Horrible reception issues

[dsx968]

I have Sprint in St. Paul, MN. Not upgraded yet. On my phone the bars either always show full or roaming. No in-between.
When I'm out and about and don't have any wifi to rely on I show full bars and my 3G arrows are lit up but yet I get no data connection errors, network errors. Really frustrating. It doesn't seem to affect phone calls or notifications though. I can get FB notifications but when I try to open FB I get connection errors. It's not just on FB though. Today it was my banking app.

I try to chalk it up to my lousy network but I didn't have these problems on my Photon. Is the radio really that bad on this so-called best Android phone?
I just want to get some feedback before I unroot it and bring it in to Sprint for a replacement.

 

[Almeuit]

Try going to system settings > system update > update PRL and then update profile. That can help.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[smooches680]

I live in GA and I get very bad reception. I even have airave and Sprint serve still sucks.

Sent from my White, Sexy S3.

 

[scheets973]

I feel like the s3 reception is just not as good... i live in NJ and it was worse than other phones I tried. Weak radios IMO

 

[Gator352]

I live in central Florida and the S3 has the best reception yet of all the phones I've owned. And that even includes the moPHo.

 

[msoprano13]

the signal on my phone is awful in places as well espeially at my house i have one tiny bar. Meanwhile the other family members on my plan (i-phone, evo shift and evo 3-d) all have more bars.

 

[bearballz72]

Well again people it's not the phone it's the network. Here is Chicago the reception is mostly bad as well due to the NV/LTE upgrade Sprint is currently going through.

Before I got an SIII I had the HTC Evo 4G LTE and had the same issues. Unless you have a Wimax enabled phone like the Evo 4G your going to be experiencing this for the forseeable future.

 

[boomerbubba]

the signal on my phone is awful in places as well espeially at my house i have one tiny bar. Meanwhile the other family members on my plan (i-phone, evo shift and evo 3-d) all have more bars.

It is not a valid comparison to compare "bars" shown on different devices. There is no standard definition of what signal strength "bars" represent. About all you can be sure of is that on the same device, more "bars" mean a stronger received signal than fewer "bars."

 

[dsx968]

So because my area is still using wimax and this phone doesn't support it I get horrible reception everywhere I go? Sounds like Sprint should be compensating me for this IMO.
Not only do I not get 4G but I barely get service period. So glad I got this phone now.

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[Ntchwaidumela]

Well again people it's not the phone it's the network. Here is Chicago the reception is mostly bad as well due to the NV/LTE upgrade Sprint is currently going through.

Before I got an SIII I had the HTC Evo 4G LTE and had the same issues. Unless you have a Wimax enabled phone like the Evo 4G your going to be experiencing this for the forseeable future.

In my seems-to-be-weekly conversation with Sprint techs today (for air card issues), I was informed that my main tower (and another several) in my area are scheduled to be up and operational in a couple of weeks (around 9/25). We'll see. I live in the Lakeview area of Chicago, near Lincoln Park, and data over 3G is almost as bad as dial-up. The downtown area data reception might as well be non-existent. As you stated, unless you still have a Wimax phone, you're SOL until the NV/LTE conversion is complete. Luckily (so I'm told), Chicago is among the first MAJOR cities to be upgraded. Many of our suburbs have already been done. I experienced the upgrade a few weeks ago and I can honestly say my S3 is faster than fast on NV/LTE.

I was also told that this upgrade is not just a matter of switching a few things over. They're actually installing all new equipment. In Chicago, that means several hundred towers. I knew that going into upgrading my phone, so I was somewhat prepared for this. However, that doesn't make it less frustrating, especially when you're in the middle of something and lose signal.

 

[Ntchwaidumela]

So because my area is still using wimax and this phone doesn't support it I get horrible reception everywhere I go? Sounds like Sprint should be compensating me for this IMO.
Not only do I not get 4G but I barely get service period. So glad I got this phone now.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

I have a feeling there might some small gesture made, but I'm not banking on it.

 

[palmpreboss]

the op who made this post is full of it the photon is crap i bought it at full price and had very bad issue wit it the it i stay in saint paul and never got any issue wit the s2 or the s3 and i just upgraded to the s3 so it just might b the device itsself matter of fact im in my ppl basement apartment and have full data connection.

 

[dsx968]

How am I full of it? I'm having nothing but problems with this phone and I switched from the Photon because I had problems with that phone as well. I really disliked that phone.
The whole point of my post was to gauge people's response to whether this is a phone issue or network issue.
I read last night that the Samsung techs were in town already to start work on the upgrade but it won't be done until maybe April.


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[Ntchwaidumela]

Folks, lets keep it civil.

Here's the deal.We all knew -- or should have known -- that we were getting a 4G LTE phone, but Sprint didn't have their LTE network up and running in all their market areas. This was a known factor. Yet, we bought them anyway. Personally, I upgraded from an 4G Wimax phone, even though I knew I would be stuck with their lousy 3G network until the system upgrade. We should have all known that. The S3 is NOT a Wimax device, and that information was made clear from the get-go. The biggest issue, IMHO, is that none of us realized how sssslllllooooowwwwww Sprint's 3G network really is, especially while they're in the process of upgrading their towers. And it's made even slower because of the increased traffic they have to deal with.

I live in Chicago, and our 3G service is little more than dial-up. But I've experienced the Vision Network and its LTE speed several weeks ago when I was in the far-south suburbs. The S3 is lightening fast on the new network! But for now, those of us that don't have the new network will just have to bite the bullet until we finally get it. Yes, it's taking longer than we had hoped. Yes, Sprint's 3G network sucks during the conversion period. Yes, all this was, for the most part, unexpected. But we make our choices and we have to live with them. As for me, I love my S3...I'll love it even more when the conversion is complete in my area.

(By the way, I was told that the towers in my neighborhood in Chicago are scheduled to be up and running on or about the 26th of this month.)

 

[dsx968]

Lucky you. I was at the Sprint store today and the girl there had heard by the end of the year for us, for what that's worth.
I wish I had the opportunity to travel and experience what this network can really do.
I'm still glad I got the phone. I regret not getting the S2 over the Photon when I had the chance. At least I get good WiFi at home and work.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[ihbsbA]

It is not a valid comparison to compare "bars" shown on different devices. There is no standard definition of what signal strength "bars" represent. About all you can be sure of is that on the same device, more "bars" mean a stronger received signal than fewer "bars."

I see this comment a lot - about "bars" --- I have had SO many devices, and all "bars" read differently on EVERY manufacturer. I make and hold calls all the time on my SGS2 with NO bars, so I just don't give any merit to how many "bars" you have showing.

 

[ihbsbA]

So because my area is still using wimax and this phone doesn't support it I get horrible reception everywhere I go? Sounds like Sprint should be compensating me for this IMO.
Not only do I not get 4G but I barely get service period. So glad I got this phone now.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

You have 30 days. Return it.

 

[freddyc]

Something is changing. My reception was acceptable in my home, the last few days it went from acceptable to non-existent. Sprint is insisting that they're working on the towers in Chicago for the upgrade. We'll see ...