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call reception on Incredible

gajenn108

Newbie
Apr 24, 2010
15
0
I've read a few reviews that've mentioned the reception,ie bars,is lower than most other Verizon phones..everyone is raving over the bells and whistles but if the phone sux as a "phone" the rest of it is kinda useless..anyone get this early and live in a marginal coverage area that can give us some feedback please...I've been wanting this phone for months,but if call coverage is weak I'll have to wait for the next "greatest"....
 
Reviews have actually said 2 different things:
-Less bars of reception
-Great call quality

I've yet to read anything that says they have actual problems with call quality, just that the phone displays fewer bars of reception. The Incredible does very well as a phone, from what's been gathered so far. The issue of bars is intriguing.
 
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I've heard its not just the number of bars but real reception issues. the reviewer at droiddog.com said both he and the other tester there noticed it had less reception than most other verizon phones. That could either be a software fixable problem,or if its the internal antenna itself then I'd have to wait for the next "greatest"
 
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I've heard its not just the number of bars but real reception issues. the reviewer at droiddog.com said both he and the other tester there noticed it had less reception than most other verizon phones. That could either be a software fixable problem,or if its the internal antenna itself then I'd have to wait for the next "greatest"

got a link? I just read through their entire review and it didn't mention anything about call quality.
 
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I've read this also in one or two reviews, and initially it had me worried but then I realized bars are not really a good indicator as another poster pointed out. I live in a pretty rural area and the fact is smartphones usually don't connect to voice networks as well as basic phones (at least in my experience). I suppose you can always return the phone after trying it out for a couple of weeks if this is a real problem.

One thing that is weird is in a lot of places where I live the 3G signal is much better than the voice signal... I may just have to get Skype as a backup calling method.
 
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Imo the issue was the number of bars being displayed is probably due to the os being 2.1. When i rooted my eris and was running 2.1 it showed 1 less bar even though the signal strength was exactly the same. I use my phone sitting in my living room chair alot and it was the first thing i noticed, but once i checked the db number in the settings it said it was the same as before. So i'm not too worried about it. It'll just display 1 less bar than os 1.5 for example but maybe it was 1.5 that had it wrong and not the 2.1 version of the os.
 
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Imo the issue was the number of bars being displayed is probably due to the os being 2.1. When i rooted my eris and was running 2.1 it showed 1 less bar even though the signal strength was exactly the same. I use my phone sitting in my living room chair alot and it was the first thing i noticed, but once i checked the db number in the settings it said it was the same as before. So i'm not too worried about it. It'll just display 1 less bar than os 1.5 for example but maybe it was 1.5 that had it wrong and not the 2.1 version of the os.
I agree with this, after updating to rooted 2.1 on eris I also "lost" bars of signal. Dbm has remained the same or higher and while checking dbm while driving(as a passenger), the bars do not reflect accurately what the dbm signal really is. It was showing -66 as 1-2 bars and then would change to -96 and still show 1-2 bars. It would show 2-3 as it bounced between these two numbers and never update the bars as the dbm changed. I think its a flaw in Android and not the antenna or signal. Call quality has always been consistantly great with 1 bar or the occasional 4 bars.:D
 
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I've read this also in one or two reviews, and initially it had me worried but then I realized bars are not really a good indicator as another poster pointed out. I live in a pretty rural area and the fact is smartphones usually don't connect to voice networks as well as basic phones (at least in my experience). I suppose you can always return the phone after trying it out for a couple of weeks if this is a real problem.

One thing that is weird is in a lot of places where I live the 3G signal is much better than the voice signal... I may just have to get Skype as a backup calling method.

First off, I'm sure quality is great in most areas. Second, I'm sure reception is dependent on your area (urban/rural).

My first smart phone was the iPhone and I was using it on the T-Mobile network in a rural area. My friend has the Google G1 and would have reception (full bars) at times when my phone had "No Service" and my phone would not even make calls while his was fine. The iPhone had terrible reception. Is this similar with all smartphones antennas?

What actually causes less reception/quality in a smart phone? It just seems counter intuitive that a more sophisticated phone would have less service than a Wal-Mart special...
 
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Actually it makes perfect sense a device with tons of capabilities would have a lower signal than a dumb phone. They have to cram so much more stuff into a smart phone vs a dumb phone. In a dumb phone theres lots of space. Its like comparing the engine compartment of a pickup truck to a sports car. In a sports car theres not enough room for a wrench between the engine parts. In a pickup truck i can literally fit into the engine compartment and do jumping jacks inside of it ;)
 
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Exactly. We have a ranch where cell reception is spotty. Some of my family members can make a call in one area, while I have to drive 1/2 mile to make a call on my EnV Touch.

The weird thing is, I have full bars in that one area where I cannot complete a call. I have no facts to back this up, but I've always believed that a smart phone has to allocate power between many different tasks, while a dumb phone just focuses on calls. If this were the case, my Touch would simply have difficulty focusing enough power to say reach a distant tower, even with full bars... while a dumb phone may be able to just fine.

All phones are on Verizon BTW.

Edit: Smart phone or multimedia phone. The EnV Touch is my no means a smart phone and I am glad these are my last few days with it.
 
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With full bars you shouldn't have any problems no matter where you are. I'm thinking there something wrong with the phone.

It happened with the EnV Touch as well as with its predecessor, the Voyager. This was pretty mountainous terrain so perhaps it couldn't triangulate between multiple towers... who knows. And yes, I constantly used the *228 feature, so that wasn't it.

I'll try it with the Incredible next time I am up there, but I've come to the conclusion it is simply a sacrifice for having an advanced phone.
 
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Several Palm phones, concluding with the Treo 755P, were able to get a stong signal in my rural area and make and receive calls with no problems.

My Eris has weak reception, drops and misses calls and is generally a useless phone here. In more urban areas it works fine - but that is not where I usually am.

I am crossing all my fingers that either the long awaited 2.x update for the Eris finally comes through and helps with this, or a new Android phone will prove to have a decent signal for me! I love the Android platform, but I sure would like to have a working phone for my area! :(
 
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With full bars you shouldn't have any problems no matter where you are. I'm thinking there something wrong with the phone.

I am not sure that is ~always~ the case. A friend of mine with an iPhone told me that he has full bars all the time, and also drops calls all the time (with full bars). Probably because the network is overloaded - still have a great signal, just no room for your call. I realize we're talking apples and oranges, with Incredible/iPhone, Verizon/ATT, but maybe there is a parallel.
 
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People are idiots. The signal probably shows 1x strength for phone calls... the device doesnt really show 3g strength...only lights up during use andshows the data arrows.


So all in all, when people compare signal strengths...they need to check the db levels instead of a bar meter.


I am laughing at the silly people on forums...wtf am i doing here...peace out lamers.
 
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I am about to give VZW / Incredible a shot, but after being on ATT, then Sprint, then AT&T again, I can tell you that 1 bar from Sprint blows away full bars from AT&T in terms of voice quality and likelihood that the call will get dropped. I am sure different software interprets signal strength differently, and that there are a lot more variables to your call quality than pure signal strength. AT&T almost always shows full bars when I have service, so I think they are being a little generous in their representation of the signal strength in the software.
 
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People are idiots. The signal probably shows 1x strength for phone calls... the device doesnt really show 3g strength...only lights up during use andshows the data arrows.


So all in all, when people compare signal strengths...they need to check the db levels instead of a bar meter.


I am laughing at the silly people on forums...wtf am i doing here...peace out lamers.

Good question, what are you doing here? It's one thing to say that the bars do not correctly represent signal strength, but for your information, my phone has two signal meters, one for 1x and one for EV... in addition to showing "data arrows". Come back when you turn 13 years old and can follow a conversation.
 
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As I sit here in my recliner pouring over posts, I have begun watching my Motorola Droid. I have never really had any connectivity issues with it. But the bar bounces around quite a bit. I've seen it at 1 and I've seen it at 4. I'm really not worried about bars at all. Just need the dB and the call quality to be there.
 
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yeah, hard to compare that being that att sucks in a lot of areas, I have the iPhone now, I can have full 3G bars at work and text messages still will not send, it's a joke. I cannot wait to see the Incredible on Thursday, If I like it, bye bye iPhone

The iPhone is calibrated to show full bars when the dbm's aren't that great. My 3gs will sometimes show 3 or 4 bars on a very weak signal(-100 to -115) that can't complete a call. I'm not worried about the bars as long as the phone stays connected and doesn't lose voice or data signal...the true test is usability.
 
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