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What's the reported signal strength of the One S compared to other phones?

There have been a few reports that the One series has poor reception.
For example my HTC Desire constantly has about 7-9dB** lower signal than my old Nokia N79 - I was hoping that the new One S would have better reception, but the forums are complaining about fewer "bars" of signal strength. Unfortunately the latter is meaningless because "bars" are uncalibrated and signal level is highly dependent on exact position and whether the unit is held in the hand or not.
Rather than hearsay, I would like to know if One S owners could do a comparison with their old phone to see if it is much worse.
Using the *#*#4636#*#* code if you could report the signal level (dBm) and the connection mode (3G, 2G, GSM whatever) between your One S and old phone when lying in the same position on the desk*
*holding it in your hand, or putting it somewhere else in the room or changing the connection type or changing the carrier will all invalidate any meaningful comparison.
**
+3dB is a doubling in received power and +10dB is a 10x increase in received power, likewise -3dB and -10dB are halving and one tenth the power, so it's a significant difference.

OK, here's some evidence for you. HTC One S with Three UK monthly contract sim inserted and Motorola Defy+ with Three UK PAYG sim in. Both phones laid on desk in similar position with nothing to interfere with them.
HTC One S -105dBm (4ASU)
Motorola Defy+ -89dBm (12ASU)
This is pretty much what I've been getting with Network Signal app.
Incidentally, if I put the sim out the One S into the Defy+ then I still get -89dBm as you would expect as both sims use Three UK network. I can't put the PAYG sim into the One S as it's not a micro sim.
Pretty much damning evidence. Does mean the One S loses signal a lot faster when signal is marginal. Doesn't seem to be a great difference when signal is strong between the 2 which is a PITA when trying to show the problem in the Three shop If I go to York later I'll re run the test's and report back. I'm not sure where to go from here. I'll contact HTC support and see if they show any interest. Not overly hopeful of getting any where with Three customer support?

Richy101 said:
Pretty much damning evidence. Does mean the One S loses signal a lot faster when signal is marginal. Doesn't seem to be a great difference when signal is strong between the 2 which is a PITA when trying to show the problem in the Three shop If I go to York later I'll re run the test's and report back. I'm not sure where to go from here. I'll contact HTC support and see if they show any interest. Not overly hopeful of getting any where with Three customer support?
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Thanks for the data point. I'd say it's valid to take them to the Three shop, put them side by side and say look, there's a 16dB difference. (strictly speaking the noise figure of the receiver should also be known, but this is set in the GSM/UMTS specs and should be less than a dB or two difference).
It's been my belief that Nokia and Motorola have the best antenna engineers - all the Nokias I've owned have had great signal reception, despite the fact that the number of base stations was much lower in the late 90s early 2000s.

I cannot compare to old one, I got micro sim and dont have adapter yet (comming from ebay).
I found that I got alot lower signal, thought as I mvoed to micro sim I changed carrier...
Question - how much signal is needed for "OK", and at which point its to weak?

Stiflerlv said:
Question - how much signal is needed for "OK", and at which point its to weak?
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According to OFCOM the mimum signal level is -110dBm (including some fading margin).
At that level you will get very slow data speeds - I consider anything less than -90dBm as pretty low.
I was in the Vodaphone store and they had SIMs in a One X, One S and Wildfire S - all of these were within a few dB of eachother - unfortunately my (roaming) HTC Desire would not connect to Vodaphone.de, so I couldn't get a 4th reference point.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/3g_rollout/statement/statement.pdf
Currently I'm mostly interested in 3G reception - if this is poor then the phone will spend a lot of time (and battery) looking for signal, loosing contact, toggling back and forth between 2G and 3G etc. However, need to consider that 3G can exist on both 900 and 1800MHz in Europe. If poor antenna design is the culprit then this may only effect one of the bands, meaning that certain users have great signal, whereas others report poor reception.

aza314 said:
According to OFCOM the mimum signal level is -110dBm (including some fading margin).
At that level you will get very slow data speeds - I consider anything less than -90dBm as pretty low.
I was in the Vodaphone store and they had SIMs in a One X, One S and Wildfire S - all of these were within a few dB of eachother - unfortunately my (roaming) HTC Desire would not connect to Vodaphone.de, so I couldn't get a 4th reference point.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/3g_rollout/statement/statement.pdf
Currently I'm mostly interested in 3G reception - if this is poor then the phone will spend a lot of time (and battery) looking for signal, loosing contact, toggling back and forth between 2G and 3G etc. However, need to consider that 3G can exist on both 900 and 1800MHz in Europe. If poor antenna design is the culprit then this may only effect one of the bands, meaning that certain users have great signal, whereas others report poor reception.
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I mainly need this for calls (not so much data) so till 110 Im still ok?
I often get 100+ :/ Lowest I have seen is 90. Returning the phone hoping its glitch

Stiflerlv said:
I mainly need this for calls (not so much data) so till 110 Im still ok?
I often get 100+ :/ Lowest I have seen is 90. Returning the phone hoping its glitch
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At -110dBm you have very little margin. As long as you aren't walking around the house it should be ok.
But it really depends on the coverage in your area.
NB: the numbers are dBm and negative i.e. a -90dBm signal has a hundred times more power than a -110dBm signal:
10^((-90dBm-(-110dBm))/10) = 100

aza314 said:
At -110dBm you have very little margin. As long as you aren't walking around the house it should be ok.
But it really depends on the coverage in your area.
NB: the numbers are dBm and negative i.e. a -90dBm signal has a hundred times more power than a -110dBm signal:
10^((-90dBm-(-110dBm))/10) = 100
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nice, comparing to my old HTC Tattoo and test simcard I got from carrier, Its around 15-20 dBm better signal for Tattoo...
Im gonna go for warranty I guess

Bump. Like to hear how it compares with other phones on the T-Mobile USA network.
Thanks in advance.

I was just going to create a new thread on this topic until I found this. I would have to say the reception on the one s is considerably worse than other tmobile phones. Today I traveled to an area with generally poor reception and my wife's blackberry bold 9900 had 1 bar of 4g while my one s had an "x" for not signal at all.
When I used my galaxy s2 in the same exact area i used to get at least 2 bars of 4g. It actually worries me that i get zero reception while our other phones were still on 4g, not even edge.
Can this be fixed with a radio software fix or is this a hardware issue? Im pretty pissed because I want to like this phone so much.
What are the experiences of others?

On tmo us, I'd have to say that my signal is the same as it was on my g2x. I'm either in an area with awesome signal (work), or an area with practically no signal (my 100 year old house).
I wouldn't call either situation dramatically different than the last few phones I've had.

Mike,
On one hand, I did some testing with a galaxy s2 and found ours to be comparable usually, but on the other, there are signal drops issues and the days switching so there still is something odd here.
I also hope to have it fixed by a radio update than a hardware one...
I also like this phone much except for its network issues.
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA

Well, HTC wanted my phone back in for investigation. Duly sent it back and it was pretty much turned round within the day. All they have done is load the latest software version which in truth if I'd not packaged it up on Monday could have done myself. I believe Three UK released the update on Monday anyway?
Network connection seems to be slightly better but not by a great deal. I'm not sure what I expected from HTC. If it's hardware there seems to be little knowledge of a problem with them and firmware/software they'll only have the latest versions and hope for the best. I'll just have to see how it goes for the time being. I always have the option to sell it and look for something else.
Not right impressed with HTC's packaging back of phone. I stupidly wrapped it in bubble wrap and put it in a box to dispatch. They simply found a box and chucked it in it so it was free to rattle about all the way home. As a result it has picked up a chip of the coating on it's top edge - unless it was done on the work bench. Certainly wasn't like that when it went as use a Case-Mate Tough cover. Not overly upset about that but should I mention this to HTC? Seems a bit of a poor do

I finally get my HTC One S TODAY! As soon as I do, I will do a comparison. I work for T-Mobile (until my call center closes), so I have a bunch of phones to compare with and test against.

I don't have another (working) phone to compare, but my circumstances make that moot anyway. I have the international One S on AT&T, and since the phone lacks the UMTS 1900 I expected to get lower than usual signal compared to my Desire (A8182, RIP), but hoped that most areas have been upgraded to 850 by now.
Anyway, at work (inside concrete block building with metal structure roof) I am getting between -107 and -88db, (with 10 asu?) depending on where in the building I am. In a larger city I usually get between -30 to -18db, But I do not live or work in a large city.
Even so, so far battery life is way over expectations. currently on 53 hours on a single charge, with 23% battery remaining.

I always get 3/4 bars like my Amaze.

mmceorange said:
I don't have another (working) phone to compare, but my circumstances make that moot anyway. I have the international One S on AT&T, and since the phone lacks the UMTS 1900 I expected to get lower than usual signal compared to my Desire (A8182, RIP), but hoped that most areas have been upgraded to 850 by now.
Anyway, at work (inside concrete block building with metal structure roof) I am getting between -107 and -88db, (with 10 asu?) depending on where in the building I am. In a larger city I usually get between -30 to -18db, But I do not live or work in a large city.
Even so, so far battery life is way over expectations. currently on 53 hours on a single charge, with 23% battery remaining.
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In another thread the box of the tmobile version says it has the 1900 UMTS band. You may be better of with an unlocked tmobile version.

Just tried at a TmoUS store. My HD2 had about -63dB, HOS on display had only -75~-79dB. Disappointed.

motionUS said:
In another thread the box of the tmobile version says it has the 1900 UMTS band. You may be better of with an unlocked tmobile version.
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I am sure you're right, but I like the look and feel of the "MAO" much much more than the gray/blue. If T-mobile (or better yet, Telus) gets the black version I will likely switch.

jjmai said:
Just tried at a TmoUS store. My HD2 had about -63dB, HOS on display had only -75~-79dB. Disappointed.
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That means absolutely nothing. You don't even know if they are connecting to the same cell site.
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA

Issues with this phone?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is the radio in this device really that bad?

so long story short I am looking at ditching sprint where I have an EVO LTE. Trust me when I say I am used to crap reception and data speeds. I was reading the thread full of other people who have came from sprint and most seem happy but... I read a lot of comments from long time Verizon users saying things like " I have to contort like a monkey to get a message to go through". Are these just spoiled Verizon users that don't know how good they've got it? Or is coming from sprint a waste of my time? Thanks for any and all input.
PS: Verizon has LTE all over my area, sprint has not announced any LTE anywhere near me. Is the LTE utilized for voice and text? Will this help?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium

Im sure others have problems, but mine has been great. Not a single issue to speak of. Been running CM10 for 2 months now.

Gordon Ramsay said:
so long story short I am looking at ditching sprint where I have an EVO LTE. Trust me when I say I am used to crap reception and data speeds. I was reading the thread full of other people who have came from sprint and most seem happy but... I read a lot of comments from long time Verizon users saying things like " I have to contort like a monkey to get a message to go through". Are these just spoiled Verizon users that don't know how good they've got it? Or is coming from sprint a waste of my time? Thanks for any and all input.
PS: Verizon has LTE all over my area, sprint has not announced any LTE anywhere near me. Is the LTE utilized for voice and text? Will this help?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
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NO radio problems here.... I think a lot of people with problems may be on the border of having coverage where they are...? I have FULL bars no matter where I go in Michigan (except in Walmart) LOL I have LTE coverage too and it's been a solid performer and I may drop a call here and there but nothing out of the norm... Just my personal experiences...:good:

My .02
Go to a verizon store, put a rezound side by side to a samsung galaxy s3 and compare the dbm and asu and u will see how terrible the signal is . My phone is constantly at least 20 dbm less than the rezound .
It feels like i am back to sprint or tmobile since i got my device, constant data drops, phone call break ups and 4g/3g handing off is terrible .
Btw this is my 4th sim and second samsung galaxy s3 trial now , still reception in comparison to any htc phone is horrible.
Htc put their 4g antennas on the back cover which i think makes them practically immune to low signal issues.
Its a pretty phone , but if u want a device that actually communicates with satellites and cell towers, then get a real phone . not this one .
waiting for htc dlx

Mine has been completely fine.
Currently not being productive on my S3.

I came from Sprint at the beginning of the month. On Sprint it had gotten so bad that I was on 1 bar 90% of the time in the middle of the New Orleans area. I gave up waiting for it to get better and installed Roam Control so I could force it to roam on Verizon. Forced roaming only gets you 1x data, but it gave me full signal which prevented dropouts and draining the battery.
Now I'm on Verizon with the S3 and have no signal issues. I don't think I've ever seen less than 3 bars. The signal starts might be lower than other phones based on other people's experience but I wouldn't know because I haven't had any problems to make it worth checking. I think it really depends on your area. If your current phone is rooted, you could try Roam Control to get an idea of what the signal strength will be like, although you'll be stuck on 1x data.

I too was scared by the reports in various threads that these devices have horrible radios. We switched to Verizon from ATT because ATT doesn't work at all at my office (searching for reception).
I haven't been looking at dBM or anything but from a functional standpoint I haven't had any issues. There are some areas where before I was getting 4-5 3G bars on my ATT iPhone4 where the SGS3 bounces between 1-3 bars 4G LTE. It's always disturbing when you see 1 bar of reception, but the phone operates well even getting 4-5Mbps in speedtest. If you look at bars (I know not really accurate) and whether or not I can browse, call, etc. the SGS3 compares favorable to the wife's iPhone5. In fact there were a couple places where I was getting 1-2 bars 4G and the iPhone5 dropped to 3G.

Her are some screen shots of my signals after an update last night. These are the best I've gotten on both and better than anything I saw on my Rezound.
Currently not being productive on my S3.

Never had an issue with signal on my S3. You also need to realize that the most vocal people are those that have an issue. For every 1 person posting about an issue there a dozens that have no problem at all.

Signal on my s3 is great its 100 times better then gnex was and about on par with my old droid RAZR.

dwyw42 said:
I came from Sprint at the beginning of the month. On Sprint it had gotten so bad that I was on 1 bar 90% of the time in the middle of the New Orleans area. I gave up waiting for it to get better and installed Roam Control so I could force it to roam on Verizon. Forced roaming only gets you 1x data, but it gave me full signal which prevented dropouts and draining the battery.
Now I'm on Verizon with the S3 and have no signal issues. I don't think I've ever seen less than 3 bars. The signal starts might be lower than other phones based on other people's experience but I wouldn't know because I haven't had any problems to make it worth checking. I think it really depends on your area. If your current phone is rooted, you could try Roam Control to get an idea of what the signal strength will be like, although you'll be stuck on 1x data.
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This doesn't work, each manufacturer measures it slightly differently. You have to use a third party app to compare phones that are not the same model.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Yes, it is. My GS3 consistently drops in places where my Rezound and iPhone work without a hiccup.

I actually just switched from Sprint to Verizon last week and love it. My gs3 has great reception and the network is very fast. I get a consistent 30 mbps down all over my area. With Sprint I was lucky to get 500 kbps
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

The Nexus was the worst for reception. The S3 is a close second. It seems to be people in some parts of the country don't notice the issue - possibly because they don't use their phone much or because they have towers that use different technology than the towers in the areas I travel. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles, Vegas and Dallas. I can be at 4 bars one second and no bars (drop the call) and go back to 4 bars the next.
I was on Sprint and the HTC EVO 3D had that same issue even though the EVO didn't. I did always get crap data speeds on Sprint though. Some phones get great signal like the Motorola - so the question is - which is more imporant to you - the PDA or the phone. I use about 3000 minutes per month so I notice quickly when there are issues with a phones reception. My data speeds on the S3 are much better than I had on Sprint.

No the radios are not bad.
Excellent service, all the time here. In fact, I've never seen my phone with less than 3 bars, anywhere I go. And I travel a lot.

Yes the radios are very bad.....although improving. With the HE radio I finally have seem -99 dbm at my house although most of the time it is around -105. This is much improved compared to the original radio where I saw on average -110. I still drop calls in areas where I never have before. The poster that stated that HTC's have better signal are definitely correct. My wifes old rezound normally saw -80 to -85 at my house and never dropped calls anywhere. My old Thunderbolt was the same. Funny thing is that no matter what direction I go from my house, once I am a minute away I get full reception.....no matter what way I go. The radios don't do a good job of reaching out for the signal. The range is bad. Those stating that they are happy with their radios are probably in areas that don't have any weak spots. I'm holding out for newer radios cause every release seems to be a small step in the right direction.

ercDROID said:
Yes the radios are very bad.....although improving. With the HE radio I finally have seem -99 dbm at my house although most of the time it is around -105. This is much improved compared to the original radio where I saw on average -110. I still drop calls in areas where I never have before. The poster that stated that HTC's have better signal are definitely correct. My wifes old rezound normally saw -80 to -85 at my house and never dropped calls anywhere. My old Thunderbolt was the same. Funny thing is that no matter what direction I go from my house, once I am a minute away I get full reception.....no matter what way I go. The radios don't do a good job of reaching out for the signal. The range is bad. Those stating that they are happy with their radios are probably in areas that don't have any weak spots. I'm holding out for newer radios cause every release seems to be a small step in the right direction.
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Same exact thing here! You took the words directly out of my mouth.
Sent by one of my many Anthromorphic Personifications

Here are the results of a real world test that I just did with a co-workers HTC Thunderbolt compared to my SG3:
Both phones on 4g and side by side
HTC dBM -66
SG3 dBM -92
I think the results are pretty clear. Nothing else really needs to be said about the quality of the SG3 radio......it is not as good as the competition. If it was close by a few dBM then it would not be of concern to me. A 26 dBM difference is huge!
Because of this difference in signal strength he was able to have much faster download speeds. I was 17 down compared to his 27 down.

[Q] - [POLL] Is Your Galaxy S6 Switching to 3G Too Often, 1X Signal or Lousy 4G?

This is not meant to be scientific, however I am trying to get a gauge if this is a larger issue that what some have posted. I have a new Galaxy S6 that I activated on launch day. My previous 2 phones are and S4 and S5 most recently. I am fairly savvy in knowing my network strength locally and places I frequent. Since switching to the S6 from my S5 I have been on 3G in know very good 4G areas alot of the time. Not only that but I have seen the dreaded 1X more times in the last few days in areas I have had religiously great 4G coverage on for years. I have dropped 3 calls of which I havent done in probably 4 years as well. I have done tests with an S4 and S5 right next to my new S6 where I can pull 15-20Mbs on either of those two phones where my new S6 gets between 0.5Mbs and 1.5Mbs.
I have checked the signal strength between the two sitting right along side each other S5 (111DBs) - S6 (98DBs) I personally have no idea the order of magnitude between 1-10 DBs if that would make that much of a dramatic difference, but real world testing there is either something wrong with my specific unit or hoping its not extremely widespread. There is a thread in general that we have been posting to but the change has been so dramatic if it was more widespread i would think alot more folks would be posting. So in order to find out if this is specific to myself and a few others in that thread or more widespread hardware/software issue I am throwing up a poll. Please take a few seconds and vote.

i work in my basement in a major city area and all my previous phones would get 3 bars of LTE in my office here. my S6 Edge gets occasional 1 bar of LTE mixed with 1X very often.
i am connected to wifi here and it hasnt affected my using it for work but have noticed this and prefer it worked at least as well as my older devices.
i am generally not a "numbers" watcher on things like this or battery and more of a "as long as it works as i need it" user but i noticed the 1X because i am not use to seeing it.
also i should add that i noticed under battery that #1 for me is always "Cell Standby" and i have to assume they are related?

fletch33 said:
i work in my basement in a major city area and all my previous phones would get 3 bars of LTE in my office here. my S6 Edge gets occasional 1 bar of LTE mixed with 1X very often.
i am connected to wifi here and it hasnt affected my using it for work but have noticed this and prefer it worked at least as well as my older devices.
i am generally not a "numbers" watcher on things like this or battery and more of a "as long as it works as i need it" user but i noticed the 1X because i am not use to seeing it.
also i should add that i noticed under battery that #1 for me is always "Cell Standby" and i have to assume they are related?
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So far every time a Verizon user has had Cell Standby at the top, it's been with wifi on. After your next full charge, leave wifi turned off completely for awhile and see if Cell Standby shows up at the top again.
What makes this a major problem is the fact that Verizon's VoLTE is fully dependent on a decent LTE signal.

jntdroid said:
So far every time a Verizon user has had Cell Standby at the top, it's been with wifi on. After your next full charge, leave wifi turned off completely for awhile and see if Cell Standby shows up at the top again.
What makes this a major problem is the fact that Verizon's VoLTE is fully dependent on a decent LTE signal.
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i have read that as well and i guess i could do that but i really need Wifi on when my office signal is so often on 1X

Yes testing it today, it is very bad. Getting about 1Mbps when not using Wi-Fi.
Sent from my SM-G920V using XDA Premium HD app

Our new S6 is doing this same thing. Jumps from a strong 4G signal to 1X with no signal the second you make a call. :crying:
Is there a fix for this besides returning the phone?

Enable advanced calling on your account and on your phone. Also switch from Global to LTE/CDMA
Sent from my LG-VS985 using Tapatalk

bkuhl said:
Enable advanced calling on your account and on your phone. Also switch from Global to LTE/CDMA
Sent from my LG-VS985 using Tapatalk
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OK, But than I loose my Caller ID / Name / Number. I need the caller ID.

Then buy the Caller ID feature. Your phone is switching to 1X when making a phone call because the S6 doesn't support voice and data simultaneously unless you have Advanced Calling on and enabled and are in LTE coverage area. The S6 only has a dual band modem.
Sent from my LG-VS985 using Tapatalk

HD Voice feature needs to be turned on, but don't!
Hey guys I've talked about this in different forums and sites, I'll copy and paste it here and hopefully it will help you understand why you can't place calls using the 4G LTE without having the Advance calling feature turned on under the Verizon network.
"Verizon is aware of the HD voice/video feature being the culprit of the dropped calls, they are blaming Samsung for not pushing an update to correct the problem. Meanwhile Samsung has said that the feature is a Verizon software. I was told by their tech support that it has been reported that there's a 50% dropped call increase using the galaxy S6 while having the HD voice/video feature on, this was 2 weeks ago. The agent said they have a search tool like Google search, this is internal and that's where he found this information.
You can not make calls and surf the web without the HD voice/video feature on, but turning this feature off will STOP THE DROPPED calls. Verizon's software side for galaxy S6 does not allow you to make calls on the 4G LTE network when the HD voice/video feature off, instead is shows 1x.
I have been in touch with Verizon wireless tech support for the last 3 weeks now, this past week Verizon has been sending me texts to update me on the progress of my ticket. I've had Samsung tech support in conference call with Verizon tech support; during this call that lasted more than 3 hours Verizon admitted that it wasn't a Samsung problem but Verizon's. As soon as the tech from Samsung hanged up the call because we were told that I would have to call their engineering department to further assist us. Before the Samsung tech agent hung up the call we had asked if I could make calls using the 4G LTE and was told to hold up while he researched this question. As soon as the Samsung tech agent left the conference call the Verizon tech answered no, and proceeded to make a complete 360 on answers he gave prior to the Samsung agent leaving the call, saying that the problem was not a Verizon but Samsung problem, even though moments before he said that it wasn't a Samsung problem to me and the Samsung tech support agent but Verizon's. I was also advised by the Verizon tech agent that if I wanted to, I could JAIL BRAKE my Galaxy S6 and download a software to disable the HD voice/video feature without losing the 4G LTE but that it probably still won't work properly. I told this agent that I've never jail broken a device and don't plan on because this is clearly a Verizon feature not working properly.
Not even 5 minutes after ending the call with Verizon's tech support, a supervisor from Verizon called me to tell me again that this is a Samsung issue not Verizon, he said that Samsung needs to push a SW version update to fix the problem with the HD voice calls dropping. He asked what I wanted, I said to get the Galaxy S5 and return this phone, but that I was told by 2 different stores (Rockville Centre NY, and Merrick NY both in Long Island) that if I wanted to return this phone or exchange for a different one I would be charged a 40% restocking fee even though I was within my 14 days. I was told by the tech before the supervisor called that it was at each store's discretion whether they charged you a restocking fee or not. I was told to consider this mater resolved by the supervisor, that they will get in touch with the store so I can return the phone and if in fact there are any fees I would be refunded in some sort of credit; but all I've received all of last week is text messages letting me know they are still working on my ticket."

ok i know this will sound crazy BUT i cracked the screen on my S6 Edge and got sent a new replacement (after deductible) and i swear in the same basement office i was using my original release day S6 my reception is much better.
i cant say if i just needed to do a reset on the original or what may be at play here but i can say with certainty that using the new one all day today i have not seen a single 1X or even gone below 2 bars where my original was often on 1X sitting in the same chair and location. no doubt its better but cant say why for sure except i am using a new device.
sidenote - the screen on my 1st one had much whiter whites and this new one has a slight more of a yellowish tint to it but this is not an area i am over concerned about and just something i noticed right away and then held them side by side before i shipped the cracked original back

fletch33 said:
ok i know this will sound crazy BUT i cracked the screen on my S6 Edge and got sent a new replacement (after deductible) and i swear in the same basement office i was using my original release day S6 my reception is much better.
i cant say if i just needed to do a reset on the original or what may be at play here but i can say with certainty that using the new one all day today i have not seen a single 1X or even gone below 2 bars where my original was often on 1X sitting in the same chair and location. no doubt its better but cant say why for sure except i am using a new device.
sidenote - the screen on my 1st one had much whiter whites and this new one has a slight more of a yellowish tint to it but this is not an area i am over concerned about and just something i noticed right away and then held them side by side before i shipped the cracked original back
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Interesting. Unfortunately I've had three S6's and all behaved similarly with weaker LTE signal and more frequent drops to 3G.
Also, the screen thing is the one thing that bugs me about amoled, and qhd amoled at that. On my third device and all three have had some variation of the pink hue, and while quite subtle, once you see it you can't unsee it.

jntdroid said:
Interesting. Unfortunately I've had three S6's and all behaved similarly with weaker LTE signal and more frequent drops to 3G.
Also, the screen thing is the one thing that bugs me about amoled, and qhd amoled at that. On my third device and all three have had some variation of the pink hue, and while quite subtle, once you see it you can't unsee it.
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Don't know if people are still watching this thread but my signal is awful! I have an international variant here in Alaska SM-G920I... The firmware is from February! Did an update fix your issues with poor signal?

fletch33 said:
i work in my basement in a major city area and all my previous phones would get 3 bars of LTE in my office here. my S6 Edge gets occasional 1 bar of LTE mixed with 1X very often.
i am connected to wifi here and it hasnt affected my using it for work but have noticed this and prefer it worked at least as well as my older devices.
i am generally not a "numbers" watcher on things like this or battery and more of a "as long as it works as i need it" user but i noticed the 1X because i am not use to seeing it.
also i should add that i noticed under battery that #1 for me is always "Cell Standby" and i have to assume they are related?
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Exact same situation here. Work in the basement at my house in a major area; down here I get 3G or 1X. Upstairs i'm getting 3G or 1bar LTE and it flips a lot. Battery seems to drain like crazy when this is happening, and I'm on WiFi the entire time. I had a total of 2.2 hours SOT yesterday and was at 14% when I plugged it back in. Cell standby was around 35% at that time.

I've noticed lately my S6 keeps locking onto 3G only even though the BRV T1114 running my home internet stays on LTE without issue. I had to ODIN my S6 cuz I messed it up then like a bonehead applied the OF1 update without thinking now I can't root it. If I could, would it be a good idea to lock it to band 13 all the time? That's what the T1114 Router uses and stays connected all the time. Sigh.....
I've noticed that if I leave it sitting on the table/bed for a while, it locks to LTE then when I start using it again after a minute or so it goes back to 3G only. Damn.

I saw 1x quite frequent with an s6 and a black screen that only recovery booting would get me powered on. Before and after rooting. But I unrooted and return and exchanged it and now all is well no more 1x or black screen issue knock on wood
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Free mobile app

My Samsung rep at work said its due to the S6 only having one antenna vs. the S5 having two antennae(s).

DeathAngel66669 said:
My Samsung rep at work said its due to the S6 only having one antenna vs. the S5 having two antennae(s).
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That technically shouldn't matter because one was dedicated to voice only, but who knows at this point... I'm kinda tired of Verizon's inability, 4 years after the fact, to handle the LTE/3G handoff and "hold onto" issues.

Cell Reception

I've noticed a strange behavior with my T-Mobile V20. It really likes to drop service and then show a loading symbol for a bit before locking onto a signal again.
Usually the current reception is weak (1 bar), but not always. Sometimes it does it when I have 2-3 bars of LTE, just to switch down to 5 bars 2G.
There are also times when it'll show that I have 3-4 bars of voice reception, but the status will say "Searching" and calls won't work. Rebooting will make LTE appear.
Is this normal behavior? I just got this phone, and it's also the phone I used to switch off Verizon. T-Mobile definitely has better coverage where I am, but that's only when it isn't dropping the signal.

I have the same issue with my LG V20 phone. The reception/signal strength is horrible. Callers constantly complain that my phone goes in an out, making it difficult to maintain a conversation. Bluetooth connectivity is also an issue as connecting the device requires multiple attempts. This phone is becoming useless due to the reception and Bluetooth connectivity issues. I will continue to use my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as a backup. I have never experienced any such issues while using the Samsung device. Hopefully the developers at LG are taking notes and a fix/update will be released before 2017.

lgV20_user said:
I have the same issue with my LG V20 phone. The reception/signal strength is horrible. Callers constantly complain that my phone goes in an out, making it difficult to maintain a conversation. Bluetooth connectivity is also an issue as connecting the device requires multiple attempts. This phone is becoming useless due to the reception and Bluetooth connectivity issues. I will continue to use my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as a backup. I have never experienced any such issues while using the Samsung device. Hopefully the developers at LG are taking notes and a fix/update will be released before 2017.
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I haven't had problems with Bluetooth; in fact, I've had the opposite; Bluetooth works nicely.
I hate to say it, but I haven't actually made a call on my phone yet, so I can't comment on that, but you seem to be having it much worse than I am.

lgV20_user said:
I have the same issue with my LG V20 phone. The reception/signal strength is horrible. Callers constantly complain that my phone goes in an out, making it difficult to maintain a conversation. Bluetooth connectivity is also an issue as connecting the device requires multiple attempts. This phone is becoming useless due to the reception and Bluetooth connectivity issues. I will continue to use my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as a backup. I have never experienced any such issues while using the Samsung device. Hopefully the developers at LG are taking notes and a fix/update will be released before 2017.
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What kind of case are you using? It sounds like you have something blocking the signal (your case), you have multiple, defective radios in your device, or something -- in the area within which you operate your phone -- is interfering with the signal. I am not experiencing those issues at all, and neither is my wife (we're both using US996).
Good luck in any case. Your phone not working correctly is a horrible experience.

wtharp2 said:
What kind of case are you using? It sounds like you have something blocking the signal (your case), you have multiple, defective radios in your device, or something -- in the area within which you operate your phone -- is interfering with the signal. I am not experiencing those issues at all, and neither is my wife (we're both using US996).
Good luck in any case. Your phone not working correctly is a horrible experience.
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Which carrier are you on?

I haven't had any problems with dropped calls. Then again, I'm usually somewhere near wifi and make most of my calls that way.

douger1957 said:
I haven't had any problems with dropped calls. Then again, I'm usually somewhere near wifi and make most of my calls that way.
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I remember you... Howdy

Zacharee1 said:
I remember you... Howdy
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Who's doing Note 4 customer service now that you and I aren't there anymore?

douger1957 said:
Who's doing Note 4 customer service now that you and I aren't there anymore?
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Well now that CM14.1 is for all Snapdragon variants, we've got some new helpers.

So I've figured out at least one of the signal oddities. I'm going from one bar on LTE on T-Mobile to roaming on AT&T. I was able to use the app LTE Discovery to see that I was on AT&T's LTE B17 (which isn't even listed as supported on the H918). The phone was just disabling voice and data.

My cell reception seems normal for tmobile(which is mostly not good in my area) but the weird thing is on bluetooth. When i bend down at work with my phone in my pocket the BT signal get choppy. Like im compressing the antenna or something. Weird.

Bubba Fett said:
My cell reception seems normal for tmobile(which is mostly not good in my area) but the weird thing is on bluetooth. When i bend down at work with my phone in my pocket the BT signal get choppy. Like im compressing the antenna or something. Weird.
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You could take a look at the FCC test for BT https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...on_id=Yart0xj3tUt4f53nf7wvbQ==&fcc_id=ZNFH918
I found out that this phone is rated for LTE B13 from there. Looks like it supports a lot more bands than LG or T-Mobile say, since even the FCC doesn't include B17.