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Poor WIFI reception on Captivate

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

It seems equivalent to my old iphone.

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

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

Bars don't necessarily mean anything.

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

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

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

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

[SOLVED] Wifi issue, wifi on and off :)

Well, one thing that I really hate with Nexus S is its wifi hardware. The signal reception is weak, weaker than my HTC Desire.
Often, the wifi signal got disconnected suddenly and reconnected again autmatically.
This is sucks, especially if you play online game or streaming.
I don't think there is a way, software wise to fix this because I read that Samsung is using cheap low powered wifi hardware.
It is good to conserve battery, but the experience sucks.
So, what did I do?
I replaced my wifi access point!
Yeah ... that's, a quick and simple solution.
I just added a new wifi access point, Sitecom Wireless N Access Point. Place it in a good position. And whoala! No more wifi disconnect I found it is much better signal strength compared to the SpeedTouch router (B/G mode only).
There you go, certain wifi access point could potentially cause this auto-disconnect.
So happy now, although I must spent 69 euro + some more for long extension power cable (need this to reach that good position so I got decent signal from my bedroom + living room).
Happy happy happy ... fast enough (900+ KBytes/sec), steady and reliable wifi connection! No more disconnect!

I did the same. Installed apple airport extreme and all is well now.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I will try changing my wifi antenna . I have realized that the signal is a lot better when I connect to routers that has 2 antennas (300 mbps). Mine is just 150mbps and the signal its medium worth laptops in the end of the house. So I think Ill stay like this. Thanks to samsung!!!

How's the reception on this phone? Wifi, bluetooth, 3G, 4G

Phone looks great, but i figure with the antenna's on the back of hte phone like that there's bound to be some "death grip" issues.
I see one thread on this forum about this issue, but since the community has grown since then i figured i'll ask again.

Compared to my previous phone (Galaxy S), the reception is better in all regards except for wifi. Although wifi is comparable, covering the antenna with your hand causes an instant and noticeable degradation in signal strength. If you're not close to your router, this signal loss is enough to drop the connection.

smacman said:
Compared to my previous phone (Galaxy S), the reception is better in all regards except for wifi. Although wifi is comparable, covering the antenna with your hand causes an instant and noticeable degradation in signal strength. If you're not close to your router, this signal loss is enough to drop the connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn, that's a little messed up..
I dont use wifi that much, but still....

any other opinions?

My girlfriend had just got her sensation yesterday and usually I'm the one to get all the new gadgets I've had the mytouch 4g, g2 4g the evo 4g and now shift and we live in a apartment and all the tmobile phone I've ever had sucked but that phone has the best connection I've ever seen or used in my house for some reason she's getting way faster speeds and of course she wouldn't let me flash anything to it like new radios or anything lol oh yea and she's also using the phone without a case
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk

smacman said:
Compared to my previous phone (Galaxy S), the reception is better in all regards except for wifi. Although wifi is comparable, covering the antenna with your hand causes an instant and noticeable degradation in signal strength. If you're not close to your router, this signal loss is enough to drop the connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. This describes the reception perfectly.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

All the reception on this phone is amazing for me. Way better than my G2 and Nexus S! Especially data and Wi-Fi reception. I never lose a 3G/4G connection and at work where I don't have signal I really on Wi-Fi calling and it works perfectly for me (My G2 used to always cut off and drop calls).

GSM reception is excellent. Better than HTC of the past. The G2/MT4G have atrocious reception especially on 4G. GSM reception is better than my Galaxy S, 3G/4G seems to trade off with the Galaxy S picking up on a weak HSPA signal more often.
WiFi reception is horrible in landscape. Fine in portrait with no hands over the top half.

zoltrix said:
any other opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to concur with my peers. GSM is great here in southern California, but even as I type this...I'm in portrait because landscape will cause my WiFi to drop. This only happens when I'm not next to my router...so pretty much dies all the time. I already went through 3 phones all with the same death grip, which HTC is just looking into the cause. That's what one rep told me from their USA tech support. Hope this helps
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G

Everything has been fine for me. I haven't noticed any death grip issues with WiFi in portrait or landscape.

Cover the top of the phone and I lose WiFi, cover the bottom and I lose 2/3/4g. Thus when I hold the phone sideways I lose almost all signal.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

Thus far I have not had any deathgrip issues like most others complain about however compares to the BlackBerry I came from the radios receive much less signal side by side. Don't get me wrong I love the phone and features but signal is poor in my opinion and with my job I am around cell sites all day so I know what I should expect

Mine's just really bad when it comes to receptions -___- I get no wifi at all no matter how close I am to my router, once I cover it when on landscape mode. && how I see these people having reception when I'm on Bart(underground) I use to have full bars with my cliq down at bart, but with my sensation I don't get any service at all down there.

Jimx2 said:
Mine's just really bad when it comes to receptions -___- I get no wifi at all no matter how close I am to my router, once I cover it when on landscape mode. && how I see these people having reception when I'm on Bart(underground) I use to have full bars with my cliq down at bart, but with my sensation I don't get any service at all down there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you have a bad device

s
cellsitetechstl said:
Thus far I have not had any deathgrip issues like most others complain about however compares to the BlackBerry I came from the radios receive much less signal side by side. Don't get me wrong I love the phone and features but signal is poor in my opinion and with my job I am around cell sites all day so I know what I should expect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blackberry uses a different scale to determine the amount of bar, the -dBm reading goes all the way down to -120. Android only goes down to -113 even though the actual signal can be lower than that, to -121dBm. A Galaxy S with Touchwiz can show you the real -dBm reading after -113 on Android (no bars) with it's field test mode.

yeah fortunately i do not rely on my phone for field testing we use test sets working on the antennas and lines. and we work with a remote test center that runs NRPM testing for diversity issues. (we work primarily AT&T UMTS technology work in the midwest)

wifi issue is the worst, drops in and out constantly from wifi to mobile network. dont ever use a case in your house you will lose wifi 90% of the time. dont listen to these fan boys

Hamsteriel said:
Cover the top of the phone and I lose WiFi, cover the bottom and I lose 2/3/4g. Thus when I hold the phone sideways I lose almost all signal.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having the same issue for a while, but it seems to have worked itself out.

I've not had a problem with Bluetooth or WiFi, but the 2g and 3g reception is erratic wherever I go. This is on Vodafone UK.
Have tried my sim in my old HD2 and I get a much more stable signal.

just went to Bell to talk about the HTC Sensation. I asked if the lady heard anything about reception issues with the Sensation because of its design.
She said she hasn't heard of anything but she likes the new galaxy s 2 because, and i quote: "the pixels are faster even though they're the same speed"
I said "oh yea? " and left.
the responses in this thread seem to be 50/50. i guess ill need to hold one myself to test
anyone want to have input on this vs the sgs2?

Weak Wifi reception

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I confirm the weak wifi too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New shield k1 tab wifi problems

Hey all, new to the forum and new to the shield k1 tablet. Feeling pretty frustrated. Need help. I got the shield delivered from Amazon on Friday the 18th December, nice looking tablet but issue right out the box continues to be wifi connection/signal. I managed to get it connected in the home but if I walk further than a room from the router it disconnects. At first I figured it's our fairly old router but now I've taken the k1 out in public places to connect to wifi and it still fails. At most it "connects" but also displays a exclamation point. Is it a problem I can solve or should it be returned? I've seen some minimal threads with the same problems. Also one other issue is the power on button is flush with tablet itself, not really a deal breaker, just annoying. Thanks for any input.

My Sheild K1 tablet has different wifi issue.
It always connected to my wifi network with
excellent signal strenght. But sometimes the
internet speed drops very low. Normally it connects
at 130 MB/sec and would drop to 6MB/sec.
Rebooting the tablet and give it sometime to return
to normal speed. Also, setting the power/performance to max performance help
to keep the tablet from dropping internet speed.
Just updated this tablet to Android 6.0 and
the wifi connection speed seem to be more stable.
Enjoying the performance of Marshmallow .
Also I keep my tablet inside a protective case.

bump:
I've had similar issue as well. The tablet seems to be able to accept lower strength than other devices. For example, In my bed-room, my phone shows medium signal strength but the tablet only shows low signal strength. and moreover, my phone will still work with when it receive low signal, but my tablet won't work once the wifi signal is low.
I opened back-cover to see if i can make any improvement to the wifi antennas, but I found out that the wifi antennas are built-in to the speaker boxes. Is there any way i can make the tablet receiving better wifi signal? Thanks.

The WiFi antennas **are not** built into the speaker boxes. If you hold the tablet in portrait mode, front camera at the bottom, the antennas are at the top left corner (below the speaker). And if you cover that area with your hand, you'll have a poorer WiFi connection.
Thus the front camera should **never be** at the top when holding the Shield in portrait mode!!