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[Question] Call Quality on the Samsung i515 (VZW version)

teddyearp

Android Expert
May 19, 2010
2,419
847
Pinetop, AZ
OK, irregardless of the reported signal strength that y'all have created endless threads about, how is it on call quality? AFAIK, the actual signal strength reported sometimes is not an actual indicator and subject to various interpretations via individual manufactures hardware/software interfaces.

Does anyone actually have dropped calls in comparison to their other HTC and Moto phones?

TIA
 
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<snip>Great question to ask OP because i think a lot of bad press is coming from this Signal issue. I agree its an issue but i don't feel that it is as bad as it seems.

Exactly why I asked it. Most people seem to put so much stock into how many bars, etc. I do not. I know better. I live in a fringe area with a few dead zones, so I wanted to know.

Thanks to all of you.
 
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First of all the call quality is good! Not great, but good! The ear piece volume level is less than the Rezound & the Razr.

There is no doubt there is a signal issue with the device PERIOD! I have A Rezound> A Razr> and the Nexus (All three sitting on my desk) and the signal on the Nexus is by far much less than the the Rezound & Razr. Not by just looking at the display bars, but by looking at the actual signal strength reading in the settings. Furthermore, with a lower signal, the data speeds suffer, which in turn makes the data speeds lower on the Nexus as well.

People can "sugarcoat" this problem, but it is a problem, and by the way a documented problem by means of Verizon Wireless admitting there is a problem!

Either you sit it out and hope for a positive resolution, or you return your device, and try something else.

Good Luck!
 
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I am dropping calls, too..and I know it's not a fluke.

My calls used to go without interruption on drives home (30 minutes). Now, I drop calls frequently on the drive to and from home. Not a coincidence.

When I pickup the phone and want to do a search or use data, I get a message saying no network connection found. This never used to happen with my 3G phone!

I like the 4G speed, but getting connected and staying connected is an issue.

What's the resolution? Is this something Verizon will fix (and I am not talking about monkeying around with the #bars displayed just to make it appear that there's a stronger singnal).
 
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I normally agree monkeying around with the signal display is never really a fix, but Im starting to wonder if that signal display being incorrect is throwing other things in the system off. Like, is that what is triggering the switch from 4G to 3G? And if the actual signal is stronger than what is being displayed, is the system being fooled into switching too early. Also, is the system set to drop a call if the signal gets too low (as perceived by the signal display)?

Makes you wonder if it really is just a s/w issue with the display, but also mucking with how the system handles other things.

Didnt the famed iPhone get a signal bar display update sometime during antennagate?
 
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I normally agree monkeying around with the signal display is never really a fix, but Im starting to wonder if that signal display being incorrect is throwing other things in the system off. Like, is that what is triggering the switch from 4G to 3G? And if the actual signal is stronger than what is being displayed, is the system being fooled into switching too early. Also, is the system set to drop a call if the signal gets too low (as perceived by the signal display)?

I'm not 100% certain but I guess that's what's happening on Gnex right now. But I didn't have dropped calls and mine went down to 1X only once in very weak signal area on mountain.

The Charge using very similar radio system seems pretty stable in signal now, but it's on Gingerbread as opposed to ICS on Gnex. I think 3G/4G radio firmwares in GB is quite matured, but not so much in ICS yet. So I'm hopeful that software update will reduce switching to 3G, 1X, improve connection stability.
 
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The call connection integrity and voice fidelity on both ends has been nothing short of outstanding. Much better than the apparently lauded Moto Droid (man I hated that phone's call quality...) and as good as my Blackberry Bold on AT&T a few years ago. This includes calls made when I have no bars showing. (I rarely experienced a dropped call on AT&T like many complain about, so...)
 
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