Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.
I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.
To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.
Please do not check "yes this is a question" as all Qs get moved to Q&A. If you post a poll put POLL in the title instead.
Edited
FNM
From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.
4ktvs said:
From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.
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Click to collapse
I'm much much much more concerned about call reception than 4G. I work with someone who has the Verizon razr and they never have reception issues at the office. I can't make or receive calls on my Verizon S3 at the office.
boe said:
Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.
I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.
To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had terrible S3 reception. The DNA has a solid Radio.
I'm hoping the S4 has a really good one too, or else, i'm sending mine back, the only thing that sucks with the dna is theres no root, and theres no way of s-offing it currently.
I am curious as well as samsung has a history with bad radios and hoping they finalyl figured it out, otherwise I will have to pass.
4ktvs said:
From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.
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Click to collapse
Yep, the S3 has bad 2g/3g but real good 4g. Weird.
ericerk said:
I had terrible S3 reception. The DNA has a solid Radio.
I'm hoping the S4 has a really good one too, or else, i'm sending mine back, the only thing that sucks with the dna is theres no root, and theres no way of s-offing it currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The DNA is a sweet phone. I came VERY close to buying one, but the lack of SD card slot (and only 16G) and non-removable turned me off. Other than that a very sweet phone!
elucid said:
The DNA is a sweet phone. I came VERY close to buying one, but the lack of SD card slot (and only 16G) and non-removable turned me off. Other than that a very sweet phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was close to getting the DNA as well but Sense seems a little sluggish on it compared to wiz and the battery was a bit underpowered for my needs. I can be on the phone with a client or tech support for hours at a time. There are rumors the One will have a larger screen on Verizon which should cover my issues.
If anyone has the Verizon S3 and the Verizon S4 it might be helpful if you showed network db side by side in an area with no reception or bad reception on the S3.
I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.
I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.
One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.
Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
GS4 has been noticeably better then my GS3
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app
jlangleyrn said:
I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.
I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.
One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.
Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THanks! This is exactly the sort of info that is helpful. Someone who has an S3 that can't work in some areas and then using an S4 in those same spots.
jlangleyrn said:
I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.
I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.
One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.
Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You Sir, Have Given Me hope.
You guys have all given me hope. When I read the op, I seriously thought I wrote it or my wife did. I too have problems using my s3 at work after switching from a Droid Razr to the s3. Everyone at work has an iPhone and have no issues with making calls.
Based on everyone's input, I'm almost willing to try an s4 out before I'm forced to switch to an iPhone 5 (those are the only options for work this time around).
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
boe said:
If anyone has the Verizon S3 and the Verizon S4 it might be helpful if you showed network db side by side in an area with no reception or bad reception on the S3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i get my s4 later today, ill get some screens of the network db side by side and post to see what my results are. Ill have 2 s3s and a s4 so I can see them all side by side. I have a few places on my way to my house the s3 wont pick up so we will see how the s4 does
boe said:
Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.
I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.
To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you 110% Boe. For those of us who have bad reception issues with the S3 it can be a tough road getting people who are happy with their S3, to understand exactly how irritating it is to have a phone that does a lot very well, but can NEVER be trusted as a telephone. I am really looking forward to seeing the responses in this thread. I'm on Verizon.
dweezle said:
I'm with you 110% Boe. For those of us who have bad reception issues with the S3 it can be a tough road getting people who are happy with their S3, to understand exactly how irritating it is to have a phone that does a lot very well, but can NEVER be trusted as a telephone. I am really looking forward to seeing the responses in this thread. I'm on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah for some reason they insist on posting things like I never have problems with my S3 (perhaps they never use it as a phone) or you must have gotten a defective one (all 4 times I replaced my phones and sims at difference Verizon stores throughout the country - amazingly bad luck).
i have a galaxy nexus and can say without a doubt that the s4 radios are better by far. way better. i keep a 4g signal everywhere my galaxy nexus would drop to 3g or 1x, matter of fact i have yet to lose 4g anywhere but in an elevator.
gps locks are also way faster.
very impressive.
BzBz said:
i have a galaxy nexus and can say without a doubt that the s4 radios are better by far. way better. i keep a 4g signal everywhere my galaxy nexus would drop to 3g or 1x, matter of fact i have yet to lose 4g anywhere but in an elevator.
gps locks are also way faster.
very impressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I picked up the s4 this morning. Reception so far OK. I'm in the office where I frequently get no signal. For whatever reason today my S3 and S4 are getting signal. However, both are reading about 100db on average - no real difference between the two so i'm as yet, unconvinced this is an improvement over the S3. I'll be going to yet another place I frequently can't make calls on my S3 later today and we'll see how the S4 does. Clouds, lack of clouds etc can all impact reception so I'll need more testing to know anything regarding this phone's reception.'
Foxfi doesn't seem to work on the S4 but does on my S3 so I'll have to find another sharing program if I decide to keep this phone.
Related
Just a little insight from a VZW "Person"
Our Spotty 4G seems to be in a direct correlation with the iPhone/idont 5 coming out.
Ever since the first couple days after the launch of the iPhone 5 we've all experienced data drops, spotty 4G and sometimes almost an unbelievably long time stuck in 3G.
I have a GS3 and fortunately a folder with a bunch of different "modems/radios" however, until I found what "modem" (as they call it for the sammys) worked best, I was just like you Tbolt peeps. Angry as all hell at that idont coming out with LTE. Especially when half or more of the people that got it, don't even know what real 4G is and they're raining on our parade!
I get to listen to it every day now from my GF. Her Tbolt that I hooked up and gave her was effing amazing three weeks ago. Now... it just drops and hangs data way more than my GS3.
That's why I got on XDA tonight. To see if there were any new radios (as us HTC people call em) out and about. No luck thus far, but I wanted to share some knowledge with the community as to the cause of all this mess. Thanks a lot Apple!
Your over popular smartphone for dumb people is not only an over rated joke of a phone for sheeple, but its taking connectivity away from our awesome (slightly older 4G phones) that most likely won't be getting any more radio updates. This is probably why my GS3 isn't too bad right now (knock on wood) because of the newer modems still coming out.
Ever get double texts or have friends with really freaking slow 3G Droids??
We can thank the idont 4 and 4s for that as well. They over saturated the 3G market which Verizon is not putting another DIME into. So unfortunately Tbolt users and other "older pioneer 4G devices", looks like unless there are new radio leaks, we're kinda SOL.
So there you have it...
Now find that friend of yours that has an idont 5 and thank them for stepping on our toes and our precious 4G on the pioneer phones.
Sent from my galaxy tab 2 tethered to my GS3 with great 4G while watching my gf's Tbolt drop and regain signal :/
By uninstalling the Facebook app and using the Liquid ICS ROM I've not had a 4g drop yet. Before, with Facebook, I'd get drops every time it was running in the background.
emsed1 said:
By uninstalling the Facebook app and using the Liquid ICS ROM I've not had a 4g drop yet. Before, with Facebook, I'd get drops every time it was running in the background.
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Click to collapse
What radio are you using?
i hate apple
Hope it has improved signal over the S3 and no dreaded Message Not Sent when I in full 3g/4g coverage..
I'm hoping the global radio in the Note 2 is outstanding... as this maybe my next phone.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD
Its Samsung so I'm sure the signal will still be lacking compared to moto and HTC. I hope they figured it out as this looks like an awesome phone. Going to wait and see how it ends up before buying.
It probably won't be as good as a Moto phone, however, it may be similar to HTC phones and other Samsung phones. And for anyone saying HTC has a much better signal than Samsung, I've had 3 Samsung phones now, and I have had service places that a DInc2 showed service but couldn't do anything, and have also had reported signal as good as other HTC phones in the same location. I would imagine that the service on the Note 2 would be similar to the SGS3 on VZW.
Agreed hope its improved over the S3
imnuts said:
It probably won't be as good as a Moto phone, however, it may be similar to HTC phones and other Samsung phones. And for anyone saying HTC has a much better signal than Samsung, I've had 3 Samsung phones now, and I have had service places that a DInc2 showed service but couldn't do anything, and have also had reported signal as good as other HTC phones in the same location. I would imagine that the service on the Note 2 would be similar to the SGS3 on VZW.
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Click to collapse
You're all over the note 2 forums imnuts! Does this mean you will be picking one up? :thumbup:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
magneticzero said:
Hope it has improved signal over the S3 and no dreaded Message Not Sent when I in full 3g/4g coverage..
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Click to collapse
I've never had a problem with by reception at all. I usually always have full bars on 4g if not 3 bars
Tap'n
techgov8 said:
I've never had a problem with by reception at all. I usually always have full bars on 4g if not 3 bars
Tap'n
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Click to collapse
Same here. I've been incredibly surprised by the good reception I've had with the S3. It's not quite up to Motorola standards, but it's pretty close to HTC and much better than any other Samsung phone I've had on Verizon. My only complaint has been that it tends to stick with 3G in weak 4G areas more than my recent devices from Motorola and HTC. But I'm guessing that was done on purpose in an attempt to avoid drops when switching back and forth.
I'm always hoping for an improvement, but if the reception is as good as the reception on the S3 has been for me, I'll be happy.
mypantsaretorn said:
You're all over the note 2 forums imnuts! Does this mean you will be picking one up? :thumbup:
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Click to collapse
I have three stipulations, but it pretty much all hinges on one, and that is the phone must be unlocked. Without that, I don't really care about to much else.
imnuts said:
I have three stipulations, but it pretty much all hinges on one, and that is the phone must be unlocked. Without that, I don't really care about to much else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All other Verizon LTE devices with global capabilities have been unlocked for GSM use, as well as for LTE use (although Verizon's LTE bands aren't widely used). I'd expect the Note 2 will be the same.
Anyone knows of a review or reviews comparing Samsung radio receiver sensitivity?
I had never found one, it seems like reviews are written by by newbie reviewers with master degree in English, Communication, or Comp-sci. None of them ever worked with front end radio receivers even just for once in their whole life and completely ignorant of them.
This is a huge problem that I have with my GSIII, I get terrible reception, I'm currently living in the country and my friends with the RAZR Maxx get 4g while I can barely hold onto 3g and going into the basement is absolutely zero service. It's terrible. I had better reception with my Galaxy Nexus than I do with the GSIII. I wish something could be done.
AndrewH05 said:
This is a huge problem that I have with my GSIII, I get terrible reception, I'm currently living in the country and my friends with the RAZR Maxx get 4g while I can barely hold onto 3g and going into the basement is absolutely zero service. It's terrible. I had better reception with my Galaxy Nexus than I do with the GSIII. I wish something could be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you have a defective unit as I haven't heard of anyone that got worse reception with the SGS3 than they did with the Galaxy Nexus.
imnuts said:
Sounds like you have a defective unit as I haven't heard of anyone that got worse reception with the SGS3 than they did with the Galaxy Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I bought the phone from a friend, he bought it and decided he preferred Motorola phones, so I got it cheap. Not sure if Samsung would still honor the warranty or not? And yes, I got way better signal with the Nexus in generally every place I frequently go, much more consistent. That's my ultimate worry about the Note II, if it's just like the GSIII then I'm not sure I want it.
AndrewH05 said:
Unfortunately, I bought the phone from a friend, he bought it and decided he preferred Motorola phones, so I got it cheap. Not sure if Samsung would still honor the warranty or not? And yes, I got way better signal with the Nexus in generally every place I frequently go, much more consistent. That's my ultimate worry about the Note II, if it's just like the GSIII then I'm not sure I want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you think your friend sold it cheap..ha ha jk. Sounds like a defective one. Or you may need a new SIM card. Sg3 signal is much better than gnex. Good luck
AndrewH05 said:
Unfortunately, I bought the phone from a friend, he bought it and decided he preferred Motorola phones, so I got it cheap. Not sure if Samsung would still honor the warranty or not? And yes, I got way better signal with the Nexus in generally every place I frequently go, much more consistent. That's my ultimate worry about the Note II, if it's just like the GSIII then I'm not sure I want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also wanted the new Samsung note mainly for the screensize and I also noted the problems you encountered which is very common with Samsung phones.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/11
"In addition, Samsung makes the mistake of going with a signal bar visualization with very compressed dynamic range. Since the whole iPhone 4 debacle, I’ve seen something of a trend towards a strict linear scale (which makes more sense), but SGS2 definitely doesn’t go that route. It’s not a huge deal however, just something to be aware of. I’m willing to overlook that issue considering that getting the real story on connectivity is no harder than dialing *#0011# and looking at the real number."
The quoted note above meant the the reviewer had little experience with signal processing and didn't know typical "compressed dynamic range" signal processing usage.
In the last 30+ years "compressed dynamic range" signal processing is use to bring actual usable dynamic range above spurious background noise for processing. ie, typical hacks avoiding the problematic spurious background noise instead of fixing unwanted spurious background noise problems causing lack of sufficient signal sensitivity.
So I've been using the Galaxy S4 for a little over 3 weeks. I'm coming from a Thunderbolt which was rooted and updated with its radios.
I travel a lot for work and go to the same locations (different days) every now and then. I've noticed that I lose my 4G connection and go to 3G when I USED TO have a 4G connection at the same site with my Thunderbolt. Has anyone noticed this occuring with their S4?
I feel like I'm not getting the signals I'm supposed to be getting.
I had a Razr HD before the s4 that i have now and the HD was known for its very good radios. To my surprise, the S4's radios are on par or even better than the Hd
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
itsdubai said:
I had a Razr HD before the s4 that i have now and the HD was known for its very good radios. To my surprise, the S4's radios are on par or even better than the Hd
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from Mot Razr Maxx...worrying most about radio performance in buying the S4. The S4 does better in every regard......contrary to my old samsung phone experience (very old). I live in a fringe area with 1 bar or so.....on both phones. The S4 holds on to calls very well too.
zilla. said:
So I've been using the Galaxy S4 for a little over 3 weeks. I'm coming from a Thunderbolt which was rooted and updated with its radios.
I travel a lot for work and go to the same locations (different days) every now and then. I've noticed that I lose my 4G connection and go to 3G when I USED TO have a 4G connection at the same site with my Thunderbolt. Has anyone noticed this occuring with their S4?
I feel like I'm not getting the signals I'm supposed to be getting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes!!!! i came from a gnexus and then an iphone 5, and ive noticed that the radios arent as good. I was also able to customize the radios on the nexus the way i wanted to for 3g and 4g... but it seems to be worse on the galaxy s4
i dont know if radios came out for the GS3, but im hoping that with time, some will come out for this thing... and not the fm radios that i keep seeing
short rrespear
jt25741 said:
I came from Mot Razr Maxx...worrying most about radio performance in buying the S4. The S4 does better in every regard......contrary to my old samsung phone experience (very old). I live in a fringe area with 1 bar or so.....on both phones. The S4 holds on to calls very well too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be carrier specific.....for VZW this has been my experience.
jt25741 said:
It could be carrier specific.....for VZW this has been my experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ehh, ive been on verizon for over 15 years.... and at my specific work for 7 years. I'd say i got the best cell signal with the iphone 5 (dont shoot me), but the gnexus is a close second.
i work in the middle of my building where there is barely any signal, so i kind of know what its like to move the phone an arm length up and finally send a text
theidoctor said:
ehh, ive been on verizon for over 15 years.... and at my specific work for 7 years. I'd say i got the best cell signal with the iphone 5 (dont shoot me), but the gnexus is a close second.
i work in the middle of my building where there is barely any signal, so i kind of know what its like to move the phone an arm length up and finally send a text
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting.....good to know. I guess this means these Motorola phones really didn't have good RF performance after all (despite reputation).....compared to iPhone etc.... All is relative I guess -- LoL
jt25741 said:
Interesting.....good to know. I guess this means these Motorola phones really didn't have good RF performance after all (despite reputation).....compared to iPhone etc.... All is relative I guess -- LoL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahaha... not compared completely to iphone. I mean, in all honesty, i was able to get that one text message without having to worry; but noticed it when my messages weren't going through.
ON the other hand, my friend with a motorola can get a text message the next seat over which is only an armlength away
I had a thunderbolt, an it would always show 4g until I went to use it, then I would get no connection, and eventually it would drop to 3g. I think this phone just hands of the connection faster and smoother than the thunderbolt, and thats what you're seeing.
Schoat333 said:
I had a thunderbolt, an it would always show 4g until I went to use it, then I would get no connection, and eventually it would drop to 3g. I think this phone just hands of the connection faster and smoother than the thunderbolt, and thats what you're seeing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was also the case for me sometimes with the Thunderbolt. But then again, most of the time I was showing 4G at most locations.
I've seen just the opposite, I've got the S4 and my wife has the Razr Maxx, and she's usually got one to two bars better then I do. It's pretty often when in a building I get bumped down to 3G but the Razr is still hanging on to one or two bars 4G. I haven't been too surprised as this is almost exactly the same signals as what I was seeing with my Galaxy Nexus.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2322975
I get significantly better signal with the S4 than I did with the S3. In my house, I can have great phone calls and decent 4G data speed on the S4 (2 bars). On the S3, I had slow speed on 4G and an occasional breakup on phone calls (1 bar). On the Galaxy Nexus, it couldn't connect to the phone network at all from inside the house (x on the signal strength)... A friends RAZR MAXX gets 2 bars and has the same performance as the S4. My bosses Note 2 gets the same experience as my S4...
jeffreycentex said:
I get significantly better signal with the S4 than I did with the S3. In my house, I can have great phone calls and decent 4G data speed on the S4 (2 bars). On the S3, I had slow speed on 4G and an occasional breakup on phone calls (1 bar). On the Galaxy Nexus, it couldn't connect to the phone network at all from inside the house (x on the signal strength)... A friends RAZR MAXX gets 2 bars and has the same performance as the S4. My bosses Note 2 gets the same experience as my S4...
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Click to collapse
I had an S3 also and while at work I would lose 4G all the time. With my S4 I have never lost 4G at work.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
I have noticed a good amount of threads popping up with people talking about signal issues, 3g/4g issues, connection issues or phone issues.
I was wondering if we could find out what the common factor here was and what fixes everyone has been using. I know that some people got new sim cars, problem solved. Some people restored to a full stock image via odin, problem solved. Reflashing the stock radio, problem solved.
So has anyone had any other solutions, issues or any other info regarding signal issues or anything relating to that?
Been through this with the Nexus, S3 and S4
The solution is to buy a Motorola RAZR or iphone.
Things that do not work -
Upgrading to the newest version of Android
Updating the Radio
Changing it to CDMA only
Lifting one leg up, putting one hand on your head and pointing your other hand due north
Attaching a sticker antenna to the back
Using some custom baked firmware
Reading posts from people who claimed they've solved the problem.
Using Bluetooth
Not using Bluetooth
Buying a special case
You can get a femtocell repeater if you are in an office or home where you get little reception but it won't help you on the road or just visiting a friend unless you want to set it up every place you are stationary.
In the end trying to fix the radio design flaw with a firmware update is about as useful as trying to fix a shattered TV screen by adjusting the brightness setting. If you read the radio issues on the Verizon Nexus and the Verizon S3 there are a lot of people claiming they solved it but in the end it still sucks.
I have zero issues with data on my s4 I'm on the east coast running clean rom 1.6.5 solid LTE everywhere..
boe said:
The solution is to buy a Motorola RAZR or iphone.
Things that do not work -
Upgrading to the newest version of Android
Updating the Radio
Changing it to CDMA only
Lifting one leg up, putting one hand on your head and pointing your other hand due north
Attaching a sticker antenna to the back
Using some custom baked firmware
Reading posts from people who claimed they've solved the problem.
Using Bluetooth
Not using Bluetooth
Buying a special case
You can get a femtocell repeater if you are in an office or home where you get little reception but it won't help you on the road or just visiting a friend unless you want to set it up every place you are stationary.
In the end trying to fix the radio design flaw with a firmware update is about as useful as trying to fix a shattered TV screen by adjusting the brightness setting. If you read the radio issues on the Verizon Nexus and the Verizon S3 there are a lot of people claiming they solved it but in the end it still sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately this is very true, every other VZW Non-Samsung phone I've had hasn't exhibited this issue.
Motorola and Apple have had their share of radio/antenna issues as well.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I'm not really talking about comparing the signals to the iPhone or anything. I'm talking about finding a common denominator for the group of people that are suffering from signal, connectivity or phone loss on the s4.
dougmod said:
I'm not really talking about comparing the signals to the iPhone or anything. I'm talking about finding a common denominator for the group of people that are suffering from signal, connectivity or phone loss on the s4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying to tie it all together with a common denominator is a logical fallacy. It would be akin to trying to find a common denominator for everyone in the world that has a chronic cough. The causal factor varies from case to case.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
dougmod said:
I'm not really talking about comparing the signals to the iPhone or anything. I'm talking about finding a common denominator for the group of people that are suffering from signal, connectivity or phone loss on the s4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The common denominator is we are on Verizon and have Samsung phones. If you want to go further, you could do a subset intersect and see we have the S4 on Verizon. It's like saying what is a common denominator for those people who have safety issues with the Chevy Corvair. It is a design flaw that only could be fixed by replacing the phone with a different model. Trust me, I went down this path with the Nexus and the S3 - magical firmware updates were dangled by fanboys saying they would come and fix the issue but the firmware updates came but they never fixed the issue.
If you want better signal, you could buy a different phone or get a femtocell repeater. TRUST me, I would love a magic bullet to fix the issue but there isn't one. On the plus side you'll get a ton of helpful posts from people saying they never have issues or you must be doing something wrong.
I dont know what is up with all ur phones, but my signal is much better than my old Galaxy Nexus/RAZR M. I am getting 2-3 more bars of 4G at work. At home it use to be only 3G, but now im getting at least 2 bars of 4G. I don't even turn on my WiFi anymore at home or work.
bars dont really mean much...
i have had some odd issues where i will be in home depot or grocery store trying to look something up and it will fail; market doesnt work, browser doesnt work. phone calls and texts (over gvoice so data) wont work.
the razM i had before this was solid. my GF still has the razrM and we were at grocery store other day and if you went the their app there was a coupon to add and the s4 was refusing all data again.
i had similar issues with an old HTC Dinc2 and it was then i started using an app "restart connections" to get data back but it doesnt fix the issue on the s4 i have. if i reboot the phone data comes back.
i have also twice now went to use gmaps and it it attempts to look up an address for 3-5 min and i finally restart the phone and go back in and find the address ASAP after reboot.
something funky is going on and i havent taken the time to try and look at syslogs yet...
i am running the stock MDK rom (rooted) on VZW
reception is odd
matt1733 said:
I have zero issues with data on my s4 I'm on the east coast running clean rom 1.6.5 solid LTE everywhere..
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Click to collapse
I'm in a difficult reception area in the middle of manhattan. Funny thing is that I almost always have 4G - even in my house. At the same time, I never have more than two bars of signal in my house. I have occasionally had trouble making calls (I think the tower I'm reaching is too busy), but once connected, no one has complained and dropped calls are rare.
I don't understand this and don't know whether to complain or not because although there are almost no bars, there is reception that is pretty good. So I've left well enough alone.
This phone gets decent reception for me. Dropping from 4g to 3g is new for me after coming from an htc rezound though. My rez NEVER dropped 4g in my city anywhere. Guess radios is the one thing htc can do right. My s4 drops to 3g in multiple areas sometimes. Hopefully Samsung keeps getting better with their radios and they'll have me as a customer for more years of they do
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
trekuhl said:
bars dont really mean much...
i have had some odd issues where i will be in home depot or grocery store trying to look something up and it will fail; market doesnt work, browser doesnt work. phone calls and texts (over gvoice so data) wont work.
the razM i had before this was solid. my GF still has the razrM and we were at grocery store other day and if you went the their app there was a coupon to add and the s4 was refusing all data again.
i had similar issues with an old HTC Dinc2 and it was then i started using an app "restart connections" to get data back but it doesnt fix the issue on the s4 i have. if i reboot the phone data comes back.
i have also twice now went to use gmaps and it it attempts to look up an address for 3-5 min and i finally restart the phone and go back in and find the address ASAP after reboot.
something funky is going on and i havent taken the time to try and look at syslogs yet...
i am running the stock MDK rom (rooted) on VZW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is basically the same issue I have. Only a reboot/data toggle won't fix it. I had two bars(not that it means much, I didn't look at the db) and it kept saying it was communicating with the tower via the green/red up/down indicators, but I couldn't access any data services. I moved my car approximately 500 yards to the south and viola, data again. I don't get why I could make a call, but I couldn't access data.
That being said, it's still better than my Gnex for....well...everything. But I would say worse than my Rezound, Bionic.
i ended up flashing the modem with the ME7 version, while keeping the rest of the ROM on the original MDK. that was about amonth ago and i think ive only had to reboot 1-2 times because of data drop.
I have an upgrade starting today, have original gnexus that came out almost 2 years ago. I love the phone but the signal is horrendous 3g/4g doesn't matter.
This phone looks great, to be honest not sure what phone to get, I don't care about rooting or upgrading rom's just don't have time for that need a phone that works.
Between the ones I have.. Ive got a 515.09 and .10 and both on LTE here average around -86-90 dbm , 3-4 bars all day
Sitting at -89 on my Note 3 right now, in my area I don't really notice a difference in signal
NeoMagus said:
Between the ones I have.. Ive got a 515.09 and .10 and both on LTE here average around -86-90 dbm , 3-4 bars all day
Sitting at -89 on my Note 3 right now, in my area I don't really notice a difference in signal
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Click to collapse
so not major differences? Maybe i just got a bad gnexus, but I did exchange a few times right now sitting at -93 to -103 in 3g with 2 bars
with 4G I have one bar with -111
I just know compared to my daughters iphone she has much better signal then my gnexus, so I know something is up with this phone.
How is the camera on the note3 compared to gnexus? Is it better at least? I know it a cell phone, but gnexus camera was hit and miss.
I've never had an issue with the signal on either of mine .. might be a fringe area as well .. chances are though if its bad with the 515 it'll be bad with the Note.
Camera wise, jmo but I dont really like the Note 3's camera. Shots dont turn out well on mine often I liked how fast the GNex instantly snapped shots and I do prefer AOSP over TW
NeoMagus said:
I've never had an issue with the signal on either of mine .. might be a fringe area as well .. chances are though if its bad with the 515 it'll be bad with the Note.
Camera wise, jmo but I dont really like the Note 3's camera. Shots dont turn out well on mine often I liked how fast the GNex instantly snapped shots and I do prefer AOSP over TW
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Click to collapse
Thanks really torn, would have liked to just go to nexus 5 but I am stuck with verizon.
Choices really s4, note3, LG G2, or htc one or i guess that new htc max
Out of those any idea which has the best signals? I know this might be wrong forum to ask about other phones but not sure where to ask
Motorola phones are generally regarded as having good radios, but I personally haven't used one since the Bionic
The note 3 is the greatest phone on the market.
Signals are amazing.
Camera is amazing.
Battery is amazing.
Screen is amazing.
Speed is amazing.
It's only flaw is the lack of AOSP.
And if you ask most of us here, you will find that many of us agree AOSP on this device is a Downgrade.
You lose out on so many features.
With that being said.
You'd be a fool to buy any other current phone for Verizon.
(Maybe the exception for the LG G2)
I just got the note 3 and had come from the thunderbolt. Signal was better on the bolt unfortunately but when the signal is good man does the note fly.
Edit: 3g is always strong but when you get stuck on 1 to 2 bars on 4g the phone will just sit there sometimes.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
barrackOBAMA said:
The note 3 is the greatest phone on the market.
Signals are amazing.
Camera is amazing.
Battery is amazing.
Screen is amazing.
Speed is amazing.
It's only flaw is the lack of AOSP.
And if you ask most of us here, you will find that many of us agree AOSP on this device is a Downgrade.
You lose out on so many features.
With that being said.
You'd be a fool to buy any other current phone for Verizon.
(Maybe the exception for the LG G2)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After several devices, and trying CM variants since I dunno.... CM8 or CM9, I am worm out on AOSP. The signal specifically is always worse on AOSP than stock Touch wiz.
OP, I've been through the Fascinate, Charge, GS3 and now the Note 3. It seems to me (at least in terms of Samsung radios) that they finally got it right. I get better signal with the N3 than the GS3 which wasn't very old really. Both wifi and 4G. In places where I used to barely get any signal or the sporadic 1xRtt data I get a marginal 3G signal. That's good for the place I test it weekly which is like a Faraday cage. Most people in class with me have zero signal. For reference on AOSP on my GS3 I would have nothing there, zero, even texts fail there.
Last night I did a test with the wifi radio. I walked outside my place nearly 100 ft and was STILL getting usable signal using the 5ghz band of my router (Netgear WNDR3700) which to be fair has a lot to do with that test. I could have switched to the 2.4ghz band for improved range but in between these two apartment buildings I am probably picking up on 30 routers at once so 5ghz gives me much better SNR. It's noticeably improved over the GS3 as far as wifi.
All in all I am very happy with reception considering it's a Samsung. I put it nearly on par with coworkers Motorola Razr Maxx and similar handsets. Keep in mind I am in a very well established heavily covered LTE market metro area. You I think you still have a 14 day trial period with Verizon, why not give it a try.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
I was in a similar situation - loved the GNexus, other than poor signal as well as battery life. Stock ROM, also no time/interest in flashing ROM's, or even rooting.
The GN3 is a breath of fresh air. The battery life is incredible. I've only had it a month, and haven't done significant traveling, but the signal has just never been a problem. When I've tested it, it's been as good as my wife's Galaxy S4, which was clearly better than my GNexus.
The browsing experience with Chrome is also incredible - it seems as fast as my desktop loading pages and responsiveness (the GNexus wasn't bad, but this is dramatically faster). The display is gorgeous, and I love the size.
By a stroke of good fortune, it seems to work better with my BlueAnt S4 (visor-mounted bluetooth speaker device). It also works quite well with S-Voice, for truly hands-free operation when driving (I use Car Home Ultra with it).
So yes, for me at least, it simply works without me having to do much other than customizing appearance and apps. I have no regrets at all in going to the GN3 from the GNexus.
Probably best for the sticky here ...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2466108