Where To See Signal Strength on Pixel?

[PowrDroid]

Was in Verizon looking at the Pixel phones and wanted to compare the network signal strength to my Droid Turbo. I looked through the Pixel settings menus but couldn't find where to check the actual network signal strength.

On my Droid Turbo it is: Settings > More > Cellular Networks > Network Type and Strength

Where do I find it on Pixel?

 

[radgatt]

Was in Verizon looking at the Pixel phones and wanted to compare the network signal strength to my Droid Turbo. I looked through the Pixel settings menus but couldn't find where to check the actual network signal strength.

On my Droid Turbo it is: Settings > More > Cellular Networks > Network Type and Strength

Where do I find it on Pixel?

Settings>about phone>sim status

 

[Davidoo]

The Pixels in the Verizon stores near me have this blocked. The SIM status does not show according to the reps at the store, because they have it blocked in demo mode. I think many people have been coming into the stores to check this issue and they are getting smart and hiding that setting. I went to 2 stores near me and every phone except the Pixel you could see the signal strength setting. Now why would they do that just for this device???

 

[DJM626]

Maybe because they are aware of the signal problems that some users are experiencing with this phone on their network. Personally I don't think the signal issue has been addressed by Verizon in the latest update.

I'm thinking that maybe something in the update improved things a little for them to not dwell on it enough to spend enough time working on it. While my signal is just a tad better over the past few days with the update I don't see a drastic or enough of an improvement to this phone as the other phones offered on their network. Verizon should realize that some consumers are educated in this department and know what to look for. I also find it hard to believe with some of the people with this issue that Verizon would still tell me that I was the very first person to return my phone to the store with issues like this. Yet when I went into another store I was told by several sales associates that they too had connectivity issues, even inside the store. Doesn't seem to be a good selling point for a phone offered exclusively on their network if you were to ask me

 

[Wiley_11]

The Pixels in the Verizon stores near me have this blocked. The SIM status does not show according to the reps at the store, because they have it blocked in demo mode. I think many people have been coming into the stores to check this issue and they are getting smart and hiding that setting. I went to 2 stores near me and every phone except the Pixel you could see the signal strength setting. Now why would they do that just for this device???

"Normally we would also run this test on LTE, in order to compare battery life between devices when browsing on a cellular connection instead of WiFi. Unfortunately, the Pixel XL presents a problem here. Both Matt and I have noticed that cellular reception on the Pixel XL is not very good. In particular, Matt was unable to achieve our target signal strength of -90dBm or better in the same area where he tests all other LTE devices. The best signal he was able to achieve was -100dBm (outdoors). Because we're dealing with a logarithmic scale, the difference in transmission power is not 10% like you might imagine based on the numbers, it's ten times the power. Unfortunately, we aren't equipped to do laboratory tests on the Pixel XL to directly compare RF performance to other devices, but it does seem that the signal strength is generally not as good as other smartphones."

Battery Life - The Google Pixel XL Review: Life After Nexus

 

[mistyisland]

I just checked my signal strength and it is -98dbm. I don't understand why this matters though, because I just read that signal strength is dependent on distance from the cell tower. Is the pixel different?

 

[PowrDroid]

I just checked my signal strength and it is -98dbm. I don't understand why this matters though, because I just read that signal strength is dependent on distance from the cell tower. Is the pixel different?

Distance from cell tower is a factor. So is the sensitivity of the phone's radio. The Pixel may or may not have a better radio than another brand of phone. Checking the signal strength of two phones side-by-side is a good way to gauge which phone has a better radio. This is what I was trying to do at the Verizon store but couldn't do it because I didn't know where to find Pixel's signal strength meter.

 

[mistyisland]

OK makes sense.

Distance from cell tower is a factor. So is the sensitivity of the phone's radio. The Pixel may or may not have a better radio than another brand of phone. Checking the signal strength of two phones side-by-side is a good way to gauge which phone has a better radio. This is what I was trying to do at the Verizon store but couldn't do it because I didn't know where to find Pixel's signal strength meter.

 

[PowrDroid]

Was at Verizon last night and asked sales rep if they had a Pixel XL that was not in demo mode so that I could see and compare signal strength with my Moto Droid Turbo. He had one behind the counter that he pulled out, explaining "it's probably not going to have as strong a reading as your Turbo because Moto makes the best radios."

My Turbo showed -73 dBm; Pixel was -76 dBm. After 10 seconds or so my Turbo showed -76; Pixel was -78.

I thought those numbers were kind of strong but was happy to see the Pixel was very close to my Turbo.

 

[Davidoo]

I had the droid Turbo as well and am finding the signal very similar, which is good.

 

[DJM626]

I just came back from a Verizon store this afternoon. Still was not happy with my signal after the update. Was still going into the zero bar mode and while I haven't experienced any more dropped calls the new thing that started for me over the past few days was every phone call I made had the other party saying "Hello" a lot of times as they were not able to hear me.

The Sales associate that I had was also using a Pixel. His signal was at -76dbm. My Pixel was at -106dbm standing in exactly the same spot he was in. He then told me that this is a hardware issue and while I was told I would not be able to exchange my phone since I purchased it the first of Nov that they are going to send me a brand new one to arrive on Tues. I was told that -106dbm is very high for this phone and that Google uses cheap antennas in their phones. He also said he has exchanged a lot because of this issue and some customers have better luck with the replacement while others have to go through 3-4 exchanges before they get a unit with good signal that doesn't fluctuate and doesn't have issues with the other party on the other end of their phone not able to hear them. This guy told me it was a quality control issue that no software would be able to correct completely.

At least I am getting a brand new phone out of the deal. I asked if it was going to be a refurb and he told me they are not issuing refurbished units at this time and it would be brand new. He also said if this replacement isn't much better he would keep getting me replacements until I get a unit that is good. Might have been my lucky day today. Will see how the new one fairs when I receive it on Tues

 

[matty032]

Good to hear things are finally going your way.

 

[DJM626]

Thanks! Appreciate the kind words

 

[1901Madison]

Thanks! Appreciate the kind words

Did you end up getting a brand new phone? Verizon has told me that before too, but it always end up being a refurbished one.

 

[DJM626]

It was very hard to tell as all I got wasc the phone itself. Verizon did tell me refurbs were not available yet on this phone. Either way though it's in perfect condition and if it is a refurbished unit at least it was checked out and gone over

 

[Almeuit]

I wouldn't trust what a store rep says in terms to build quality of a phone .

 

[DJM626]

I normally don't always, but reason I felt a little more secure in doing so is because and this does not justify it in any way and make it right but Verizon should have some kind of idea in terms of what they are selling. Especially if a lot of people are returning this phone to them and complaining about it. Naturally though they are going to point the fingers at someone other themselves, if it is something that is not compatible with their network for a lot of people. But, I do agree with you