Help Signal Strength

[ebe3692]

When I bought my OG droid I ended up buying a network extender because I had so many connection issues, seemed like there was a hole in coverage around my house - signal was great as soon as I got about a block away.

Now that I have my Nexus, my signal seems to be better and I no longer need the extender. no dropped calls or data. Im not talking about measured dbm or bars because I think that can be deceiving , just purely call quality and connection problems are better.

just wanted to chime in that there are some of us out there who are happy with the signal. or maybe its just me?

 

[tangomango]

So is this issue even known to VW?

I read somewhere that VW knows about it and will fix it by March (really, March?!). Then I read that they claim it's not an issue just a bug not showing the proper connectivity or something

 

[ebe3692]

also wanted to note that a few days after I got my OG Droid there were many alarming forum threads saying how there was a serious radio problem and argument over whether it was hardware or software.
and I remember anyone that posted claiming this was an isolated issue was told "its all over all of the forums! this phone is a dud!". not saying there is not a real problem. just made me think.

 

[finn5975]

On my 3rd Galaxy Nexus now. Unfortunately for me, same result. While my Rezound has no problems handling youtube videos, website videos, etc..... my Nexus will continually need to buffer. Same with streaming music. Just deflates me cause I wanted to love this G Nex so much. I learned that I could deal with its other weaknesses, some which I believe will get a fix. But this, I dont think I can. The least thing I do on my phone is actually talk. If I cant use it as a dependable media device...its value falls to next to zero.

To those who dont have this issue, I am very jealous. Enjoy that beauty the way I wish I could have!!

 

[jroc]

When I bought my OG droid I ended up buying a network extender because I had so many connection issues, seemed like there was a hole in coverage around my house - signal was great as soon as I got about a block away.

Now that I have my Nexus, my signal seems to be better and I no longer need the extender. no dropped calls or data. Im not talking about measured dbm or bars because I think that can be deceiving , just purely call quality and connection problems are better.

just wanted to chime in that there are some of us out there who are happy with the signal. or maybe its just me?

Posts like this confuse me. My OG Droid has good reception for a phone. If the G Nex can match it or beat it I might consider getting it.

But from what I read the reception might not be better than the OG Droid. If you can use the G Nex with no network extendeder....your OG Droid should work without it too. Cuz in my case going from the OG Droid to the Droid X1 to the RAZR reception got better with each phone. If the G Nex has better reception than the OG Droid....its at least on par with the DX1, which would be amazing.

I may just have to get a G Nex and compare to me RAZR and Droid 1. Then if I get a total lemon.....I'm back to square one....

 

[ebe3692]

Posts like this confuse me. My OG Droid has good reception for a phone. If the G Nex can match it or beat it I might consider getting it.

But from what I read the reception might not be better than the OG Droid. If you can use the G Nex with no network extendeder....your OG Droid should work without it too. Cuz in my case going from the OG Droid to the Droid X1 to the RAZR reception got better with each phone. If the G Nex has better reception than the OG Droid....its at least on par with the DX1, which would be amazing.

I may just have to get a G Nex and compare to me RAZR and Droid 1. Then if I get a total lemon.....I'm back to square one....

just to clarify. the Droid did work without the network extender - it was just not reliable enough for me. I would drop calls or the call would cut in and out . not with every call, but often enough to be bothersome.

obviously have only had the nexus for a few days but not one dropped call yet. I will admit that at full strength the voice quality / clarity is not as good as the droid but I do not think that is a signal issue.

 

[kklier]

Is it possible that earlier builds of the LTE Nexus from Samsung are not as robust? Is there any way to identify when the phones were built? Below the Made in Korea is an 11.11? November 2011?

I guess I'm grasping at straws. I remember initial builds of the storm 1 had some quality issues.

 

[kk4df]

On my 3rd Galaxy Nexus now. Unfortunately for me, same result. While my Rezound has no problems handling youtube videos, website videos, etc..... my Nexus will continually need to buffer. Same with streaming music. Just deflates me cause I wanted to love this G Nex so much. I learned that I could deal with its other weaknesses, some which I believe will get a fix. But this, I dont think I can. The least thing I do on my phone is actually talk. If I cant use it as a dependable media device...its value falls to next to zero.

To those who dont have this issue, I am very jealous. Enjoy that beauty the way I wish I could have!!

I guess I must count myself as one of the lucky ones. Except during the 4G outage, I've had good data rates and connectivity.

I do believe that the 4G network and tower switching software may be partially to blame. I ran an app called OpenSignal the other day, watching the phone move between towers as I drove to work. Very often the phone would be connected to a tower far away, even when a closer one was in the immediate vicinity. It might finally switch to the closer tower, but it seems like it seldom switched to the closest or strongest cell tower.

Based on their recent LTE outages, I suspect they are trying to update some of their software that connects all our phones as we move around in their cell network. The Anandtech article shed some light on how difficult this must be to manage during our migration from 3G only phones to 3G/4G SIM card phones. Even when connecting to a 3G network, SIM card (4G capable) phones authenticate differently it seems.

I believe (and hope) connectivity may get better over time. But for me, fortunately, it is acceptable at my home and work. I'll give it a better test while on the road for the Christmas holidays.

 

[LoyalServant]

I would like to ask Verizon to explain this:
Imageshack - img20111222084443.jpg

It's not my imagination.
No matter how many tests I do that is the result.

The radio sucks. plain and simple.

 

[JustinHEMI]

Yep, im getting 700kb down in my house when on my TB i got 20 megs down. This phone loses signal in buildings, period. Some may be lucky and it doesnt, but that doesnt change the fact that many of us are suffering from this.

 

[kk4df]

I would like to ask Verizon to explain this:
Imageshack - img20111222084443.jpg

It's not my imagination.
No matter how many tests I do that is the result.

The radio sucks. plain and simple.

I see you image shows one of your tests in Augusta, GA, and one shows Hosted by Comcast. Are both of these on 4G at the same time?

I'm in Augusta, and my 4G speeds are plenty fast on my GN.

 

[BigRedNole]

I would like to ask Verizon to explain this:
http://imageshack.us/f/834/img20111222084443.jpg/

I was just at my local VZW corporate store. They explained it as "Oh well!!!" The could care less. They said I am still in my window to change phones.

What a bunch of bull$hit.

 

[SixHouse]

South Tampa, FL.

I always switch to Mbps because it's easier for most people to relate. 8Mbps (megaBITS) = 1MBps (megaBYTE). Since most people talk about downloading and file sizes in megabytes, this is much more natural. So with full bars of 4g I'm getting a little over 1 MB per second download.

 

[rushmore]

Seems to still be misnomers floating around. If you are in an area with real good to great coverage, there are no issues, unless you venture into buildings and use data. People are noticing their previous phone had no issues in those cases, yet the Nexus does.

Same for less than good to fringe areas. The Nexus reception is weaker than other devices including the Charge that has the same radios. The good news is that since the same radios, perhaps a software fix will get to par with the Charge. If the antenna design in the Nexus is the issue, software will not yield much if any improvement.

Summary: If you have no issues and do not travel much to remote areas- no problem. All others could test and compare to see if a problem.

BTW: I do not remember the Droid 1 ever having reception issues. It had a 1X 3G issue, but that was similar to the silliness going on now with 3G/4G.

The root crowd can say what the want, but Moto devices since the Droid 1 all have the best reception of current devices and call quality. Reviewers state it and users in the forum know it. Just depends on your priorities for a device.

 

[syntrix]

Seems to still be misnomers floating around.
...

Same for less than good to fringe areas. The Nexus reception is weaker than other devices including the Charge that has the same radios. The good news is that since the same radios, perhaps a software fix will get to par with the Charge.

The radios, although similar, are different between the VZW SGN and the Droid Charge. To say they are the same is a misnomer.

 

[JLW24]

Seems to still be misnomers floating around. If you are in an area with real good to great coverage, there are no issues, unless you venture into buildings and use data. People are noticing their previous phone had no issues in those cases, yet the Nexus does.

Problem is, how many of us are going to just use our phone outside? I work in midtown NYC, where 4g coverage is prevalent, and while at work, my phone doesn't get a signal. Same thing for where I live, 5 minutes right across the river in NJ. The only time I have ever seen 4 bars on my phone is when walking to work outside.

 

[rushmore]

The radios, although similar, are different between the VZW SGN and the Droid Charge. To say they are the same is a misnomer.

From an absolute standpoint, true, but at least similarity gives hope to the reception challenged that want to keep the Nexus.

 

[syntrix]

From an absolute standpoint, true, but at least similarity gives hope to the reception challenged that want to keep the Nexus.

I'll agree with that!

 

[rushmore]

Problem is, how many of us are going to just use our phone outside? I work in midtown NYC, where 4g coverage is prevalent, and while at work, my phone doesn't get a signal. Same thing for where I live, 5 minutes right across the river in NJ. The only time I have ever seen 4 bars on my phone is when walking to work outside.

Agreed. Point is a lot of people are going by download rates and in better coverage areas using that as the litmus that everything is okay. It is not okay, especially for some of my buds that have followed this device for months and live in Kentucky. Not a mecca for great coverage in a lot of areas.


Added:

I am wrong on the "no problem" since even folks in great coverage areas can have issues in buildings they may not have had before. Wonder how long Google, VZW and Samsung use the Apple tactic of denial?

I still suggest they may be using semantics and though the reception IS a problem, the device is not defective, since it simply may be a weak radio design. Technically they would be right, though still wrong to users.

 

[FragDroidX]

This is something ppl must realize. If we are all standing next to a tower, we would all have decent reception and speeds.

Reception, signal issues wont be noticed unless you are in a bad reception area.....just like the iPhone 4 antenna issue.

Samsung and weak reception has been following them since before Android was out. Things seemed to havent changed much. GPS is better tho, so thats good.

It seems like it will still be a con on the pro/con list for Samsung. Sometimes it is what it is. Moto is encrypted bootloader, Samsung is weak reception.

About 4G speeds....I think every other LTE phone on Verizon uses a higher category LTE chip than Moto. I learned the other day Moto uses Cat 2, the G Nex and Rezound use Cat 3. So even in great reception areas those 2 should post better LTE numbers than the Bionic and RAZR. So dont see amazing speeds with the G Nex and think that your reception is better, fine or fixed. There could still be an issue. I wonder tho... why does Moto use Cat 2....

Moto likely uses the cat 2 because they believe it saves power. Either way cat 2 is capable of 50 down and 25 up so unless you are able to achieve speeds higher than that ( cat 3 can do 100 down and 50 up ) it doesn't really matter. My Razr actually hits higher speeds than my Rezound in the same locations so its a non issue. Also keep in mind that as the network gets more users our speeds are going to decrease anyway.

 

[kl68]

I posted this in another thread but thought I should also post it in this thread.

OK, so last night I switched out my GN that had horrible signal reception for another GN. I fully charged it up last night and booted it up this morning. I did not install the update to 4.0.2, kept it at 4.0.1 because I read in this forum someone mentioning that the update screwed up their reception. I also did not sync anything, so I basically kept it as is out of the box.

My replacement GN reception is a little bit better but still pretty bad, seems like the new unit can hold onto the weak signal a little bit better. While driving into work this morning (from Diamond Bar, CA to Newport Beach, CA) I would get pretty good 4G signal (around -85dBm or less) but it was very unstable at times, jumping around from 2 bars to full bars. The moment I walked into my office building bam all signals went away and it showed grayed out bars. I’m in my office now and I’m only getting one to two bars of 3G signal (-100dBm/-93dBm). Weird thing I also notice is that if I pick up the phone the signal would drop to no bars (-120dBm), but the moment I put it down it goes back to 3G (-100dBm or -93dBm). But now I at least get very weak 3G signal, in a 4G area, in my office whereas my returned unit couldn’t even get any signal at all. All I can think of is the GN has weak radio or the antenna is bad. I will not be installing the 4.0.2 update even though the install message pops up every time I wake the phone up.

 

[kklier]

I noticed no difference going from 4.0.1 to 4.0.2 or 4.0.3.

 

[rushmore]

This is something ppl must realize. If we are all standing next to a tower, we would all have decent reception and speeds.

Reception, signal issues wont be noticed unless you are in a bad reception area.....just like the iPhone 4 antenna issue.

Samsung and weak reception has been following them since before Android was out. Things seemed to havent changed much. GPS is better tho, so thats good.

It seems like it will still be a con on the pro/con list for Samsung. Sometimes it is what it is. Moto is encrypted bootloader, Samsung is weak reception.

About 4G speeds....I think every other LTE phone on Verizon uses a higher category LTE chip than Moto. I learned the other day Moto uses Cat 2, the G Nex and Rezound use Cat 3. So even in great reception areas those 2 should post better LTE numbers than the Bionic and RAZR. So dont see amazing speeds with the G Nex and think that your reception is better, fine or fixed. There could still be an issue. I wonder tho... why does Moto use Cat 2....

Not sure why, but the Razr has the best reception of any device I have tested. I live in Kentucky, so a good stress test for signal.

Razr may suck lemons for one hand operation, but it has great reception.

 

[john30308]

Atlanta (IP) and no signal or 4G issues here.

 

[Blue218]

The radios, although similar, are different between the VZW SGN and the Droid Charge. To say they are the same is a misnomer.

LOL.....once my Charge got the Gingerbread (2.3) update, which took forever, it actually was working much better and was dependable......I gave the Charge to my wife when I got the Nexus......I hope that it is a similar issue with the Nexus and it seems to be very much like the Charge before the update.

Now I just want to know WHEN WILL 4.0.3 be coming out.....I hope it is faster than updates on the Charge (9-10 months later than promised)