Official Signal Strength and Reception Thread

**nkd** · 12-19-2011, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Kunji

i have a gnex that i traded a razr in for. before that i had a droid 1. my wife now has a rezound. i am a speedtest and gps freak. i can with all confidence say that the gnex does not have the same signal strength. speedtest are much slower as are the signal strengths. gps works great outside in the car (yea, that's where it should,,,but is is nice to check numbers and addresses in a building sometimes). i suppose i have to come to terms with what i'm willing to accept for example 7mbps down instead of 13 or having to look up buisness phone numbers a different way rather than google maps when i'm in a building. just to give you a practical example: i was in jcpenney when for the first time i almost dropped a call (fading in and out) so i checked the gps just for kicks and there was none. took my wife's rezound and got immediate gps lock and was able to get around 11mbps 4g and the gnex got .16 mpgs on 3g. the op has a valid point in that none of the reviews said anything negative about signal or gps. some review gave this phone the highest since the iphone. why is this? this is a phenomena that warrants investigation but i digress. like many here i'll more than likely keep this phone but let's be real.

Why compare 4g to 3g?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

**Premium1** · 12-19-2011, 11:56 AM

For those thinking that the nexus is the only phone with data connectivity issues that isn't the case. Look at the latest update for the razr. http://www.androidcentral.com/droid-...medium=twitter

**sc4fpse** · 12-19-2011, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by Premium1

I would assume verizon would look into it and tell google to issue the update since the first 4.0.2 came from google and before the gsm versions. Plus if you check out the android site for google where to report bugs, there are many reporting this issue on there also, so that may help with getting the update faster since both verizon and google know about the issue.

Perhaps, but I'm not sure if baseband-only updates would come from Google or Verizon. I'm inclined to say Verizon, simply because it's their network and they would be the ones that have access to everything needed to test the radios.

Originally Posted by Premium1

For those thinking that the nexus is the only phone with data connectivity issues that isn't the case. Look at the latest update for the razr. http://www.androidcentral.com/droid-...medium=twitter

"Data connectivity issues" is pretty broad and ambiguous. To say that the RAZR has connectivity issues on par with those of the Nexus isn't really accurate. Yes, all phones have some sort of connectivity issue. But the Nexus and RAZR are night and day. Unfortunately, the Nexus got the short end of the stick.

**Stelv** · 12-19-2011, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Premium1

For those thinking that the nexus is the only phone with data connectivity issues that isn't the case. Look at the latest update for the razr. http://www.androidcentral.com/droid-...medium=twitter

My girlfriend has the razr. No signal issues with it at all. Its been solid since day one.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

**bplewis24** · 12-19-2011, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by mattywalnuts

Located on the west side of Manhattan, activated my Nexus 10 minutes ago.

Droid 2: 68 dbm 0 asu
Nexus: 86 dbm 54 asu (both 4G and 3G)

4G indicator 3 out of 4 bars (i know this isn't a true indication of signal quality)

What is "asu" anyway? I've never heard of it before.

Brandon

**wigsby** · 12-19-2011, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by HES

GN with LTE or = -120dBm, 99asu

GN on 3G = flip flopping between -100dBm, 1asu and -93dBm, 2 asu

DX = flip flopping between -89dBm, 0asu and -93dBm, 0asu

Ok the dB part I got. But what role does the asu play?

Noticed this earlier in the thread and checking my Galaxy Nexus I see the same readings, Varying between -93 and -120 dBm in 3g only area with LTE turned off. Still getting data but speed test says .2 Mb to .4 Down and Up. Good Verizon 3G coverage here and was expecting better speeds. Did do a little better outside of town earlier today.
Phone is updated to 4.0.2 Baseband 1515.09V.EK05 / 1515.EK02 Build ICL53F
Last voice call was noticeably weak and seemed to fade off at times but connection was sustained. Haven't noticed a lot of other voice problems but haven't made many phone calls either.
Also finding that screen rotation is slow to non-existent when using apps that are supposed to work with it. Located in NW Michigan

**iBowToAndroid** · 12-20-2011, 01:52 AM

Originally Posted by sc4fpse

"Data connectivity issues" is pretty broad and ambiguous. To say that the RAZR has connectivity issues on par with those of the Nexus isn't really accurate. Yes, all phones have some sort of connectivity issue. But the Nexus and RAZR are night and day. Unfortunately, the Nexus got the short end of the stick.

Connectivity has been a problem on every 4G phone so far. I think Android Police had the best explanation as to what's probably going on with that. As far as signal strength though, you just can't compare Sammy and Moto - that's the real night/day comparison.

**Iceman0803** · 12-20-2011, 04:19 AM

Originally Posted by iBowToAndroid

Connectivity has been a problem on every 4G phone so far. I think Android Police had the best explanation as to what's probably going on with that. As far as signal strength though, you just can't compare Sammy and Moto - that's the real night/day comparison.

Posted this in another thread but it's relevant in this one too.

**jim2112** · 12-20-2011, 07:11 AM

Article on signal strength comparison.

The signal bars displayed at the top of the screen are never going to be your best bet for determining signal, no matter what phone you're using. Android also covers a large swath of very strong signal with just the highest bar indicator. In case you're not familiar, signal is usually measured in dBm. dBm is the power ratio in decibels of the radio power per one milliwatt.

A signal of -60dBm is nearly perfect, and -112dBm is call-dropping bad. If you're above about -87 dBm, Android will report a full 4 bars of signal.

**dcdttu** · 12-22-2011, 12:04 PM

I have had the Nexus since launch day, and have had a lot of trouble with 3G voice / texting. 4G obviously doesn't handle voice/txt, and it happens whether I have my phone in 4G or 3G mode.

I live in Austin, and Verizon's coverage is great here. When I got the Nexus, the first call I made dropped, and it's pretty much been downhill from there. Call quality is horrible, garbling up and cutting in and out when I'm on the phone with a land line. Drops happen about once a day....

So I got my Nexus and compared it, in 3G mode only, to 3 other phones (2 Droid Charges and a Stratosphere). The results confirmed what I was thinking: 3G reception is 10-20dBm lower than the other phones consistently, in multiple locations. Almost everywhere I go, I am on the edge of losing my 3G service. I usually leave 4G off because of the issues the phone has handing-off the signal between the different networks.

I was super excited about getting this phone and was at Best Buy the second they opened to get it. Now I am really disappointed in the reception, and can't keep it past the return date of January 15th if it doesn't have good reception / call quality.

Anyone else do a 3G reception test with other Verizon phones? What did you find?

**wunderkinder** · 12-22-2011, 12:24 PM

I found the same thing when comparing my OG Droid with my Nexus. With both devices side-by-side, the OG Droid shows a stronger signal (-75 on the OG Droid vs. -90 on the Nexus).

Would the amount of power being used by the radio affect the signal strength? I am wondering they reduced the power to the radios in order to extend battery life. My wifi signal shows up as weaker on my Nexus when compared to other wifi devices.

**Blitzdroid** · 12-22-2011, 12:25 PM

I find it the same in boston area as my old 3g phones.

The dbm signal seems worst but i stop beleiving that. Websites load quicker and thats all i care.

**jbresee** · 12-22-2011, 12:29 PM

I came from an OG droid to the Nexus. I'm in a 3g only area.

I could care less about the number of bars displayed in the UI, but the droid never dropped a call here, and the Nexus has frequent drops.

More interesting is the data issue. The Nexus appears to stop sending and receiving data, and the airplane mode off / on trick doesn't restore it. The only thing that works is a cold reboot.

**jafels** · 12-22-2011, 12:34 PM

My Nexus actually shows a stronger signal than my og droid at home (-75 dbm for the Nexus to -83 for the droid). And I seem to get better 3g reception at my work which for my droid was a blackhole and would constantly drop to 1x...with my Nexus Im getting 2 to 3 bars and -93 dbm at work. It amamzes me the difference in experience people are having. I do not live in a 4g area but live very close to an extended coverage area. when I hit the very edge of the extended coverage my phone almost immediately switches to 4g and when I leave that area it hands back off to 3g very well. When I get closer to the actual 4g coverage area I get a decent signal (-95 dbm)....and I cant tell you what I get in the 4g coverage area beause I have not taken the gnex their yet....but I imagine it would be much better than out on the fringes.

**BiNGE** · 12-22-2011, 12:37 PM

Saw no issue with the GN compared to HTC Incredible. Not that 3G is great in my area, but it's no worse because of this phone. The physical antenna in the GN is nicely engineered. If you are having serious problems get an exchange or ask a L2 tech to push a PRL update to your SIM.

**ohiomoto** · 12-22-2011, 01:30 PM

You guys might want to read this really good piece on signal strength as the GN reports and displays it differently:

That said, I think my Palm Pre Plus performed better on the CMDA than the Nexus or the Fascinate I was using with ICS. It never dropped calls and did a better job keeping the buffer full for apps like Pandora and Slacker. (I've been testing the GN in CDMA only to see if it helps with battery life.) On the other hand the GN on 4G makes up for lost data in a hurry so it things like Pandora work better on the GN on 4G than they do on 3G. I think when the LTE network matures, it will be great.

**bacumings** · 12-22-2011, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by ohiomoto

You guys might want to read this really good piece on signal strength as the GN reports and displays it differently:

The latest update to this article explains how the Nexus actually more accurately reports our signal strength and that our older devices more or less falsely reported a stronger signal. A "fix" is coming from VZW to ease our minds of lower signal, but my issue apart from this, is that my data speeds are significantly lower than they were on my OG Droid. I am in a 3G only area, but it takes so much longer to load a web page than it ever did on my Droid...

Any one have thoughts on this?

EDIT: Ok, so after running several speed tests, it appears that my speeds themselves seem to be (somewhat) normal, but that means that it just takes a LOT longer to render a page on the Nexus than the Droid. Should I try a different browser? Attached screenshot of speed tests, 3G only remember.

**ac7822** · 12-22-2011, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by bacumings

EDIT: Ok, so after running several speed tests, it appears that my speeds themselves seem to be (somewhat) normal, but that means that it just takes a LOT longer to render a page on the Nexus than the Droid. Should I try a different browser? Attached screenshot of speed tests, 3G only remember.

Man I wish I had your problem. Im in a 3g only are with 2-3 bars consistently and I have download speeds of sub 100 kbops with 400-800 kbps upload speeds. I average probably 200 kbps down but average 500 kbps up. Im starting to think I may have gotten a lemon you can see my screenshot here. Radio Issue Very Low Download Speeds

By the way how does google music work for you?? Im experiencing about 20-25 secs to start a song and then lots of stutters and theyre long stutters. Its weird to see such low upload speeds on your screen shots compared to mine, esp. when youre download speeds are so much higher

**thirsy1258** · 01-07-2012, 11:58 PM

Is it just me or does a signal go out when making a call. I love the phone but I don't know if I can handle the signal dropped the calls I make all the time. My buddy with the nexus says he never had that problem I wonder if it's is my phone

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**allan1313** · 01-08-2012, 12:02 AM

I have yet to drop a call. Call quality has been great for me.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk

**thirsy1258** · 01-08-2012, 12:17 AM

Thx when the call is in progress it sounds amazing then later all my bars go away and grey out and the call ends. It says no mobile network. I'm in a full 4g area. Phx az. I just paid a ton for this phone and would hate to get a refurb in exchange.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**TabGuy** · 01-08-2012, 12:25 AM

As the late Steve Jobs would say, "you're holding it wrong."

**thirsy1258** · 01-08-2012, 12:29 AM

Ha ha its not the phones its your fingers.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**pauliphone5** · 01-08-2012, 01:52 AM

Originally Posted by TabGuy

As the late Steve Jobs would say, "you're holding it wrong."

Maybe Samsung and Google should have the phones with those covers?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**CallerHoller** · 01-08-2012, 06:50 AM

I only have 4g at work. That is where I experiance signal loss. Mostly notice data. I hardly ever make calls at work. I am on the internet nearly all day though. 4g drops data all the time and then the signal bar stays grey for 30secs or more just to connect 3g. I don't have any data loss at home, where it's 3g only. No dropped calls at home either.
The thing that makes me mad is my wife can be sitting next to me, with my old Thunderbolt, in a 4g area and have a solid 4bars of 4g. Wether others believe the low bars doesn't = low signal. When my bars are dropping off I have slower than 3g speed.