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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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Hello One-S users!
I recently got myself an unbranded One-S here in the Netherlands. I came from the LG 2x that I've had since the day it was available. Been experimenting a lot with different ROM's and BB, with different results across the board. Overall though the 2x has been a very nice phone to have and use, albeit not with the stock ROM's. Reception has been very good, probably the best of all the phones I've owned.
And now there's the new One-s... I've been using it for a few days so I won't go into details on battery life, user experience and all that stuff that needs a few days before making any useful conclusion. Except for reception!
I live in a particular area where there's very bad signal and only two towers in the whole area. The One-S seems to really struggle to get AND keep connection to the network. Actually, when used indoors (at home) it is impossible to get any signal at all, whereas the 2x and my girlfriends iPhone4 have no problems at all. Not great reception, with breakups during calls, but at least the work. The One-S doesn't. I've been seeing this behavior outdoors at other locations as well, around where I work I have had no reception issue's with the 2x, the One-S shows really spotty reception.
I'm on the latest OTA which is 1.78.401.2
What's your take on this, do you have any reception issue's?
involver said:
Hello One-S users!
I recently got myself an unbranded One-S here in the Netherlands. I came from the LG 2x that I've had since the day it was available. Been experimenting a lot with different ROM's and BB, with different results across the board. Overall though the 2x has been a very nice phone to have and use, albeit not with the stock ROM's. Reception has been very good, probably the best of all the phones I've owned.
And now there's the new One-s... I've been using it for a few days so I won't go into details on battery life, user experience and all that stuff that needs a few days before making any useful conclusion. Except for reception!
I live in a particular area where there's very bad signal and only two towers in the whole area. The One-S seems to really struggle to get AND keep connection to the network. Actually, when used indoors (at home) it is impossible to get any signal at all, whereas the 2x and my girlfriends iPhone4 have no problems at all. Not great reception, with breakups during calls, but at least the work. The One-S doesn't. I've been seeing this behavior outdoors at other locations as well, around where I work I have had no reception issue's with the 2x, the One-S shows really spotty reception.
I'm on the latest OTA which is 1.78.401.2
What's your take on this, do you have any reception issue's?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a T-mobile branded One S (Gradient Blue) and the reception was horrible, so glad I got myself another GS2 (t989)
I'm experiencing same issues of reception on an unbranded EU phone with 1.78. 1.53 was worst!
I tend to have signal but no data, I tend to have signal in the notification bar but no actual signal.
I have many issues which weren't here in my old desire!
MicroSIM was replaced twice with no real help - It's the phone to blame...
Poor reception
I also have same problem. I am in pakistan using Telenor and phone is Tmobile UK unlocked.
It may work to disallow some energy-saving settings(of the ril) in the build.prop, however it brings risk to do so:
You have to know how to tweak the file, and get ready to re-flash the ROM/RUU in case of half-brick caused by bad tweaks.
involver said:
Hello One-S users!
I recently got myself an unbranded One-S here in the Netherlands. I came from the LG 2x that I've had since the day it was available. Been experimenting a lot with different ROM's and BB, with different results across the board. Overall though the 2x has been a very nice phone to have and use, albeit not with the stock ROM's. Reception has been very good, probably the best of all the phones I've owned.
And now there's the new One-s... I've been using it for a few days so I won't go into details on battery life, user experience and all that stuff that needs a few days before making any useful conclusion. Except for reception!
I live in a particular area where there's very bad signal and only two towers in the whole area. The One-S seems to really struggle to get AND keep connection to the network. Actually, when used indoors (at home) it is impossible to get any signal at all, whereas the 2x and my girlfriends iPhone4 have no problems at all. Not great reception, with breakups during calls, but at least the work. The One-S doesn't. I've been seeing this behavior outdoors at other locations as well, around where I work I have had no reception issue's with the 2x, the One-S shows really spotty reception.
I'm on the latest OTA which is 1.78.401.2
What's your take on this, do you have any reception issue's?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks! It is a great phone. Reception has been flawless for me. I have a TMOUSA-branded One S.
the worst reception ever...
well I lied a bit - as most of the time I'm getting no reception at all;/
sometimes around 60-70% of the time with no signal (when I click the cell stats in battery meter) and often when picked out of the pocket the phone is showing NO SIGNAL warning for one second...
Unlocked HTC One S, UK version, ceramic black, bought beginning of April
I had this problem from the start, but was hard to prove to get a new phone replacement, as when it does have good reception when signal coverage is great - with 10MBit/s download 3G speed which was amazing compared to my Desire Z (max 4MBit on 3G). The problem is, signal reception fluctuates a lot to a point of loosing it...
Wifi is affected as well, for example after a fresh reboot the Wi-Fi is at full speed, but give it an hour of mobile usage and it is at half of its performance. Wi-Fi isn't that critical (although I do not have signal in my garden where my Desire Z or iPad doesnt have any problem with my home wifi!) but the weak radio is!
I wasn't scared so much as I thought an update will come, and it did, so I have updated radio to 0.16 (1.78 RUU) from 0.15 (1.53 RUU) in a hope things will improve, and they did for 1 day - then I realized it was a placebo effect what I'm seeing.
In network stats I am mostly on -97 to -107 db in signal strength with 0-5 ASU, and when I have -93db I can celebrate! (which is considered pretty weak on my other android phones)
Researching this problem led me to believe it might be a software bug as well, as it varies - when you're doing a phone call, signal strength is simply stronger, you're out of a sudden see more ASUs and are say on -92db. As long as you hang the call, you're at -101 db again, soon after you can loose the signal when you're in placed with weaker coverage (park, too many in London).
Then I have places where I am absolutely unable to make a call, and the other day I do have 2 bars there and I am able to call without a problem.
Then the other day I can try 10 times and no chance - no signal, immediately rejected from a call app, can't even call voicemail.
The top icon notification is 'mad' most of the time - showing full strength from time to time only to fall to 1 bar (or no bar) on 80% of the time.
I would welcome some idea how to prove this thing to a seller to get a replacement, but as I said, if One S sees 20+ more ASUs (city coverage is great), you don't notice this thing and it can work flawlessly.
My conclusion is that HTC One S has only problem when the signal coverage becomes weak and it can't properly get hold of it like other phones do (Samsung Galaxy S Plus, for example, is ten times zillion million better than this - having much stronger signal when covered with pillows closed in a stainless steel box ;-)
Should we start writing the serial numbers here so we can see which batch of HTC One S phones is bad?
P.S. The USA T-Mobile update 1.83 is promising some fix to signal fluctuation - I don't know it this would help european version, even if it would not fluctuate, it would still be weak.
P.P.S. Switching ON the 'best wifi performance' haven't made a single difference for me, neither for radio strength nor in wifi. The only difference was big hit on battery life.
I know exactly what you mean - had it the same!!!
Apparently there is a solution which is not hardware related:
There are network providers that doesn't support the signal fast dormancy as this phone tries to use. As a result, the phone disconnects from the service provider and tries to reconnect which takes several minutes.
In order to solve that until HTC will do it (if at all), you need to root your phone, get into build.prop file and then change the line ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=... to be ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=#.
This is thanks to jh787!
It seems to help me.
I'm in the Netherlands too, with an unbranded device and facing same troubles. Got my device lately with 1.78.401.2 preinstalled.
The reception is compared to my HTC Incredible S really bad.
I becomes irritated too by the FM Tuner recepetion. If you're moving on bccycle, car, train or bus the volume is getting up and down, up and down. And lot of areas I can't listen at all to the radio stations I could with the Incredible S
don't want to root just yet...
orenfl said:
I know exactly what you mean - had it the same!!!
Apparently there is a solution which is not hardware related:
There are network providers that doesn't support the signal fast dormancy as this phone tries to use. As a result, the phone disconnects from the service provider and tries to reconnect which takes several minutes.
In order to solve that until HTC will do it (if at all), you need to root your phone, get into build.prop file and then change the line ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=... to be ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=#.
This is thanks to jh787!
It seems to help me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, you probably mean the thread mentioned by jh787 at the bottom here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26923454
- it might fix the issue, the problem is I've tried 2 different mobile providers with same results and today I bought O2 PAYG microSIM to try the best (signal wise) London mobile provider to see if the fast dormancy is the problem. I don't want to root the phone yet as if it won't help the warranty is void. I'll report later.
- there's another tip in that thread
jh787 said:
also changing the following line to look as shown solved my no network issues when i was in areas of weak reception
ro.ril.disable.power.collapse = 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have root yet, but just checked /system/build.prop file using Solid Explorer and I have this value already properly set as others have mentioned (1.78) but the phone still has weaker signal when idle and stronger when having a phone call.
Code:
# For HSDPA low throughput
ro.ril.disable.power.collapse = 1
As I understand this should be '#' instead of 1
Code:
ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=1
comparing to jh787 build.prop I am no wiser, as he's still at older 1.53 OTA and seems like T-Mobile branded phone.
I'm already on 1.78, checked his 2 comments and also found that the power collapse is 1 already. The fast dormancy I did change to # and believe me, after 6 weeks of screaming on the phone to be a phone, other than a great looking mobile computer, I'm using it flawlessly as a phone too!
Root is reversible via RUU and for me needed until HTC will provide an update which will either disable the fast dormancy or enable a switch to control it...
Ive had 2 One S's since launch and both of them have had appalling signal issues, Im on Vodafone UK and believe its their network at fault.
But i see here a range of providers and still crappy signal. I was thinking of cancelling my Vodafone contract and taking out a new one with another provider, As i really like HTC..... But after reading this thread im having doubts !
Im beginning to think the safe option would be to leave HTC and Go back to Samsung, And try to get the S3 !
azzledazzle said:
Ive had 2 One S's since launch and both of them have had appalling signal issues, Im on Vodafone UK and believe its their network at fault.
But i see here a range of providers and still crappy signal. I was thinking of cancelling my Vodafone contract and taking out a new one with another provider, As i really like HTC..... But after reading this thread im having doubts !
Im beginning to think the safe option would be to leave HTC and Go back to Samsung, And try to get the S3 !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted already?
If so, try the build.prop change I mentioned before...
Im rooted, Ive ran every custom ROM, Ive flashed every radio, Ive done everything possible, Nothing works.
Ill give the build.prop edit a try later. not expecting much tho.
azzledazzle said:
Im rooted, Ive ran every custom ROM, Ive flashed every radio, Ive done everything possible, Nothing works.
Ill give the build.prop edit a try later. not expecting much tho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give it a try - it worth it!
For me it solved 6 weeks of frustration w/o one shrink visit
change the line ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=... to be ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=#.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So at the end i have .rule=1 do i change that 1 to a # or put the # after the 1 ?
azzledazzle said:
So at the end i have .rule=1 do i change that 1 to a # or put the # after the 1 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replace the 1 by #
azzledazzle said:
So at the end i have .rule=1 do i change that 1 to a # or put the # after the 1 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news?
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA
Hasnt made any difference
azzledazzle said:
Hasnt made any difference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? disappointing!!!
Then you probably got something else then - is the same carrier different phone have better than you on same locations?
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 2'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.
As a dual sim user I'm severely disappointed. If you're using a single sim the phone works fairly well. If you use dual sims whichever one is not set as the data sim will be lucky to receive calls and when you do it is garbled and unusable. This is my only issue with this phone.
WiFi or data seems like stopping transfers(delay or pause)
Phone becomes a bit warm when using cellular data not so on Wi-Fi. Nothing alarming though
This is going to be an area I will be paying close attention to, I spend a lot of time in remote areas so I will be keeping my old faithful s5 in my vehicle just in case it doesn't perform like I hope it will
I used to have an iPhone 6 and I am weekly in an area where I can only get one bar with LTE. With nothing going on I regularly stream movies/anime. I have since went from the iPhone to zenfone 2, I could get a signal but only 4g and barely. So I returned it and I've now had the OP2 for a few months and at first it will pick the(stronger but not faster) 4g connection but by manually changing to "LTE only" in the hidden menu I get the same connection as the iPhone. Just need to change it back when done or else no phone calls.
Overall it's satisfactory as I am able to do what I want to do, would just be nice not to go through the extra hoops to do so.
For a phone I was quite worried about it's doing well so far, usually in my living room I'm at 1 bar LTE signal, the OPT is sitting on 3 bars.
Will still need to see how it performs in remote areas.
If you use this phone outside major cities in Australia, you will definitely need to be on Telstra.
Can't get any mobile data what so ever with any network other than telstra, even in major regional towns.
Not really a surprising discovery, telstra are the only real choice outside the capital cities in Australia.
muqtaliff said:
Phone becomes a bit warm when using cellular data not so on Wi-Fi. Nothing alarming though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem I am facing same problem but difference in only it is heating up too much on Cellualr Data and Wifi both.
bad signal strength on oneplus 2
compared with my htc butterfly 2 and another low-end android, one plus 2 running latest Oxygen OS has serious connectivity issues. I compared the signals strength using same sim card in same location (including being connected to the same tower) and One Plus 2 keeps dropping the connection and has really poor signal strength. I have tried the *#*#4636#*#* and tried different network modes, but none of them are helping. Its a real disappointment that the basic feature of this phone is screwed up.
I have tried with CM13 as well. Any ideas if this is a modem version issue?
Phone probably due to metal frame have worse signal, for sure it has worse than my previous phone that already wasn't good on it.
Is there a work around to fix the poor network signal receiver of this phone? This is the great let down of oneplus 2.
Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
brainscollector said:
Phone probably due to metal frame have worse signal, for sure it has worse than my previous phone that already wasn't good on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oneplus one too has weak signal, though it has no metal frame. Something is seriously wrong with oneplus phone signal receiver! The company should fix this issue once and for all instead of rolling out one software after another which didn't resolve the problem at all.
Has anyone else in this forum come across problems with signal strength? There is a thread in the Moto forum where this has been discussed in greater detail. The general consensus seems to be that the Z4 shows a signal about 10 or more dB weaker than other phones, such as the Z2 force. I can confirm this from my own experience and I'm posting here in hopes that a developer might have an idea for a solution, assuming the problem is not simply a bad antenna design, but a matter of control settings for the radio. It is extremely annoying to be at a remote location and have someone with a Z2 sitting next to you being able to watch videos online, while you cannot get any connection with the Z4. Both phones are with the same carrier (T-mobile), but the signal strength issues have also been reported on the Verizon network, so it does not appear to be carrier related, but rather a phone issue.
Looking forward to any response.
I have the same issue. Signal strength is awful. I feel like I have 3G or no signal on a regular basis. All in places where 4G wasnt an issue before. Streaming music cuts out randomly on roads I've been driving for years.
Yes I have experienced this as well, unfortunately this i believe is the result of getting a mid-range SOC. From what I am seeing here the Z2 uses an 8 series SOC, which is a flagship SOC and the chip itself is better radio modulation for stronger signal strength. The mid-rang 6 series in the Z4 dose not have as good modulation and there for less powerful signal strength compared to the 8 series chips. Our only hope is to cross our fingers for a firmware update to improve this a little bit, other wise we are stuck with what we have.
At least that is what I am reading when I look at this chart here > https://www.qualcomm.com/products/mobile-processors
I do not believe that the quality of the received signal depends in any significant way on whether the Z4 uses a flagship, or a mid-range SOC. The data throughput will be better on the flagship chip (at least in theory, depending on real-life available bandwidth), but the sending/receiving part of the radio should perform in the same ballpark, as far as the signal quality is concerned. Otherwise, the usability of all mid-range phones with that chip set would be affected (and budget phones would probably be useless).
I have done some extensive testing, at different times of the day, different weather conditions, different locations. I have tested both signal strength , and data speed, both downstream, and upstream.
In a nutshell, at a distance of about 3500 feet from the tower I'm logged into, I consistently get weak LTE signals, between -105dB and -110dB best case, but wildly fluctuating, to the point that the phone can barely hang on to the connection. At exactly the same conditions, I get good 3G HSPA+ connections at -87db to -89dB signal strength, and fairly stable. Although LTE should be considerably faster, the downstream and upstream speeds I get with HSPA+ are in the same range, or sometimes even slightly better, which comes as no surprise, as the phone struggles to keep the LTE connection.
As to the reason for this behavior, I still suspect that the antenna design has to do with the poor reception. I will try to narrow this down further, if I can.
Long story short, I still hope that there is a way to program the radio differently, such that it works with a higher gain (making up for the antenna?), better maintaining LTE connections. For the time being, I will continue to switch between LTE and 3G, depending on location. That way, I can at least maintain a connection. However, I do not consider that a solution, just a crutch.
I've had to go back to the Z3 for better cell reception.
I love my Moto Z4 (XT1980-3 amz), but I don't think the coverage or strength is the best - I feel like I get no coverage more often than my previous phones, a Google Pixel and a LG G4 (H815-TW).
Really the only times I have problems with reception, is when I am on a train - going through a cutaway, entering the city loop, or is absolutely packed (as well as half the trip on country trains). These are slightly more common since I have been on the Moto Z4, (Doesn't happen as often now I am with Telstra though, but never had Telstra on my Pixel or G4).
Coverage in Melbourne with the Moto Z4 is generally great, and same with around towns in West Gippsland (Country Areas), which you would expect as I am not with Vodafone.
I am now on Telstra, but until last week was on Optus - in Melbourne, Australia
Hello, i finally bought a ROG Phone ZS673KS WW from a big electronic store franchise in my country, and the phone is working like a charm, but since the first moments i booted it up, i noticed that the 4G connection works really slow.
I did some tests in places I know for sure that got good band coverage (like at home and at my workplace) using the ROG Phone, my latest phone (a OnePlus 6) and another old smartphone i had laying around at home, and i saw that all the smartphones connect to the same band, and get the same coverage, but the ROG Phone get the download speed decimated for whatever reason (literally, it gets barely 10mbps while the other 2 phones get 100-120mbps).
Online i couldn't find any solution about that beside the suggestion to try and swap the SIM slot, but that didn't help, same results.
What can I do to solve that deal breaking problem?
Thanks in advance for the help, have a nice weekend everyone!!
SottoSopra666 said:
Hello, i finally bought a ROG Phone ZS673KS WW from a big electronic store franchise in my country, and the phone is working like a charm, but since the first moments i booted it up, i noticed that the 4G connection works really slow.
I did some tests in places I know for sure that got good band coverage (like at home and at my workplace) using the ROG Phone, my latest phone (a OnePlus 6) and another old smartphone i had laying around at home, and i saw that all the smartphones connect to the same band, and get the same coverage, but the ROG Phone get the download speed decimated for whatever reason (literally, it gets barely 10mbps while the other 2 phones get 100-120mbps).
Online i couldn't find any solution about that beside the suggestion to try and swap the SIM slot, but that didn't help, same results.
What can I do to solve that deal breaking problem?
Thanks in advance for the help, have a nice weekend everyone!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you installed the Sim card, then turn off the phone for 1 minute then turn it back on?
Trash.umu said:
Have you installed the Sim card, then turn off the phone for 1 minute then turn it back on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, tried also that with no results
SottoSopra666 said:
Yeah, tried also that with no results
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Click to collapse
what happens if you turn off 5G? Unless 5g is already disabled.
I'll look at more info on the hardware specs for the different phones you have. I am not sure if they cheaped out on the antenna or not for the ROG 5 phone or not.
I know if you cover the antenna it messes up the signal.
It could also be the mode you phone is on. If your phone is set to save battery, it might not be using as much power through the antenna. Try messing with the setting and checking to see if any setting or hand placements actually affect the signal strength and data capability of your phone.
I did some test and I think it has to do with how the phone determines which data connection to use, so it is most likely a software issue rather than a hardware one. It does not use the actual fastest connection but rather it uses the highest level of connection.
Ex. If 5g is available even though it is slower, it will choose to run on 5g. If 4g is the highest connection you have, it will attempt to run on 4g. I ran my phone on 3/ 2G and had faster connections than with 4g or 5g.
It could also be based on signal strength rather than signal level. That being said, if the 4g or 5g connection is over crowded by users, using 3g/2g will be faster and more reliable than using 4g or 5g, but due to the signal strength being so high makes the phone chose the slower 4g/5g connection.
Since the volume of phones they create aren't as large as many other companies, I have a feeling they did not put much effort into this area of the phones software as other, more commonly used brands have.
Trash.umu said:
I did some test and I think it has to do with how the phone determines which data connection to use, so it is most likely a software issue rather than a hardware one. It does not use the actual fastest connection but rather it uses the highest level of connection.
Ex. If 5g is available even though it is slower, it will choose to run on 5g. If 4g is the highest connection you have, it will attempt to run on 4g. I ran my phone on 3/ 2G and had faster connections than with 4g or 5g.
It could also be based on signal strength rather than signal level. That being said, if the 4g or 5g connection is over crowded by users, using 3g/2g will be faster and more reliable than using 4g or 5g, but due to the signal strength being so high makes the phone chose the slower 4g/5g connection.
Since the volume of phones they create aren't as large as many other companies, I have a feeling they did not put much effort into this area of the phones software as other, more commonly used brands have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, tried disabling 5G (since where I live 5G doesn't exist yet) and that didn't change anything. Mmmmh if it's a software problem, sounds like something that could be potentially solved, but how this, if i tested it, and different phones connect to the same 4G band, and give a different result?
SottoSopra666 said:
Yeah, tried disabling 5G (since where I live 5G doesn't exist yet) and that didn't change anything. Mmmmh if it's a software problem, sounds like something that could be potentially solved, but how this, if i tested it, and different phones connect to the same 4G band, and give a different result?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume that using a different phone using the same band and service indicates that either the antenna or the software is the issue.
It could be either the antenna or the software and I don't know a solution for either. It is possible if they did tune the software, they could potentially increase power to the antenna and increase it's output power at the cost of battery. I tried testing having my body close and far from the phone and it look like there wasn't much of a difference in signal strength.