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Why does LTE connection seem weaker than other sprint LTE phones?

My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
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Eckono said:
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app
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I've noticed the same thing.... my girlfriend has the Galaxy S3 and has better signal then me all the time... WTF?!?!?!?!?!

I'm tempted to go to the Note 3. I can deal with alot of things, but signal issues isn't 1 of them.
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app

s13silviaguy said:
I've noticed the same thing.... my girlfriend has the Galaxy S3 and has better signal then me all the time... WTF?!?!?!?!?!
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Your phone is showing data signal hers is showing cdma 1x voice. .. please download signal check app and you will see true db of 1x 3g lte signal. .. so you can compare
Sent from my SM-G900P using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

Eckono said:
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app
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Signal bars lie. Do this on both of your samsung phones:
Go in to your phone app, and dial ##DEBUG#
Enter 777468 for your lock code
Select LTE Engineering
Go down to RSRP. The number next to RSRP shown in dBm is your LTE signal strength.
Compare numbers.
I did this vs my wife's iPhone 5 and found that although her signal indicator was showing 3-4 more bars than my s5 we both actually had the same signal strength.

Thanks I'll do that asap. The only reason I'm thinking something is wrong is because in areas I had 4G all the time on my Note 3 and S4 I'm barely get 4G or I'll drop to 3G. Then when I'm watching YouTube, if I stop a video , fast forward, or rewind, if I'm on cellular I can never get the video to play back. I get the error tap to retry. But when on WiFi I can I can.
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app

Eckono said:
Thanks I'll do that asap. The only reason I'm thinking something is wrong is because in areas I had 4G all the time on my Note 3 and S4 I'm barely get 4G or I'll drop to 3G. Then when I'm watching YouTube, if I stop a video , fast forward, or rewind, if I'm on cellular I can never get the video to play back. I get the error tap to retry. But when on WiFi I can I can.
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app
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You also have to read about cfbs and triband phones ... which can cause the data issues
Sent from my SM-N900P using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

well if i dont remember note 3 and s3 dont use the spark network and the s5 does soo,.,.its prob a bad spark connection they are still upgrading the towers ..

The s5 signal bar shows data strength instead of voice strength
When you make a phone call, it switches to the voice signal strength, which is why it seems to get higher all of a sudden
-Sent from Tapatalk

Eckono said:
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app
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How do you disable certain bands? I want to try it as well as something seems to be killing my battery. Thanks

Yea, in the last year I have had an iphone 5, Note2, and Note3. New Orleans is newly upgraded to LTE (not yet Spark), and coverage was great on those three phones. This S5, however, constantly switches from LTE to 3G in areas where the other three phones stayed on LTE. It also drops to no data at all way too often in areas where data is fine. (I play Ingress, so I am VERY familiar with the signal capabilities all over town)
Is there any hope of this phone's signal strength being improved with software updates? Will Spark make a difference when it hits New Orleans?
This piece of garbage is pretty pathetic signal-wise compared to my other devices I've recently used. I've got Sprint to agree to a phone swap, but if that's not going to make a difference, perhaps I should just go back to my Note3.

I have this phone it does drop lte alot plus I have spark. But I have an offer to trade for a note 3 idk if I want ..I like yhe fingerprint scanner but this signal is boo boo ....

gregg37 said:
Yea, in the last year I have had an iphone 5, Note2, and Note3. New Orleans is newly upgraded to LTE (not yet Spark), and coverage was great on those three phones. This S5, however, constantly switches from LTE to 3G in areas where the other three phones stayed on LTE. It also drops to no data at all way too often in areas where data is fine. (I play Ingress, so I am VERY familiar with the signal capabilities all over town)
Is there any hope of this phone's signal strength being improved with software updates? Will Spark make a difference when it hits New Orleans?
This piece of garbage is pretty pathetic signal-wise compared to my other devices I've recently used. I've got Sprint to agree to a phone swap, but if that's not going to make a difference, perhaps I should just go back to my Note3.
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I wouldnt worry about the phone swap. I skeptically did it to see if it would work and ended up wasting an hour in ths store. between my friends and family we have 4 GS5s that all have the same issues.
None of your previous phones were triband. They only could connect to 1900mhz LTE. The GS5 is a triband phone, aka spark, that can connect to 800/1900/2600mhz LTE. Unfortunately there are issues with the software on the towers (search eCSFB) that changes you between bands. I have turned off band 41 and it has helped a lot even tho my area is a "spark" area. I turn it back on once in a while to see if things are fixed.
There have been complaints that the GS5 has worse connectivity because of the water resistant design compared to phones such as the GS4. its really only a couple dbm from what i have seen when looking at actual signal values from engineering screens and when comparing the same band of LTE.
As far as shutting off bands, you will need your MSL code. you can either get it from a sprint rep (all i did was ask) or you can use the MSL reader here
tools.flashingtools.com
use dialer code ##3282# and go to edit. enter your MSL code and go to LTE. turn off B41 and restart your phone.

Shiftlock said:
As far as shutting off bands, you will need your MSL code. you can either get it from a sprint rep (all i did was ask) or you can use the MSL reader here
tools.flashingtools.com
use dialer code ##3282# and go to edit. enter your MSL code and go to LTE. turn off B41 and restart your phone.
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Thank you, Shiftlock! This is the kind of help I was hoping for. I'll give that a try!
:good:

Shiftlock said:
use dialer code ##3282# and go to edit. enter your MSL code and go to LTE. turn off B41 and restart your phone.
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Ok I've got this turned off. Will it persist through resets and restarts? Or will I have to keep turning it off?
(have to remember to bookmark this so I remember how to turn it back on when Spark hits New Orleans, which I think is somewhat soon)

gregg37 said:
Ok I've got this turned off. Will it persist through resets and restarts? Or will I have to keep turning it off?
(have to remember to bookmark this so I remember how to turn it back on when Spark hits New Orleans, which I think is somewhat soon)
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Yes this will stay until you either change it back or do a system update. I noticed that nd2 changed it back. You may want to check it after clearing data/cache if you flash any mods or roms. Luckily the msl won't change so it's easy enough to fix if needed

I'm getting LTE coverage in places I wouldn't with my s4. The data is definitely better
-Sent from Tapatalk

eyecon82 said:
I'm getting LTE coverage in places I wouldn't with my s4. The data is definitely better
-Sent from Tapatalk
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Better because of turning off band 41 or just comparing the S5 to the S4?

CCallahan said:
Better because of turning off band 41 or just comparing the S5 to the S4?
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Guess we'll never know....
(mine still sucks after trying that, btw)

[Q] Lte

I get very weak lte signal on att? Is there anything I can to make it better?

LTE
Timisone said:
I get very weak lte signal on att? Is there anything I can to make it better?
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FWIW - I'm in NYC and having no problems with LTE signal. With my iPhone 5S sitting beside the One+, speedtest results are almost the same.

zevrosenthal said:
FWIW - I'm in NYC and having no problems with LTE signal. With my iPhone 5S sitting beside the One+, speedtest results are almost the same.
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are you folks using the Chinese OPO or the Intl version?

I am using international. I get lte. But its very spotty.

I have both. International get lte fine - oppo (China) gets h+ but not lte - I'm pleasantly surprised with this phone.

zevrosenthal said:
I have both. International get lte fine - oppo (China) gets h+ but not lte - I'm pleasantly surprised with this phone.
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May I ask where you got the international version? Dont want this to be a advert for anyone. Buy I am looking for one and any info from someone who actually owns it would be great. Also you are using it on att? Just wanna be sure..thanks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using XDA Free mobile app

pckarma112 said:
May I ask where you got the international version? Dont want this to be a advert for anyone. Buy I am looking for one and any info from someone who actually owns it would be great. Also you are using it on att? Just wanna be sure..thanks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using XDA Free mobile app
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Ebay auction - nice seller. Yes, using it on AT&T. I am actually in Europe this week and getting LTE here too (with ATT international data plan)

I'm using an international OPO on T-Mobile in Northern Virginia and my LTE is equal to my Nexus 5 experience, at least. And I got mine from and eBay guy, too.

Timisone said:
I get very weak lte signal on att? Is there anything I can to make it better?
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AT&T uses a few different LTE bands. 4, 17, and I believe 2 and 5 in some markets. Of those, the 1+1 supports 4 and 17. It's possible you live in an area that AT&T uses 2 and/or 5 primarily, and any signal from 4 and/or 17 is weak or non-existent.

att uses band 17 more than anything, followed by 4. they recently started using band 2 in december, but only in areas that already use band 17.

Mootarjim said:
I'm using an international OPO on T-Mobile in Northern Virginia and my LTE is equal to my Nexus 5 experience, at least. And I got mine from and eBay guy, too.
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Well, these two posts sell me. I see opo has int version for sale on thier website. But forgot about e bay. Dont use it to often after bad experience. But, im gona pull the trigger now. Will keep fingers crossed. Lol
zevrosenthal said:
Ebay auction - nice seller. Yes, using it on AT&T. I am actually in Europe this week and getting LTE here too (with ATT international data plan)
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using XDA Free mobile app

Lollipop enables band 4 XLTE

Not sure if this information has been posted...
http://www.phonenews.com/verizon-ht...te-enables-band-4-xlte-coverage-access-30047/
Verizon has begun rolling out the long awaited HTC One M8 Android Lollipop update to owners of the smartphone this week and in the process, enabled expanded access to its LTE network by activating the previously dormant Band 4 (1700 AWS-F band) for access to its XLTE high-speed network overlay. This update is expected to substantially improve coverage for customers that have been dealing with network congestion on the primary 700Mhz LTE network. The carrier is rolling out the update in waves and has posted a*detailed changelog*with the changes on its support page for the phone.

xsteven77x said:
Not sure if this information has been posted...
http://www.phonenews.com/verizon-ht...te-enables-band-4-xlte-coverage-access-30047/
Verizon has begun rolling out the long awaited HTC One M8 Android Lollipop update to owners of the smartphone this week and in the process, enabled expanded access to its LTE network by activating the previously dormant Band 4 (1700 AWS-F band) for access to its XLTE high-speed network overlay. This update is expected to substantially improve coverage for customers that have been dealing with network congestion on the primary 700Mhz LTE network. The carrier is rolling out the update in waves and has posted a*detailed changelog*with the changes on its support page for the phone.
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Did we get the update for band 4 in the lollipop updates?? Or is this a different update?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium HD app

lucky_strike33 said:
Did we get the update for band 4 in the lollipop updates?? Or is this a different update?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium HD app
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Its dated for about a week ago so I'm gonna say its the update we just got. I don't know what app we could use to see what bands are active or enabled. I'm sure there is something out there though.

Maybe it was Viper ROM but I am pretty sure mine has been active as of kit kat....as I can get speeds of 70-80 down in areas that only used to be 5-10

bakemcbride21 said:
Maybe it was Viper ROM but I am pretty sure mine has been active as of kit kat....as I can get speeds of 70-80 down in areas that only used to be 5-10
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I wish i can get speeds like that

Hm, I had band 4 when I was running Viper and some other ROMs as I recall. I wonder if it enables Carrier Aggregation with band 4, which I asked last night in Q&A section.

carm01 said:
I wish i can get speeds like that
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Well depends on where you live....nowhereville Montana isn't getting xlte deployed as quick as metro NJ..but even then I'll get crazy fast speeds at work but if I walk a block away I get only .3 on LTE! So even in highly congested areas they haven't upgraded to xlte.

Use LTE Discovery app if you want to know what band and cell you're on. It's very useful.

"Lte discovery"app says I'm on lte band 13, guess my areas not band4 yet.

Same here in Tennessee

LTE Discovery is a real winner of an app. It's what I use as well.
Band 4 XLTE in central Virginia working like a charm.

Correction the cell tower on the other side of town is xlte band4 30Mbps up/10Mbps down

thrasher194com said:
"Lte discovery"app says I'm on lte band 13, guess my areas not band4 yet.
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I thought the same thing...but if you follow the moving arrow (ex. turn your phone around in circles like a weirdo...you may eventually change to XLTE band 4 (happened to me after about 60 secs). Until this cool app I just tried bc of this thread...I didn't even realize XLTE was rolled out around here yet.
The XLTE tower must be far away though, bc I only get 1 bar of XLTE and my speed tests suck when locked on.
Speed Test XLTE: 18.69 D | 1.05 U
Speed Test LTE: 22.64 D | 11.68 U
Speed Test WiFi: 127.31 D | 44.21 U (screamer!)

Band 12 on T-Mobile slow on the Z5

Any T-Mobile users having poor speeds on band 12? I'm getting less than 0.2Mbps on my Z5, while my co-worker sitting right next to me is getting 7Mbps on his HTC 10.
I'm getting up to 40Mbps on band 4.
This only started around maybe two weeks ago. I could've sworn I was getting around 7-8Mbps on band 12 in the same spot (my office).
This make sense to anyone?
We're using LTE discovery app to check which band we're on.
Sent from my E6603 using Tapatalk

Unlocked US U11 support for LTE Band 17 on AT&T?

Hi Folks,
The HTC U11 (US-Unlocked) is on my short list to replace my LG G3. But the HTC Specs page don't list Band 17, which is the main band available at my house on the AT&T network. See the specs page I'm referring to here:
http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u11/http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u11/
However lots of review sites DO list band 17, such as:
http://www.tmonews.com/2017/05/htc-u11-edge-sense-specs-unlocked-model-pre-order/
or:
https://www.phonearena.com/phones/HTC-U11_id10480
So, does it have Band 17 support on ATT? It would be shocking if HTC's own web site had such a bad error, but I can't imagine them leaving off this important band.
TIA

Frankenscript said:
Hi Folks,
The HTC U11 (US-Unlocked) is on my short list to replace my LG G3. But the HTC Specs page don't list Band 17, which is the main band available at my house on the AT&T network. See the specs page I'm referring to here:
http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u11/http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u11/
However lots of review sites DO list band 17, such as:
http://www.tmonews.com/2017/05/htc-u11-edge-sense-specs-unlocked-model-pre-order/
or:
https://www.phonearena.com/phones/HTC-U11_id10480
So, does it have Band 17 support on ATT? It would be shocking if HTC's own web site had such a bad error, but I can't imagine them leaving off this important band.
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure Band 12 & 17 are interchangeable. So if the phone picks up Band 12 you should be OK.

Well, it's also missing band 30 for AT&T as well. I'm considering this phone, but not without full AT&T network support. I'm wondering with the recent developments with XTC2Clip if we could enable the bands?

N4cr2k said:
Well, it's also missing band 30 for AT&T as well. I'm considering this phone, but not without full AT&T network support. I'm wondering with the recent developments with XTC2Clip if we could enable the bands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was my concern as well. I have a T-Mobile SIM and AT&T, AT&T is my primary though. For now, I have a Google Pixel XL and S8+ as well as the U11, so if I am going into a congested area, I will just bring one of the other phones and the U11 and swap the SIM's if I run into issues. The 10 has Band 30, no clue why they didn't enable it on the U11. I am hoping we will be able to enable it.

I just checked and mine is using Band 2 (1900) with a good strong 4G LTE
signal. I'm about 18 miles west of Washington DC. This is verified by Network Cell Info app.
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

My concern is that I live outside of the main city and every ATT device I have reports using band 17 here. Never seen band 12 reported. Worried about connectivity problems ... I will need to look into band 17/12 similarity. I'm ignorant on the issue.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

rmc6901 said:
I just checked and mine is using Band 2 (1900) with a good strong 4G LTE
signal. I'm about 18 miles west of Washington DC. This is verified by Network Cell Info app.
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the recommendation for the app! I've recently had horrible LTE performance at my home (Rockville, MD) on AT&T and all our phones. This app is awesome at finding which tower I can report that I'm connected to.
Anyway, my phone is reporting that I am connected to band 17 on AT&T. Phone is fine connection-wise. It looks to support 17. My LTE issues are related to the tower since all my phone's are have slow LTE issues.
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk