Blackberry reception?

[T48]

Probably should just wait until the phone is released to ask this, but how is Blackberry signal reception in general?
I still have an old Galaxy S3 & while it has been very good, my issue has been at home(indoors) with it. Had an S6 Active for a few weeks & it was the same in terms of signal. So still have to pay for a home phone line via Vonage to always have a line out.

The reason I am asking is that I remember years ago when flip phones were the norm, Motorola would keep calls when Samsung would drop them. I know much has changed in the last 10+ years. Was just curious if BB is a known for average or above average in terms of reception.

 

[Phill_UK]

Was just curious if BB is a known for average or above average in terms of reception.

WELL above average reception... just Google Paratek

 

[anon(522296)]

If I'm not mistaken BlackBerry bought some type of antenna technology a few years back used in their phones that is definitely superior than anything else out there. I had a z30 and did a comparison with a Samsung S4 and the z30 was always at least 5 points better dbm on the signal strength and they were saying it had to do with some kind of antenna tech proprietary to BB. I'm not sure if this is a part of the Priv as well but maybe one of you guys know more about this.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Phill_UK]

If I'm not mistaken BlackBerry bought some type of antenna technology a few years back used in their phones that is definitely superior than anything else out there. I had a z30 and did a comparison with a Samsung S4 and the z30 was always at least 5 points better dbm on the signal strength and they were saying it had to do with some kind of antenna tech proprietary to BB. I'm not sure if this is a part of the Priv as well but maybe one of you guys know more about this.

That's correct. BlackBerry bought Paratek back in 2012, and used their antenna tech in the Z30 and Passport.
I'm sure I read somewhere that it's also going to be used in the Priv.

 

[medic22003]

My Black berry's are only of the bb10 variety and both my z10 and my z30 hold better signal than any other smartphone I ever had. I had HTC and Motorolas that were extremely dicey and constantly dropping calls in my basement. Flip phones as you say worked well. My BlackBerrys work great. I work part time as a 911 dispatcher in the basement of a 100 year old courthouse. My coworkers are always going over by the window or holding their iPhone or androids at weird angles to even text some days. While I don't have perfect signal down there, I don't have near the issues they do. So that said, I hope Priv has the same antenna technology. It really has been a game changer for me.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Fr3lncr]

While reception will depend on your carrier and location, as someone who uses both BB and Android for the last four years, BB phones have consistently better signal reception. I've yet to use an Android phone (or Apple one for that matter) that is as good, but I haven't tried HTC.

This is one of the main reasons I use a BB as my daily device since I can rely on it working in locations where my Android phones have failed me (most recently my OnePlus One). Hopefully the Priv will be as good as the other BB's and there is really no reason it shouldn't be unless BB messed up the design somehow and didn't notice it during testing.

 

[CarlGalgano]

I agree with everyone else who has chimed in on this. I havent owned a BB in about 5 years, but had a lot of different models from about 2006-2010, and all the BB I had were the best reception devices. My MotoX 2014 and my current Nexus5X are also very good. Im looking forward to getting my Priv to see how well the radios perform compared to my current Android devices.

 

[Deleted member 2678566]

I've had BBOS and BB10 aswell as an iPhone 4S and S3 Mini and all the BlackBerry antennas are superior.

Before 4G arrived to the UK I could pick up fast 3G in places an iPhone struggled to even get 2G. Even my iPad struggled to get GPRS back in those days.

Even now I can still tell my Passport antenna is superior and I hope the Priv follows suit. Imo it's the best thing BlackBerry has going.

 

[T48]

Really would have thought BB would have devices out to all the media outlets for review prior to launch.

That aside, am going to try one out. May wait to see if there are any black friday deals on it & will be great if I can ditch the Vonage monthly bill.

 

[T48]

Have no idea the validity of the site or person reviewing, but just found this initial review.

The Priv’s carrier reception is significantly worse than any other phone I’ve used recently. I thought the days when you couldn’t get service while standing outside were over, but the Priv proved me wrong. The spotty service felt like 2009. BlackBerry Priv Review: Nope, Not For Me—Not Even For My Worst Enemy

Edit: found AC's review seconds after the link above. Hoping others can chime in on reception when they have them in their possession. http://www.androidcentral.com/blackberry-priv-review

 

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Yeah there have been a few reviews that do mention issue with call quality (tinny) and reception in areas where other devices have no issue.

Might be a software issue with some bands, as other reviewers haven't mentioned it.

 

[jeffreytz]

So I just picked mine up from the AT&T store, they said they had to change my SIM out (so they could register their store grrr) and I couldn't use the one from my Moto X Pure 2015. So I get back to the office, where we don't have wi-fi, and the bars are SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what my Moto X has been showing in the same location. LTE throughput is awful. Something's up. I'm downloading SpeedTest now (it's coming down PAINFULLY slow) and will run some tests. It's not downloading my apps in the background as I stopped that since I'm not on wifi until I get home. My Moto X on AT&T LTE was superfast here in the office, I routinely stream sporting events via my sling box on it in HD, but now I'm barely getting 1 bar of signal and the speed, downloading apps, is abysmal.

Edit: I'm getting 0.56 MB down. This morning on my Moto X I was getting 15 MB down. :'(

Trying a reboot ...

Edit: I put the new sim in the Moto X and its getting the same horrible speeds. Calling AT&T. F@*K!!

 

[freedomx20a]

So I just picked mine up from the AT&T store, they said they had to change my SIM out (so they could register their store grrr) and I couldn't use the one from my Moto X Pure 2015. So I get back to the office, where we don't have wi-fi, and the bars are SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what my Moto X has been showing in the same location. LTE throughput is awful. Something's up. I'm downloading SpeedTest now (it's coming down PAINFULLY slow) and will run some tests. It's not downloading my apps in the background as I stopped that since I'm not on wifi until I get home. My Moto X on AT&T LTE was superfast here in the office, I routinely stream sporting events via my sling box on it in HD, but now I'm barely getting 1 bar of signal and the speed, downloading apps, is abysmal.

Edit: I'm getting 0.56 MB down. This morning on my Moto X I was getting 15 MB down. :'(

Trying a reboot ...

Edit: I put the new sim in the Moto X and its getting the same horrible speeds. Calling AT&T. F@*K!!

sounds like a carrier limit. They probably downgraded your bandwidth. Did you lower your monthly plan payments?

 

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

So I just picked mine up from the AT&T store, they said they had to change my SIM out (so they could register their store grrr) and I couldn't use the one from my Moto X Pure 2015. So I get back to the office, where we don't have wi-fi, and the bars are SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what my Moto X has been showing in the same location. LTE throughput is awful. Something's up. I'm downloading SpeedTest now (it's coming down PAINFULLY slow) and will run some tests. It's not downloading my apps in the background as I stopped that since I'm not on wifi until I get home. My Moto X on AT&T LTE was superfast here in the office, I routinely stream sporting events via my sling box on it in HD, but now I'm barely getting 1 bar of signal and the speed, downloading apps, is abysmal.

Edit: I'm getting 0.56 MB down. This morning on my Moto X I was getting 15 MB down. :'(

Trying a reboot ...

Edit: I put the new sim in the Moto X and its getting the same horrible speeds. Calling AT&T. F@*K!!

They connected you to a 2G BIS plan... it's a BlackBerry after all.....

Just kidding.... does sound like they messed something up.

 

[T48]

So I just picked mine up from the AT&T store, they said they had to change my SIM out (so they could register their store grrr) and I couldn't use the one from my Moto X Pure 2015. So I get back to the office, where we don't have wi-fi, and the bars are SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what my Moto X has been showing in the same location. LTE throughput is awful. Something's up. I'm downloading SpeedTest now (it's coming down PAINFULLY slow) and will run some tests. It's not downloading my apps in the background as I stopped that since I'm not on wifi until I get home. My Moto X on AT&T LTE was superfast here in the office, I routinely stream sporting events via my sling box on it in HD, but now I'm barely getting 1 bar of signal and the speed, downloading apps, is abysmal.

Edit: I'm getting 0.56 MB down. This morning on my Moto X I was getting 15 MB down. :'(

Trying a reboot ...

Edit: I put the new sim in the Moto X and its getting the same horrible speeds. Calling AT&T. F@*K!!

Looked at one in the ATT store this afternoon. Priv had 2 bars of reception. Note 5 & S6 Active were full bars reception all sitting side by side. Dialed my number out on each & Priv was delayed vs the other 2. Did not speak as the store was loud & did not have anyone with me to go outside with my current phone. Whether it is a botched BB phone or software(factory or carrier) glitch, do not know. But not going to buy one hoping it gets fixed or works as well as a 6 month old phone(S6A).

 

[cbreze]

I noticed many priv users on the crackberry site have been complaining of low bars when compared to other devices side by side even. While bar count isn't a definitive way to measure signal ,it none the less doesn't bode well IMO. Blackberry devices I've had in the past have always been known for very good RF.

 

[T48]

I noticed many priv users on the crackberry site have been complaining of low bars when compared to other devices side by side even. While bar count isn't a definitive way to measure signal ,it none the less doesn't bode well IMO. Blackberry devices I've had in the past have always been known for very good RF.

Have not seen as many complaints about it as was assuming would happen with as many as seem to have it. Also just reading through this review below. Am going to wait to see if there are any black friday sales in a couple weeks because otherwise the phone seemed awesome in store.

Voice Quality and Networking
The Priv is one of the best voice phones I've used all year. On AT&T's network, the Priv delivers very loud maximum speakerphone and earpiece volume with zero distortion or wobble. General transmissions through the mic are also very clear. Noise cancellation took care of strong background noise, but there was some computerization of my voice when it had to deal with it. The speakerphone also transmits well, although some wind noise came through. As a giant slab to make voice calls on, the Priv is top-notch.

I'm also happy that the Priv's cellular radio takes best advantage of both the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. It has quad-band GSM, five-band HSPA+ (including 1700MHz), and LTE bands 1/2/3/4/5/6/12/17/20/29/30. That includes every band AT&T and T-Mobile currently use, every band used by Canadian carriers, and the most popular international roaming bands. Reception on AT&T's network was excellent. The phone also supports Bluetooth 4.1 and dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac. BlackBerry Priv (Unlocked) Review & Rating | PCMag.com

 

[jeffreytz]

sounds like a carrier limit. They probably downgraded your bandwidth. Did you lower your monthly plan payments?

So after some lengthy chats with AT&T support it seems it was a saturation of the bands the Priv (and Moto X when I did the swap) were connecting to. I confirmed this by asking a few other people in the office who I know are on AT&T to check their download speeds and they were all equally terrible. I then tested a few random places around Chicago and got more typical DL speeds (16 down/12 up in one location with only two bars, 39 down/4.4 up in another). So seems like things are OK.

I didn't change anything on my plan at all as I have a decent grandfathered plan that even though the rep tried to convince me initially I'd "save money" changing I pointed out several errors in his calculations (and forced him to pull up my last couple of bills to confirm) and he and his manager confirmed there was no reason for me to change.

 

[Brian Beaudoin]

I have used a Z30 since release and have now replaced with a Priv. Z30 always had superior reception especially in poor reception areas. No dropped calls ever. My new Priv is at least as good although it very seldom shows more than two bars. Still connects easily in low reception areas and clear ,clean voice. Seems to be a calibration issue with bars indicated and actual bars

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Trisk333]

Call quality is not as good on the same network as my S6 while sitting on the same couch which is a little disappointing. I think I've come to realize though that BlackBerry has fans that would rival the sports fanatics here in Philly so maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been in a number of areas.

Blackberry is also the only company left that actually had the guts to put out a flagship slider, so I have no loyalty to any other android manufacturers that gave up on options I love in a smartphone so they could start making iClones instead.

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