Verizon GS3 signal reception thread

[DROID_SCOTSMAN]

Yea the Gnex through Verizon was terrible where I live. I am starting to seriously consider just going to Best Buy and buying an AT&T S3 since GSM seems to work better with Samsung phones. I don't have unlimited so I guess I'm not missing out on that aspect.

My wife has the Rezound on contract and my area (not at my home) just got Verizon LTE so I hate to give that up for AT&T HSPA+... decisions, decisions.:hmmmm:

If unlimited is not an issue for you... verizon>ATT (unless you travel out of the states, then you can usually buy unlocked phones which is better) but unless dying for the SIII, you might as well wait for the RAZR HD as the radio will no doubt be better than the SIII.

 

[rage151]

If unlimited is not an issue for you... verizon>ATT (unless you travel out of the states, then you can usually buy unlocked phones which is better) but unless dying for the SIII, you might as well wait for the RAZR HD as the radio will no doubt be better than the SIII.

I think there is some doubt. Rumor has it that Moto is using the same chipset, 8960, in the HD as Samsung is using in the S3. Doesnt matter much though, it the coding that handles the signal (RIL). Moto has always done a better job with it.

 

[rushmore]

Try reading it again.

Sorry

 

[rushmore]

Yea the Gnex through Verizon was terrible where I live. I am starting to seriously consider just going to Best Buy and buying an AT&T S3 since GSM seems to work better with Samsung phones. I don't have unlimited so I guess I'm not missing out on that aspect.

My wife has the Rezound on contract and my area (not at my home) just got Verizon LTE so I hate to give that up for AT&T HSPA+... decisions, decisions.:hmmmm:

Test the G3 out with VZW first, since the jury is still out on the reception .......

 

[rushmore]

I think there is some doubt. Rumor has it that Moto is using the same chipset, 8960, in the HD as Samsung is using in the S3. Doesnt matter much though, it the coding that handles the signal (RIL). Moto has always done a better job with it.

And their antenna array designs. Seems Samsung should hire some Moto folks... or at least copy THAT instead of Siri. Bleh.

 

[darkestred]

I think a software update will fix the issue. I have had no issues with my phone yet.

My TB in the same spot in my room hovers around 75-78. The Rezound was at 78 and last night my s3 was at 82, today 83 and now 78.

 

[metz65]

For those of you getting good reception I would like to know what kind of coverage area you live in.

I'm in a fringe area with 3g only and my Gnex was just way to unreliable for making and receiving calls. I'm interested in this phone, but only if it actually works as a phone.

 

[dhj]

I went back and edited my post and I apologize to anyone I have or may have offended, the 3 + threads that I saw that info in were wrong and you all that corrected me were correct, that it does mess up sim cards so as dhj tried all this he now has to go to Verizon for a new sim card.

Thank you dhj for testing this out for us now we all know for sure it does not work with this specific phone and will mess up your sim card.

(if it is not your sim they replace then I will correct again), and THANK YOU FOR TRYING"

New SIM, and all is well. They just replaced the SIM no charge. They were more interested in seeing the phone and checking it out, I think.

I'm back to the old PRL, and my reception is 107 in the same location. I'm going to compare it to my colleague's Nexus later this week.

In the grand scheme this was no biggie. All a good learning experience.

 

[rushmore]

New SIM, and all is well. They just replaced the SIM no charge. They were more interested in seeing the phone and checking it out, I think.

I'm back to the old PRL, and my reception is 107 in the same location. I'm going to compare it to my colleague's Nexus later this week.

In the grand scheme this was no biggie. All a good learning experience.

Of course you have the luxury of being pragmatic, since you already have the GS3

"Us" Best Buys blues-ers and Verizon limbo-ers are not

 

[DILands]

The SG S3 is a little worse but those numbers do not look horrible; after all the razr is generally exceptional. Btw were you on 4g or 3g ?

Why do people try to exclude the RAZR from the comparison? Someone else said the same thing when discussing battery life. I guess if you want the SIII and battery life and reception are important, then you have to remove Motorola from the mix.

A friend had a good saying "if you haven't seen the sun, you think the moon is bright".

I'm not coming here as a troll, or a Motorola fanboy, but to me, battery life and reception are more compelling to me than any of the features I've seen on the SIII.

 

[Skeeter125]

It's my understanding that if you are having issues its free (i've had one replaced) but if you are responsible for borking it yourself that you had to purchase a new one. However... I may be incorrect

I'm not sure I just know when I went from a 3g phone to an lte phone that I bought from someone and vice versa they never charged me.

 

[Skeeter125]

For those of you getting good reception I would like to know what kind of coverage area you live in.

I'm in a fringe area with 3g only and my Gnex was just way to unreliable for making and receiving calls. I'm interested in this phone, but only if it actually works as a phone.

I think if you are in a fringe area moto is the only way to go. Maybe the sgs3 will be different but I think the same people who had issues with the nexus were in fringe areas it seemed like those in pretty good coverage areas were not having any issues.

 

[rushmore]

Why do people try to exclude the RAZR from the comparison? Someone else said the same thing when discussing battery life. I guess if you want the SIII and battery life and reception are important, then you have to remove Motorola from the mix.

A friend had a good saying "if you haven't seen the sun, you think the moon is bright".

I'm not coming here as a troll, or a Motorola fanboy, but to me, battery life and reception are more compelling to me than any of the features I've seen on the SIII.

Seems he is valuing the Razr comparison. I have one and will compare to the GS3.... when I actually get the phone to compare....

 

[Skeeter125]

Try reading it again.

no he is right -80 is better than -100.

 

[red66charger]

Seems he is valuing the Razr comparison. I have one and will compare to the GS3.... when I actually get the phone to compare....

Rushmore, will you be posting your comparison results here? I'm extremely interested in reading your findings.

 

[ylexot]

no he is right -80 is better than -100.

You're both right...and I said the same thing. Reading comprehension is your friend.

 

[Johnnybee]

This just posted earlier by creccaj1 on androidcentral

"As requested by users, and rightfully so this has to be added to the review. My apologies for missing it right away. The Galaxy Nexus has been plagued with service issues between constant data drops and the overall service sometimes just not working. Samsung has never been the best when it comes to their radios but I feel they did a pretty good job improving the radios in the Galaxy S3. I have not had a major issue as of yet and no data drops to speak of. Call quality is good, albeit a little low but bearable. I will say that it was a little unnerving when some people couldn't even receive phone calls on their GNex (my gf just experienced this the other day, luckily she has a GS3 on the way). I have to give this one too the GS3. While it isn't leaps and bounds better, it hasn't been plagued with the same glaring issue that some Nexus users are having."

[REVIEW/GUIDE] GS3 vs. GNex for VZW - 7/8/12 - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

 

[Ken7]

Yea the Gnex through Verizon was terrible where I live. I am starting to seriously consider just going to Best Buy and buying an AT&T S3 since GSM seems to work better with Samsung phones. I don't have unlimited so I guess I'm not missing out on that aspect.

My wife has the Rezound on contract and my area (not at my home) just got Verizon LTE so I hate to give that up for AT&T HSPA+... decisions, decisions.:hmmmm:

If you want great reception and Verizon LTE, you can either get the Rezound, the current Razr Max or wait a bit for the Razr Max HD. You might wind up with the best of both worlds.

 

[Ken7]

I think a software update will fix the issue. I have had no issues with my phone yet.

Well they said that about the GNex and no software update did anything to improve things. I'm of the opinion that if it doesn't work right from the beginning, the odds are it's a hardware design issue. If I still test out the G3 and find I'm having the same issues I have with the GNex, there's no way in the world I'll hold on to it hoping software updates will fix it. With Samsungs they probably won't.

 

[dhj]

Of course you have the luxury of being pragmatic, since you already have the GS3

"Us" Best Buys blues-ers and Verizon limbo-ers are not

Yeah, the waiting stinks. I hope you'll love it when you do get it. I think it's a fantastic phone, and subjectively think the call quality is better than my X2.

 

[Ken7]

Rushmore, any reason you didn't order from VZW? They've got a return policy that's pretty good, although I'm not sure if you're using a subsidized purchase via Verizon or paying retail. If you use a subsidized purchase, I'm not sure what happens to your grandfathered unlimited data if you return it.

 

[Thechidz]

Rushmore, any reason you didn't order from VZW? They've got a return policy that's pretty good, although I'm not sure if you're using a subsidized purchase via Verizon or paying retail. If you use a subsidized purchase, I'm not sure what happens to your grandfathered unlimited data if you return it.

verizon's return policy is nowhere near as good as best buy's and some people use best buy gift cards. But I agree in this case I definitely was glad I ordered through vzw kept my unl data etc

 

[gnexowner]

Software update did fix signal issue for alot ppl. Just because it didn't for some dont mean the nexus had bad signal.

Well they said that about the GNex and no software update did anything to improve things. I'm of the opinion that if it doesn't work right from the beginning, the odds are it's a hardware design issue. If I still test out the G3 and find I'm having the same issues I have with the GNex, there's no way in the world I'll hold on to it hoping software updates will fix it. With Samsungs they probably won't.

 

[dfran1]

New SIM, and all is well. They just replaced the SIM no charge. They were more interested in seeing the phone and checking it out, I think.

I'm back to the old PRL, and my reception is 107 in the same location. I'm going to compare it to my colleague's Nexus later this week.

In the grand scheme this was no biggie. All a good learning experience.

Its nice to know that when you did, it did have a better signal but now how to keep that without losing 4g (sim card)?

Also a note to everyone i consider my iphone 4s pretty good for reception
so yesterday i ran some tests (dialing only from the phone app keypad *3001#12345#* , puts it into field test)

in the same spot as I type this i got -85 yesterday
as I type this now I am getting -96
I have also noticed intermittent weak areas for the past 3 weeks or so that I never had, and I have been doing *22899 (DO NOT DO THIS ON A 4G PHONE IT WILL TRASH YOUR SIM CARD)
I dont know if they are working on towers or ???

southern MA and RI areas

 

[Ken7]

This just posted earlier by creccaj1 on androidcentral

"As requested by users, and rightfully so this has to be added to the review. My apologies for missing it right away. The Galaxy Nexus has been plagued with service issues between constant data drops and the overall service sometimes just not working. Samsung has never been the best when it comes to their radios but I feel they did a pretty good job improving the radios in the Galaxy S3. I have not had a major issue as of yet and no data drops to speak of. Call quality is good, albeit a little low but bearable. I will say that it was a little unnerving when some people couldn't even receive phone calls on their GNex (my gf just experienced this the other day, luckily she has a GS3 on the way). I have to give this one too the GS3. While it isn't leaps and bounds better, it hasn't been plagued with the same glaring issue that some Nexus users are having."

[REVIEW/GUIDE] GS3 vs. GNex for VZW - 7/8/12 - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

Although I enjoyed his review, I found the signal portion of his review the weakest part of it. He doesn't mention much about data capture in fringe areas (he may not live in one?). For many/most frustrated GNex users, that's the issue to tackle.

It also seemed he liked his GNex best, but would pick the S3. Can't quite figure that one out aside from the fact the S3 is new. New is always fun.