Nexus 5 Cell Phone Reception Problems

[MarkNexus5]

I was initially very happy with my Nexus 5 reception. After having returned my phone to LG for repair of a cracked screen I got 2 bars in the same area other phones were getting 4 or 5. The unit was almost useless as a phone or for texts.

I did not at first associate the LG repairs with the reception problem as I got OTA Kitkat updates around the same time. After much research concerning possible software problems with KitKat 4.3 and 4.4 updates, I ran across a lone thread saying the problem was hardware related. I contacted Google customer service, went through their normal troubleshooting process to eliminate simple fixes, and was sent a replacement phone overnight, with a return shipping label included. When I got the new phone I put them side by side, and sure enough the new Nexus 5 had 2-3 bars better reception than the old one.

Many users in the various forums are disgruntled with Google for not correcting Kitkat software problems they feel are causing poor reception. I carefully monitored the new phone as it went through its updates from the Kitkat 4.2 it was shipped with to 4.3 to 4.4 and noted no difference with the various software releases as far as cell signal was concerned. It may be that there is a design problem with the antenna, and most problems are hardware rather than software related. This is just a guess and I am no expert in this area.

 

[grenefroggie]

I am inclined to believe that this is a Nexus issue. I had a similar issue with my Galaxy Nexus that I have with my Nexus 5.

I am not 100% sure it is hardware related as much as it is software. I honestly don't know. I am an AT&T customer. With my Moto X (carrier branded), I get service in some tough spots. In those same spots, I lose all service with my N5.

Here are my thoughts on this:

Carrier branded phones tend to have carrier branded software which may or may not help with reception issues.
Nexus and AOSP devices report less bars for the same signal. IE: With my GS3 running TouchWiz, I will have three bars (a -94dBm signal to the tower). Running CyanogenMod on the same GS3, I will have two bars (a-94dBm signal to the tower).

The area I live in has great coverage with AT&T. I like my Nexus 5, but the service is more reliable on my Moto X. While the Moto X gets better cell coverage, the Nexus 5 gets better WiFi performance. It is a trade I guess. Overall, I am impressed with the Nexus 5. But maybe AT&T's coverage in my area is just as much the reason that I don't have terrible reception issues with my N5.

 

[Brian Low]

I think it is hardware related, definitely not software. I recently just got a nexus 5 replacement because my old one decided to stop working. My first nexus 5 would consistently have 2-3 bars of service and have no problem connecting to the sprint network. But my replacement is constantly dropping signal wherever I go. I've kept my eye on the signal monitor in the settings and it's funny how I would go from - 90db to - 120db Ina matter of seconds.

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