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[Q] Fuze bad reception tips? (Solved - HW issue fixed)

[Edit: See post # 7 for hardware fix that solved my problem]
I need help with improving calling reception on the used AT&T Fuze I bought for use on the TMobile USA network, specifically North-Eastern USA (NYC metro area).
I have SIM unlocked the phone (thanks to purchased unlocker from Olipro), I have flashed with several ROMs (starting with NRG's EnergyRom "photon" series), and I have tried various Radios and matching ril dlls. It surprises me just how bad reception is. In areas that my old T-Mobile Wing (a.k.a HTC Herald)gets almost full signal, the Fuze fluctuates from three "bars" down to none, with the signal being lost and reacquired constantly. I have tried "locking" the band to 850 and 1900 GSM (which is what Tmo USA uses) with little effect.
I'm at a lost. I have tried searching this forum, but several posts are related to AT&T network (understandably as it is an AT&T phone) and issues with TMobile UK reception (which is supposedly bad). For the most part, it looks like TMobile USA should have great reception in general in my area..... but I don't. I know my area has coverage by looking at other phones, just not my Fuze.
Can anyone from the NYC Metro area (mostly northern NY area) who has successfully connected the Fuze to Tmobile help me? What ROM and Radio combo worked best for you?
Plus, can anyone with experience tell me if it is possible that my phone has a hardware problem. Could there be something wrong with the antenna? How could I test this, and or fix this if it is hardware?
(Note: I am referring to regular GSM signal. I know that there is no 3G for me due to unsupported 1700 3G radio band.)
Thanks.
Nonpaq

Radios I have tried are:
Ralp 1.10.25.18
Ralp 1.14.25.35
BS 1.17.25.09
Quartz 1.11.25.01
X1 1.10.25.18
Each was tried with the default RIL in ROM and the version specific RIL (when available). All have been identical with poor GSM reception.
Has anyone been successful with using the FUZE on TMobile in northeastern US?
Another question: Does keeping a radio for longer period of time help improve the signal locking, as if the tower and phone need to "learn" about each other? I remember old non-smartphones used to have to have their list of available towers updated so that the phone could recognize newer, closer towers. I assume that this is no longer the case.
Plus: Fieldtest shows occasionally the GSM 850 band is used, but most of the time the band is listed as "PCS". Is that the GSM 1900 band? I believe that Tmobile mostly uses 1900 in this area as well as 850. Is it possible I am not seeing the 1900 band?
-nonpaq

I have the Fuze on T-mobile as well. I am in the SouthEast and have good luck with Radio 1.14.25.05. I've tried them all. This Radio I've used for almost 5 months now; good reception, good GPS, good batery. Try it, with matching rilphone ofcourse. good luck.

Well I loaded up Energy Titanium latest build (Nov 10) and had radio version 1.17.25.09 from before, and all of a sudden I was getting 3 to occasionally 4 "bars" in my home (previously I would get two "bars" max). It would occasionally drop and rescan for signal but not often. Outside had a solid lock on the signal.
I thought I finally found the perfect combo, but unfortunately when I got to work, indoors, 40 miles away from home, it was the same ol' story. Mostly no signal lock, with an occasional 1 bar signal.
Watching FieldTest data is interesting though. While scanning for signal, I can see the NCell info get data, which I understand are cell towers the phone "sees" but are not locked in. It fluctuates from 1 to 6 towers seen, down to none with the phone not moving. The receive strength reported for these towers varies from -106 dbm to -97 dbm, but does not lock on to the signal. (I occasionally get GPRS lock with zero bars). Can anyone explain this to me.
Plus, can any of these reception problems be related to using an AT&T phone on the T-Mobile system, preventing the towers from allowing a lock? I always thought that the SIM card's IMEI controlled access, but could tmobile somehow lock out unknown phone models?

tt1114 said:
I have the Fuze on T-mobile as well. I am in the SouthEast and have good luck with Radio 1.14.25.05. I've tried them all. This Radio I've used for almost 5 months now; good reception, good GPS, good battery. Try it, with matching rilphone ofcourse. good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed the Radio 1.14.25.05 and installed the matching RIL version and now I'm getting a lock of 1 "bar" where previously I did not. Fieldtest shows the same signal strengths as before for Neighboring Cell Towers [NCells] except now it is locking onto a signal of -105 dBm or better. (I even got 2 "bars" at -103 dBm ) According to the ARFCN field , it is now locking into the 1900 band (CNs in the 600s) where previously it would only lock into the 850 band (CNs in the 100s).
Looks good so far as I can actually get phone calls now!!! Thanks for the recommendation. (By the way... it looks like the signal gets better as time passes. By the time I finished this post, the phone is showing a steady 2 "bars").

My saga continues.....
My two bars at work were short lived. Signal is now back to 1 or no bars. I am going to experiment with some of the older radios.
Heres an interesting thing. I experimented with another persons AT&T SIM card and reception was great!! From the same location, AT&T gives "Full Signal" yet TMobile gives barely 1 bar and cannot hold onto the signal. Now I realize that the TMobile towers might be located further than the AT&T towers causing the difference in signal levels, but if not that, what else can cause one to be so much better than the other. (Keep in mind, my other TMobile phone, the HTC herald, gets great service, as does the other person's regular AT&T phone. So I know there is service here.)
I know the ROMs are not service specific, but are the radios optimized for particular services. Is there any radio that may be more generic, or optimized for the 850/1900 GSM band that TMobile USA uses?

I fixed my bad reception problems with my fuze on TMobile USA. It turns out that it was a hardware issue, the antenna was not making a good contact to the circuit board.
I opened my Fuze by removing the four screws under the back cover. Then use a flat plastic "stick" to separate the casing from the keyboard (careful, the back speaker is connected by a short wire from the circuit board to the back plate.) The GSM antenna is at the bottom (looks like black tape from the outside back). It connects to the circuit board by contact tabs that touch when the back plate is on. What I did was slightly lift these tab "fingers" so that they extended a little more. The theory is that when I reconnect the back plate they will press harder on the contacts on the other side.
After putting everything back together, I'm getting full service where previously I got only two bars.
If you have bad reception, and you are not afraid of voiding your warantee and cracking open your phone's case, you should try this simple fix. I recommend looking up the disassembly guide as there are several potential problems you need to be careful of. First, the back speaker wire can easily be broken. Second there is a main circuit board and a smaller daughter board which can separate. There are two connectors, a large one about the middle of the phone, and a small on on the side. Make sure both are connected (pressed together) before reassembling the phone case.
Let me know if this is useful for you. I can put together a step by step guide if you want. Just PM me.

where did you get the radio 1.14.25.05?
where can i find this radio with the matching RIL???
thank you im also having the same trouble with my htc fuze for t-mobile

Cell Booster

So I remember my boss had a cell booster for his blackberry. I still experience problems with reception in a few places around my town, especially my whole neighborhood...ever where around i have 3G except a few neighborhoods and my house(i get almost 0-2 all day everyday on Edge in and around my house)...
Was wondering if anyone had any experience with Indoor Signal Boosters or Boosters that attach to the device (NO NOT THOSE STUPID STICKER BOOSTERS). The boosters that cost $150+

I have had good luck with the good "expensive" ones... make sure you get one that is fully compatiable with the AWS 3G bands. Most, these days, are, but still worth double checking.
You might also want to take a look at a femto cell, if T-Mobile has any.

I was just looking at a signal repeater for AWS bands... can't remember what website it was, but it was about $350 for the entire kit which included an outdoor antenna and an internal receiver. I'm sure it works, but I can't justify the expense when I have wifi.

here in the uk some of the network providers offer femto cells which attach to your broadband router.
These are good not only for voice but data, since 3g generally uses less power than wifi, particularly if the signal strength is very good so you get better battery life since the radios reduce transmit power for closer cells

pjcforpres said:
I have had good luck with the good "expensive" ones... make sure you get one that is fully compatiable with the AWS 3G bands. Most, these days, are, but still worth double checking.
You might also want to take a look at a femto cell, if T-Mobile has any.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
scote said:
here in the uk some of the network providers offer femto cells which attach to your broadband router.
These are good not only for voice but data, since 3g generally uses less power than wifi, particularly if the signal strength is very good so you get better battery life since the radios reduce transmit power for closer cells
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you guys post more on these femto cells? Sound interesting..but are they expensive?
Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell

a guy at work got a femto cell from vodafone uk for about £80

I just installed a Wi-Ex zBoost YX500-CEL Signal Booster, and it works great. Went from 1-2 bars to solid full. Just a little pissed off I didn't do this sooner.....
Got mine from Amazon for $200.00

Has anyone found a cell booster that works for T-Mobile's 3G bands 1700/2100?? they all seems to work with T-Mobiles GSM bands, but I want the upgrade for 3G. TIA...

[Q] Zero bars, but near a tower (T-MO)

I have seen from time to time that I will either have zero bars, or have a good signal (3-5 bars) but no data, even though I am close to a cell tower (like within half a mile or so). What's more, I have seen where people on other networks in those same places may have full signal & data (I'm on T-Mobile). Now, to be fair, I have seen it go the other way around where I was the only one with signal/data. But my question is, is there anything I can do when I am in an area like that? Is there a setting I can change on my phone to allow/force it to use the tower? By the way, I'm not talking about some rural, obscure area. I am talking about I-64 between Richmond and Norfolk, as well as parts of I-95 between RIchmond and DC.
I have a Note II, and my wife has a SGS-3 (both T-MO) and she has the same zero bars as I do, so it is network related and not phone.

I'd suggest you phone the carrier because it's clearly from their side.

Does 4G have a more extended range than 3G?

Hello,
I was wondering if 4G antennas have a bigger range than 3G antennas. I will be moving to a more remote location and I will depend on the signal from a nearby town.
I was wondering if I should buy a 4G dongle for my mobile internet or just stick with my phone, which has H+. I know there is a signal there, but I don't know which type (3G or 4G). Considering the 4G dongles are way more expensive, I wouldn't like to invest in one and have a 3G signal. I also can't test the signal because I don't have a 4G phone.
So let's assume the antennas are in the same place, one is with 3G technology and one is with 4G and I am pretty far away (let's say 3/5 max bars of signal). From which antenna would I have a faster internet connection?

keeekeeess said:
Hello,
I was wondering if 4G antennas have a bigger range than 3G antennas. I will be moving to a more remote location and I will depend on the signal from a nearby town.
I was wondering if I should buy a 4G dongle for my mobile internet or just stick with my phone, which has H+. I know there is a signal there, but I don't know which type (3G or 4G). Considering the 4G dongles are way more expensive, I wouldn't like to invest in one and have a 3G signal. I also can't test the signal because I don't have a 4G phone.
So let's assume the antennas are in the same place, one is with 3G technology and one is with 4G and I am pretty far away (let's say 3/5 max bars of signal). From which antenna would I have a faster internet connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well 4g is not available everywhere. It depends on what carrier u have and where u are. But from what I noticed is 4g is not as strong as 3g. I get 4g at home but if I go in my basement or in the woods I only get 3g. It's very picky but if you get 4g you won't regret it, even if you don't get it everywhere.

4G is open to certain areas. The main areas I would say is the city. 3G range is allot better as its universal, although 4G is faster, 3G is good.
I can't say we can compare these two networks as 4G isn't universal and it currently isn't available everywhere.

question about cell radio signal

Hi guys recently I bought an unlocked g955u1 from best buy and am on Verizon. I've noticed that my cell signal has been reading a bit off despite doing the Verizon software update. My phone is almost always stuck on 3 bars lte according to lte discovery and the range of dBm will average -100 to as low as -108 which realistically should be 1-2 bars not 3. In the past the only time I've really saw inaccurate readings like this is when I've been on gsm carriers. It's not as much as a problem as more of an annoyance as everything works fine. My question is anybody know why it's reading so inaccurate?

The bars are more or less just approximate visualizations of the network strength anyway. It varies from carrier to carrier, as well as phone manufacturer. You're better off sticking with the dB display if you want a truly accurate reading. Imho.

I have a T-Mobile variant and have noticed the my DL and UL speeds are a lot faster than any of the phone I've had in the past. We live out from town and even on the Nexus 6 it shows 3 bars and on the S8+ I get all the bars and the DL speed on the other phones at my house are around 5Mbps and on the S8+ I get 17-20Mbps at the house now. In town it has gone up from 40Mbps to 55Mbps.

My ATT S8+ reception
While I agree that the dBm is what you should be looking at, I have noticed some funky things going on with my ATT S8+ in terms of reception. Using the same SIM card, placing the phone in the exact same place, my S6 Active has a signal strength of -124 dBm /asu 16/"In service" on LTE. The S8+ gets a signal strength of -113 dBm/asu of 0/"Out of service." To me this seems like the S8+ is actually getting better reception than the 6S Active but the phone is out of service. I also tried this same test in another location using a different cell tower. Same results, the S8+ gets better reception...but the phone does not perform as well. In location number 2 I have also notice the S8+ fish for better signal and switch from LTE to HSPA where the signal strength is -99 dBm but the asu is only 7.
Since I live in a area with weak cell coverage the S8+ is driving me nuts...I contacted ATT about it last night, will see what happens.

Also somewhat related:
I'm using a US Unlocked on T-Mobile, and I've noticed my signal dropping out in areas where I previously had great signal on my Pixel XL. My buddy (also on T-Mo) just got an LG G6 and had full signal when mine dropped out.
Anyone else notice a weak signal? If I flash the T-Mo firmware, will that improve my signal? Did I get a bad unit? I hope not as everything else is perfect, screen included.

i notice (with TMobile) that if i am in 4g lte, then move to area with only edge for a few mins, then back to the 4g lte area...my phone doesn't connect back to the best signal
only a reboot let's me reconnect to 4g lte