[Q] Bad Signal on NS4G - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I just got the phone but I can't get very good signal. Any reason how to fix this?
I updated prl but it still happens.
Oh I'm also using CM7.1

ubnub82 said:
I just got the phone but I can't get very good signal. Any reason how to fix this?
I updated prl but it still happens.
Oh I'm also using CM7.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Network signal quality ?
Sprint doesn't have a so good quality network reputation

Maybe call in to sprint and ask about an "airrave"

I am in the same room with an Evo 3d. It gets a constant 4 bars, and can receive calls all day. My Nexus S misses about 50% of its incoming calls. (And often has 0 bars/no signal/emergency calls only, etc.)
It has been that way since day one... Any non-Nexus phone has no issues on Sprint, but the Nexus has nothing but problems. For now, I just live with it.
Lesson learned: Stay away from phones on Sprint that have signal issues. It will never get fixed.

I just talked with some of my friends on Sprint and they are getting a bad signal also. My friend has a 4S and can't connect to 3G at all since yesterday and my friend with the Epic has grey bars. It seems better than yesterday though since I actually have 2 bars in 3G.

When the NS4G first came out there were multiple complaints about the bad quality of both the phone and the data signals. People were hoping that the fault lied in the software and would be solved by updates. Well, several updates later, I don't see much difference.
The poor signaling is almost certainly hardware-based, and Sprint is not going to do anything about it at this late date.

Related

Ya think GB 2.3 will fix the Inspire's bad speaker?

I was curious if anyone thinks that HTC's impending Gingerbread update for the Inspire 4G will fix the issues with the crappy speaker volume and tinny sound?
Probably not being as the DesireHD still suffers from it I believe even after the GB update.
I am not really into rooting, so the rooting arguments aren't valid. I prefer to stay stock.
Also on a different note, how do you tell if you are on 4G? Eventhough I am in a so-called 4G area, my network status always says HSDPA. I though I read somewhere if you are on 4G it says HSPA or HSPA+.
thanks for the info.
It might have a new radio that will fix bugs, but if I were to take a guess I would say no since the ROMs out there now do not.
If it says H+ then you're running 3.5/4G.
dhtlarmon said:
It might have a new radio that will fix bugs, but if I were to take a guess I would say no since the ROMs out there now do not.
If it says H+ then you're running 3.5/4G.
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Click to collapse
Acutally no, the H+ does not mean you are on 4G. It always says that, even in areas i know for a fact are still 3G. I remember when I got the phone it had the H+ even when AT&T didn't have the 4G network up yet.
I'm pretty sure when you look at the Network status under about phone it changes there. I noticed yesterday that an Atrix with the new GB update now says HSPA under network status.
You could always check into getting a warranty replacement cause even before I rooted my speaker hasn't suffered from any sound problems so maybe you have a bad speaker. Also you say you want to stay stock, there is a rooted stock rom in the developers thread.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
chocodough said:
Acutally no, the H+ does not mean you are on 4G. It always says that, even in areas i know for a fact are still 3G. I remember when I got the phone it had the H+ even when AT&T didn't have the 4G network up yet.
I'm pretty sure when you look at the Network status under about phone it changes there. I noticed yesterday that an Atrix with the new GB update now says HSPA under network status.
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Click to collapse
That's weird, because mine switches back to 3G sometimes. Maybe it's due to the ROM I'm running. Sorry if I provided wrong info.
stryfe2010 said:
You could always check into getting a warranty replacement cause even before I rooted my speaker hasn't suffered from any sound problems so maybe you have a bad speaker. Also you say you want to stay stock, there is a rooted stock rom in the developers thread.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
I know it's not a bad phone. I've had mine before the general public got them. Everyone I know that went to that HTC conference complained about the bad speaker volume and clarity. Actually there are many threads on here and other forums with a ton of people complaining about it. Even the Devs made patches to try and fix it.
So I know it's a design issue.
Here's an example. If my iPhone is sitting downstairs on the table and I am upstairs, I can hear if I get a text or email. With my Inspire, I can't even hear it if it is on my belt and I am standing outside. If I didn't have it on vibrate I wouldn't even know I received a text. A few co workers who have the Inspire have the same issues, and their from different batches.
Bluetooth is also weird. If I have my BlueAnt on and get more than 10 feet from the phone it disconnects. With my iphone I can be on the other side of the house away from my phone and it still stays connected.
But anyway, I'm still trying to figure out the 4G indicator to know when I'm actually in 4G. I thought I remembered people here talking about it awhile back, but can't find any threads on it.
In reality the H+ will always be on regardless of if ure actually on 3.5, 3.0 or 4.0, atleast with the inspire. The only way is to look under about phone under settings. The reason AT&T put it like that as to make u believe that their 4g is everywhere and better. But in reality it really doesn't matter as At&ts 4g is not 4g regardless of what they call it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Bosnazmaj said:
In reality the H+ will always be on regardless of if ure actually on 3.5, 3.0 or 4.0, atleast with the inspire. The only way is to look under about phone under settings. But in reality it really doesn't matter as At&ts 4g is not 4g regardless of what they call it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Well regardless of it not being true 4G, there has to be an indicator somewhere on what 3G variant you are on.
Being as the Atrix now displays HSPA on the new GB rom, unlike when it still said HSDPA in the same area with an Atrix which was still on 2.2 leads me to believe the radio in GB must be more accurate in showing what network you are on.
I am guessing that the Inspire is currently not displaying correctly being as it still says HSDPA sitting right next to an Atrix on GB which says HSPA under About Phone and Network.
My Inspire always says HSDPA regardless if I am in a so-called "4G" area or not.
chocodough said:
Well regardless of it not being true 4G, there has to be an indicator somewhere on what 3G variant you are on.
Being as the Atrix now displays HSPA on the new GB rom, unlike when it still said HSDPA in the same area with an Atrix which was still on 2.2 leads me to believe the radio in GB must be more accurate in showing what network you are on.
I am guessing that the Inspire is currently not displaying correctly being as it still says HSDPA sitting right next to an Atrix on GB which says HSPA under About Phone and Network.
My Inspire always says HSDPA regardless if I am in a so-called "4G" area or not.
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Click to collapse
It is most likely that the inspire just wasn't configured to show the HSPA. Att might have thought they were gonna get an update out first. Could be the atrix is set if the data speed hits a mark it changes the HSPA and the Inspire isn't set for it yet. The only true test would be doing a speed test on both.
chocodough said:
I know it's not a bad phone. I've had mine before the general public got them. Everyone I know that went to that HTC conference complained about the bad speaker volume and clarity. Actually there are many threads on here and other forums with a ton of people complaining about it. Even the Devs made patches to try and fix it.
So I know it's a design issue.
Here's an example. If my iPhone is sitting downstairs on the table and I am upstairs, I can hear if I get a text or email. With my Inspire, I can't even hear it if it is on my belt and I am standing outside. If I didn't have it on vibrate I wouldn't even know I received a text. A few co workers who have the Inspire have the same issues, and their from different batches.
Bluetooth is also weird. If I have my BlueAnt on and get more than 10 feet from the phone it disconnects. With my iphone I can be on the other side of the house away from my phone and it still stays connected.
But anyway, I'm still trying to figure out the 4G indicator to know when I'm actually in 4G. I thought I remembered people here talking about it awhile back, but can't find any threads on it.
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Click to collapse
Its not just you, the speaker is crap and so is the bluetooth, and so is the cell radio,and so is the battery, and the screen pops up, and.... LOL
I have 2 inspires and have had nothing but trouble. First htc that has let me down. I had a friend that went through 3 inspires trying to get the bluetooth fixed and they were all the same, he has since moved on. Hell I can put my phone right next to my radio and cover the bluetooth ant with my hand and get it to break up, pure crap. If I use a bluetooth headset it will start to get staticy if I put the phone in my pocket.I honestly think it has allot to do with the metal body.
I hate to be debbie downer but its true. You will be hard pressed to find allot of negative posts here because we have pride in ownership. I personally dont care. I call a spade a spade, and this phone has some serious issues. Not to say I dont like the phone because I do. But without the dev support I would have chucked this flacker a long time ago. With the proper rom its just so fast.
Now I will say that ever since I moved to virtuous unity my speaker is worlds better. I have flashed a **** ton of roms and vu has the best speaker performance for my inspires by far. I tried +20% kernels,dsp manager,volume apk and all that stuff. sure it made the volume louder some but it sounded like ass and still wasnt even close to being loud. with virtuous unity I am actually somewhat satisfied. Youtube videos and stuff still lack, but its worlds better.
As for actually being on the hspa+ signal or not, I dont know. On the stock rom I am almost certain the 3g,hspda, and hspa+ are all signified by h+. I know that allot of dev roms differentiate between 3g and hspa. But quiet honestly the speed difference is not night and day anyway. Your iphone probably gets damn near the same speeds. Some guys are getting 8megs and ****, but I have yet to go over 5 and I can get that with an iphone or other 3g android. And yes I am in a hspa+ area with increased backhaul.

[Q] Frequent Dropped Calls + signal probs

Is anyone else experiencing frequent dropped calls on their Infuse? I am experiencing way too many dropped calls. I have just changed from a Blackberry to this Android phone and I'm less than happy.
Scenario: **I'm sitting on my couch and talking on the phone and I dropped the same call 4 times.**
I have also dropped calls along the highway in places that my Blackberry never dropped calls before. Furthermore, the Infuse does not alert you that your call was dropped, so you don't realize it until the person you're speaking to does not respond.
As I sit here typing this, my Blackberry has 5 bars, while my Infuse is fluctuating between 2 and 4 bars.
I have factory reset my Infuse twice already. I am on AT&T's network for both the Blackberry and Infuse.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
The infuse reception sucks .. I haven't had dropped calls but I have no service in places where I use to have 2-3 bars with the iPhone .. hopefully a update will solve this.
Also every Samsung I have ever owned has had the same problem .. why Motorola's and Nokias can have stellar reception and Samsung can't is beyond me .. the nexus s has the same problem
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
I have had just the opposite experience - I've had the Infuse get 4-5 bars signal where my old HTC Tilt2 got 1-2 and sometimes would lose signal altogether.
I have noticed the same problem. I have also noticed that the reception for all my radio's (bluetooth, wifi, and cellular) seem better when I have a case on my phone. My wife also has an Infuse and she seems to have a little better reception than me. It is very disappointing that my reception is no where near as good as my blackberry. But I have been very happy with my battery life. The Bold had get battery life and that was my greatest worry but so far my Infuse has been great in that area.
Reception appears fine to me...and identical to our inspire...but i have nothing else to compare to.
Got to play with a US att gs2 tonight. side by side it had one more bar...nothing that i thougjt was odd.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using XDA App
mag007 said:
Is anyone else experiencing frequent dropped calls on their Infuse? I am experiencing way too many dropped calls. I have just changed from a Blackberry to this Android phone and I'm less than happy.
Scenario: **I'm sitting on my couch and talking on the phone and I dropped the same call 4 times.**
I have also dropped calls along the highway in places that my Blackberry never dropped calls before. Furthermore, the Infuse does not alert you that your call was dropped, so you don't realize it until the person you're speaking to does not respond.
As I sit here typing this, my Blackberry has 5 bars, while my Infuse is fluctuating between 2 and 4 bars.
I have factory reset my Infuse twice already. I am on AT&T's network for both the Blackberry and Infuse.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are in the US and still running the Rogers stock Modem/Radio you may want to switch to the latest ATT in the dev forum. Worked wonders for me....
how do I do this? I'm rooted but no rom and back to being a noob to android again. My service is the poops and I don't wanna go back to my iPhone....since i just sold it on ebay lol. please and thanks
katiecakez said:
how do I do this? I'm rooted but no rom and back to being a noob to android again. My service is the poops and I don't wanna go back to my iPhone....since i just sold it on ebay lol. please and thanks
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Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat as you....came from an iphone which never dropped calls and my infuse reception sucks and I drop calls all the time and flat out don't have service where I had it with the iphone.
I also am in the US and with AT&T so I am guessing I am out of luck with a different radio then :-/ (I am rooted with Infused 1.5.3)
yea I just rooted it with the one click method, i don't have a rom yet. I actually don't even know where to start with this thing bc my iPhone sold faster on ebay than i thought so I won't be able to switch back if i end up hating this phone. I love how big it is but the pixilated pictures and reception problems are killing me already and it hasn't even been a week yet
I need signal boosting and better zoom quality...which I'm hoping wil be fixed in an update? But i have no idea what does what for android these days.

Cell signal horrible

I get horrible reception in my house.my old galaxy nexus and my girlfriends iphone 4s gets fine reception and voice calls are choppy. Is my phone bad or what's the deal?
Sent from Vzw Galaxy SIII running Cleanrom 1.3
I'm going to go get a new sim card see if that helps am I safe take my phone in if it's rooted?
Sent from Vzw Galaxy SIII running Cleanrom 1.3
Welcome to Samsung phones.
tonytownsend said:
I get horrible reception in my house.my old galaxy nexus and my girlfriends iphone 4s gets fine reception and voice calls are choppy. Is my phone bad or what's the deal?
Sent from Vzw Galaxy SIII running Cleanrom 1.3
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Click to collapse
From what I'm reading on various threads, it seems to be varying as to who has good reception and who doesn't. My S3 gets better reception than my HTC Dinc did.
Man I hate when this happens. I think you should keep asking around. I don't think your question will be answered here. Keep searching. Maybe installing other radio versions on your device is the answer, if you are into tinkering.
I feel your pain. Coming from a bionic which had phenomenal signal my sgs3 is meh meh meh. But I still love it!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
rednukleus said:
Man I hate when this happens. I think you should keep asking around. I don't think your question will be answered here. Keep searching. Maybe installing other radio versions on your device is the answer, if you are into tinkering.
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Click to collapse
My signal also sucks.... can you direct me to where I can go about installing other radio versions?
in the mean time, I will look around here
Garrett67 said:
My signal also sucks.... can you direct me to where I can go about installing other radio versions?
in the mean time, I will look around here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1788313
signal quality seems to vary a lot on our GS3's.. many people complain about worse signal while others have decent signal. personally, my signal is pretty similar to what I got on my old Thunderbolt.
I was getting terrible signal at my house as well. I called on Sunday and asked if there was an update or something to correct the problem. I was issued a new SIM card and it came today. 2 hours in and I have only had data flicker once and ot used to happen every 5-10 minutes. It doesnt hirt to make the call.
Switched out the sim today still crap signal at the house. I'm not gonna be living here much longer I get strong data signal at the house but voice sucks. I'm moving soon or I'd say I would buy a signal booster for the house
Sent from Vzw Galaxy SIII running Cleanrom 1.3
I get one bar inside my house. If it ends up switching to 3G (which is rare), i get full bars. The moment I go outside, I get full bars on 4G.
We have two phones and they are about the same, so I don't think switching them will help. The 3G is better than I got on my old DINC.
I do hope there will be a software update to kick it up a notch, but I'm not hating it. I really am not having issues anywhere else but home and one day I had to run into Walmart and got no reception, but I normally don't go there, so I couldn't care less. Oddly, when I was in Target across the street, I had full 4G reception. :shrug:
dagnisaun said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1788313
signal quality seems to vary a lot on our GS3's.. many people complain about worse signal while others have decent signal. personally, my signal is pretty similar to what I got on my old Thunderbolt.
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Click to collapse
One thing I have noticed is that the bars shown on the notification bar, and what it ACTUALLY is getting differ sometimes. It it like there is a dealy, and a strange averaging algorithm.
Unfortunately I have a similar issue. Admittedly I don't live in the greatest spot for cellular signal but it seems the S3's radio is "weaker" in my situation than my HTC Desire and my Droid MX2. The MX2 seems to rule them all (and I've always read the one thing Motorola does well is radios). Normally the Desire and MX2 will read 5-10 dB better than the S3, and voice quality tends to be way better with either and I rarely drop calls. I haven't tried any other radio / modem, right now I am on VRLG1 (which is what the phone came with), maybe I will try going back to VRLF2 to see if it makes any difference.

Those with signal issues

I was having signal issues in areas with less then 3 bars for the most part. Sometimes I would randomly lose service for a few seconds here and there. My calls where dropped or the caller would cut in and out during the conversation. If your having similar issues then your phone is most likely defective.
I just got a refurbished SGS3 from Verizon and the radio works flawless compared to my VRALF2 purchased in July. I would suggest calling Verizon and complaining if your having similar problems because my phone was defective.
Software problems
Not sure how you can conclude it was your phone. Unless you tried the new radio on your old phone before swapping. Otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
No actually Hardware problem, most likely the radio itself.
xceebeex said:
Not sure how you can conclude it was your phone. Unless you tried the new radio on your old phone before swapping. Otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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Ive been around the block here at xda so i know phone software and flashing. Software wise I tried it all.
I'm glad these radio issues haven't plagued the vzw sgs3 like they have the vzw gnex. Getting my S3 tomorrow. Hoping I get a good one, but my chances are way better with this phone than doing the refurb constant receive and send back like my g/f's Gnex. She went through 3 with radio issues before we got a good one.
got556 said:
I'm glad these radio issues haven't plagued the vzw sgs3 like they have the vzw gnex. Getting my S3 tomorrow. Hoping I get a good one, but my chances are way better with this phone than doing the refurb constant receive and send back like my g/f's Gnex. She went through 3 with radio issues before we got a good one.
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Click to collapse
I'm guessing it just a quality control issue. My girlfriend has the Moto Razor which has an great radio in it and she never had signal issues. I was beginning to think that the radio in the GS3 was just terrible. After some time with this new phone its right on par with the razor as far as call quality. Her razor still has the slight edge when it comes to signal strength.
Moto will always have the edge for the forseeable future on radio quality/reception. (notwithstanding the bionic....lol (but that was software IMHO)).
My razr's always had a better signal than any Sammy phone I've had. My HTC radios have always been pretty good also. Lets face it, Samsung's radios are their weakest link IMHO.
got556 said:
Moto will always have the edge for the forseeable future on radio quality/reception. (notwithstanding the bionic....lol (but that was software IMHO)).
My razr's always had a better signal than any Sammy phone I've had. My HTC radios have always been pretty good also. Lets face it, Samsung's radios are their weakest link IMHO.
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Click to collapse
100% agree.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
I'm new here, so first of all: Hi Guys!!!
I got some Issues with the radio, too. So I tried some different baseband versions with nearly no result
I currently use the LH1 baseband. Since some days I own 2 SIM's from 2 different Providers (Vodafone & T-Mobile).
Unfortunatly I only have an old Nokia N97 for Comparsion, but that doesnt matter atm.
What I've tried to figure out was, whats the source for this Issue - the phone, the provider or the baseband.
Well, I tried both SIM's in both devices and tried a few basebands for the SGS3, with the result that I got a little better Signal with Vodafone SIM and LH1-basband, than with the same baseband and T-Mobile SIM.
T-Mobile: about -105dBm
Vodafone: about -95dBm
The Signal-Strengh on the N97 is nearly identic with both SIM's.
So my final result is:
Baseband on the SGS3 sucks but can be changed to may get some better signal strengh specific for each provider!
Lets wait what official JB will change.
I just got my galaxy and where i live its a really hard to get signal area, but i have own the rezound , regular razr n maxx , galaxy nexus , and the lg and all get good service just tried this galaxy where i live at and lost 2 drop calls and text messages come as errors and thats in stock within. The first 30 minutes owning the phone like wtf
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
aalopez10 said:
I just got my galaxy and where i live its a really hard to get signal area, but i have own the rezound , regular razr n maxx , galaxy nexus , and the lg and all get good service just tried this galaxy where i live at and lost 2 drop calls and text messages come as errors and thats in stock within. The first 30 minutes owning the phone like wtf
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its probably a little early to tell. I had my phone for 30 days before i ruled out everything but the phone itself. But I had those exact problems with mine as well.
Things that i checked for right away.
Network/Tower issue
4G Sim card
Different modem software ( I tried all 3)
Factory Reset
Different Kernels
toy028 said:
I was having signal issues in areas with less then 3 bars for the most part. Sometimes I would randomly lose service for a few seconds here and there. My calls where dropped or the caller would cut in and out during the conversation. If your having similar issues then your phone is most likely defective.
I just got a refurbished SGS3 from Verizon and the radio works flawless compared to my VRALF2 purchased in July. I would suggest calling Verizon and complaining if your having similar problems because my phone was defective.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on my forth Galaxy S3 for call and data dropping. I use my phone mostly at the same 2 locations, work and home and my data drops constantly on all 4 phones. I have had the sim replaced twice. I have 4 lines on my account one of which is a Droid Razr which was handed down to my girlfriend. I can't recall ever having a dropped call or data with that phone. We were in the Vons grocery store Sunday and we both wanted to d/l the Vons app. It took her less than a minutes on the Razr. It took me almost 19 min and the app is less than 2mb. My phone is still stock. Its a beautiful phone but I'm really starting to hate it.
Maybe I spoke too soon about radios not plaguing this phone. LOL.
Get mine today. I'll have an iphone 4s and gnex to compare dBm and asu numbers. (Scratch that....can't find that info on the iphone (g/f's phone)) (found how to do it....not messing with it while she's using it)
Right now my Gnex is at -87 dBm and 53 asu and I am in a very strong 4G area.
Yeah im having dropped call issues then the phone says lost service and then no sim card detected then new sim card detected and then it gets signal back. The messages the phone displays are not exactly what i stated but similar. I talked to some vzw rep on the phone and she said that i am on the edge of the 4g service area. And that 4g is fairly new where I live. Should that affect my calls though?
Btw i had a htc incredible 1 and it never gave me those issues...i feel as though the speakers were better on the incredible too.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
equisbox said:
Yeah im having dropped call issues then the phone says lost service and then no sim card detected then new sim card detected and then it gets signal back. The messages the phone displays are not exactly what i stated but similar. I talked to some vzw rep on the phone and she said that i am on the edge of the 4g service area. And that 4g is fairly new where I live. Should that affect my calls though?
Btw i had a htc incredible 1 and it never gave me those issues...i feel as though the speakers were better on the incredible too.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just keep calling back. Tell them you stayed at a friends house that has great 4G service for a few days or something similar. They gave me the same excuses. What helped me is that there are two other people in the house on the same plan that have 4G phones and they haven't dropped any calls. You have to be persistent and almost demand what you want sometimes but do it as nice and respectful as possible.
well i'll post the other side of this....I had horrible signal issues, tried replacing SIM, no luck. got new phone sent out, same problem. Coming form galaxy nexus with no probs. Calls drop, drop only parts of audio then come back etc. I am in the same places I have been for the past 6 or so years and never had problems until this phone. Can't get signal in my basement or my office, neither of which haev been a problem in the past. so if a new phone fixed it for you, consider yourself lucky.
btw what is a good signal in terms of dbm? in between work/home mine stays in between -90 to -120
I have had my SGIII for a few weeks now and also notice a lack of 4G strength, and I am in NYC. I am coming from the Droid Charge. I am holding off on doing anything until the JB update, if it comes within a reasonable amount of time...i.e. within the next month or so.
Basically, ALL Saumsung radios suck.
My old Rezound has a MUCH MUCH better radio than either my G3 or my Wife's Droid Charge.
I am talking about actual use, not how many signal bars are showing etc....
jmorton10 said:
Basically, ALL Saumsung radios suck.
My old Rezound has a MUCH MUCH better radio than either my G3 or my Wife's Droid Charge.
I am talking about actual use, not how many signal bars are showing etc....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm...my issue with the Charge was not so much the 'top-end speed' of the radio, which was really good when in a good area, but rather the 'glitchiness or bugginess' when switching network areas, or with certain applications. For instance, I commute on the train to NYC every day from a dominant 3G area. When the train would switch into the 4G covered area, the radio would not automatically switch over to 4G until I would either do the airplane mode trick (which worked most of the time), or I would outright have to reboot. For the rare times it WOULD switch over automatically, the speed would be terrible until I airplaned or rebooted it as above...I am sure as hell hoping I don't have these issues with the SGIII...

3G Issues

First of all, my LTE works fine, this is only an issue with the 3G radios. Basically, I often have issues with 3G actually sending and receiving data. When it does, it is slower than 1X for me. It drains the battery at crazy rates such as 20%/hr with little to no use. This has happened regardless of rom, although now I am on the stock f1 update and unrooted. I bought this phone used so there's no hope of a CLNR. I've had it "fixed" by samsung twice and nothing has changed. Any ideas? I have an upgrade but I'm waiting for the One or the 5S and REALLY don't want to use it on a phone I wouldn't be happy with.
Same exact problem here. 4G works fine. 3G is essentially useless. Often when it changes to 3G, I wish it would just go to 1X so that at least it would be functional. I've never really found a solution. The other day my phone was in 3G and I tried to send a text msg with a picture. It took almost ten minutes. Completely useless.
Friends with 3G Verizon phones never have any problems. They always get a solid 3G connection. I used to be with Sprint (useless) and set my Evo to roam on Verizon because the 3G was so much more responsive and quick than Sprint. Not seeing that with my S3.
usmaak said:
Same exact problem here. 4G works fine. 3G is essentially useless. Often when it changes to 3G, I wish it would just go to 1X so that at least it would be functional. I've never really found a solution. The other day my phone was in 3G and I tried to send a text msg with a picture. It took almost ten minutes. Completely useless.
Friends with 3G Verizon phones never have any problems. They always get a solid 3G connection. I used to be with Sprint (useless) and set my Evo to roam on Verizon because the 3G was so much more responsive and quick than Sprint. Not seeing that with my S3.
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Yeah none of my friends have issues either. My friend with her iPhone 5 was using it next to me and it loaded pages in just a few seconds, still slower than 3G, but mine took almost a minute.
Amphibliam said:
Yeah none of my friends have issues either. My friend with her iPhone 5 was using it next to me and it loaded pages in just a few seconds, still slower than 3G, but mine took almost a minute.
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Forgot to mention... My wife's also got an S3. Mine's rooted with CleanROM and LK1 modem. Her's has the latest update. She has the same issues with 3G. She also had them on MB1.
Fortunately my phone doesn't flip over to 3G often. But when it does, I just stick it back in my pocket, because it won't do anything useful until it switches back to 4G.
I've never found the answer to this problem, but I'd really like to. I understand that this is a 4G phone, but it should be able to fall back to 3G with no problems.
usmaak said:
Forgot to mention... My wife's also got an S3. Mine's rooted with CleanROM and LK1 modem. Her's has the latest update. She has the same issues with 3G. She also had them on MB1.
Fortunately my phone doesn't flip over to 3G often. But when it does, I just stick it back in my pocket, because it won't do anything useful until it switches back to 4G.
I've never found the answer to this problem, but I'd really like to. I understand that this is a 4G phone, but it should be able to fall back to 3G with no problems.
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FYI, I just tried AOSP for the hell of it and data speeds are much better. Too bad it seems a bit buggy. :/
nvm, speeds still absolutely blow
i have a network extender and most of the time I can't send pic messages..piece of ****...ive tried multiple basebands...im convinced its the phone
sent from a violated Vzw Galaxy s3
Amphibliam said:
FYI, I just tried AOSP for the hell of it and data speeds are much better. Too bad it seems a bit buggy. :/
nvm, speeds still absolutely blow
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Theoretically AOSP ROMs should have absolutely no effect on data or voice since they don;t touch the radio firmware.
I was in a 3G zone this evening and did a speedtest.
23 kbps down. It died when trying to run the upload portion of the test. Friends with regular 3G phones routinely get 800 kbps - 1200 kbbs down.
I agree. It has to be the phone. And given that it seems to happen across multiple radios and only to some people, it's probably hardware related. Doesn't matter when I get 4G. Sucks when I can't.
I'm going to be at camp for a week soon and I only get 3G there so I'm strongly considering buying a used 4S until a new phone comes.
I have 3g signal in the house.. wide open all bars with a network extender..I go outside to get 4g, then it will send pic messages. dumbphone
sent from a violated Vzw Galaxy s3
Amphibliam said:
I'm going to be at camp for a week soon and I only get 3G there so I'm strongly considering buying a used 4S until a new phone comes.
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I don;t think its a Samsung problem, more like a Verizon wide issue. If you look in the verizon user forums, all the Iphone and HTC and Moto folks complain about the same things.
https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/784496
I don't think so. Not only are they not complaining about just 3G, my friends' phones work fine.
Not only that, but my GNex I had before this somehow consistently had 2 mbps dl speeds on 3g.
Friends on Verizon with 3g only phones get excellent speeds where I am at. Verizon 3g is not the problem around here. On 3g phones, it is fast and responsive. When switching from Sprint, I went with Verizon based on the quality of its 3g.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
I thought it was just me been having the same problem. Suddenly no 4g at home and 3g is no good. Good thing I have the WiFi.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Shamec said:
I thought it was just me been having the same problem. Suddenly no 4g at home and 3g is no good. Good thing I have the WiFi.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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Too bad you have to rely on something else that you pay for independently for your phone to be able to do its job. These phones should work on 3G. I have to imagine that there are some who don't have 4G that have to rely on 3G. Maybe they just don't get this phone, or get it and return it?

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