Nexus S Has Terrible 4G Radio, Terrible Wifi Radio, and Wifi Tethering Crashes Data

[skinneejay]

After again reading through all of the post I'm not sure if we can tell whether this is a hardware issue or a software issue. My feelings are that this has something to do with the software not the hardware. If the hardware was faulty we would have more people up in arms then we do. This phone is nearly identicial to the Nexus S that lives on Tmobile if I'm not mistaken and I haven't read or seen any problems on their forums or around the net.

I wish we could get some kind of thread going that people who are having problems post
Where they live. if the phone is stock or rooted,
signal strength, time without signal, so we can maybe put together a more data then
us just saying to google hey my phone isn't getting a signal or my data is what is should be.

My thought on data speeds could be Sprint playing around with download speeds on 3G to help
traffic on their towers in certain locations. Just a thought. Its not like sprint can't regulate the amount of data pulled through each phone and or tower.

I haven't had a problem keeping a signal at all or missing a call but my download 3G speeds haven't
been the greatest. I can't remember what my Pre was pulling in so I have nothing to compare but what sprint has posted on their site about 3G speeds. Does the 3G speed effect me. Not really. I use my net for mostly Tweetdeck and or facebook which loads nicely.

 

[FocusFreak]

After again reading through all of the post I'm not sure if we can tell whether this is a hardware issue or a software issue. My feelings are that this has something to do with the software not the hardware. If the hardware was faulty we would have more people up in arms then we do. This phone is nearly identicial to the Nexus S that lives on Tmobile if I'm not mistaken and I haven't read or seen any problems on their forums or around the net.

I wish we could get some kind of thread going that people who are having problems post
Where they live. if the phone is stock or rooted,
signal strength, time without signal, so we can maybe put together a more data then
us just saying to google hey my phone isn't getting a signal or my data is what is should be.

My thought on data speeds could be Sprint playing around with download speeds on 3G to help
traffic on their towers in certain locations. Just a thought. Its not like sprint can't regulate the amount of data pulled through each phone and or tower.

I haven't had a problem keeping a signal at all or missing a call but my download 3G speeds haven't
been the greatest. I can't remember what my Pre was pulling in so I have nothing to compare but what sprint has posted on their site about 3G speeds. Does the 3G speed effect me. Not really. I use my net for mostly Tweetdeck and or facebook which loads nicely.

Again, its not a hardware or a software issue! If it was, everyone would be having problems, not only a small amount! It is based on your area. If you are in an area that doesnt get the best 3G or 4G coverage, you are going to experience problems. Those of us in good coverage areas arent seeing the same problems, our phones work just fine. This is why they have said they cant recreate the problem. They need to go to a problem area. No, the Nexus S on Tmobile has a GSM radio, we have CDMA, completely different.

 

[skinneejay]

FocusFreak. I understand the radios are differnent but everything else inside is the same. I live in the chicagoland area which is suppose to have great coverage. My Nexus is working great. I'm just having a problem with my data speeds. Call quality has been top notch for me so I can't complain. I've never drop a call or even missed a call.

 

[randomdude]

FocusFreak. I understand the radios are differnent but everything else inside is the same. I live in the chicagoland area which is suppose to have great coverage. My Nexus is working great. I'm just having a problem with my data speeds. Call quality has been top notch for me so I can't complain. I've never drop a call or even missed a call.

this is true. i live in the middle of houston and experience 4G connectivity issues. not to mention that i get a weak WIFI signal when my router is 15 feet away

 

[2CupsWithString]

I thought I didn't have as many problems as others were experiencing but in a little over a week of owning the device:

a) it's wifi range/speed is terrible, not up to par of my old Evo, Xoom or laptop. (I lose signal where my other devices still work for another 50 ft).

b) 4g speed is SLOW, unless you're right on top of the tower it's barely noticeable over 3g, this was not the case with my Evo being used in the same locations.

c) missing calls - I don't know how many I have actually missed, but I was giving someone my number to confirm they got it right they called my phone and it never rang, I was holding it in my hand at the time.

I don't know what the deal is, I just need a fix, especially for missing calls. I have no idea how many I've missed. With a lot going on at work and a sick grandmother this is a bad time for this.

 

[Salt72]

Again, its not a hardware or a software issue! If it was, everyone would be having problems, not only a small amount! It is based on your area. If you are in an area that doesnt get the best 3G or 4G coverage, you are going to experience problems. Those of us in good coverage areas arent seeing the same problems, our phones work just fine. This is why they have said they cant recreate the problem. They need to go to a problem area. No, the Nexus S on Tmobile has a GSM radio, we have CDMA, completely different.

@FocusFreak - You seem very adamant that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the phone itself, yet when several people have compared an EVO 4G right next to the Nexus 4G in the same area...on the same network...they get 2 completely different experiences. The EVO seems to retain 4G connections, while the Nexus sees the connection going in/out.

How do you explain that if there is nothing wrong with the Nexus?

 

[AndroidOne]

@FocusFreak - You seem very adamant that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the phone itself, yet when several people have compared an EVO 4G right next to the Nexus 4G in the same area...on the same network...they get 2 completely different experiences. The EVO seems to retain 4G connections, while the Nexus sees the connection going in/out.

How do you explain that if there is nothing wrong with the Nexus?

Why do we continue to waste so much bandwidth on this back and forth... the ones that have problems know there is a problem, the ones that don't believe there is won't agree.

The important thing is that the powers at be are already working on a fix for this issue. I will patiently wait for it to push and enjoy my NS once it happens.

 

[rc28a]

Again, its not a hardware or a software issue! If it was, everyone would be having problems, not only a small amount! It is based on your area. If you are in an area that doesnt get the best 3G or 4G coverage, you are going to experience problems. Those of us in good coverage areas arent seeing the same problems, our phones work just fine. This is why they have said they cant recreate the problem. They need to go to a problem area. No, the Nexus S on Tmobile has a GSM radio, we have CDMA, completely different.

FALSE I'm in NYC and we have the best coverage possible and I'm having the same problems. My EVO has great reception as does my wife's XPRT... but the Nexus S has 1 to 0 bars and drops all the time. Even with a wired headset and phone flat on the table it drops.

 

[mkhall]

To follow up on my previous post:

Miraculously, I received my Airave yesterday. I set it up and almost immediately went from one bar to four consistently. The 3G works like a charm, too. However, when I walk out of my home office and to the kitchen -- a distance of about 30' -- the signal drops to two bars and 3G starts to sputter. I'm not an engineer, but to me this implies a problem with the radio's reception, whether a poor radio or a poor software implementation.

4G, on the other hand, is largely a waste, since it won't (or can't) maintain a signal connection. I can sit in a place with strong 4G coverage, a full indicator, and it will occasionally drop the connection, interrupting downloads, logging me out of Talk, and so on. The only time I turn 4G on is to experiment; it's so unreliable as to be useless.

 

[maryinredding]

I was in the mountains this morning, no signal until I turned on my signal to automatic. I had previously had it to home only but now I know that is not necessary. I then got a single white bar and was able to make a call just fine. I don't think it matters if you have 1 bar or 4 bars you will still be able to make a call if you have any bars. I was really pleased.

 

[rc28a]

Talked to a rep at the Totowa store in NJ (corporate) the latest they heard was the internal fixes so far do not work and most likely we are stuck with phones with a weak radio and that the 3G and 4G speeds are within advertised ranges


ZDNET is chiming in as well: Does your Nexus S 4G have poor signal quality too? | ZDNet

 

[Kloneicle]

Talked to a rep at the Totowa store in NJ (corporate) the latest they heard was the internal fixes so far do not work and most likely we are stuck with phones with a weak radio and that the 3G and 4G speeds are within advertised ranges


ZDNET is chiming in as well: Does your Nexus S 4G have poor signal quality too? | ZDNet

That makes me a sad panda. I will have to say I would be somewhat upset...

 

[Richard1864]

Talked to a rep at the Totowa store in NJ (corporate) the latest they heard was the internal fixes so far do not work and most likely we are stuck with phones with a weak radio and that the 3G and 4G speeds are within advertised ranges


ZDNET is chiming in as well: Does your Nexus S 4G have poor signal quality too? | ZDNet

None of the reps in the corporate store near me can confirm that. As far as they can tell me, the testing still goes on. Apparently all the GB phones (preinstalled or updated), regardless of model or carrier, are having connection issues as well (at least the ones on Verizon and AT&T are according to techs at their stores).

The techs at my stores tell me the EVO 3D has the battery and reboot problems mentioned elsewhere on the forum in addition to the connectivity ones. They haven't been completely fixed yet either, and may also be software related to GB.

For all these phones to have the similar issues yet different hardware, it seems like software issues to me.

Android 2.4 is being tested by Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon, and maybe it fixes some of these issues? Gbhill, or anyone else, have you heard anything more about this on your end?

 

[lingo622]

I really hope that 2.4 rolls out sooner rather than later....

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[magliotti]

Where's the fix?

People mentioned updates and fixes in 2-3 weeks. It's now over a month and still nothing...I'm wondering if I shouldn't return this phone before its too late.

 

[jer3my]

Out of curiosity, what is your wifi sleep policy set to? (it is under advanced in your wifi settings)

Thanks that alone saved me a headache, Was always tired of the Wifi "turning off" when the screen went off and never thought to hit the menu button while on that screen. Haha. Thanks again man.

 

[Deacon#AC]

Well, I've decided to hang on to mine.

I still suspect that there is a software issue based on some of the comments from EVO users who have upgraded to GB. But my primary concern is coverage.
Sitting in my house I compared my phone to my daughters Samsung Transform and signal strengths were identical hovering around -89.

I live about 10 miles north of Detroit but I was down at comerica park in Detroit last Saturday and noticed I had a good signal. Sometimes a full 4 bars!

So until my coverage improves I can do little to speculate about software/hardware issues.
Sprint has offered to send me an Airave, I think I'll take them up on the offer.

Until then I'll still enjoy my Nexus.

 

[mkhall]

Sprint has offered to send me an Airave, I think I'll take them up on the offer.

Take them up on it. It made all the difference in the world for the phone's usability in my house. In fact, I'm feeling the pain right now as I am travelling and my temporary apartment -- lacking an Airave, obviously -- misses calls constantly. (My roommate's Evo doesn't drop a bit,either, so it's clearly the Nexus.)

 

[oldrtyfrog]

Thanks that alone saved me a headache, Was always tired of the Wifi "turning off" when the screen went off and never thought to hit the menu button while on that screen. Haha. Thanks again man.

Wow, I didn't realize that option was there either. I thought my wireless radio was crap so I just left it off. You guys are awesome.

 

[pprichar]

I ran some speedtests vs my Droid x and noticed the ns4g outperforming it with only 1 to 2 bars of service. 4g was actually slower to load some webpages and faster on some with 1 4g bar.

In terms of wifi all my devices, Droid x, ipad, macbooks, Xbox display full wifi bars while the ns4g has just 1. Performence is about the same.

There's something fishy with these antenna issues...here's to hoping its some stupid software glitch.