in Europe right now & wifi is weak on SGS3? - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

Wife's RAZR sees the hotels wifi 3 stories up just fine & yet I can't see **** on my SGS3!
Even on ground floor I cannot see or connect to the hotel!
Don't use wifi much in states so now I'm wondering does the wifi radio suck in the SGS3?

Having to BT tether is painful.
Anyone else who regularly uses wifi confirm or deny sucky wifi in this phone?

My Wi-Fi signal reception in the US is similar to other devices (iPad, transformer tf 101, old captivate, and thunderbolt).
Are you on any special kernel?
Wi-Fi in Europe has slightly different defaults (channel wise), could be that the phone isn't optimized for that. On other devices, I had custom Rom that let you select region for Wi-Fi optimization

must be the curvature of the earth.

Yes WiFi sucks on this device.......downright terrible. All other devices get full WiFi in my living room from my router downstairs. This phone barely gets a bar. Had to get a WiFi extender to be able to use my WiFi. My wife's is the same as mine. Samsung really screwed up some major aspects of this phone.

Related

Wifi SLower than should be..

I have a linksys wifi N router at home and my laptop connects at around 144mbps, however my phone only connects at around 72mbps..
Also my laptop always sits on my coffee table which is about 15' from my router (through one wall) and has excellent signal. But my phone usually only has good signal in the same spot. It only usually lights up like two of the wifi indicators.
Does everyone else have this issue? Are the wifi chips just not strong in the phone or what?
My laptop is currently saying that it is recieving at 54mbps, my mesmerize is showing the same speed. Although my laptop is stating that I have excellent strength, and my phone is showing fair strength. I think the wifi is only so-so in this phone, I rooted last night and just got wifi tethering going. With the phone broadcasting a hostspot next to the laptop it only gave a fair signal strength. I'm not sure if the strength of a wifi hotspot has anything to do with the recieving end of the signal though.
elijahblake said:
I have a linksys wifi N router at home and my laptop connects at around 150mbps, however my phone only connects at around 75mbps..
Also my laptop always sits on my coffee table which is about 15' from my router (through one wall) and has excellent signal. But my phone usually only has good signal in the same spot. It only usually lights up like two of the wifi indicators.
Does everyone else have this issue? Are the wifi chips just not strong in the phone or what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had this issue with both my droid and my blackberry (when I used my blackberry). I think that the wifi capabilities in phones are not as good as they are in computers.
but the reason I'm asking this is this phone is supposed to have wifi N radio in it.. Older phones only had G antennas which are only capable of 54mbps.. wifi N is theoretically capable of up to 300mbps, I've never seen anything actually connect at that speed, but it would seem that my phone which is brand new should atleast connect at the same speed as a 2 year old wifi N laptop???
imyp said:
My laptop is currently saying that it is recieving at 54mbps, my mesmerize is showing the same speed. Although my laptop is stating that I have excellent strength, and my phone is showing fair strength. I think the wifi is only so-so in this phone, I rooted last night and just got wifi tethering going. With the phone broadcasting a hostspot next to the laptop it only gave a fair signal strength. I'm not sure if the strength of a wifi hotspot has anything to do with the recieving end of the signal though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your router is only G that's the max speed you will get?
Wifi is a pain in general to troubleshoot, as there could be many, many reasons why it is slow or not working at all.
General questions to be asked are:
Do you have security enabled wifi?
What kind of encryption are you using?
How many devices are connected to the network? (Wired or wireless)
Is the router set to send a wireless N signal? (most routers have that optioned, but not always running as most devices are not wireless N compatible)
I've had my phone connected at several wifi's (I travel a lot for work and am in hotels all the time) and my connection speed varies. At home I have great connection and speed test to 5megs a second download (wireless N--it connects) currently at a hotel in Colorado, 1480kbps download (wireless G)
I still stick by my thoughts as far as the wifi on the phones will never be as good as the wifi in a computer, be it a laptop or a desktop. Phones just don't have the battery power to hold a super strong/fast wifi signal.
I have wifi speed problems also but my first gen ipod touch does not seem to have issues
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
skitzo_inc said:
Wifi is a pain in general to troubleshoot, as there could be many, many reasons why it is slow or not working at all.
General questions to be asked are:
Do you have security enabled wifi?
What kind of encryption are you using?
How many devices are connected to the network? (Wired or wireless)
Is the router set to send a wireless N signal? (most routers have that optioned, but not always running as most devices are not wireless N compatible)
I've had my phone connected at several wifi's (I travel a lot for work and am in hotels all the time) and my connection speed varies. At home I have great connection and speed test to 5megs a second download (wireless N--it connects) currently at a hotel in Colorado, 1480kbps download (wireless G)
I still stick by my thoughts as far as the wifi on the phones will never be as good as the wifi in a computer, be it a laptop or a desktop. Phones just don't have the battery power to hold a super strong/fast wifi signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, the router is set to wifi N or actually it's set to all!!! I have security enabled..
There's only two devices running wifi (laptop/cell phone)
I get fast download speeds like 5000kbps down/2500kbps up when using the speedtest.net app..
But when I go to wifi settings and click on my router once it's connected whether I have Good (usually) or excellent it's only connected to my router at 72Mbps.. I have a static IP set for it..
I guess mobile phone wifi chips just aren't up to par with laptop chips
msird said:
I have wifi speed problems also but my first gen ipod touch does not seem to have issues
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My little brothers touch has the same issues with speed.
elijahblake said:
yes, the router is set to wifi N or actually it's set to all!!! I have security enabled..
There's only two devices running wifi (laptop/cell phone)
I get fast download speeds like 5000kbps down/2500kbps up when using the speedtest.net app..
But when I go to wifi settings and click on my router once it's connected but whether I have Good (usually) or excellent it's only connected to my router at 72Mbps.. I have a static IP set for it..
I guess mobile phone wifi chips just aren't up to par with laptop chips
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are my sentiments exactly. Even with it not being as fast, it's plenty fast for everything I need it to do, but 3g is fast enough for me generally. I only connect to wireless when I'm not in good cell service.

[Q] Nexus S extremely poor wifi

Hello there,
i know that this topic has been already debated several times but I couldn't find any solution to it.
I'm running MIUI 1.8.19, android version 2.3.5, kernel version 2.6.35.7-g3cc95e3, baseband I9023XXKB3.
Wifi signal is extremely weak, few meters away from any router and the connection becomes extremely unstable making the wifi experience a total nightmare.
I've been previously tried NSCollab and also different baseband configuration files but nothing seems to get things better.
For what is worth (even though the wifi is bad anywhere and with any router) my router is a Linksys WRT150N running on DD-WRT.
The Nexus S wifi thing seems to be a little bit controversial. Some users seem having no problem with it, some other experience the same problems i do.
Question #1: is that a hardware, software or both kind of problem?
question #2 : is there any workaround that would allow me at least to comfortably browse the internet from my bedroom (5-6 mts away from my router) without getting disconnected every other 30 sec?
Thank you in advance,
D.
You kept a phone that can't hold a wifi connection over a distance of 5m? I'd have returned it on day 1.
It's normal that the distance of WIFI on smartphones is less than say a laptop or pc, but 5m is definitly not normal.
Verify w/ other wifi networks, same problem = return it. If not, bad luck, might be the combination of your phone + the router not working properly.
You can try changing radios to see of that improves your situation, for some it did.
Yes, it is normal having a weaker wi-fi but my blackberry has no problem at all. it is the nexus and it seems to be quite a widespread problem around the globe.
Well i was abroad on business and couldnt return it. Just looking for clues....
I know that netarchy's kernel uses updated wifi drivers, you can try flashing that and see if it does anything.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Hi there,
i tried several kernels: netarchy, matrix and also installed MIUI and also tried the MIUI Brainmaster ROM. Same result: in my bedroom the wifi signal score a miserable -85/90 db. Is there any kernel out there optimized for wifi? I mean, it seems that the wifi weakness on the nexus S is a common problem.
Thank you in advance.
It sounds as though you have a hardware problem or a router problem. I have to go to a room in the other side of my house to get -90 db and even then it doesn't disconnect. I have to get about 200 feet away before it disconnects.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Also it might have something to do with interference on whatever channel you are connecting on but I don't really know enough about wireless networking to help you troubleshoot that.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
What i'm wondering is wheter Samsung uses different wifi chipset on the same phone cause i'm not the only one complaining about it. just google "nexus s weak wifi" and you'll see hundreds of people with the same problem.
still wondering if there's a software solution to it.
caravaggio971 said:
What i'm wondering is wheter Samsung uses different wifi chipset on the same phone cause i'm not the only one complaining about it. just google "nexus s weak wifi" and you'll see hundreds of people with the same problem.
still wondering if there's a software solution to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has been documented that the Nexus S uses an under powered wifi chip. The chip uses less power but with that comes a weaker signal.
mine seems to be weaker than average...
Yours does seem weaker than normal, but no nexus s has decent wifi range.
What I have done is purchase 2 old linksys wrt54gl routers, have them both loaded up with DD-WRT and then link them (bridged mode or WDS if you prefer) and situate the routers in either end of my house. I have a decent sized 3 bed detached house, with a 70ft garden, I can now get a reliable wifi connection near the end of my garden on my nexus, where as previously I couldnt get to the back door
Might be an old thread, but I just traded my trusty HD2 for a Nexus S and god I hate the WIFI reception on this thing.
I am on stock 2.3.4 Rooted with KD1 radio and 2.6.35.14(Pete's) kernel. Tried just about anything out there, and nothing worked out.
Being a Pure Google experience phone, I was expecting a lot more happening for this phone, but it seems that my 2009 released HD2 was way better for all it had to offer.
Subscribing to this thread!
WIFI is fine for me, same as with HTC Desire, and stronger than iPhone 3G...
Its terrible on my Sprint Nexus.
Where I have an Ipod touch and a LG Optimus, they get an 'excellent' connection anywhere in the house. The Nexus drops the connection all the time, shows a 'poor' 5Mbps connection.
Will swapping the phone do any good?
OK.
I bought my Nexus S yesterday and I was soooo disappointed because of its poor wifi reception... But...
I am a network Administrator and a few minutes ago i just couldn't beleive that about 10 meters away from our Cisco Antennas i had about 89db signal so i started playing... and guess what i now have 55dbs at the same spot! What i found out is that Nexus S doesn't work well with High Frequencies so I disabled channels 8-13 and my AP had to work on the low channels and BAM! everything works fine now (My phone is in stock FW)
I hope I helped
Gorbi_gr said:
OK.
I bought my Nexus S yesterday and I was soooo disappointed because of its poor wifi reception... But...
I am a network Administrator and a few minutes ago i just couldn't beleive that about 10 meters away from our Cisco Antennas i had about 89db signal so i started playing... and guess what i now have 55dbs at the same spot! What i found out is that Nexus S doesn't work well with High Frequencies so I disabled channels 8-13 and my AP had to work on the low channels and BAM! everything works fine now (My phone is in stock FW)
I hope I helped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome tip! Thank you so much
I found this channel number which it uses to make no difference to the wifi performance.
I tried channels 1,6,11, no difference.
The phone just has poor wifi.
As a note, usually I don't use the low channel '1', as this gets interference from microwaves more than the upper channels.
just bought a Nexus and and experiencing heavy wifi issues.
I tried changing AP channel but doesn't fix.
Testing signal strenght with a LG Optimus one for comparison:
1- LG: -72db. stable
2- Nexus S: -85db web pages loading fails quite often.
Tomorrow my NS will return to the store. Bye Bye

Samsung Infuse weak wifi signal?

Anyone else have an issue with a weak wifi signal? i have to be in the same room for it to connect. I can be anywhere in the house with my laptop and tabet.
Same for mine. My Infuse is about a week old to me and is unrooted and stock. The WiFi is very week and won't connect 30 feet away from the router. All of my other phones show weakness, but they will connect.
What kind of router do u have?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
I have issues with some routers but not others...my cheap belkin works better than the linksys someone gave me
Have you downloaded wifi analyzer?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I have a linksys
mine does it too. i could be right next to my iPhone that is connected to the same thing and it'll have full coverage but the infuse has nothing.
I got the phone last week and notice the same thing. I also noticed it has the iPhone deathgrip issue on wifi. I can cover the back up with my hand and watch it drop a bar on wifi. Give it some breathing room and bar comes back. My biggest gripe is it sometimes doesn't want to get back on wifi if you get out of range.
Ni WiFi issue here, I have Buffalo and DLink routers, I get strong and consistent signal with both. I have my router in 2.4Ghz 802.11N (no GN or BGN)
Ugh thank gawd I haven't noticed those issues yet, other then last week it wouldn't connect at all was just stuck on obtaining connection so I just rebooted the phone and it connected fine, from outside in the middle of the street to test it.
The wifi on the Atrix though is a beast because when I went to Chumash Casino and Resort we had to rely on wifi (it's in the hills and no network at all) and the Atrix connected 8/10 tries vs my Infuse 3/10 to the casino sh*tty free wifi... And the Atrix picked up other Wifi spots (adhoc) etc... sigh only thing that blows about the Infuse!
Yup my infuse hates wifi, wish it wasn't true but it is
.......infuse.....Infused....infusion.........
Another user posted this link. I think it could possibly explain some of the issues I've been having. I have issues at work especially where we have multiple access points. If I forget the network and reconnect it links right up. The good news is I don't really see a reduction or improvement in browsing with a dot or full bar. At least not the feel, I haven't measured with a tool.
http://www.net.princeton.edu/android/android-11236-partial-workaround.html
Bugs in the software and firmware, what could go wrong?
i noticed a big drop in wi-fi strength after changing my rom from stock to infused 2.1

Poor wifi performance of other devices (macbook)

This is super off-the-wall but does anyone else use a Macbook via wifi on their home network at the same time as an Android device, and notice super crappy wifi performance of just the Macbook? I am using an AT&T uverse wifi router (via motorola.)
I have tested this with a Fascinate and an Eris, and with an old Macbook 14" and a newer Pro. When wifi on the phone is turned off the macbooks seem to work pretty good (there are still times when they crap out). When the wifi is on, the phones (and my dell laptop) can connect fine, speedtest shows full bandwidth from them, but the macbooks just run super slow, even when the laptop is very close to the router.
Well, my laptop is a macbook and I use our home wifi network for internet, I occasionally use wifi at home on my phone but I'm usually on 3g (pay $30/month for it, might as well use it). But I haven't experienced issues with network performance on the macbook while there are android devices connected to the same network or not. The problem must be somewhere else in your setup?
I don't see how one could effect the other
It could be the layout and materials of the room you are in. With radio (like WiFi) more than just signal strength matters. You can get interference or reflection of the signal that can cause problems. Newer notebooks have 3 antennas to help deal with these problems.
If the notebook is older, it likely has 1 or 2 antennas and might not deal with relection as well. Not sure what you could do to fix it though to be honest
Thanks for the info, I know that it is hard to imagine that one affects the other but I tested it a few times and each time the network speed on the macbook was bad when the phone wifi was on (even when the phone was not being used) and then got a lot better when i switched the phone wifi off. It is probably related to the Motorola wifi router more so than the phone, but I figured I would see if anyone else noticed it. The funny thing is that if i switch the phone over to hotspot mode (using wifi-tether 1.6beta) and connect the macbook to it, it runs great.
Your home network speed will drop to the speed of the slowest device on that network. There are 3 different speeds of wireless network cards in today’s electronic devices – B, G and N. B is the slowest wireless connection and can be found in things like Wii consoles. N is the fastest wireless connection and can be found in things like Ipad2′s and Macbook Air’s.
A computer network in a home is only as fast as the slowest device connected to the network. Thus if your network had 1 Wireless B device, 2 wireless G devices and a wireless N device, and your neighbor's network had 3 Wireless N devices, your neighbor's network speed would be much faster than yours.

Wifi Issues

When I move into my room, my laptop gets 90%-100% signal strength from my Wifi, my phone however randomly looses signal completely and especially when I take up the phone to use it. It's very frustrating. Plus when I'm on 3G, it constantly switches from 3G to H too.
The 3g H switching is normal if you are on tmo us and running the eu roms and has been discussed quite a bit
not sure what you mean by losing signal, but i get diff bars diff places in my house. never lose the whole connection as in not being able to dl or browse web
did you run speed tests at these diff locations in house
rugmankc said:
The 3g H switching is normal if you are on tmo us and running the eu roms and has been discussed quite a bit
not sure what you mean by losing signal, but i get diff bars diff places in my house. never lose the whole connection as in not being able to dl or browse web
did you run speed tests at these diff locations in house
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you misunderstood his post. His primary problem is that the wifi on his phone doesn't come close to the signal strength his laptop has when in the same room.
The secondary problem was the 3g/4g switching.
OP -- I have no idea what to tell you.
no, i understood. just saying my phone wifi bars fluctuate even if my laptop has good signal. may just be the way they both display strength readings
i think op should run speed tests btw the two at same time. however both devices are splitting signal so may not be as good as only one running at a time
his speeds may be fine even though bars don't show it
rugmankc said:
no, i understood. just saying my phone wifi bars fluctuate even if my laptop has good signal. may just be the way they both display strength readings
i think op should run speed tests btw the two at same time. however both devices are splitting signal so may not be as good as only one running at a time
his speeds may be fine even though bars don't show it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in Jamaica, no T-mobile. I'm not sure if I'm running an EU rom. My problem is that I loose connectivity to Wifi totally randomly in my room with even little motion. I mentioned my laptop for reference... it's like there's poor signal in my room. The phone'll just bit sitting on my bed, I hear an alert and pick up the phone to realize I've lost Wifi.
Speed is not the problem, I've been able to run a speed test to confirm I get the speed I'm supposed to get. Other times though, the speed test could not complete because I moved a little and lost connectivity.
HTC One S wifi
HTC One S wifi
Make sure that your SIM access cover is snapped in place.
It happened to me with the WiFi signal - The phone was losing signal, and had low signal 1 foot away from the router.
I 'pinched' the top-right corner of the access cover (thumb on the glass, index finger on the back cover) - I heard a 'click' and suddenly my WiFi was at full strength. I believe that the WiFi antenna is not connected unless it snaps together.
ok, not sure what to suggest. you could try turning airplane mode on and of and see if that helps
maybe router settings with the phone if you always had the issue
under settings/wifi/ tap on wifi then the 3 dot menu--Advanced. See if Keep Wi-Fi on during Sleep is Always. If not tap on it and change to Always
Also at bottom of Advanced menu is a DLNA setting, you could toggle that
barring that or someone else's ideas--maybe hardware and needs replaced
Try turning on Best Wifi Performance in Wifi, advanced settings.
Sent from my HTC VLE_U
Turning on best WiFi performance totally killed my battery life, but that may just be me.
If you're losing signal on one device but not another, I'd recommend changing the channel on your router. Interference on certain channels can cause weird issues with some devices. There are apps on the market that will show you which channels are congested in your area.
ptweasel said:
Turning on best WiFi performance totally killed my battery life, but that may just be me.
If you're losing signal on one device but not another, I'd recommend changing the channel on your router. Interference on certain channels can cause weird issues with some devices. There are apps on the market that will show you which channels are congested in your area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... I'll try that. So far turning on DLNA and Best Performance hasn't made any difference. I'll try changing the channel when I get home later and post the results. I REALLY hope h/w is not the problem.. it's gonna be a hassle sending this back.
It might be worth gently cleaning the contacts exposed when you remove the SIM access panel. As District noted, good contact is necessary for wifi (and probably other features). Dust or a fingerprint may be problematic.
Anything to bear in mind when trying to clean it or adjust it? I'm really paranoid I'll mess it up.
make sure you use electrical cleaner
radio shack sells it, comes in spray can
if you haven't had sim card out or phone long, probably not issue. but, worth try
if you have another router, you can always try that
Nothing seems to work... I'm using channel 11 @ home which doesn't seem to be crowded. I have the same issue @ work with our router. I've been having this problem from I got the phone last week. This is after I initially removed the back cover to first insert my SIM.
I'm going to try and see if I can secure a cleaner... I tried blowing on it mean time. Also turned on DLNA and best wifi performance and all.
DLNA auto-IP setting worked for me.
Hi OP,
I had the exact same wifi issues on my One S. I tried the router at work, the router at home and my mates router with the same results.
Mine seems to work now, with no disconnections or manually connections. What seems to have worked for me -- Wifi - Advanced menu -- DLNA auto-IP setting - toggle on. Then restart, making sure the setting is still set after reboot. Seems to have fixed my wifi issues.
HTH.
Darren.

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