Nexus, I am thinking of calling the Sprint people for a replacement. Here's why I think it is defective hardware:
- Poor 3G Connection Speed (50-150 Kbps)
- NO 4G connection in "In Building" region of Chicago (I'm outside)
- VERY poor voice calls, drops out about 1/2 of calls
- 1 bar of WiFi about 5ft from router.
Do I have a case/ any hope?

OH, I have also reset the phone 3x, "activated" 2x, and updated profile 4x. All to no avail.

Sounds like you have a bad device. Mine doesn't have any of these issues.

Although not all ns4g have these problems, it is common. I had 2 different ns4g's and they both had these problems; though it could be a mixture of hardware design and my local network. I would be really surprised if sprint would exchange phones based on that argument though.
Its a breath of fresh air coming to a GSM ns; minus the data cap of course!
Sent from my Nexus S

All the points except two are "normal" for me. This is true with other 4g phones I've had too. The wifi, I can look now 90° to my left, and through the clear of any obstructions sliding glass door I can see my router maybe 10 to 15 feet from me and I'm only getting 75% signal. Dropped calls I haven't experienced except for one place. On my way home, there was always one spot that the phone would drop when one tower is handing me over to the next one. It stopped doing that recently so I guess the problem was fixed on their end. If you're getting those speeds during the weekdays, that's not bad considering that's usually when the network is busy.

alanthemanofchicago said:
OH, I have also reset the phone 3x, "activated" 2x, and updated profile 4x. All to no avail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe try another radio, some have bad signal.

I have both. They are good at different things. I carried the Evo for 9 months and the nexus for about 2 months so far. Probably won't go back to the Evo anytime soon.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

I am in the same boat except that I jsut bought my NS4G last weekend so I am still in grace period. I am working with a rep. from sprint to figure out why I get no 3G coverage in my house when I am in the second tier of excellent, good, fair, and poor coverage. I really love my NS4G and don't want to let it go.

The Evo definitely has better signal, more features, bigger screen, maybe better support/Development. I like my ns4g because it's fast and simple. Easy to root, beautiful screen. Plus personally I don't need or use most of the features on the Evo.
Hell, I would consider selling it if the price were right, but I will never sell this Nexus. Unless it is toward upgrading to the next Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

Related

Getting flack from friends for switching

They all are saying AT&T is evil, I'm crazy blah blah vampire emergency blah...
OMG WHAT HAVE I DONE????
Seriously. All Cellular carriers in the US are evil. Just in different ways. Why all the AT&T hate? Where's the gotchas?
Are they paying for your phone or wireless bill?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
mesasone said:
Are they paying for your phone or wireless bill?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. Plenty of people have legitimate reasons to complain about AT&T (dropped calls, lack of coverage, etc) but plenty of people have never had a single issue with them. Personally I just switched to AT&T for the Captivate (formerly with T-Mobile) and I've been happy so far. I get at least the same if not better coverage and my bill is actually cheaper thanks to a 21% discount from my employer.
it's fashionable to hate at&t. If you listened to these people, at&t would have worse coverage than tmobile. Anyone who's ever owned both outside of a major metro area knows that's a joke.
AT&T issues are market-based and are not universal. If any of your "friends" are iPhone 4 users, their problems are universal.
i dont have any real complaints with service anymore (one perk of the iphone)
but i dont think ive had one single interaction with att that they didnt mess up (ex. adding a line and putting a messaging block on the whole account. wtf?)
I was one of those that had trouble with at&t. I had each iPhone generation, and all 3g versions would drop calls. Now I will say I worked for apple retail at the genius bar for this time period, and it was all to frequent in terms of customers complaining. I bought the hype that it was at&T's sucky network causing all the issues.
Then the iPhone 4 hit. I had one. Returned it due to lack of satisfaction with he fix for the search grip as well as the proximity sensor issue. I immediately went and got the captivate.
I haven't dropped a single call since. Not one. Even in areas that were guaranteed to drop on 3 successive generations of iPhone. I have yet to have any issue.
That tells me something.
That I will not go back. No matter what.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
id10terrordfw said:
I haven't dropped a single call since. Not one. Even in areas that were guaranteed to drop on 3 successive generations of iPhone. I have yet to have any issue.
That tells me something.
That I will not go back. No matter what.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same, my wife and I were disgusted with our iPhone 3Gs, both dropped calls and limited customization, and poor performance with the iOS 4 update. It was so bad we thought it was AT&T's network and were contemplating on switching carriers. I decided to try out the Captivate, and it's been awesome.
And your buddies are jealous, that's all
id10terrordfw said:
I was one of those that had trouble with at&t. I had each iPhone generation, and all 3g versions would drop calls. Now I will say I worked for apple retail at the genius bar for this time period, and it was all to frequent in terms of customers complaining. I bought the hype that it was at&T's sucky network causing all the issues.
Then the iPhone 4 hit. I had one. Returned it due to lack of satisfaction with he fix for the search grip as well as the proximity sensor issue. I immediately went and got the captivate.
I haven't dropped a single call since. Not one. Even in areas that were guaranteed to drop on 3 successive generations of iPhone. I have yet to have any issue.
That tells me something.
That I will not go back. No matter what.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience is similar. I have had at&t for years.i never had a problem with them until I had an iphone. The three I had dropped calls constantly. Now I have the captivate and at&t is great again.
thanks all. You'll never get a die hard apple fanboi to admit the iphone problems are problems with the phone. Thanks for the positive stories
Yeah, when I had my first gen iPhone, I occasionally dropped calls and just generally had bad quality. I figured it was AT&T's infamous network. I almost switched carriers, but I was prepaid at that time and had built up nearly a 500 dollar balance on my account, so I didn't want to lose that. So, I gave the Blackberry Bold (9000) a try - turns out it was the iPhone all along. I got great reception and fantastic call quality on my Bold.
I haven't made many calls with my Captivate - frankly, the voice/phone portion of my cellphone is fairly low on my priorities - but while it doesn't really seem to quite be up to the level of my Bold, it's still far ahead of my iPhone.
Same story here.
Had a WinMo phone for years (HTC Hermes) then switched to iPhone, started dropping calls, and losing data. It wasn't too big, and at about the same time I moved into a basement apt. I chalked it up to all the concrete that I could not talk on the phone when home. We moved again, and on my commute to and from work there were 3 spots that would lose signal EVERY time. Calls would drop, Pandora would stop playing, etc. Then I got my HTC Aria, same commute, far fewer dropped calls, then my Captivate (day 30 of my Aria return window) and haven't dropped a call since on the commute. AT&T having network issues? I think not.
I am giddy at the chance of a Verizon iPhone, so all the people complaining about AT&T will see that the iPhone on any network sucks.
I've had at&t for years, because until recently it was all we had I'm my area that was any count at all. Recently Verizon has moved in, and I did consider switching because of hardware choices. But I waited it out, and decided to go ahead with my Captivate, and I'm loving it. My friends all have iPhones and so did I. I never had the problems that they seem to have, but I'm happier now anyway being away from the tyranny of Steve Jobs.
Sent from my GT-I9000-Captivate using XDA App
i had to switch to at&t because of work. i do a lot of international travel and at&t's list of countries is about 5x bigger than any other carrier for reduced roaming rates. and GSM is more universal and i didn't want verizon's blackberry offerings.
i had minor issues with call drops, but that's because i'm usually in large metal/concrete airplane hangers.
so far though, no issues with captive. even with one bar, no call quality issues either in the states...or as of so far hong kong.
oh and my entire office but 2 others have iphones and i got nothing but flack for not getting one. glad i didn't
I have been with ATT since 1998 and the only issues I have ever had with dropped calls was with the following phones since the Cingular/ATT Merger: Nokia N-Gage QD, Motorola V551 *just close to my house*, Motorola V3 *close to my house and when the phone was at the end of its life*, Samsung Sync *bought it used of fleabay worst cell ever*, Nokia N55 *would drop in typical black hole areas*, Motorola Razr2 *POS never could get a good voice call on it no matter what area I was in*, Blackberry Curve 8300 *dropped calls in blackhole areas*, BB 8310 *same as 8300*, BB Bold 9000 Same as the previous BBs, and now the Captivate *same as the BB in terms of dropped calls which equals about 2 dropped calls in the past 5 weeks or so*...
Now funny thing when I talk to a couple of my friends who actually have the iPhone, they drop randomly and it is pretty funny where I dont have the issue with my Captivate. Even my friend who is also a snake breeder *boas, pythons and other snakes*, told me today he likes his iPhone 3G besides the dropping call issue and asked me how Android is treating me, I said I love it and not going back to BB...
HTH,
Charlie
Gunny, wtf Re you doing here in the ATT phone section? Shouldn't you be in the Hero section? >¦(
LOL
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.
LOL notasimpleway. Got tired of having an out of date phone and super slow EVDO.

[Q][SPRINT] Major issues with reception vs HTC Evo

Just got in the new Samsung Nexus S from Sprint and I've noticed some major issues in reception versus the HTC Evo from Sprint as well. I'm seeing a 2+ bar difference in the exact location sitting next to the Evo on the same Sprint network.
Is anybody having this issue? Or does anybody know of a fix.
I have the latest firmware (suggested fix by Sprint) and have seen several complaints about it on other less developer friendly forums.
If I can't come up with a solution soon, I think I'll have to get an Evo. But if you guys can understand, I'd prefer to keep the phone that will get timely updates.
Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions!
You can't compare signal across different devices based on "bars". Check the actual signal strength in Menu > Settings > About Phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I know you need dB... As soon as I can get the Evo next to me again for a comparison, I will post.
I'm a tech savvy guy, run a computer building company and build websites. I even develop some entry-level apps for a few clients (yes entry-level).
If one googles "spring nexus s reception," they'll find that this issue is quite common. I'm just curious as to whether it's hopeless or not.
I know I can petition for the Airave with Sprint and can at least get decent service at home.
It just seems peculiar to me that Google would endorse an inferior product. I live in a major Metropolitan area (DMA has it as a top 25 market - for those who aren't in the media business, that means it's one of the top 25 sized cities in the country). And this phone gets dismal reception.
Fact is, Evo does great in my house, Nexus S does not. I've heard some pretty bad reviews with the Galaxy S line of hardware so I'm figuring it's worth moving to the Evo.
To be honest, this phone is far superior (at the moment) with responsiveness and usability but if a phone can't operate well at being a phone, it's a waste of money. Especially if the hardware is inferior (phone-wise) to most of what HTC released a year ago. I love having a mini-computer in my pocket but I did aim at having a working phone.
Thoughts? Suggestions? School me? I will post the exact numbers when they again are available, until then, please only offer up friendly advice or questions. I am willing to try anything before taking this thing back.
You have not really described your issue. Do you have dropped calls or what?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I'm having issues with the Sprint Nexus S reception as well. Although my home location on Sprint's coverage map lists my area from medium to strong with 4G available right around the corner from my house I have dismal reception with the Nexus S. I had a trial EVO for a few weeks and reception was much better in the same area. If I try to call the Nexus S I often go right to voicemail, I'm told calls out (when I can) are choppy, data signal is often listed as 1x as opposed to 3g. Is it just this particular phone? Should I go to a Sprint store to have it tested?
There is atl least one thread over at the Sprint Message boards about bad reception on the Nexus S.
At work we have a repeater and the signal still only shows at one or two bars most of the time but data speeds seemed fine to me and I had no problem with making and getting calls.
No one else is having this issue?
This isn't the first post about this subject. I understand and agree. I'm not 100% sure about this when it comes to cell phones but different companies with different radios will give you different signals. If this is the same as two way radios, there's no standard on say how much signal equals one bar on the meter. Even the programs that give the signal strength in numbers, aren't universally accurate. When it comes to received signal, its how you can hear it, not really what the meter says. That number can easily be manipulated. A receiver sensitivity can be adjusted too but there are things that are thrown out too. Crank up the receive and you get more noise than distinguishing signal and adjacent frequency rejection goes to crap. You can work the receiver to have good rejection and sensitivity but you are making it more deaf too.
What I'm getting at is don't always go by what the signal meter says and take it as 100% truth. It is a good indicator of signal but not absolutely 100% accurate.
I am sitting about twenty feet from my router and yet the meter is telling me 50% signal which I know is bull****.
are you up to date?
Yobye, are you on 2.3.4? I have heard the update fixes some people's signal/radio issues.
yobyeknom said:
I'm having issues with the Sprint Nexus S reception as well. Although my home location on Sprint's coverage map lists my area from medium to strong with 4G available right around the corner from my house I have dismal reception with the Nexus S. I had a trial EVO for a few weeks and reception was much better in the same area. If I try to call the Nexus S I often go right to voicemail, I'm told calls out (when I can) are choppy, data signal is often listed as 1x as opposed to 3g. Is it just this particular phone? Should I go to a Sprint store to have it tested?
There is atl least one thread over at the Sprint Message boards about bad reception on the Nexus S.
At work we have a repeater and the signal still only shows at one or two bars most of the time but data speeds seemed fine to me and I had no problem with making and getting calls.
No one else is having this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto on this. Have all the latest updates. Think it may be time to trade in for the Evo.
I am on 2.3.4. I brought home another Sprint phone from work - a Sanyo Taho and got about the same terrible reception despite the fact I'm in a Sprint Best Coverage area on their map. I miss and drop calls and can't get voice or data connection - send mms, etc from my home. I've contacted Sprint about the tower strength in my neighborhood.

[Q] sensation the great

all that i've seen on these threads are some of the issues with the sensation, i am one who really likes this phone. i guess every phone has its issues and a few bad apples, but this is by far the best i've tested so far. is there anyone else who likes this phone.
I don't think so. We all pretty much hate it............
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
TJBunch1228 said:
I don't think so. We all pretty much hate it............
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, I cant stand it... it's a POS If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you
graffixnyc said:
yeah, I cant stand it... it's a POS If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol do i hear manhattan, $.25 to the first bidder?
This is the best phone I've ever had. No problems at all......I'm coming from the Droid Incredible. Which was also best phone ever for me. Until now.
I love mine. I am on my second one due to a bad USB port but other than that its the best phone I've had.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
OP: I'm glad you like the sensation.
The majority of the new purchaser haters, are kind of 'weak newcomers to the Smartphone ' genre.
They have to appreciate that the majority of these phones have faults. None so bad as the secondary MT4G screen, and even then some, none so bad as the N1 touchscreen, with still patriotic N1 followers such as myself .
Edit: Pardon the noobs.
I love the phone too I switched from evo 3d sprints data is terrible. Yea I had with evo random spurts of 12mbps but majority of the time I got the weak 500kbps on sprints weak 3g. Yes I live in a 4g area but its so spotty. I go 1 mile and have 4g then don't have it then have it and don't have it. When it switches from 4g to 3g the phone lost data for 20 seconds. Not worth ot. With tmob I consistently get 7mbps down and 1.5 up. No loss of data and same buttery smooth ui. Yes buttery smooth without a live wallpaper I have no lag issue in sense 3.0. This phone is sexy and a monster of a phone.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Now that my touchscreen is working, I say this is the best phone in the world
I just got mine over the weekend and love it so far. I came from a nexus one which was one of the best phones I ever had. Seems like it takes forever to charge though. Is that just me?
[email protected] said:
I just got mine over the weekend and love it so far. I came from a nexus one which was one of the best phones I ever had. Seems like it takes forever to charge though. Is that just me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First one I had had a defect battery, took me a little 8 hours to charge(and about 4 hours with 2 hours display to completely drain). The one I have now charged in 5 hours before the FOTA, and somewhat around 4 hours after the FOTA. I also noticed that the battery of my first phone tended to get extremely hot, while this one gets a little warmer at well, but not at the battery but more at the bottom.
Also noticed change in batterylife, first phone as mentioned couldn't make it through the day, this one managed 20 on first charge-cycle, and now around 25 hours with medium use. (2,5 hours displaytime)
It would be a great phone, if they fixed the known issues. Luckily I don't have the touch screen issue, but I have death grip and lag. Death grip is hardware, and can only be fixed by a new back cover.
i love my phone's guts! and my 2 bff's who touched it loved it instantly and are selling their Desire and Galaxy to get this
Thanks to all for the POSITIVE feedback on the phone and to the OP for starting this. Yeah I guess most of us prefer to point out problems. I've had this phone on the radar for months now (since first announced) and as I'm due for an upgrade at the end of the month, I have been getting very nervous with all of the death grip, dust under screen, unresponsive screen posts etc. Since I definitely don't want to go the alternative duo core plastic route, it is good to see some positive experiences.
ClydeB1 said:
it is good to see some positive experiences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to put what you read on the forums into perspective...though there are people from all over the world here, we are a very small cross-section of the market - the geeks, the ones who would see a teeny issue and freak the fck out because we want DA BEST!!!!11
so 50 people have a problem, i very much doubt htc gives a crap!
bwstonemd84 said:
I love the phone too I switched from evo 3d sprints data is terrible. Yea I had with evo random spurts of 12mbps but majority of the time I got the weak 500kbps on sprints weak 3g. Yes I live in a 4g area but its so spotty. I go 1 mile and have 4g then don't have it then have it and don't have it. When it switches from 4g to 3g the phone lost data for 20 seconds. Not worth ot. With tmob I consistently get 7mbps down and 1.5 up. No loss of data and same buttery smooth ui. Yes buttery smooth without a live wallpaper I have no lag issue in sense 3.0. This phone is sexy and a monster of a phone.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was my experience with Sprint too, and the main reason I didn't go with the Evo 3D. Sprint signal at my house is one bar on a good day, and every Sprint phone I've ever had has had problems just *connecting* to data. I had a Touch Pro 2 before I got my HD2 & I had to toggle airplane mode practically every few hours just to get the damn data to connect. I have full signal & full 4G with T-Mo, no data problems, and my speed is about 6-8mbps on a BAD day(and I've gotten up to 14 at times!).
Yes, this phone has it's share of problems but what phone doesn't? People will ***** about a negative before they gush about a positive, don't think that the Sensation is a POS because some people don't like it(which, IMO, user error/inexperience with smartphones in general is a big cause of). I absolutely love it. Great battery life, great sound, great screen, great speed, FANTASTIC camera, etc. It's a winner in my book.
n7of9 said:
you need to put what you read on the forums into perspective...though there are people from all over the world here, we are a very small cross-section of the market - the geeks, the ones who would see a teeny issue and freak the fck out because we want DA BEST!!!!11
so 50 people have a problem, i very much doubt htc gives a crap!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. I doubt the average consumer is worried about having an AUO or a Sharp panel, haha.
I love this phone! I'm coming from the tp2. I have the creek problem with the bottom right of my screen but honestly it doesnt bother me. I love the keyboard that it comes with and coming from the wonderful hardware keyboard on the tp2 I was a little worried about going all touchscreen but I've had no problems with it! Truely an amazing phone!
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Every problem I had with my prior Sensations is gone now except for Sense reloads but I never see that from LauncherPro. Battery life is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy on this new one! I go all day without recharging now. I can't even believe it. Used it all day yesterday and still had 37% 20 hours later. Took it off the charger today. Didn't use it for 8 hours and still at 100% even while receiving texts and emails. 13 hours later and some usage photos, G+, etc and 86%. Both other phones would have been dead by now.
I have an AUO panel now and it's great. I prefer the Sharp I had originally because the viewing angles seemed better.
Camera is fantastic with sharpness and saturation turned down.
Only probs I have are with Sense 3. Biggest bother is built in apps2sd feature telling me I dont have space on my sd card if i try to move more than a few at the same time. I don't really care much though. I have 90 something apps installed and 870mb free.
Almost forgot - my speaker is either a different component than the others or something. Maybe the default hardware settings are modified. Sounds much better than on the units I had to return. Don't have to use Volume+ at all.
First time writing here... hi all!
I've been reading these forums for month at least...checking SGS2 and Sensation. With all those troublesome posts I decided to bite the bullet and get myself HTC Sensation. Been using it for 2 days now and everything is working absolutely perfect, smooth and fast! No dust under screen, working flawless while unlocking in every possible situation (on the desk, on the floor, while charging, in my hands), no death grip no matter how hard i try though i can fell some small glitches while typing an sms or a message (maybe it's my sweaty fingers...it's horribly hot here)...but that's about it.
I asked the guy who sold me a phone if people are returning phones with anomalies or bad stuff happening but he answered (like we can believe that ) that they didnt have any of those big issues mentioned here. Guess we are lucky in Croatia
Not sure if phones were manufactured much precisely in the last weeks but this is really a fresh looking phone. Although I must mention there was no WOOOOOW factor as when I bought Desire last year (Maybe cos it was my first Android ).
Nevertheless I'm enjoying the phone and so far I'm glad that I didn't take SGS2 (didn't really fit in my hand, although it's faster and I'm not into gaming).
That's about it...good luck with your phone, it's a nice piece of hardware!

Signal reception: M8 vs S4

Anybody that used to have a Verizon S4 now with an M8 notice any difference with radio (data and phone) reception? The S4 is average and not a standout for signal reception. I would expect the S5 to be like the S4 for reception.
New device pixie dust can bias opinion until the pixie dust effect wears off, but hoping for some obectivity
m8 has better signal then my note 3 and i thought note 3 had about the same maybe slightly better then s4
I'm feeling like i get a stronger single on the M8 than the S4. Granted the LTE signal isn't that strong out here but the M8 maybe adds another bar for me.
HTCs radios are superior to Samsung's period end of story. HTCs hardware and build quality are superior end of story. Now Samsung makes the bomb tv's though!
^ What he said.
I'm coming from the S3 on Verizon. My phone would die after 5 hours in my house due to terrible reception. I can now make it 1.5 days with moderate use in my home without having to charge it. I can even send text messages from my couch now. Weee
-T
A little off topic and it's by no means scientific...but I'm in a very good LTE area and in the basement my DNA still gets 1-2 bars of LTE...the M8 only gets 3G..and if I force LTE only...no connection on the M8.
So I'd say my DNA has better signal reception...but then again I'm getting a new replacement M8 tomorrow as this one randomly reboots all the time...so I'll reserve final judgement until I have a proper working M8
The M8 has a better radio, with support for AWS bands so that it can connect to Verizon's LTE-A network. Faster speeds + less people using the network = profit for us
xShin said:
The M8 has a better radio, with support for AWS bands so that it can connect to Verizon's LTE-A network. Faster speeds + less people using the network = profit for us
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S4 also has AWS support.
i always found the best antenna on Motorola phones followed by HTC, then samsung. In my basement I get good signal with the maxx i had, sketchy signal with my s3 and s4, and acceptable signal from the m8.
bakemcbride21 said:
A little off topic and it's by no means scientific...but I'm in a very good LTE area and in the basement my DNA still gets 1-2 bars of LTE...the M8 only gets 3G..and if I force LTE only...no connection on the M8.
So I'd say my DNA has better signal reception...but then again I'm getting a new replacement M8 tomorrow as this one randomly reboots all the time...so I'll reserve final judgement until I have a proper working M8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My son has the DNA and is also better than my S4 for reception.
travisryans said:
^ What he said.
I'm coming from the S3 on Verizon. My phone would die after 5 hours in my house due to terrible reception. I can now make it 1.5 days with moderate use in my home without having to charge it. I can even send text messages from my couch now. Weee
-T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S3 and S4 both have awful power efficiency in bad signal areas. Battery sucking demons, so I turn the data radios off in weak signal areas to avoid a hot running, battery drained device.
Apparently the M8 and S5 are both much better in this regard, but Samsung is not known for radio reception as a strength.
bakemcbride21 said:
A little off topic and it's by no means scientific...but I'm in a very good LTE area and in the basement my DNA still gets 1-2 bars of LTE...the M8 only gets 3G..and if I force LTE only...no connection on the M8.
So I'd say my DNA has better signal reception...but then again I'm getting a new replacement M8 tomorrow as this one randomly reboots all the time...so I'll reserve final judgement until I have a proper working M8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Came from DNA, and it kept a better signal in some areas.
Sent from my HTC One M8!
U WOT M8?
BFirebird101 said:
This. Came from DNA, and it kept a better signal in some areas.
Sent from my HTC One M8!
U WOT M8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps the metal is limiting somewhat, in spite of the plastic strips?
Not exactly what you're looking for, but coming from a GNex to the M8, the M8 has better reception. Not MUCH, but better. My M8 still goes down to 3G sometimes when I know I'm in a 4g area (and where I've previously had 4g, like sitting at my desk at work), and in my house I still only get 2-3 bars of 4g. When I'm walking the dog though, the signal appears to be better. I used to get 1 bar if I was lucky, now I'm usually getting 2-3 bars.
LTE just has very poor signal penetration as compared to actual 4G, so if you're inside a building, the signal won't be fantastic.
That being said, Samsung's radios have definitely gotten better in the last few years, but Motorola and HTC are definitely still better (Motorola more so, I believe).
I'd have to say the opposite of what most are, I finally copied over all my data to my M8 from my S4 and both phones are sitting next to each other on a table, and the S4 was getting 3/4 bars, when I took out the SIM and put it in the M8, the signal now shows 1-2 bars. All the time only one phone's radio was on at a time, so there's no interference between the 2 phones.
I've always had poorer signal with Samsung phones. Even including wifi.
Apple and Motorola phones have always treated me well.
From my observations, this M8 is on par with any other phone I've ever owned. Wifi reception is great even in my backyard (no signal with any samsung phone ever). Cellular reception is always good as well.
levilib said:
I'd have to say the opposite of what most are, I finally copied over all my data to my M8 from my S4 and both phones are sitting next to each other on a table, and the S4 was getting 3/4 bars, when I took out the SIM and put it in the M8, the signal now shows 1-2 bars. All the time only one phone's radio was on at a time, so there's no interference between the 2 phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The actual dB signal showing rather than bars is usually the best measurment. I noticed the M8 seemed a few dB points weaker than the S4, but only tested 15minutes in that regard (I mainly tested with game emulators). Not a good sample. Concern I have is the metal design, but the plastic strips provide a window. iPhone 5 is metal too and has good signal.
Never got these numbers with my s4 with my
ch0use said:
I'm feeling like i get a stronger single on the M8 than the S4. Granted the LTE signal isn't that strong out here but the M8 maybe adds another bar for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bars mean nothing. It's a non-standard way of representing the signal. Better to see the dBm reading.
ocman40 said:
HTCs radios are superior to Samsung's period end of story. HTCs hardware and build quality are superior end of story. Now Samsung makes the bomb tv's though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I had traded my Galaxy Nexus for a Rezound because of this. I would have a Samsung if HTC wasn't available though. Also, all of my TVs/monitors are Samsung.
BFirebird101 said:
This. Came from DNA, and it kept a better signal in some areas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just chiming in here to say that I've noticed the same thing with my HTC One max. My DNA was an absolute champ, and very possibly my favorite phone I've ever owned. The reception was fantastic, I don't recall seeing 3G on that for the entire year that I used it as my daily driver.
Moving to the metal One max, however, I am dropping into 3G on a daily basis. I contacted HTC support about it, and they said it shouldn't be happening that frequently where I live (Chicago suburbs) so they sent me a warranty replacement. It behaves the same way. I've tried replacing the SIM card as well, and nothing has improved the data reception.
My wife still uses her DNA daily, and she doesn't experience the same issues that I do, so I have to assume it's the metal case on my One max, or something else hardware-related.

M8 Terrible Signal vs DNA

I gotta vent. It's driving me nuts! My girl has my Droid DNA - and just like me when I had it, she gets at least 3 bars of LTE at home. I'm lucky to get ONE BAR of 1X on my M8!!! It's ridiculous! I can barely send text messages from home. They sit there for several minutes with the 'sending' icon. It's so choppy, people are even receiving double or triple text messages. How can one HTC phone have such incredible signal and a newer one have such terrible signal!?
When I get a chance, I'll take a look at the actual signal dB numbers. Regardless of the numbers, though, this phone's service sucks. Other than that, I absolutely love this phone.
aol8mydog said:
I gotta vent. It's driving me nuts! My girl has my Droid DNA - and just like me when I had it, she gets at least 3 bars of LTE at home. I'm lucky to get ONE BAR of 1X on my M8!!! It's ridiculous! I can barely send text messages from home. They sit there for several minutes with the 'sending' icon. It's so choppy, people are even receiving double or triple text messages. How can one HTC phone have such incredible signal and a newer one have such terrible signal!?
When I get a chance, I'll take a look at the actual signal dB numbers. Regardless of the numbers, though, this phone's service sucks. Other than that, I absolutely love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's much better than my GNex, but that's not saying much (it had notoriously bad reception). I've only noticed going down to 3G once, which is great for me.
aol8mydog said:
I gotta vent. It's driving me nuts! My girl has my Droid DNA - and just like me when I had it, she gets at least 3 bars of LTE at home. I'm lucky to get ONE BAR of 1X on my M8!!! It's ridiculous! I can barely send text messages from home. They sit there for several minutes with the 'sending' icon. It's so choppy, people are even receiving double or triple text messages. How can one HTC phone have such incredible signal and a newer one have such terrible signal!?
When I get a chance, I'll take a look at the actual signal dB numbers. Regardless of the numbers, though, this phone's service sucks. Other than that, I absolutely love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the signal on M8 is much worse than on the DNA (I have access to both), but only at certain angles of the M8.
M8 has a complete solid metal back, which is completely opaque to microwave and radio waves. When you turn the M8 correctly, it gets a better signal. Not by very much but better.
I get the same service I've always had. Full LTE and AWS. Something is wrong with either something that you may have flashed or your phone is defective. Send it back.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using xda app-developers app
You may want to exchange your device, my reception is on par or even better than the Note 3 that I just sold.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Coming from a sgs3... The reception is awesome.
Sent from my HTCM8
My service seems the same if not slightly better in some areas as my old razr HD and razr that my girlfriend has.
sfreemanoh said:
It's much better than my GNex, but that's not saying much (it had notoriously bad reception). I've only noticed going down to 3G once, which is great for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im with you man. I also came from a GNex, and it seems like a lot of other have too.
Its crazy how much better the reception has been with the M8. I had trouble getting any 3G or 4G in my new house with my GNex, even outside. With my m8, I get an average of 3 bars of 4G. And the difference is like that everywhere I go including work. I don't know how I lasted that long on the GNex. I guess I just got used to the crazy bad reception.
That being said, I have always heard that most Motorola phones have some of the best reception. And this was always the case with my older motorola flip phones (E815) also. But I stopped buying motorola phones after the original Droid X bootloader was locked down like Fort Knox, and they said all their newer phones were gonna be like that.
EDIT:
To the person that just sold the NOTE 3. That phone is just like the GNex was. Awful reception. My dad had the phone for two days and returned it. We looked up reviews and saw tons of people complaining about the reception. Which is funny because the Note 2 had a solid reception. My brother uses it and gets great service, as well as all the reviews. Samsung must have dropped the ball on the Note 3 antenna.
I agree with the OP. This handset has noticeably lower signal strength than my old HTC Rezound, and the one my wife currently uses as her personal phone. My M8 is only slightly better than the GNEX she has as a company-provided work phone. Disappointing, actually, as the M8 is a phenomenal device in most other regards.
To be honest though, I've not experienced a single dropped call, as of yet. But, I see data switching to 3G quite regularly. I'm still on the stock ROM, only S-OFF and rooted.
Just to add that coming from the DNA to the M8, I have been extremely happy with reception.
My DNA would consistently drop out at certain points in the city (minneapolis) but my M8 has been solid.
To be honest, I really don't pay a lot of attention to bars, so I couldn't say if I have the same, more or less bars with the M8, but I haven't had any issues with connectivity.
Freedom First said:
I agree with the OP. This handset has noticeably lower signal strength than my old HTC Rezound, and the one my wife currently uses as her personal phone. My M8 is only slightly better than the GNEX she has as a company-provided work phone. Disappointing, actually, as the M8 is a phenomenal device in most other regards.
To be honest though, I've not experienced a single dropped call, as of yet. But, I see data switching to 3G quite regularly. I'm still on the stock ROM, only S-OFF and rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your M8 is only slightly better than a gnex, you have a defective M8. G-nex has the worst reception of any phone I've ever owned, by FAR.
For me in New Jersey, where LTE practically covers the entire state, the M8 gets good reception but my DNA definitely got better reception.
At work in Newark..And I work in a glass building...DNA would be between 96-98 dBm and my M8 is between 102-105.
I'm assuming that's the aluminum casing. Don't get me wrong, reception is great but in marginal signal areas like at home in my basement, dna would hold LTE where M8 will drop to 3g and sometimes 1x
hxdrummerxc said:
Im with you man. I also came from a GNex, and it seems like a lot of other have too.
Its crazy how much better the reception has been with the M8. I had trouble getting any 3G or 4G in my new house with my GNex, even outside. With my m8, I get an average of 3 bars of 4G. And the difference is like that everywhere I go including work. I don't know how I lasted that long on the GNex. I guess I just got used to the crazy bad reception.
That being said, I have always heard that most Motorola phones have some of the best reception. And this was always the case with my older motorola flip phones (E815) also. But I stopped buying motorola phones after the original Droid X bootloader was locked down like Fort Knox, and they said all their newer phones were gonna be like that.
EDIT:
To the person that just sold the NOTE 3. That phone is just like the GNex was. Awful reception. My dad had the phone for two days and returned it. We looked up reviews and saw tons of people complaining about the reception. Which is funny because the Note 2 had a solid reception. My brother uses it and gets great service, as well as all the reviews. Samsung must have dropped the ball on the Note 3 antenna.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, my mom's GS3 had similarly crappy reception to my GNex, and Samsung's radios have never had the best reputation, but I heard they've gotten somewhat better. But I guess maybe they reverted back to their old ways with the Note 3...
Don't forget though, while the DX had a locked bootloader (I had a DX as well, it was actually my Android gateway device), it also had a great development community. So with some awesome dev's, even a locked bootloader doesn't mean the device won't be awesome.
Coming from multiple devices such as the Gnex, DNA, Note 3 and now the M8, I think there's more to it than just moving from one phone to another. Yes, HTC is known for better radios than Samsung and having the Note 3 before the M8 I personally witnessed the M8 produce better reception. But I think the issue also stems from the added LTE frequencies that have been added to newer handsets. For example my Note 3 before the AWS roll out performed very good, but once the roll out hit NYC and I started to check if I was connected to band 4 in my handset I began to notice my service between LTE, 3G and 1X fluctuate a lot. At work where I was constantly connected to LTE band 13 before and don't ever remember having 3G, the phone began to connect only to 3G.
Purchasing a new phone such as the M8 that has support for AWS but is weaker may be the result. The Droid DNA only supported Verizon LTE Band 13.
When I'm at work where my DNA had great LTE reception, my M8 seems to be OK - only slightly less signal. I think the problem is worse when the LTE signal is marginal like at my home. It seems that's when the difference is very noticeable. At home, I'd be lucky to get LTE on my older phones (Thunderbolt and Rezound) but the DNA was awesome. LTE all the time at home. I think I was spoiled.
You probably got a defective device, because mine gets signal everywhere I couldn't before.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Signal
I went from a GNex to an X, and noticed a great signal reception different. I thought the X had great reception, and held with Motorola's reputation for good radios. My M8 has a lot better reception than the X did, far none. Spots where I would have ~1 to 2 bars of 3G, I now have at least 3 at all times. The 4G radio boundary seems to be a lot better than the X had as well. I would agree with what was previously stated, and say you have a defective unit.
Coming from a g2 I consistantly see -5 db better with this device in the same locations.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
The M8 appears to have similar signal reception to the S4. My son loves the M8, so no chance of an objective view there. The new device pixie dust is too strong
I find the following based on comparing:
DNA > i5s > M8/S4 Both the DNA and iPhone 4s have better reception than than the equal M8 & S4. Still not tested the S5 and will not unless they get a 32gb model. That would be my phone.
The worst phone recpetion device I ever owned was the Nokie N600. It was AWFUL and made the GNEX seem like a DNA on steroids. I grew to really "hate" Nokia after that device. Their Windows Phone love solidifies the "hate".
Something quite a few people here are not taking into account is that the M8 is utilizing Verizon's AWS band, whereas the Rezound/DNA are not. Your M8's signal bars are more than likely displaying AWS signal(assuming your area has AWS this will be the case). On a Rezound, your signal bars reflect your 1X signal...which will always be extremely high in most areas. On a DNA you will be seeing the normal LTE band.
If you're trying to compare to older devices like the Rezound, you need to launch a voice call on your M8 before even giving a second thought to the signal bars. To address the DNA...you won't really be able to compare the two devices since the DNA doesn't support the AWS band at all...unless you live in a non-AWS area.
If you do the appropriate comparisons, the M8's signal is great. I hope this helps clear up a lot of the misunderstanding going on in this thread. :good:

Categories

Resources