I just posted this on the T-Mo section as well but thought I might be luckier in getting a response on this section.
So, I got the unlocked S6 off of eBay, SM920-F model. I made my research, it should work with the t-mo's LTE and all but so far it has not been playing ball with me.
First of all, even when I am on LTE on this phone, it just shows as 4G which is not a big deal, I can live with that but when I am on LTE, as you can see on the screenshot below, it does not show anything as to how strong my signal is,etc...If I am on H+ though, it does show my signal strength.
And my LTE(4G Signal) is always at about 2 bars at best, no matter where I am, even if I am in the T-Mobile store. I checked my APN settings but I don't think that's the issue.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Anyone has any suggestions?
Thanks
This is a problem with every SM-G920F. I don't know about other variants. It's down to Samsung and their software, but contacting them is useless, utterly useless. Believe me.
I have contacted the developer of LTE Discovery and also Network Signal Info, they both say it's Samsungs fault and it's happened on previous Samsung devices, the phone doesn't report the correct signal strength. There are multiple threads about this already, but they don't seem to go anywhere and I don't think there are enough people noticing this.
When I emailed Samsung, they told me to return my device even though it's not a device specific problem. So I called them instead, after trying extremely hard to blame my carrier (every carrier because I tried 4 sims),they said because there's no actual problem with the connection, it just shows the strength as wrong, they cant help me.
Samsung Support is a complete joke. I wish people would make a noise about this.
Thanks for the heads up. I will go ahead and return it I suppose.
Seller claims that it will work on T-Mo's LTE and apparently not the case. I wanna try it with my friend's at&t sim, I wonder if that will make a difference.
Thanks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/help/lte-signal-indicator-issues-t3083001
flycap said:
Hey guys,
I got the same issue. Changing a "weak" 4G signal (which should not be considered weak) to 2G/3G . I have the same reception with my old Z3 Compact. Also around -105 to -110 @home
I did some speedtests while being constant at around -110dbm. 20-30 mbit/s in a moving train. Even whooping 50-80 mbit/s @home. Mhhh
Here is something interesting: ww w.lte-anbieter.info/technik/rsrq.php (german website)
There you can find some formulas, explanation and how you handle RSRP, RSSI. You need them to calculate the RSRQ.
The RSRQ is a calculated proportion, a scaled value to judge the reception: RSRQ [Watt] = N × RSRP [Watt] / RSSI [Watt]
N = number of resource blocks (depending on channel bandwith)
RSRQ in dB:
RSRQ [dBm] = 10 x LOG (RB [dBm] x 10^(RSRP [dBm] / 10) / 10^(RSSI [dBm] / 10))
RSRQ[db] can be split in grades:
-3 dB (very good)
-4 … -5 dB (good)
-6 … -8 dB (average)
-9 … -11 dB (pass)
-12 … -15 dB (insufficient)
-16 … -20 dB (fail)
So, in my case I still have a good connection DESPITE the -110 RSRP.. I think this is the flaw. Samsung needs to take the RSSI more into account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To see your stats type *#0011* in the phone app
Related
So, I have extremely crappy 3G coverage at my home sometimes, and it completely prohibits me from speaking to people. I have called AT&T tech support and basically they said they know the transmitter in my area has a problem, and I can go pound sand. A microcell "might" work, but I have heard they have problems on DSL lines, and I really don't feel it is fair that I should have to pay extra for what my service provider should be supplying anyways. But enough with my anger at my provider.....
I just purchased this LG Phoenix and the way I used to get around my 3G problem previously was that I would force 2g/EDGE on my old BlackBerry Bold 9000. Not only that, but it used to save LOTS of battery power. On this phone though, it wouldn't appear you can't disable 3G. I have checked in the settings, and I have tried a couple of different Apps in the android market to no avail.
Have I missed something, or am I just going to have to wait months till developers start rolling out custom ROMs or the like? I really like this phone other than the fact that I can barely make calls on it at my house. Which negates the purpose of owning a phone I suppose.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Well, I see nobody has any answers. That's OK, because I found out what I needed.
Basically AT&T disabled the option to choose your data network within the operating system. (Along with side-loading, which I will admit they fixed with the 2.2.2 update)
What I need to access is in one of the two following menu options on this device:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Unfortunately, I have been told that I can deal with it and pound sand, or wait until a custom ROM is adapted to this device.
Sooooo.....
In case anybody actually gives a crap, I have found an answer to my dilemma.
You can force 2g/3g transmitter usage though the hidden menu on your phones.
First, dial: 3845#*505# (Phoenix) 3845#*506# (Thrive)
Scroll down to the "Network Mode" selection and enter.
Automatic is the first selection in that menu. This is what are phones are set to by default. This allows the phone to switch between whatever it thinks is the best wireless network to use. Unfortunately, I can barely talk to people when I have 1 bar of signal in my house, and very often the phone won't switch over to 2g when 3g signal is very weak. 2g also saves A LOT on battery power.
If you want to choose the wireless mode your phone, scroll down to the bottom of that menu and you will find the following options:
- If you choose WCDMA Only, you will connect to the 3G network
- If you choose GSM Only, you will connect to the 2G/EDGE network
I hope this is helpful to somebody other than just me.
Is there an easier way of doing this rather than inputting that code each and every time?
Bueller? Bueller?
Thought I put this here, in case someone has the same issue.
Just got my Orange UK S4. Orange also run a 4G network called EE, and my phone is EVR ie EE network coded.
My contract is NOT on the 4G network, since I didnt need it.
My first attempt at using the internet connection (away from wifi) was a download of a 1.5meg PDF attachment in the email app, and it was ridiculous slow, like it took 5 mins
Also the browser was not responding or downloading data at all.
So had a brain wave and went into network settings/more networks/mobile networks/network mode/ and changed from 2g/3g/4g, to "2g/3g"
and this solved the issue perfectly.
I think the problem is that in the 4G mode, the phone keeps trying repeatedly (like for every packet) to connect in 4g, and gets rejected by the network, so downshifts to 3g or HDSPA for downloading one packet, and repeats the whole merry cycle...
Hope this might some confusion for others in the future.:laugh:
More likely that the phone was camped onto an Orange 3G bts initially. By swapping network type selection you forced it to pick up a tmobile site....remembering that tmobile and orange share each others networks now under the banner of EE.
A lot of orange sites were never that fast anyway, even worse now the join with tmobile. They are relying a lot more on the tmobile 3G sites.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk (how ironic is that eh)
On T-Mobile here and switching LTE off makes absolutely no difference to my speeds :/ Ran a test with LTE on and off and I get 10Mb on and off.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
No probs on 3 network :good:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
OP here!
The first download was crazy slow, 1000 times slower than when I was on the pure Orange network, but it seems fixed now, and on my new rom flashed yesterday, it seems ok.
Completely agree about the orange/EE service at present. It has become terrible, I think they are shoving all subscribers onto one network, and its becoming harder to make a call without it dropping etc... And this is in West London!
I was having rather poor signal strength from my Edge. (no more than 2 bars at most) At first I was really concerned that the rooting may have some effect on it?? Or maybe even the quality of my local Vodafone. However after do the following steps....suddenly I get full bars (always):
Go to Setting --> more networks ---> Mobile network ----> change to WCDMA/GSM auto instead of the LTE/WCDMA/GSM
From what I have found, the mobile internet connection is still fast (dont see obvious difference with the LTE) and in fact it seem the battery life last a little longer. I guess I will just keep to this setting.
i'm on N915G - all's good. in fact, i think it's better than the Note 2 i was using before Edge came along.
RobinLoi said:
i'm on N915G - all's good. in fact, i think it's better than the Note 2 i was using before Edge came along.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How many bars you get when you set to LTE/WCDMA/GSM mode??
i'd usually get 3-4 bars.. more 3 than 4 actually.
Bars are more a visual gimmick.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I have sprint and never get more then 1 or 2 bars in my house. But the speeds always stay the same.
I get 4 to 5 bars of LTE on my T-Mobile edge, whether I am at work or at home. I usually average 30mb down and 15-20mb up.
All good.....I just find out it's the Aussie Voda 4G network that is crappy, especially in the area I live in. It's worth noting for Voda Aussie users that their 4G network only for internet (data only), and they dont support normal call or sms txt. For normal call or sms they will automatically switch back to 3G. Personally I dont see much benefit switching to 4G in my case, for I think the internet is already good enough for 3G...and I do believe when you switch to 4G, the battery drain faster. (noticable).
Replace your simcard
No use...because when in certain area..i got full bars...and in downtown city too. I guess voda signal depend on the area.
Sent from my SM-N915G
Hi
I'm in Perth, living near the city, using Optus. As soon as I changed it to WCDMA/GSM, it went from max 2 bars to 4 bars.
Thanks.
Sent from my SM-N915G[/QUOTE]
Hi everyone,
Smartphone reviews are more and more complete as the competition between review websites increase but there is always a test kind of missing: signal reception.
Indeed it's hard to find data about it over the net. Some phone makers are happy to communicate about some technology they develop, and some just don't.
Nowadays it seems that all that matter is photo quality, design, autonomy and the screen. At long as you got a "bar" (which doesn't mean anything as we know) consumer seems to be happy... lol.
I found some comparisons that AndroidAuthority made, but that's about it (I can't post outside links yet...):
- Xperia Z5, LG G4, Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6S, Moto X Style ( /best-lte-xperia-z5-x-style-note-5-iphone-6s-lg-g4-648755/ )
- Galaxy S6, LG G4, Huawei P8 ( /best-4g-galaxy-s6-v-huawei-p8-v-lg-g4-612827/ )
Over here they look at signal strength (near -60dBm being perfect, and near -110dBm being call failure), network switching rate, drapped calls, etc, which give you some clues.
Snippet (can't add images yet...):
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The point is to find with what phone you really have a change to get a nice signal (just to receive a call or to get stable data coming through), when some will just drop. Apparently Huawei got a little something better with their Signal + technology, when Apple seems to do good too, but the "king" Samsung seems to be quite crappy about it, even if review websites do not reflect it.
What do you think? Any trouble with your Samsung? Huawei owners do you really see a difference? (and not just about "bars" at home).
I guess it should be a good selling argument stating that your phone is having a better signal than the others (if you are traveling a lot, when hiking, during highway drive, using less battery if your antenna is less stressed, etc).
So my 8T is converted to global, and I have the EU 11.0.6.9 update installed.
I'm not sure if its just the updates or just the phone in general but I noticed it struggles, or rather sucks in certain areas that do not have the greatest reception in comparison to iPhones. I was recently on a job, where just about everyone with an iphone was able to lock in with a decent signal, meanwhile my 8T couldn't even get a single bar. Same carriers too.(TMO)
Anyone else notice this?
I think it's just the phone. There's an area on the highway near my house that has a low signal (in between two cell towers) and the 8T will drop out with no signal, where every other phone will be able to maintain at least 1 bar.
Oddly enough I've been signal in places where I didn't get signal with my last phone? Same sim card, both phones were running Lineage.
Of course there are so many factors, it's going to be hard to get "real" results.
Coderedpl said:
So my 8T is converted to global, and I have the EU 11.0.6.9 update installed.
I'm not sure if its just the updates or just the phone in general but I noticed it struggles, or rather sucks in certain areas that do not have the greatest reception in comparison to iPhones. I was recently on a job, where just about everyone with an iphone was able to lock in with a decent signal, meanwhile my 8T couldn't even get a single bar. Same carriers too.(TMO)
Anyone else notice this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you happen to have the R14 or newer SIM card and 5G turned on, your phone could be preferring upgraded Sprint band 41 over other frequency bands. I've found that in some areas this doesn't work so well because the band is really touchy without having overlapping coverage. For that reason I change my data setting to 4G/3G/GSM. I don't believe the iPhones have that band or access to that band yet. It depends on the iPhone I guess.
I have a Sprint purchased, on TMO sim card per their instructions after the merger. I'm seriously considering MSM back to the T-Mobile software. For the simple reason of what you just described. I was blazingly fast 5G before the conversion. Now I struggle with even connection on Wi-Fi calling or no connection for phone calls at all out of my house it's horrible.
And what the hell is the the H in my data on notification bar.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The room may have put an older baseband on the phone which can causes issues like this.