Help Signal Strength Issues

[Bernal]

I want to reach out to others here before I take my Moment back to Best Buy to exchange it for another Moment.

My signal strength fluctuates wildly just sitting in the same spot. With the Hero I got a constant 5 of 6 bars, but the Moment will vary between 0 and 5 of 6 bars. But it's more complicated than that.

It seems that whenever the EVDO data kicks in, it causes the signal strength to drop to 0 or 1 bar. Once the data is idle, the EVDO indicator turns grey and then changes from EV(^v) to EV(D). At that point the single strength will return to 3 or 4 bars.

At times, though not as consistently or often, the EVDO connection will fall back to 1xRTT and will switch between them every few minutes. This will occur even when the signal strength bars are in the 3 to 4 range.

So, the my questions are...

Does the signal strength apply to the data signal or just the voice signal?

Is there any legitimate reason for the signal strength to vary wildly like I've described, even when sitting in the same recliner where the Hero had a constant 5 bar connection and data service that never wavered?

Is anyone else having signal strength and/or data service issues?

Should I exchange the Moment for another Moment or will I likely experience the same issue?

Thanks...
--Bernal

 

[RugbyRef]

I've seen this happen on all of the phones I have purchased over time. I have been exlusively with Sprint/Nextel since the first time I bought a cell phone. Whenever I had issues like you're describing, in the past, I called my service provider. The tech I spoke to gave me all sorts of reasons from being inside the house, atmospheric disturbances, cell phone towers out, etc... Of course it could be a crappy phone... ; )

Anyway...good luck (I know this was a useless reply)!

Tim

 

[LincKraker]

Silverexpress posted some info about something similiar he called sprint and was given a profile update and said that helped.


Link to post.

 

[diordna2]

I just got the samsung Moment, went from a HTC touch pro to a rumor then to Samsung Moment. I had problems with HTC touch so I didnt want another HTC phone. But this phone is still buggy. Both other phones I always had great signal strength, now in the same locations (yes some are in buildings) I cannot get a good signal and the other end cannot hear me as clearly.

I am thinking the antenna is weak or noisey?

 

[njbianco]

Silverexpress posted some info about something similiar he called sprint and was given a profile update and said that helped.


Link to post.

You can just update the profile yourself in settings>about phone>system update>update profile its also a good idea to update your prl once a month or so.

 

[diordna2]

Thanks for the tip on how to update the phone. I will definettly do this. I tried Silverexpress's link but I think its dead/broken? 404.

 

[setasai]

I agree, I've had this same issue with the BB Curve as well before I switched to the Moment and I still see this happening. For the most part though, I find that the signal meter just does that. I wonder if the EVDO transfers drain power from the antenna or something. Especially since we're not able to transfer DATA and Voice at the same time anyway.

Additionally, I've had to reboot the Moment every so often since it will sometimes get stuck in 1xRTT with little to no data transfers but once I power cycle it, speeds become normal again. Doesnt really answer your question either. lol

 

[AnthroMatt]

This "issue" is quite common and any Sprint rep that says any sort of PRL or profile update will help it is talking out of his arse.

The simple explanation is that Sprint has towers all over the place, but not all their towers have EVDO, or if they do, the panels with EVDO might not be optimized to your location in the same manner as the panels with 1xRTT.

All voice usage is carried on 1X channels. EVDO is used for data only.

Therefore, if you are really close to a tower with 1X only, you will have many bars while your phone is in idle mode or during a call. If the nearest EVDO site is a mile away, when your phone connects to the tower to use data, the signal level will drop accordingly based upon how strong the EVDO signal is.

This is magnified for anyone (myself included) with an Airave. I will have full bars but as soon as I go to use data, 0-1 bar or I switch over to 1X data, and then the signal bars are full again.

 

[maxinspace]

now that i look at it my signal strength bounces around quite a bit (usually between 2-5 bars) while it's sitting at the home screen on my desk. i haven't had the phone long enough to judge whether or not it will be an issue. if it is, however, i will probably try out the hero while i'm still on my 30 days to try out different phones.