[Suntan]

We took the kids to the zoo this weekend and I was initially depressed to see that I was getting one bar of 3G with slow to no data update while outside in the zoo... Then I grabbed my wife's Droid 3 and saw that it too was getting one bar and almost no data.

So far, the GSIII seems to be on par with my old Droid 3 for VZW connection (but with 4G) and it seems to have stronger wifi reception.

-Suntan

[akronevan2]

I am getting -111dBm 29 asu in Norton, Oh.

[Davidoo1]

I was able to pull off a test of the 4G signal at my local Verizon store using 3 phones, my Droid Charge (in diagnostic mode using LTE monitor), the Nexus, and the S III. I really wanted the Nexus when it came out but I live in a fringe 4G area and even compared to the Charge the Nexus sucked. So, I had all 3 phones side by side. The LTE signal strength on the Charge and S III were always within 1 or 2 db of each other between -89 and -93. They would jump back and forth with the S III at -89 and the Charge at -91, then reverse it at other times. So basically, the Charge and S III have about the same radio quality. For the Nexus, well, as you have probably already guessed, it was bad news. With the Charge and S III hovering around -90 the Nexus was always at least -100 to -105, dropping to 3G at times.

For those of us who have had the Charge for a while, you may remember the Gingerbread update brought a much better radio with it, at least for me as I had to stand by the window on the 2nd floor of my house to get 4G and after GB I get it 90% of the time anywhere in my house. So, the good news for the S III is that it is already as good or better than the Charge, and far exceeds the Nexus. Any future updates to the S III will make it even better. My S III is now due to ship on the 19th (wanted 32 gig and no stores in Phoenix have it in stock).

[PamelaBB]

I'm getting -92 at home which has always been a place where I get one or two bars below full. Out and about I have had no issues with reception at all yet.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[chevyman29]

ok just did a side by side test with my wifes rezound in our basement that has concrete walls and ceiling . the rezound was able to beat the s3 by about a average of 3dbm . both phones really struggled and it would take multiple tries with the rezound to get the speed test app to work . where as the s3 could only muster a 1x signal .

my maxx in the same spot was equal to the rezound . all three where able to maintain a phone call no problem but none of them will reliably access the data network . with both phones in 3g mode it was rezound 96dbm, s3 99dbm . with all that said after two full days with the s3 i have been really satisfied with the phone as a whole and thats coming from a razr maxx .

One thing i have noticed is the s3 doesnt seem to just lose its data connection for no reason like the Maxx is prone to do .so far i havent noticed not one time of it dropping the 4g for no apparent reason . I bet if this thing gets any kind of update to the radios it will be about on par with the rezound . so far it appears that samsung is trying to improve on there radio and antenna quality.

[MERCDROID]

Most of the time mine floats between -80 and -100 dbm. But, even when it seems like the connection is "bad," the phone still makes phone calls and the internet blazes through web pages no problem. And so far, the radios seem to be better than on my Droid 4. so much for Motorola being the king of radios

[andross77]

People need to STOP LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS! I had my SGS3 at my desk and it had -117dbm. I had 4g LTE and made a perfectly crystal clear call. Later near my desk (not in same spot) I had -82 dbm and had 4g LTE and made a perfectly crystal clear call.

At home, I again can be anywhere from mid 80's to high 90's or maybe 100 and I have zero dropped calls, all them the most clear I've ever had on a cell phone and amazing LTE speeds (anywhere from 8mb to 37mb down depending on time of day).

People need to relay REAL WORLD experience with using the phone on calls and for internet. Don't just say, "ummm, derrrrrr, in settings it says -105. my phone SUXXORS!!!" deerrrrrrr

I think Samsung may have a bad way of calculating that number. Plus those of you comparing your previous phone that was NOT ice cream sandwich to one that is, is pointless. The new software calculates that number differently and many websites have said it's close to 20 dmb worse than gingerbread on many phones (meaning if the phone was rolled back to 2.3 it would automatically get a number 20 lower (better)).

[chevyman29]

Well i wasnt going by what the numbers said i was actually trying to use both phones on youtube and the speed test app . i agree the numbers dont mean alot but in a side by side test the s3 is not quite as good as the rezound .

[jtbndy]

People need to STOP LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS! I had my SGS3 at my desk and it had -117dbm. I had 4g LTE and made a perfectly crystal clear call. Later near my desk (not in same spot) I had -82 dbm and had 4g LTE and made a perfectly crystal clear call.

At home, I again can be anywhere from mid 80's to high 90's or maybe 100 and I have zero dropped calls, all them the most clear I've ever had on a cell phone and amazing LTE speeds (anywhere from 8mb to 37mb down depending on time of day).

People need to relay REAL WORLD experience with using the phone on calls and for internet. Don't just say, "ummm, derrrrrr, in settings it says -105. my phone SUXXORS!!!" deerrrrrrr

I think Samsung may have a bad way of calculating that number. Plus those of you comparing your previous phone that was NOT ice cream sandwich to one that is, is pointless. The new software calculates that number differently and many websites have said it's close to 20 dmb worse than gingerbread on many phones (meaning if the phone was rolled back to 2.3 it would automatically get a number 20 lower (better)).

Numbers are the only thing that matters. It's a completely unbiased indicator of signal strength/reception (when comparing apples to apples).

"Real world experiences" have so many variables it's not useful when trying to isolate the radio/signal quality.

Have some warm milk and take a nap, you seem way too upset that people are reporting negative reviews of the SG3.

[akronevan2]

People need to STOP LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS! I had my SGS3 at my desk and it had -117dbm. I had 4g LTE and made a perfectly crystal clear call. Later near my desk (not in same spot) I had -82 dbm and had 4g LTE and made a perfectly crystal clear call.

At home, I again can be anywhere from mid 80's to high 90's or maybe 100 and I have zero dropped calls, all them the most clear I've ever had on a cell phone and amazing LTE speeds (anywhere from 8mb to 37mb down depending on time of day).

People need to relay REAL WORLD experience with using the phone on calls and for internet. Don't just say, "ummm, derrrrrr, in settings it says -105. my phone SUXXORS!!!" deerrrrrrr

I think Samsung may have a bad way of calculating that number. Plus those of you comparing your previous phone that was NOT ice cream sandwich to one that is, is pointless. The new software calculates that number differently and many websites have said it's close to 20 dmb worse than gingerbread on many phones (meaning if the phone was rolled back to 2.3 it would automatically get a number 20 lower (better)).

Ok, how's this, with my Last two phones I never dropped calls but with this I have dropped several. Derrrrrr is that bad?

[Jdroids]

Ok, how's this, with my Last two phones I never dropped calls but with this I have dropped several. Derrrrrr is that bad?

You might be having SIM authorization or PRL data issue then. I saw several reports that VZW fixed those issue for S3 users and reception problem went away.

[jroc]

Numbers are the only thing that matters. It's a completely unbiased indicator of signal strength/reception (when comparing apples to apples).

"Real world experiences" have so many variables it's not useful when trying to isolate the radio/signal quality.

Have some warm milk and take a nap, you seem way too upset that people are reporting negative reviews of the SG3.

If the phones aren't on the same OS version, the numbers will be biased. I personally witnessed this when my RAZR got updated to ICS. The bars too.

You will need some type of signal app for a better comparison. GB shows the 1x or 3g readings for lte. ICS shows the lte readings more accurately.

Real world use is always the best to go by....all things being equal.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Android Central Forums

[overweightXman]

You might be having SIM authorization or PRL data issue then. I saw several reports that VZW fixed those issue for S3 users and reception problem went away.

can you post links to the sites where you saw this info, would be a big help, thanks

[memillh]

I'm coming from the Rezound to a GS3. My Rezound stayed in the 80's for the most part, dipping down into the 90's every once in a while - while indoors. My GS3 seems to want to stay in the 100's in the same areas. And for a real world example, I dropped signal completely while standing outside in a Chicago suburb today. I finally flipped back to 1x after a while, then sat on 3G. I walked inside a restaurant that a frequent - and it dropped back to 1x, whereas I could barely check webmail during lunch like I usually do. I honestly can't recall that ever happening with my Rezound. It's a little frustrating, but not worth a return though. Also compared to the Rezound, this GS3 battery is much better so I guess there's just trade-offs I'll need to live. I guess you can't have it all, eh?

[akronevan2]

You might be having SIM authorization or PRL data issue then. I saw several reports that VZW fixed those issue for S3 users and reception problem went away.

Jdroids, thanks I hadn't even considered that. I wonder if I need to take it in to VZW... Anyway, thank you for your response!

[junglesnake98]

I'll be honest and tell anyone that the Samsung radios seem good to me. I am getting the same signal as my iPhone or my wife's iPhone. And the speediest is identical to my 4g iPad so I think people are reading to much into the radio's. It could be giving false readings or maybe the phone is bad, it happens. I'm not going to say its the best but I have no phone or device in my home that's any better. So I'm happy and for the people that are having trouble, take it back and try something else. I wish I could advise someone on what to try as I have tried almost everything but good luck to those that choose to go in another direction.

[cutigerjbm]

I had the gnex, and under settings>battery>cell standby, I would get time without signal from 60% to 80% after about 14 hours time on battery. With the sgs3, every day I have checked, it has been 0% time without signal, so I'd say it's a lot better. Gnex would be on -120 most of the time, where the sgs3 is usually around -92 or better.

[mud314]

Got this from Phandroid and a mod named ofTheDamned had posted it

Technically -1 is a higher number than -100, so a "lower" negative number will always be better.

-105 to -100 = Really bad
-99 to -90 = Not great
-89 to -80 = Pretty good
-79 to -65 = Good
Over -65 = Excellent

It's useless to just see a number as you need to compare it another phone in the same spot.

Thanks for this. I really never understood this, nor do I need to fully understand it, just wanted to get a point of where good is. this does it

[dtreo]

I had the gnex, and under settings>battery>cell standby, I would get time without signal from 60% to 80% after about 14 hours time on battery. With the sgs3, every day I have checked, it has been 0% time without signal, so I'd say it's a lot better. Gnex would be on -120 most of the time, where the sgs3 is usually around -92 or better.

I returned a GNex due to the terrible radios. It way underperformed as far as WiFi, 3G, GPS. Sounds like GS3 is much better.

Sent via EVO LTE

[Kegs2015]

My signal is -101 in house and can't hold a conversation. I here about every third word

[blade22222]

-69 in my house 3g only. -105 at work 4g there.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

[Suntan]

Just to add some more anecdotal evidence, my call and 3G capabilities seem to be as good or better than on my old Droid 3. ...Obviously, the 4G is much better.

Interestingly, the Wifi on the GSIII seems to be markedly better than it was on the Droid 3 too.

Ultimately though, I've never dropped a call (although I don't talk on it much) and I can get 14Mbps 4G even in BFE rural Iowa when visiting the inlaws. So I'm happy.

-Suntan

[ColdBrew]

Coming from my Droid Bionic I think the S3 is considerably worse. There is an area on my way home, of about a mile stretch, where my Bionic has reception that my S3 doesn't. Also I've noticed it switches to 3G a lot more than my Bionic did, around my office building.

It hasn't been a problem over all for me except for that stretch between work and home. No Pandora for me for a couple of minutes.

[Wnrgway]

It's certainly worse than my iPhone 4 which very rarely dropped calls at home. The Galaxy S3 will drop a call if I'm on the phone longer than 10 minutes or so.

I'm not sure if it's a reception issue or caused by switching cell towers. It seems to keep swapping between 3 towers. Reception ranges -93 to -105.

I'm going to take it into the local Verizon store this weekend and see what they say.

[kb0uy]

I went to a coorpret store today stating the difference between the Bionic and S3 using the same sim card. The Bionic was -85 and the S3 was 100. Before anyone asks, I used an adapter. They told me the phone was to new and call Tech Support.