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[Q] Can anyone else block WiFi reception with their hands?

A lot of people have issues with the antenna on the Shield tablet. Some of us are able to block WiFi transmission or severely weaken it by putting our hand over the corner of a tablet (happens to me just by holding the tablet in portrait mode with the camera on the top).
I am a new member so can't link to the YouTube video I made demonstrating this phenomenon. I can't post a link because I'm a new user, but it's titled: Nvidia shield tablet bad WiFi design, don't buy a lemon.
Another YouTube posted a video a week ago showing the same effect. His video is called: Nvidia shield tablet, how to hold your tablet in your lap.
I'm on the 2.4ghz band in the video only a room away. Does it happen to you guys too? Do you have any other issues with the WiFi on this thing?
Thanks.

WiFi reception isn't as strong as other devices I have in the home, and I can decrease the signal by holding the bottom right corner when held in portrait in particular, but I've not managed to choke the reception entirely or have it be a practical issue at all.

I haven't notice any WiFi signal degrading when holding the tablet at all. but then again I have an AC87R router that outputs pretty crazy signal strength.

My router is ASUS top of the line AC router from last year, probably helping me also.

I'm on my second shield tablet and niether have had any WiFi issues. And I use a crappy centrylink router. Grid works perfect.

Mine has weak wifi and am going to get a replacement from amazon tomorrow. Hopefully it's just my unit. I may invest in a new AC router next.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

I think I have problems with Wi-Fi too. For example, playing Modern Combat 5, connection is lost many times...Maybe it's a Gameloft problem...
Sometimes I have issues with downloads on Google Play too....
I don't know if it's a problem or not...or if it's a hardware or software problem...

Unusable wifi

I'm loving my z3 but for the life of me I cannot get a tidy wifi connection.it doesn't drop the actually connection but just freezes or slows down to an unusable amount.it's not my wifi as I have tested my note 3 on the same connection and it's the same on other networks.does anyone else have this problem or a solution

simon.n.jonez said:
I'm loving my z3 but for the life of me I cannot get a tidy wifi connection.it doesn't drop the actually connection but just freezes or slows down to an unusable amount.it's not my wifi as I have tested my note 3 on the same connection and it's the same on other networks.does anyone else have this problem or a solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am struggling with Wifi speeds on mine. I am having to switch to 4g regularly.
I am not too worried yet as I have 8gb data, but eventually i'll be worried as it runs out lol/
The speed tests show a good speed and ping, but it disconnects or slows down/freezes a lot.
I'm waiting on updates.

Thanks for the reply.I get data fine over 4G too.the chappy wifi is annoying as I have wifi everywhere I go...but no 4G signal at home

simon.n.jonez said:
... I cannot get a tidy wifi connection.it doesn't drop the actually connection but just freezes or slows down to an unusable amount.
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Click to collapse
Confirmed, same experienced here.

Didn't the z1 have this problem

That may depend on the router or its settings. Had the same "freeze" issue when connected to my AVM 7490 router set to use channel 100 for 5GHz. Ever since I changed it to channel 48 no more such problems so far.

My bluetooth is similarly awful, in both range and functionality.
WiFi constantly drops and freezes, always has a weak connection compared to my other devices.
Sony have always cheaped out on wireless chips for any of its hardware products, especially things like playstation products (PS4 wifi is the worst I've ever seen), but I didn't expect it for a £500 smartphone!

Ditto. Great 4G on a 10GB cap.
But shocking wifi. It won't connect to I my router half the time, and the other half drops the connection after 10 minutes.
Out of various devices it's the only one, and I've had more devices on.
I'll change the chanel, clear dhcp allocations and usual stuff and see if there is any difference
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app

Mine seems to have sorted itself out.had excellent wifi at home and up the parents.

Yeah for all their positives sony do pass on some crud wifi chips. Ps4 good example.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

I seem to of narrowed my problems down to the router at work so Yaay lol.
As for Ps4, I think they're getting some unfair stick. I have mine connected to crappy BT home hub and the wifi connection is excellent.

mega_bite said:
But shocking wifi. It won't connect to I my router half the time, and the other half drops the connection after 10 minutes.
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Click to collapse
Swapped it for another router (I got a random duplicate from my isp, glad I kept it) and the problems gone. Mostly. still drops from time to time. but usable

Jonathan-H said:
I seem to of narrowed my problems down to the router at work so Yaay lol.
As for Ps4, I think they're getting some unfair stick. I have mine connected to crappy BT home hub and the wifi connection is excellent.
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Click to collapse
It seems to be random. My mate has a launch day model like me, and his WiFi is excellent to his 6 year old Sky wireless G router.
I have the newest homehub, one of the best rated routers on the market right now, and the connection from my PS4 to it is incredibly unstable. Every online game lags horrendously, especially BF4. Plus on my 80mb connection it allows for 3MB/s downloads at most. With an wired connection, no lag at all, and the download speed hits max every time.
The same thing seems to apply to the Z3. So its a sony thing. My first Z3 the wifi and BT were unusable. 3rd Z3, and wifi is the best I've ever used on a mobile device, and I havent even connected to my AC network yet to try. Bluetooth I've yet to try though.

istrikerx said:
I have the newest homehub, one of the best rated routers on the market right now, and the connection from my PS4 to it is incredibly unstable. Every online game lags horrendously, especially BF4. Plus on my 80mb connection it allows for 3MB/s downloads at most. With an wired connection, no lag at all, and the download speed hits max every time.
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AVM Fritz!Box here, newest model, got it when I moved because I'm on a business contract, even though I didn't want it. Has a multiuser NAS, SmartHome and whatnot, and one app for everything.
But when on WiFi with my MacBook Pro, ping times sometimes go up to over 250 ms, then back down to the usual 12. I have no idea why, it doesn't happen when connected to it via Ethernet. Bandwidth itself never seemed to be an issue though, and the Z3 performs great with it though.
TL;DR: Trying a different router can make a huge difference.

I was having the same wifi issues...my network was saved, I kept re typing my password thinking maybe I entered it in incorrectly but kept getting the "Authentication Failed" message. I was able to get the phone connected to my home wifi buy simply hitting the "Forget" option...then it automatically read the IP address and accessed the network...smh hopefully this helps for Everybody else....or some at least

Anyone manage playing Grid Games without 5ghz wifi?

the title says it all. I am awaiting my shield tablet and just noticed the requirement of 5ghz wifi for shield grid. I do not have this currently and was wondering if anyone has managed to play grid games without or if it is an absolute no go. I have 50/50 speeds so I know I am good on that front.
Secondary question but I assume I am good here, I have ordered a usb otg to use my xbox 360 wireless controller. If I get an Ethernet adapter and use my ouya controller would this then eliminate the issue with the 5ghz requirement? I know I would have to root my shield and tweak a file to get the ouya controller working

mcord11758 said:
the title says it all. I am awaiting my shield tablet and just noticed the requirement of 5ghz wifi for shield grid. I do not have this currently and was wondering if anyone has managed to play grid games without or if it is an absolute no go. I have 50/50 speeds so I know I am good on that front.
Click to expand...
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Grid is not nearly as demanding as NVIDIA wants you to think. I just got my SHIELD Tablet yesterday, and played Grid games all night on a 2.4Ghz wifi connection, on 10/1.5 speeds, in console mode, in an apartment complex filled with interfering wifi networks. Worked like a charm with no slowdowns -- actually *smoother* than Portal was running natively, though that would probably be fixed with a factory reset, which I failed to do last night.
So yeah, Grid away, man. Grid away.

I was able to play Strike Suit Zero with some drop connections (few seconds), also on wifi was GF's iPad being used.
I blame the connection on the AT&T Modem/Router/Wifi Router.

Works just fine for me on a number of 2.4GHz routers.

Really slow and spotty wifi?

Will I get OTA updates if I don't put a SIM in? I'm on C432B126 right now and I think the seller that installed it for me messed it up, I'm not getting supercharge or fast charge with the included charger just normal charging and wifi has been really slow and spotty, I've tried everything to fix the wifi issues but it's still the same, can someone shed some light on this, thanks.

gtrm said:
Will I get OTA updates if I don't put a SIM in? I'm on C432B126 right now and I think the seller that installed it for me messed it up, I'm not getting supercharge or fast charge with the included charger just normal charging and wifi has been really slow and spotty, I've tried everything to fix the wifi issues but it's still the same, can someone shed some light on this, thanks.
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I am assuming you are using 5ghz wifi. Some phones have issues with high channel >48 5ghz wifi (my lg v20, mi max and the mate9). If you use 2.4ghz only the wifi will improve. However, if you want to use 5ghz goto your router wifi channel settings and set to either channel 36 or 48. Just note the lower channels have poorer wall penetration compared to channel 150+. If you got a large house consider a solution like Google wifi. If you are still getting very poor wifi, then you may have a faulty phone (dislodged antennae maybe).
To get supercharging you will need to use the original charger + CABLE.
Try using the ampere app to see how fast your phone is charging. Anything over 2 amps I would say it is good enough unless you are in a hurry.

azukayx said:
I am assuming you are using 5ghz wifi. Some phones have issues with high channel >48 5ghz wifi (my lg v20, mi max and the mate9). If you use 2.4ghz only the wifi will improve. However, if you want to use 5ghz goto your router wifi channel settings and set to either channel 36 or 48. Just note the lower channels have poorer wall penetration compared to channel 150+. If you got a large house consider a solution like If you are still getting very poor wifi, then you may have a faulty phone (dislodged antennae maybe).
To get supercharging you will need to use the original charger + CABLE.
Try using the ampere app to see how fast your phone is charging. Anything over 2 amps I would say it is good enough unless you are in a hurry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried both 2.4ghz and 5ghz with no luck and I only get normal charging speeds with the included charger+cable, no fast charge or supercharge, charging to full takes nearly 3 hours.

gtrm said:
I tried both 2.4ghz and 5ghz with no luck and I only get normal charging speeds with the included charger+cable, no fast charge or supercharge, charging to full takes nearly 3 hours.
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Click to collapse
Then take to a service centre, probably a faulty charging port/electronics and dislodged wifi antennae.

The WiFi on the Mate 9 is the best I've ever used.
I'm sitting in my car outside the house to send this, and I've never been able to do that with any other phone.
Have to disagree about 5G channels. The higher frequencies are absorbed more by building materials. That's why 5G generally covers less than 2G. If anyone finds the top channels are better than the lower ones it will be due to antenna variations in the router or the handset.

RR-99 said:
The WiFi on the Mate 9 is the best I've ever used.
I'm sitting in my car outside the house to send this, and I've never been able to do that with any other phone.
Have to disagree about 5G channels. The higher frequencies are absorbed more by building materials. That's why 5G generally covers less than 2G. If anyone finds the top channels are better than the lower ones it will be due to antenna variations in the router or the handset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard Huawei phones in general have great signal as well, perhaps I just got a bad unit. I'm sending mine back for an exchange since it'd really be an excellent phone without these two issues.

I had been thinking of adding a WiFi extender to provide coverage when I'm working in the garage. I don't need to now - the Mate 9 works fine in there.

Having a similar problem and I'm thinking it's an incompatibility issue with my Asus N55U. Every other device in the house connects at full 300mbit over 5ghz and 150mbit at 2.4ghz to my modem but my Mate 9 maxed out at 72mbit over 2.4ghz and 150mbit over 5ghz.
The big problem is the 5ghz wifi drops to 7mbit within a few seconds, doesn't matter where in the house I am, yet it always says excellent signal. 2.4ghz stays at 72mbit but my internet is 100mbit fibre so it's still not ideal.
I've tried different 5ghz channels (right now on 40), tried N-only, 20 and 40mhz, changing wifi names, changing security type and factory resetting the phone. Nothing has worked, I get an intermittent 50KB/s to 400KB/s from the phone at 5ghz, yet I connect my laptop to the 5ghz, get a solid 300mbit and download at 11MB/s with the same distance to the router.
Going to purchase a new router and hopefully this will resolve the issue otherwise I'll be sending the phone back.

I had the same problem (about wifi) I did lots of test with my mate 9 , 2 p9lite and my ipod 5g just my mate 9 had low results sometimes half download and upload than the other devices and always a really high ping 3 or 4 times more than the other devices. I wrote to amazon and also to huawei for describe this problem and they decided to replace it so I will receive the new one tomorrow. Them said nobody report this issue about a software error so they think this is an hardware factory problem. Hope you can solve it asap like me

zuuus said:
I've tried different 5ghz channels (right now on 40), tried N-only
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Click to collapse
I assume you're running DD-WRT? Try channel 36 and NA-Mixed.
Sent from my MHA-L29 using XDA Labs

Did the new router fix your problem?
zuuus said:
Having a similar problem and I'm thinking it's an incompatibility issue with my Asus N55U. Every other device in the house connects at full 300mbit over 5ghz and 150mbit at 2.4ghz to my modem but my Mate 9 maxed out at 72mbit over 2.4ghz and 150mbit over 5ghz.
The big problem is the 5ghz wifi drops to 7mbit within a few seconds, doesn't matter where in the house I am, yet it always says excellent signal. 2.4ghz stays at 72mbit but my internet is 100mbit fibre so it's still not ideal.
I've tried different 5ghz channels (right now on 40), tried N-only, 20 and 40mhz, changing wifi names, changing security type and factory resetting the phone. Nothing has worked, I get an intermittent 50KB/s to 400KB/s from the phone at 5ghz, yet I connect my laptop to the 5ghz, get a solid 300mbit and download at 11MB/s with the same distance to the router.
Going to purchase a new router and hopefully this will resolve the issue otherwise I'll be sending the phone back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having the same symptoms that you are on my Mate 9. Did you buy a new router, and did it make any difference in the wifi performance of the Mate 9? If so, could you please share which router you are using? Thanks.
---------- Post added at 04:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 AM ----------
olomarco said:
I had the same problem (about wifi) I did lots of test with my mate 9 , 2 p9lite and my ipod 5g just my mate 9 had low results sometimes half download and upload than the other devices and always a really high ping 3 or 4 times more than the other devices. I wrote to amazon and also to huawei for describe this problem and they decided to replace it so I will receive the new one tomorrow. Them said nobody report this issue about a software error so they think this is an hardware factory problem. Hope you can solve it asap like me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi just wondering if your replacement mate 9 was any different as far as Wi-Fi goes compared to the one you posted the problems about. I have 2 mate 9's with similar symptoms (10 times higher ping and 3-4 times slower transfer speeds compared to laptops and other Wireless A/C phones), so just trying to figure out whether they are all going to have this problem or if I happen to have defective units that would be fixed by replacement.

I am having the same symptoms that you are on my Mate 9. Did you buy a new router, and did it make any difference in the wifi performance of the Mate 9? If so, could you please share which router you are using? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up buying a Linksys WRT1900ACS router, the Mate 9 now connects at 433Mbit to that even though my other devices connect at near 900Mbit. Still, my internet connection is only 100Mbit so 433Mbit is fine, and certainly better than 7Mbit.
But in case you were wondering the Oreo update didn't fix the issue, so I'm guessing it's a hardware issue. Haven't really bothered investigating it further after getting the new router.

WiFi issues

Hi,
I have some WiFi issues. After a time no data can be send and received over wifi, but I'm still connected. I have to reconnect wifi and after this browsing the net is ok.
I have this on 3 different wifi Hotspots
Anyone also have this issues?

I have it too on LG G4. Anyone know how to fix it?

I have the same problem if i move to fast away (about 15m not out of range).
It could be my dual 2.4GHz/5GHz Network, but I'm too lazy to test it

siedenburg said:
I have the same problem if i move to fast away (about 15m not out of range).
It could be my dual 2.4GHz/5GHz Network, but I'm too lazy to test it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it on both 2,4 and 5 GHz.
The last hour I can't connect to any SSID. And suddenly it works.
I Hope, that this is a software/firmware issue and they fix it in the next update that hopefully come soon.

Boy, am I glad you are making this thread to report on this issue! I am having the very same problem and it is driving me bonkers!
I am trying to review this device for my YouTube channel and this wifi issue is NOT helping. So far I have tried booting in safe mode, connecting to other wifi networks and reconfiguring my internet to no longer bridge together the 2.4&5 GHz bands.
What I am finding is that safemode has no effect but I can connect to my in-law's network just fine. When I changed my network settings I was able to show that it simply just doesn't want to fetch data from the 5GHz band. It works just fine on the 2.4GHz band but now I am not enjoying my potential wifi speeds. Sony really needs to fix this. The last thing I was going to try was doing a factory reset on the device but I don't think it will matter.

If you have wifi issues, try to change channel, etc- from 13 to 11, or try update wifi firmware.

June update is around the corner, highly likely next week. That one might include fixes also.
But as an established youtuber I would reach out to Sony directly to get confirmation on the issue and potential fix.
Also place to get direct answers would be talk.sonymobile.com

I cant say I've had any issues, but I'll keep an eye out. I've streamed music and radio stations for hours with no issues, and I'm guessing this problem would present itself there.

I can confirm I am also having this issue on more than one wifi connection.
I hope this is a software issue.

I can't explain, but the last 2 days no issues. WiFi works without problems on both 2,4 GHz and 5HGz.
Also the "bug" in battery stats with high WiFi time (more than 300 days!!) is gone.

I also have a wifi problem , but I have two access points linksys ea4500 and wrt1900ac on the first one it works perfectly on the second one stays connected but there is no internet, My issue specifically applies to wifi ac otherwise it works well... similar to my pervious lg g4

Same here. I can confirm that this can happen even on 2.4 or 5ghz wifi networks and that it's not a channel issue because I live in countryside with barely any other wifi networks.
But the problem is so much strange. For example, it will stop to work randomly when transfering data, watching youtube videos or such things but this never happens when using chromecast. I can pause, play, the videos, etc. with no issues. Like if it needed some heavy traffic to start having issues.

schickel said:
I can't explain, but the last 2 days no issues. WiFi works without problems on both 2,4 GHz and 5HGz.
Also the "bug" in battery stats with high WiFi time (more than 300 days!!) is gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, that bug has mysteriously disappeared
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Same issue on my xz premium. Using both 2,4 and 5GHz at home. Having the issue also on all of my 3 WiFis at work.
WiFi is draining out my battery. 60% or more and around 30days of usage (having my device for a week now)
At the same WiFi at home are several devices connected without any issues. Xperia X compact, Z5 compact, ipad, Sony Soundbar. Sometimes my XZ Premium shows me "connected to WiFi without Internet"
This is the worst Xperia experience ever

Hej, I have create a sony mobile post about our issues with xz premium wifi problem, if we post in sony mobile support page there will higher chances to be fixed.
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-XZ-Premium/Wifi-issue-xz-premium/m-p/1230685#M1073

marcoplo said:
Hej, I have create a sony mobile post about our issues with xz premium wifi problem, if we post in sony mobile support page there will higher chances to be fixed.
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-XZ-Premium/Wifi-issue-xz-premium/m-p/1230685#M1073
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also posted the same. And many others also. Let's see what happens

My WiFi says it's been running for 34 days+ but my connection on 2.4 has been good and solid from the start. I have no problem with there being an internet connection. I am fairly certain that the two issues are related in some way and some are having more problems than others.

I haven't had any problems, but then I did a complete reset of the phone a few days after I received it. When in doubt, that might be something you can try.

Turn off Smart cleaner.
That's the cause of WiFi disconnection and battery drain.

I have no wifi issues (2.4 only - no 5 for me) but it says that wifi has been running for 669 days. LOL
I sure hope Sony fixes these silly bugs.