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[Q] Fuze bad reception tips? (Solved - HW issue fixed)

[Edit: See post # 7 for hardware fix that solved my problem]
I need help with improving calling reception on the used AT&T Fuze I bought for use on the TMobile USA network, specifically North-Eastern USA (NYC metro area).
I have SIM unlocked the phone (thanks to purchased unlocker from Olipro), I have flashed with several ROMs (starting with NRG's EnergyRom "photon" series), and I have tried various Radios and matching ril dlls. It surprises me just how bad reception is. In areas that my old T-Mobile Wing (a.k.a HTC Herald)gets almost full signal, the Fuze fluctuates from three "bars" down to none, with the signal being lost and reacquired constantly. I have tried "locking" the band to 850 and 1900 GSM (which is what Tmo USA uses) with little effect.
I'm at a lost. I have tried searching this forum, but several posts are related to AT&T network (understandably as it is an AT&T phone) and issues with TMobile UK reception (which is supposedly bad). For the most part, it looks like TMobile USA should have great reception in general in my area..... but I don't. I know my area has coverage by looking at other phones, just not my Fuze.
Can anyone from the NYC Metro area (mostly northern NY area) who has successfully connected the Fuze to Tmobile help me? What ROM and Radio combo worked best for you?
Plus, can anyone with experience tell me if it is possible that my phone has a hardware problem. Could there be something wrong with the antenna? How could I test this, and or fix this if it is hardware?
(Note: I am referring to regular GSM signal. I know that there is no 3G for me due to unsupported 1700 3G radio band.)
Thanks.
Nonpaq

Radios I have tried are:
Ralp 1.10.25.18
Ralp 1.14.25.35
BS 1.17.25.09
Quartz 1.11.25.01
X1 1.10.25.18
Each was tried with the default RIL in ROM and the version specific RIL (when available). All have been identical with poor GSM reception.
Has anyone been successful with using the FUZE on TMobile in northeastern US?
Another question: Does keeping a radio for longer period of time help improve the signal locking, as if the tower and phone need to "learn" about each other? I remember old non-smartphones used to have to have their list of available towers updated so that the phone could recognize newer, closer towers. I assume that this is no longer the case.
Plus: Fieldtest shows occasionally the GSM 850 band is used, but most of the time the band is listed as "PCS". Is that the GSM 1900 band? I believe that Tmobile mostly uses 1900 in this area as well as 850. Is it possible I am not seeing the 1900 band?
-nonpaq

I have the Fuze on T-mobile as well. I am in the SouthEast and have good luck with Radio 1.14.25.05. I've tried them all. This Radio I've used for almost 5 months now; good reception, good GPS, good batery. Try it, with matching rilphone ofcourse. good luck.

Well I loaded up Energy Titanium latest build (Nov 10) and had radio version 1.17.25.09 from before, and all of a sudden I was getting 3 to occasionally 4 "bars" in my home (previously I would get two "bars" max). It would occasionally drop and rescan for signal but not often. Outside had a solid lock on the signal.
I thought I finally found the perfect combo, but unfortunately when I got to work, indoors, 40 miles away from home, it was the same ol' story. Mostly no signal lock, with an occasional 1 bar signal.
Watching FieldTest data is interesting though. While scanning for signal, I can see the NCell info get data, which I understand are cell towers the phone "sees" but are not locked in. It fluctuates from 1 to 6 towers seen, down to none with the phone not moving. The receive strength reported for these towers varies from -106 dbm to -97 dbm, but does not lock on to the signal. (I occasionally get GPRS lock with zero bars). Can anyone explain this to me.
Plus, can any of these reception problems be related to using an AT&T phone on the T-Mobile system, preventing the towers from allowing a lock? I always thought that the SIM card's IMEI controlled access, but could tmobile somehow lock out unknown phone models?

tt1114 said:
I have the Fuze on T-mobile as well. I am in the SouthEast and have good luck with Radio 1.14.25.05. I've tried them all. This Radio I've used for almost 5 months now; good reception, good GPS, good battery. Try it, with matching rilphone ofcourse. good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed the Radio 1.14.25.05 and installed the matching RIL version and now I'm getting a lock of 1 "bar" where previously I did not. Fieldtest shows the same signal strengths as before for Neighboring Cell Towers [NCells] except now it is locking onto a signal of -105 dBm or better. (I even got 2 "bars" at -103 dBm ) According to the ARFCN field , it is now locking into the 1900 band (CNs in the 600s) where previously it would only lock into the 850 band (CNs in the 100s).
Looks good so far as I can actually get phone calls now!!! Thanks for the recommendation. (By the way... it looks like the signal gets better as time passes. By the time I finished this post, the phone is showing a steady 2 "bars").

My saga continues.....
My two bars at work were short lived. Signal is now back to 1 or no bars. I am going to experiment with some of the older radios.
Heres an interesting thing. I experimented with another persons AT&T SIM card and reception was great!! From the same location, AT&T gives "Full Signal" yet TMobile gives barely 1 bar and cannot hold onto the signal. Now I realize that the TMobile towers might be located further than the AT&T towers causing the difference in signal levels, but if not that, what else can cause one to be so much better than the other. (Keep in mind, my other TMobile phone, the HTC herald, gets great service, as does the other person's regular AT&T phone. So I know there is service here.)
I know the ROMs are not service specific, but are the radios optimized for particular services. Is there any radio that may be more generic, or optimized for the 850/1900 GSM band that TMobile USA uses?

I fixed my bad reception problems with my fuze on TMobile USA. It turns out that it was a hardware issue, the antenna was not making a good contact to the circuit board.
I opened my Fuze by removing the four screws under the back cover. Then use a flat plastic "stick" to separate the casing from the keyboard (careful, the back speaker is connected by a short wire from the circuit board to the back plate.) The GSM antenna is at the bottom (looks like black tape from the outside back). It connects to the circuit board by contact tabs that touch when the back plate is on. What I did was slightly lift these tab "fingers" so that they extended a little more. The theory is that when I reconnect the back plate they will press harder on the contacts on the other side.
After putting everything back together, I'm getting full service where previously I got only two bars.
If you have bad reception, and you are not afraid of voiding your warantee and cracking open your phone's case, you should try this simple fix. I recommend looking up the disassembly guide as there are several potential problems you need to be careful of. First, the back speaker wire can easily be broken. Second there is a main circuit board and a smaller daughter board which can separate. There are two connectors, a large one about the middle of the phone, and a small on on the side. Make sure both are connected (pressed together) before reassembling the phone case.
Let me know if this is useful for you. I can put together a step by step guide if you want. Just PM me.

where did you get the radio 1.14.25.05?
where can i find this radio with the matching RIL???
thank you im also having the same trouble with my htc fuze for t-mobile

External Antenna for LTE?

Looking to get better LTE signal in my house where I get 0-2 bars, signal is there but sketchy at times.
Has anyone tried the external antenna port on the bottom back of the phone? Will this adapter work?
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_external_antenna_adapters.html
Then add this antenna:
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_all_bands_8db_panel_indoor.html
Wilson electronics AWS LTE booster isn't offered till mid June according to their sales department. Looking for something to get me by till then.

What is your signal strength in dBm?
With those antennas, I believe they should work with the TB, but how well they will actually work is another question.

Where do I find dBm or what app?

Settings >> About Phone >> Network
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

Im seeing -92 to -99

wakestrong said:
Im seeing -92 to -99
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that isnt too bad dude. not bad enough that i would buy an antenna. but you if you want to then i prob wont be able to convince you otherwise.
as far as will it fit? yes
will it work? yes
how well will it work? prob not as well as it should
as a side note Verizons 4G is not in the AWS spectrum but rather in the 700Mhz Block for LTE and VZE operates voice and 1X at 850 and evdo 3G at 1900 (pcs)

its not your phone, LTE is just not as good as it should inside homes, i really dont know why so I wont be able to answer that. My signal strength is -75 and I still get spotty coverage at home, sometimes it could go hours without dropping and sometimes it will drop like crazy. It is kinda crazy but it is what it is.
I can go outside and go to work 3 miles away and walk to the next block and as long as I am outside it works great. I think its just my house, or something lol. I dont know I have given up on it.
Oh by the way the bars dont represent the signal strength of 4g, the techs told me that it is only the voice signal strength and the bars have nothing to do with 3g or 4g signal. That was confirmed from 3 different techs.

Well I guess I can relate it to knowing what it could be and not getting it all the time. A lot of the time its 1-3 mbps and then if I hold the phone upside down, touch the tv antenna and do a flip right before I hit the speed test button I get 7-13 mbps. Seriously though I noticed it does better in certain parts of the house which is why I thought a antenna might help?

ddarvish said:
that isnt too bad dude. not bad enough that i would buy an antenna. but you if you want to then i prob wont be able to convince you otherwise.
as far as will it fit? yes
will it work? yes
how well will it work? prob not as well as it should
as a side note Verizons 4G is not in the AWS spectrum but rather in the 700Mhz Block for LTE and VZE operates voice and 1X at 850 and evdo 3G at 1900 (pcs)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea my bad, Wilson electronics will release the AWS (T-Mobile 4G) first then the LTE will follow shortly after that AWS release.
http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/uploads/docs/Press Releases/4G_Signal_Boosters.pdf

nkd said:
its not your phone, LTE is just not as good as it should inside homes, i really dont know why so I wont be able to answer that. My signal strength is -75 and I still get spotty coverage at home, sometimes it could go hours without dropping and sometimes it will drop like crazy. It is kinda crazy but it is what it is.
I can go outside and go to work 3 miles away and walk to the next block and as long as I am outside it works great. I think its just my house, or something lol. I dont know I have given up on it.
Oh by the way the bars dont represent the signal strength of 4g, the techs told me that it is only the voice signal strength and the bars have nothing to do with 3g or 4g signal. That was confirmed from 3 different techs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. If I go a quater mile outside my house I can get full signal with 40mbps download speeds. I have been in other peoples houses and had a fast connection so I think it does have to do with where they are located. Anywhere in Plano its in the 20-40 mbps range. My friend said in Houston he received 55 mbps download speeds. Must be something with upgrading the towers and this new equipment, I just hope they get it figured out.
BTW- I have Clear Wimax and it is somewhat reliable but with full signal the latency and download speeds are lacking compared to LTE. I made a video showing this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCAdDurQDVQ

Ok,
So I have an adapter and an antenna, but my Samsung Charge has 4 ports. One L1R2, one L2, one R1, and an odd smaller sized one G.
Im assuming that the 3 normal ports are for its MIMO ability, but Im getting reduced signal not increased signal in each port.
Any thoughts?

I dont know if you purchased it or not yet but Verizon sells a device that increases the signal throughout your house without having to plug it into your phone. If you need a link just say but I would much rather that from the company I bought the phone than some off brand thing that may or may not work.
Plus the Verizon would would work with all Verizon phones in your house.

nkd said:
its not your phone, LTE is just not as good as it should inside homes, i really dont know why so I wont be able to answer that. My signal strength is -75 and I still get spotty coverage at home, sometimes it could go hours without dropping and sometimes it will drop like crazy. It is kinda crazy but it is what it is.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My indoor experience has been exactly the opposite. My office is smack in the middle of this concrete and steel WWII-era building
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and my phones have almost never shown 3G, including the TBolt.
Since 4G came on last Friday testing in Indy, I have seen consistent 4G signal. That is consistent with the lower frequency being better at penetrations. In fact, it prompted me to put the Internet Connection widget on my desktop so I could turn off data instead of watching a huge battery drain.
That said, at home in a 4G fringe area, the only way to get 4G in my house is to walk to the window facing the direction of the tower. And the signal strength holding to the glass is about 10dB higher than just a few feet back.

kierandill said:
My indoor experience has been exactly the opposite. My office is smack in the middle of this concrete and steel WWII-era building
and my phones have almost never shown 3G, including the TBolt.
Since 4G came on last Friday testing in Indy, I have seen consistent 4G signal. That is consistent with the lower frequency being better at penetrations. In fact, it prompted me to put the Internet Connection widget on my desktop so I could turn off data instead of watching a huge battery drain.
That said, at home in a 4G fringe area, the only way to get 4G in my house is to walk to the window facing the direction of the tower. And the signal strength holding to the glass is about 10dB higher than just a few feet back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hook a brother up with a job.. loookin to work for raytheon in LA.. lol

miketoasty said:
I dont know if you purchased it or not yet but Verizon sells a device that increases the signal throughout your house without having to plug it into your phone. If you need a link just say but I would much rather that from the company I bought the phone than some off brand thing that may or may not work.
Plus the Verizon would would work with all Verizon phones in your house.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah,
Im not looking so much to improve call quality as I am looking to get 4G on a fringe area. Overcast days we get 4G from the reflection of the clouds, so I figured if I put a yagi on it I should be able to get 4G on a normal day.
I tried the normal connector that VZW normally sells for aircards. It cause a loss of signal in every port. But I looked at my neighbors Thunderbolt and saw that it had the same little port that my phone has that is marked G.
I ordered a plug for it and we will see if I get any boost from there.

So any good advise on making an external antenna for the thunderbolt? Has it been confirmed that the rubber round hole under the kick stand is indeed an external use for LTE antenna?
I talked with 3gstore and they recommended the use of the Wilson Electronics 801865 4G Verizon LTE Cell Phone Booster 70dB Adjustable Gain In-Building Wireless 700 MHz LTE Smart Technology Signal Booster but then again, that cost $350+.... can a simple hookup connector be connected to the phone with an outside antenna?
Thanks for your time,
David

By any chance you got a friend with an LG Revolution?
That phone will tell you for your dbm for 1X,3G, AND 4G.

I drove a truck for 5 years. Wilson has been selling this crap in every truck stop in America for at least as long and I've seen a lot of people buy it. The stuff I've used (other people's stuff) really hasn't done anything that I can tell. To me, it seems like a massive marketing gimmick. The stuff that actually connects to a connector on the device might show promise, but I'm not a fan of some 6 foot coax cable hanging off of a delicate connector soldered right to my board. I'm not really sure how effective any LTE solution would be either, since the LTE specification calls for dual antennas.
Bottom line: I've pretty much everything I've ever seen come from Wilson Communications is over-priced gimmicks that lack any sort of verifiable functionality.

I agree with the other driver. Most of the antenna stuff sold is a gimmick. I have a Verizon extender in my house. It only works on call quality. I only have. 1 EV signal at home with the extender. And it does not improve that. so I know that won't help the 4G signal get any better. But the extender does at times interfere with other cell phone calls of my neighbors within range of it.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium

OK so i have heard what not to get but haven't heard what to get in order to increase my bars on the phone within the house.
David

Nexus 5 poor signal strength on Ting...

Hello,
I have been seeing horrible quality of network service in my area on Ting. I have a white 32GB Nexus 5. I work in a three story building that seems to turn my phone into Digital roaming/CDMA 1xRTT network only going outside I barely get 3G. I have mapped it out and see more service in the area where people on Sprint are getting 4G LTE in the area or WIMAX. I was wondering if anyone on Ting/Sprint has the same issue.
I do see 3G on my commute and downtown Sacramento, California where I should see 4G LTE I am barely getting 3G 2 to 3 bars. Most of my day at work in Folsom, California area is all 1xRTT 2G or Roaming when inside my office, and lower end 3G outside. I have two 3G/WIMAX towers next to my area at work in Folsom and I should be getting some 3G.
I went through the cell network code to enable band 26, and band 41 and changed priorities on the band from 1 to 0 and individually tested each band in my area. band 41 seems to be the best and the others are pretty bad. Band 41 gets me -100 dBm, 99asu, 950ms ping on CDMA 1xRTT.
I now have it back to all priority 1 (Bands: 25/26/41) Band 26 and 41 enabled. I have updated my Profile and PRL multiple times.
I am running 4.4.2 with Xposed Framework version 1.5, with Franco kernel r33. I did see Franco kernel r34 and will probably flash the update ASAP to see if it works any better. I am not using any power save settings for cell network quality. I am also using a Spiegen slim-armor case and tried to see if it was interfering with signal strength, it wasn't.
So my question comes down to has anybody known a fix for getting solid 3G in an area where I should be seeing some LTE and atleast full strength 3G. I am barely seeing 2G most of the time. I am just crossing my finger it isn't an antenna issue with the phone itself.
Any help, tips, or tricks would be greatly appreciated!!!

adramalech707 said:
Hello,
I have been seeing horrible quality of network service in my area on Ting. I have a white 32GB Nexus 5. I work in a three story building that seems to turn my phone into Digital roaming/CDMA 1xRTT network only going outside I barely get 3G. I have mapped it out and see more service in the area where people on Sprint are getting 4G LTE in the area or WIMAX. I was wondering if anyone on Ting/Sprint has the same issue.
I do see 3G on my commute and downtown Sacramento, California where I should see 4G LTE I am barely getting 3G 2 to 3 bars. Most of my day at work in Folsom, California area is all 1xRTT 2G or Roaming when inside my office, and lower end 3G outside. I have two 3G/WIMAX towers next to my area at work in Folsom and I should be getting some 3G.
I went through the cell network code to enable band 26, and band 41 and changed priorities on the band from 1 to 0 and individually tested each band in my area. band 41 seems to be the best and the others are pretty bad. Band 41 gets me -100 dBm, 99asu, 950ms ping on CDMA 1xRTT.
I now have it back to all priority 1 (Bands: 25/26/41) Band 26 and 41 enabled. I have updated my Profile and PRL multiple times.
I am running 4.4.2 with Xposed Framework version 1.5, with Franco kernel r33. I did see Franco kernel r34 and will probably flash the update ASAP to see if it works any better. I am not using any power save settings for cell network quality. I am also using a Spiegen slim-armor case and tried to see if it was interfering with signal strength, it wasn't.
So my question comes down to has anybody known a fix for getting solid 3G in an area where I should be seeing some LTE and atleast full strength 3G. I am barely seeing 2G most of the time. I am just crossing my finger it isn't an antenna issue with the phone itself.
Any help, tips, or tricks would be greatly appreciated!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to about phone and check your Baseband version, if your modem driver is older you may want to upgrade it. Or if it is newer, potentially a downgrade has shown better performance as well. All depends.
Read this thread thoroughly and make sure you do a backup before doing anything and see if this helps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2514095

adramalech707 said:
Hello,
I have been seeing horrible quality of network service in my area on Ting. I have a white 32GB Nexus 5. I work in a three story building that seems to turn my phone into Digital roaming/CDMA 1xRTT network only going outside I barely get 3G. I have mapped it out and see more service in the area where people on Sprint are getting 4G LTE in the area or WIMAX. I was wondering if anyone on Ting/Sprint has the same issue.
I do see 3G on my commute and downtown Sacramento, California where I should see 4G LTE I am barely getting 3G 2 to 3 bars. Most of my day at work in Folsom, California area is all 1xRTT 2G or Roaming when inside my office, and lower end 3G outside. I have two 3G/WIMAX towers next to my area at work in Folsom and I should be getting some 3G.
I went through the cell network code to enable band 26, and band 41 and changed priorities on the band from 1 to 0 and individually tested each band in my area. band 41 seems to be the best and the others are pretty bad. Band 41 gets me -100 dBm, 99asu, 950ms ping on CDMA 1xRTT.
I now have it back to all priority 1 (Bands: 25/26/41) Band 26 and 41 enabled. I have updated my Profile and PRL multiple times.
I am running 4.4.2 with Xposed Framework version 1.5, with Franco kernel r33. I did see Franco kernel r34 and will probably flash the update ASAP to see if it works any better. I am not using any power save settings for cell network quality. I am also using a Spiegen slim-armor case and tried to see if it was interfering with signal strength, it wasn't.
So my question comes down to has anybody known a fix for getting solid 3G in an area where I should be seeing some LTE and atleast full strength 3G. I am barely seeing 2G most of the time. I am just crossing my finger it isn't an antenna issue with the phone itself.
Any help, tips, or tricks would be greatly appreciated!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look for the modem thread (didn't see you post it so if you did, sorry), and try flashing the .15 radio. That seems to be the best. The stock 4.4.2 radio (.21 or .23 can't remember) sucks. I could be halfway between towers and drop to 3g and not get LTE at all. The .15 holds LTE as long as there is really an LTE signal just fine.

i just read that ting uses sprints network. that might be the issue there, as sprint isnt known to have great coverage nor great data speeds.

adramalech707 said:
Hello,
!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sacramento is entirely legacy lucent equipment. Basically **** sucks and won't get better anytime soon till they cluster launch the area. They won't fire up anything (3g / 800 mhz / 4G LTE) until they cluster launch. They can't cluster launch the area until all 200 or so sites are fully upgraded which is a ways off.
B41 is running of old Clearwire sites for now and should be mostly done by around may but you cannot connect to them unless you force LTE only mode and do the PRL update work around (i.e. PRL update every time you reboot the radio) and even then it leaves much to be desired.
So your option is to stick it out on the ****ty legacy network or find another provider that suits your needs. ATT is running 5 mhz on LTE 700 B, Tmobile has a 10x10 FDD-LTE network on AWS that is spotty as **** in around south sac area and drops to Edge when you go indoors which is probably a no go for you.
Probably the best option for you is an ATT MVNO considering your needs are inside a building.
-- Though if you do stick it out Sprint has quite an amazing portfolio in the Sacramento area with full access to eSMR 800 (5x5 mhz FDD-LTE band 26) + eSMR 800 1xAdvance, 20 mhz of PCS A-F + the 10mhz of PCS G (5x5mhz FDD-LTE Band 25) along with 55mhz of BRS (2500) + innumerable EBS (2600). Right now they're running B41 on EARFCN 40978 which is about 2630mhz or smack dab in the EBS block.
Tmobiles is here at 40mhz of AWS and ~30 mhz of PCS + the 700A later this year. They run 10x10 for FDD-LTE Band 4 and DC-HSPA+ on the other 20 mhz of AWS. They run a single PCS 5 mhz WCDMA 3G carrier and the rest of the PCS is GSM. Their 700A Band 12 will be limited to about 3x3mhz FDD-LTE when they deploy later.
ATT has quite a mishmash of spectrum. 12 mhz of 700B Band 17 (5x5 mhz FDD-LTE), 700D block Band 29 which is unpaired and unusable, the Cell 850 A block, 10mhz of AWS good for 5x5 FDD-LTE on Band 4, and 20 mhz of PCS A + D which is split for numerous WCDMA 3G + GSM carriers. So they're probably going to run AWS LTE and aggregate it with their 700B block LTE and then moving onto refarming PCS carriers later. IE -a nightmare.
Take your poison.

I'm not in your area, but Ting has been swell for me in Minnesota. Sprint's coverage map shows NO LTE in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & St. Paul, though it exists well to the west in rural MN. Imagine my surprise to get it at my home in Hopkins, at least 75 miles away from Sprint's nearest report of coverage. Phone service is unchanged from when I was a Sprint customer.

SomeTing wong
Sent from my Nexus 5

Yes som ting is wong
Firstly it looks like when you got your service you only provided them the ESN number which they can provide you 3G and 1X
however you need a sprint 4G lte sim to actually get LTE along with 3G and 1X ask ting about it.

question about cell radio signal

Hi guys recently I bought an unlocked g955u1 from best buy and am on Verizon. I've noticed that my cell signal has been reading a bit off despite doing the Verizon software update. My phone is almost always stuck on 3 bars lte according to lte discovery and the range of dBm will average -100 to as low as -108 which realistically should be 1-2 bars not 3. In the past the only time I've really saw inaccurate readings like this is when I've been on gsm carriers. It's not as much as a problem as more of an annoyance as everything works fine. My question is anybody know why it's reading so inaccurate?

The bars are more or less just approximate visualizations of the network strength anyway. It varies from carrier to carrier, as well as phone manufacturer. You're better off sticking with the dB display if you want a truly accurate reading. Imho.

I have a T-Mobile variant and have noticed the my DL and UL speeds are a lot faster than any of the phone I've had in the past. We live out from town and even on the Nexus 6 it shows 3 bars and on the S8+ I get all the bars and the DL speed on the other phones at my house are around 5Mbps and on the S8+ I get 17-20Mbps at the house now. In town it has gone up from 40Mbps to 55Mbps.

My ATT S8+ reception
While I agree that the dBm is what you should be looking at, I have noticed some funky things going on with my ATT S8+ in terms of reception. Using the same SIM card, placing the phone in the exact same place, my S6 Active has a signal strength of -124 dBm /asu 16/"In service" on LTE. The S8+ gets a signal strength of -113 dBm/asu of 0/"Out of service." To me this seems like the S8+ is actually getting better reception than the 6S Active but the phone is out of service. I also tried this same test in another location using a different cell tower. Same results, the S8+ gets better reception...but the phone does not perform as well. In location number 2 I have also notice the S8+ fish for better signal and switch from LTE to HSPA where the signal strength is -99 dBm but the asu is only 7.
Since I live in a area with weak cell coverage the S8+ is driving me nuts...I contacted ATT about it last night, will see what happens.

Also somewhat related:
I'm using a US Unlocked on T-Mobile, and I've noticed my signal dropping out in areas where I previously had great signal on my Pixel XL. My buddy (also on T-Mo) just got an LG G6 and had full signal when mine dropped out.
Anyone else notice a weak signal? If I flash the T-Mo firmware, will that improve my signal? Did I get a bad unit? I hope not as everything else is perfect, screen included.

i notice (with TMobile) that if i am in 4g lte, then move to area with only edge for a few mins, then back to the 4g lte area...my phone doesn't connect back to the best signal
only a reboot let's me reconnect to 4g lte

Question Cellular Signal Not as good as other phones? 4g LTE/5g T-mobile

I own two Samsung Galaxy a32 5G phones on T-Mobile. Prior to this I owned a pixel 3A, and also I own a LG Stylo 4. While using the Samsung GalaxyA32, one thing that I've noticed is that the signal pick up for the cellular service is not as good as the pixel or the LG Stylo 4. The pixel and the LG Stylo 4 utilize only the 4G LTE signal. This one obviously has the 4G LTE, and the 5G connection. What I'm noticing is that in places where there is low signal and able to make phone calls using the pixel 3A and also the LG Stylo 4 but I'm unable to do so with the Samsung Galaxy phone. Initially I thought it was just a problem maybe with the 5G, and the 5G switching over with to the 4G LTE, and during that network switch that could have led to drop calls. Therefore what I have done is change the mobile networks to only 4G LTE 3-g, 2G, connection. Even with that I am seeing that the pixel, and the LG Stylo for having a better connection with the 4G LTE and that of the Samsung Galaxy A 32. I do not believe it is a defective phone since I'm having the same issue with two of the phones. I've called T-Mobile before, and made sure that I have a latest SIM card, I've also done Network resets. And even Factory resets. I did not think that now was a time where different phones got better signals than others, like Nokia did back in the 90s. Is anyone else having a similar type of issue? I have been updating the software as it comes out as well. Otherwise its a good Free Phone....

The modem in the A32 is not that great. At my house I get around 6-10mbps over 5G while the recent OnePlus Nord N200 5G thats now free gets upwards of 40mbps which is on par with my other devices.

I also got this phone for free through T-Mobile by turning in my Moto Z2 and I am not so happy about... Sure it was 3 year old phone but at least it wasn't as cheap as this.
I'm not sure about mobile data being slower or worse than other 5G phones but It wouldn't surprise me at all.. The Wifi (chip?) they use I know for sure is cheap, as it doesn't work or connect with cameras I use for work remotely. It also disconnects from my home wifi or has poor range. My mom got the same phone with the trade in and same problems. I'm planning on selling it while it still has some value and going back to Motorola or even a google pixel.
I understand it being a budget phone but to cheap out one of the most important aspects of a phone is just bad.

I have both Oneplus N200 5G and Samsung A32 5G. Both on Tmobile and I have no issue with Samsung MTK chip, in fact, it out perform SD480 modem with 5G.
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There's a big difference between signal strength and data transfer speed.
You can have good signal strength but poor transfer speeds, but not vice versa.
Try clearing the system cache and a network reset.

This device built-in antenna or modem may not be the best for your T-Mobile LTE connections...

Tried again just now. Samsung a32 still get better result compare to oneplus n200.
Oh well..
Samsung is under a326usqu3auf7
Oneplus is under 11.0.1.5de18cb

All my A32's act the same in a rual area 5G unreliable etc etc data will stop working until airplane mode or disable 5G.. The OnePlus Nord N200, iPhone 12 Pro Max, OnePlus 8T,etc dont have that issue.
Also in some of your screenshots says XFINITY like you tested it over WiFi

hyelton said:
All my A32's act the same in a rual area 5G unreliable etc etc data will stop working until airplane mode or disable 5G.. The OnePlus Nord N200, iPhone 12 Pro Max, OnePlus 8T,etc dont have that issue.
Also in some of your screenshots says XFINITY like you tested it over WiFi
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LOL, you sound like I am providing fake testing. I am using N200 myself beause faster facial recognition. However, the fact remain that A32 is faster for me. Here is another shot while during the testing.
But, it is possible all depend on where user live? I am couple blocks away from T-mobile HQ in Bellevue WA.
BTW, I literally PM uninstall all t-mobile packages off both of my phones. why don't you do the speedtest between your N200 and A32 since you also have both, curious what is the different?

My issue is not just speed, its the point that the A32 will loose data randomly.
Example I put an A32 and N200 in the window facing my cloeset tower turn on hotspot let them sit there, within 30 min the A32 will drop the connection and or drop down to LTE while the N200 stays connected for days on end without issue. Granted I'm more rural but its the point the N200 holds on a consiant 30mbps while the A32 cant even maintain a connection. In city areas its fine.

hyelton said:
My issue is not just speed, its the point that the A32 will loose data randomly.
Example I put an A32 and N200 in the window facing my cloeset tower turn on hotspot let them sit there, within 30 min the A32 will drop the connection and or drop down to LTE while the N200 stays connected for days on end without issue. Granted I'm more rural but its the point the N200 holds on a consiant 30mbps while the A32 cant even maintain a connection. In city areas its fine.
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Click to collapse
i usb tether my a326u1 and it never drops, maybe you have a faulty one? maybe network depriorisation?

financeledger said:
i usb tether my a326u1 and it never drops, maybe you have a faulty one? maybe network depriorisation?
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Click to collapse
USB tether same thing. Cant be faulty all 4 of them do this... If it was network depriorsation that would affect the N200 and OnePlus 8T as well which it doesnt. Granted the A32 works great in populated areas where signal is good, but rual areas it fails while others are still fine.

You guys may want to Google what bands each phone is compatible with. That's likely what's going on here.

No big deal, but I must say I'm a little confused that people in this thread seem to be confusing cellular "speed" (Mbps) with cellular "signal strength" (dBm), at least that's what it appears to be when I skim this thread.
If people are equating them, then that's fine - I won't quibble (as they're somewhat tangentially related even as they're two completely different measurement units of different things altogether).
What caused me to open this thread was the title said "Cellular Signal" even as it doesn't discuss anything about cellular signal strength.
If it's only about speed tests, then maybe the title can be edited by the OP, but if it's really about cellular signal strength, there are a bunch of good free ad free gsf free apps which measure & report cellular signal strength (usually it's measured in decibels of varying types) in a moving graph (the graph is the important part as the numbers themselves can fluctuate wildly).
Cellular-Z by JerseyHo
LTE Discovery by Simply Advanced
Mobile Trace by RFAssurance
Signal Spy by Novvia

The signal strength is easy to view in settings...

blackhawk said:
The signal strength is easy to view in settings...
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Yes. Thank you for clarifying. I wasn't clear enough. I'm sorry.
This will get you instantaneous signal strength readings.
Android 11 Settings.
Tap About phone.
Tap Status information.
Tap SIM card status.
Scroll down to Signal strength.
This is your instantaneous signal strength in dBm & asu.
By way of additional useful signal strength functionality, most (if not all) of the free ad free apps I previously listed not only provide a moving real-time graph of that same instantaneous cellular signal strength in any of a number of measurements (e.g., RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ & SNR) but they also provide the unique tower ID (often down to the exact sector antenna) and the neighboring cells, along with frequency, band, EARFCN, etc.
I think some even estimate the location of the cellular tower on an OSM map (where even the unregistered homeowners' microcells are located on those maps - which aren't usually found on Internet databases).

no clue said:
LOL, you sound like I am providing fake testing. I am using N200 myself beause faster facial recognition. However, the fact remain that A32 is faster for me. Here is another shot while during the testing.
But, it is possible all depend on where user live? I am couple blocks away from T-mobile HQ in Bellevue WA.
BTW, I literally PM uninstall all t-mobile packages off both of my phones. why don't you do the speedtest between your N200 and A32 since you also have both, curious what is the different?
View attachment 5382925
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Just wanna say, it might be doing worse on one device vs the other because the tests are running at the same time so they're both fighting for the limited bandwidth. And whatever device starts first gets the lead and keeps it.

Latest patch (baseband A326WVLU6AUK2, November 1st 2021) sort of fixed the bad wifi signal. However, my 5g signal is still trash with this phone (I'm with Telus).
I just keep it on LTE and it works nicely.