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[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?
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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.

Any former X2/Charge owners switch to TB?

I went from the Charge to the X2, and now I'm starting to dislike the lack of development for the phone and I miss 4G.
Anyone here previously own a Charge and/or X2? Thoughts? I would have gotten the TB instead but the comments I've seen about the poor voice quality and some bad screens had turned me away.

triton302 said:
I went from the Charge to the X2, and now I'm starting to dislike the lack of development for the phone and I miss 4G.
Anyone here previously own a Charge and/or X2? Thoughts? I would have gotten the TB instead but the comments I've seen about the poor voice quality and some bad screens had turned me away.
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I think there's 2 kinds of people out there.... There's the guys that think everything kicks ass, and there's the guys that think everything sucks ass. I really think people should investigate more for themselves and rely less on here-say to form an opinion about something. There's still people that think the Tbolt has problems rebooting all the time.
I haven't had one problem with my Tbolt. Can't say the same about anything from Motorola. A friend has an X2 and is feeling some real regret on account of speed, lack of 4G, and... It's a motorola. I think that pretty much says it all.
The Charge isn't bad, but it's not as technically capable as the Tbolt; a fact that carries weight with me. To me, the Tbolt is still the only option for me.

I came from the Droid X and I was disappointed in the t bolt. I'm on my 4th now, all of them rebooted constantly while on the old radio, but this is the only one that still reboots even after the new radio was flashed. the build quality is very poor on the t bolt compared to the X, horrible sound quality, call quality (on both ends) cheap feeling, poor finish. The only things I like on the t bolt over the X is the captive buttons, 4g and the RAM. Motorola has the best build quality, best reception, best call quality. As long as the bionic is rootable that's what I'll be getting next (verizon will replace it with a different phone next time)

eraursls1984 said:
I came from the Droid X and I was disappointed in the t bolt. I'm on my 4th now, all of them rebooted constantly while on the old radio, but this is the only one that still reboots even after the new radio was flashed. the build quality is very poor on the t bolt compared to the X, horrible sound quality, call quality (on both ends) cheap feeling, poor finish. The only things I like on the t bolt over the X is the captive buttons, 4g and the RAM. Motorola has the best build quality, best reception, best call quality. As long as the bionic is rootable that's what I'll be getting next (verizon will replace it with a different phone next time)
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Motorola cellular radios have always sucked ass. I stopped using them because it didn't seem to matter what model it was, NONE of them could keep a signal on the coast or the island I lived at. One had a buzz so loud you couldn't hear anyone talking over it. One wouldn't let you use switchboards. They ALL restarted all the time. Before I went smart phone, all I used was Samsung and Kyocera. For smart phones all I'd use are HTC, Samsung, and MAYBE BlackBerry. Every review I read of a Motorola notes it's cheap, flimsy feeling and build quality. If the Bionic ends up like that Moto Sprint is selling, I wouldn't be impressed by it.

loonatik78 said:
Motorola cellular radios have always sucked ass. I stopped using them because it didn't seem to matter what model it was, NONE of them could keep a signal on the coast or the island I lived at. One had a buzz so loud you couldn't hear anyone talking over it. One wouldn't let you use switchboards. They ALL restarted all the time. Before I went smart phone, all I used was Samsung and Kyocera. For smart phones all I'd use are HTC, Samsung, and MAYBE BlackBerry. Every review I read of a Motorola notes it's cheap, flimsy feeling and build quality. If the Bionic ends up like that Moto Sprint is selling, I wouldn't be impressed by it.
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Well I had a 2 Razr's and a Droid X and no Samsung, LG or HTC can match the reception of any of those, and they all had great build quality (personal experience, not reviews) I also had a blackberry storm which was a joke, but it did have great reception and call quality when it wasn't frozen. I have also had a few Samsung and LG phones (as well as my wife) and all of them had poor reception and call quality, and the trend continues from what I've seen with the galaxy phones. I've only had one HTC phone and it hasn't impressed me but from what I've seen in the inc, and what many others have told me about HTC Windows phones they seem to be good phones, that's why I think the t bolt was rushed because it isn't a very good phone.

I agree with both of you on certain points.
I have owned a few Motorola devices and my DX was by far the best when it came to call quality, I could be in my basement with -99 dbm signal strength on a call and it just wouldn't drop. Only a few times in the year I had that phone did I ever just randomly drop out of 3G in an area where Verizon had excellent coverage. Probably the most dependable phone I ever had. My old v325 held signal very well too, never had a dropped call with it.
However... the lack of updates and the outdated hardware makes it difficult for Motorola to keep up with the competition, that's why Samsung and HTC are ahead in the Android game. Those two companies are always coming out with something better in one way or another... but what has Motorola release lately that is a knockout? Nothing, and pretty soon the Bionic will be in the same boat. Motorola is too late in the game with the Bionic and it'll probably have the same crappy Pentile qHD display. I'd almost rather have a standard LCD screen.
I owned the Incredible when it first came out, but I sold it for the DX because I wanted a bigger screen and I wasn't a fan of that generation of AMOLED screens, looked just like the Pentile on the X2 except with more vivid colors. Otherwise it was a speedy phone, just didn't have the call quality the DX did.

triton302 said:
I agree with both of you on certain points.
I have owned a few Motorola devices and my DX was by far the best when it came to call quality, I could be in my basement with -99 dbm signal strength on a call and it just wouldn't drop. Only a few times in the year I had that phone did I ever just randomly drop out of 3G in an area where Verizon had excellent coverage. Probably the most dependable phone I ever had. My old v325 held signal very well too, never had a dropped call with it.
However... the lack of updates and the outdated hardware makes it difficult for Motorola to keep up with the competition, that's why Samsung and HTC are ahead in the Android game. Those two companies are always coming out with something better in one way or another... but what has Motorola release lately that is a knockout? Nothing, and pretty soon the Bionic will be in the same boat. Motorola is too late in the game with the Bionic and it'll probably have the same crappy Pentile qHD display. I'd almost rather have a standard LCD screen.
I owned the Incredible when it first came out, but I sold it for the DX because I wanted a bigger screen and I wasn't a fan of that generation of AMOLED screens, looked just like the Pentile on the X2 except with more vivid colors. Otherwise it was a speedy phone, just didn't have the call quality the DX did.
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My devices usually see a minimum of 30 or so states, if not all 48, so I definitely get to try out devices under just about every condition and terrain there is. Motorola's devices have consistently sucked ass. I was forced to stop using them all together when my wife and I lived on an island in FL. Forget making a phone call... you couldn't even text with them. I'm not too concerned about call quality if I can't make the call. The only company to make radios that are as bad is LG.

loonatik78 said:
The only company to make radios that are as bad is LG.
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I will agree with that.
Are you on your original TB? What do you think of the screen and the call quality? Those are the two biggest factors in my decision on getting this phone. I read that the TB gets much better 4G reception than the Charge does.

Screen and call quality have been great with mine. But like loonatik, I've never had reboot problems either. That said until I bought the extended battery I was ready to give up on it.
courtesy of my bolt and tapatalk

I have had problems with both the Droid X and the HTC Thunderbolt. I also travel all across the country and seen how each each work in those areas. I don't know why but one of the many Thunderbolts I had would have terrible static at times. I could hear the person but all they heard was a bunch of static. I heard static on my end a couple times. That device was replaced and I never had that issue again. Out of the LTE devices available NOW, I would still pick the Thunderbolt out of any of the others. I would actually pick it over any of Verizon's smartphones as of NOW. The Thunderbolts pros outweigh the cons for me. I love the 35+Mbps download speeds at times.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium

I have been lucky and have not had any reboot issues or any of the other ones some have mentioned. I get great reception unless I'm buried in the basment of the building I work in. I also think the screen is damn good. It's bright, great color reproduction, deep blacks, and very crisp. It doesn't do good in direct sunlight but thats pretty much the case with most any phone screen. Overall it has been a great phone for me but I would recommend rooting and a custom ROM for the best experience.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

The TBolt is a cool phone. I had a really tough time deciding whether to get it or the Charge. At the end of the day, the Charge was cheaper at Costco and I liked the screen more. Development definitely seems better on the TBolt, though I don't really mind as much since I don't use 3rd party ROMs. I'm a huge fan of the SAMOLED+, the proper subpixel pattern makes all the difference. I hate the pentile format that older AMOLEDs used, as well as what Moto is using on all of their new phones...
Regardless, I'd honestly say wait a few more days and see what the Bionic does.

[Q] Infuse vs SGS2

First, I'd like to point out that I'm aware there are many threads here about this here at XDA alone, but this isn't a typical "phone vs phone" thread, so don't attack me about it being everywhere. I've seen a lot of people do this, but one thing that a lot of people don't ask about (that bothers me because these ARE phones...) is signal strength.
I've owned an Atrix 2 before, but it seemed to have a weak antenna and had relatively bad signal. Now, in my area, I don't really get good signal, BUT I recently flashed the newest Infuse modem to my Infuse and noticed that I had better signal (not good, but better). Thing is, it's making me wonder if my Infuse and Atrix 2 just had a weak antenna or a "weak" modem firmware for lack of a better term. In my room, previously, I could barely use up any data (like go on the market to download apps and use Facebook) and now I have almost no issues doing that whenever I want. CRAZY. One day, my phone's just sitting here racking up a relatively high bill for a phone when all it does for the most part is sit there on my night stand and now I can actually USE it and don't have problems while talking to others on the phone. In fact, I was close to leaving AT&T because of how bad things were, but after flashing this new modem, I'm honestly having second thoughts. You may be thinking, "Why not just buy an amplifier/repeater/micro cell?" Yeah, thing is, I kinda have bad signal almost everywhere I go, both with Atrix 2 AND Infuse - that is, I HAD bad signal with the Infuse until I flashed this new modem. I'd like to get more signal EVERYWHERE I go, not just at home.
On another note, I watched some Infuse vs SGS2 vids on YouTube and noticed that on each one (from different people), the SGS2 has roughly 2-3 bars more than the Infuse. Yes, bars can lie, but given that the SGS2 is a newer phone, you'd figure it'd have newer hardware, including a new antenna which generally means better signal strength.
Tl;dr: Does SGS2 really get better signal or should I just stick with my Infuse? I don't ask this in neither the SGS2 forums nor the Infuse forums because I figured that chances were, I'd get biased answers.
Little recap: I do NOT care about all their specs or anything. I just want to know which one would have better signal strength by default. Even then, I'd root the SGS2 and put in a "better" modem anyway and make that even better, but yeah...
Thanks!

There is no general answer to that question.
You will have to take both phones somewhere, try each one with your sim card and compare reception.

If you're using both 2G and 3G networks the S2 has a small advantage. It uses 850/900/1900/2100 of HSDPA compared to the Infuse's 850/1900/2100. So when you're in an area with only 900 HSDPA frequency you'll have signal if you have the S2 while no coverage if you have the Infuse. If you're always on 2G to save battery and bills then they are just the same, both works on gsm frequencies 850/900/1800/1900. Both have plastic builds so you won't have Signal issues similar to what you'll experience with other phones with metal parts interfering with the Antennae.
Here's a link from gsmarena so you can see for yourself the difference in signal reception. You can also check out their dedicated reviews to see if the reception is good, bad, or whatever. You'll also see the call quality if you're also interested in that.
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3705&idPhone2=3621
I hope this helps!

That makes sense. That's the kind of reply I was looking for. Thanks!

FaintPuppet said:
That makes sense. That's the kind of reply I was looking for. Thanks!
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Glad to be of help! I hope you don't get dissapointed with your purchase BTW, thanks for the "thanks"!! That was actually my first

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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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: