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Deathgrip

If I hold my phone normally (near the bottom) my signal plummets, is this normal or do I have a lemon?? It is really worrying me, if I grab it near the bottom I go from 3 to 0 but still have service but I am still without bays and my data slows. I don't know if this is normal and I should just accept it or if I should go exchange it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I haven't been able to produce the "death grip" effect even when I have tried to.

Mine does the same in my house with a pretty weak signal. However, unlike my iPhone 4 (I am a happy convert to android now) which dropped calls and data went to 0, the Captivate seems to keep the connection. Even with zero bars, I get decent data speeds and people say I am loud and clear on the phone.
I wouldn't stress over it. The antenna has to be located somewhere in these phones, and yeah, covering it completely will cause a signal drop. Just be happy the antenna is on the inside and you can't short it with your skin

I get the same thing, but I think where I work is a dead zone, because my old phone had problems holding a signal also. I'll do some more testing when I'm out of here

OK, I will do more testing and make a final decision next week since I am going out of state to a place I know has good coverage and if I get bad signal there it is probably my phone and not coverage area.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I have to completely cover the metal back to drop a couple of bars. Even then, it still performs about the same in speedtests.

It is not the metal back you need to cover on my phone but instead the plastic below the back...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

cropythy said:
It is not the metal back you need to cover on my phone but instead the plastic below the back...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried it this way as well and the results were even closer together.

It's the way Samsung is programming the bars. They underestimate signal strength believe it or not.. it's not like the iPhone where it gives you this crazy readout (before 4.0.1).. it's still wrong, but in the best way possible.

Dropping calls like crazy with Captivate
I was just on a very important call about a new job and my captivate dropped the call 4 times within 15 minutes. I was holding the phone only on the outside. I was not touching the bottom or the back of the phone. How frustrating. It even drops calls when I am using my headset. Just dropping all the time. Any suggestions?

I can get the bars to drop one or two when I hold the phone at the bottom, however (and this is a BIG however!) even with 0 bars, I was just able to make a phone call, and while the signal bounced from 2 to 1 to 0 to 1 bars, the call didn't drop or even so much as hiccup.
As heygrl said, it seems however Samsung calculates their bars, the phones are displaying a lot less signal strength than they actually have, which is a good thing in my book. It's a nice surprise to look at your screen, see 0 bars, desperately try to make a call anyway, and have it go through!

Mantooth said:
I was just on a very important call about a new job and my captivate dropped the call 4 times within 15 minutes. I was holding the phone only on the outside. I was not touching the bottom or the back of the phone. How frustrating. It even drops calls when I am using my headset. Just dropping all the time. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like the AT&T network to me.
Yeah you can see how Samsung reinterprets the phones recieved signal strength under the Service Menu. I also suspected that the reason why we only see -81dBm max and not -51dBm like the Captivate is because Samsung didn't completely readjust the scaling and just cut off one visible bar. Under the Service Menu (Antenna/ADC or something of the sort) you can see where it says "Antenna bar: 5" when we clearly only have 4. The same goes for actual signal strength, you can see a very usable 10 RSSI but Samsung designed the bars to show that as "0" instead of 1.

I do notice that when I'm in areas that are 1-2 bars, giving the phone the deathgrip does kill the signal totally. But when I'm out in full service I can hold it any way and no problem.

[Q] Infuse for 1 week, my problems so far

Picked up my Infuse up at BestBuy on May 15th, the release date. After 1 week, I've had these problems:
Main problem is that GPS sucks. I had specifically tried to get a smart phone to ditch my GPS navigator. This phone isn't it. Long times to fix, sometimes *never* producing a fix. If there is no network (away from civilization, no wifi or cell), there's often no fix, ever. This problem alone is probably enough for me to take it back. Does anyone know what the GPS implementation is in the Infuse? If it is a Broadcom chipset, that would explain it!
Wifi signal strength seems weak. In places where my laptop gets full bars, it gets half that. In places where my laptop gets two bars, it sometimes can't connect or it intermittently drops. This is very annoying.
Cell signal strength seems a bit weak, too. My old phone gets consistently one or two bars more. Cell data seemed not as strong, too.
I tried the HDMI adapter. It showed video fine, but failed to send audio to my TV. I know the TV is capable of HDMI audio from other sources. Oh well.
While driving with the device on sunny day, the screen was dim and hard to read. Found out the display brightness was low in auto mode. So I put it on manual, but it refused to allow full brightness, saying "Display brightness limited due to temperature" or something to that effect. So, you can't have full brightness in sunlight when you need it most? I suspect anybody who tries to use the car dash mount is going to run into thermal limiting problems, making that use impractical. Maybe if you get a white skin to keep the solar gain down. The thermal design isn't apparently good enough to get the heat out.
Otherwise, the phone seems pretty good, but my issues are high enough to have me contemplating a return.
I'll note that the Galaxy S II is reported to have a new GPS chipset, SirfStarIV, which sounds like a significant upgrade to the GPS system. But, not yet released in the US. Sigh.
How does one determine the GPS chipset in a phone?
Thanks for any help.

I've had a few issues with the phone also but you don't really expect your cell phone to get the same wifi signal as a full blown laptop do you?

Wow, seems as the Infuse does not meet your expectations. Question, If not the Infuse then what would be your next line up of devices?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

These are also my big issues, its definently the best ATT handset minus the antenna, I keep missing calls if its in my pocket and the wifi is really buggy.

DarkH2O said:
I've had a few issues with the phone also but you don't really expect your cell phone to get the same wifi signal as a full blown laptop do you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I make no apologies for having high expectations.
The wifi circuitry inside a phone should be as good as any that is inside a laptop. That leaves only the antenna as the prime issue for wifi performance. I can understand losing 3 dB, maybe 6 dB over a well designed laptop, but not 20 dB. That's severe incompetence in antenna design.
I've seen other smart phones do significantly better than the Infuse with regards to wifi.

pixelkore said:
Wow, seems as the Infuse does not meet your expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In those areas it isn't. I am particularly sensitive to GPS performance for my needs.
Question, If not the Infuse then what would be your next line up of devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Atrix is noted to have good GPS performance. I've been advised that Motorola is less friendly to things like rooting and ROMs than Samsung, though.
The HTC Inspire seems to have similar weak GPS problems.
The Samsung Galaxy II S (Attain on ATT?) is said to have a new GPS engine so that is what I hold out hope for. I may just return the Infuse and wait for that to come out and hope the GPS is improved.

I have had similar issues as well. Having a normal temp around 105° is high for any phone. It causes my screen to flicker constantly during game play. I expected something like an oversized captivate, which I got. I will switch to the gs 2 when it is released.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

mciholas said:
I make no apologies for having high expectations.
The wifi circuitry inside a phone should be as good as any that is inside a laptop. That leaves only the antenna as the prime issue for wifi performance. I can understand losing 3 dB, maybe 6 dB over a well designed laptop, but not 20 dB. That's severe incompetence in antenna design.
I've seen other smart phones do significantly better than the Infuse with regards to wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get great speeds with my router. It's set to only n and I pay for 30 /5 and get that on land line and with phone I get 16-20 down and 4-5 on up...
sent from Infuse but miss my captivate on cont. 5.5.... One day this can be as good...

chvybeatsford said:
I get great speeds with my router.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed is not the issue, I get great speeds when close to my access point. The issue is lack of range and an unstable link.
I have to be in the same room as the access point, or maybe one room next to it, to get a reliable wifi connection on the Infuse. Other wifi devices work fine throughout the house.
My GPS units will get a lock in any room of the house. The Infuse GPS will not get a lock in any room of the house and takes a long time even outdoors.

I also get good range. May be my house but I can get great speeds in the garage. And the router is 3 walls and about 35ft. Also get good rec. Out side across my yard. (60ft.).
Not the best signal but 2bars.about 6mb.This is. Brand New house with the router about in center of floor plan.
sent from Infuse but miss my captivate on cont. 5.5.... One day this can be as good...

my captivate got better reception and didnt get as hot with heavy wifi usage. but you cant have everything.

i wouldn't get it because of the bad gps. i guess samsung forgot to put a gps antenna in it like they did with the rest of the galaxy s phones.

I love my infuse, my only issue is that 2 or 3 times so far, the phone starts playing music from my library without a music player opened. I've checked all my notifications and they are all set to what I want. Only thing i can think of, it's playing music to let me know my battery is full. My captivate used to beep, if its not the battery then i have no clue. no alarms are set, calenders have alerts turned off, sms is set to what I want, I don't know lol

Rldowney said:
I have had similar issues as well. Having a normal temp around 105° is high for any phone. It causes my screen to flicker constantly during game play. I expected something like an oversized captivate, which I got. I will switch to the gs 2 when it is released.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you going to upgrade? Just off contract purchase?

I don't have any issues with my GPS. I have been using the phone and testing it our for almost 2 weeks now and have not had any issues with it using Google Maps or Google Navigator. I would put it on par with my Atrix where the GPS is phenomenal on it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

Wifi issues
mciholas said:
I make no apologies for having high expectations.
The wifi circuitry inside a phone should be as good as any that is inside a laptop. That leaves only the antenna as the prime issue for wifi performance. I can understand losing 3 dB, maybe 6 dB over a well designed laptop, but not 20 dB. That's severe incompetence in antenna design.
I've seen other smart phones do significantly better than the Infuse with regards to wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to return my Infuse due to the poor wifi reception. I had it side by side with my old iPhone 3G a couple rooms away from the router. The Infuse dropped wifi completely and I lost internet connectivity while the iPhone was happily chugging along.
It's a gorgeous phone and I was sorry to send it back, but not being able to keep wifi connectivity when compared with a 3 year old iPhone was a dealbreaker.

gPS
I rooted My infuse and installed faster fix and north america and my gps works perfect now it lock way faster then my htc inspire does i have noticed the phone gets warmer than others but i have only had it about four hours now so we will see

My gps using maps and navigation work perfectly, the only time i've noticed it getting hot is when I have it on the car dock, but, the thing is black and my car is old so everything is hot in it... i'm grandfathered into unlimited so I can't speak on the wifi cause I dont use it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

jdonnell said:
I had to return my Infuse due to the poor wifi reception. I had it side by side with my old iPhone 3G a couple rooms away from the router. The Infuse dropped wifi completely and I lost internet connectivity while the iPhone was happily chugging along.
It's a gorgeous phone and I was sorry to send it back, but not being able to keep wifi connectivity when compared with a 3 year old iPhone was a dealbreaker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'm gonna follow suit , this phone is an attrocity in every single way
1 - Touch the phone frame with two fingers , wifi and phone signals drop by 3/4ths which is RIDICULOUS ... there is no 4g and the hspa+ system should go and suck an Elephant's left NUT
2- Gps lockon takes more than 10 minutes ... again I'm screwed if I'm in a rush + no TomTom
3 - No gingerbread ?? . . . F^K you samsung seriously ... Ice cream is up next within the next 2 months and not even one dev on the internet was able to come up with custom firmware (No offense to any devs , I know you guys are awesome and work your @$$es off... so props to you for devotion and work always but patience is not my virtue)
4 - Single core is kinda painful to bear when you know quad core & 3d phones are being released very soon
5 - No apps that can use the front face camera (AS FAR AS I KNOW) so again why bother even giving this to us ?, Samsung you guys might as well have given us a dual core with one of the cores shut off.
6 - THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT ... call quality / microphone is ATROCIOUS ... In my quiet bedroom at night with no audio disturbances my gf is telling me every 5 seconds that she can't hear me and that pisses me off so badly. I've tried with at least 10 other people all giving me same bs. So I have to yell at my phone like a walky talky .... so sad
If you bought this phone from costco you can do 2 things guys.
Either return the phone and stick with w/e u had b4 until the good stuff comes out or wait 90 days and pray something decent comes out by mid august.
I'm returning mine and returning to my Iphone 3g ( as old as it may be and dinged up it still is dam reliable )

sonkameja said:
3 - No gingerbread ?? . . . F^K you samsung seriously ... Ice cream is up next within the next 2 months and not even one dev on the internet was able to come up with custom firmware (No offense to any devs , I know you guys are awesome and work your @$$es off... so props to you for devotion and work always but patience is not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. I hate getting worked up by people....but seriously? The phone has now been out for FOURTEEN DAYS!! Dont use "lack of dev work" as an excuse to take your phone back. I understand your frustrations, but just take it back and stop feeding this thread.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

ODD! No deathgrip while on a call!?! test please

HI
Been playing around with my Sensation.
What i noticed while sitting in my front room. GRound floor, i have 2-4 bars with the phone on the table.
0-1 bars when deathgripped even 2 bars if im lucky bars BUT WHEN IM ON A CALL. i rang the normal o2 top up line
DEATHGRIPPED IN MY LAP. from 1 bar it jumped to 4 bars and idling between 3-4 bars, no matter how i deathgrip it, it wont go lower than 2 while on a call if i deathgrip it really HARD????
so normal 3-4 bars,
deathgripped 0-2 bars
ring a number deathgripped 3-4 bars or possibly 2
could this be a software issue?
anyone else confirm this asap please

ikhzter said:
HI
Been playing around with my Sensation.
What i noticed while sitting in my front room. GRound floor, i have 2-4 bars with the phone on the table.
0-1 bars when deathgripped even 2 bars if im lucky bars BUT WHEN IM ON A CALL. i rang the normal o2 top up line
DEATHGRIPPED IN MY LAP. from 1 bar it jumped to 4 bars and idling between 3-4 bars, no matter how i deathgrip it, it wont go lower than 2 while on a call if i deathgrip it really HARD????
so normal 3-4 bars,
deathgripped 0-2 bars
ring a number deathgripped 3-4 bars or possibly 2
could this be a software issue?
anyone else confirm this asap please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's w.e.i.r.d.
The call doesn't drop I suppose? Maybe it's because it's emitting a more powerfull signal while on a call and the deathgrip doesn't affect it. It's very confusing though...

giorgisp said:
That's w.e.i.r.d.
The call doesn't drop I suppose? Maybe it's because it's emitting a more powerfull signal while on a call and the deathgrip doesn't affect it. It's very confusing though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TRY THIS. THIS NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED WITH MORE SENSATIONS.
IF WE CAN THEN WE KNOW ITS SOFTWARE ISSUE, im thinking of even posting a video of it.
Deathgrip it hard and i lose al my bars even or down to 1 while not on a call,
but while on a call its 3-4 bars, deathgripped hard its 2 otherwise 3-4

NO WAY, DEATHGRIPPED AT 1 bar. PRESSED CALL, after 15 seconds it jumped to 4 bar in the same position

Simple. On standby it doesn't use as much power to keep signal up as it does when you talk. Why do you think mA usage increases when you talk on the phone?
This is normal. In sby, phone doesn't need perfect signal, it just needs some signal to receive incoming calls, sms, data, then it wakes up and upps the power used for connection with mast/s, so you have good quality connection.

tinky1 said:
Simple. On standby it doesn't use as much power to keep signal up as it does when you talk. Why do you think mA usage increases when you talk on the phone?
This is normal. In sby, phone doesn't need perfect signal, it just needs some signal to receive incoming calls, sms, data, then it wakes up and upps the power used for connection with mast/s, so you have good quality connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh lol i thought i made an astounding discovery, never mind. lol
still getting ri of it and going back to my DHD

ikhzter said:
oh lol i thought i made an astounding discovery, never mind. lol
still getting ri of it and going back to my DHD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you wanna do that? Isn't Sensation better than DHD?

Figure_desire said:
Why do you wanna do that? Isn't Sensation better than DHD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im in two minds at the moment, i have no idea what to do. sensation is better, dhd is similiar in signal, also hold it flat landscape it too drops wifi. now that i have noticed, but sensation signal is pretty noticable as it is easily deathgripped due to its shape, so im not sure whether to keep it or not with these deathgrip issues
i absolutely love it but the deathgrip is letting it down
dont like sgs2, its ugly and also quite a few issues on it too.

ikhzter said:
Im in two minds at the moment, i have no idea what to do. sensation is better, dhd is similiar in signal, also hold it flat landscape it too drops wifi. now that i have noticed, but sensation signal is pretty noticable as it is easily deathgripped due to its shape, so im not sure whether to keep it or not with these deathgrip issues
i absolutely love it but the deathgrip is letting it down
dont like sgs2, its ugly and also quite a few issues on it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen any phone with no issue. If that makes a problem of course you should give it back or think about replace. Because there are people saying that there is no issue at all.

Figure_desire said:
I haven't seen any phone with no issue. If that makes a problem of course you should give it back or think about replace. Because there are people saying that there is no issue at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have. My Desire once it had motherboard replaced. BEST phone i ever had, better than sensation, even stock.
But i'm a geek, i want/need new, and sensations dual core is fair bit more future proof than Desire. Can't wait to see what can be done with it once bootloader is unlocked.

Figure_desire said:
I haven't seen any phone with no issue. If that makes a problem of course you should give it back or think about replace. Because there are people saying that there is no issue at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC offered to take it in under warranty, repair or refurbish it for me ?
should i let them?

ikhzter said:
HTC offered to take it in under warranty, repair or refurbish it for me ?
should i let them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have NO other problems, i wouldn't. It's design issue, so repair, another phone won't fix it. But it's up to you if you want to give it a go.

tinky1 said:
I have. My Desire once it had motherboard replaced. BEST phone i ever had, better than sensation, even stock.
But i'm a geek, i want/need new, and sensations dual core is fair bit more future proof than Desire. Can't wait to see what can be done with it once bootloader is unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had Desire too. I loved it. But it has problems too. Its display couldn't see even a bit under sunlight. It had dual touch not real multitouch. etc. That's the way how they sell newe phones.
ikhzter said:
HTC offered to take it in under warranty, repair or refurbish it for me ?
should i let them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you think you can't live wthout Sensation you should try it. But keep in mind that might not help either.

Figure_desire said:
I had Desire too. I loved it. But it has problems too. Its display couldn't see under sunlight. It had dual touch not real multitouch. etc. That's the way how they sell newe phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see these as shortcomings, not a fault tbh. There is always better technology out there, no matter how new your device is.

tinky1 said:
I see these as shortcomings, not a fault tbh. There is always better technology out there, no matter how new your device is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree and in addition to that I see this deathgrip issue as shortcoming too. Better or worse all phones have that.

This is a simple powersaving issue. The amplifier for the phone antenna does not to run at full tilt when it's idling in passive mode. Think of it like CPU scaling.

Figure_desire said:
That might be a good explanation.
Also we all know that phones consume more power when there isn't enough signal from base station. So we can say phones are able to set this according to situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol i feel sheepish now, so basically there is no software issue at all , we just have to live with this,
the dhd fared better though because it was bulkier it spread out in our hands, so itwasnt deathgripped often

The term death grip is incorrect not mstter how youbhold it the signal does not die it just loses power so atcually it is more a choke grip then death
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA Premium App

But on certain position it drops wifi and bluetooth?
mt4g royal ginger v2.1

Gregory.u317 said:
But on certain position it drops wifi and bluetooth?
mt4g royal ginger v2.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no. If you only have one bar for wifi, and then grip it tight, then yes, signal will drop, if you have a few bars, signal will just become worse, but you won't lose it completely.

Issues with this phone?

I've read reports on the Internet of many users having issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3 such as small cracks appearing in the casing of the phone out of no where. Another thing is the weak signal strength this phone is known for. All the reports I could find were outdated and I really want to like this phone and purchase it.
I'd like to know if anyone knows if these problems have been fixed by Samsung.
Thanks in advance!

Touchpadnoob said:
I've read reports on the Internet of many users having issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3 such as small cracks appearing in the casing of the phone out of no where. Another thing is the weak signal strength this phone is known for. All the reports I could find were outdated and I really want to like this phone and purchase it.
I'd like to know if anyone knows if these problems have been fixed by Samsung.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
easily the best phone ive ever owned.
no problems yet

Touchpadnoob said:
I've read reports on the Internet of many users having issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3 such as small cracks appearing in the casing of the phone out of no where. Another thing is the weak signal strength this phone is known for. All the reports I could find were outdated and I really want to like this phone and purchase it.
I'd like to know if anyone knows if these problems have been fixed by Samsung.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Signal has been top notch on mine.....Just as good as my wife's Rezound. Much much better then my GNEX!

Below 40% battery the signal becomes progressively weaker, noticably so, but no issues with calls, mostly manifests itself in data.
Otherwise, though, great signal. As I sit here in the middle of a state park far from anything. I travel a lot, neighborhood of a thousand interstate miles a week, and haven't dropped a call yet.
Device rocks, and haven't noticed any physical deterioration. As a smartphone you can't do any better on the market today in terms of quality, performance or features.
Worth getting the 32 gig model and slapping a 64 gig card in it. Nothing like having nearly 100 gigs of immediately available interactive storage.
4g lte is impressively fast.

one thing to remember is somebody will always have something to gripe about no matter what. that being said the s3 is by far the most solid device i have ever owned!

I've had two different Galaxy S3's on Verizon, and both have horrible data issues. Disconnects from data, and not gaining data back until reboot, slow data speeds when I have it, and signal bars constantly going from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 3 to 4 etc....
The second phone has never been rooted or modified, and the first one I tried everything I could think of. So many ROMs, modems, and flashes, and nothing worked. Other Verizon phones nearby work just fine. Just my experience though.

Thread is called issues with this phone
Let's keep other phones out of it
Thanks
Thread cleaned
FNM

kennyglass123 said:
Thread is called issues with this phone
Let's keep other phones out of it
Thanks
Thread cleaned
FNM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are referring to me then I was talking about the Galaxy S3. The OP was talking about the Galaxy S3 too.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I only got 2 bars where I am at, but looking at my family's other phones, they are about the same in reception (razr droid) . Now my dad who lives out of state, is telling me that when he calls me, it goes straight to voice mail (i dont see any indication that he called) , so this is an issue im trying to figure out, but I have a custom rom and kernal. So hard to say what the issue is for me ( I also got a crack on the screen already from slippage the 2nd day I owned the phone, but its very minimal), happened because I didn't have a case at the time.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s720x720/386262_10151093476528557_832449593_n.jpg
The phone otherwise is awesome, Get some good protection for it, it is a must! I carry it in my pocket,but I do feel like if someone bumps up against my thigh that it could break.

I think people are to caught up in the bars. I never look at the bars. If my phone has 4G and I don't drop calls then there is no problems with the radio. I even get 4G in fringe areas where my GNEX did not.
Also, my wife's rezound can say she has 3 bars is a fringe areas but it still takes 10 minutes to
load a webpage.
Bars are a bunch of BS. Usage is what really counts.

Signal strength is what matters. I'm actually considering I might have a bad phone since it constantly loses data or drops to 1x in my apt, where the map shows full 4G coverage and my previous phone (Sprint) never had a single issue. Tested a friends Nexus and it had slow speeds but never lost a connection, and the Nexus is said to have really poor reception.

ECrispy said:
Signal strength is what matters. I'm actually considering I might have a bad phone since it constantly loses data or drops to 1x in my apt, where the map shows full 4G coverage and my previous phone (Sprint) never had a single issue. Tested a friends Nexus and it had slow speeds but never lost a connection, and the Nexus is said to have really poor reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First question are you rooted? if not you should get an update from Verizon with a new modem. If so go to the modem link and down the newest modem and flash it via Odin. I flashed mine and it seems to help with the single problem I was having. Also when you look at the bars I was told that if your data is on the bars you see is for your data when it is off the bars you see is for your voice.

silver1882 said:
First question are you rooted? if not you should get an update from Verizon with a new modem. If so go to the modem link and down the newest modem and flash it via Odin. I flashed mine and it seems to help with the single problem I was having. Also when you look at the bars I was told that if your data is on the bars you see is for your data when it is off the bars you see is for your voice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a bit confused by this advice going around. I am rooted, and unlocked. I checked for root access a few times before posting this, and I can still do everything I could before. I have manually received the OTA update, and don't notice a difference in my root capabilities. Are you saying something was supposed to break once I updated?

[Q] Terrible Cell Signal with S5?

I really like the phone itself, but I'm having trouble with REALLY low cell signal. At my house I would have full bars with my Galaxy S3, but on my S5 I have one tiny bar of signal. Lemon perhaps? Anyone have any ideas? I have already updated the PRL and Profile and I am NOT rooted.
Also the charger cover (so that it can be water resistant) is nearly impossible for me to open without grabbing a razor or something to pry it open... anyone else having this issue?

klarthur said:
I really like the phone itself, but I'm having trouble with REALLY low cell signal. At my house I would have full bars with my Galaxy S3, but on my S5 I have one tiny bar of signal. Lemon perhaps? Anyone have any ideas? I have already updated the PRL and Profile and I am NOT rooted.
Also the charger cover (so that it can be water resistant) is nearly impossible for me to open without grabbing a razor or something to pry it open... anyone else having this issue?
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I hate that little charger door also. I'm really close to just ripping it off. And as far as signal goes, I think I have somewhat the same issue. Reception is pretty spotty compared to my old S3, and the S3 wasn't awesome to begin with. I will say though, that when it is connected, even with a weak signal, it still runs much faster than my S3 does.
I have until this weekend to decide if I want to keep it or not and I'm really contemplating taking it back and swapping it out for a HTC One M8.

Yeah I have the same issue. I had the s4 (I know small upgrade but I gave it to the gf) and it had 3 bars average in my basement. Now with the s5 I'm ljcmy to get 1 bar. I've been having people say to answer my phone but I never got their calls. Ugh maybe I should switch too I have a week left I think.
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app

I have 1 bar at home too.
I called Sprint and they said low reception doesn't kill battery....clearly they don't know much.

Majin101 said:
Yeah I have the same issue. I had the s4 (I know small upgrade but I gave it to the gf) and it had 3 bars average in my basement. Now with the s5 I'm ljcmy to get 1 bar. I've been having people say to answer my phone but I never got their calls. Ugh maybe I should switch too I have a week left I think.
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app
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Im having that issue as well. it says i have 1 bar, and the data works i can surf the web etc. but for whatever reason anyone calling me it never comes thru. but i've noticed that if i call out while i have low signal. it all of a sudden goes up a few bars and i start recieving all the texts that ppl sent me telling me to answer my phone... Suppose mine a lemon? i have a note 3 right next to it comparing signal strength and texts calls etc go thru but my S5 doesnt get anything at all .

Keep in mind the signal when not on a call is based on the 3G or 4G data signal.
When on a call the bars are based on the 1X voice signal.
I know on my old HTC phone HTC always went by voice signal as far as the bars you saw regardless of phone state, then in the last update they changed it to showing data, which was always lower.
Maybe some of your older phones are similar.
My first Samsung though so dunno.

its because its a spark enabled phone. i deal with a bunch of customers with the same issue just put it in 3g only and your reception should definitely be better.

You can use signal check app to see exact db of your signal and then read this and it will explain triband to you ..http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...-due-to-circuit-switched-fallback-technology/
Sent from my SM-G900P using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

Epix4G said:
You can use signal check app to see exact db of your signal and then read this and it will explain triband to you ..http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...-due-to-circuit-switched-fallback-technology/
Sent from my SM-G900P using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2
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^^This
Don't rely on the signal bars. They are never accurate no matter what phone.

AdRock02gt said:
I hate that little charger door also. I'm really close to just ripping it off.
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no need to rip it off...just remove the battery cover, unscrew the door for it...and take it off and set it aside for late use
it doesn't expose any internal parts and even a drunk could pull it off
CCallahan said:
^^This
Don't rely on the signal bars. They are never accurate no matter what phone.
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Click to collapse
exactly...signal bars dont matter..its the actual dB strength
manufacturers have been known to mess with it on purpose to make you think you have a better signal when you really dont, like apple

eyecon82 said:
no need to rip it off...just remove the battery cover, unscrew the door for it...and take it off and set it aside for late use
it doesn't expose any internal parts and even a drunk could pull it off
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What all needs to be removed to get the door to come off? I pulled the 2 screws out right by the door but it wouldn't slide out.

AdRock02gt said:
What all needs to be removed to get the door to come off? I pulled the 2 screws out right by the door but it wouldn't slide out.
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http://forums.androidcentral.com/at...1398527890t-charger-cover-broke-powerplug.jpg

eyecon82 said:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/at...1398527890t-charger-cover-broke-powerplug.jpg
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I took out that screw the first time but the wasn't prying up hard enough on that small flap that holds the cover in.