Comparative WiFi strengths

[Robert Jordan1]

Side by side, the S4 in any room has full bar strength, and next to it the Turbo, has one less bar, unless it is in the same room as the Nighthawk router. Turbo with and without a case has the same results. Is the S4 WiFi just better than the Turbo?
Thanks for your advanced tips.

 

[ryanr509]

Side by side, the S4 in any room has full bar strength, and next to it the Turbo, has one less bar, unless it is in the same room as the Nighthawk router. Turbo with and without a case has the same results. Is the S4 WiFi just better than the Turbo?
Thanks for your advanced tips.

Download a WiFi analyzer to show the dBm of the WiFi. Bars don't mean anything. One phones full bars could be another phones 2 bars.

 

[1Coopgt]

I can tell you that the Turbo downloads a lot faster over WIFI than my S5 did .

 

[Robert Jordan1]

Thanks ryanr509, loaded the analyzer and found the 2.4 more effective than the 5 channel, which I was using. Too many devices off one router

 

[rigg]

Wifi download speed on my Nexus 7 is about 70+ Mbps and less than 30 Mbps on my new Droid Turbo? I pay for 75 down on Verizon FIOS and have the newest Apple Airport Extreme.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[wolf_walker]

Had same experience with same phone to compare to, the signal reception at the moment is weaker on the turbo.
It may well be faster, not really relevant imo. I hope they can improve it but not holding my breath.
I did a fairly extensive dBm reading side by side comparison and it's repeatable.
It isn't terrible, but it's not great. I suggest making Moto support aware of it even
if they don't have a solution right now. My issue is in fringe areas around my property I used to frequent with
the S4, the DT has very, very weak and intermittent signal, or none at all.
The dBm seem to be on average 5-10dBm worse than the S4, and slightly less difference
between the DT and my Nexus 7 tab.

 

[ryanr509]

Thanks ryanr509, loaded the analyzer and found the 2.4 more effective than the 5 channel, which I was using. Too many devices off one router

Yep my problem was being on 5ghz also. I was about 2 signal bars lower compared to when I'm on my 2.4ghz channel.

 

[wolf_walker]

It's a tradeoff, higher freq carries more data/faster and can go further but is much more sensitive to obstructions.
Likewise lower freqs are slower/less data but less inhibited by obstruction.

It would be nice if the thing would autoswitch on it's own from N to G or such when the signal get's weaker but I haven't
seen it do it yet, rather defaulting to G unless you specify it to go to N. Go figure.

 

[Jay Evans]

NETGEAR Support | Answer | Should I use the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz wireless band?

 

[wolf_walker]

I posted this on another forum/thread and will leave it here as well.

Both phones 3' from router.
Of note is that the GS4 picks up some near by wifi AP's the DT does not regularly even see, and that the 5ghz band is the same for both at this minimal distance, but the 2.4 is not.
-33dBm is an ideal that is generally only seen right at the router, the DT isn't even doing that unless you put it within inches of it. Something is amiss.


Droid Turbo..

Galaxy S4

 

[MA2GA28]

As I've said in other posts (and been chided for) while the moto radio hardware is top notch, it seems like it takes an OTA update or two to really get them performing at high levels. Happened with my Droid RAZR Maxx, and I expect the same with the Turbo. For now, signal is adequate for my needs and range is better than DRM was at peak performance.

 

[wolf_walker]

I hope this is the case. First moto device for me, first impressions are everything as they say.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[maxman1]

My WiFi speed on the DT is off the charts. Using my Asus AC68U router my 2.4G speeds doubled over my Maxx and 5G speed rivals my hardwired PC speed. I can get 2.4G speed roughly approximate to my Maxx well over 100 yards down the street from my house on the Turbo. I'm more than thrilled with the wireless performance.

 

[wolf_walker]

100 yards is mighty impressive unless it's absolutely clear line of sight.
My data collection on my example shows nowhere near that performance.

 

[maxman1]

100 yards is mighty impressive unless it's absolutely clear line of sight.
My data collection on my example shows nowhere near that performance.

It is a clear line and only one direction from the same side of my home which houses the router. I can connect past 100 yards reliably though with 2.4G speeds in the mid-20 Mbps range. I take morning walks & pause to check from time to time and it's not uncommon to see a solid connection from the intersecting street @ 150 yds. plus. FWIW, I'm on a Comcast 50MB plan and the Asus AC68U is a beast of a router. The gist of my post is that the DT can equal the speed at extreme distance that my original Maxx reached in my living room. Most definitely has a great WiFi radio.

 

[wolf_walker]

Not compared to my Galaxy s4 regarding range and connection on my example. Never had a Maxx to test. I'm glad some of them are fairing better than others.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[wolf_walker]

Got sick of waiting for a fix I don't think is coming for the so-so wifi, bought a Netgear R7000 router, picked up 10dbm on 2.4 and more than that on 5ghz over my RT-N65R. Sold the S4 so I can't compare other than old recorded data at given points but the DT is still weaker wifi reception wise.
Tolerable at home now though.