Verizon GS3 signal reception thread

[Ken7]

Well, it's just matter of using different terminology. I didn't say the whole radio is in S4. I actually meant multi mode modem integrated in it, which is important part of radio system. Maybe I should avoid the word "radio chip" which is confusing.

But EarlyMon is correct, the blogs clearly point out it has the LTE radio embedded in the chip and that's incorrect.

Such is life on the internet.

 

[john29]

Received my S3 yesterday to replace my GNex. So far the dbm readings are comparable to a little worse, but the 4G data speeds are much better. I haven't made enough calls to test the clarity/reception in places that were spotty with my GNex yet.

 

[Ken7]

VZW bought up Cellular One towers several years ago, so there is a mix of old & new. The key is comparing to what you have and the SG3, since the variables are wide. That is a reason for this thread, since taking the "average" view of the data will help to filter out the outliers.

I think the trend so far is we can eliminate that the reception is bad like the Charge or Gnex, so at least we can assume that within reason. That is progress at least

I agree. But I guess what I'm implying here is that based on the divergent results we're getting so far, it might be safe to assume that your old phone and the S3 may compare one way in one geographical area (say the S3 wins there) and then travel to another area with both phones and have the opposite result (your old phone wins).

But you're absolutely right, within any one geography that you live it, the best way to compare is how the S3 holds up to what you were using before.

 

[EarlyMon]

But EarlyMon is correct, the blogs clearly point out it has the LTE radio embedded in the chip and that's incorrect.

Such is life on the internet.

Blogs have been telling people that they included radios on the SoC processor since the original Snapdragon so at least they're consistent in their baloney.

And because they quote each other instead of Qualcomm, it's little wonder confusion prevails.

 

[rushmore]

Here is a simple but IMO effective perspective:

Galaxy S III vs Galaxy Nexus vs Razr Maxx radios

 

[rushmore]

Blogs have been telling people that they included radios on the SoC processor since the original Snapdragon so at least they're consistent in their baloney.

And because they quote each other instead of Qualcomm, it's little wonder confusion prevails.

That would get kind of hot, regardless of 28nm, since the heat output for LTE can be more than the gpu.

 

[dmanindfw]

Finally got the S3...here are the results updated from my previous post where I only listed DX. Keep in mind this is a 3G phone only. Conditions - at work at desk. Indoors at a building with historically subpar Verizon signal

SAME EXACT LOCATION. I was not able to lock onto 4G signal here so ALL RESULTS ARE 3G ONLY.

MOTOROLA DROID X:

Cellular Mode -
Showing 3 out of 4 bars
Signal Strength 1 minute range - 57-87%
Verizon Wireless EVDO A - -83dBm 15asu
Average Signal -80dBm
Speed test (averaged across 3 tests): ping 468ms (yuck), download 717kbps, upload 629 kbps


SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 (3G ONLY):

Cellular Mode -
4 out of 5 bars
Signal Strength - 1 minute range - 85-86%
Signal range over 1 minute - -69dBm to -77dBm
Average around -71dBm, 21asu
Speed test (3 test average): ping 72ms, down: 1337kbps, upload 855 kbps

At home last night, I didn't measure signal strength but did some speed tests and averaged the following:
ping 69ms, 21,750 kbps down, and 10,000 kbps up! Fast, fast, fast.

So if my conclusions are correct, on 3G my S3 handily beats my DX in all tests. I'll try to get some 4G results for the S3 when I can obtain a reliable signal. What I can say though it that on 4G, this phone is blazingly fast!

So far, no dropped signals, call quality is excellent, and I am loving it!

 

[Sandroidfan]

Blogs have been telling people that they included radios on the SoC processor since the original Snapdragon so at least they're consistent in their baloney.

And because they quote each other instead of Qualcomm, it's little wonder confusion prevails.

The problem is that word radio is used in too broad sense. What blogs have been telling is actually the modem chip integrated into snapdragon SoC, which is true. S4 is the first one with integrated LTE modem as well as 3G modems.

Personally I think the term radio should mean the entire RF hardware system, not just some part of it. Although modem chip alone doesn't make radio, it's very important part of radio as it interprets signal and process/convert it to usable data.

 

[Perch_44]

a little more info on my reception results so far....



first off on my drive to work this morning, there are three exact areas where, with my DINC i would lose all service completely. This morning i paid attention to my phone when driving through those areas.

area 1 - 4G @ 3 bars maintained
area 2 - 4G @ 2 bars maintained
area 3 - was on the phone, call never dropped, no reception issues at all.

My main office was also kind of a problem area for my DINC. I would typically maintain 1-2 bars of 3G, sometimes spiking up to 3 to full. but when doing speed tests i was always running slow in there.

GS3 - 4G @ 2-3 bars maintained, speed tests still up in the 10mb range down, 2+ up.


Also, battery life has been very good. I took my phone off the charger at approximately 8:30 this morning. and granted i haven't done a ton on my phone, but it is receiving email from 4 accounts (one an exchange push), google talk used frequently, and my co-worker basically raped my phone for about 30 minutes this morning.... :smokingsomb:

and i'm sitting at 81% still. which is better than what my DINC would be at right now.

I'm still being very critical of this phone, and will verify reception is good everywhere my DINC was, or better, because of the signal is degraded all over, its going back.

I am heading to canada this week, so i will get to test the service all the way through northern MN.

Maybe I got the only good device in the upper midwest so far, because if you asked me to give it a rating at this moment, after the experience i've had with it so far, i'd give it a 8-9 out of 10. only because there some touchwiz things i'm still trying to adapt to.

I'm coming from a rooted/flashed device, so going back to a stock image is different for me.

I've been looking at the dbm's somewhat, and they have maintained from like 92 up to 106. but i'm more concerned with how the phone actually works, not what those numbers say.

I'll give another update next week when i get back from my fly-in trip.

 

[rushmore]

The problem is that word radio is used in too broad sense. What blogs have been telling is actually the modem chip integrated into snapdragon SoC, which is true. S4 is the first one with integrated LTE modem as well as 3G modems.

Personally I think the term radio should mean the entire RF hardware system, not just some part of it. Although modem chip alone doesn't make radio, it's very important part of radio as it interprets signal and process/convert it to usable data.

Agreed perhaps an issue of semantics, since The chip is a system on a chip. The issue here is there are apparently no mass production ready 28nm LTE chips to date, besides the Quallcom. Some shipping later in year though.

 

[droblyer]

[/IMG]

First time posting a pic not sure if i did it right. But this is my problem. Decent signal no connectivity.

Edit: link not working will have to try again later

 

[EarlyMon]

Agreed perhaps an issue of semantics, since The chip is a system on a chip. The issue here is there are apparently no mass production ready 28nm LTE chips to date, besides the Quallcom. Some shipping later in year though.

Respectfully, words mean things, so the semantics are defined by the chip suppliers who name things after their primary functions.

The SGS3 could have conceivably been built for our market with the Samsung Exynos quad processor, but only by outboarding the necessary modem chip(s) at higher expense, bulk, complexity and power consumption, with lower reliability due to the previous factors.

I resurrected this part of the discussion only to encourage the path you started - for folks to check things out and see if the SGS3 had the radio quality needed without assuming that the check wasn't necessary because of the misconception that the important transceivers were baked into the S4.

From what I've read of people putting it to the test in this thread, the S4 SGS3 is working great.

Now I need to find out if GPS is similarly improved...

 

[Skeeter125]

[/IMG]

First time posting a pic not sure if i did it right. But this is my problem. Decent signal no connectivity.

Edit: link not working will have to try again later

if you have a good signal but no connectivity I would think something is wrong with your phone. Maybe go into verizon see what they say.

 

[Ches111]

EarlyMon... Thanks for the clarification. As soon as I read your post I read the same whitepapers and I was indeed wrong.

Again thanks for the clarification.

I do however disagree with some of your initial statement about dbms. There can be a quite large margin of error in dbm measurement based on a number of factors. A standardized build process should mitigate those errors as much as possible from "like" devices but to say devices from each vendor will measure with the same accuracy is not likely. We have even seen vendors cheat on these types of tests "optimizing the data before being passed for output " <cough> APPLE </cough>

 

[Ches111]

EarlyMon,

The acquisition for GPS is almost instantaneous. I am VERY impressed here. WOW just WOW!

I fired up the Google Nav before leaving the garage this am and before I could put the truck in "R" it was locked and had narrowed its result.

 

[Ken7]

Here is a simple but IMO effective perspective:

Galaxy S III vs Galaxy Nexus vs Razr Maxx radios

Rush, that's a great write up, the best I've seen yet. His experiences are so reminiscent of mine with my GNex and my wife's IPhone.

His report is very encouraging, but I'm still concerned about some of the many anecdotal reports. It does seem clear that the radio in the S3 is better than the GNet. The question is how much?

Not surprising is the fact that the Motorola still reigns supreme. How much that translates into real-world results remains to be seen. I can't test that since I sent back my Razr Max. My test would have to be with my GNex.

 

[alexander323bc]

I came straight from the droid x where at my house got 4 bars of 3g full signal. I just activated my s3 and I get 2 bars of 4g. My average download speed with a full 3g signal was 125 kb/s I just hit 1.7 mb/s with 2 bars of 4g. i cant imagine what you guys are hitting with full 4g signal. The radio works fine for me

 

[EarlyMon]

I do however disagree with some of your initial statement about dbms. There can be a quite large margin of error in dbm measurement based on a number of factors. A standardized build process should mitigate those errors as much as possible from "like" devices but to say devices from each vendor will measure with the same accuracy is not likely.

Unit to unit variations of the same model are usually quite noticeable to a casual observer and yes, measurement accuracy will vary with each model, just as receiver sensitivity will.

My intention was to say that comparing different models using the same network and same measuring tool was valid to the point that they were indeed in that instance measuring the exact same thing: 3G dBm/ASU and could form the basis for establishing a probability estimate of performance, somewhat in opposition to the view that such different-brand comparisons were useless.

I apologize for my earlier lack of clarity, with sincere thanks for pointing this out.

 

[dmanindfw]

So to summarize...YOUR mileage may vary.

On 3G my S3 killed my old Motorola Droid X and others have seemed to report the same. Others are claiming the opposite. Doesn't seem to be any real trend going either direction here.

I reported my 3G findings somewhere above because I couldn't pull in 4G. At lunch I was 1/2 mile away from where I took original findings and had 4G.

I was pulling in 87% signal according to Open Signal app although my phone was only showing 2 out of 5 bars.

3 results ran back to back (4G ONLY):

-69dBm 22asu
-57dBm 28asu
-55dBm 29asu

Looks pretty damn good to me. Weird though that 1/2 mile away I have no 4G but that's indoors in a building that has never had good signal reception.

Screen Shot for disbelievers:

OH HELL...how do I attach a JPG?

 

[EarlyMon]

To add a screenshot, please edit your post and hit the "Advanced" button - then go to the tool at the top that looks like a paper clip. That will allow you to upload your local file to our servers for all to see.

Edit and PS - tap the paper clip again after the upload to include your picture in your post.

 

[dmanindfw]

To add a screenshot, please edit your post and hit the "Advanced" button - then go to the tool at the top that looks like a paper clip. That will allow you to upload your local file to our servers for all to see.

Edit and PS - tap the paper clip again after the upload to include your picture in your post.

No paperclip option for me. Only an image option but it asks for a web address not a locally stored image.

Under my posting rules, it says the following:
You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may not post attachments - DING, DING, DING. I guess I'm blacklisted
You may edit your posts

 

[EarlyMon]

I see no reason for the restriction, must be a bug - alerting our admin, Phases, for you.

 

[t35rk]

First day and where I've taken the phone so far it's been an upgrade over my original Inc. I drove in a 3g area from Park City to Salt Lake while playing a half hours worth of
Floyd's Ruins of Pompeii on YouTube. My Incredible would buffer this task multiple times while on I80. The GS3 did only twice and loaded right back up and never did fall to 1x as the Inc would do. Nice 4G speeds in the valley. Loving this phone so far.

Btw Is there really no comma key on the main keyboard???

 

[rushmore]

Rush, that's a great write up, the best I've seen yet. His experiences are so reminiscent of mine with my GNex and my wife's IPhone.

His report is very encouraging, but I'm still concerned about some of the many anecdotal reports. It does seem clear that the radio in the S3 is better than the GNet. The question is how much?

Not surprising is the fact that the Motorola still reigns supreme. How much that translates into real-world results remains to be seen. I can't test that since I sent back my Razr Max. My test would have to be with my GNex.

At least a few more days before I know for sure. Boo.

 

[Ken7]

What's weird is that S3 owners on androidcentral seem to be reporting significantly worse results than I'm seeing here. Over here I'm generally optimistic and over there I feel like throwing in the towel and waiting for the Max HD.