Official Signal Strength and Reception Thread

**Smitty_82** · 12-16-2011, 02:06 AM

I'm going to give it some time and not freak out about the signal, but if it isn't fixed by the time my return period ends I'm not sure what I'm going to do. For now I'm just going to chill and watch an HD movie on my GNex and enjoy what works! Fortunatly I still have my Tbolt for everything else.

**booboolala2000** · 12-16-2011, 02:18 AM

Fixes will come and they will be quick. Think weeks instead of months. They will handle it and all will be great. Hate to say it but its part of owning a nexus. You will have more updates than you will care for.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

**iastonish** · 12-16-2011, 03:12 AM

I have 3 bars-full signal in NJ

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**davesax36** · 12-16-2011, 07:13 AM

-93 2 asu... it was -100 a minute ago, and -120 all last night. Plus, I don't know what ASU is, so I'll go look that up.

**CynicX** · 12-16-2011, 07:32 AM

Keep in mind Motorola has been in the radio business for 40 years or so.

When a Samsung phone gets as good of reception as a Motorola phone they will have as good of screens as Samsung ie never.

There are probably still huge improvements to be made on the software side but that will never affect the hardware and it's integration. I really wouldn't worry about it if the phone works for you, if you have issues with where you live or work you may want to look elsewhere.

**CynicX** · 12-16-2011, 07:37 AM

Might be a confusing question to answer after reading the end.

**awdtsi** · 12-16-2011, 07:39 AM

My 4g signal was pretty bad all day yesterday ranging from -93 to -110 in my house and around town. Before I went to bed I checked and I was at -110. I woke up this morning to 4 bars and -73! Overnight something happened and my speed went from about 5mbs in my house to 14mbs this morning. Im in NW Ohio if it matters. Verizon may be aware of this issue already and possible tweaking the towers?

**MrCheeky** · 12-16-2011, 07:43 AM

I had a Nexus S 4G, and I had the same terrible reception this phone seems to be getting. They promised fixes for months and months and never delivered, finally admitting it was a hardware problem. I say this not to scare you, but I wanted to give everyone a fair warning for those that have an unusable phone. If you get to your 14 days and it's still not fixed, you may want to look elsewhere.

**SpaceHippie** · 12-16-2011, 07:46 AM

i have low bars. But have no worries. Im sure its just cause 4g is hit or miss. a bar or two of 4G is alot better than 3G at full strength. As far as other phones go..NEVER! lol

**hitem20** · 12-16-2011, 07:59 AM

Did not read through this entire thread so excuse me if it has been said.

I was getting 1-2 bars in my basement, turned off LTE and I had full bars right away.

**steevereeno** · 12-16-2011, 08:01 AM

I'm in Cincinnati in the heart of strong 4G coverage and I'm having radio issues too. Last night at home I had 0 to 1 bar on 4G and it would drop to 3G often. Oddly, here at work only 5 miles away I have 3 full bars and awesome 4G speeds. I definitely don't want to give up this beauty of a phone but I have to get 4G service at home where I use it more often. Anyone else in the Cincinnati seeing these inconsistencies as well?

**Stelv** · 12-16-2011, 08:03 AM

Yes every Samsung I have used/owned has had radio issues...fascinate, captivate, charge. Come to find out that they have had radio issues with all their phones. Not trying to troll, just wanted people to know my experience with Samsung. On my fascinate it definitely seemed like hardware as no rom or kernel combo would fix connection issues. GNex could be different who knows.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

**auburngirl** · 12-16-2011, 08:07 AM

I am at -110 showing no bars, but I still get 8Mb down and 0.61Mb up.

Still faster down than my WiFI, and loads way fast than the OG Droid on full signal.

**Ken7** · 12-16-2011, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by TitansJonne

i have low bars. But have no worries. Im sure its just cause 4g is hit or miss. a bar or two of 4G is alot better than 3G at full strength. As far as other phones go..NEVER! lol

Well unfortunately it's not IMO. I've had the Bionic & the Rezound and both had much better reception than my current Nexus. I go to the same areas I got solid 4G reception on the Rezound and with the Nexus I get 3G. In fact, much like the issue I had with my Charge, I'll go from 4G to 3G to no data...exactly like what happened with my Charge.

No, IMO this is yet another lousy Samsung radio that's having issues with 4G and no amount of software tweaking will help that. Now if you live in a really solid 4G area, you may think I'm crazy. But hey, it's no real challenge for any radio to get good 4G reception if you're only in solid 4G area. Go into marginal 4G areas and you'll separate the men from the boys. That's where the Rezound shines and the Nexus, so far, has failed for me.

Color me disappointed.

**bardol** · 12-16-2011, 08:11 AM

I've noticed in my office I went from consistent 4g on my Bionic to the 4g cutting in and out on my nexus. It is a little disappointing since I do the majority of my surfing there, but other than that the phone is great.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**Bobaroo** · 12-16-2011, 08:39 AM

This is my first 4g and android phone. I had a blackberry before and its signal strength was hit or miss. I work in NYC and my blackberry would have full 3g bars, my nexus has two 4g...a little disappointing but it still works fine. I also noticed at home I'd get 1-2 bars of 3g on my BB but nothing would ever work (calls, texting etc). I get 1 bar of 4g but everything works fine.

Is the signal bar just extremely innacurate?

**jephanie** · 12-16-2011, 08:44 AM

Tech support suggested that my SIM card needs to be swapped out. I will give it a try and report back.

**marcw** · 12-16-2011, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by steevereeno

I'm in Cincinnati in the heart of strong 4G coverage and I'm having radio issues too. Last night at home I had 0 to 1 bar on 4G and it would drop to 3G often. Oddly, here at work only 5 miles away I have 3 full bars and awesome 4G speeds. I definitely don't want to give up this beauty of a phone but I have to get 4G service at home where I use it more often. Anyone else in the Cincinnati seeing these inconsistencies as well?

I have the same exact issue in NY in my house, but in my house I have NO RECEPTION at all. From outside my house to work, 3/4 bars. I might be thinking about a home cell device, but not willing to pay a lot for it.

**JoeUserTX** · 12-16-2011, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by johnsonwcjw

Check out the Fascinate forums, It also suffers from these exact problems...

Not with the GB update. When mine got updated the radio reception was light years better. Prior to GB, signal reception was nominal, but not exceptional.

**nrk** · 12-16-2011, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by Bobaroo

This is my first 4g and android phone. I had a blackberry before and its signal strength was hit or miss. I work in NYC and my blackberry would have full 3g bars, my nexus has two 4g...a little disappointing but it still works fine. I also noticed at home I'd get 1-2 bars of 3g on my BB but nothing would ever work (calls, texting etc). I get 1 bar of 4g but everything works fine.

Is the signal bar just extremely innacurate?

Being in NYC probably doesn't help signal strength.

People normally complain about Samsung radios not being as great, so it's not surprising. But, really, in my office building at work (Troy, MI) I only 2 bars of 4G (Bionic). Outside I'm basically all 3 or 4. It all depends on where you are. Generally speaking though, you should expect a little bit less of a quality radio in terms of signal strength from Samsung. Doesn't mean the phone wouldn't still be awesome, just something to know.

**p08757** · 12-16-2011, 08:54 AM

Originally Posted by booboolala2000

Fixes will come and they will be quick. Think weeks instead of months. They will handle it and all will be great. Hate to say it but its part of owning a nexus. You will have more updates than you will care for.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

Are you sure about this? It is my understanding that VZW will still need to test any new code before it is released, especially if it has to do with their network.

Just say'n.

**bennolen** · 12-16-2011, 09:27 AM

No morning improvements here.
Still -120dBM and 99 asu here.
Out side of St Louis.

**VideoEngineerAJS** · 12-16-2011, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by bennolen

No morning improvements here.
Still -120dBM and 99 asu here.
Out side of St Louis.

Where?

I'm at Westport (Maryland Heights) and I'm at -93dBM and 47 asu. I forget what my Thunderbolt had here, but I remember my signal wasn't as good with it here as it was when I worked off of Olive and 270. Westport is in a bit of a valley, so I'm actlually pretty satisfied with the signal here.