Too good wifi reception - General Questions and Answers

Hello, this is my first topic on this board about my first Chinese phone. I had various iphones and android, but always brand ones. Now I received the Chinese phone and I like it a lot, but there is one issue...
Wifi signal is too GOOD. It is annoying. Signal does not drop going out of my house or moving to the next flat with different router (I live in one flat and work in another flat) so the phone picks up relatively poor wi-fi signal from another flat and does not drop it for the new one, as it has too good of the reception.
1) I am just wondering, could this be a health and safety hazard? Presumable Chinese manufacturers don't give a damn about it, that is why popular brands have weaker reception.
2) Is it possible to adjust how strong the device reception of Wifi is and or how quickly it drops network for the better reception.?
The biggest problem is, it seems I am one of the few who has this kind of issue, as if I try to search for it, I only get results how to improve the reception, not how to reduce it...
Many thanks in advance.
Ram

Related

[Q] found a serious flaw with radio hardware and shipped ROM downloading consistency!

Hi all, please welcome me whom had bought the Optimus 3d just 2 days ago. I love this phone. Please do let me welcome you all to talk about a flaw, which I've found out right away with the new phone since 2 days ago! I've been with some others Android phones, so, I should say I've had good experience with Androids.
I realized that Optimus 3D has some kinda hardware Radio receiver flaw (I really don't know what should I really call it) similar to the famous iPhone 4 dilemma in the beginning. I found out that the "Radio receiver" is located somewhere at the bottom of the phone, where our hands most often holding the phone with. The hand will block out the signals and the signal bar will be reduced by a lot as much as to zero (if the signal strength itself is not strong in the 1st place!) Try find this yourself, have some experience by holding the phone at the bottom and let go and holding the phone and again let go, keep trying this you should see the signal strength that will drop and rise and drop and rise again. Or is this only my phone? But I've never experience this phenomenal with other Android phones!
Also, I don't know this has the directly link to the downloading issue or whenever browsing nets, the network data will drop very very often. I hardly got successful downloads from the market without few retries. Thank god at least at the moment I can temporarily fix it by turning off and on again with the data enabling shortcut in the pull down menu.
Please help me here and advice! Very much appreciated!
Since the famous iPhone 4 drama for a lot of phones these stories pop up once in a while. I know lots of people furiously believed the Samsung Galaxy S had the exact same problem but after a week or so nobody ever talked about it anymore.
I myself have absolutely no problem whatsoever with the signal, not even when I completely cover the entire phone with my hands leaving just a small spot to read the signal it never drops, not by one bar. I've never had a single download dropped with either 3G or wifi and I've downloaded my share of stuff from the market and other places.
I've tested this with my T-Mobile simcard (which has pretty horrible coverage here) and with my Vodafone simcard (which has great reception) and with both simcards the signal strength stays exactly the same according to the bars. Even when I go to the settings the dBm and asu values stay exactly the same, no matter how long and how bad I cover the phone.
So far you're the first and only person I've read about having these issues so I think it just could be an isolated incident, although that would be bad for you as that would mean you could have a defective phone
This problem is not something new and is not related with O3D.
All the phones have the same issue.
It is normal that if put your hand on the antenna the reception will drop.
The radio waves just work like this.
However the atenuation from your hand is most accentuated on higher frequencies like 2100Mhz.
On every phone even on the oldest phone with external antenna you will meet this phenomenon.
The difference between 4 bars and 1 bar is only around 10dBm which really isnt that massive a drop at all. Now that you've pointed this out i do see that the signal strength varies a little depending on how you hold the phone but its not enough to panic about i don't think. The iphone 4 problem was significantly greater in that the iss was that a user's hand would electeically short the mobile network antenna to the bluetooth and wifi antenna causing a total loss of signal. While 10dBm or so is a definite dip in signal strength, it's an acceptable level of attenuation and i dont see it causing any real world day to day network problems that you wouldn't experience with any other high end smartphone.
My workplace is in a giant tin hut of an industrial unit (read: faraday cage) and today while i had this phone there for the first time i saw no noticeable network coverage problems. The behaviour was as far as i can tell exactly tue same as my motorola milestone from which i upgraded.
Sent from my LG-P920 using XDA Premium App
As stated all phones can lose a bit of the reception when it's in your hand depending on how you hold it, the reason Iphone4 was such a big deal was that it was extremly sensitive when it came to left-handed people and they had a real problem with their antenna being totally blocked when holding the phone normally when speaking in it.
Later on media and uninformed people started fueling the flames as soon as they saw a bar drop when picking up the phone, radio waves are not magical rays or tachyons that can move though matter without interacting with it.
thanks for all the replies. Believe me or not, this is the 1st phone I realize this issue and it is so obvious, the bad news is, it is really bad for me that the antenna is located at the bottom, probably most others phones I've owned were at the top as a result i didn't got any problem before.
And another issue, I'm pretty stucked with the shipped rom now, really hope to see custom roms soon. I'm at the moment totally freak out with the inconsistent of data and the wifi, it keeps failing me, this really freak me off, what the hell is happening to me with this phone! I've never ever got any dropped data or wifi connections before. Arggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
I have no signal drop out no matter what hand positioning i use..
I'm in a very poor reception area. I do notice hand over phone a drop from 1 bar to none. Still not a red cross to indicate no signal but a drop of 1 bar all the same.
Just tested it.
Signal drops from 4 bars to 3 (1-2 in awkward positions) when hand-held. Not an real-life-usage impact though...
Thanks for all the test replies to support my findings. OK, now, I've realized that the hand holding issue has no direct impact to data drops. And the data drop is entirely due to the time issue which it does not lock down the data connection when swithcing data modes. And at the moment it can beasily over come to turn off with the data button in the pull down menu. I'm not sure though when in the situation when the signal strenght was so low, by holding with hands will give an direct effect of data drop or not. Will observe that

What's the reported signal strength of the One S compared to other phones?

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

Low signal and poor 4G speeds

As the title says, I've tried almost every provider in my City. The signal strength is aweful compared to other phones in the same vicinity. Even the 4G speeds are really slow.
I've compared the speed and signal strength using the same sim card on different phones...my Nexus 6 and OP5T.
I know you need to sacrifice something when you buy a budget product, but sacrificing on network quality is something that is unacceptable by any standard.
Agreed! Very poor network reception in Redmi note 5 pro
From bangalore, had no issues whatsoever (using airtel atm). Maybe it varies device to device? Which it shouldnt anyway... Hopefully its a software issue
mrcreativity said:
As the title says, I've tried almost every provider in my City. The signal strength is aweful compared to other phones in the same vicinity. Even the 4G speeds are really slow.
I've compared the speed and signal strength using the same sim card on different phones...my Nexus 6 and OP5T.
I know you need to sacrifice something when you buy a budget product, but sacrificing on network quality is something that is unacceptable by any standard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know whether this will help you or nor but I figured out following step and that certainly fixed my low 4g speed issue on my phone, I was getting no more than 200-300 kbps regardless of place or time. I searched a lot and came across many nonsense fixes but they plainly just don't work.
In APN settings remove all APNS and and make new one, name it whatever you want and in "APN" write "jionet" and save. Don't write or change any other settings.
Regarding network, I haven't noticed or experienced any issue.
I have the same -90 dbm at/near my bedroom with my Note 5 Pro and Moto X4 and it occasionally dips in and out but when in voice calls it is stable.
I assume some units are faulty cause mine isn't having these kinds of trouble. Maybe another software update should make the fix
mrcreativity said:
As the title says, I've tried almost every provider in my City. The signal strength is aweful compared to other phones in the same vicinity. Even the 4G speeds are really slow.
I've compared the speed and signal strength using the same sim card on different phones...my Nexus 6 and OP5T.
I know you need to sacrifice something when you buy a budget product, but sacrificing on network quality is something that is unacceptable by any standard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this issue also, i fixed the issue of the network speeds as i did the same types of tests. Phone reception in general might be improved using different baseband versions, modem files as they effect the internet speed your battery life and phone reception. This is a link to the post where i provided what i did for this.
There's lots of posts on the internet about it, and all sorts of suggestions just lucky i decided to try it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-5-pro/help/slow-4g-speeds-connectivity-issues-t3849804
Alister. said:
I had this issue also, i fixed the issue of the network speeds as i did the same types of tests. Phone reception in general might be improved using different baseband versions, modem files as they effect the internet speed your battery life and phone reception. This is a link to the post where i provided what i did for this.
There's lots of posts on the internet about it, and all sorts of suggestions just lucky i decided to try it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-5-pro/help/slow-4g-speeds-connectivity-issues-t3849804
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What should I or any customer jump through hoops for a basic function of a phone...which is making calls!!! There is always a price to pay and with cheap Chinese phones like Xiaomi.
OnePlus is a Chinese company too, and they have made compromises in areas that can be compromised as far as a phone is concerned. This obsession with having the fastest processor and phone at the cost of call and signal quality is beyond comprehension.
mrcreativity said:
What should I or any customer jump through hoops for a basic function of a phone...which is making calls!!! There is always a price to pay and with cheap Chinese phones like Xiaomi.
OnePlus is a Chinese company too, and they have made compromises in areas that can be compromised as far as a phone is concerned. This obsession with having the fastest processor and phone at the cost of call and signal quality is beyond comprehension.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No customer should have to jump through hoops, that's a choice. You buy it find it doesn't work to your expectations you sell it. Or you decide to do what i did and work around it all choice. Tho i do believe it's ridiculous situation all the same. There's not many other 18:9 phones with 636 and 4000mah dual sim phones for Australia that match what i want.
I did find this explanation of phones modems or the baseband. There the same thing control reception strength, 4G, 3G speed, battery drain.
With radio firmwares beware of upgrading them without having seen a test of the version on your network.
Sometimes new radio firmwares add features for some network providers that result in worse bandwidth, disconnections and other disagreement if you use them on another network. Network operators don't provide phones with such broken firmwares (they wait for the next version or just provide the same radio firmware forever) but if you install them yourself it's a risk you take.
Radio firmware is the modem, so companys like Samsung or phones sold from Carriers probably test the modem properly works for most networks, and doesn't update them constantly or makes sure they work. With Xiaomi there not in Australia so don't no if other Chinese phones from overseas end up working without network issues because they don't test it in Australia other Xiaomi phones have this issue also but not all do.
I did buy an Oppo Find 7 years ago and that had baseband, modem issues also i couldn't even get clear reception inside my house for a basic phone call something a 50 dollar phone would of done right, i had to go outside to talk, lots of people online had same issue no modem fixed it, i got rid of it in the end. Waste of money.
Just taking normal OTA updates from Xiaomi while using MIUI will update the modem, baseband radio firmware file, automatically for you on custom roms you do it yourself, if you see how that guy suggests not to update it as new ones can introduce problems, well with a company like xiaomi that isn't sticking with one modem that's tested and functional and constantly updating it. Good luck with that just seems these chinese companys aren't following a process other companies use. The modem is just software updates but it's like a driver so video card and graphics driver for example, so i don't think it's a hardware issue so much as a software problem.

cellular signal strength

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

Poor signal strength

Just received my Xperia 5 II. I'm enjoying it so far but unfortunately one of the most basic requirements is letting it down, 4G signal strength. I'm on Vodafone and using the SIM in my Mate20 Pro I can gain full bars. However using the same SIM in this phone I barely get one bar with the status showing around 105 - 115 dBm. Out of curiousity I switched to GSM using the test menu and it dropped to 85 dBm. Anyone experiencing similar?
Thanks.
Bugsy46 said:
Just received my Xperia 5 II. I'm enjoying it so far but unfortunately one of the most basic requirements is letting it down, 4G signal strength. I'm on Vodafone and using the SIM in my Mate20 Pro I can gain full bars. However using the same SIM in this phone I barely get one bar with the status showing around 105 - 115 dBm. Out of curiousity I switched to GSM using the test menu and it dropped to 85 dBm. Anyone experiencing similar?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!! I have the terminal for about 1 week. I have the same problem. I have Vodafone Spain. I think it is a software problem because I have compared with a Realme x2Pro and the indicator is very good, the values ​​are similar in Xperia. So I think it is an OS problem. Without any coverage bars, the phone makes calls without problems. They are not cut or similar.
That's good to hear thanks! Hopefully Sony can be made aware of this and provide a software update! As I type this it's sat between 0 and 1 bar
Do you have Vodafone ROM? Flashing an original Sony ROM may fix the problem. Can be?
It's pretty much out of the box and updated to the latest software. Interestingly my H+ speed is twice as fast as my 4G speed!
I've just logged in to create a thread about this problem, and I see that I'm not the only one experiencing it. It's really frustrating, my previous device (essential) in the same spot with the same sim card, can achieve 3(!) times faster download speed
Sent from my XQ-AS52 using Tapatalk
Same problem here with wifi and 3g (h).
Waiting fix for this issue..
I want to think that it is a software problem. Seeing that there are many people with the same problem, I do not think that all the devices are bad.
Unless the issue is due to hardware by design. They might've opted for a cheaper antenna system that doesn't get enough signal. In that case we're screwed.
I read quite a few posts regarding the X1ii having the same issue, that doesn't give me much hope! Thankfully I'm in the 14 day return period so I will keep an eye on this thread and also the signal when I'm in the car etc.
I am experiencing the exact same issues on 4G LTE here in canada. And I don't understand what's going on because apart from my home going outside and using data exclusively I'm getting full speeds 4G plus no problem. However certain times of the day primarily during the evening I do have hiccups where I have dropped connection and it takes a while for the phone to just do its thing and then get to have the internet back. With regard to the low signal yeah I'm getting full service my phone calls are working properly text messages are sending but I'm only getting one to two or even zero bars on 4G LTE.
This is all on my brand new Sony Xperia 5 mark ii. I'm hoping the update to Android 11 or a couple of security patches down the line or lifespan of this device will fix this issue. But I'm going to try not to concern myself with it as of yet because again the one place I thought I wouldn't be able to get anything which is my use of the phone outside in public I was able to get full if not better service than anything I did at home. And at home it's not that bad either it's just one point in time the signal will cut off and drop.
thepersona said:
I am experiencing the exact same issues on 4G LTE here in canada. And I don't understand what's going on because apart from my home going outside and using data exclusively I'm getting full speeds 4G plus no problem. However certain times of the day primarily during the evening I do have hiccups where I have dropped connection and it takes a while for the phone to just do its thing and then get to have the internet back. With regard to the low signal yeah I'm getting full service my phone calls are working properly text messages are sending but I'm only getting one to two or even zero bars on 4G LTE.
This is all on my brand new Sony Xperia 5 mark ii. I'm hoping the update to Android 11 or a couple of security patches down the line or lifespan of this device will fix this issue. But I'm going to try not to concern myself with it as of yet because again the one place I thought I wouldn't be able to get anything which is my use of the phone outside in public I was able to get full if not better service than anything I did at home. And at home it's not that bad either it's just one point in time the signal will cut off and drop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have said it. He receives calls correctly and works perfectly. So I think it is a software bug. It does not mark the coverage well. The values ​​are similar on other devices. At least in my case.
The speeds I tested personally have huge differences, so at least for me, there is a significant difference
Sent from my XQ-AS52 using Tapatalk
Befree197 said:
You have said it. He receives calls correctly and works perfectly. So I think it is a software bug. It does not mark the coverage well. The values ​​are similar on other devices. At least in my case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am really hoping that it's a software bug and nothing more. Hopefully it will get addressed. it was interesting going into my local Telus having neither of the representatives in store know what VOLTE was. I was baffled I figured people that work there would have an idea of the services involved or bundled with what they're offering LOL but I think I'm better off dealing with tech support hahaha
I was browsing the XP 5 M2 forums here with the intend to import this phone to India as it seemed an excellent buy. Now after seeing the poor signal issue, I have my concerns. However, you can try doing the following and report back
1. Check "mobile network standby" usage under the battery settings. If the signal actually is too low, this value should be in high percentages -maybe above 10% of the overall battery consumption.
2. Download and install GSAM/BBS battery monitor app and check the standby drain per hour on 4G/LTE, keeping the phone idle overnight or not use it for an hour during day time. Ideally it should be less than 1-1.5%/hr during the day on idle and overnight should be less than 1.0%/hr on LTE. If this is the case, its only the signal bars and a software issue. Avoid measuring on WIFI as the drain is usually much less on wifi anyways.
3. Download and install 'Network Cell Info" (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wilysis.cellinfolite) and check the actual strength with different phones at the same spot and same time. Cellphones do switch towers frequently even at the same spot. This app will give detailed info on the signal strength and towers (if your telco provides). It will also show where the towers are located approximately and you can compare phones on how they stack up in a similar setting.
4. Force 4g/LTE mode only under network preferences (if available). Check the dBm and ASU levels in this mode and see if it's any different from 5G/4G mode.
If the standby drain is low and the phone lasts a day or more on normal usage, then no need of worry, its the signal bars that are showing wrong. I'd like to hear back from you all as my purchase decision will be based on your feedback on standby drain.
Ah, finally the same issues as I am experiencing. I also have only one or sometimes zero bars. The people I call also tell me connection is bad. Sounds drop, we can't talk simultaneously and so on. Sometimes I can't even internet with wifi. I also hear people on the phone that sounds drop.
I don't feel comfortable about all the suggestions to enable or disable stuff in the default settings, set preferred network to only 4g or disables 5g;
1- I tried this but doesn't make a difference
2- This should work out of the box. I have several phones (samsung, Iphone, Oneplus) and none of these have these problems.
Sometimes I do have full bars, and the internet is very good. I noticed this yesterday. And once on the other side told me the quality was allright, but almost all the time the strength is zero to one bar and quality is really bad.
I also tried a new simcard, no difference. Vodafone also sent it to repaird and I got a complete boardswap, but no difference.
linom said:
I was browsing the XP 5 M2 forums here with the intend to import this phone to India as it seemed an excellent buy. Now after seeing the poor signal issue, I have my concerns. However, you can try doing the following and report back
1. Check "mobile network standby" usage under the battery settings. If the signal actually is too low, this value should be in high percentages -maybe above 10% of the overall battery consumption.
2. Download and install GSAM/BBS battery monitor app and check the standby drain per hour on 4G/LTE, keeping the phone idle overnight or not use it for an hour during day time. Ideally it should be less than 1-1.5%/hr during the day on idle and overnight should be less than 1.0%/hr on LTE. If this is the case, its only the signal bars and a software issue. Avoid measuring on WIFI as the drain is usually much less on wifi anyways.
3. Download and install 'Network Cell Info" (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wilysis.cellinfolite) and check the actual strength with different phones at the same spot and same time. Cellphones do switch towers frequently even at the same spot. This app will give detailed info on the signal strength and towers (if your telco provides). It will also show where the towers are located approximately and you can compare phones on how they stack up in a similar setting.
4. Force 4g/LTE mode only under network preferences (if available). Check the dBm and ASU levels in this mode and see if it's any different from 5G/4G mode.
If the standby drain is low and the phone lasts a day or more on normal usage, then no need of worry, its the signal bars that are showing wrong. I'd like to hear back from you all as my purchase decision will be based on your feedback on standby drain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are some stats
https://i.ibb.co/2SwYRRg/mobile-network-standby.png
https://i.ibb.co/5jmytx3/standby-drain.png
https://i.ibb.co/WpztLJN/signal-strength.png
https://i.ibb.co/hdDg6nL/network-cell-info-xperia.png
https://i.ibb.co/RSQwn3Z/network-cell-info-pocophone.jpg
It's really disappointing for a phone that costs around 900 euros to suck at the most important task that it has to do. Yesterday I was sitting with a friend of mine that has an OnePlus 6T. He had full bars and I was between 1 and 2 bars. I haven't seen full bars ANYWHERE. I don't know what is wrong, I hope it's a software bug or something, but I'm not optimistic about that
Sent from my XQ-AS52 using Tapatalk
to compare signal quality you have to download netmonster, bars are not good to make a comparison, however compared to my old mate 20 pro the signal quality is good despite sometimes i have 1 bar if you open netmonster you can see good value, no complain at all , btw i live in Rome.
But I experience also bad quality. WiFi and cellular. My Samsung, iPhone and OnePlus didn't have problems with my WiFi also it's was weak upstairs, but my Sony has sometimes no WiFi at all.
And when calling, not over WiFi, sounds is bad, is dropping a lot.
Looks like Sony can't handle a weak signal as good as other phones?

Categories

Resources