So here's the BIG question

[shadrap]

Main page androidcentral.com title its not us its you. They state its accurate and that other 4g devices are not so they don't show the constant up and down. They will now make it report less accurate on the device so it shows less of a change.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

"They" are wrong. If I can prove tomorrow that the signal in general is worse on the Gnex to a Verizon iPhone 4s or Droid Razr, will anyone bet me the cost of my next smartphone? A mod could hold the money in paypal.

 

[majiklantrn]

"They" are wrong. If I can prove tomorrow that the signal in general is worse on the Gnex to a Verizon iPhone 4s or Droid Razr, will anyone bet me the cost of my next smartphone? A mod could hold the money in paypal.

I feel your pain and I've gone over this with the reps. Unfortunately, I already used my one time exchange since my Rezound was hosed. So I'm stuck with this device for now. Hope it gets better.. Didn't help tonight though when i was looking something up on 4g and it dropped and went to 3g. Went 5 ft and it went back to 4g.

 

[Jeff43]

I'm getting consistent -83 at work, but at home it's usually closer to -100 .

 

[sw33tooth]

It's pretty obvious this was waaaaaaaaay overblown. Her are some facts about my verizon nexus

1. 0 dropped calls so far since day 1

2. Let is crazy fast, faster then my bionic at the same locations using speedtest app. I get 30+ down 15+ up at my girls house as my high. And 8/8 as my low while at work

3. Lte is much more stable on my nexus then my bionic was.

I'm sure others have different results, but all I can say is I'm happy I went from a bionic to resound to the nexus. I'm very happy with it.

I had one that dropped 6 calls in 10 mins and I exchanged it. New one seems better but I still have had a few dropped calls and dropped data. So not everyone is getting as lucky as you. And I bet if we did some kind of poll most of the problems would be on the east coast

 

[meth68#AC]

Meth, I really don't think you're understanding what I'm saying. In a strong signal area I have no problems and get great speeds! In marginal areas the radio demonstrates its inability to hold a 4G signal where a phone like the Rezound had no issues.

The up & down speed has zero to do with the radio's performance in more marginal areas.

I've just heard that VZW will be 'updating' the phone shortly with 'more bars' for a given signal strength. So in other words they are doing NOTHING to actually fix the sensitivity of the radio, but rather giving people a placebo to 'think' they have a better signal. Just like AT&T "more bars in more places". It's the IPhone BS in reverse.

Not sure if people understand this, but VZW has just insulted everyone's intelligence. I really had no real intention of exchanging this phone for something else, but I'll tell you after this, this is back on the table. Incredibly disappointing.

Ken I don't think you are understanding what I am saying. What I am trying to tell you is, for ME its not the phone. I am saying this because EVERYWHERE I have gone (granted I am not going to venture into a Mayan cave to test my signal, it has been just fine. 30+ speed tests my worst has been 4mb down / 3mb up and 0 dropped calls. I am not doing these tests strapped to a Verizon antenna, I am saying my normal daily use. So 20+ towns, all fine. While driving, all fine.

As for Verizon pulling a fast one, read what they are saying. All they are saying is the galaxy shows lte signal, no other phone does this, they are just going to change it so it reports just like every other phone out in the wild.

Driving in, I had to take a different route and was in a town I have never driven through before so I ran another speed test
2lte bars
93dBm
5462kbps down
5384kbps up
i also made a call via bluetooth, no issues at all.


My current status is...
3 lte bars
91dBm
6493kbps down
9992kbps up

If your convinced Verizon is out to get you and they are covering up this whole conspiracy, use your warranty and replace the phone, if your next one acts the same, replace the phone, keep doing this until they have a higher up get involved. All I am saying is, there may be issues with the radio being extremely sensitive, or the customers being extremely edgy with this phone. I can tell you, it put my Bionic and Rezound to shame.

 

[Ken7]

Meth, I'd just bet the bank if you came to the area that I just described, you'd have exactly the same issue with your phone. My Samsung Charge behaved exactly the same way at this same mall as my Nexus does. Coincidence with 2 Samsung radios? I don't think so.

What are the odds that of my 4 LTE phones, 2 had no trouble (Rezound & Bionic) and 2 did (Nexus & Charge...both Samsung). I just don't buy it. I even exchanged my first Charge and had exactly the same results. My buddy has his own Charge and he too has these issues at spots like this.

I really don't think it's my sample of the Nexus since it performs very well in all areas other than these marginal areas. The fact that 3 samples of a Samsung radio (2 Charges and 1 Nexus) have performed identically in these areas, leads me to believe it is the radio. It's just such a stretch to believe otherwise.

I will say I don't have nearly the frequency of these issues with the Nexus as I did with the Charge, so things have improved since then with Samsung. But when I see 2 other LTE phones, both from different manufacturers tackle these same areas with no issues, it does point to the Charge.

The area you're in is SOOOO critical to whether you see these issues or not. Nowhere do I see your signal nearly as low as mine. It's not unusual for me to see -110 to -113dbm on LTE. So you're obviously in a stronger area. That's not the area that manifests these issues. And BTW, all of the Nexus display phones in these areas at VZW corporate stores show essentially the same signal strength (within about 2dbm). So I see no point in exchanging mine, there's nothing wrong with it other than a design/software/hardware issue. I have no idea which.

 

[racedog]

Re: So here's the BIG questionng th

You know, I'm at the point where I don't know if the problem is a signal problem or not, I don't know, but I suspect, that it may only be happening to SOME GN's but not all of them. This morning I had to run some errands and while out my I needed to call my wife. I was in an area showing 5 bars (and yes, I know all about bars don't mean anything) and when I brought up the phone all the bars went grey and the phone locked up. The only way for me to get the phone back was to peel off the double (Distronix) case, pull off the back and pull the battery. When the phone came back on I was again able to make calls.

As much as I love this phone I'm about to give up. Verizon is saying that there are no issues with the radios and no one on this green earth can make me believe that. That also tells me that since they see no problem there won't be a fix, you know the old saying, "if its not broken, don't fix it"! This whole episode is just getting me down.

If you have a GN with no issues, I'm genuinely and sincerely happy for you (I wish I was one of you). But, on the other hand, please don't bash those of us who are going through this. There is nothing I want more than to be able to keep my GN, but VZW's response yesterday has essentially dashed all of my hopes of that happening.

As soon as I finish this post I'm going to be calling Verizon to see if there is anything that can be done. I don't expect the call to be fuitful but I'm going to try anyway.

 

[Ken7]

Racedog, your problem is worse than mine. My issue is very predictable and is related to weak signal areas. I've never gotten 5 bars where I didn't have great connectivity. But when I have 1 or 0 bars, I may well be in trouble.

It's those areas the my Rezound & Bionic excelled. I can't even recall how many bars they showed in those areas, but who cares? The only thing that counts out is can you get data or not. I don't care if I've got 100 bars or 1 bar, just give me data.

VZW should be slapped across the head for this insulting, nonsensical 'fix'.

But I'm with you, I don't think we have any assurance there will ever be a fix. Even with the new radios that are floating around, there is mixed feedback as to whether or not it's effective in dealing with these weak areas that other phones are fine in.

 

[LangHoo]

But I'm with you, I don't think we have any assurance there will ever be a fix. Even with the new radios that are floating around, there is mixed feedback as to whether or not it's effective in dealing with these weak areas that other phones are fine in.

Why do you keep the Nexus if it doesn't work for you? The enjoyment of whining?

You can't figure out how to get flash going on websites (hint: download flash), but you are now a radio engineer. I love it!

 

[weblos]

i gave in and returned the phone today,Im pretty sure i got a lemon.The youtube app wasnt playing videos without buffering like crazy..Videos werent playing at all in other apps.I had only 3g in areas where my tbolt always got a 4g signal.I was going to try another one but decided to go back to my tbolt.The main issue i had with the phone was how tall it is.I have big hands but i swould struggle to reach the top of the phone with one hand.That being said the i enjoyed most of my time with it and im gonna miss so many people giving me compliments on how sweet looking it was.Oh well at least i get to check this website for the next great phone.My next phone will definately have software keys though.Loved those

 

[UserError]

My Galaxy Nexus is flawless with respect to signal strength. Have no idea what you're talking about with respect to it being Samsung's fault.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[UserError]

I blame country music and light beer.... especially when the two are combined.

That my friends, is a recipe for disaster.

*customized tapatalk signature*

I am listening to country music and drinking a bud light on a plane right now. What are you implying good sir? Haha .. but really I am

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[weblos]

My Galaxy Nexus is flawless with respect to signal strength. Have no idea what you're talking about with respect to it being Samsung's fault.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Im not taking sides here but all hes saying is with other manufacturer phones hes having no issue with the radios but with samsung phones hes having issues.Not that difficult to understand

 

[meth68#AC]

Racedog, your problem is worse than mine. My issue is very predictable and is related to weak signal areas. I've never gotten 5 bars where I didn't have great connectivity. But when I have 1 or 0 bars, I may well be in trouble.

It's those areas the my Rezound & Bionic excelled. I can't even recall how many bars they showed in those areas, but who cares? The only thing that counts out is can you get data or not. I don't care if I've got 100 bars or 1 bar, just give me data.

VZW should be slapped across the head for this insulting, nonsensical 'fix'.

But I'm with you, I don't think we have any assurance there will ever be a fix. Even with the new radios that are floating around, there is mixed feedback as to whether or not it's effective in dealing with these weak areas that other phones are fine in.

Why not return, if you hear of some AMAZING fix that everyone is saying they all have perfect signals, you get back on the Nexus wagon? I would never keep any phone if it was as bad as you say. Just sayin..

 

[comfortably nub]

Its too bad this phone was released during what has turned out to be the worst month of verizon service since I started using them ten years ago. We have a Xoom, Nexus, and a razr, all 4G, in home and they have all been absolutely hurting in regards to reception.
I would not be so quick to be blaming the Nexus or any other 4G device until verizon cleans up whatever they have been dealing with lately.

 

[weblos]

Why not return, if you hear of some AMAZING fix that everyone is saying they all have perfect signals, you get back on the Nexus wagon? I would never keep any phone if it was as bad as you say. Just sayin..

couldnt agree more.There are other options now and will be future great options.I will say though that i was sooo looking forward to this phone that it was difficult for me to return mine but i had no choice

 

[BiNGE]

We all know the Nexus was delayed and we've never been 100% sure why.

We now know that Verizon has just acknowledged a reception problem exists in the Nexus. So with that information, here are my questions:

* How is it that Verizon never saw the reception issue during testing? They have the reputation of testing, testing again, and testing much more before a phone is finally released. THIS eluded them??? So many people are seeing this issue across the country and THIS eluded them? Please tell me how this is possible with a company that has the reputation of being 'anal' about pre-release testing.

* Let's assume they knew the problem existed. Why wasn't it fixed if, as many people 'in the know' are saying, it's software based? OR, do they really know the issue is hardware-based and not much can be done. Perhaps the reception can be 'tweaked' in software, but if it's hardware, VZW knows damn well it won't be fixed. They have no intention of recalling all these phones.

* Let's not put all the blame on VZW, after all Samsung built it in conjunction with Google's input and specs. So how is it that neither of these entities saw the problem. Nobody saw it, nobody?

Am I the only one that thinks this is very very strange. If my logic is flawed, I'd be happy to be set straight on this.

I've said it in a few posts earlier, but the issue is on the back end of VZW and registering the device SIMs on the network. You can thank the expanding network and release of this phone for outages as well.

im pretty positive it is not hardware related. I had a Droid Charge and from my understanding uses the same radio as Nexus and I never once had a problem with my Charge radio after some updates.

It is a software related issue just like you mentioned. The OP needs to consider than the software for the (samsung)hardware has to be writted by Google this time around. Native CDMA/LTE improvements/enhancements are not entirely compatible with Google's knowledge of GSM hardware. While sammy might of had some fixes for this it does not mean Google understood/implimented all of their available knowledge.

 

[anon(512898)]

If anyone would actually bother reading the AnandTech article about this (conveniently posted by kcoan3 on the first page of this thread) you would see how the db reported in the settings menu is not directly comparable between the gnex, which displays lte signal strength here, and other 4g phones, which displays cdma signal strength here. When AnandTech dug into logcats they found that the lte signal strength on other 4g phones were similar to the signal strength on the gnexus. So the problem is not with the radio hardware.

If I had to venture a guess as to what the problems some people are seeing is that the radio firmware on the gnex must have a lower threshold before it switches from lte to cdma. This could explain the people who loose signal with their gnex; the hand off between lte and cdma is not very clean on any 4g phone and with the radios switching more often there could be frequent instances of dropped signal. This can be tweaked with updates so that the device stays on lte longer.

 

[willstilson]

Meth, I'd just bet the bank if you came to the area that I just described, you'd have exactly the same issue with your phone. My Samsung Charge behaved exactly the same way at this same mall as my Nexus does. Coincidence with 2 Samsung radios? I don't think so.

What are the odds that of my 4 LTE phones, 2 had no trouble (Rezound & Bionic) and 2 did (Nexus & Charge...both Samsung). I just don't buy it. I even exchanged my first Charge and had exactly the same results. My buddy has his own Charge and he too has these issues at spots like this.

I really don't think it's my sample of the Nexus since it performs very well in all areas other than these marginal areas. The fact that 3 samples of a Samsung radio (2 Charges and 1 Nexus) have performed identically in these areas, leads me to believe it is the radio. It's just such a stretch to believe otherwise.

I will say I don't have nearly the frequency of these issues with the Nexus as I did with the Charge, so things have improved since then with Samsung. But when I see 2 other LTE phones, both from different manufacturers tackle these same areas with no issues, it does point to the Charge.

The area you're in is SOOOO critical to whether you see these issues or not. Nowhere do I see your signal nearly as low as mine. It's not unusual for me to see -110 to -113dbm on LTE. So you're obviously in a stronger area. That's not the area that manifests these issues. And BTW, all of the Nexus display phones in these areas at VZW corporate stores show essentially the same signal strength (within about 2dbm). So I see no point in exchanging mine, there's nothing wrong with it other than a design/software/hardware issue. I have no idea which.

Ken,

care to share the location of any of these low signal areas? I am on LI and I have the same issues that you describe, except that I haven't been able to predict when it will drop, just yet. I'd like to see if I can go to one of the areas you say you experience data drop, and replicate, while testing both sets of radios. Obviously I'm looking for public places.

 

[420board]

*edited for clarity*

I skipped the middle pages so forgive me if this was mentioned already, but isn't it possible that the update will instead of showing the bars for the current signal type (LTE, EVDO, 1x) that it will only show call signal strength, likely giving it a much higher showing in # of bars. I think the iPhone 4 did something similar with one of their first updates (http://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/15/apple-releases-ios-4-0-1-for-iphone-4-3gs-and-3g/)