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[Q] Signal strength 3G and Wifi down if you cover the back?

Hi,
Some users on a Dutch forum reported a loss of signal strength (both Wifi and phone) when the back of the Moto G is covered by your hand. I checked and I can repeat the problem. If I cover the lower half of the back, my carrier signal goes down by two bars. When you cover the upper half, the Wifi signal drops substantially.
To test if this was a real loss of signal instead of an issue with extremely sensitive bar display, I have installed Wifi Analyzer. It shows a drop of 5 - 10 dB on the Wifi signal so its a real issue.
Do others have the same problem or are there some faulty units around?

I cannot reproduce this. XT1032 8GB retail GB version.

16GB UK - I can get WiFi to drop by covering the back.
Mobile signal does not drop though.
Doesn't worry me as I don't press my hand on the back when holding the phone.
I can also get the signal to drop wrap my hand around my routers antenna.
I would think it's quite normal for a signal to drop if you cover the antenna or receiver. The phone has to have the receiver somewhere and wherever they put it you will be able to cover it if you try hard enough.

scott_doyland said:
16GB UK - I can get WiFi to drop by covering the back.
Mobile signal does not drop though.
Doesn't worry me as I don't press my hand on the back when holding the phone.
I can also get the signal to drop wrap my hand around my routers antenna.
I would think it's quite normal for a signal to drop if you cover the antenna or receiver. The phone has to have the receiver somewhere and wherever they put it you will be able to cover it if you try hard enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember the 'you're holding it wrong' defense of Steve Jobs when the iPhone dropped its signal?
I don't need to press, just by holding the phone in a natural way to take a call the signal will drop. And like I said covering only half of the back is sufficient.
That Debaj can't reproduce it, suggest it's not in all Moto G's
Moto G 8GB German, left-handed (in case it makes a difference) and it occurs most often when the signal is at 4 instead of 5 bars to begin with.

DroidLov said:
Hi,
Some users on a Dutch forum reported a loss of signal strength (both Wifi and phone) when the back of the Moto G is covered by your hand. I checked and I can repeat the problem. If I cover the lower half of the back, my carrier signal goes down by two bars. When you cover the upper half, the Wifi signal drops substantially.
To test if this was a real loss of signal instead of an issue with extremely sensitive bar display, I have installed Wifi Analyzer. It shows a drop of 5 - 10 dB on the Wifi signal so its a real issue.
Do others have the same problem or are there some faulty units around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine does the same to an extent but not nearly as bad as my old phone. Two bars missing sounds quite serious, though. Have you tried taking the rear cover off and checking to see what it does?

Wifi signal drops 1 bar (from 4 to 3) when covering top of the back. Not a big deal to me
Mobile signal doesn't drop when covering the bottom of the back.
Moto G 8GB, British retail version running US global 4.4.2
EDIT: Holding the phone in the left hand drops the signal by about 5dBm. Holding the phone in the right hand leads to no loss in signal. The only way I can get my Moto G to lose some signal (from 4 bars to 3) is to hold the phone in my left hand AND cover the bottom bezel with the right hand. It drops about 15dBm.

Thanks chowy993, scott_doyland, WabbitKiLR and Debaj for your feedback.
I guess there is something wrong with my Moto as I have an 8-15 dBm drop on the carrier signal just by holding my hand it in the normal 'telephone position' (but not next to my head). I measured it with an app called Network Signal. It drops into the red zone at over a -100 dBm so its a serious problem which will cost me battery life and loss of connectivity in some places .

I tried this with my wifes Moto G and the wifi drops one bar if I put my hand over the back. The mobile signal remains the same. Then I tried it with my Galaxy S3 and got exactly the same result.

I posted a thread about this a short while ago on the 31st December: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2592673
I can confirm I have this issue too! I cannot do any video or voice calls over WiFi if I hold my phone in my hand. The connection repeatedly drops until I put the phone down.
As soon as I hold it, I completely lose all WiFi signal (I have full bars at the time), and can also lose all 2G signal too (from full bars to Emergency Calls Only). My only solution was to simply leave the phone on a surface.
Mine is being sent in for a repair tomorrow for this reason. But sadly it appears even if the phone is replaced/repaired, that this is simply a issue with the Moto G in general?!
Never experienced such poor problems like this on a phone before.

I have the exact same problem on my 8 retail UK version I posted about this here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588286
And people were saying its the way I was holding my device. It isn't I can completely make my device lose signal just by being in a call. And cover the the bottom of device. It seems like there is a bad batch and Motorola needs to sort it. I'm on my 3rd device now and its still doing it. Gutted really because its a brilliant device. It seems to be the 8gig version having these problems I got told.
Sent from Motorola G.

XT1033 Dual Sim.
Cannot reproduce the issue at all, neither mobile nor wi-fi drops even with the back fully covered by both my hands. Held it like that for five minutes and no sign of it.

AluKed said:
XT1033 Dual Sim.
Cannot reproduce the issue at all, neither mobile nor wi-fi drops even with the back fully covered by both my hands. Held it like that for five minutes and no sign of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Count yourself as a lucky then I think I'm going to replace my 8gig for the 16gig.
Sent from Motorola G.

UK 16 gig model and I can get my WiFi to drop by one bar but mobile signal is unchanged no matter how I hold the handset. Bad news for u mate, sorry.

I looked into this problem.
Believe it or not, it seems to be down to the use of spray deoderant.
Most spray on deoderant using aluminium oxide. When it get's on your hands, and you hold the phone, the light metal coating causes a charge differential with the phone's antenna (basically your hand and the phone act as a single film capacitor).
This is different from the issue with the iphone, this was because the metal bezel of the phone actually changed resistivity when held directly with the hand, effectively changing the length, and therefore effectiveness of the iphones antenna.
I suggest washing your hands thoroughly. You can also use a multimeter on your hand, set to milli Ohms to see if you have an unusual resistivity (probably due to aluminium oxide).
Roll on deoderant is another good option.. Or just be smelly of course. I never wash, shower or using any cleaning products and my phone has perfect signal all the time.

mranonymous1 and maccboy2010 can you check if it's identical to my problem: holding the lower end is a drop in carrier signal, upper half of the phone: wifi drop ?

DroidLov said:
mranonymous1 and maccboy2010 can you check if it's identical to my problem: holding the lower end is a drop in carrier signal, upper half of the phone: wifi drop ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I no longer have my phone as it's in for repair. I can tell you though that for the week or so of use that it was awful. Mine was extremely sensitive that a video/voice call over WiFi would instantly end the second I even went near the phone/picked it up.
It was the WiFi dropping that was more of the issue for me than mobile network signal (I struggle to get 2G signal anyway where I live). But I could easily lose all mobile network signal from holding normally too.

Ok, I checked again and the problem only occurs if the signal level is not that good to begin with. It then drops enormously making calls impossible. Handsfree calling in the same circumstances is no problem.
When I am at a place with a strong carrier signal my hand hardly influences the level. So it's sort of a worst case scenario but it explains why others don't notice the drop.

DroidLov said:
mranonymous1 and maccboy2010 can you check if it's identical to my problem: holding the lower end is a drop in carrier signal, upper half of the phone: wifi drop ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes mine is the same as yours if I hold a the bottom signal drastically drops.
Sent from Motorola G.

I can confirm covering the bottom drops my signal.
Sent from my XT1032 using xda app-developers app

Also happens with my moto g. Covering the top indeed affects wifi and the bottom affects signal.

[Q] Tmobile samsung vibrant dropping signal/bars falling/disconnects from network.

I stay in africa(uganda) I sold my nokia n900 to buy a used unlocked tmobile samsung S 4G vibrant which has become my worst nightmare...the phone drops network signal and sometimes when I pull it outta my pocket it will show (searching) but will connect after 30minutes else i have to reconnect it my self in network setup..all that was not a problem to me because I work in the capital were network is always up in 5bars both 3G&2G but loses it quickly in some building..
Problem:
When I leave the capital just 15 minutes away it starts to drop signal from 5-0 but will regain in some places...it does this in areas that other people on the same network as me won't get a problem so do my previous 3G phones including the previous n900 I owned.
Things get bad when I reach home in that I barely get a bar in 3G and only 5-4-3bars in 2G it keeps on playing and in that process it will go to (searching) until I reconnect manually which forced me to look for a solution on the internet.
Solution I got:
Connect magnet wire in the back external antenna input at the back of the phone, guess you all have seen that hole, in the video the guy got 3bars from 0-1 bar which convieced me that my network problem is now solved.
Starting the trick:
I cut my tv antenna wire in two pieces, removed three thin silver wires and tested one by one.
The first two failed but the third one brought the network down from 0bars of 3G upto 3bars 3G.
Going on with the test now very happy I try a more fitting object I inserted the niddle which I used to remove the rubber cover which covered the external antenna input.
My nightmare begins:
Immediately after I removed the niddle, the signal bars all went off to X but mine shows a circle and a line touching both sides.
When I reinserted the niddle I got the signal back but this time only 2bars for 2G which was 4-5 bars before and 0bars for 3G which could dare 1bar.
finally:
Now I just removed the niddle, network went off again now my phone was relying on the niddle maybe the internal antenna was now disabled or ruined by me.
I hard reseted the phone, cleared cache but all didn't work..i put back the niddle in the hole It all came back.
Yesterday I took it to a local repair shop and today when I picked it I had -79dbm 2G and -53dbm 3G but when I left the shop 15 minutes away I got an X then 5-2-3 bars of both 3G and 2G..thaugh i got the network back without niddle support. The network is badder than how it was when I first bought the phone.
What the repair guy did:
He rolled a copper wire around the external antenna input and soldered it to an object just near th ext antenna input.
Finally:
What could have been the problem in the first place?
How can I solve the problem?
Phone: tmobile samsung galaxy s t959v vibrant.
State: unlocked and being used on airtel uganda.
Android Version:2.2.1
my last say: I have tested 3 different 3G phones with my simcard and all have performed well in my house with full bars and I don't remember having network issues with my previous 3G nokia phones, my brother who has a galaxy pocket doesn't face network problems either..i have tried all network operators with no success but still the same problem and now come for your help because after the niddle night, alk has become was! I like the phone soo,much cause its my first android but am afraid I can't have it like this, friends call me and it has already disconnected from the network even when the bars are still there in full swing..........

[Q] Signal and Antenna layout / schematic

Hello,
Firstly I'm looking for a comment from an expert who has taken Nexus5s apart before. Also I'm beyond the point of returning the phone as this fault developed after replacing a screen and ribbon cable (after I smashed my phone badly). Any help or advice would be great.
So since screen and USB flex replacement on my D821 i notice that my phone signal will connect with full bars, then drop completely, I can also only get 2g where i was able to get higher. The same sim works fine in my nokia. The Wifi Signal is fine and gps works ok but the 'no service' thing makes my phone unusable. I have tried making sure all contacts are clean and even replaced the loudspeaker unit and the black antenna cable but to no avail.
Can someone put up a picture of exactly the components that are involved in the phone signal / 3g setup? Is it possible something could have been damaged on the mainboard to cause this? I can search for networks, connect (sometimes) then it will just cut out.
I tried google for days but cant find a schematic. Basically im trying to determine if there are any other parts i should try exchanging before giving up. It makes no difference how i hold (or dont hold) the phone.
Thanks

3G cell reception issue and fix

I just want to write this post maybe it will help anyone that has or will have the same problem. I looked all over the internet and could not find a fix, so here is my fix. Hope it works.
I work over seas on oil rig sites (remote locations) so I talk to my wife and family back home via different VOIP apps so its important to get a 3G signal, usually I lock WCDMA only network and get at least 1 bar which is sufficient. All of a sudden I started experiencing very weak 3G signal on my phone, weirdly this was at the same location where it had full bars in the past. This only applies for 3G, I could get 2G signal no problem.
In other areas that I know had good 3G signals and towers were close, it would work alright outdoors but once I get behind a door or a window 3G disappears even if I have it locked. I put in my sim card in my old Galaxy Nexus and it had 3G indoors with no problems at the same place and right next to the N5. So I started testing with both phones right next to each other when I lock 3G with the same SIM the Galaxy nexus would get 3 bars while the Nexus 5 would get the empty triangle (emergency calls only).
I couldn't get out of my mind that I dropped my Nexus 5 a hard drop, but I have a rubber case that took all the shock and the phone didn't get a scratch on it. This was before the 3G signal starts getting funny. Couldn't help but feel that I broke it somehow though. I felt like this might have got something loose inside. What didn't make sense to me is that if the antenna didn't work it wouldn't get 3G at all, indoors and outdoors.
So Step 1, I assumed it was a software issue. I went through a painful hard reset. To my surprise it still had the same issue afterwards.
Then out of desperation I saw this dude's video on how he couldn't lock GPS until he opened the back of the phone and found that the GPS antenna was not connecting straight.
youtube com/watch?v=K1-uCIb-t8I[/url]
So I started searching for where the 3G or 2G antennas are on the N5, but couldnt find anything that points that out. The phone was worthless to me like that so... I took a deep breath and decided to open the phone. Keep in mind, i'm an oilfield engineer and I still had a feeling i might [email protected]#k the phone up, specially that I did not have any tools with me.
So I watched this video on how to open up the back cover:
youtube com/watch?v=mkbmtu-1KSQ[/url]
and went through this guide on what's inside the N5:
theregister co uk/2013/11/05/nexus_5_teardown_shows_a_light_touch_thats_easy_to_fix/[/url]
Then I opened it, couldn't find anything to do, except maybe clean the minor dust off and blow on the ICs a bit. There is alot of pins that connect to antennas located on the back cover itself, so I closed it up, made sure its closed tight and all the pins touching, put in my SIM, and GOD DAMN!! IT WORKS AGAIN... I was getting full bars 3G!!!
So what I figured is that when I dropped it, one of those pins moved a little bit away and broke the connection between the antenna and the IC. Works great for the last 5 hours, solid connection.
Hope I would help anyone with this
PS: put the dots in the links, XDA won't let me post outside URLs

walid.eldalil said:
I just want to write this post maybe it will help anyone that has or will have the same problem. I looked all over the internet and could not find a fix, so here is my fix. Hope it works.
I work over seas on oil rig sites (remote locations) so I talk to my wife and family back home via different VOIP apps so its important to get a 3G signal, usually I lock WCDMA only network and get at least 1 bar which is sufficient. All of a sudden I started experiencing very weak 3G signal on my phone, weirdly this was at the same location where it had full bars in the past. This only applies for 3G, I could get 2G signal no problem.
In other areas that I know had good 3G signals and towers were close, it would work alright outdoors but once I get behind a door or a window 3G disappears even if I have it locked. I put in my sim card in my old Galaxy Nexus and it had 3G indoors with no problems at the same place and right next to the N5. So I started testing with both phones right next to each other when I lock 3G with the same SIM the Galaxy nexus would get 3 bars while the Nexus 5 would get the empty triangle (emergency calls only).
I couldn't get out of my mind that I dropped my Nexus 5 a hard drop, but I have a rubber case that took all the shock and the phone didn't get a scratch on it. This was before the 3G signal starts getting funny. Couldn't help but feel that I broke it somehow though. I felt like this might have got something loose inside. What didn't make sense to me is that if the antenna didn't work it wouldn't get 3G at all, indoors and outdoors.
So Step 1, I assumed it was a software issue. I went through a painful hard reset. To my surprise it still had the same issue afterwards.
Then out of desperation I saw this dude's video on how he couldn't lock GPS until he opened the back of the phone and found that the GPS antenna was not connecting straight.
youtube com/watch?v=K1-uCIb-t8I[/url]
So I started searching for where the 3G or 2G antennas are on the N5, but couldnt find anything that points that out. The phone was worthless to me like that so... I took a deep breath and decided to open the phone. Keep in mind, i'm an oilfield engineer and I still had a feeling i might [email protected]#k the phone up, specially that I did not have any tools with me.
So I watched this video on how to open up the back cover:
youtube com/watch?v=mkbmtu-1KSQ[/url]
and went through this guide on what's inside the N5:
theregister co uk/2013/11/05/nexus_5_teardown_shows_a_light_touch_thats_easy_to_fix/[/url]
Then I opened it, couldn't find anything to do, except maybe clean the minor dust off and blow on the ICs a bit. There is alot of pins that connect to antennas located on the back cover itself, so I closed it up, made sure its closed tight and all the pins touching, put in my SIM, and GOD DAMN!! IT WORKS AGAIN... I was getting full bars 3G!!!
So what I figured is that when I dropped it, one of those pins moved a little bit away and broke the connection between the antenna and the IC. Works great for the last 5 hours, solid connection.
Hope I would help anyone with this
PS: put the dots in the links, XDA won't let me post outside URLs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats nice , but lots of ppls have the signal issues with nexus 5 , and it isn't antena disconect for 90 % if us. I have separated the phone many times. , done about 5 hard resets's tried diffrent verions of radio's diffrent ROM's etc... nothing work's. Frineds have nexus 5 2 of them , and they can get 3g and 4g when they want, and i can only get Edge which is 2g. which is unusable..... I noticed that i have 3g only when i am in other towns, but not mine home town.... I tried diffrent sim cards, and diffrent netowrks, nothing seams to get the 3g at home, plus the gsm sucks, it interupts the calls.. So i must be the frequencies of the working 3g network in mine home town ? Then how i don't get 4g ? Why other ppl with the same phone, and same network have 3g when put next to mine ? NO one knows...

Same Issue
i am having the same issue, just having "E" Edge and cannot connect to 3G/4G, done everything to resolve the issue, took apart the antenna part of my phone but all the connectors and wires are intact, did hard reset several times, tried different ROMS including stock ROMS, tried the *#*#4636#*#* selected all the Radios but no luck, used 2 different sim cards but no use, same damn "E" in the status bar, APNs are all in place, nothing is wrong with the settings so far, dont know wots da problem with this set.
Please help us.

Calling works sometimes, no network available most of the time

My original OnePlus One worked great in my area, my Moto E also get's signal all the time so this is not a network coverage issue. I have an OPO that will let me make calls perfectly with great clarity, and then a moment later will say it does cannot find a signal. If left on it will mostly have no signal but after a few power cycles boom there you go, full signal! I would think it was an antenna issue except when it does work I have full signal, not a weak signal like on my old S3 with antenna issues.
I am hoping this is just a modem issue that can be fixed by flashing the latest stock rom/modem but I am hoping I can get some input on the problem.
Thanks for your time!

earmuffs said:
My original OnePlus One worked great in my area, my Moto E also get's signal all the time so this is not a network coverage issue. I have an OPO that will let me make calls perfectly with great clarity, and then a moment later will say it does cannot find a signal. If left on it will mostly have no signal but after a few power cycles boom there you go, full signal! I would think it was an antenna issue except when it does work I have full signal, not a weak signal like on my old S3 with antenna issues.
I am hoping this is just a modem issue that can be fixed by flashing the latest stock rom/modem but I am hoping I can get some input on the problem.
Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you dropped the device? it could be hardware.....too. Have you tried different modems or not? If not that would be a start. (https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/firmware-modem-oneplus-one-t3462214). If the modems dont help then here what i would check...only if you confident.
Open the OPO and make sure the screws have not come lose as sometimes that can cause issues with signal.
Recently i has something similar but no as bad as you, i ended up replacing the, Speaker Antenna module, microphone flex. you could also replace the coax- i was suppose to be but the one i got sent was too long so i had to stick with the original one.
This is what they ebay guy sent me before i replaced the parts:
first thing to replace is the Coaxial cable (which carry's signal), check both coaxial sockets and the ports on the board it connects to
-Second (like you said) Mic Flex, although it is a tough call between the lower speaker unit and the mic flex as they are equally as likley to be at fault)
the speaker unit contains the GSM Antenna, the Mic flex simply takes the Signal to the main board from the speaker Module.
both would be Ideal unless you have time. speaker unit is relatively cheap.
finally check for any lose connections or wear to any of the Gold inside the phone where it makes a connection, using some wet and dry sandpaper rub the Gold plates Very very lightly to reveal a shinny Gold, some on the mic flex, some on the speaker unit, some on the other flex's,
and finally tighten all screws properly, often the screws can work their way out, pulling the connections away from each other.
I would suggest check the connection and wear to the gold as mentioned if u dont want to replace the parts. I found that the coax on mine has been disconnected on one end so i fixed this but it didnt help hence i ended up replacing the parts.

Service was spotty for me too.. I would have LTE and then the next second EDGE or no service at all. I eventually had to fastboot flash CyanogenOS 13 (latest stock for our device) and start over but it fixed my problem. I have not had a problem since.