Cellular strength and throughput - Google Pixel 2 XL Real Life Review

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the Google Pixel 2 XL's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

Once device starts shipping and users can test, I'm curious to know if the cellular connectivity issue experienced on pixel xl has been solved on pixel 2 xl or not.

Plus one to this. My only real gripe with the current pixel XL. Hopefully the modem or antenna is stronger in the 2.

Any updates from people that have their device? Specifically looking to see if there is a signal strength improvement from the original xl?

After using this for a day I have some areas that I go through that were very weak with signal and I have Verizon. I just came from my LG G5 that would barely hold up going through these weak areas the pixel XL 2 is much better at holding a signal. I've noticed that where I have one bar with my LG G5 I have two bars with the pixel 2 XL. And in areas where I was losing signal and dropping my call with my G5 it holds onto my call and does not drop my call at all through these weak areas.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Sounds promising. Hoping the Pixel 2 improves the Google Fi experience.

Looks to be about the same as my 6P and LG G6, getting around 35 down and 10 up at my office. Hardly a scientific answer but it's what I got

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Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Compared to my Nexus 6 which had pretty good RF performance my Pixel 2 XL is ~2-3 dBm lower on LTE, ~6 dBm lower on wifi.

Not bad

Typical for me in downtown Chicago

I'd say cell throughput on lte is pretty good!

Cell speed and Los Angeles is very good, using T-Mobile, but sometimes it will waste time on B12, which you can disable with a non-SE kernel. That will free up B12 off your 3x CA limit.
Averaging about 80-120Mbps around my neighborhood.
Edit: Tested over 140 yesterday.

Not good
This is my second one the Google tec talked me into it got it in the mail today. I gotta say the second one was worse Tha the first I'm in a poor signal area and I got limited text and phone but next to no internet. My Moto phones knock the socks off of it. Even my old Nexus 6. I'm on Verizon.

wooddale said:
This is my second one the Google tec talked me into it got it in the mail today. I gotta say the second one was worse Tha the first I'm in a poor signal area and I got limited text and phone but next to no internet. My Moto phones knock the socks off of it. Even my old Nexus 6. I'm on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i havent had any issues at all...i use all four carriers...

160mbps! T mo.
Getting 60mbps on my 6p was alot.... Then.

How is it at getting a good cellular signal? My OG Pixel is the worst and I don't want to be fooled again.

I received my Pixel 2 XL in the UK earlier this week and I am finding it is quite often losing it's HSDPA connection and falling back to Edge in areas where my trusty Nexus 5 was happily maintaining connection. They are both using the same SIM card on Virgin 3G (although I am waiting for them to switch me other to 4G in a couple of days) which runs off EE.
Anyone else experienced similar or know how to resolve.
Cheers
Baz

I get horrible signal -111 right under a Verizon tower.....yes I have Verizon lol

When you say right under do you mean right under or close, cause you can be to close.

Related

Man, LTE is really lackluster in my area compared with all these screenshots...

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Where are you guys getting your 60Mb/s tests? In Athens, LTE is worse than some people's HSPA+ speeds.
I never have better than 3 bars of service except while standing in the AT&T store and even on 4 bars my best speedtest was below 20 in either direction.
I'm kind of disappointed when I see all the ridiculous speedtest screenshots and this is what I get. lol
I get 58mbps in Tyson's Corner in the Northern VA, DC, MD area.
Im in Houston.. will Katy.. in my house I will typically see around low 20's down and 10's up.. Now if I travel closer to town.. will go up to high 30's low 40's.. in the House I only get 1 bar maybe 2..
Houston is a large city.. lots of "waves' all over the place..
I have never seen 50 down..
Quick note.. change your server's location to improve you ping and results..
I'm in Central San Diego area. I get around 55MB down and have seen as high as 64MB. Full bars of service.
At home in Southern San Diego, I get about 2 bars of LTE service and about 20MB to sometimes 30MB down.
n19htmare said:
I'm in Central San Diego area. I get around 55MB down and have seen as high as 64MB. Full bars of service.
At home in Southern San Diego, I get about 2 bars of LTE service and about 20MB to sometimes 30MB down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all the nice weather in Cali that does it...lol... Here in Houston we have so much humidity.. it slows the speeds down..
With 3 bars of LTE, I've gotten 60/13...
I wonder why some peoples speeds are so low.
Honestly you should still get a better internet "experience" with 4-5mb down on LTE than you do on HSPA+, much lower latency and overall more stable connection(for me at least). I'd take 5down on LTE over 8 down on HSPA+ any day.
Yea I almost never ever have more than 2-3 bars on lte. On the other hand Im always getting between 20-50 down and 15-20 up. Montreal Quebec. After these kind of speeds I honestly cant go back to 3g.
Sent from my dog sled
Even with 1 bar, -107dBm I'm getting 12Mbps down and 12Mbps up on average. With -70 I'm getting 50-60/15-20. Pings are surprisingly good. Overall feel is good too. Hspa is virtually useless for me when it has low signal whereas LTE works phenomenally under identical conditions.
I downloaded 2.8gb of data in 7 minutes and 35 seconds today.
I'm visiting a city that has LTE though as I only have HSPA where I live...
Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk
I can pull ~20-30 in downtown Chicago. I have noticed that sometimes it fails to connect on the first try though.
I'm in Oklahoma City and I haven't seen higher than 20. I've tested in many parts of the city and have never seen as high as most people get.
It hasn't launched officially here in the Bay Area, but I get between 20-25MPS down and 18 or so up with full bars.
days before the baltimore network was supposed to launch I was outside of the city and pulled 54d and 12u. I wish I was living in an LTE area as I only pull about 8-12d from h+. I had an atrix 2 that would pull 14+ on h+ consistantly. I feel like they throttle the h+ speeds because we have lte. Havent gotten my vivid on the right data plan yet to test anything out

What are your T-Mobile LTE Speeds with the Nexus 5?

Hey All,
Just moved from the N4 to N5, so this is my first time with LTE. My LTE seems to be a little slow however, pulling down only 6-15 Mbps. I was expecting to get 25 Mbps+ in Indianapolis. What ballpark speeds is everyone else getting on T-Mobile? Include your city.
I get 15-20 down with 1-2 bars of LTE. Not bad
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30-35mbps. The upstream varies a lot, 2-14mbps.
I'm near Notre Dame campus, northern Indiana.
25 up 8 down about 100 feet away from cell tower at my office.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Been getting between 20-35 up in Sacramento, Ca.
Buffalo, Ny Area
Im in Philadelphia.
I am getting speeds all over the board with mobile. Normally I get anywhere between 12 and 15-18 Mbps down and around 5 Mbps up. The up speeds are weird since I can frequently get 15 mbps up speeds.Other times the speed test will hit 20mbps up, choke a bit, then give me a .4 mbps upload speed. Something funny with this network....
I also have two speed tests that BURIED the speed needle and I got like 43 Mbps down and 10Mbps up. That only happened twice though.:crying:
Coming from Verizon with research telling me that T-mobile has the fastest LTE in Philadelphia makes me think this was a mistake. I ran a speed test on both phones LTE while I was doing my number port(Yay dual service), and my Verizon phone was destroying my Nexus on T-mobile. Buyers remorse there. Phone is fantastic though so I guess Ill deal with it.And my bill is half of what Verizon was charging so Im not going back.:good:
kcm117 said:
Hey All,
Just moved from the N4 to N5, so this is my first time with LTE. My LTE seems to be a little slow however, pulling down only 6-15 Mbps. I was expecting to get 25 Mbps+ in Indianapolis. What ballpark speeds is everyone else getting on T-Mobile? Include your city.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
curious, what kinda speed do you get these days? and in what region of the city did you test?
on my block, southern brooklyn, nyc.
Also buffalo ny area
rihc55 said:
curious, what kinda speed do you get these days? and in what region of the city did you test?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can test LTE speed after the 27th of this month . My data is currently being throttled due to going over my limit.

Low signal on AT&T. Why?

I am with AT&T. For the last three years I have used an Sony Xperia V on the AT&T network without problems. I have gotten great signal strength anywhere I go with the Xperia V. The GPS antenna gave out on it and I went looking for a new Xperia. I landed on the Z3 and order the international model (D6603). I got it and got a new AT&T Nano sims for it down at my local AT&T store and the phone worked right away. I downloaded the AT&T APN settings and got the data to work. The Z3 works and can make calls, text and it gets data service (only H+ though). I absolutely love my new Xperia Z3 (functionality wise). The only problem is that I have almost no signal.
Now, I know that there is good signal strength where I am at because I have used my Xperia V in this area for 3 years and I have always had full bars of signal in my area. My Z3 only gets 1 to 2 bars, and sometimes none. My wife has a Galaxy S4 (with AT&T) and gets full signal in out home. We were on the road yesterday and I was on the phone with my mother and the call dropped because of no signal. My phone had the little red X on the signal bar. I looked my wife's S4 phone to see if she had signal and she had full signal strength. For about 20 miles (in an area I know there is good signal) the Z3 could not pick up any signal at all, but my wife's S4 had full signal strength and was doing facebook the whole time.
I have done many searches about this and have found many other people that have the same problem on many different models of unlocked phones when it comes to at&t. I am just wondering if anyone has found a fix?
Okay. So I think I found the problem. The problem is with the 3G and 4G bands. I downloaded the LTE Discovery app and ran it on my Z3. Here is a screen shot.
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Then I took the sims card out of my wife's S4 and put it in my old Xperia V phone. Sure enough, just like always, it got full signal. So I ran the LTE discovery app on it. Here is the screen shot from the V.
So we can see that the reason the V is getting full signal is that it is operating on HSPA+ and the Z3 is operatiing on 4G LTE. Now I don't now why this is happening. Perhaps there is a 3G tower that is closer to me, or the 3G band travels farther then the 4G. I don't know anything about tower strength and technology. Anyone else have some ideas?

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the OnePlus 8T's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.
I am interested in buying the T-Mobile version of this phone, but the only thing holding me back are multiple reviews of poor cellular signal strength. First reported on Android Police, but also lots of 1 star reviews on the T-Mobile site for the OnePlus 8 5G, which I understand has similar design and antenna hardware. Can anyone comment on cell strength, especially when compared to prior phones? I would be coming from the Pixel 3xl
tama102 said:
First reported on Android Police, but also lots of 1 star reviews on the T-Mobile site for the OnePlus 8 5G, which I understand has similar design and antenna hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 8T has a vastly different design and way better reception. Check notebookcheck review.
Woah so I have the Oneplus 8T 5G TMO and so far I am indeed experiencing issues with 5G.
No calls can be made in a seemingly normal 5G connection at certain times.
dropping to 4gLTE manually may solve the issue however, this isn't always done automatically.
5G is buggy in my area with this phone currently.
I am having some wired network issue with OnePlus 8T. Here are my observations,
1. The issue is happening with my Jio 4G (Indian mobile service operator network)
2. This problem mainly happens with VoWiFi is active. Outgoing calls are fine, connects without any issue and no call quality issue either. However, 9/10 times when phone (Jio 4G SIM) is on a WiFi network & VoWiFi is active, any incoming call fails to come, caller gets to hear out of network message.
I have a second SIM Card, AirTel (India) and it too supports VoWiFi. It works absolutely fine, no issue.
3. Call Forwarding / Call Waiting service details fails with network error with Jio SIM, but working fine with AirTel.
On the surface, it seems like issue is with Jio SIM card / network but surprisingly it works fine when I insert the same SIM on another device.
I have logged a complain with Jio (service provider) regarding this. I am bit confused as is it the device or the SIM Card (network) to blame as same SIM card works fine in other device and other network (My Airtel) sim card is working fine on this device
Thanks.
The 5G connection has been cleaned up for me latest updates feel smooth and am excited to still unlock the bootloader and break free from T-Mobile's rendition of the rom.
Network performance under 4G is good, out of the box 8T supports fastest 4G standard & carrier aggregation. Internet speeds are excellent if or when network is upto the mark to offer it.
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Thanks
Lossing signal at random times without any visible explanation.
happens at least ten times a day.
OnePlus support was no help on the case
would strongly advise you not to buy this model.
hopefully will be fixed on newer models.
grandfathermagic said:
Lossing signal at random times without any visible explanation.
happens at least ten times a day.
OnePlus support was no help on the case
would strongly advise you not to buy this model.
hopefully will be fixed on newer models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would be helpful if you mention the location and carrier !!
Thanks.
tama102 said:
I am interested in buying the T-Mobile version of this phone, but the only thing holding me back are multiple reviews of poor cellular signal strength. First reported on Android Police, but also lots of 1 star reviews on the T-Mobile site for the OnePlus 8 5G, which I understand has similar design and antenna hardware. Can anyone comment on cell strength, especially when compared to prior phones? I would be coming from the Pixel 3xl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the question has nothing to do with this topic, however, I think this does not interfere in this topic.
Question: why would anyone want to voluntarily buy a T-Mobile version of a OnePlus device? Are there any positive aspects to this?
In my opinion, only disadvantages?
Is it cheaper?
T-Mobile have the OnePlus 8T+ for the same price, it is dust and water resistant. Being the only phone advantage. Also you can finance your phone, and trade in deals specific to T-Mobile. Also, out of warranty insurance coverage is you are up for that.
Been using this for a few days now and this is my favorite ROM out of the lot I've tried. Great battery, performance, and the customizations are fantastic. Appreciate it!
Tell The Bell
I get no cellular signal on my new 8T. Has anyone else had this problem? I am on Puretalk network and calls and messages work fine.

Question The radios are not bad but not great

The
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The above him is from the Pixel 7 pro and the below is from the S22U at the same place at the same time
Same. The image above is the pixel 7 pro and the image below is the S22U at the same place at the same time
I've found that my S22Ultra sux arse radio wise.
I disagree- what phone have you gotten more than 1.3 GBS with rock solid signal strength?
Supposedly, the pixel 7 pro has a better radio. I just ran this test on my pixel 6 pro, and got these results. Hopefully my p7p is better. But my radio in p6p is decent. I can't complain anyway.
New all time high for download speed
aaronc_98 said:
New all time high for download speedView attachment 5736577
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wowza!
So far I haven't had any complaints about the radio other than before I installed the first OTA and it was dropping every so many minutes.
mko000 said:
Wowza!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I must have been directly under the T-Mobile tower
I got this yesterday. Just switched to Mint Mobile (T-Mobile) with this phone. Previously on the Pixel 6 Pro with Tracfone (Verizon network) getting a little over 100 Mbps was a good day.
Reception on this phone with Mint Mobile (T-Mobile) has been much better than my Pixel 6 Pro with Tracfone (Verizon). Unfortunately, since I switched to Mint Mobile right when I got this phone, I can't make a valid comparison to my Pixel 6 Pro.
I seem to have the opposite experience. I came from a galaxy s21 ultra and had 5g coverage on multiple different bands and wavelengths in my area. Routinely can get 200 to 400 megabits per second. Now I'm down to 70 to 80 everywhere, my phone is constantly switching from LTE to 5G, and I'm having a lot of signal dropping where i never did before
joshtb86 said:
I seem to have the opposite experience. I came from a galaxy s21 ultra and had 5g coverage on multiple different bands and wavelengths in my area. Routinely can get 200 to 400 megabits per second. Now I'm down to 70 to 80 everywhere, my phone is constantly switching from LTE to 5G, and I'm having a lot of signal dropping where i never did before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And you took the day one OTA? Mine was being weird until I did that.
EtherealRemnant said:
And you took the day one OTA? Mine was being weird until I did that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup did the ota basically immediately so can't tell you what it was like before that
joshtb86 said:
Yup did the ota basically immediately so can't tell you what it was like before that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's unfortunate. Hopefully they release some modem fixes in November.
Lughnasadh said:
I got this yesterday. Just switched to Mint Mobile (T-Mobile) with this phone. Previously on the Pixel 6 Pro with Tracfone (Verizon network) getting a little over 100 Mbps was a good day.
Reception on this phone with Mint Mobile (T-Mobile) has been much better than my Pixel 6 Pro with Tracfone (Verizon). Unfortunately, since I switched to Mint Mobile right when I got this phone, I can't make a valid comparison to my Pixel 6 Pro.
View attachment 5736669
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Click to collapse
Nice. I changed to Fi from StraightTalk (which doesn't work on my 7P) and get 20 down and 1 up at work and 11 down and 2 up at work. I'm in the middle of Verizon territory in ND. Good thing I have wifi calling at both places.
I currently have the 6P and have bad reception. I would like to ditch this device and go to the 7P, but I am conflicted. I see several post about not so great reception and others have no issue at all. I get dropped calls and the (!) in the signal bar. Notifications come several minutes or longer to receive. I wonder if this is based on location. I am in an area where LTE and 5G are decent on any other device but the one I have. I would hate to make the move to the 7P and have the same problems.
My results are a mixed bag. On one hand, the reception on my P7P is better b/c I'm in fewer situations where I see (!) in my signal bar compared to my P6P. On the other hand, I'm consistently only getting LTE connection (I'm on Verizon) where I would get 5G speeds with my iPhone 13 Pro. That being said, when I'm on LTE, it seems to be fast enough but I don't know if this is good enough for me to keep this device.
phillymade said:
I currently have the 6P and have bad reception. I would like to ditch this device and go to the 7P, but I am conflicted. I see several post about not so great reception and others have no issue at all. I get dropped calls and the (!) in the signal bar. Notifications come several minutes or longer to receive. I wonder if this is based on location. I am in an area where LTE and 5G are decent on any other device but the one I have. I would hate to make the move to the 7P and have the same problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do as I am doing, get the phone. You have 15 days to send it back. Pretty sure mine is going back. It is better, but it is not acceptable.
TonikJDK said:
Do as I am doing, get the phone. You have 15 days to send it back. Pretty sure mine is going back. It is better, but it is not acceptable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's not acceptable, then I'm not going to bother. I love the pixel experience, but not the poor connection quality. I may just scoop up a Motorola for the time being
EtherealRemnant said:
Well that's unfortunate. Hopefully they release some modem fixes in November.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not trying to be negative, but those of us with the same issues on the 6 Pro said that when it came out. We are still waiting.
Think about it, be careful and keep an eye on your return window. I wish I had with my 6 Pro.
TonikJDK said:
Not trying to be negative, but those of us with the same issues on the 6 Pro said that when it came out. We are still waiting.
Think about it, be careful and keep an eye on your return window. I wish I had with my 6 Pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a different modem this time around, the 5300g. So far I've had zero issues with it after I took the first OTA. Also, no chance I'll return it because there's no acceptable alternative for me.

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