Galaxy S6 Cell Reception Problems?

TrekScout

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I have a Verizon Galaxy S6, 64gig. I get terrible cell reception. I was standing right next to my husband's S5 and he had 4G with 3 bars. I had 2 bars and a the 4G symbol had a line through it. I couldn't post to facebook because "no network connection". All the places I normally get great 4G, I can't do any data transfers because "no network. I can make calls and text only. It doesn't say I have 3G or 1X it just shows the 4G with the line through it.

I am not sure if I got a defective phone or if they are all doing this? About ready to take it back and get an S5 I love the S6 but bottom line, cell reception is my #1 priority. I wonder if the metal case is interfering? And yes, I did check my settings and mobile data is turned on - not my first Android phone . I do occasionally get 4G but it is rare. Battery drains fast too. I wonder if it is thrashing for a signal and draining the battery.

Curious if anyone else has had problems with reception?
 

Rukbat

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Sounds like a defective phone. Bring it back to Verizon. (I assume your husband is also on Verizon. If not, you're comparing apples and space ships.)

(I'm guessing that the antenna either isn't connected, or the connection is bad. The S6 is not known for weak reception in good signal areas.)

As for the battery, if the signal from the tower to the phone is weak, the phone "assumes" that the signal from the phone to the tower is weak, so it turns up its transmitter power. Constant full power can kill a battery in a few hours.
 

TrekScout

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OMG! I am one of THOSE users. *face palm* Just talked to a tech rep on the phone. My settings were messed up. The Icons have changed and are in a different place than I am used to looking. My phone works GREAT now and my battery issues should be better too. I am so sorry! This is my 3rd Samsung phone and my 5th Verizon Android Phone, and I thought I knew it all.
 

Techno-guy

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OMG! I am one of THOSE users. *face palm* Just talked to a tech rep on the phone. My settings were messed up. The Icons have changed and are in a different place than I am used to looking. My phone works GREAT now and my battery issues should be better too. I am so sorry! This is my 3rd Samsung phone and my 5th Verizon Android Phone, and I thought I knew it all.

Thanks for posting! What was the Settings issue, out of curiosity?
 

hagaja00

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I too would love to know what settings. I'm experiencing a similar issue with my S6 and I've gone through the settings. I'm getting 3g/1x/no reception in areas I used to get a strong 4g signal.
 

TrekScout

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So when I got my S6 at BestBuy, on the day it released, the Verizon/Samsung expert was understandably swamped. I didn't want to wait and I thought I could "do it myself" so the salesman set me up and let me go home to poke around and try to figure it out alone. When I finally called BestBuy they put me through to the "expert" and he gave me a lot of info that I had been unable to find on my own. Eating Humble Pie now.

First, the phone was using Global Network mode instead of LTE/CDMA. This makes it thrash looking for multiple types of signals to connect with and you don't need Global inside the USA. Changing this was a HUGE help and I checked my husband's fairly new S5 and he had that setting wrong too.

Next, when pulling down the top status bar you get the circles across the top for Wi-Fi, GPS (location, I hate that they dumbed down this name), Sound, etc. Well, in the past you could hit a grid icon to get more of these settings. On the S6 it is a pencil icon... which to me means "edit something" not see more of the menu, so I had never looked there. Under the pencil icon I had "mobile data" off! Sheesh! To get my 4G to work I, of course, needed to turn on mobile data, which I had looked for before, but couldn't find. I also turned on power saving mode, turned off sync, though I have since turned that back on, despite causing a slight drain, I do like to sync automatically. I leave on sound, and screen rotation, and if I am trying to conserve battery, I only use Wi-Fi, GPS, and Blue Tooth etc. when needed, which I had already been doing.

He gave me a lot of charging tips, which I should have remembered from other batteries. Since we can't buy a new battery for the S6 we really need to baby the one we have. The Verizon/Samsung expert wanted me to completely discharge the battery, until the phone was "Dead, Jim, DEAD" (sorry, couldn't resist slipping in a Star Trek reference) for the first 4 charges and then charge only until it is 100% - usually less than 2 hours. I had had the phone a week by then but I did this like it was brand new. This puts a kink in my old charging habits of putting it to charge for the whole night. I am having to change my ways. I am also finding that my cheap, charging cables and plugs slow charge really slow. I think I'm going to have to give in and buy the more expensive Samsung chargers expressly for the S6 so I have one at work and a second one for home. I even bought a "Smart" USB charger with 4 slots, that is supposed to sense the right charging speed and work with Samsung products... No. Doesn't really work with my Samsung Tab or the other Samsung phones in the family. It charges, but not as fast and the Samsung chargers and REALLY charges slow with the S6.

The "expert" also recommended turning on the ultra-power saving mode while charging. I didn't know about this mode. It shuts off everything expect phone, text and emergency alerts. The screen even goes black and white. I'm excited about this mode as I often go camping for 2-3 days were I have cell reception but no place to charge and I'd like to have the phone on for emergencies. I think this u. power saver mode may get me through a week-end without dying. I can't wait to check.

I'd love to see all these tips and tricks posted somewhere as I was unable to find good documentation despite looking and I'm afraid I may have forgotten some. I am sure as time goes on, there will be a lot written about this.
 

mistyisland

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Trek Scout, where are you finding that pencil icon? I'm wondering if Verizon's setup is different than ATT. I also don't seem to get some of those other choices.

Did you know you can buy a kind of a stick that you can charge, and then it will charge your phone when you are away from an outlet? They also make them credit card size that will fit in a wallet. I just bought a larger size for my son, (who loves to camp) that can charge several devices at once. I think it is called a Jackery Giant.

Thanks for posting this.
 

TrekScout

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You know on any screen, how you can swipe down from the top status bar and get options? When you do that, there used to be a gear icon for settings and a 4 square-grid for more options. on my S6 you still get the gear for setting but next to that is a pencil icon, where the 4-square grid icon used to be.

I actually have a couple of those batteries that recharge the phone. I have a largish one that is good for 2 to 3 recharges. It is just easier to not have to worry about it.
 

cardboard60

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I have a Verizon Galaxy S6, 64gig. I get terrible cell reception. I was standing right next to my husband's S5 and he had 4G with 3 bars. I had 2 bars and a the 4G symbol had a line through it. I couldn't post to facebook because "no network connection". All the places I normally get great 4G, I can't do any data transfers because "no network. I can make calls and text only. It doesn't say I have 3G or 1X it just shows the 4G with the line through it.

I am not sure if I got a defective phone or if they are all doing this? About ready to take it back and get an S5 I love the S6 but bottom line, cell reception is my #1 priority. I wonder if the metal case is interfering? And yes, I did check my settings and mobile data is turned on - not my first Android phone . I do occasionally get 4G but it is rare. Battery drains fast too. I wonder if it is thrashing for a signal and draining the battery.

Curious if anyone else has had problems with reception?

The Samsung people at Best Buy are from Samsung.
They are not carrier pacific.
They don't work for Verizon, At&t , or Sprint.
They work for Samsung.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

Rukbat

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and I thought I knew it all.
You people who think you know it all really annoy those who really do know it all.



(Okay, so I've yet to meet anyone like that.:) I've gotten as far as knowing how little I know.)

BTW, read The Care and Feeding of Lithium Polymer Batteries. 3 or 4 cycles shouldn't make much difference in conditioning (not "Dead, Jim, Dead", but "Plug in the charger" dead), but normal charging should be 100% plus 30 minutes. (The 100% indication comes on at about 98% charge, due to the fact that the charger raises the terminal voltage, and that's what's indicating the state of charge - doing it chemically would be more accurate, but the battery would cost more than the phone.) As for leaving the battery on the charger all night - I have batteries that are years old and have been left on chargers for months. The charge terminates at 100%. As the charge drops (lithium batteries are self-discharging even if they're not in the phone, and even a phone that's turned off draws a tiny amount of current), the charger kicks in for a few seconds to bring the charge back to 100%. Heat will kill a battery faster than leaving it on a charger all night, so wireless charging should be done only to 100% plus 30 minutes. But wired? Testing with good chargers (and these days, they all are - the price difference between a good charger and a bad one is in the plastic - the charger itself is a commodity) hasn't shown any difference in lifetime between 7 day charges and "just enough for a full charge" charges. About the only risk of leaving a battery on the charger for long periods is that the charger could go bad while the battery is connected. But that could happen 5 minutes after you start to charge a dead battery also.
 

Inders99

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I see members here calling tech support to resolve some issues or clarify questions/concerns. Just who is "tech support"? Is that a Verizon number? Samsung rep?
 

dpham00

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I having this same problem and changing from Global to LTE/CDMA did not help at all.
What next?
Could be bad phone or bad sim. Contact Verizon for troubleshooting.

My s6e has strong signal strength, similar to my note 4. I even get signal in underground parking structures and at 35,000 feet in the air. Obviously ymmv.

Sent from my Pearly White Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
 

felloffthetruck

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Could be bad phone or bad sim. Contact Verizon for troubleshooting.

My s6e has strong signal strength, similar to my note 4. I even get signal in underground parking structures and at 35,000 feet in the air. Obviously ymmv.

Sent from my Pearly White Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

Have you ever seen a 1X when making or receiving a call?