Help Nexus One weak Radio?

[MartinS]

Slightly different from the reported 3G issue guys (but maybe related).

On my N1 I notice consistently that the signal drops when the phone is picked up, and specifically if my hand is wrapped around the bottom of the phone.

Whilst not a deal breaker, this can be annoying in weak signal areas when starting a text with only 2 or 3 bars of GPRS signal can result in no signal shortly after.

Also, has anyone noticed that if you send a text when you have no signal, it will not send once the signal has been picked back up? A small software glitch I think.

This happens slightly less with calls where the phone seems to maintain a signal when connected even if holding the phone naturally (near the base).

So, is it:

Weak radio?
Software glitch?
Poor design too install the antenna at the base of the phone?
All of the above!!?

Your thoughts please...

 

[smitty24]

I thought i read somewhere that the antenna was located at the bottom of the phone. Not a very good design if thats the case...but like you said, not a deal breaker as signal problems arent usually an issue for me.

 

[daffyduck]

This was the same problem with the
Hero - antenna at the bottom (to stop frying your brain I suppose).

My gut feel is that the radio is possibly a little weak or sub-optimal. Hopefully will be solved by an OTA update or Cyanogen mod.

 

[wmm]

I've taken to holding the phone with my thumb on one edge, my middle two fingers on the other edge, and my index finger near the camera pressing the earpiece to my ear. That feels quite natural and comfortable to me and leaves plenty of space between my hand and the antenna area at the bottom of the phone. Since I started doing that I get a couple of bars more signal strength and haven't dropped a call.

 

[Sunflower1970]

Also, has anyone noticed that if you send a text when you have no signal, it will not send once the signal has been picked back up? A small software glitch I think.

This happens with loading websites, too.

Slightly different from the reported 3G issue guys (but maybe related).

On my N1 I notice consistently that the signal drops when the phone is picked up, and specifically if my hand is wrapped around the bottom of the phone.

Whilst not a deal breaker, this can be annoying in weak signal areas when starting a text with only 2 or 3 bars of GPRS signal can result in no signal shortly after.

Yup. Same here. If you take the phone, hold it upside down, the bars will go up. Put your hand over the bottom (now the top) of the phone the bars will go down.

Put phone down, bars go up. Pick it up like to make a call, bars go down,

Over on the google forums, someone (goes by the name of "postpunk" said they talked to an Android service T-Mobile rep. And that rep said

"...who informed me that apparently the nexus one is not set up properly for 'assignment' to the t-mobile networks. this is because the phone, even if you've purchased it with a 2 yr contract, is actually set up to access 2 different networks here in the US. (at&t, t-mobile)"

He goes on to say the G1 had a similar issue and when Android was updated to 1.6 the 3G problems went away. So it really could be just a software problem...*crosses fingers*

Another poster, who goes by WorLord. He posted this link:
Apple, AT&T mum on iPhone 3G issues | Apple - CNET News

Seems the iPhone 3G had a similar problem. If you read the article, and switch out "iPhone" and add "Nexus One" in its place, and do the same with AT&T and T-Mobile, that article could be about the N1, almost verbatum.

 

[sooper_droid12]

I thought i read somewhere that the antenna was located at the bottom of the phone. Not a very good design if thats the case...but like you said, not a deal breaker as signal problems arent usually an issue for me.

Most antennae (if not all) are located at the bottom of phones because of the radiation they emanate. Keeping it "further" away from the ear/head, mitigates exposure. It's not bad design; it's necessary.

 

[mi_canuck]

Also, has anyone noticed that if you send a text when you have no signal, it will not send once the signal has been picked back up? A small software glitch I think.

Mine seemed to send the messages once signal picked back up... not sure it did it every time (sometimes I just manually resent just to get it out quickly)...

 

[MartinS]

Thanks for your response guys. I'd only seen people posting about the 3G issue and thought it was odd that this had maybe not come up.

By the way, I'm on O2 UK so not sure about the optimisation thing.

I'm sure in the future, an update will come out either from Google or as you say, Cyanogen - this as already mentioned made the Hero radio perform better. However I didn't see this problem with the Hero.