Poor wifi signal reception - why?

[xstinkyx]

When putting the N4 next to some older devices (i.e. SK 4G and 1st gen iPad) in my work cubicle, the reported signal strengths for all the available access points is noticeably less on the N4. Is there any reason for this? Does the N4 have a less powerful antenna? I still have the initial screen cover on it, but I don't think that should interfere. I have carried it around the office and see the same thing (less powerful strength than expected).

 

[Fairclough]

Thats odd, heaps of reviews say it has great reception.

 

[cynicist]

I'm getting great wifi reception on my N4, far better than what I previously had on my Galaxy Nexus.

 

[xstinkyx]

So after work I got my TMO microsim card and reception via cell is fine.
I went home and it seems to pick up my home wifi fine (although I live in a small place so I'm always near the access point).

I'm back at work and again it's usually showing signal strength of "Poor" or "Fair" (or occasionally "Good") when other devices in the area all get "Excellent" (office wifi).

Are there any good way to determine if my wifi antenna in the N4 has problems?

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Are there any good way to determine if my wifi antenna in the N4 has problems?

Try downloading Wifi Analyzer on the Play Store on two different devices and see what kind of signal strength they both report. That won't tell you if your N4 has a problem, but it can at least put a number on your signal strength instead of just bars (which are most likely being reported differently across devices). For what it's worth, my N4 and Photon both report very similar signals if they're not identical.

 

[fam617]

Im getting WAY better wifi signal than my Samsung Nexus S. Samsung was notorious for crappy wifi radios.

 

[Nonymous666]

I'm getting great reception with mine.

It's quick to re-establish a connection whenever I turn wi-fi back on, too. I think the icon goes blue almost instantanously as long as DHCP hasn't expired the lease.

 

[xstinkyx]

Try downloading Wifi Analyzer on the Play Store on two different devices and see what kind of signal strength they both report.

Thanks for the suggestion. Below are screenshots from that app on two devices, the Sidekick 4G and the Nexus 4.
(I never got around to installing a screencap app on the SK, so I just took a photo of it.)

On the SK I get about -30 dBm, on the N4 about -40 to -50.
Other nearby access points show a similar difference.
The other ways of looking at the data in that app show about the same thing.
The N4 seems to show more "?" items - I'm not sure what that indicates.

Is there anything I can check in settings, etc.?
I noticed the poor wifi reception when I initially turned on the phone and went through the set up for the first time, so I don't think it's something I introduced into the system.
I plan on doing this same comparison at work on Monday, but expect to see results similar to my home testing.

(Does the "Screenshot" feature in Wifi Analyzer actually take screenshots or does it just capture the displayed data? I tried to Send the results but it seems to just send xml.)

 

[N4Newbie]

I am sitting in my kitchen. My Wi-Fi router is in the basement, about 8 - 10 feet from me on the diagonal with (of course) a floor between us.

Using Wi-Fi Analyzer, I see about a 3 to 5 point spread between the signal strength on my N4 and on my recently retired HTC Evo 4G, with the N4 mostly being the weaker unit although they sometimes flip and the N4 comes out on top briefly; both hover in the -59 to -68 area. Results are the same for both my own network and the two neighbors who are within range (but in the -90's).

 

[Bosh19]

Any news on this topic? I'm having the same problem, poor wifi reception, even my 2+ years old Nokia N8 gets "Excellent" conection, while the Nexus 4 varies between "Fair" and "Good" while being in my desk.

 

[acetrip]

also having poor signal wifi reception on my nexus 4, worse then my 5 years old htc cruise!