GSIII Poor Signal - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

I am a new verizon customer and have the GSIII. I get about 2 bars max in my house and can barely make a call in my basement. Most of the time it hangs around 1 bar though. So i've been reading through the threads and can't seem to find anyone that has posted a fix for this. Is there one? It seems like there have been quite a few people with this issue. I expected to have better service when I switched to Verizon, but am slightly dissappointed so far. Hopefully it is just the phone.
1) Is there a fix?
2) Can I exchange my phone (it has only been 2 days).?
3) What is the best phone with Verizon? (i'm not an iPhone fan)
Thanks for your input!

We can't fix poor radio and antenna design. You can flash different radios to find the best one for you that's about it for this phone. Your other options are to call verizon and tell them to send you that micro cell tower that plugs into your modem and acts as a personal tower. Other choice is to switch phones. From what I hear motorola is supposed to have the best signal
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

cell128 said:
We can't fix poor radio and antenna design. You can flash different radios to find the best one for you that's about it for this phone. Your other options are to call verizon and tell them to send you that micro cell tower that plugs into your modem and acts as a personal tower. Other choice is to switch phones. From what I hear motorola is supposed to have the best signal
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He can also flash the ROMs ported from other carriers as those seem to have improve signal strength. I have tried Wicked Sensations,Goodness and Darthstalkers ROMs all have had an increase in signal strength.

irl5fan said:
I am a new verizon customer and have the GSIII. I get about 2 bars max in my house and can barely make a call in my basement. Most of the time it hangs around 1 bar though. So i've been reading through the threads and can't seem to find anyone that has posted a fix for this. Is there one? It seems like there have been quite a few people with this issue. I expected to have better service when I switched to Verizon, but am slightly dissappointed so far. Hopefully it is just the phone.
1) Is there a fix?
2) Can I exchange my phone (it has only been 2 days).?
3) What is the best phone with Verizon? (i'm not an iPhone fan)
Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just got your phone, I'd trade mine for the newer DNA. Samsung phones are notorious for not working well on Verizon's network. If you don't need your phone as a phone they are great but if you need a PHONE to be a PHONE you should switch while you can. There is always going to be someone here saying they have great signal so you must have gotten a defective one or you aren't using it correctly (?) but the truth is if you don't get good signal now - you won't a week from now. Switch to a better PHONE for Verizon's network which is good.
While the DNA is not perfect it works as a phone well which the S3 does not. The Motorolas seem to have much better phone reliability than the S3 (I just don't like the Motorolas as smartphones for some reason).
If you look through this forum you'll find tons and tons of posts about bad signal, weak signal, dropped calls, choppy calls and you'll also find tons of posts by people saying they don't have that problem. I travel a lot and use my phone about 3000 minutes a month so I can pretty much tell when a phone is good or bad. The S3 isn't the worst I've ever had - the Nexus was the worst and the EVO3D ranks just a little better than the S3 but all were bad as phones for making phone calls. I'm probably posting on craigslist to try and trade my S3 for the DNA as I don't think I can tolerate the crappy call quality on the S3 any more. I know my phone is bad because I have traded my phones with a friend or colleague to complete a call and they are on Verizon and while the S3 sucks, their phone will work fine.

Thanks for the input all! I contacted Verizon today and they did a soft reset, seemed to help a little bit. Still not quite the service i was expecting after making the switch from Sprint. I think i'm going to look into the DNA phones or something else and see how that works out.

My signal is as strong as wife's iPhone 5, FWIW. Eons better than what I had with Sprint, although Verizon has its share of dead spots.

You have 14 days. Never switched s phone out but I would try as many as possible to get the best one for me. Good luck.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

boe said:
If you just got your phone, I'd trade mine for the newer DNA. Samsung phones are notorious for not working well on Verizon's network. If you don't need your phone as a phone they are great but if you need a PHONE to be a PHONE you should switch while you can. There is always going to be someone here saying they have great signal so you must have gotten a defective one or you aren't using it correctly (?) but the truth is if you don't get good signal now - you won't a week from now. Switch to a better PHONE for Verizon's network which is good.
While the DNA is not perfect it works as a phone well which the S3 does not. The Motorolas seem to have much better phone reliability than the S3 (I just don't like the Motorolas as smartphones for some reason).
If you look through this forum you'll find tons and tons of posts about bad signal, weak signal, dropped calls, choppy calls and you'll also find tons of posts by people saying they don't have that problem. I travel a lot and use my phone about 3000 minutes a month so I can pretty much tell when a phone is good or bad. The S3 isn't the worst I've ever had - the Nexus was the worst and the EVO3D ranks just a little better than the S3 but all were bad as phones for making phone calls. I'm probably posting on craigslist to try and trade my S3 for the DNA as I don't think I can tolerate the crappy call quality on the S3 any more. I know my phone is bad because I have traded my phones with a friend or colleague to complete a call and they are on Verizon and while the S3 sucks, their phone will work fine.
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BOE how does your DNA phone do on battery life?

irl5fan said:
BOE how does your DNA phone do on battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I haven't traded mine out yet for the DNA.

Related

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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
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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
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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.
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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
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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...

Switched to Verizon with poor phone choice

For the last 12 years, I have been a Sprint customer. I haven't had any serious issues with them until they started rolling out the tower updates to LTE. Since then, I have not been about to get satellite locks or use their web network without becoming absolutely frustrated. After a bit of web searching, I decided it was time to make the move to Verizon, since I need the web, on the road, for work. I made the choice of the Galaxy S III. It's a great looking phone and the specs speak for themselves. But, I got terrible service in and around my home. Every phone call in my house was breaking up and dropping. I figured it must be Verizon because this phone was a step up from my Sprint Epic 4G touch and even from the same manufacturer. I made calls to customer service and they wrote up a ticket to check service in my area. My nextdoor neighbor came home with his new iPhone (I will never buy an iPhone or any mac product) and showed me that he had almost full bars. I asked him to come to my house and see if he still had great service. No change in or around my home. This caused me to think there was something faulty with my device. I immediately went to the Verizon store with my device for troubleshooting. I told the service rep what had happened and that I wanted to get my phone tested and possibly get a replacement. She told me that the problems I was experiencing were common with Samsung phones because they have weak antennas. She mentioned that the best phones for reception are going to be the iPhones and the Motorolas. I believe this to be true because in my pre-smartphone days, I had a sanyo flip phone and my work partner had the latest samsung doohicky that looked sweet but, where he would have little to no service, I would have full bars. Until I got my first smartphone, I stuck with sanyo phones from Sprint and never had any issues.
Now the lineup of Verizon phones is pretty much last year's model for the top of the liners. So, I've gone back to Sprint until the Razor Maxx HD arrives. It looks to be a beast of a phone that surpasses the galaxy S III and is sure to have a good antenna/radio to go along with it. I just hope it doesn't take very long.
And you made this thread why? Are you asking something of the community? If not, this thread should be deleted
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hopesrequiem said:
And you made this thread why? Are you asking something of the community? If not, this thread should be deleted
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
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I don't think the thread should be deleted (but that's just me). I didn't know Samsung phones had this issue and its always good to know general info. Thanks to the OP for it. Next time an issue like this happens with me or any of my friends and if they have a Samsung phone, I would know at least one more variable to take into consideration.
I agree 100%, my service is terrible. My og Droid always had great reception, this phone (although no calls dropped) Fluctuates a lot. I love this phone though, and have no intentions of changing. I just wish it was a bit better is all
I don't see how the RARZ Maxx surpasses the S3. It is a nice phone but doesn't bring anything new to the table that the S3 doesn't already have except the large battery but, battery is not an issue with the S3 anyway.
I'm on Sprint and thinking about switching to Verizon so this is helpful to think about. I might not have considered a Motorola but now I think I'll at least give them a closer look.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda app-developers app
Not sure of the issues or rumors about their radio or antenna, but at least my Galaxy S III has been connecting as well as my old feature phones - by which I mean, solidly.
4G is sometimes less available than I want - e.g., there's a space of 3 blocks nearby where it's dead (odd) - but that's the only issue.
- ooofest
motorola phones are well known for getting exceptional reception.
if you live in an area where the signal strength is poor, i can understand when people end up hating certain phones.
in my case, i have never had any issues with the gs3 when it comes to reception.
BEFORE PEOPLE START BASHING TO OP, HE/SHE ISN'T SAYING THE GS3 IS A BAD PHONE FOR ITS HARDWARE (except the antenna). Yes, it is a beast of a phone.
But at the end of the day, it's still a phone and if you can't send/receive phone calls.. well, it should be replaced.
A relationship without trust is like a cell phone without service ... all you do is play games
I am a diehard Motorola guy but I went ahead and tried the SGS3. What the OP is stating is true, the Samsung radio sucks in comparison to Motorola. I am now fortunate enough to have strong enough Verizon signal at my house so I was able to keep my SGS3. Now I get 3 bars at home when with my Motorola DroidX was always full. I looked at the Droid RAZR MAXX hard and heavy, kept trying to talk myself into it, but ... it just didn't feel right in my hand. I am satisfied with my SGS3 but I still hope Motorola comes out with something good for my next upgrade.
I agree, I think this post is fine for the Verizon Galaxy S III General section of the forum!
Future modem updates will surely remedy the issue. It was the same way with the Fascinate, crappy until the radio got a couple updates.
Sent from my Galaxy S III using Xda Premium
I get good reception at my house with the S3, but my territory at work is 920ish square miles of rural area. I've noticed areas where I had 3G before switching to Sprint 3 years ago when I had a Motorola phone I do not now that I'm back with Verizon. If anything, I would have thought in the 3 years it would have improved. Like the OP, I believe it to be the phone, not the service as other guys at work don't have that problem and don't have skips when streaming music like I do on the same roads.
I'm also waiting for the Razr HD Maxx to release. Our local retail agent has their demo already so they suspect it to be within a month or so. I'm eBaying this S3 as soon as it is released since I'm outside my window to return it.
In the meantime, hopefully the latest OTA helps reception.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Future modem updates will surely remedy the issue. It was the same way with the Fascinate, crappy until the radio got a couple updates.<br />
<br />
Sent from my Galaxy S III using Xda Premium
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Click to collapse
Hope you're right. Sometimes I wanna go back to my rezound.
Gs3
I have the same problem. Switched from Sprint to Verizon. GSIII. Unless the signal is nearly full strength, calls are unusable and data is inconsistent, and texts won't send. It's definitely the phone's fault, not the network.
Might be good for some folks here to call Verizon and submit a complaint, etc. When I called about a networking issue a couple months back, they told me a wi-fi and other reception/signal related issues were planned for an October update (which they called the second update from Samsung, so that seems to mesh with our getting the current OTA in September), but maybe those plans or the update contents have changed.
And, since the OTA, they can more easily diagnose issues with your phone remotely .
- ooofest
Am I the only one that's satisfied with the GS3's signal strength? I came from a droid incredible and now I seem to have better signal across the board.
I've noticed that the phone manages signal poorly rather than the radios themselves being poor.
Example: If I use phone info and manually set my phone to 4g only or LTE w/ CDMA I will lock onto 4g and have a solid signal. If I rely on the default setting (LTE/EVDO/CDMA) to manage networks automatically I will end up with a weak 3g signal (with full data drops) despite medium/strong 4g being available.
Hopefully the future OTAs will take care of the network selection logic.
Div033 said:
Am I the only one that's satisfied with the GS3's signal strength? I came from a droid incredible and now I seem to have better signal across the board.
Click to expand...
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One more fully satisfied customer here.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
When I compare this phone to a Razr Maxx or my old Droid X2, the difference in dbm is about -5. I live in an area with good coverage so I really haven't had any issues. What this phone SUCKS at is sticking with 4g and the hand off from 4g to 3g. It switches to 3g too quickly...should hold on to 4g. When it switches there's a pretty good lag during the switch so you lose data briefly.
The modem update gave me an additional 1-2 bars in my house at times (Still fluctuations, but it would anyhow here). I can't say it's any worse than my Droid Inc.
As for Verizon having a "poor phone choice"... Meh. It goes in cycles. Sometimes they have all the good phones, sometimes AT&T does. It's all variant as to when you are looking to buy.
lets be honest here. No company is 100% stable in all areas. Theres always a tradeoff, and as our lives change, as well as our residences, places of work, and hangouts, our choice of company may change to meet our new needs. In my area Verizon meets my needs best, but my neighbor might have a different story.
I think its unfair to judge a carrier in absolutes unless you're talking about a very densely populated area like a major city. If you set foot in the middle of manhattan and have 1 bar, I think that's an appropriate time to speak in absolutes.
And on the topic of smartphones, I think its an exercise in futility. My S3 is the best phone I've ever owned, despite the small glitches and imperfections. Did I buy it because it was the best phone out there? Absolutely. Did I know at the time of purchase it could be obsolete by the time I reached my car? I counted on it. Am I boring you all by answering my own rhetorical questions? Undoubtedly.
As long as you're happy with your phone and it meets your needs, good for you. If you're unhappy do something about it. But be warned, if you spend time comparing your phone to another one already out or soon to come out, you'll almost never feel good with the results.

Reception on this phone is poor (for me)

Did a test today with these phones - 2 S3's, Nexus, iPhone 4S, and Droid Razr Maxx. The test was done in my apartment which has poor signal in general. All phones were on Verizon, all on LTE except the 4S.
All 3 Samsung phones had the worst reception, constantly dropping to 1x, timing out on web pages, and poor speeds. Speedtest would be unable to find a server half the time. The Razr and 4S had no issues maintaining a steady signal.
More than one VZW tech support guy has told me they have similar complaints about the s3, it doesn't do well in poor signal areas. Also said there's a patch being worked on, don't know of he meant the recent modem update. My S3 didn't have the OTA.
Edit - A lot of people had problems with the word 'confirmed' in the title, even though I meant it as 'confirmed for me', which I have done.
ECrispy said:
Did a test today with these phones - 2 S3's, Nexus, iPhone 4S, and Droid Razr Maxx. The test was done in my apartment which has poor signal in general. All phones were on Verizon, all on LTE except the 4S.
All 3 Samsung phones had the worst reception, constantly dropping to 1x, timing out on web pages, and poor speeds. Speedtest would be unable to find a server half the time. The Razr and 4S had no issues maintaining a steady signal.
More than one VZW tech support guy has told me they have similar complaints about the s3, it doesn't do well in poor signal areas. Also said there's a patch being worked on, don't know of he meant the recent modem update. My S3 didn't have the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats funny i tested my s3 vs mother inlaws razr
results:
Razr- 3bars signal, -102db, LTE 12MB/s down
S3- 3 bars signal, -107db, LTE 12MB/s down
droidstyle said:
thats funny i tested my s3 vs mother inlaws razr
results:
Razr- 3bars signal, -102db, LTE 12MB/s down
S3- 3 bars signal, -107db, LTE 12MB/s down
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, didnt you see the "confirmed" in the title? :silly:
as for the OP, this phone gets far better reception than the last motorola i owned.
ECrispy said:
Did a test today with these phones - 2 S3's, Nexus, iPhone 4S, and Droid Razr Maxx. The test was done in my apartment which has poor signal in general. All phones were on Verizon, all on LTE except the 4S.
All 3 Samsung phones had the worst reception, constantly dropping to 1x, timing out on web pages, and poor speeds. Speedtest would be unable to find a server half the time. The Razr and 4S had no issues maintaining a steady signal.
More than one VZW tech support guy has told me they have similar complaints about the s3, it doesn't do well in poor signal areas. Also said there's a patch being worked on, don't know of he meant the recent modem update. My S3 didn't have the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you got money for all those phones it may just be time to get a new apartment
But for me I pick up 4g were my RAZR Maxx didn't even make a call. Couldn't be happier!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
I agree, the signal is awful - and I say that focusing on call quality. Constant dropping calls, and most of the time I cannot even understand someone when the signal is poor. Never had this problem with any of my other phones...
Same issue here, I just call from my crappy signal area thru WiFi. Problem solved because outside bad signal zone the phone radio (4G) is SOLID.
kintwofan said:
If you got money for all those phones it may just be time to get a new apartment
But for me I pick up 4g were my RAZR Maxx didn't even make a call. Couldn't be happier!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish I had that much money I really wanted to make sure so I asked friends and a neighbor. Im going to keep the phone since it still makes calls, but will have to use wifi for data.
ECrispy said:
Did a test today with these phones - 2 S3's, Nexus, iPhone 4S, and Droid Razr Maxx. The test was done in my apartment which has poor signal in general. All phones were on Verizon, all on LTE except the 4S.
All 3 Samsung phones had the worst reception, constantly dropping to 1x, timing out on web pages, and poor speeds. Speedtest would be unable to find a server half the time. The Razr and 4S had no issues maintaining a steady signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've mentioned numerous times in various threads that Verizon told me in the first month of ownership that Samsung was planning to address signal-related (and wi-fi, among other things) issues in their second update for the Galaxy S III, at that time predicted for October. This info came from different levels of Verizon support.
So, perhaps that will come to pass and it may help your situation. Fortunately for me, it's not been an issue across locations I've travelled in three states thus far.
- ooofest
ooofest said:
I've mentioned numerous times in various threads that Verizon told me in the first month of ownership that Samsung was planning to address signal-related (and wi-fi, among other things) issues in their second update for the Galaxy S III, at that time predicted for October. This info came from different levels of Verizon support.
So, perhaps that will come to pass and it may help your situation. Fortunately for me, it's not been an issue across locations I've travelled in three states thus far.
- ooofest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that's good to hear. I hope this is not the Samsung JB update which is almost certain to get delayed by Verizon, and is released as a separate fix.
I'd be interested in the results of the test at different battery strength.
test each ar full, 90, 80, 70 and so on.
I notice my signal strength seems to drop off a cliff around 40 percent battery, consistently, and get progressively worse as the battery gets lower.
Havn't had time to do any testing, just something I noted.
Isnt it obvious? Your holding it wrong. You just need a bumper. Seriously what are you running? Stock or what? My signal is great but Speed Test varries has varied a bit from ROM to ROM but I wonder if that is just crazy weather and my odd hours. I haven't had any GPS problems either but have only used it lightly.
Confirmed - The GNEX has no signal issues. I owned 4 GNEX's and when I spoke to Verizon about data drops and bad signal that was the first they heard of it.
Confirmed - The Droid Charge is equal to the GNEX because that is what they offered me as a replacement if I wanted it.
Confirmed - A Verizon rep told me the Razr and GNEX have the same size screen.
I must agree with the OP. If a Verizon rep said it then it must be true.
Signal is worse than my Thunderbolt, I had that phone for over a year and now with the S3 there's a lot of areas i drop to 1x and the Thunderbolt had no issues getting 3g/4g
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Tests like this are completely based on location. What the OP should have said is of all the phones, the 3 Samsung get worst reception in his apartment.
Everyone has different results. Where some got poor reception with Motorola, HTC, the Samsungs seem to do better
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
ECrispy said:
Thanks, that's good to hear. I hope this is not the Samsung JB update which is almost certain to get delayed by Verizon, and is released as a separate fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They mentioned this as an update to the current level of OS, so that seemed to imply JellyBean was after October for us Verizon Galaxy S III owners.
- ooofest
bond32 said:
Tests like this are completely based on location. What the OP should have said is of all the phones, the 3 Samsung get worst reception in his apartment.
Everyone has different results. Where some got poor reception with Motorola, HTC, the Samsungs seem to do better
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I said. It's only poor in areas with low signal.
ECrispy said:
That's exactly what I said. It's only poor in areas with low signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it isn't even that.
Out here at work, we have many phones drop completely off, not even able to do text messages (out in the tool room) but there, I can still (slowly) surf the web in my S3.
My S3 was dropping calls left and right where I had exceptional service with my dx. I tried the vralg1 modem and waited it out 2 months. I finally called and b******and they sent me a new (refurb) one. Works wayyy better. I can now actually converse w. ppl on mi tele
EDIT: oh, and no more dropped calls. Its been about a week. I was getting >3 a day
In my current apartment, I was able to hear the other party on the line clearly in all parts of my apartment, and they could hear me, on my Moto Bionic
On this phone, I have to stand by windows or outside to talk, and even then they have to repeat themselves, or I repeat myself, now and then.
It's truly terrible.
I can certainly "confirm" that the radio in my two G3's sucks compared to my three old Rezounds.
I absolutely LOVE the G3's & I'll live with the poor reception, but it is a clear distinct difference.
I have one of my old Rezounds sitting here on my desk next to one of my G3's (CleanROM etc).
The G3 is ALWAYS in 3g, I have never once seen it get a 4g signal here but the Rezound's are in 4g 95% of the time.

Anyone else having terrible mobile data performance?

I've been with ATT for a tear bow. I had the S4 before this G3. On my S4 I would have LTE most places around my town. Since getting my G3 I rarely get LTE. When I do get LTE it doesn't hold on to that connection very long.
Yesterday I was trying to look something up and I was on Edge (3g) and it was taking forever, so I grabbed my wife's S5 and it was on LTE (also on ATT) and the internet worked great.
Are the radios in this phone just that bad? I'm going to get a new Sim card today to see if that can fix the issue, I'm hesitant to return the phone for another because I'll probably get a refurb and my luck with refurb cell phones hasn't been good
atistang said:
I've been with ATT for a tear bow. I had the S4 before this G3. On my S4 I would have LTE most places around my town. Since getting my G3 I rarely get LTE. When I do get LTE it doesn't hold on to that connection very long.
Yesterday I was trying to look something up and I was on Edge (3g) and it was taking forever, so I grabbed my wife's S5 and it was on LTE (also on ATT) and the internet worked great.
Are the radios in this phone just that bad? I'm going to get a new Sim card today to see if that can fix the issue, I'm hesitant to return the phone for another because I'll probably get a refurb and my luck with refurb cell phones hasn't been good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
compared to my wife's m8 my g3 gets as good or better signal in my area.
Hmm... I hope its just the Sim card then. They did give me a new one
Radio's suck. Been mentioned a million times, plus LG is infamous for have serious programming software issues.allot of times you have to put it in airplane modethen back on to get it to lock on anything ...kinda garbage, it's too bad cause I love the phone.
Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app
blaker13 said:
Radio's suck. Been mentioned a million times, plus LG is infamous for have serious programming software issues.allot of times you have to put it in airplane modethen back on to get it to lock on anything ...kinda garbage, it's too bad cause I love the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had my phone for a little over a month now and it's been running great until a few days ago when I noticed the reception was really low in places that I normally get full bars. Not sure what the issues is.
Hmm... This could be a deal breaker if it keeps up
I feel like I'm back on sprint again
blaker13 said:
Radio's suck. Been mentioned a million times, plus LG is infamous for have serious programming software issues.allot of times you have to put it in airplane modethen back on to get it to lock on anything ...kinda garbage, it's too bad cause I love the phone.
Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is there anything I can do on my end to fix the issue?
so i got a new sim card, lets see how this goes
I have bad reception at home but can still get 12mb down on LTE. Downtown I get 35 down and 17 up with 4 bars. Signal can't penetrate the brick at home. I drop calls constantly. I'm about to pick up a microcell but data is great.
Much better than Sprint in my area. My Sprint GS5 radio is real garbage. Kills the battery too. The Sprint variant of the GS5 is horrible with Spark.
You may have a lemon radio in your phone.
I'm wondering that, I'd hate to get a refurb and fine out it performs the same
atistang said:
so i got a new sim card, lets see how this goes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a new sim yesterday also. not looking like it's making much of a difference. I can't get full bars unless i'm out on the street. I used to get full bars in my office, relatively close to a window.
Don't really want to trade this if for a refurb to have the same thing.
Is the antenna on the back of the battery case? or is that just a 'booster'?
atistang said:
I've been with ATT for a tear bow. I had the S4 before this G3. On my S4 I would have LTE most places around my town. Since getting my G3 I rarely get LTE. When I do get LTE it doesn't hold on to that connection very long.
Yesterday I was trying to look something up and I was on Edge (3g) and it was taking forever, so I grabbed my wife's S5 and it was on LTE (also on ATT) and the internet worked great.
Are the radios in this phone just that bad? I'm going to get a new Sim card today to see if that can fix the issue, I'm hesitant to return the phone for another because I'll probably get a refurb and my luck with refurb cell phones hasn't been good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the AT&T G3 since July 18th with no problems. My old G-note would not pick up LTE in my office at work but I get LTE with this phone. No dropped calls and super fast data. I live in northern VA outside DC so LTE is really good here.
I just realized I'm being throttled... May data has sucked last few days also lol... I'm at crawling speeds
Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app
pekohl said:
I got a new sim yesterday also. not looking like it's making much of a difference. I can't get full bars unless i'm out on the street. I used to get full bars in my office, relatively close to a window.
Don't really want to trade this if for a refurb to have the same thing.
Is the antenna on the back of the battery case? or is that just a 'booster'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as bars go mine seems just about right, but it does lose service a bit more than my S4 did. sometimes my wife and i will both have 3 or 4 bars and she will have LTE and i will be on EDGE or 4G
Absolutely love the device as a smartphone, but unfortunately suffer from the same issues as the rest of you here.
Loses signal where other ATT devices do not, drops LTE for HSPA or EDGE where other devices stay on LTE.
Really hoping the crappy radio can be fixed with a firmware update, and that it isn't a hardware design flaw...
atistang said:
as far as bars go mine seems just about right, but it does lose service a bit more than my S4 did. sometimes my wife and i will both have 3 or 4 bars and she will have LTE and i will be on EDGE or 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what if anything changed, possibly something with the network but now I get full bars at my desk, where yesterday I wasn't. I know this isn't very scientific but now I get full bars in the same seat where for the last week I've been down 1 or 2. I didn't think to run a speedtest before but it looks good now, 18.4 down and 10 up.
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/960846859
Sentrix27 said:
Absolutely love the device as a smartphone, but unfortunately suffer from the same issues as the rest of you here.
Loses signal where other ATT devices do not, drops LTE for HSPA or EDGE where other devices stay on LTE.
Really hoping the crappy radio can be fixed with a firmware update, and that it isn't a hardware design flaw...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm holding out for an OTA to see if it gets any better before I bite the bbullet and get a refurb
pekohl said:
Not sure what if anything changed, possibly something with the network but now I get full bars at my desk, where yesterday I wasn't. I know this isn't very scientific but now I get full bars in the same seat where for the last week I've been down 1 or 2. I didn't think to run a speedtest before but it looks good now, 18.4 down and 10 up.
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/960846859
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird
I feel like mine holds onto LTE better than with the old sim
atistang said:
I'm holding out for an OTA to see if it gets any better before I bite the bbullet and get a refurb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also forgot to mention that when I had my Sim swapped out that ISIS (Did they change the name because now it says ' Soft Card') doesn't work. When I launch the Soft Card (Isis) app it says that i need an enhanced SIM. So it looks like I have to go back to AT&T to get yet another SIM.
atistang said:
I'm holding out for an OTA to see if it gets any better before I bite the bbullet and get a refurb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of another G3? I wouldn't waste time doing that. Sounds like they're all the same radio-wise.
Waiting on an OTA too... but if nothing comes, I will jump ship to another device altogether. One with a competent radio.
Sentrix27 said:
Of another G3? I wouldn't waste time doing that. Sounds like they're all the same radio-wise.
Waiting on an OTA too... but if nothing comes, I will jump ship to another device altogether. One with a competent radio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to root and try to change this in the build prop.
Permanent LTE Option
# default value is 9
ro.telephony.default_network=12
Part of me thinks it will help
I believe this makes the phone hang onto an LTE connection as long as possible

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