galaxy note 3 signal strength

[timpenz]

About 6 weeks ago had great signal strength and no issues making calls. In my home area over the last 6 weeks everyone in my house has had major issues with Verizon signal strength. We all have note 3s and have done factory resets and added nothing. Any suggestions?

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[Rukbat]

1) Resets and rooting have nothing to do with the signal strength.

2) The signal "strength" indicator on a CDMA (Verizon and Sprint) phone is actually a signal quality indicator. If there are a lot of people using that tower face, the "signal strength" will go down, even though the signal strength hasn't changed.

Install an app like Signal Check Lite and see what the actual signal strength is. If it's really low (the strength is in amount below a certain level, so the higher the number, the weaker the signal), go to Verizon (a company store, not an agent's store) and see if they can start a trouble ticket for your area. -80 to -90dbm is about normal. Anything much under about -110dbm should be pretty useless.

Also note any changes recently, like a new roof (with new foil-backed insulation) on the house, new metallic siding, etc., or any new construction in the area - a large metal building could be blocking the signal, as could a large hill of dirt. (I can't use Sprint in my daughter's house because she lives in the shadow of a ridge between her house and the nearby Sprint tower. Go a few yards past the back of the house and there's signal.)