Verizon GS3 signal reception thread

Well my wife and I went to the pizza place from hell. This location is the black hole for reception of all types. As you approach the area, even your car radio gets wonky with static and reduced volume. Wonder if the CIA has an office there.

At any rate, almost any phone I've had (including the Razr Max) would get spotty reception. You might go in showing 4G but get nothing while trying to load web pages. At some point you might get very slow loading of web pages.

Well it wasn't much different with the S3...at the beginning. I felt a bit down when I saw the 4G inside, but nothing loaded and I got the "no connectivity" prompt. HELL!

We sat down and I grabbed my wife's IPhone (my benchmark in these tests since it seems the IPhone is more immune to these signal issues). Hers didn't show 'no connectivity'...can't even recall if the Iphone shows that, but the wheel kept spinning and spinning and spinning and nothing loaded. YEAH! Low & behold the S3 awoke and began loading pages and not all that slowly either.

Not trusting that, I switched hands to make sure the S3 wasn't getting a slightly better signal in my other hand (I know, hopelessly anal). Same results, the S3 did better than the IPhone.

I can't tell you how rare it is to ever beat her damn IPhone, but the S3 did.

I'm really liking this puppy, the display, the speed, the look, just about everything. Yeah, well that home button, can't have everything. I also think the listening call quality is a bit more 'robotic' than my GNex, but it's fine.

Hey Rush, how are you liking the white? I got the blue and really like it. To be honest, when I bought the phone yesterday I didn't even look at the display samples. I was in a rush and had to get back for a conference call, so I never saw the white.

Try downloading a radio station app from the marketplace and let the stream run while your doing your signal tests. See if the stream breaks up or stops. But remember, they cache the stream so if you loose reception, you may not know for a minute or so.
I used WRKO if your just looking for a quick app for this test.

I'm still baffled how some of us got S3's from Hell with signal yet others get better signal than their Motorola. Makes me wonder if Samsung subcontracted some of these to be built in either a different factory or company.

wishiwas said:

I'm still baffled how some of us got S3's from Hell with signal yet others get better signal than their Motorola. Makes me wonder if Samsung subcontracted some of these to be built in either a different factory or company.

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Motorola has had the same issues with the razr. I've read posts with data drop problems. I never experienced those problems but I'd bet you are correct.

Well...after 2 full days with the Galaxy S3 I am quite happy with it thus far. I have had (not bragging) most high end phones that have been released since 2006. I started with the Palm Treo.
This is by far IMHO the best Android phone to date, that's not to say it's the best at every individual category but overall it's the best I have used.

Reception

This is a pretty big concern of mine being that I am 6 miles out of town in a rural setting. Of course I use WiFi primarily but I also text a lot and you don't typically use WiFi to text so I need some 3G for that. I haven't had any dropped calls yet nor have I had unsent texts. My bars (I know I know) are around 1-3 my dbm's are typically at -94 to -99 asu 1. My wife's Rezound is at -88 to -93 asu 1. I have noticed that heading into town she picks up 4G about 2 miles sooner than I do and she holds on to it longer. At where she works she usually has 4G, I have been there twice with my phone and haven't picked up 4G there. Still when I do get 4G it's considerably faster than hers with the speed tests.

Screen

The screen is absolutely stunning just as the Nexus is, the Nexus does seem a little more washed out and less vibrant. I don't see any concerns with the brightness level I am more than satisfied. I have always felt that Amoled screens are lousy outside so If your outside a lot using the phone then it may be an issue for you. I can't see any signs of pentile, I compared it with my neighbors WVGA RGB Galaxy S2 and mine clearly had more detail with its 720p pentile. The home button feels a little too recessed but that could just be mine. I do like it though, I did disable S voice and I don't notice any lag.

Processor + Ram

The processor has been amazing along with the 2GB of ram. I have not had any issues with lag or force closes. I admit I have only installed around 20 apps so far in fear of getting a bad one that will cause issues that are difficult to nail down if I install more than 5 apps at a time. I love checking on ram usage and seeing 1.2 GB free . I have seen a few studders here or there but nothing compared to previous phones. I'll admit I love Apples products I have had all of the iPhone series several times, I would try an Android phone and eventually always revert to a iPhone just because of how smooth lag free it was and no force closes. This is the first phone that I have had that I can really say there's no way I would trade it for an iPhone 4s.

Features


I really like the new features that Touchwiz brings the S voice, Smart Stay, the Tap to Top (although to limited) and the Pop up Video these are all cool but also just novelties that make it fun to show off. Some are definitely more useful than others. I tried to get used to the keyboard because I prefer to use stock for most things (browser keyboard etc.) but it sucks. I ended up installing Swype beta and I really like it.

Battery Life

It's difficult to ask someone coming from a Razr Maxx how good the battery life is...but I am pleasantly surprised it's actually pretty good. It's most certainly better than the Rezound and the Razr. I have used it pretty heavy today and took it off the charger at 11:00 am it's now 6:00 pm and I have 53% remaining. I am a heavy user so I expect to see around 8-10 hours before I need some juice. Could be better a but it's doable.

Overall

I guess it goes without saying...I love this phone. I know I won't keep it for too long especially since Engadget is reporting HTC's next super phone and I have to have the latest and greatest.
In the meantime I will thoroughly will enjoy this phone and I highly recommend it. I can only imagine it getting even better with Jelly bean coming in the 4th quarter.

Delete

rushmore said:

It is okay, but I prefer the 'bluple' one. Not sure if I will bother switching though, since will have to start over again.

I did a mini review, but mod moved it to comparison thread since compared with Razr.

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I tried finding it by your profile under posts but I keep getting the vBulletin database error

my service has been great, side by side dbm shows the same service as iPhone 4, razr and razr maxx... My main issue is the WiFi is weak, in the same spots I have full bars and great speeds with those other phones, the S3 has 2 bars and it really slow

brichi said:

my service has been great, side by side dbm shows the same service as iPhone 4, razr and razr maxx... My main issue is the WiFi is weak, in the same spots I have full bars and great speeds with those other phones, the S3 has 2 bars and it really slow

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My Wi-Fi has been great. I would assume it's within your router settings. Do you have a dual channel router ?
I just ran a speedtest and I'm getting 25 mb down and 6 mb up. That's around 25 feet from my router.

wishiwas said:

Try downloading a radio station app from the marketplace and let the stream run while your doing your signal tests. See if the stream breaks up or stops. But remember, they cache the stream so if you loose reception, you may not know for a minute or so.
I used WRKO if your just looking for a quick app for this test.

I'm still baffled how some of us got S3's from Hell with signal yet others get better signal than their Motorola. Makes me wonder if Samsung subcontracted some of these to be built in either a different factory or company.

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I think there are 2 variants. Some seem to be made in Taiwan, and some in China. Maybe we should take a poll and see if one is better than the other?

Mine is made in China and I haven't had reception issues...

rushmore said:

Not sure what the mod did..... Disgruntled Razr fan?

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Its there now....must took a minute to get situated. Nice comparison.

4G went on line this afternoon in Park City Utah. My house may be in a dead zone, I'll find out tonight. The SG3 has great reception around the rest of PC and around Salt Lake.

darkestred said:

My thoughts, exactly. I think an update/software fix with clear it up. It will seem logical if dropping down to 3g makes for a great reception phone. In time. In time. Still love mine.

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i think it may be due to the fact that 2 radios are competing for cellular connection and 3g has been around a lot longer than lte so the manufacturers are still working on getting lte signal right? It seems like with every new tech, it takes a little while to get all the kinks worked out. Overall its a pretty good phone out of the box, hope maybe they add a 3g toggle in the next update.

SamMax said:

My Wi-Fi has been great. I would assume it's within your router settings. Do you have a dual channel router ?
I just ran a speedtest and I'm getting 25 mb down and 6 mb up. That's around 25 feet from my router.

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thanks for the quick reply, I don't think they are dual channel, I have an Airport Extreme "N" router and also the Verizon Fios wireless router, tried both and same results, I would think if its a setting in the router, other things would be effected, I have 2 laptops, 2 iPads, 1 iPhone and a Netbook and they all have perfect wifi throughout my whole house yet the S3 once i walk down my hall and into the dining room area, i loose 2-3 bars and 3/4's of the speed if i take the S3 right by the router, i get great speeds like 25mb up/down

Once I restarted my phone my 4G issue has completely disappeared. When I tried to connect to wifi again after turning it back on (post 4G test) it didn't connect until I turned off wifi and turned it back on again. Since then, both 4G and wifi connect perfectly.

There is a way to set the sg3 in 3g mode; it was in another thread and similar to the razr hack; but the thunderbird app doesn[t work. I don't have a sg3 so did not book markt he method but it should be easy to find with a google search (I think they mentioned it on driod life).

The sg3 shoudl be faster than the razr with regards to bw speed; this is not so much about reception but the razr is probably cpu/bus constrained. s4 is simply faster and the s4 pro (rumor is the new htc device will use this chipset) will blow the s4 away in a few (or sooner) months. While I'm unhappy with the razr i'm probably going to wait a month or two to see what happens (still tempted to switch to at&t or sprint unless verizon provide 'official' fix for the wifi notification).

To be honest the razr woudl be 'ok' with me if the battery life was better. Btw haven't seen any comments how the battery life compares to the razr.

rushmore said:

Reception comments:

1. Need more testing, but seems the G3 is currently a better 4G phone than a 3G one. I get great 3G dBm signal at home (-60s to -80s), but the actual data connection is hit & miss. Hoping I am wrong like with everything (almost) else Update: I have better dBm at work than I did with the Inc, Droid 3 and Razr, but need to test and see if spotty connection again. 3G seems to be about the same as those devices at work (good, not great). ADDED: This has been the case it seems since we got 4G in the area I work. 3G is not that good now as a result, so good I guess for the G3 working pretty good in spite of this. I have been crying about the 3G network (in my area) in the Razr forum for a few months.

2. Wifi is flaky for me- so far (there is a fix). I have a very common Netgear router that works with a 3DXL, a bunch of phones and tablets, PS3, 360, WII, laptops, desktops, etc. This is the first device that seems to connect fine and then stop all of the sudden and not reconnect very well afterwards. When it does stay connected, it is FAST. ADDED: Apparently wifi is a known issue by Samsung: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/566171-wifi-issues-disconnects-etc-fixed-me.html The wifi fix makes sense and I should have figured it out last night.

Is there an on-the-fly 3G/4G switch that works with the G3 and VZW? ylexot might be on to something as far as 3G/4G. Update: The "Phone info" app IS an on-the-fly switch- nice.

The device rocks, so hoping these issues are bad luck, or a software fix. REALLY liking the the g3.

ADDED: Whatever the case, 4G is a LOT faster than the Razr.

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Count me in the lousy 3g camp. Just activated both S3s this morning. Previous readings on droid x in my house were -73dDm. I live next to a tower so I get very strong 3g reception.

The S3s have nothing at all. Nada. Tech support wants me to try the sim card replacement first and then swap out the phones if that doesn't work.

Interestingly, my signal strength app shows cdma network -74 dBm which is about the same as the droid x but the data state is disconnected.

Nice review Rush. Do you have a link for that #*0010# trick? This morning I noticed I lost my WiFi and it wouldn't connect. I had to re-enter the Fios Router password and then it resumed working immediately.

Is this an ongoing issue and does that 'trick' solve it?

This might have nothing to do with reception but with authorization to use the network. With my razr i notice quite a few time when I have strong signals but 'no data'. It appears from what I've read verizon has a very agressive active valadition scheme.

(What I mean by active vs passive is that the system assumes you are not authorized and denies data unless it can validate - i.e, their method does not assume that if you were authorized a few minutes ago you are still authorized while checking; I can't really say more since I do not know exactly what scheme they are using; but it appears to not be token base; where they can validate that a previous token was fully authorized while updating the token). Anyways I've learned to trust the device indication of signal to weed out verizon issues vs device issue though perhaps I am too generous at times in trusting the device).

sorka said:

Count me in the lousy 3g camp. Just activated both S3s this morning. Previous readings on droid x in my house were -73dDm. I live next to a tower so I get very strong 3g reception.

The S3s have nothing at all. Nada. Tech support wants me to try the sim card replacement first and then swap out the phones if that doesn't work.

Interestingly, my signal strength app shows cdma network -74 dBm which is about the same as the droid x but the data state is disconnected.

Click to expand...

This is the link that rush provided a few posts above:

http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/566171-wifi-issues-disconnects-etc-fixed-me.html

Ken7 said:

Nice review Rush. Do you have a link for that #*0010# trick? This morning I noticed I lost my WiFi and it wouldn't connect. I had to re-enter the Fios Router password and then it resumed working immediately.

Is this an ongoing issue and does that 'trick' solve it?

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Add a victory to the g3. at our campsite my wife is cussing me for getting rid of the I phone and giving her my old razr. The g3 is rolling along opening Web pages and such. The razr just keeps loading. All On 3g.