Help About Incredible Signal Strength

[ChaoticCelt]

Hey guys and gals,
My buddy just stopped by with his Incredible and activated it while we were shooting the breeze. I was curious about the reception strength of the phone because of various reviews and concerns posted here. I own a blackberry Storm and pulled up the settings for signal strength... The BB Storm was registering anywhere from -80db to -89db with a near constant of -84db. I checked his Incredible and the signal strength was almost identical, always within -1db. His bars were fluctuating more then the storm but the actual signal was good. Just thought I'd mention it again that those bars really are not an accurate representation of signal. Thanks for reading and hope this helps someone. Hope my phone gets here soon!

 

[jwm2]

Its a known issue with os 2.1, not a big deal imo. People just tend to read the bars at the top of the screen and freak out when they only have 1 or 2 bars, even though the signal is still there they just aren't seeing it represented graphically :/

 

[Corallis]

Its a known issue with os 2.1, not a big deal imo. People just tend to read the bars at the top of the screen and freak out when they only have 1 or 2 bars, even though the signal is still there they just aren't seeing it represented graphically :/

Granted it wasn't in debug mode when I did it but I went into phone settings and kept an eye on the db readout instead of the bars. I drove across a Walmart parking lot and it bounced around between -52 and -78 changing maybe 3-4 times in the time it took me to get across the parking lot.

 

[rushmore]

Still think practical tests may be best

Like I did for the G1 and N900 on Tmo, I will go to a fringe area where 3G and Edge kick in for one device and not the other and test a Youtube vid. I will then go to areas that show one device with no coverage and test. BTW, fringe areas are VERY easy to find with Tmo G1 killed the N900 in regards to reception. No comparison. N900 was much weaker in the tests and dropped calls a plenty.

Same tests will be done with the Droid and Inc when I bail from Tmo tomorrow

Good news is both devices are nice options and have pros and cons Seems like more pros though with Inc.

 

[gener1c]

my signal varies from -80s at home to -61 at work. I have had a better signal with this phone than with the eris and samsung omnia.

 

[rushmore]

my signal varies from -80s at home to -61 at work. I have had a better signal with this phone than with the eris and samsung omnia.

Good news! Keep em' commin'

 

[cdd543]

My tour is on -80 and my incredible is -74 and steady. (lower is better for those that don't know)

 

[felkdogg]

I have noticed that I rarely go above 2 bars. However I rarely go worse then -70dBm which would be considered pretty good signal. And I've never not been able to make a call or use data when 0 bars were showing.

 

[jamor]

Shooting the breeze???

I've never hearrd that before but now I will start using it.

Plus 1 for you!! Thx!!

 

[amarryat]

Granted it wasn't in debug mode when I did it but I went into phone settings and kept an eye on the db readout instead of the bars. I drove across a Walmart parking lot and it bounced around between -52 and -78 changing maybe 3-4 times in the time it took me to get across the parking lot.

I am sitting on the couch in front of the TV with my Blackberry Storm 1. Put it on the Status screen, and it went from -80 to -87 and back to -81 while it was in the same place. IOW, signals bounce all over the place anyway. And now it says -94, and now back to -80.

 

[gajenn108]

I've often wondered why a line of site signal would change like amarryat just said..i get with my lg dare,sometimes 2,3 or 4 bars sitting in the same chair..i understand hf signals change because of atmospherics and signals bouncing off the ionisphere...but these cell signals should in theory be steady at the same place..

 

[NKT]

I've often wondered why a line of site signal would change like amarryat just said..i get with my lg dare,sometimes 2,3 or 4 bars sitting in the same chair..i understand hf signals change because of atmospherics and signals bouncing off the ionisphere...but these cell signals should in theory be steady at the same place..

Cell sites "breathe". That is, as more people use the cell the actual coverage area shrinks. You could also be connecting to several different sites and bouncing between them.

If you look at the CH #. This is the pilot frequency on the cell you're connected to. It's not uncommon to have several connections.

 

[Sodequis]

I work in a cave.. not literally.. but my old blackberry 8703e tethered good in here. My pearl was soso and my tour was complete crap! Well I'm posting this tethered with my new inc and loving how well it is holding a connection in here.

 

[chris61292]

the connect on mine shows the bars jumping up and down a lot but my connection is perfectly fine when in use

 

[simong79]

Yup. First thing I noticed were the bars. Thanks for the tip.

 

[amarryat]

It almost sounds as if the calibration of bars to DB is quite different on various phones, and the calibration of the Incredible may have a narrower range than average. For example, on a BB Storm, it may be that -80db corresponds to 5 bars, and -110 corresponds to 3 bars, but the Incredible has a smaller range. And therefore smaller bounces in signal strength result in larger differences in "bars". Like many other posters have said, the DB must really be what matters.

 

[juanito157]

This was in an article that I read on Boy Genius

( Wait, a phone that actually makes clear and crisp phone calls? In 2010? You must be kidding me. But we’re not, the HTC Droid Incredible coupled with Verizon’s famous-for-kicking-in-the-other-carrier’s-teeth network makes for a really pleasant adventure. Phone calls were loud and clear on both the earpiece and also when using the speakerphone capability. Callers heard us just fine, and we haven’t dropped a single call while testing the phone.
Unfortunately, there is one area of the device’s phone performance that is a little troubling, though probably not the end of the world. We noticed the Incredible gets a slightly lower signal than the Motorola DROID and other Verizon Wireless phones. The Incredible seems to be a bit finicky bouncing around from 2 bars to say 4 bars randomly while other devices are steadily on 4 or 5 bars consistently. We are not sure if the signal is just not being represented properly due to a software issue or the phone is actually receiving a lower signal due to other reasons. )

Now I see allot of good explanations regarding signal strength and I'm not to concerned but what does concern me is Fluctuation from 1x to 3g can anyone elaborate specifically with this concern? Thanks

 

[BzB]

i've noticed the bars being low too, but i don't obsess over it as long as i'm getting clear calls and good data speeds. maybe the broadcast strength stays low until needed?

 

[rushmore]

Will test myself, real soon

 

[tats_06]

A good radio update should fix the issues..

I am getting to test mine tomorrow

 

[bowerman]

The HTC Eris has this exact same problem using 1.5 and 2.1. I have never had an issue making or receiving calls as compared to other phones though... Nothing to worry about in my opinion.

 

[answerman]

Debug on my Incredible (sitting in my living room) set on a 1 second refresh shows an average of about -82dB (bouncing from about -79dB to about -84dB). Slightly better than my Touch Pro in the same area. The bars are jumping all over, but I've never used them as an indication of signal strength since my Touch Pro made calls just fine with no bars. I'd say the radio falls into the "more than adequate" category.

 

[mjm1111]

In my brief testing with my last minutes on the Storm and the first minutes on the Incredible, the dbs were about the same both inside and outside between the two devices. Nothing scientific but a quick of each ended up the same strength between the two. Good enough for me.

 

[TheObviousChild]

Now I see allot of good explanations regarding signal strength and I'm not to concerned but what does concern me is Fluctuation from 1x to 3g can anyone elaborate specifically with this concern? Thanks

This is a very good question. Can someone please answer?


Got my Inc last night and was concerned about Signal strength too. I feel better now checking the db level, but I still see that my Curve rates about 10db stringer than the Inc. I'm at work and currently -90db. That said, I did just get off the phone with my wife and it sounded good the whole time.

I did notice the flipping between 3G and 1x though on data.

 

[nick99wj]

at my work here the building is lead lined because it was built for the manufacturing of electronics. However, I was able to at least send txt messages with my Dare in a certain spot on my desk, but the Inc just wont do it. Also it bounces between 0 and -99dBm......was hoping for a just enough better service out of this than my Dare so I could make calls. But...the building is lead lined so I can't be too picky.

Funny thing is only CDMA networks fail in here....AT&T and Sprint have great service. Must be something about the frequency of the blg/lining combo being 90