3G vs LTE voice strength?

[9914994]

Voice reception at my home/office is not great due to a radiant barrier roof (I'm told that's the problem). When LTE is set on the Bionic I get 1-2 bars...sometimes 0 bars. Out of curiosity I turned off the LTE and the bars popped up to 3-4. Since LTE is data-only I was surprised to see this happen. Does this make sense? Could it be a bad phone? Is this normal?

 

[1812dave]

dunno, but I've found that the signal strength indicator on my Bionic is very "pessimistic". I'll get no/one bars and yet never miss a call, PLUS, the db strength when it shows one bar is around 82db. definitely seems to be an icon issue, rather than actual poor reception. YMMV.

 

[equake]

dunno, but I've found that the signal strength indicator on my Bionic is very "pessimistic". I'll get no/one bars and yet never miss a call, PLUS, the db strength when it shows one bar is around 82db. definitely seems to be an icon issue, rather than actual poor reception. YMMV.

Just read the Anandtech review of the Bionic. It has an explanation discussing the bars as both signal strength and signal quality unlike other LTE phones on V. They were impressed with the phone eventhough it was released very late.

 

[kca2000]

This seems to make sense to me. When you turn off the LTE you are forcing the phone to go back to 3G. 3G CDMA has been structure penetration then LTE will have. So a low LTE signal could easy change to a stronger 3g signal. This is one of the main reasons i have Verizon. No service gets a signal in basements like them.

 

[9914994]

I just read the incredibly detailed AnanTech review. I guess the bars are linked in some different way. I guess I just have to learn to understand what the phone is telling me...whether on LTE or 3G. I like the phone; not crazy about the screen. I just want a strong voice signal at my home/office.