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Incredible Signal Strength Radio Issue? FYI!!!!

Chatted with a VZW rep for a while today at the store where I bought mine, and he said to hold out, there's an OTA upgrade coming at some point that should fix the issue.

I was skeptical at first, thinking maybe he just didn't want to go through the trouble of having me do any kind of replacement/upgrade, but then he explained how he's not even going to trade up to a Droid X even though he easily could. So basically I was hearing it from a fellow Inc lover who just happened to be in Verizon's loop. :)
 
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Chatted with a VZW rep for a while today at the store where I bought mine, and he said to hold out, there's an OTA upgrade coming at some point that should fix the issue.

I was skeptical at first, thinking maybe he just didn't want to go through the trouble of having me do any kind of replacement/upgrade, but then he explained how he's not even going to trade up to a Droid X even though he easily could. So basically I was hearing it from a fellow Inc lover who just happened to be in Verizon's loop. :)

Good to know thx ;)
 
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I have my phone sitting on my desk right now. It has -85 dbm. If I pick it up, my signal strength actually goes up to -95 dbm if I'm holding it by the base. As soon as I put it down, it goes back to -85 again. I've repeated this several times. It doesn't seem to matter if I hold the phone with my left hand or my right hand or if I have the phone in the case or not. The behavior is the same.
 
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I have my phone sitting on my desk right now. It has -85 dbm. If I pick it up, my signal strength actually goes up to -95 dbm if I'm holding it by the base. As soon as I put it down, it goes back to -85 again. I've repeated this several times. It doesn't seem to matter if I hold the phone with my left hand or my right hand or if I have the phone in the case or not. The behavior is the same.

See, that is the same problem for me. I quit looking at that because it was driving me nuts. I can still make calls, but it's bothersome knowing that the phone is not getting the reception it should. I know it should be better, being in a well covered area and all.
 
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I have my phone sitting on my desk right now. It has -85 dbm. If I pick it up, my signal strength actually goes up to -95 dbm if I'm holding it by the base. As soon as I put it down, it goes back to -85 again. I've repeated this several times. It doesn't seem to matter if I hold the phone with my left hand or my right hand or if I have the phone in the case or not. The behavior is the same.

It's going down. Minus 95 is less than minus 85. :)

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
 
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It's going down. Minus 95 is less than minus 85. :)

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk


In order to clear up any confusion for those trying to follow, let's go with:

-85 is a better signal than -95....




(For those new to it, the "-xx" figure is a measurement of the power ratio for a given signal. If you ignore the "-" sign, then just go with lower numbers = better signal.)
 
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It is been pretty well documented that part of the reception problem is due to the placement of the antenna near the bottom of the phone. But FCC regs require all manufacturers to position the antenna as far from the user's head as possible to limit the amount of RF radiation absorbed. Holding the phone with hand will attenuate the signal somewhat. My experiments with this phone is that signal strength will increase somewhat if you hold it near the top with your fingers rather than flat against your hand

So phone reception has actually devolved from the days of the flip phone with a retractable whip antenna due to concerns over the health hazards of RF radiation.

The iPhone 4 apparently has its own reception problem that appears to be a design issue. I'm no engineer, but found this article written by an antenna expert regarding the new iPhone, but has relevance to the Inc and most phones made today.

Apple iPhone 4Antennas... - AntennaSys Blog - AntennaSys, Inc. - antenna design, integration and consulting.

As noted, the antenna constraints of the Inc will require the software to increase the power of the radio at the expense of battery life. I do believe a software update can refine the power management of the radio and the ability to lock onto a signal in low-reception areas. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
 
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